I stared at the woman who looked down at me with a helpless expression.

Ryu Jinju, the head of the Hunter Management Department, appeared as a manager at Velvet Square. Always clashing with Velvet Academy in various ways, she was a short-tempered and impulsive person. Therefore, she appeared as a “sometimes” mid-boss character.

Yes, not just once or twice, but “sometimes.”

With frequent appearances, inevitably, strategies against her were deeply studied compared to other bosses.

I felt a newfound sense of challenge.

“While fighting Ryu Jinju I always used the skill parry… ”

Parrying. A technique commonly seen in fighting games or first-person rogue-likes. Timing attacks to interrupt the opponent’s attacks and dealing damage.

However, “Velvet School Life” was not a  game where users could manipulate the character’s body and guarantee freedom like in a first-person  game. Only allowed actions were predetermined “movement” and “item usage” aside from skill usage.

So, the entirety of parrying that could be attempted in Velvet Square was timing skills to interrupt the opponent’s attacks and deal damage with basic attacks.

“I tried this challenge without any specific plan in mind.”

Parrying Ryu Jinju’s attacks relied on inserting attacks into specific motions. So sometimes, when the timing was right, it automatically parried against the attacks of characters with high attack rates!

However, there was a difference between playing in third-person and the current first-person perspective. Initially, catching that moment to stop the attack was more challenging than expected.

Normally in Velvet Square, I did it with my eyes closed.

So, at first, I forcibly squeezed the known parrying points into the increased number of attacks to increase the “probability” of parrying.

And then, gradually reducing the number of attacks while reducing the precision by lowering the error range.

The result of that attempt was successfully closing the gap between  game knowledge and reality.

“Alright, now I’ve got the hang of it.”

“… How on earth…”

Ryu Jinju continued to alternately gaze at her unwavering greatsword and the thin sword blocking it.

I tightened my grip on the Moonlight’s hilt and smirked.

“Now I feel like I can win even if I fight half-heartedly. Wouldn’t it be better to just give up?”

“…Cut the crap.”

At my light taunt, Ryu Jinju growled in a low voice as if in frustration. But unlike before, her voice was filled with a lot more caution.

“Ah, no bad language, please. It’s an all-ages  game.”

“…You little…!!”

Suddenly, her face contorted fiercely.

I blankly stared at her, thinking to myself.

“Second phase.”

.

.

.

Objectively, Jin Yuha was at a huge disadvantage in the fight.

However, he overwhelmingly dominated the duel with Ryu Jinju.

Even without using any tricks or skills, it was a pure contest of strength.

“What on earth is this…”

The woman in the fox mask blinked, unsure if what she had just seen was real.

That’s when it happened.

Whoosh…

Whoosh…

Suddenly, Ryu Jinju’s breathing became rough, and her muscles swelled up before subsiding repeatedly.

Thud…

The bone-chilling sound, as if bones were breaking, erupted, And her already gorilla-like stature expanded even more.

Thump… Thump…

The sound of her heartbeat echoed like a drum. A rough surge of mana intensified around her.

Ryu Jinju seemed to be drooling uncontrollably, clearly displaying abnormal behavior.

The fox-masked woman had not foreseen such a peculiarity in Ryu Jinju’s profile.

“Leader! That’s… the youngest is in danger…!”

The fox-masked woman swiftly turned her head towards Baek Seol-hee.

“Krrrrraaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!”

Ryu Jinju screamed as if possessed, charging towards Jin Yuha.

As the Demos Hunting members trembled at the sight,

“Don’t panic.”

Baek Seol-hee’s cold voice held them back.

Even in such a dangerous situation, Baek Seol-hee maintained her composure. The eyes of Jin Yuha inside the mask had already anticipated this, sinking low.

But even Baek Seol-hee couldn’t help but marvel at what Jin Yuha had just displayed.

“…He still had something up his sleeve.”

What Jin Yuha called “parrying” looked a bit different to Baek Seol-hee.

Mana was fundamentally an alien force. It was not static but dynamic, not moving in straight lines but circulating.

In other words, raising mana meant accelerating that circulation, reducing the gap between emission and absorption to make it seem like it was constantly emitting.

Thus, inevitably, there existed a gap between one cycle and the next.

“Among them, the moment when mana becomes ‘0’.”

Baek Seol-hee had named it the “gap in circulation.” However, this gap was so short that it was almost imperceptible to ordinary skill. At most, it would be 0.001 seconds.

And just like fingerprints are unique to each person, the cycle in which the gap appears also varies from person to person.

In other words, at the moment when the gap appears, the opponent is no more than an ordinary person. But to accurately hit it, even if the opponent has grasped it, they need to understand the opponent more thoroughly than they know themselves. Furthermore, even if they have grasped it, to aim accurately amidst the chaos of a battle where swords are swinging wildly?

“…it is difficult, even for me.”

Her disciple, showing a new facet like peeling an onion layer by layer, made Baek Seol-hee feel a complex mix of emotions.

She closed her eyes tightly, feeling the boiling emotions inside.

“…Ha.”

A languid sigh escaped her lips.

Gulp.

She swallowed the dry saliva.

Whoosh… Whoosh…

Ryu Jinju’s greatsword accelerated even further.

With an incomprehensible speed, the large sword swept through the space jubilantly.

Crackle!

With bone-chilling sounds, the office furnishings were being scattered as if thrown into a blender every time the swords clashed.

But the eyes behind the puppy mask remained lowered, focusing on the opponent’s sword until the very end.

Then, he moved his body.

As if already anticipating every move of the opponent’s sword, he narrowly dodged it, just one misstep away from a fatal blow.

But even amidst the haze of her mind, Ryu Jinju bit down on her resolve.

And with increased strength in her hands and overflowing mana, Ryu Jinju screamed, “Stop mocking me!!!!!!!!!”

Yet, the opponent remained elusive, dodging her sword like a butterfly flitting through the air.

“…What the hell is this guy!!!!!! What are you!!!!!!!”

Even in her cloudy state of mind, Ryu Jinju gritted her teeth.

And then, with both hands gripping the hilt tightly, she swung horizontally.

At that moment, once again, Jin Yuha’s azure sword moved.

Crackling with a sharp noise, a fierce wind accompanied the impact, sending the surrounding broken furnishings flying.

The man blocked the greatsword effortlessly, his sword appearing remarkably light. His hair fluttered in the wind.

Once again, the massive greatsword halted in front of his thin blade.

Then, Jin Yuha’s sword began to move agilely after it touched Ryu Jinju’s sword.

Swish…

The blue sword pierced through the air.

Ryu Jinju, unable to even consider moving her body while observing the sword’s movement, was caught off guard.

Squelch!

Moonlight descended cleanly in a straight line, striking down.

Screaming, Ryu Jinju was struck on the head by the sword.

“…This can’t be real.”

With a word filled with despair, her eyes rolled back.

Thud!

With a thud, she collapsed to the side, raising a cloud of dust.

“…Well, there’s no need to kill you.”

Striking her with the back of the sword to render her unconscious, Jin Yuha returned the sword to its sheath.

Watching this with gaping mouths, the members of the Demon Assassination Unit remained silent for a moment.

“Wowwwww!!!”

And then, they erupted into cheers.

“Wha… what the heck is that!!!”

“Isn’t he a monster…!!!”

“This is insane!!!!”

“She’s lost!!!!!!”

The members of the Demon Assassination Unit shouted excitedly, forgetting to hide themselves.

With eyes not as keen as Baek Seol-hee’s, they couldn’t perceive the true nature of Jin Yuha’s sword. However, they could sense that the current situation was beyond belief, and their excitement rose among themselves.

“Quiet down.”

Baek Seol-hee’s cold voice calmed the members of the Demon Assassination Unit, but the lingering effects of the previous scene kept them murmuring softly.

“Wait, does that even make sense? How did he do that…?”

“Isn’t this a problem not just for the rookies, but for us too? Are we all going to be taken down by the youngest?”

“Um… should we call him the youngest?”

“I still don’t get it. He won, sure, but how did he win head-on? How did he block that? It feels like our common sense is being shattered…”

As the members of the Demon Assassination Unit continued to deny reality and make a fuss, Baek Seol-hee entered the chaotic space.

Thud—

“Instructor.”

“Hmm.”

In response to her disciple’s call, Baek Seol-hee nodded.

“…Am I, late? I tried to be as quick as possible…”

Hesitantly, as if checking Baek Seol-hee’s reaction, Jin Yuha spoke.

Seeing this, the members of the Demon Assassination Unit made incredulous faces, wondering what the young one was blabbering about…

But Baek Seol-hee understood that Jin Yuha was sincerely asking.

A thick smile spread across Baek Seol-hee’s face, hidden behind her mask.

Swish—

She reached out and tousled Jin Yuha’s hair.

Expressing how proud and delighted she felt in words was difficult.

Jin Yuha slightly shrank back at first, but soon, he accepted her touch with a pleased expression.

Shhh. Shhh.

“If being her disciple means receiving this treatment….”

” But I’d rather have him than a bunch of girls like you.”

At that remark, the members of the Demon Assassination Unit awkwardly nodded at each other.