Chapter 73

 

It was terrifying.

 

It was easily several times larger than a normal warhammer, and the metal parts were painted with blood stains of unknown origin.

 

‘This is the magic wand!’

 

A mace.

 

And not just any mace, but an incredibly Burtal one!

 

It was even called Mjolnir.

 

Seo Woojin tensed slightly.

 

Not just in appearance, but…

 

‘I can sense mana.’

 

Even though it was called a ‘magic wand’, the smell of mana emanating from Mjolnir was quite intense.

 

‘It’s not as powerful as Baek Siwoo’s sword, but it looks like the most formidable weapon I’ve ever seen.’

 

It seemed to be a challenge for ordinary heroes to block the attacks of this Mjolnir.

 

Seo Woojin looked at his black sword.

 

‘Can I withstand it?’

 

If he used his True Aura, he might be able to withstand it somehow.

 

But he couldn’t be sure that he could block the Mjolnir powered by Gu Dong-hwan’s skills.

 

‘That is why you need to find a good sword.’

 

Didn’t they say that a true craftsman never blames his tools?

 

Seo Woojin didn’t agree.

 

The reason they weren’t picky about their tools was probably because they already had good ones.

 

Besides, Seo Woojin wasn’t even a craftsman, so he could only covet a better sword.

 

“Now let’s get serious!”

 

His thoughts ended there.

 

Gu Dong-hwan gave a warning, waved his Mjolnir, and rushed in like a hurricane.

 

‘Fast.’

 

His movements were fast, not in accordance with his size.

 

‘Perhaps it’s the effect of ‘Transformation’?’

 

The dramatically increased physical abilities allowed for such speed.

 

But Seo Woojin wasn’t surprised.

 

In terms of physical abilities, he could surpass Gu Dong-hwan by far.

 

With frame-level visual acuity, he tracked the chunks of metal hurtling toward his face.

 

‘Keep your movements small.’

 

He stepped back.

 

Attacks with large movements inevitably created openings.

 

Seo Woojin planned to avoid them with minimal movements and seize those opportunities.

 

But then…

 

“Girls First Kiss Maximum Full Swing!”

 

“What?”

 

Whoooosh!

 

Mjolnir, surrounded by a blinding light, approached at an unimaginable speed compared to before.

 

Surprised, Seo Woojin quickly turned his head.

 

A terrifyingly destructive sound and a pressure that seemed to tear his face apart passed by.

 

Crazy!

 

It was a skill.

 

Aside from ‘Transformation’, this was the first time Seo Woojin had seen Gu Dong-hwan’s skills.

 

Seo Woojin, who narrowly avoided the attack, felt a chill run down his spine.

 

Gulp-

 

If he had met that head-on, it would have been difficult to stand unharmed.

 

However, despite his surprise, Seo Woojin instinctively dug into Gu Dong-hwan’s embrace and thrust his sword upward.

 

The target was his armpit.

 

An aura emerged from the dark sword and targeted the exact spot without a hint of error.

 

But…

 

“Girl Prism Protection!”

 

“What?”

 

Seo Woojin’s eyes widened.

 

A seven-colored rainbow appeared around Gu Dong-hwan.

 

While his body was frozen in shock at the completely unexpected situation, the hammer flew in again.

 

‘Shit!’

 

Seo Woojin regretfully dodged the attack.

 

“Impressive.”

 

Having the word ‘girl’ in the name of the skill was a bit annoying to Seo Woojin, but the power and effect were indeed remarkable.

 

It was only for a moment, but it was enough to make Seo Woojin freak out.

 

But he wasn’t the only one who was surprised.

 

Gu Dong-hwan also seemed to be surprised by Seo Woojin’s movements and his eyes were wide.

 

“I knew you were strong, but I didn’t expect you to be this strong…”

 

The evaluation of Seo Woojin had changed significantly from before.

 

Considering what had been shown so far, it was more surprising that there were things that hadn’t changed. 

 

Still, the D-grade rank was a factor that underestimated Seo Woojin.

 

It made people think, “He may be strong, but I’m still better.’

 

Of course, there were exceptions, but those who didn’t have a direct relationship with Seo Woojin mostly felt that way.

 

Gu Dong-hwan was one of them.

 

However, he had far exceeded his expectations, so it was inevitable that he would be surprised.

 

“Is that so?”

 

Seo Woojin calmed his surprised feelings and looked at Gu Dong-hwan.

 

A yellow shimmering short dress.

 

Shoulders made of puffy material.

 

A large ribbon decoration big enough to cover the chest.

 

A big blue heart-shaped jewel in the middle.

 

And a hammer.

 

‘I underestimated you.’

 

It was true that he had underestimated Gu Dong-hwan a bit because of the distracting appearance that he couldn’t concentrate on.

 

The job title ‘Magical Girl’ sounded like a joke.

 

But despite such a ridiculous appearance, Gu Dong-hwan was truly powerful.

 

Excluding the elite friends, he might be in the top three?

 

‘Maybe the strongest.’

 

“Hahaha! Now I can finally fight properly. Before, it was too easy, and it wasn’t any fun. But now I’m happy!”

 

Gu Dong-hwan laughed heartily and spoke.

 

However…

 

Seo Woojin also decided to stop underestimating Gu Dong-hwan.

 

This meant that he would do his best.

 

“It;s my turn now.”

 

He gathered his mana.

 

Unprecedented processed mana quickly wrapped around Seo Woojin’s body.

 

Tuk-

 

He lightly stamped his foot.

 

Seo Woojin’s figure disappeared.

 

“Huh?”

 

Gu Dong-hwan’s eyes widened.

 

It was a natural reaction as he disappeared from sight in an instant as if he had been teleported.

 

And in that fleeting moment, Seo Woojin was already swinging a sword behind him.

 

Hwarruk!

 

Perhaps thanks to the increase in his mana?

 

A brilliant aura bloomed, incomparable to what it was just a moment ago.

 

“Hup!”

 

Gu Dong-hwan instinctively swung his warhammer backwards.

 

Since there was no time to use a skill, he could only block with mana and strength.

 

However, it was useless in front of Seo Woojin’s aura.

 

The ugly-looking blunt instrument that seemed to destroy everything in the world was cut off like a thread.

 

“What is this…!”

 

Pat!

 

It wasn’t just the warhammer that cracked.

 

Lines appeared on Gu Dong-hwan’s steel-like body and blood spurted out.

 

Thanks to the shock-absorbing magic, the catastrophe was averted, but it was by no means a superficial wound.

 

Gu Dong-hwan lowered his head and looked down at his own body.

 

Blood was flowing in streams.

 

“Haha-“

 

He laughed with an expression of disbelief.

 

“You really are amazing.”

 

With those words, he lost consciousness and collapsed.

 

Seo Woojin sheathed his sword.

 

“Hu.”

 

Seo Woojin took a deep breath.

 

‘Controlling my power is harder than I thought.’

 

Seo Woojin quickly regained his mana as the sword’s power was much stronger than expected.

 

Luckily, he managed it just before the sword touched Gu Dong-hwan’s body. Otherwise, it would have been a real crisis.

 

‘Thanks to the shock-absorbing magic, I wouldn’t have died, but …….’

 

Due to the forced stopping of the circulation of magic power, his insides were boiling.

 

“Seo Woojin’s victory.”

 

“Wow, incredible. He defeated that?”

 

“Didn’t they say that he was a D-class hero? How could he defeat an A-class pervert, no, a hero?”

 

“I thought he was unusual since the troll.”

 

With Ludian’s declaration of victory, the sound of heroes murmuring could be heard.

 

Seo Woojin’s fight was far beyond their imagination.

 

It was a shocking event for those who had tried to underestimate Seo Woojin’s abilities.

 

“Good job.”

 

When he returned to the waiting area, Irene greeted him with a smile.

 

“Wow, Mister! It looks like you’ve become stronger than before. What happened?”

 

On the other hand, Lee Ji-ah looked genuinely surprised.

 

As mentioned earlier, it was because Seo Woojin seemed much stronger than before.

 

Defeating that monster-like pervert without using any special skills!

 

A glimmer of respect appeared in Lee Ji-ah’s eyes.

 

“I’ve levelled up too.”

 

Seo Woojin explained that the reason he became stronger was because he leveled up, not because he absorbed magic from the Rosy Ruby Gem.

 

“Well, when I first saw you, you were level 10… and now you’re already level 23?”

 

It hadn’t been that long since they were called to the academy, but he had already gained 13 levels.

 

Even though Seo Woojin’s level was lower than other heroes, it was still too fast. 

 

Other heroes, including Lee Ji-ah, had only increased by 1 to 3 levels at most.

 

“Well, you know, various things happened.”

 

He had experienced things that others hadn’t. 

 

Moreover, it was an ‘Unmeasurable’ class, which is estimated to be higher than Baek Siwoo’s SSS class…

 

‘It is natural to level up quickly.’

 

If he had taken the bus at the Massive Guardian, he would probably have reached a higher level than Baek Siwoo.

 

Of course, Seo Woojin had no regrets. Thanks to Van Slaine, he was able to become much stronger than other heroes.

 

Seo Woojin looked back.

 

He saw Gu Dong-hwan being treated from a distance.

 

His ‘transformation’ had been released and he was now wearing normal clothes and still hadn’t fully regained his consciousness.

 

“Hmm….”

 

Gu Dong-hwan was strong. If he hadn’t grown close to evolution, it would have been difficult to win with ordinary skills.

 

The speed of the heroes’ growth once again sent a chill down his spine.

 

There might be others like Gu Dong-hwan.

 

There were about 100 of them, so it was hard to remember each one.

 

‘But I should look for them.’

 

And if possible, he wanted to make friends with them for the sake of his future.

 

“Ah, it’s my turn! I’ll win and be right back!”

 

Lee Ji-ah saluted Seo Woojin and jumped onto the stage.

 

“Win!”

 

Shouting from behind, she responded by waving the huge gauntlet held in her hands.

 

Soon Lee Ji-ah’s match began.

 

And she lost.

 

“Don’t be too disappointed. The opponent was just too strong.”

 

Seo Woojin comforted the disheartened Lee Ji-ah.

 

But she seemed to hear nothing and showed no reaction.

 

“I guess the shock of defeat was great.”

Irene whispered softly.

 

‘That’s inevitable.’

 

Lee Ji-ah’s opponent was a woman with the job of a Class A ‘Battlemaster’.

 

Since they were both Class A warriors, it was not a strange match no matter who won.

 

Still, there was a reason why she seemed so distracted.

 

‘It was a single blow.’

 

Just a single blow.

 

With that, Lee Ji-ah was defeated.

 

As a ‘Fist Master’, Lee Ji-ah couldn’t help but be shocked by the impact.

 

She had trained with Seo Woojin and was proud of her own skills, so to lose like that was disheartening.

 

“Did they say ‘Gye Suji’?”

 

The name was memorable because of its uniqueness.

 

Like Gu Dong-hwan, Gye Suji also possessed tremendous skill.

 

Lee Ji-ah had been  knocked out that she didn’t even know how it happened.

 

“I’d like to face her once.”

 

It was much more accurate to judge one’s skills by exchanging blows directly than by watching from the sidelines.

 

However, it seemed impossible in this sparring session.

 

“Since the next opponent is Baek Siwoo, it seems challenging.”

 

No matter how strong she was, it would be difficult against Baek Siwoo.

 

At this point, he was recognized as the strongest hero.

 

“Do you want to try then?”

 

Seo Woojin turned around in surprise at the sudden voice.

 

Gye Suji looked at him with a piercing gaze.