“So, if Haru hyung gets first place in the Monthly Evaluation, they’ll let you raise Pia?”
“Yeah.”
“Eh, is it okay to use a Wish Ticket like that?”
“That’s what I’m saying.”
After returning to the dorm and explaining what had happened in the Principal’s office, Haeun looked puzzled. Sihyeon, who understood that reaction completely, plopped down in his seat.
Afterward, when asked whether Pia had been hurt anywhere, he answered no, and perhaps relieved, Hamin said he’d go wash up and got up, heading into the bathroom. Haeun followed, saying he’d wash up too, only to smack his nose into the closed door. As Sihyeon watched that, a cautious voice quietly called out to him.
“Um, Sihyeon….”
“I’ll do it.”
“Huh?”
“You’re going to ask me to help because of the Partner Evaluation, right? We’re doing the evaluation together anyway—can’t exactly ruin everything just because of one Pia, can we?”
Honestly, saying he wouldn’t help didn’t sit right with him because of what happened during the last Monthly Evaluation. If he hadn’t received points from Haru back then, he’d probably still be hearing talk about ranks even now. Well, he still heard it occasionally, but at least it was less than before the system changed to rankings. Haru deserved some credit for that.
It’d be pretty shameless to ask for help yourself and then refuse when the other person needed it. Even a conscience that had run away would come back at that point. So when he said he’d help, Haru looked overjoyed. Sihyeon only let out a sigh at the voice thanking him. No matter how many times he thought about it, it should’ve been him—not Haru—who went out to the terrace yesterday.
Regret over yesterday resurfaced, and Sihyeon stared at the calendar hanging on the wall. There were a little over two weeks left until the Monthly Evaluation.
Sihyeon went over the skills he could Copy.
There was Telekinesis, the Swordsman skills Yoo Seowoo had taught him, Baek Geonwoo’s Taunt, Haeun’s Buff, Haru’s Stealth—he had quite a lot he could do now.
He needed to figure out which ones were most efficient to use, and his mind began racing. Considering that once he used a copied skill, he couldn’t use it again for 15 days, the number of skills he could Copy during the training period was effectively very limited.
He needed to make a list of skills that seemed efficient in advance. From those, he’d pick a few and practice them for three days, and by the time half a month remained, all he’d be left with would be pure Healer skills and basic stamina. Or…
Should I try sparring?
Unlike students from other classes, Sihyeon had never sparred before. Realizing that only now, he looked down at his hands. The memories of defeating the Earth Spider and threatening Donghyeok still lingered in his mind, and the sensations from back then remained in his hands.
If he sparred, maybe he’d be able to respond more skillfully when actual combat situations arose.
Even if he was a Healer class, with Copy, there was no need to be bound to a position. No matter what, practicing wouldn’t hurt. With that thought, Sihyeon looked at Haru.
“Hyung.”
“Yeah?”
“Want to spar with me tomorrow during personal training time?”
“…Huh?”
Haru blinked in surprise, like he’d just heard something unbelievable. Sihyeon shrugged, saying it couldn’t hurt to try. Still looking a bit dazed, Haru nodded. Come to think of it, Hamin had mentioned once that he’d sparred with Haru.
What did he say back then?
He definitely said something about how Haru was during sparring…
At the time, Sihyeon had been busy keeping his distance from Hamin, so he’d let everything he said go in one ear and out the other. Trying to recall it, Sihyeon furrowed his brows. He only remembered it vaguely.
He said something about how Haru was during sparring… If he couldn’t remember it at all, that’d be one thing, but remembering only fragments made it feel strangely unsettling. Wrinkling his nose, Sihyeon eventually gave up trying to recall it.
So what if he couldn’t remember? It probably wasn’t anything important anyway.
A careless thought.
***
Skak!
A chilling sound rang out nearby. It was so vivid it sent a shiver down his spine—the sound had come right next to his ear. Sihyeon bit his lip.
“Wasn’t all that quiet, well-behaved stuff just an act? When I saw him spar, he rushed in like he was insane. Anyone watching would think it wasn’t sparring but a real fight.”
Only now did Hamin’s words come back to him. Experiencing it firsthand, he couldn’t agree more.
When Haru sparred, he really didn’t hold back. Even if his dagger sliced through Sihyeon’s hair—he didn’t stop. No, it felt more accurate to say he didn’t know how to stop.
Whoosh—the dagger that had just grazed past his ear returned to Haru’s hand. It had been aimed precisely at his face, and Sihyeon quickly leaned his head back to avoid it.
Gripping the dagger, Haru charged forward. His speed was comparable to when Sihyeon had copied Acceleration before.
The wide view of the training ground suddenly narrowed. As a blade aimed for his neck, Sihyeon tightened his grip on his sword and twisted it.
Clang!
The sound of metal colliding was brief.
Several dizzying moments followed in succession.
A high-pitched whine rang from the dagger, and a red glow enveloped its short blade. At the exact same time Sihyeon flinched in shock, Haru’s fierce assault began.
Crash!
The Barrier he hastily deployed shattered again and again. The sharp sound of it breaking rang in his ears. It was hard to tell whether this was sparring or some kind of Barrier-breaking game.
Sssshk!
With both arms crossing as he moved, Haru fully demonstrated the power of dual-wielding. If anything, the use of daggers made him even faster. Because the blades were small, they compensated for the typical weakness of dual-wielding—reduced grip strength and striking force.
Thud! Bang!
Even the Barrier he had deployed in advance couldn’t withstand the speed and shattered, and a flash of red light burst before his eyes.
Whoosh!
The blade, now stripped of its red aura, flew toward his face. Sihyeon urgently opened his mouth.
“Haru hyung!”
“……!”
Haru’s hand stopped abruptly.
Right in front of him. Truly, right before his eyes, the dagger halted. Just before it could pierce his face, Sihyeon swallowed hard and looked at Haru, breathing heavily. As Sihyeon’s shoulders rose and fell with ragged breaths, Haru blinked and slowly lowered his hand. The previously emotionless red eyes finally showed a hint of fluster.
“S-sorry….”
“…It’s okay.”
It actually wasn’t okay. His heart was pounding wildly, and the chilling sensation that Haru’s blade had almost pierced him still lingered in his body. He hadn’t been able to keep up with the speed, and he’d been overwhelmed by the red aura. It was a completely different kind of fight from when he faced Donghyeok, the Wormman, or the Earth Spider.
Drip—sweat ran down his jawline and fell to the ground. Raising his arm to wipe it away, Sihyeon stared at the dagger in Haru’s hand. Its blade was slightly bent, no different from during the Placement Test—but that wasn’t the case when it had been wrapped in that red aura.
That sharp, crimson energy.
If it had been just a little more refined, he instinctively knew it could have torn his skin apart.
“…When did you learn Aura Blade? I thought only the Swordsman class could use that.”
“I thought so too, but apparently any Awakened who uses a sword as their main weapon can learn it, regardless of class…. Though it’s easier for the Swordsman class.”
Well, that figures.
Sihyeon let out a dry laugh at Haru stating the obvious like it was new information.
Aura Blade. Something that sounded like it came straight out of a martial arts novel—it was known as a skill only a handful of Swordsman class users could wield. A skill attainable only after reaching a certain level of proficiency and ability. Since it came from both talent and effort, those engraved with the Swordsman class naturally had a higher chance of mastering it. But Haru was an Assassin class.
“……”
A chill ran down his spine again. Even among those whose aptitude was judged as Swordsman class, very few could wield Aura Blade. Yet Haru—though still unrefined—had already obtained it, despite being an Assassin class. Which meant Haru possessed even greater talent for assassination than for swordsmanship.
What if this hadn’t been sparring?
Facing each other head-on like this was far from assassination. Thinking that he had only survived because this was sparring, Sihyeon looked at Haru. The boy who kept bowing his head awkwardly, clearly feeling guilty, was the same one who, just minutes ago, had rushed at him as if to take his life without hesitation.
Tremble—Sihyeon’s eyelashes quivered faintly.
He remembered those eerily emotionless eyes whenever their gazes met. Facing those sunken red eyes, pupils narrowed, felt like staring directly into the fear of death itself.
“…Do you always….”
“…Yeah?”
“…Do you always spar like this? Even with other people?”
“Ah…. I’ve only sparred with you and Hamin….”
“Ah….”
So this was only his second time. Sihyeon swallowed the words rising up inside him, feeling like he understood why. It wasn’t sparring—it was like he was genuinely trying to kill his opponent. No wonder others didn’t ask him to spar.
His fingertips trembled slightly. If he hadn’t called Haru’s name just now, he couldn’t even imagine what would have happened. Maybe Haru would have stopped at the last second—or maybe…
“…For the time being, just spar with me.”
“Huh?”
“Sparring. I think it’ll be less intense if it’s with me.”
“…Sorry. I just… haven’t really done this kind of thing before….”
Muttering like that, Haru spoke, and Sihyeon shook his head. He hadn’t said it to hurt his pride.
“Um… didn’t they do sparring or anything at the lab?”
“Back then, it wasn’t sparring—it was just….”
“…Ah.”
Haru trailed off and closed his mouth. Sihyeon, guessing what he’d meant, let out a quiet sigh. He felt like he’d brought up the wrong topic.
So that’s why.
Why he reacted first during the Placement Test. Why he showed no hesitation in swinging a blade. Why he charged at his opponent like he intended to kill during sparring.
That must be why.
One by one, things started to make sense. But at the same time, it felt like he was sinking deeper into a maze. Even after hearing all this, there was still so much he didn’t know about Haru—so much that he couldn’t even begin to estimate how much remained.
Letting out a sigh, Sihyeon wiped his face—then winced at a stinging pain. Wondering what it was, he checked and found a faint cut on his face.
But the blade hadn’t touched him….
He’d either deflected most attacks or blocked them with a Barrier, and the final strike—Haru had stopped it himself. Confused, Sihyeon mentally replayed the sparring, then opened his mouth in silent realization.
It seemed the Aura Blade Haru used had been stronger than he thought.
Realizing that, Sihyeon quickly turned his head and healed the wound on his face. It had been faint, and with everything going on, Haru hadn’t noticed yet—but if he saw it later, he’d definitely blame himself and spiral.
After confirming with his hand that the wound had completely disappeared, Sihyeon turned back.
“Let’s do it again tomorrow.”
Next time… let’s make it more like actual sparring. We’ll adjust together until we get it right.
He figured he needed to build real combat experience, and Haru needed to learn how to spar with others. Going forward, there’d be more sparring—he couldn’t go around trying to kill his opponent every time.
If nothing else, as a Healer, Sihyeon could treat injuries on the spot. Taking that into account, he said it, and Haru, after opening and closing his mouth a few times, nodded.
Sihyeon set down the training sword he’d been holding and sank to the ground. Strength drained from his entire body. Come to think of it, this might be the first time he’d pushed his body this hard….
Thinking about the aftermath, Sihyeon swallowed.
He should’ve said the day after tomorrow instead of tomorrow.
