Chapter 28
It was something everyone knew.
Access to the individual training rooms had been restricted due to errors in the program.
They had even been warned to be careful because it could lead to serious accidents.
Dongwoo looked at the man with the ponytail, who seemed unconcerned about the restriction.
“So, we need to train… but there’s nowhere to go.”
“We reserved this place a few days ago for this time.”
“That was when the individual training rooms were available. Not now.”
The man with the ponytail looked around the room. No one missed the meaning of his action.
He was telling them to give up the room since the individual training rooms were unavailable.
“You can use the auditorium.”
Dongwoo retorted, frowning.
There were several other places besides the auditorium where they could spar.
“It’s full.”
“…Ha.”
Dongwoo sighed briefly, as if he had heard something ridiculous, and looked at Sehyun. Her expression wasn’t good either.
Full?
That couldn’t be true. This place had a vast area and numerous buildings.
Even excluding the fact that some A-grade trainees were using entire floors, the double occupancy dormitory assignments were meant to ensure that there were enough sparring rooms, auditoriums, and training rooms.
So, even with the restriction on individual training rooms, this place wasn’t so small that it couldn’t accommodate them.
In other words, this was just pointless provocation.
Lately, there had been a frequent, subtle increase in provocations from other grades towards the F-grades.
But the provocations were vague enough that they couldn’t be formally addressed.
“We reserved this place. Our spar will be over in 30 minutes, so please wait.”
Dongwoo said with a hardened expression.
“Oh… wait?”
“Yes.”
“Ha, seriously…”
The man at the front muttered under his breath.
Skill: Sound Blocking
Skill detected. Sensitivity increased by +1.
Sound Blocking (Level 4)
-Detected a lower level ‘Sound Blocking.’
Would you like to eavesdrop on the ‘Sound Blocking’ skill?
‘Eavesdrop.’
Sehyun answered inwardly.
“These insignificant beings.”
A voice filled with mockery reached her ears clearly.
“Should we just wipe them out?”
The man next to the ponytail asked with a snicker.
“Forget it. We were told not to cause trouble. We’re not supposed to bully the weak, my friend.”
“Ah, come on. That’s true, but it’s funny. This place isn’t theirs.”
“They must have been using it regularly. It’s admirable, though. They’re not giving up despite their ridiculous F-grade results and are trying their best. So positive, very positive.”
Despite his words, the man’s lips were twisted in a sneer.
Sehyun’s face hardened. The man seemed completely oblivious to the fact that someone was eavesdropping on his ‘Sound Blocking.’
That meant his ‘Sound Blocking’ skill level was lower than she thought.
The man who had been with Jieun yesterday had clearly sensed that his skill was being disrupted.
The man with the ponytail finally released his ‘Sound Blocking’ skill and looked at Dongwoo with a polite expression, as if he had never sneered.
“Well, since you’ve made a reservation, there’s nothing we can do.”
“Thank you for your understanding.”
“You’re welcome. But… you don’t mind if we wait here, do you?”
“…What?”
“There’s no need to waste time wandering around. You said you have 30 minutes left, so it would be better to wait here. There’s no rule against watching other people’s sparring sessions, right?”
There was no such rule, but it was generally considered impolite to watch the training of other grades.
Dongwoo frowned and glanced back.
The F-grades nodded, as if to say it was okay.
It wasn’t that they were actually okay with it, but they were reluctantly agreeing because they didn’t want to cause trouble with the C-grades.
Dongwoo knew that, but he had no other choice.
He sighed deeply and nodded reluctantly.
“…Alright. But please be careful, you might get hurt by flying debris during the spar…”
“Pfft!”
One of the five C-grades burst into laughter.
“Hehehe!”
“Pffft!”
Two more people followed suit. The air in the sparring room turned cold at their rude behavior.
“Ah, I apologize. They lack self-control.”
The man with the ponytail glanced back at his companions and raised his hand towards Dongwoo.
The insincere apology only made the atmosphere colder.
But it didn’t end there.
“No, it’s funny. Debris? Can they even create debris? Do they have energy blasts coming out of their hands?”
“Of course, there can be debris! But who’s going to get hit by it? Is there anyone here who’s blind? Raise your hand!”
“Take them to the infirmary! Who is it? Who is it? It’s not me! I’m not an idiot!”
“Ah, crazy. Hehehe.”
“Ugh, these lunatics.”
The man with the ponytail rebuked his companions. But he couldn’t hide the smirk that escaped his lips.
So, even though he was pretending to be polite, he was no different from his companions who were laughing behind him.
She had already known that, but seeing his hypocritical act made her stomach churn.
“…Guards should have personality tests too. To weed out bastards like them.”
At that moment, the C-grades’ laughter died down at the sudden remark. Their gazes all turned to Hyeryeon, who was fuming with her arms crossed.
“What are you looking at, bastards?”
Hyeryeon asked nonchalantly, crossing her legs and arms.
“Ha, what did you just say?”
“You heard me, so why are you asking again? Are you deaf? Then go to the infirmary.”
The smiles on the C-grades’ faces slowly disappeared at Hyeryeon’s words.
“Hyeryeon.”
Dongwoo, sensing that things were about to get out of hand, stepped forward and blocked her path. Hyeryeon’s small figure was completely hidden behind Dongwoo’s large frame.
“Ah, why! Move! Move!”
“Hyeryeon, stop it.”
“Stop what!”
“You’ll get hurt.”
Dongwoo lowered his head and warned Hyeryeon in a low voice, only loud enough for her to hear.
This was a sparring room.
A place where anyone could request a spar at any time.
Knowing Hyeryeon’s personality, she wouldn’t refuse a sparring request. And if she accepted, she would be the one getting hurt.
More than anything, Dongwoo, with his years of social experience, could tell that these C-grades weren’t good people. They felt different from other C-grades.
But Hyeryeon didn’t stop despite Dongwoo’s warning.
“I’d rather fight and win than listen to those idiots and die of anger! I’ll knock some sense into that ponytail head! I’ll save you some barber fees today! You bastard!”
Hyeryeon looked like she would jump at them and bite them if Dongwoo let go of her.
“Sigh.”
Where did the quiet girl from a few days ago go…?
Dongwoo sighed and glanced at Sehyun. He was asking her to stop Hyeryeon.
But Sehyun shook her head slightly.
“Leave her alone.”
“What?”
Dongwoo stared at Sehyun with wide eyes, as if he had heard something unbelievable.
Sehyun looked behind her without saying a word.
Except for Hyeryeon, who was raging, and Dongwoo, who was barely maintaining his composure, the other three F-grades were looking down.
Their faces were filled with fear, as if they wanted to run away if they could.
It was better for them to lash out like Hyeryeon than to cower in fear. Even if they lost the fight, their mindset would be different.
If they fought while consumed by fear of losing, defeat would become inevitable. But in Hyeryeon’s case, even if she lost, she would think, “I’m frustrated that I lost this time, but I’ll try again next time.” It would give her a reason to strive.
That’s why Sehyun thought Hyeryeon was better off.
But… there was a way.
A way that would be beneficial to both her and them.
“Sparring among F-grades can make you lose sight of your true abilities. Yes, I understand.”
The man with the ponytail approached Dongwoo and spoke, looking up at him. Dongwoo looked down at him with a troubled expression. He was barely holding on, but he was clearly intimidated by the fact that the man was a C-grade.
“I understand, but my friends are having a hard time understanding. So I need an apology.”
“Apology my ass! If you want an apology, go apologize to my mom for raising a brat like you!”
“…”
The man with the ponytail looked disgusted at Hyeryeon’s nonsensical outburst.
“Then I have no choice but to force an apology out of you. You, come up here.”
The tall man who was standing behind the ponytail approached and pointed at Hyeryeon. Hyeryeon glared at him.
“What! Why! You think I can’t do it? Sehyun, I’m going to fight! I’ll make a flower arrangement on that wooden head, so just wait!”
“Yeah, come up here. Stop making a fuss down there.”
The tall man beckoned with his hand, showing his teeth.
“You think I can’t go up there! Just wait! I’ll be back!”
Sehyun grabbed Hyeryeon’s hand as she raised it dramatically.
“Wait.”
“Why! Don’t stop me! If you stop me, I’ll bite you! I’ll bite you hard!”
“I’m not stopping you.”
Sehyun pulled Hyeryeon towards her.
“Huh? Huh?”
Hyeryeon stumbled as she was pulled towards Sehyun and looked at her.
As she looked up at Sehyun with an expression that seemed to ask how she was so strong, Sehyun looked at the man with the ponytail.
“Unfortunately, the situation has become irreversible.”
“You just have to apologize sincerely. We don’t want to cause trouble either.”
“Apologies are for those who have done wrong.”
“…”
Sehyun’s indifferent gaze, which seemed to say “So we have no reason to apologize,” hardened the expression on the face of Do Sung, the man with the ponytail.
“We haven’t done anything wrong! Apology my ass, I’ll turn you into an apple tree! You apple-headed bastards!”
“…”
…Ah, I think she needs to apologize for that. That was a bit too much.
Sehyun looked at her with a slightly troubled expression and then glanced at Dongwoo.
Dongwoo, quick-witted, quickly approached Hyeryeon, covered her mouth, and dragged her to a corner.
“Mmm! Let go! Let go of me!”
Even as she was being dragged away, Hyeryeon didn’t forget to curse silently.
“Then we have no choice. We’ll have to request a spar.”
The man with the ponytail said with a hardened expression.