Chapter 17
Here it comes!
Hyeryeon squeezed her eyes shut as Sehyun’s knee flew towards her face. But she didn’t feel any impact, so she slowly opened her eyes. Sehyun’s knee was hovering right in front of her face.
“Ah… Ahh…”
Hyeryeon, her tension released, let out an incomprehensible moan and collapsed onto the floor.
“Wow…”
“What…”
People stared at Sehyun in awe at the swift turn of events.
Her attack wasn’t powerful, but it was fast and precise.
“What do you do?”
Someone asked Sehyun. But Sehyun remained silent, kneeling on one knee and picking up the flower petals.
She created the skill inwardly and checked its details.
Skill: Dazzling Dance (Unavailable)
Summons flowers within a designated area according to the level. Can freely move the summoned flowers within the designated area.
As Sehyun was silently observing the flowers,
“I guess I’m hopeless, right? With a skill like this…”
Hyeryeon sat amidst the beautiful flowers scattered across the sparring ring, muttering dejectedly.
The joy she had felt when she first became a Guard was gone.
A pretty skill like this was useless as a Guard.
Maybe she could use it as a magician or in a show.
“What’s the name of this flower?”
Sehyun asked, holding up a single flower.
“What?”
“I’ve never seen a flower like this before. What’s its name?”
“It doesn’t exist in reality. I created it.”
“You created it? Does that mean it came from your imagination?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“If you don’t mind me asking, why did you create it this way? You could have made it with light petals that are easy to move.”
“I like its weight. I thought the heavy weight would be good for trapping monsters. And if they’re lucky enough to get hit by one, it would have some impact.”
Sehyun hummed softly at Hyeryeon’s gloomy answer.
She understood why Hyeryeon had thought that way. Raindrops weren’t very helpful in stopping someone. They just made them hurry.
But large hailstones were different.
Hyeryeon must have thought the same way.
But… hailstones and flowers were different.
No matter how heavy a flower was, it was still a flower.
And flowers against monsters?
More than anything, this method consumed too much energy.
She could tell by the way Hyeryeon was panting after using it just once. Using this skill and then moving her own body would naturally slow her down.
“Your skill is perfect for ranged attacks.”
“It is, but it doesn’t seem very useful as a ranged attack. It’s not very… I guess I’ll use it at my grandmother’s 80th birthday party.”
Hyeryeon trailed off with a dejected expression. Sehyun stared at her intently.
She had witnessed the overwhelming difference in skill between herself and the others, and she had lost a lot of confidence, seeing people scoff at her pretty but useless skill.
…This is such a good skill.
Sehyun approached Hyeryeon and knelt beside her.
She wasn’t the type to console or comfort others, but she had no choice but to do so if she wanted to continue sparring with Hyeryeon.
“Hyeryeon, which is more annoying, magnolia flowers falling or cherry blossom petals falling?”
Hyeryeon frowned at Sehyun’s unexpected question.
“I think both are beautiful.”
…It must be nice to see the world as beautiful.
It was a fairytale-like answer that Sehyun, who found flower petals annoying, couldn’t understand, but she calmly spoke again.
“Okay, they’re both beautiful, but they’re not beautiful all the time. Which one is more annoying when you’re walking down the street?”
“Cherry blossom petals, of course. Magnolia petals are big, so you can just brush them off…”
Hyeryeon stopped mid-sentence, as if she had realized something.
“That’s right. You can just brush them off once. But cherry blossom petals are so numerous and light that it’s hard to brush them off.”
“But they’re easy to get through, right?”
Hyeryeon answered after some thought.
“That’s right. But what if those cherry blossom petals were also sharp?”
Sehyun picked up a flower from the floor. It was hard, unlike its soft appearance. If she could visualize this flower with sharp edges, she would have a good chance of winning.
“Sharp petals would scratch the skin. It would be more annoying for the opponent to have petals scratching their skin. It would distract their senses and make it hard to concentrate. Besides, you seem to be able to move the flowers. For that, it’s better if each flower is light. That way, you’ll consume less energy.”
“…”
“You didn’t create these huge flowers from the start…”
“They’re Beautiful Crystal Flowers.”
“…What?”
“That’s their name. I gave them that name.”
“Ah…”
Should I just give up?
Sehyun thought briefly but pulled herself together. She was the one who desperately needed real combat experience.
“Beau… Anyway, you didn’t create these flowers from the start, right?”
“…”
Sehyun said, plucking a petal from the flower she was holding and twirling it in the air.
Hyeryeon stared blankly at Sehyun for a moment and then blinked. She opened and closed her mouth a few times before finally speaking after a long silence.
“Actually… I was scared. Even though they were just monsters created by a program, they were so scary. So… I wanted to make them as big as possible.”
“No one can be calm when they see a monster. It’s natural to be scared.”
Sehyun replied matter-of-factly, as if it were obvious, making Hyeryeon’s hesitant confession seem trivial.
Yes, it’s natural to be scared.
That was the right way to feel, but she had thought that even being afraid was a lack of qualification because she was a Guard.
It was normal to be afraid because it was her first time.
Hyeryeon’s expression relaxed. Sehyun, seeing that, straightened her legs and stood up.
“Then let’s try it now.”
“N, now?”
“Yes. Do you want to rest for a bit first?”
“No! Let’s try it now!”
Hyeryeon jumped to her feet. At the same time, the flower petals melted into the air and disappeared.
As Sehyun exclaimed in admiration, Hyeryeon stood at the edge of the sparring ring.
“But are you sure? It could be dangerous if the cherry blossom petals are sharp…”
“It’s okay. We have our highly motivated healer here.”
Sehyun glanced at Jieun and then lowered her stance again.
“Yes! I’ll…”
“No ‘Hiya!'”
“…”
“You’ll get into the habit. You’re not going to shout ‘Hiya!’ in front of monsters, are you? That’s an AoE aggro.”
“…”
Hyeryeon looked dejected at Sehyun’s blunt words and just moved her lips silently. It seemed like she wasn’t ready to give up her battle cry. Flower petals appeared in the air in an instant.
They were much smaller and sharper than before. The petals, which had abandoned their beauty for practicality, had become tiny weapons.
Skill: Dazzling Dance (Unavailable)
Skill detected. Sensitivity increased by +1.
This won’t be easy.
Sehyun took a deep breath.
“Ah…”
Jieun sat on the dormitory floor, silently looking down at Sehyun, who was groaning in pain.
The F-grades’ diligent training continued through dawn, lunchtime, and dinner. They trained whenever they had time until lights out at 10 p.m., and Sehyun was the most dedicated among them.
She accepted every sparring request.
As a result, she held the record for being treated by Jieun the most, four times. Some of her injuries required quite a long time to heal.
But Jieun couldn’t tell her to stop. Because the people who had sparred with Sehyun were all improving.
‘So this is what real fighting is like.’
‘Wow, this feels great.’
‘Should we do it again tomorrow?’
‘Yes!’
Those who had finished their intense sparring sessions had bright expressions on their faces, as if they had found hope.
Jieun couldn’t tell Sehyun to take it easy, seeing how cool she looked, standing there nonchalantly amidst the excitement.
How could someone be like this?
I wish… I could be like that too.
Jieun bit her lip and lowered her gaze.
It was a presumptuous thought.
She couldn’t be like that…
Jieun shook her head as if to clear her thoughts.
“I’m sorry. Are you tired?”
Jieun’s head shot up at Sehyun’s sudden apology.
“Ah, no. This is m, my job. I, I have no problem h, healing. But… I’m just a little worried because you’re pushing yourself too hard.”
“Don’t worry. I’m fine.”
Sehyun said, looking into space.
Skill: Pull, Dodge, Enhanced Vision, Fruit Knife Swing… Sound Blocking, Eye of Truth (Unavailable), Dazzling Dance, Miniaturization (Unavailable), Dynamic Vision Activation… The Listener, Divine Touch Upon You (Unavailable)
Just looking at her full skill window made her feel like she was recovering.
F-grades could use one, maybe three skills at most.
Individually, they might not seem like much, but combined, they could become a powerful force.
The problem was…
She felt guilty.
She knew this was her skill, but from the other person’s perspective, it would feel like stealing. How would they feel if they knew she was taking their skills after sparring?
In that sense,
“I’m sorry.”
Jieun tilted her head at Sehyun’s sudden apology.
“Huh?”
“Just…”
Skill: Divine Touch Upon You (Unavailable) → Changed to Divine Touch Upon You (Available).
Reconfiguring settings.
Sehyun silently closed the status window she had been staring at.
Gaon Sparring Room, 8 p.m.
Sehyun stood in the middle of the sparring ring, taking deep breaths. She tried to stay calm, but her heart pounded with anxiety.
Flashbacks of the past flickered across the white floor of the sparring ring.
“Tell me! Tell me!”
The large hand that slapped her cheek.
“You worthless bitch.”
The kick that flew towards her.
“Cough, cough.”
Herself, gasping for breath on the floor.
Hmm, we’re gonna overcome this today mc!!