The name Jin Yuha, a male quota cadet at Velvet Academy, was more widely known among the first-year cadets for his looks rather than his abilities.

Of course, Jin Yuha had proven himself without hiding his true strength.

From the group sparring and finals in the basic training,
to the education of the male cadets who followed Shin Se-hee,
and most recently, the Demon suppression incident.

However, the opponents in the group sparring lost because Jin Yuha took advantage by their momentary lapse in concentration, and in the finals, nearly two-thirds of the cadets did not participate.

The male cadets who were educated were mostly healers and supporters, so no matter how much they talked, it didn’t really become a hot topic.

The only incident that truly showcased his skills was the Choi Ah-ram Demon incident.
Unfortunately, it had happened the day before, and the aftermath was not yet over,
so it was only spreading through word of mouth among the second-year cadets, and there wasn’t enough time for the rumor to reach the first-year students.

The reason why the evaluation of Jin Yuha was so harsh was also due to the presence of two famous people.

Cheonhwa, Shin Se-hee.

Fighting Dog, Kang Do-hee.

With these two famous people, a man with an extraordinary appearance stood out,
and people tended to pay more attention to his looks than his abilities!

In other words, the evaluation of Jin Yuha among the current first-year freshmen was…

“The fatale beauty that triggers a love triangle”
“The face that evokes national pride”
“The man who became the top-tier healer with just his looks”
“The flower on the cliff”

and so on…

Most of the public opinions were related to his appearance.

Therefore, the cadets who visited the training ground to take the Anti-personal  combat practical class couldn’t hide their confusion.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
A-grade: Kang Do-hee, Jin Yuha
B-grade: Lee Min-young, Yoon Sae-rom, Kim Da-young…
C-grade: Kim Hye-soo, Choi Yu-rim, Gu Yoon-ah…
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━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Hush, hush━

The grade chart posted at the entrance of the training ground caused a stir among the cadets.

“Is this for real?”
“Jin Yuha, is that the face genius?”
“Yeah, I think so…”
“This doesn’t make sense. Is he really in the same A-grade as Kang Do-hee?”
“Maybe they hang out together, so they’re considered to be on the same level…”
“His performance in the finals was impressive, but I don’t think he’s that good.”

At that moment.

Boom─!

A giant hammer slammed into the floor, breaking the cadets’ whispers.

A woman with a bear-like figure and a large build stood before them.

“Welcome, cadets! I’m Hong Jinada, the instructor for the Anti-personal  combat practical class!”

Her voice boomed, capturing the attention of all the cadets.

“The grade chart you saw at the entrance is based on the evaluations of the instructors during the basic training, and it divides the cadets according to their skills!”

At that moment, a female cadet with orange hair raised her hand.

“Hmm? Cadet?”
“Yes, it’s me. I’m Lee Min-young.”
“Lee Min-young, cadet?”

Hong Jinada glanced at the grade chart and confirmed the name.

“You’re a B-grade cadet.”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“So, Cadet Lee Min-young, is there a problem? Are you dissatisfied with your grade?”

Lee Min-young shook her head calmly.

“No, I don’t have any complaints about my grade. I don’t think I’m on the same level as Kang Do-hee.”
“Hmm, then?”
“However, I have doubts about the abilities of another cadet.”
“Another cadet?”
“Yes, among the names listed in the A-grade, I acknowledge Kang Do-hee’s skills, but I find it hard to accept Jin Yuha.”

As she spoke, she turned her head and looked at Jin Yuha.

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‘I expected this kind of reaction when I saw the huge grade chart at the entrance…’, I thought as I turned my head to meet the eyes of the orange-haired female cadet who had questioned my grade earlier.

‘Playable character, Lee Min-young.’

She was a 3-star character.

A balanced type of dealer who uses a mace and a small shield at the same time.

However, unlike Soup, who had all his abilities focused on one skill, a balanced type character like hers was really ambiguous and tricky to use effectively.

‘Of course, I did use her since I summoned her… but still. This is going to be a bit troublesome.’

She maintained a stubborn expression and didn’t avert her gaze.

As we stared at each other, the instructor spoke up.

“So, Cadet Lee Min-young, you have doubts about Jin Yuha’s abilities, right?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Then it’s simple!”
“Yes…?”

Boom─!

Hong Jinada slammed her giant hammer on the floor again.

“Everyone, focus! Now that we’re on the topic, let me explain how this Anti-personal combat practical class will work.”

She glanced at the grade chart and then turned her gaze back to the students.

“As I mentioned earlier, this grade chart is based on the preliminary assessment of the basic training. However, it’s not set in stone!”

“You mean it’s not absolute?”

“That’s right. The grades can change at any time.”

She curled up the corners of her mouth.

“In this Anti-personal combat practical class, there are no separate exams or tests. It’s all about skill and performance! Your grades will be determined by the points you earn.”

“Oh…”

“So, you must be wondering how to improve your grade.”

The cadets nodded, seemingly overwhelmed by her charisma.

“It’s through sparring! During the allotted time for this class, lower-ranked cadets can challenge higher-ranked cadets at any time! If a lower-ranked cadet wins, they can exchange grades with the higher-ranked cadet. However, to prevent excessive use of skills, there will be restrictions on skill usage.”

‘Ah, so that’s how it works?’

This class was essentially a series of endless spars.

Lower-ranked cadets would continuously challenge those above them, and the higher-ranked cadets had to maintain their rankings despite the constant stream of challenges.

‘No wonder Kang Do-hee liked this class so much.’

I glanced at Kang Do-hee, who stood beside me with a stoic expression.

In the game, whenever Kang Do-hee attended this Anti-personal combat practical class, her character would be in a good mood from the morning onward.

Even now, her fingers twitched slightly, indicating her excitement.

“What about you, Cadet Lee Min-young? Will you challenge Jin Yuha?”

“……Yes, I’ll give it a try.”

Lee Min-young nodded firmly, accepting the challenge.

And so, the first spar of the Anti-personal  combat practical class would be between me and her.

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“Please take care of me.”

Lee Min-young, with a stiff expression, bowed her head slightly towards me as we stepped into the sparring arena.

“Yes, you too.”

I nodded back, acknowledging her greeting.

I narrowed my eyes, recalling the information about my opponent.

‘Dao’s Justice (正道蟲). Lee Min-young.’

A stickler for justice, she couldn’t stand unfairness and always spouted idealistic rhetoric. On top of that, her strong competitive spirit made her a real pain.

Due to her personality, she often caused frustrating situations in the main story and her personal story.

She was like an old-fashioned fairy tale hero who insisted on following the righteous path. She would constantly interfere, claiming that even a single person being treated unfairly or left behind was unacceptable.

‘She’s completely opposite to Shin Se-hee.’

If Soup was a subordinate-type nemesis to Shin Se-hee, Lee Min-young felt like a polar opposite in terms of position.

Honestly, even in the game, every time she threw a wrench in the works, I felt like giving her a knuckle sandwich.

‘As her personal story progresses, she gradually learns to prioritize important things and understands that it’s about doing her best, not being the best. But, that’s not relevant to me right now.’

I didn’t plan to summon her as a gacha character or make her my companion, so all I needed to do was give her a proper education.

‘Let’s make up for all those knuckle sandwiches I wanted to give you back then, Min-young.’

Srrring─

The Moonlight blade slid out of its sheath.

I drew my sword and pointed it towards her.

“Here I come!”

She charged at me, her declaration of war straightforward and honest.

I calmly observed her movement and the trajectory of her attack.

‘The instructor’s lesson has been quite helpful.’

Aside from the boost in abilities, facing an opponent with a calm mind was an added benefit.

Even though it was just one lesson, the experience of being exposed to an overwhelming killing intent that I couldn’t resist had helped me tremendously, both during the tutorial boss fight against Choi Ah-ram and now.

I lowered my gaze and brought the Moonlight blade down.

Srrriiiing─!

In that moment, Lee Min-young, who had been about to swing her mace, shifted her stance and held up her shield to block.

She seemed to be planning to counter after blocking my sword.

Kwaang━!!

My sword, which had been descending through the air, clashed with her shield.

“Ugh─!?”

She let out a groan, unable to even think of a counterattack, and took a step back, her eyes wide with surprise.

Apparently, the impact was greater than she had anticipated, and she stared at me in a daze for a moment before gritting her teeth.

Thud!

She charged at me again, her feet pounding against the ground.

Thanks to the lesson from Baek Seol-hee and my experience facing the tutorial boss, I had gained some leeway, allowing me to swing my sword while also thinking about other things.

‘A sword without skills…’.

Even though I had raised the specialization rating by reading the swordsmanship book when I first got possessed, it was still just an increase in my affinity for swords.

That was because I hadn’t yet acquired a specific style or form of swordsmanship.

It was something that would be rewarded when I advanced to the next grade, so I hadn’t obtained it yet.

Until then, aside from skills, my main combat style was to look for openings and strike, slash, and swing my sword, just as I was doing now.

‘But, I wonder if the system will just hand over a swordsmanship style when I advance a grade here as well?’

To be honest, I was skeptical. Many things had changed since the game became reality.

‘And since I’ve never played as Jin Yuha before, I don’t know what kind of swordsmanship he uses.’

Hwoooong─!

“Eek─!!”

Lee Min-young gritted her teeth and swung her mace, but I effortlessly guided the shaft of the mace away with the tip of my sword.

‘The first swordsmanship I ever witnessed…’

In that moment, a scene flashed through my mind.

Come to think of it, there was only one time.

The first time I held a sword at the academy, I witnessed and faced a true swordsmanship style.

It was when I sparred with Baek Seol-hee, and she demonstrated her swordsmanship to me.

At that time, it seemed like we were evenly matched, but she was actually teaching me with each move.

It was as if she was showing me how to swing my sword in that particular situation.

After that, I was so focused on drawing a perfect straight line with my sword that I didn’t have time to reflect on it, but now, without the use of skills, the memory of her movements resurfaced in my mind.

‘Then, let’s try to recreate that sensation.’

Mana swirled around, and a blue aura began to gather at the tip of my sword.

The Moonlight blade gracefully glided through the air.