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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: bchen3
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The next day, during morning class.
As usual, while monitoring the Shadow’s movements through the video.
“······What’s going on here.”
I almost let out a sound.
It was because a shocking situation was unfolding in the video.
‘Yoon Seolha appears out of nowhere? And that Shadow guy, he could even speak······?’
From Yoon Seolha who suddenly visited the magic training room at dawn.
To the Shadow who nonchalantly responded to her with a real voice.
Amid all these astonishing events, I barely maintained my composure as I examined the situation in the video.
‘······At least it seems I wasn’t discovered. I noticed she wasn’t doing well since yesterday, but I didn’t know there was such a circumstance.’
Yoon Seolha, pouring out her emotions toward the Shadow in a tone that felt almost tragic.
Her complaints about the unimplemented characteristic were close to a cry of despair.
I was somewhat concerned about her seemingly distressed state.
“······!”
But I no longer had time to worry about her condition.
Because an even more mind-blowing situation followed.
-Such an ending won’t happen to me.
-I’ll show you directly, let’s make a bet.
The Shadow guy suddenly proposed a ‘bet’ to Yoon Seolha.
His sophistry began right there.
-Suddenly proposing a bet, what on earth······.
-The cause of the ending you mentioned is due to the limitations of the unimplemented characteristic, right?
-······That’s right. Because no effort will be rewarded, and eventually one will reach the limit of growth.
-But that’s not a problem that applies to me.
-What, did you say?
-As evidence of that, the current me is stronger than you.
-Why would you suddenly say something like that······!
-The bet is to show you that directly.
‘······I’m stronger than Yoon Seolha? And a bet on top of that.’
From the sudden provocation to the contextually inconsistent statements.
It was pure sophistry, but Yoon Seolha was being swayed by his words.
‘She seems emotionally overwhelmed, making it difficult for her to make proper judgments.’
Perhaps due to the circumstances regarding the unimplemented characteristic, she appeared unusually unstable compared to her usual self.
The Shadow seemed to be taking advantage of Yoon Seolha’s state.
‘Moreover, the Shadow guy seems strangely fixated on the bet······?’
Meanwhile, the Shadow continued to lead the conversation.
-If I win, you will grant me three wishes.
-······Then if I win.
-I’ll grant everything you wish for.
-What? Can you actually handle that promise?
-Of course.
-Just what are you since earlier······!
-Aren’t you confident?
-······Argh!
At the clear provocation, Yoon Seolha bit her lip tightly.
Then she spoke as if spitting out the words.
-······You’d better be prepared.
-I’m looking forward to it.
Having received the desired answer, the guy went further and began to set specific details.
-This Saturday at 8 PM. The score from the virtual combat will determine the winner, right?
-Yeah.
-Got it.
After glaring at the Shadow for a long time, Yoon Seolha slowly left the training room.
Afterwards, the guy simply repeated the same walking pattern as recent days, similar to the Black Shadow Step but slightly different in feeling.
After fast-forwarding through several hours like that.
‘He went to the desk?’
Upon returning to the dormitory, the Shadow immediately headed to the desk.
Like before, he wrote something extensively in a notebook and then turned his gaze toward the smartwatch.
As if looking at me, he stared for a while.
Tap tap-
He tapped the smartwatch a couple of times.
It felt just like.
-I leave the rest to you.
······that kind of signal.
After confirming that, I immediately began searching through my bag.
‘Good thing I came prepared.’
After the written exchange with him.
I had been carrying it every morning, wondering if there might be another message.
As expected, a page with its end folded was immediately noticeable.
‘Well, let’s see what kind of excuse he’s made.’
The memo left by him consisted of three lines.
I read the first memo.
The moment I checked it, I got goosebumps.
-To fulfill my duty, Yoon Seolha’s mental stability and trauma resolution are essential. The bet is the foundation for this.
Everything from beginning to end was questionable, but there was one part that particularly stood out.
‘······Duty?’
None other than duty.
In other words, the Shadow had his own purpose.
Additionally, the memo mentioned why he was fixated on the bet.
‘The bet is necessary for stabilizing Yoon Seolha’s mental state and resolving her trauma?’
From provocation to sophistry, and then to the bet.
He had acted with a clear intention.
‘I see. If the goal was simply to convince Yoon Seolha, revealing that the characteristic was implemented would have been enough.’
However, if that fact was revealed, I would only be the exception for Yoon Seolha.
I suddenly thought that her trauma would remain unchanged.
‘Is he trying to shock her by defeating Yoon Seolha while still having an unimplemented characteristic? I’m not sure.’
With that thought, I checked the second memo.
At that moment.
“Ha, come on.”
A laugh involuntarily escaped me.
-Among Yoon Seolha’s three wishes, one must definitely be kept. This too is part of the duty.
The memo left by him.
The meaning of the content was clear.
‘······So he assumes that I will definitely beat Yoon Seolha?’
The top admitted student, the only one to score 100 on the performance evaluation, and a monster who achieved a C+ rank in the first virtual combat.
It was no different than him believing that I could defeat such a Yoon Seolha.
In fact, as if to prove this.
-The essence (yoche) that penetrates all techniques of the Black Shadow Step, Shinchulgwimol (Divine Emergence, Demonic Disappearance).
As the third and final memo, he left the ‘means’.
Moreover, it was the answer to the problem I had been pondering recently.
‘······Then perhaps the movement that felt slightly different from the Black Shadow Step was exactly that.’
While finally understanding his subtle movements.
I realized once again that he never acted without meaning.
“Ha.”
After checking all the messages, a sigh naturally escaped.
‘So. You have a duty, and since I can do it, you want me to solve it using the means you’ve provided. Is that it?’
While it felt absurd, a strange emotion surged.
‘You think I can defeat Yoon Seolha. That’s how you see it, right?’
Here, once.
‘Moreover, you’re saying my role is essential to your duty.’
Here, once more.
After feeling that strange emotion twice, I came to a conclusion.
‘Alright, I’ll do it.’
From the competitive spirit and desire to win against the genius and monster, Yoon Seolha.
The fact that I could help her as a friend.
Plus, as teammates who had to take the midterm exam together, her condition recovery was essential.
There were several reasons to agree.
However.
‘Whether you have a purpose or provided the means. I decline being just led around.’
Apart from agreeing, I felt the need to teach him a lesson at least once.
‘So, you mentioned having a duty? This means you and I don’t have a one-sided relationship, right?’
Should I threaten him with that instead?
Or maybe next time I’ll try cutting open his belly?
‘Let’s focus on the bet first.’
The issue of control would come next.
With that thought, I pondered over the newly acquired means, ‘Shinchulgwimol’.
*
That evening.
“By the way, Ilhan, what did you talk about with Yoon Seolha at dawn yesterday?”
Concerned about Yoon Seolha’s absence, Lim Gangcheol questioned me.
Cha Eunwol also showed active interest.
So I hesitated briefly, but.
‘Since we’re all friends, it should be fine as long as I leave out the Shadow story.’
Casually, I explained the entire situation to them.
Their responses exceeded my expectations.
“What?! You’re going to bet against Yoon Seolha in a virtual combat?”
“A bet? Is that really okay······?”
Lim Gangcheol with wide eyes and Cha Eunwol asking me with a worried expression.
Especially Cha Eunwol seemed concerned about the very fact that I was confronting Yoon Seolha.
“Just a few days ago, we were all getting along well, so why······.”
Lim Gangcheol, on the other hand, was a bit different.
“So, Ilhan. Are you confident?”
He asked about the outcome of the match with an extremely serious tone.
Thinking it was a very typical question from Lim Gangcheol, I opened my mouth.
“Yeah. I think I have a good chance.”
At my answer, Cha Eunwol’s eyes widened.
Meanwhile, Lim Gangcheol, who had been silent for a moment.
Grin-
Raising the corners of his mouth, he patted my shoulder.
“That’s my rival Ilhan for you!”
“······?”
“A man can’t go back on his word! Since you’ve already started it, just win!”
This too was a typical remark from Lim Gangcheol.
I smiled at him once and then turned toward Cha Eunwol.
“Well, since it’s come to this, don’t worry too much.”
“U, um.”
Cha Eunwol bowed her head deeply along with her response.
After I said that much, she didn’t show any more concern.
“So, intense training from today?”
“Yeah. I have some things to test.”
The essence that penetrates all techniques of the Black Shadow Step.
‘Shinchulgwimol.’
I planned to practice it starting from this evening.
‘With Saturday evening, there’s about two and a half days left.’
It was tight, but somehow I felt I could definitely accomplish it.
“Argh! I’ll cheer for you, Ilhan!”
“Yeah.”
And so, we focused on our meal once again.
*
An hour later.
“Then Ilhan, fight on!”
“Good luck!”
With the encouragement of the two behind me, I headed to the virtual combat room.
While mastering the final application of the Black Shadow Step, I also planned to practice virtual combat together.
The moment I entered, I encountered an unexpected person.
“Huh?”
“······!”
None other than Yoon Seolha.
She must have spotted me too, as her pupils slightly dilated.
But.
“······Ugh.”
She merely bit her lip tightly with an expression difficult to describe.
She didn’t acknowledge me.
After hesitating briefly, she eventually turned away first with a strained look.
‘Rather than being angry, she seems conflicted.’
I felt it during the preparation for the performance evaluation.
The fact that she, like me and the other team members, had naturally opened up her heart.
That seemed to be the reason for her hesitation just now.
‘Well, let’s focus on the bet for now.’
I still don’t know how the bet will lead to trauma resolution.
However, if what the Shadow guy said was true, it would influence her in some form.
So if I cared about her, focusing on the bet first was the priority.
‘Hearing her circumstances can wait until after I win.’
With that understanding, I cleared my mind.
It was to fully concentrate on practice.
‘Let’s do this.’
I immediately entered the virtual combat room and prepared for combat.
The moment I finished equipment fitting and facility operations, my opponent appeared before me.
Creak-
The guy taking a stance with a creaking sound.
I also took my stance and set priorities.
‘First, let’s start with simple applications of each technique of the Black Shadow Step.’
With that, I clashed with him.
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The next day, during personal maintenance time.
‘At least I think I understand the meaning of Shinchulgwimol now.’
Surprisingly, I grasped the essence in just one day.
The reason was none other than.
‘The Shadow guy repeating it at night as if intending to imprint it on my body certainly helps.’
I also imprinted it in my mind through videos and separately practiced to imprint it on my body.
As a result, I succeeded in deploying all techniques at once.
The secret was none other than.
‘If deploying them separately feels like stepping on a visible shadow, deploying them all at once feels like melting into that shadow.’
When fully immersed in the opponent’s breathing with the final technique.
As if becoming one with the opponent’s shadow, I continuously unfold the Black Shadow Step.
The movement in that state was Shinchulgwimol itself.
In other words, Shinchulgwimol is the image I should keep in mind and the result that manifests.
However, there was still an issue.
‘Control is difficult.’
When I first mastered the Black Shadow Step.
It felt similar to moving in a trance and then coming to my senses at the instructor’s chest.
The moment I activated it, I felt my consciousness synchronizing with the shadow.
Thanks to this, I significantly reduced being hit, but I often missed the timing to strike the opponent.
Nevertheless, I didn’t mind.
‘As long as I solve the control issue.’
I was confident that I could definitely beat Yoon Seolha.
‘Let’s keep at it until it works.’
So, without fail, I immersed myself in virtual combat today as well.
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Time flew by like an arrow, and on Saturday.
With just a few hours left until the bet time.
I was certain.
‘······At this level, no matter how I thought about it, I didn’t think I’d lose.’
The rank that indicated the result and score of the virtual combat.
Looking at it, I raised the corners of my mouth.
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