Fated to Die in an Academy Novel – Chapter 140

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: JayM
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The weekend arrived after Cheon Yoo-hak’s long and flashy birthday party.

Now that I had regained my memories and remembered what I had to do, I was at the training facility with the others for a few tests.

In my memories… no, I guess I can’t say it like that anymore.

I transformed Ruyi into the shape of a short sword, the weapon I was most proficient with in the past, and assumed a stance.

The person who was my swordsmanship master before I regressed once told me…

-So-hyun, you really have no talent for the sword! It’s okay! Most people are like that unless they’re a genius like me, right~? If you can’t do it in a hundred swings, do it in two hundred. If that doesn’t work, stand under a waterfall and swing a thousand times! I’ll do it with you!

…She was quite annoying, but also very affectionate.

Anyway, a sword style, a variation of the ‘Plum Blossom Sword Style’ I learned from her, was ingrained in my mind.

It was the one I briefly used when fighting the Fighting Demon.

The most suitable weapons for it were a short sword or a slightly longer, ordinary sword.

I used a short sword because I preferred more unpredictable and nimble movements.

-Don’t listen to those idiots who say you have to make plum blossoms bloom with the Plum Blossom Sword Style! The important thing isn’t what you make bloom, but that you make ‘something’ bloom!

But in the end, I couldn’t make anything bloom until the very end.

When I lacked strength, I compensated by releasing the overflowing magical power from my Authority and the opportunities I had seized. And since I lacked elegance, I fought by resorting to a gamble-like mind game instead of flashy variations.

After gaining power, I abandoned the sword and fought with my bare hands, so there was no reason to make anything bloom.

It was ridiculous that I, who had never been serious about the sword, was now holding it again. But for some reason, I wanted to test it out.

It was something I heard often.

Don’t be intoxicated by the flamboyance of the plum blossoms.

Don’t be intoxicated by the strong scent of the plum blossoms.

The result of swinging a sword is natural. You should look at the process of swinging, not the result.

Back then, I didn’t understand any of my master’s teachings.

That was why a flashy flower like a plum blossom didn’t bloom from my sword.

That was why what bloomed at the tip of my sword had no fragrance.

The result of swinging my sword was twisted because my process of swinging it wasn’t perfect.

“…What is this?”

Perhaps because of all the opportunities I had consumed, or perhaps because I had some kind of enlightenment at the end of my last life, something did bloom when I used the sword style I was most familiar with now.

It was a black flower.

A jet-black camellia, more static than flashy, more subtle than fragrant, swayed gently at the tip of my sword.

“…I can’t even brag about this if we meet again.”

I was thinking of teasing that person, who was always so noisy about being a genius, if a plum blossom bloomed on my sword.

But I couldn’t brag about this black flower.

“…Plum Blossom Sword Style?”

“Ah, shit. You scared me.”

My concentration broke, and the black flower that had bloomed disappeared.

I tried to do it secretly, but she caught me.

“No, wait. It’s much more precarious and unstable than the Plum Blossom Sword Style. Did you learn swordsmanship by yourself?”

Ha-ni showed interest, perhaps because it was a sword style she had never seen before.

…This was why I tried to do it secretly.

I was originally planning to come here alone, but the others caught me right before I left for training.

I couldn’t just tell them to get lost when they said that they wanted to come with me and warm up.

No, honestly, I would have told them to get lost before, but I was still feeling a bit guilty right now.

“Do it again. I’ll watch.”

Hmm, I had some other things I wanted to test besides swordsmanship, but it would be a waste to refuse Ha-ni’s offer to watch my sword, right?

“Then I’ll try it?”

“Yeah.”

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It was beautiful.

Each movement was stable yet beautiful based on the Plum Blossom Sword Style, but the fundamental principles of the sword and the Taoist philosophy of Plum Blossom Sword Style were all gone, replaced by a much more practical and brutally refined sword style.

Yet, it was beautiful.

The sword he wielded had a rough and untamed charm that couldn’t be found in orthodox and flawless sword styles.

It was filled with desperation.

The person who created this sword must have been troubled, both psychologically and physically.

Although the sword was modified for survival, its roots were clearly present, and despite the seemingly random modifications, he tried not to forget the original teachings.

That was why, despite being such a brutal and precarious sword, the flower that bloomed was so noble.

A jet-black camellia.

‘…I want to spar with him.’

The thought suddenly came to her.

Although it wasn’t highly refined, she was intrigued by this new sword style. She desperately wanted to clash with this sword, which wasn’t just unpredictable, but even ferocious.

“…Hey, Han-hee.”

“Huh!?”

“Do you want to spar right now?”

“What? How did you know?”

Did he really read my mind?

“Anyone could tell with your eyes sparkling like that. I wanted to test it too, so let’s have a match.”

“…Really?”

“Yeah, really.”

“Hee, hehe. Then let’s have a light match. The others are watching too.”

Ah, she was going to ask where he had learned such a dangerous sword, but it seemed like it would be fine with a little refinement.

Yeah, she needed to spar with him to see how dangerous it was, right?

He assumed a stance.

There was an opening, but she had no intention of falling for it.

He had laid a rather sharp trap behind that seemingly tempting bait.

It was a sword style too sharp to be just practical. It was so sharp that this felt like a life-or-death battle and not a sparring match.

How should she approach this?

Just as her heart pounded and she was about to make her first move—

“Hey, sorry, let’s stop.”

So-hyun said something that really killed the mood.

What was she supposed to do with her body, all fired up for a fight, now…?

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“…Why?”

I was sorry to Ha-ni, who looked quite dissatisfied, but I couldn’t help it.

Come to think of it, the sword style I modified was all about killing.

There were no moves to subdue an opponent, and even the more moderate techniques mostly involved using auxiliary weapons like throwing daggers or wires.

It was more fitting to call it a killing art than a sword style.

No matter how much Ha-ni liked swordsmanship, she wouldn’t want to spar with someone who used killing techniques, right?

“…Because this is a dangerous sword style. Come to think of it, almost all the techniques are killing techniques.”

“Aha, where did you pick up something so dangerous?”

If it were the Sword Demon era, she would have charged at me while saying that it didn’t matter, but she wasn’t at that level yet. Ha-ni nodded and sheathed her sword with a disappointed look.

…Ah, incidentally, my sparring record against the Sword Demon Ha-ni was a complete loss. I had no way of winning when we fought with swords.

“I guess it needs more refinement.”

“Refinement?”

“Yeah, it’s too dangerous to use as it is.”

“Hey, it’s not even a sword style you created. What are you going to do? It’s dangerous to modify it carelessly. The connection between movements might break~”

…It was a sword style I half-created.

As if she knew what I was thinking, Ha-ni smiled and put her hand on my shoulder.

“Just wait a bit. I’ll help you refine it when I invite you to my family’s home.”

…Invited to her family’s home.

Ha-ni was saying it lightly while thinking that I didn’t know, but it was practically the same as her choosing me as a potential husband for her family… or rather, her own husband.

No, wait. I knew that, but I was a bit surprised again.

It was a complicated feeling.

I couldn’t run away, knowing that saying I wasn’t worthy would only hurt her more.

‘What’s wrong with a harem?’

No, damn it! Crazy Jae-hee, get out of my head…! I remembered it again, but that wasn’t right!

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, just thinking.”

“Anyway, look forward to it~ Not just anyone can come to our house~”

Yeah, I know…

Not just anyone, but someone who was prepared to become her husband.

Considering how much her disciples and her father cherished her, I couldn’t just greet them and leave.

“Are you looking forward to it?”

…But seeing her bright smile made me think “So what?”

Seriously, what should I do with this girl?

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“Yes, it would be better to increase the pace a little.”

“Huu…”

After my morning training with Ha-ni, I was once again immersed in training.

I needed to train to adapt to the performance of the body Sun Wukong had perfected, and thankfully, someone offered to help me first.

“You shouldn’t be too out of breath, but if you’re too slow, you might lose your balance and struggle.”

It was Professor Cathy and my sister.

Today, we met at lunch because I had other things to test out in the morning, but they decided to watch my training every morning from now on.

“How is it? Running is better than you thought, right? I’m so glad that your body has gotten healthier.”

If this were two months ago, I would have answered “No? I feel like I’m going to die,” but now that my body’s actually healthy, I now found running quite enjoyable.

“After enough cardio, we’ll start the main training. We’ll do it every morning, so we’ll do it as a light spar. One day with me, a physical type, and the other day with Na-hyun, a magical type, alternating.”

I looked at my sister at the professor’s words, and she nodded in agreement.

She wasn’t making eye contact with me though.

“Then I think that’s enough running for today. Shall we spar now, cadet?”

“Yes, I’ll be in your care.”

Fighting was also one of the things I couldn’t test thanks to Ha-ni this morning, so it would be a good opportunity to test it now.

“Hey, So-hyun.”

“Yes?”

The professor, suddenly switching from professor mode to secret friend mode, asked me a question with a smile.

“It’s nothing, but I’m just a bit curious, so I wanted to ask you something before we spar.”

“Yes? Go ahead.”

“…Can you tell me what you dreamed about when you were captured on Yoo-hak’s birthday?”

“…It was a nightmare.”

“Yes, so what kind of nightmare?”

…What? She was smiling, but she seemed a bit cold.

“I don’t really remember. I just have a vague feeling of being scared.”

I didn’t want to lie to her, but I couldn’t just honestly say “It was a dream from before I regressed.”

“…Hmm, I see. Yes, there’s no way So-hyun would lie to me about this.”

Good, she let it go.

Just as I thought that, Professor Cathy took off her top.

…Huh?

Big.

No, beautiful. No, that wasn’t it either. Anyway, amazing.

“P-Professor?”

“Noona.”

“…Cathy noona?”

“Yes, So-hyun.”

“Um, why did you take that off?”

“Huh? We’re about to spar. It’s common sense to wear comfortable clothes. I’ll be sweating too, So-hyun.”

Yes, I wouldn’t have been so surprised if you were wearing a t-shirt or the high-defense sportswear you usually wore underneath.

But you were wearing something similar to a sports bra, which was almost like underwear. Who wouldn’t be surprised about that?

…Was this common sense?

“You said you liked big things? Liar. But it’s worth a try. Yes.”

She muttered something, but honestly, I was too scared to understand what she was saying.

“No one will come near here, so don’t worry. No one’s watching.”

…I was watching.

“Yes, no one is watching, so what’s the problem?”

What was this?

Our ever-so-gentle Professor Cathy’s expression seemed to resemble a lioness stalking her prey right now…

Whoosh!

It seemed like she just threw a light punch, but I heard a sonic boom and felt the air tremble. Again, it trembled.

I tried to look away, but she scolded me and told me to look straight ahead.

“Now, shall we begin?”

Ah, fortunately, while her outfit was a bit distracting, it seemed that she was going to help me with my training properly.

Yeah, there was no way our professor would have such impure intentions.

“Ah, it’s no fun just doing it like this. How about we make a little bet?”

“…A bet?”

“Yeah, if you can’t beat me even once in our spars for a week, you have to grant my wish. Conversely, if you win even once within a week, I’ll grant your wish.”

It was a sudden suggestion, and I didn’t really have anything to ask for, so I didn’t have to accept it. But seeing how much she wanted to do it, I thought it would be better to agree.

So, just as I was about to nod lightly, for some reason, an illusion of my mother flashed through my mind.

-So-hyun~ You shouldn’t trust a woman who talks about wishes or punishments with an innocent face~!

…Hey, what are you talking about? It’s our professor. There’s no way. Am I tired? I’m having strange thoughts right now.

And now that I had regained my memories, I was confident in my movements, even if my strength was still lacking.

“Sure, let’s do it.”

The moment I answered that, the corners of Professor Cathy’s lips curved into a smile.

“Good, this will be fun. Ah, don’t worry. I won’t ask for anything too unreasonable. Na-hyun, the signal, please.”

“Yes, unnie. Then, get ready.”

We faced each other and assumed our stances.

“Start!”

Bang!

“…Huh?”

And an incredibly clean kick stopped right in front of my eyes.

A perfect kick so powerful that the wind pressure made my skin tingle.

…Was the professor always this strong?

-Ah, right.

‘Mr. Sun Wukong…?’

-It seems like she has fully grasped what she had learned from our spar. Then she’ll soon overcome the wall.

‘…What do you mean by ‘overcome the wall’?’

-In your terms, it means she’s about to reach S-rank.

Ah, I see. So that’s how it was…

…I think I’m screwed. Would she let me back out now?

“Hmm, our So-hyun, it seems you’ll have to grant my wish in a week.”

It seemed like she had no intention of letting me back out.

Haha, I was so screwed.

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T/N – Back to slice of life for now. But now that the MC has his previous run’s memories, including fighting techniques and experiences, maybe he can have more satisfying fights moving forward. Maybe? A reader can dream… (Still salty about being blue balled at the MC vs Fighting Demon fight)

Also, damn, no wonder Jae-hee is my favorite male side character. The man’s existence is convincing the MC to go the harem route. With how many girls are around him, it’s already inevitable. Better just accept it and enjoy the ride.

If you find any mistakes, feel free to point them out in the comments.