Topaz Magic Tower. In a nearby clearing.
Thunder Lord Song Kyung-wook was facing his granddaughter.
When he gave a small signal with his chin, Song Cheon-hye kicked off the ground and shot forward like a streak of lightning.
Fzzzzzzt—
However, she couldn’t get any closer beyond a certain distance, as she was blocked by a thick barrier.
Soon after, Song Kyung-wook stepped forward.
Sparks crackled in the air, and then bolts of lightning began to rain down one after another.
Boom boom boom boom—!
Explosions of lightning continuously tore up the ground.
Even so, Song Cheon-hye calmly weaved her way between the strikes, closed the distance again, and slammed into the barrier.
Rumble!
At this, the Thunder Lord felt deeply satisfied.
Her skills have improved tremendously.
He had thought the same when she returned after finishing her first semester at Dragon Slayer Academy, but now, after completing the second semester, her growth was on an entirely different level.
Especially in close combat.
He had already heard from the Song father and son about what had happened in the meantime.
They said she got a private tutor.
At first, he found it quite puzzling.
Not even a faculty member at Dragon Slayer Academy, but some fellow student?
What could a bunch of youngsters possibly teach each other?
Of course, it couldn’t have been just any ordinary first-year.
Even with the fixed zone rule applied, he had heard that the student defeated Song Cheon-gi, a third-year, and played a decisive role in defeating the Witch of Exhaustion.
That must mean he has some real skill.
Still, he remained unconvinced, so he decided to verify it himself through a spar.
To see how effective the tutoring really was.
And whether it was worth paying with treasures from the Topaz Magic Tower or items from his own inventory.
The result far exceeded his expectations.
Unable to suppress his curiosity, the Thunder Lord asked,
“What method did you use to train?”
“Most of it was one-on-one sparring.”
An utterly ordinary answer.
Rather than resolving the Thunder Lord’s doubts, the answer only deepened them.
Didn’t I also train her through one-on-one sparring?
He had stayed with her throughout the entire summer break, teaching her with utmost effort.
So how was it that a mere first-year achieved better results than himself, an S-rank hero?
What kind of know-how did he have?
There was no way for the Thunder Lord to know.
That the so-called tutor had been repeatedly bonking his granddaughter with a toy hammer.
Even now, something like an auditory hallucination echoed faintly in Song Cheon-hye’s ears.
Boink! Boink boink boink! Boink boink!
What must be acknowledged should be acknowledged.
He felt a twinge of inferiority, and even a sense that something precious had been taken from him, but regardless, it was true that his granddaughter had grown stronger.
It was more than worth continuing the tutoring.
He even found himself thinking that giving up an item or two from his inventory wouldn’t be such a bad trade.
Still, this is troublesome.
What was he supposed to teach her now?
Of course, there was still plenty he could teach.
His granddaughter’s potential was still limitless, and she had recently even achieved A-rank in her [Core].
But that tutor…
What if he taught her better than he did again?
His pride would take another hit.
And even if she didn’t say it out loud, wouldn’t his granddaughter be comparing them in her mind?
He could almost picture little Song Cheon-hye smiling brightly as she shouted,
– Grandpa! You’re a bad teacher!
And yet, to step back entirely?
That would feel like admitting defeat, which would hurt his pride even more.
As Song Kyung-wook hesitated, unable to decide, swallowing his frustration—
Song Cheon-hye spoke up in a polite tone.
“Grandfather, there’s something I’d like to ask of you.”
“…Go on.”
“Stealth… I mean, controlling and concealing my presence… I feel I’m very lacking in that area.”
Over the past year, Song Cheon-hye’s success rate in tailing someone was exactly 0%.
Most of the time, she was discovered the moment she tried, and occasionally, her attempts were even turned against her, putting her in greater danger.
Of course, the disciplinary committee was aware of this as well.
“I’ve repeatedly been unable to participate in important operations.”
For example, being stationed in remote locations during temporary storage site missions.
It wasn’t just that her skills were lacking in battlefields where second- and third-years clashed. Her lack of stealth was also a major factor.
“I want to make up for my weaknesses as much as possible and show a better performance next year.”
“…If that is your resolve, then so be it. I will teach you.”
The Thunder Lord nodded willingly.
However, there was something Song Cheon-hye hadn’t mentioned.
She recalled a recent conversation with Kim Ho.
– I heard So-mi is leaving the disciplinary committee.
– Then you should just leave too.
– I’m planning to stay for now. There’s still something I want to do.
– What is it?
– It’s a secret. That’s what you always say.
She also remembered a conversation they had during finals.
– So you’re openly saying you’re going to break school rules.
– I have to. World peace depends on it.
– Even so, rules are meant to be followed. If you try to break them again, I’ll stop you.
Kim Ho narrowed his eyes in a teasing way.
– Do you think you can?
– Why wouldn’t I be able to?
– Because you’re…
…That’s not true!
Song Cheon-hye’s fists trembled.
She steeled her resolve once more.
She would personally capture Kim Ho’s group with her own hands and pile on demerits and disciplinary action!
Who’s the noob….results would prove it.
***
The spar with the Dang twins only ended around evening, and we returned to the annex.
Dang Gyu-young immediately collapsed onto the bed, sprawled out flat.
It almost sounded like a comedic “thud” effect.
Then she shot a glare in my direction.
“…Hey.”
“Yes, noona.”
“I told you I couldn’t handle it.”
“Considering that, you did pretty well. I had faith in you.”
Although she had looked unsteady the entire time, she still managed to keep the Shadow Garden and shadow undead active while fighting.
At that, Dang Gyu-young reached out with an exasperated expression, as if she was about to lose it.
But she stopped halfway and let her arm drop limply.
“…Damn, I’m exhausted. I can’t even pinch your cheeks.”
“Good work.”
“Don’t you feel any sense of responsibility? You lured an innocent Qyu-Qyu into this.”
Seo Ye-in who had been rolling around in the corner of the bed chimed in as well.
“Take responsibility.”
“Majority rule really is unfair. How exactly would you like me to take responsibility?”
After a brief moment of thought, Dang Gyu-young replied.
“My shoulders feel stiff.”
“Then I should loosen them up for you.”
I quickly moved behind her and started pressing into her shoulders.
She let out a satisfied almost purring sound, and then added another request.
“…My back and lower back too.”
“Yes.”
As I continued the massage, Seo Ye-in watched with curious eyes before bringing up that familiar word she always used.
“Me too.”
“Are you saying you want to take on the challenge trial as well?”
“…Never mind.”
Seo Ye-in quietly averted her gaze.
It seemed that, even if she was curious about the massage, the challenge was a bit too much for her.
Seeing this, Dang Gyu-young, seemingly unwilling to be the only one going through it, wiped away any trace of fatigue and put on a persuasive smile.
“Give it a try. It helps a lot.”
“I’m okay.”
“I did exaggerate a bit, but it’s actually not that bad.”
“It is bad.”
In the end, Seo Ye-in hid herself under the blanket.
She didn’t show it much on the outside, but she was surprisingly firm in her opinions.
And quite stubborn too.
Dang Gyu-young, as if she hadn’t expected much to begin with, smacked her lips once and flopped back down.
Then, while continuing to receive Kim Ho’s massage, she brought up the quest window.
[Side Quest: Stage 18 Harship] (In Progress….)
▷Objective: Achieve proficiency (8/100%)
“If it’s 8% after doing this all day, it’ll take about two weeks.”
“That’s the simple estimate, but in reality, it’ll probably go faster.”
“Fair. It is the first day, after all.”
With the range of [Shadow Garden] having expanded drastically, and the added condition of maintaining undead at the same time,
That alone was already overwhelming, leaving almost no room to focus on actual combat.
But humans are adaptable creatures; as she gradually got the hang of it, she would have more capacity to devote to fighting.
And naturally, the daily proficiency gain would increase as well.
Taking that into account,
“I think it’ll be done within a week, maybe a day or two more.”
“Oh… then why doesn’t that make me happy?”
If she hadn’t taken on the challenge in the first place, she wouldn’t be suffering at all.
Even if it shaved off a few days, the fact that she still had to go through it didn’t change.
Dang Gyu-young narrowed her eyes and looked at me.
“I should… take responsibility, right?”
“Let’s say three days of massage tickets.”
“What do you mean three days? It should be unlimited.”
“That’s getting a bit too greedy, Qyu.”
After a long bout of bickering, I ended up being hired as Qyu-Qyu’s personal masseur.
The term lasted until the challenge trial was complete.
***
The next day, the sparring began again in the morning.
A pitch-black field spread out, centered around Dang Gyu-young.
It was wide enough to cover about a third of the training ground.
On top of that, the shadows flickered ominously, enough to make an ordinary person hesitate to even step onto it.
But the Dang Il-bi and Dang Han-bi brothers were no ordinary people, and they stepped into the field without hesitation.
In response, shadows began rising up one after another.
Taking on human forms, they charged forward.
One bulky figure inflated its upper body like a balloon, while another rushed in with a shadow blade held forward.
Swoooosh!
The twin heroes moved in different directions, using their movement technique to evade the Shadow Lord’s strike.
At the same time, their hands moved so quickly they were almost impossible to see.
Thud-thud-thud!
Metal balls and coins embedded themselves into the Qyu-shadow undead.
As before, they were shattered into pieces, but in the very next moment, shadows suddenly rose up beside them, taking the forms of the Lab Director and the Shadow Lord.
They had been resummoned the instant they were destroyed.
Looks like she’s starting to get the hang of it.
I looked at Dang Gyu-young, standing at the very center of the garden.
Just like yesterday, she was still preoccupied with maintaining her skills.
However, judging by the sparkle in her eyes, it seemed she had glimpsed some kind of possibility from that last move.
She’s trying to use [Shadow Garden] in a different way.
There was no rule saying she had to summon shadow limbs, weapons, or butterflies as she had been doing.
Redirecting all that capacity into summoning undead was also a valid approach.
Necromancers are all about numbers.
Umbramancers were a derived class and tended to pursue elite units, but there was no reason to abandon such a powerful advantage.
If the undead were destroyed? Just summon them again.
And she had already spread plenty of shadows across the ground to use as material.
Ping-ping-ping-ping!
The Shadow Lord, struck by the coins and scattered, was resummoned yet again and thrust his sword forward.
The Lab Director likewise charged at the twin heroes with his entire body.
“…….”
“…….”
Noticing the change, a glimmer of interest appeared on both their faces.
While skillfully stepping through their footwork, they simultaneously hurled metal projectiles at Dang Gyu-young, the main body.
Of course, Seo Ye-in and I were providing support in preparation for a situation like this.
Bang-bang,
Several metal balls struck the pot and bounced off, while others hit the dark clouds and veered aside.
Then Seo Ye-in pushed her gun forward.
Tududududu!
Dodging the barrage of magic bullets, the twin heroes moved through their movement technique, blending once more with the newly resummoned undead.
It was in the midst of this prolonged exchange of offense and defense.
“……?”
Seo Ye-in suddenly lowered her mana gun and stared off somewhere.
Judging by the direction, it was where the main gate was located, so I asked,
“Did someone arrive?”
“……The butler.”
It seemed that Ahn Jeong-mi and the employees of Hye-seong Group had finally arrived.
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