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Chapter 19

He couldn’t remember the last time he had shed blood while fighting someone of his own age. After all, he had never fought this intensely, and he had never allowed himself to be vulnerable enough to sustain such wounds.

He dove precisely for my weak points.

It would be meaningless to say, “If I hadn’t let my guard down,” as Se-Hoon would have taken it into account when launching the attack.

Thus instead of making feeble excuses, Jake tried to recall the blow that made him bleed.

That attack... could it be...?

The attack was so sudden that he couldn’t grasp it properly, but he had a sense of how it unfolded. How could a student from the Department of Blacksmithing use such a technique? Jake looked at Se-Hoon with a glint in his eyes.

“Hey...”

“You,” interrupted Kwang-Soo, who was pointing at him with a composed expression.

“You’re out.”

“Excuse me?”

“You got hit first. I’m pretty sure I said I would only teach you if you won.”

“Oh, no. That was just...”

As Jake recalled the situation he was in, he began to become flustered. Observing the scene, Se-Hoon spoke up, “Since I struck him first, isn’t that more of a reason for you to teach him?”

“...What did you say?”

Ma Kwang-Soo glared at him with sharp eyes as if asking, “Who do you think you are, butting in?”

Nevertheless, Se-Hoon didn’t bat an eye and replied, “Doesn’t the fact that an honor student of Aqar Quf took a blow from a student of Borsippa sound quite grave?”

“Ah.”

“Hmm.”

Se-Hoon’s claim left Jake with a blank expression while Kwang-Soo became intrigued.

Being the honor student of Aqar Quf meant being the cream of the crop of that cohort. To put it more emphatically, it wouldn’t be an overstatement to call them the face of the entire year.

Yet, that honor student took a hit to the face which led to a bleeding nose during a sparring session with a student of Borsippa. For those at Aqar Quf who held their college in high regard, whether they were students, professors, or alumni, this would be a matter that would truly infuriate them.

“Y-you’re not going to tell anyone, right?” Jake pleaded with Se-Hoon.

Se-Hoon didn’t have any particular thoughts about telling anyone, as he knew that stories like these tended to become bothersome when they started spreading around.

“I’ll see.”

But after becoming amused at how Jake was fumbling, he smiled mischievously.

“Oh... oops...”

Jake seemed shocked, a bluish hue showing on his face, after seeing Se-Hoon like that.

“...I suppose you’re right,” Kwang-Soo spoke up after watching the two of them.

“If I let a weak student like him be without supervision, he’ll only create more mishaps... I’ll just have to teach him so that he can at least fulfill his responsibilities.”

“Then...”

“I’ll tell you the specific schedule for the class later, so make sure you can attend it at that time.”

“Th-thank you so much!!”

Kwang-Soo disapprovingly eyed Jake, who was bowing his head. He then shifted his gaze towards Se-Hoon.

“You can leave now, Jake. I have something to discuss separately with him.”

“Ah. Sure, professor!”

Jake quickly left the classroom after nodding slightly to Se-Hoon, leaving only two people in the room.

Kwang-Soo looked down with a stern expression, while Se-Hoon remained seated, calmly looking up. Although their subtle standoff seemed to continue forever, Kwang-Soo, who seemed less patient than Se-Hoon, spoke up first, “About the technique you just used, did you learn it from someone or did you create it?”

“I made it myself.”

In actuality, this technique was one of the many he had learned from Kwang-Soo before the regression, but Se-Hoon had the rights over these techniques as Kwang-Soo exchanged them instead of paying interest.

How did someone like him manage to create such a technique? Kwang-Soo was perplexed at how confident Se-Hoon was.

In fact, the technique Se-Hoon had just displayed was not as original as it might have seemed. It involved harnessing the initial impact generated when Jake deflected his sword, redirecting it to his left arm by relaxing his muscles, and then clashing it against his mana.

This technique relied on the rebound effect to accelerate the strike, and it was a fairly common type of technique that many experienced heroes had in their arsenals.

That’s only something for experienced heroes...

Although the technique seemed simple, even the slightest mistake in the distribution of force could result in the area where the collision with mana occurred breaking under pressure. Therefore, only heroes with a considerable amount of experience would dare to use it.

It was unbelievable that a freshman from Borsippa was able to execute it skillfully.

There’s no way this kid has accumulated that much experience. Then the only explanation would be that he possesses an ability that allows him to calculate things precisely...

He finally understood what Ricaros meant in the recommendation letter—that he believed Se-Hoon’s skill should be preserved and developed. Having roughly understood the situation, he glanced at Se-Hoon with a somewhat disapproving expression. He then moved and brought back two training swords.

“Show me the technique you showed to Ricaros.”

“Okay.”

As Se-Hoon assumed his stance, Kwang-Soo swiftly lunged forward, and the two of them engaged with their swords intertwining at distinct angles.

Clang!

Se-Hoon’s sword was sent flying far away after the single clash. The embarrassingly one-sided outcome left Se-Hoon rubbing his numb right hand as he glanced at Kwang-Soo.

Couldn’t this damn old man have controlled his strength? Se-Hoon silently cursed him.

After contemplating for a while, Kwang-Soo spoke up, “Quite crude.”

“...Is that so?”

“Your idea is good, but the execution is lacking. Even if the technique is specialized for killing your opponent on sight, do you think it’s a well-designed technique if it displays a weakness immediately after the first strike?”

“...”

“I’m glad that you only used it yourself. If you had taught it to someone, they’d probably break their arms and legs.”

Se-Hoon looked at Kwang-Soo with a peculiar expression as he critiqued the technique.

“Isn’t that just because the technique is tailored to me?”

“That is just an excuse inexperienced folks use. They don’t know how to create a technique properly, so they just blabber on and on about how the technique is specialized and such.”

“I see...” Se-Hoon wondered how Kwang-Soo could so easily spit on someone’s face like that.

While Se-Hoon was restraining his inner feelings from rushing out of his mouth, Kwang-Soo clenched his fist and continued condescendingly, “Just wait until I flesh out your idea into the technique, which right now is nothing more than the mere framework.”

Watching Kwang-Soo flaunt himself, Se-Hoon just calmly nodded.

“I understand. So the class is confirmed, right?”

“Huh? Well, yeah...”

“Well then, I’ll leave for today.”

Se-Hoon nodded politely and walked straight out of the training area. As he left, Kwang-Soo narrowed his eyes.

While watching Se-Hoon’s retreating figure, Kwang-Soo thought that, given that he was offering direct guidance over some ordinary professor, shouldn’t there be a bit more appreciation or something?

“He’s one unenthusiastic bastard...”

Feeling a twist in his gut, he contemplated whether he should just ignore it or not.

But then, all of a sudden, Kwang-Soo remembered the bracelet snugly wrapped around Se-Hoon’s left wrist.

Come to think of it, that technique earlier... did he create a collision using the mana stored in that bracelet?

It was quite evident that was the case, considering how much mana emanated from the bracelet just before he employed the technique. Kwang-Soo’s expression became even more confused as he pondered.

That technique was difficult to execute even with one’s own mana, yet Se-Hoon had opted to utilize the mana stored inside the bracelet. Unless he was able to manipulate the bracelet as if it were a part of his body, it would have been an even more daunting task.

“Tsk. I should bear with teaching for now.”

Since there was nothing else for him to do to occupy his time, he reasoned that a momentary leisurely activity wouldn’t hurt. With that in mind, he looked at the sword in his hand and, for a brief moment, revisited the techniques Se-Hoon had displayed.

***

“Imagine showing off when he’s just going to fix my technique...”

Se-Hoon grumbled as he recalled the smug look on Kwang-Soo’s face. Though he hadn’t expected much from a technique that was created on the spot, he couldn’t believe that it was made so haphazardly that Kwang-Soo himself felt the urge to curse at it.

Just wait and see.

If Kwang-Soo didn’t make a proper technique this time around, he promised himself that he would smash Kwang-Soo’s sword, the one he couldn’t smash before the regression.

While Se-Hoon was sharpening his resolve, someone outside the classroom called out to him.

“Ah. Here, here!”

Jake energetically waved his hand at Se-Hoon in case he might miss him. Intrigued by Jake’s lively attitude, Se-Hoon approached with a puzzled expression.

“What’s up?”

“Ah. It’s nothing special. I just have something I want to give to you.”

Jake pulled out a square envelope from his pocket and handed it to Se-Hoon, who had a quizzical look in his eyes upon seeing the familiar design.

“This is...”

“It’s an invitation letter for the upcoming Noblesse event. Oh, you don’t know what it is, do you?”

“Nope, never heard of it before.”

Though Se-Hoon had heard a few a little about it before, he couldn’t quite recall the details.

“Well, you can think of it as a gathering place for students from well-off families.”

“Aha. I get it.”

As Se-Hoon finally realized the identity of the square envelope he had torn several times, a strange expression crossed his face.

Was Erika... trying to hand me one?

But after thinking about it again, she hadn’t explicitly asked him to open it or anything. And after considering that her bond didn’t work out, he reasoned that she might have given him her extras.

“The party might not be that interesting, as most of the participants are pretty cocky... but it could turn out to be a good opportunity for you. Since the date hasn’t been set yet, take your time to think about it.”

“I’m not sure if I can simply accept this.”

Jake grinned in response to Se-Hoon’s reply.

“Thanks to you, I ended up being allowed to attend the class, so I should at least express this much gratitude. Don’t worry about it.”

“Pretty vigorous indeed,” Se-Hoon quietly mumbled to himself.

Jake was better-natured than Se-Hoon had thought, but contrary to his warm attitude, the information message that told him that they had successfully formed a bond did not appear.

So this guy also has strict standards.

While internally complaining about how the other two honor students both had unnecessarily stringent ideals, he picked up the invitation letter.

“Alright, see you later then.”

“Whenever you’re free, let\'s have a rematch.”

After Jake bid him farewell, Se-Hoon walked away grinning, feeling the gaze on the back of his head.

“It looks like he’s more competitive than I thought.”

Jake sent him off with a smile for now, but it seemed that he was annoyed by the blow he received, judging by the tingling sensation. It was important for Se-Hoon to exactly understand the nature of Jake’s emotions if he wanted to successfully form a bond with him.

It’s not easy to form a bond with honor students...

Ironically, while Se-Hoon appeared as the most difficult person of the three to others, he remained oblivious to such perceptions. He just conscientiously cataloged information about Jake in his mind and then steadily reconfirmed his own circumstances.

The minor classes I applied for so far are the Barrier Composition class and Physiology Control class. I also formed bonds with Ryu Eun-Ha and Kim In-Cheol, and I found promising candidates for establishing bonds in Jake and Erika, I suppose.

As of now, his top priority was Yeom Sung-Ha of the Three Dogs. Since he was in his third year, meeting him was not easy. However, after checking on Tower, it seemed like there might be an opportunity during the weekend.

After briefly reviewing the information he had, he thought about the piece that concerned him the most.

Are two classes for my minors enough?

Since he could apply for minors every semester anyway, he thought there was no need to rush. However, he still felt a bit unsatisfied with just two minor classes. While pondering his options, he quickly made a decision.

I should also check out what Borsippa has to offer.

While he had learned a lot by picking things up as they came before the regression, everything had become a bit of a mess due to the haphazard approach. It would be more beneficial for him to take a few more minor classes, whether it was for revisiting past knowledge or for acquiring new skills.

For now, I could think of curses... alchemy... enchantments... ah, learning about spirits would be nice too...

Se-Hoon walked while lost in thought, contemplating which minor class he should register for next.

Bump.

Consequently, his shoulder collided with the person in front of him. Realizing that he had been distracted, Se-Hoon reflexively turned his head toward the other person to apologize.

“I’m sor...?”

But before he could finish his words, the other person grabbed his left hand. Se-Hoon, trying to naturally gloss over the unexpected touch, turned his gaze toward the person who had grabbed him.

“...”

The girl in front of him had thick, chestnut hair that flowed over her shoulders, punctuated by hairpins carefully tucked in. Her emerald eyes bore a faint, unsettling haziness, suggesting an air of peculiarity rather than conventional normalcy. Moreover, her choice of attire—a white gown over a shirt instead of a jacket—added to the impression of peculiarity rather than thoughts of traditional beauty.

“Hm...”

As the enigmatic girl stared intently at his left arm, or more precisely, at the Inkstone Bracelet wrapped around it, Se-Hoon put on a perplexed expression.

What now?

Based on the look in her eyes as she gazed at the bracelet, she didn’t seem to want to complain about the collision. Sensing something unusual about her, Se-Hoon observed her closely.

“This bracelet.” The girl opened her mouth for the first time.

“Did you make it yourself?”

She addressed the matter at hand before even going through formal introductions. It might have come off as impertinent, but as Se-Hoon felt a strange energy radiating from her cloudy eyes, he responded with curiosity, “And what if I did?”

In response to his question, the girl smirked.

[A bond has been successfully established with the subject ‘Lea Claudel’.]

“Should I enchant it for you?”

A wacky bond had been formed.