Chapter 97: Chapter 97- Challenge
"It\'s… It\'s really smart… She probably would never expect such a thing." She said as she ran her hand through her hair. "But, it\'s still going to be a huge leap of faith. If all the students don\'t execute their roles perfectly, everything will go in vain."
Talon\'s plan was perhaps the best thing they could do, but it was still going to rely on the entire student body rather than Talon and Hyun-Jae alone. Before, all they had to do was to trust their own capabilities which made it easier to make a decision. However, for the first time ever, they will have to put their faith in the students they nurtured for the past few weeks.
It was a new feeling, one that wasn\'t pleasant at all.
"Yeah, that\'s our only choice I guess. Though, call me weird, but I think the students are going to do a great job. We have seen their progress so far, and they are far stronger than ever before."
"Mm, I know what you\'re saying. They have come a long way. I guess we have to believe in them. On the other hand, your part of the plan is what I\'m truly concerned about."
Even with the students doing a perfect job, what Talon intended to do on his own was terrifying, to say the least. Hyun-Jae was conflicted about it naturally since it came with a lot of risks… Far more than anything Talon has been through so far.
\'It\'s probably going to be a lot more dangerous than my fight with the Grim Roamer.\' Talon thought to himself with a blank expression.
"If I don\'t do it, we all will die one way or another."
Hyun-Jae exhaled a long breath. "I know."
"Hey, why the down look?" He asked.
"Maybe because last time you executed one of your ideas, half your torso got carved off?" She asked back with a wry smile.
"Don\'t worry, this time, I will only lose a limb or two at most. It won\'t be that bad." Talon replied jokingly.
"Yeah… That sounds a lot better." Hyun-Jae murmured as she looked down again.
Seeing that, Talon bent forward on the chair to look at her eyes. "Hey, it\'s going to be fine. If anything, you also have a really risky part to do. I\'m also worried about your well-being."
Hyun-Jae\'s role, while not as dangerous as Talon\'s, was probably far more delicate than his. Any mistake she might make would probably ruin the entire plan which also means everyone will die. The pressure on her equaled that of Talon and yet, she didn\'t seem that bothered by it and instead was worried about Talon.
When Talon realized that, he felt warmth in his heart. It made him feel rather happy that someone truly cared for him even when they themselves were in the same situation as he was.
"We\'re going to do it, together, ok?" He said in a calm tone.
Hyun-Jae looked up at him as her eyes flashed with complicated emotions. She couldn\'t see a shred of hesitance in Talon\'s eyes. In the end, the same situation repeated itself, she would worry and worry about everything. But, when she sees Talon\'s confidence, that worry suddenly vanishes as if it was never there in the first place.
He had that kind of effect on her and she had to admit that it was very effective.
\'I need to stop worrying too much or I will never do anything like Talon does.\' She thought to herself.
"Mm, that is true." Shaking her head, she smiled slightly. "Our teamwork is invincible. Let\'s keep it that way for a long time." She said as she raised her fist.
"Long time? Why not forever?"
"Isn\'t that a little too much to ask for?"
"Have I ever said that I\'m not ambitious?" Talon grinned as he fist-bumped her.
Hyun-Jae blinked before she exhaled. "Yeah, forever it is then."
"When is the marriage?" Suddenly, Acrypha asked out of nowhere.
"Pfft!! Cough! Cough!" Hearing that, Talon felt as if he was about to choke on his own saliva as he started coughing.
"Are you ok?"
"Cough! Ugh, yeah, I\'m fine." He said as he covered his mouth before giving Acrypha a glare. The latter shrugged casually.
"Hmm, ok. Anyway, I think I\'m going to finalize the plan and then tell the students about it. What are you going to do?"
"I was intending to visit the students responsible for creating hide armors. I didn\'t find time to check them out yet." Talon replied.
"Their progress has been great so far. They were able to make a few fairly practical armors to use and they were very hard and could stop some monster attacks."
"That\'s… impressive," Talon murmured. "I might even take one for my-"
As Talon was about to speak, the door suddenly knocked, catching the trio\'s attention.
"Come in," Hyun-Jae said.
The one that walked inside after that took them by surprise. His strikingly handsome face and sharp features were too hard not to know instantly. It was Chin-Hwa.
"Chin-Hwa? I haven\'t seen you in a while, man." Talon raised an eyebrow as he stood up. "Where have you been?"
Ever since he woke up from his coma, Talon hasn\'t seen Chin-Hwa once. Even when he told Mo Shin to bring him yesterday, he didn\'t appear at all. But, because he was busy, Talon didn\'t have time to really find him.
Looking at the young man, Talon was rather surprised. Chin-Hwa didn\'t look well at all. His hair was messy and all over the place, his face was pale and he had dark circles under his eyes due to lack of sleep, most likely.
\'Damn, dude really looks like a goblin now.\' Talon thought to himself.
"I have been… Busy with some stuff…" The latter looked at Talon with a weird expression before he replied. "Mostly training."
"Training? Hmm, that\'s good. But, you shouldn\'t kill yourself in training. You don\'t look well." Talon said as he walked past Chin-Hwa. "I\'m going to check their progress, Hyun-Jae. See you later."
Talon wasn\'t aware of what happened between Hyun-Jae and Chin-Hwa so he assumed the latter wanted to talk to her privately.
"No, wa-" Hyun-Jae tried to speak, only to be cut off by Chin-Hwa who turned around suddenly and looked at Talon.
"Actually, I came here looking for you." He said.
Talon\'s steps halted as he turned around. "Me?"
"Yeah, It\'s a matter concerning you."
Talon blinked confusedly as he tilted his head. His eyes went from Chin-Hwa to Hyun-Jae asking for an explanation.
However, the latter was as clueless as he was. She had no idea why Chin-Hwa sought Talon when the two rarely even spoke.
"What\'s up?"
Chin-Hwa didn\'t break eye contact as he inhaled a deep breath. "I want to fight you."
Talon: "..."
Hyun-Jae: "..."
Everyone went silent the moment the cold prince uttered those words. They were completely taken by surprise. Talon blinked before he smiled. "Excuse me? Fight me?"
"Yes, me and you, let\'s spar."
"Chin-Hwa what are you talking about?" Hyun-Jae asked with a frown as she stood up.
"Please don\'t get into this, president. It\'s a matter between me and him." Chin-Hwa turned around and said in a respectful yet determined manner.
\'Matter? We had a matter between us? Since when?\' Talon rubbed the back of his head as he tried to recall if he ever had any actual confrontation with Chin-Hwa. But, he really can\'t remember anything.
"This is ridiculous, Chin-Hwa. You can\'t just fight him. It\'s not the time for your antics." She said.
"Hold on a second, Hyun-Jae. Let me hear him." Talon stopped her as he stared at Chin-Hwa. "Let me get this clear, you want both of us to spar? But, what kind of spar?"
"I want to fight you, using our weapons. It\'s not a fight to the death. I just want to challenge you fair and square."
"Interesting… and your reason is?"
"No reason. I just want to see where I am on the ladder and how much I have to do to reach the peak. You\'re the strongest one I know so far, so I want to fight you."
"Hmm." Talon thoughtfully rubbed his chin. "I can accept."
"Talon?" Hyun-Jae spoke.
"But, on one single condition." He lifted one finger.
"State your condition."
"Neither of us can harm the other. The spar ends when the blade is close to one\'s body."
"... Accepted."
"Good, when do you want to do it?"
"In an hour. Meet me behind the gymnasium." Chin-Hwa said as he turned around to Hyun-Jae. "Excuse me for this, president. I had to do it."
"No, you did not," Hyun-Jae replied in a cold tone. "What are you trying to achieve by doing this? It\'s pointless."
Her words made Chin-Hwa\'s expression change for a split second before he turned around. "For you, it might be. But for me… It now means everything."
Then, he walked away, disappearing around the corner without looking back even once.
A//N: Though I usually don\'t make such requests, but, I would love it if we could reach top 5 in ps rankings I believe we can do it. Thanks for reading.