‘Did I… lose?’

Instructor Hong Jinada stared blankly into the air, her eyes shaking as if denying the reality of her defeat.

‘Did I… really lose?’

She didn’t feel humiliated or defeated. After all, she was still refusing to accept that she had lost.

‘How… did this happen?’

Losing to a 3-on-1 attack or blaming it on carelessness wasn’t an excuse. It was she who had instructed the three students to gang up on her, and even if they had put up a good fight, she shouldn’t have lost.

The skills and experience she had accumulated over the years were not meant to be surpassed by a mere trio of first-year students.

‘Yeah, I shouldn’t have lost. Losing is unacceptable… but…’

She had lost.

The shocking word was imprinted in her mind.

Hong Jinada’s gaze shifted to the three students who had handed her this unexpected defeat.

First, there was the orange-haired student, Lee Min-young. Her determination to follow instructions and throw herself into the fray, despite her inferior skills compared to the other two, was commendable.

Next, Hong Jinada’s eyes fell on the red-haired student with a bitter expression, Kang Do-hee.

Her skills were astonishing. No, “astonishing” didn’t even begin to describe her talent.

The sharp fangs she had kept hidden until the decisive moment were a threat even to an instructor like herself. Her overwhelming offensive power, combined with her speed, tenacity, instinct, and intuition, made her a natural-born talent with all the qualities a Dealer needs to excel at the front lines of battle.

Given time, she would undoubtedly surpass even Hong Jinada.

Kang Do-hee had displayed potential and skills that led Hong Jinada to believe she would become one of the pillars supporting South Korea in the future.

Finally, Hong Jinada’s thick neck creaked as she turned her gaze to the sparring arena.

Among the countless weapons embedded in the ground, she spotted the black-haired boy, Jin Yuha, sheathing his sword with a calm expression.

‘…You completely hid yourself from my perception,’ she thought, her eyes narrowing.

It was absurd.

That the boy was talented with a sword was understandable, given his connection to the Slaughter Maniac. And it was no surprise that he had a keen eye for seizing weapons first, considering that even Instructor Park Jin-soo acknowledged his superior intellect.

But for him, at such a young age, to conceal his killing intent and erase his presence in front of an S-class Hunter like herself…

If it weren’t for Chairman Lina’s power protecting their lives in this sparring arena, the outcome could have been fatal.

Shiver.

“Hah…”

A hollow laugh escaped her lips.

“Baek Seol-hee, what kind of monster are you nurturing there…?” she wondered, her eyes fixed on the stoic-faced woman who was absent from this place.

.

.

.

Their eyes were wide, as if they couldn’t believe what they had just witnessed. In fact, all the students wore identical expressions of shock.

“Huh…?”

“Are you kidding me?”

“No, I mean, how is this even possible…?”

“The instructor lost to a student…?”

The students murmured in disbelief, their voices hollow.

“But it’s Hong Jinada…”

The girl who spoke those words covered her mouth with her hand, as if she couldn’t believe what she had just said.

The students who enrolled in Velvet Academy were well aware of the strength of the instructors who taught them. In fact, they had heard stories of their greatness so often that it was practically ingrained in their minds.

And those stories were no exaggeration. The instructors at Velvet Academy were living legends. They had played a pivotal role in saving South Korea from the brink of destruction after the Gates opened.

Their achievements were countless, and they were revered as heroes. Among them was Hong Jinada, known as the Battle Maniac or Weapon Master.

Her unparalleled mastery of all types of weapons, her fearless courage in the face of any danger, the countless Gates she had closed, and the monsters and Demons who trembled at the very mention of her name—all of these contributed to her legendary status.

When she had first appeared for the “Anti-personal Combat Practice” class, the students had tried to hide their excitement, but their eyes had shone with admiration.

“Well, they did gang up on her…”

“Maybe she went easy on them…”

A few students offered feeble excuses, but their voices echoed hollowly, devoid of conviction.

They had witnessed it with their own eyes.

The overwhelming display of Hong Jinada raining down weapons like a storm and alternating between them with effortless fluidity.

Who among them could have lasted more than a few exchanges against her? The students shook their heads inwardly.

And yet, those three students had not only teamed up against her but had actually defeated her.

This was a shock of a different magnitude compared to when Jin Yuha had surpassed Kang Do-hee.

“Does anyone know what happened at the end there?”

“… …”

“… …”

“… …”

No one spoke.

It wasn’t because they hadn’t seen it; in fact, it was quite the opposite. They had seen it clearly, but the experience was so surreal that they couldn’t put it into words.

While Kang Do-hee and Hong Jinada were engaged in a fierce scuffle, Jin Yuha had quietly approached and drawn his sword, delivering the final blow.

But what was truly astonishing was that no one had noticed him until he was left standing alone in the middle of the sparring arena.

His presence had been there, visible to everyone, and yet it had been relegated to the background, overshadowed by the intense fight between Kang Do-hee and Hong Jinada.

It was only later, when they recalled the events, that the memory of Jin Yuha’s sword became crystal clear.

The students gathered there shuddered as goosebumps rose on their arms.

“That guy’s scary…”

.

.

.

“Ugh, I’m tired,” I murmured, rubbing my eyes as fatigue washed over me.

Had I ever focused so intensely before? Even when I sparred with Instructor Baek Seol-hee, I didn’t remember feeling this level of exhaustion.

It was a strange experience.

The surroundings fell silent, and even the sound of my breathing and heartbeat seemed to fade away as I extended my sword, existing only in that single moment of drawing the blade. It felt as if I had been momentarily entranced by the sword itself.

‘How did I do that?’ I wondered, trying to replay the sensation of the perfectly timed strike, where my skill, concentration, and timing had come together seamlessly.

I clenched and unclenched my fists, attempting to recall the sensation, but it eluded me.

‘That was definitely my best swordplay, yet…’

Hmm.

‘But even with all that, I still failed.’

Someone might chide me for being greedy, saying that defeating the instructor had already accomplished my initial goal. But I wasn’t satisfied. Of course not.

I turned my head to look at a red-haired girl gritting her teeth, her expression bitter.

‘In the end, I couldn’t protect Kang Do-hee…’

Of course, one could argue that it didn’t matter since this wasn’t a real-life-or-death situation; we were in a sparring arena where death wasn’t permanent.

But if this had been a real battle, the thought sent a chill down my spine.

Even if we had emerged victorious against a stronger monster or Demon, the loss of a party member during the fight would taint the victory.

‘Absolutely not. That’s unacceptable.’

This wasn’t a game where you respawned after dying and appeared fresh as a daisy the next turn.

‘I need to get stronger.’

With that thought, I steeled my resolve.

“Kang Puppy!”

“What do you want, Little Fool?”

The new nickname clearly didn’t sit well with her, and she glared at me with a scowl.

“It’s nothing,” I said, a mischievous smile playing at the corners of my lips.

“Oh, right. Can you tell Shin Se-hee that I won’t be attending class today?” I asked, my voice casual.

“Huh? What?”

“Just that… I’m about to pass out now,” I said, my vision blurring as I spotted a flustered Kang Do-hee rushing towards me.

…

…

…

“Jin Yuha.”

Instructor Park Jin-soo called the roll with a cold expression during the “Position Formation and Organizational Understanding” class. His voice carried a hint of venom when he said my name.

‘Hmph, I’ve been working on this assignment all night. Let’s see if he still has the audacity to call it easy after seeing this. I’ll show him,’ he thought, his eyes narrowing.

“… …”

But there was no response to his call.

Instructor Park scanned the room, his brow furrowing.

“Is Jin Yuha absent today?”

A girl with long, straight hair raised her hand.

‘Shin Se-hee?’

“What is it?”

“Well… Jin Yuha apparently sparred with Instructor Hong Jinada in the previous class, Anti-personal Combat Practice… and he’s passed out from the after-effects,” she explained, her voice hesitant.

Hah.

Instructor Park closed his eyes, his frustration evident.

All the effort he had put into preparing for this confrontation with Jin Yuha had just gone up in smoke.

‘Damn that Hong Jinada! What the hell was she thinking?!’ he fumed, his anger directed at the instructor.

And so, Instructor Park’s opinion of Hong Jinada took a turn for the worse. (noo poor Jinada)