Became a Swordsman Genius in a Pretty Girl Game

Interlude

My name is Lee Ji-eun.

In fact, I am called by the alias ‘Hwarang’ much more often than this common name.

Before entering the academy, I had made a name for myself as a promising next-generation melee dealer, following in the footsteps of the ‘Fighting Dog’ Kang Do-hee, swinging my double axes with flair.

Of course, no matter how many monsters I sliced through or how many gates I cleared, it was hard to gain significant attention.

After all, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that we are living in the era of Utopia, no matter what anyone says.

That said, I didn’t harbor any feelings of inferiority or jealousy.

Such pathetic behavior was not in line with her style of aspiring to be a hero.

Yet, she became curious.

What kind of place is this utopia that the world praises and elevates so highly?

Is it truly a group of irregulars that will succeed the perfect and genuine hero, Lina?

Or is it merely a bubble group that parades a face for fame, as some people claim, with Jin Yu-ha at the forefront?

Of course, with the internet being so developed, one could easily find information about Utopia and Jin Yu-ha with just a little searching.

However, she had never believed anything unless she had seen it with her own eyes.

Thus, Hwarang entered the Velvet Hunter Academy with anticipation.

After achieving the highest grades at the academy, she hoped to meet Utopia and confirm the true nature of Jin Yu-ha.

“Getting the highest grades at the academy shouldn’t be too difficult. Among the new entrants this time, there’s only Cheolbyeok to watch out for. Hmm, should I ask for a meeting with Utopia if I achieve the highest grades? That should be possible, right?”

She was confident.

In the case of Cheolbyeok (Cheolbyeok), Choi Yoon-ah, she had met a few times before entering the academy.

With her small stature and timid personality, she wielded a large shield that was incongruous with her appearance, skillfully blocking enemy attacks, making her a role model for tanks.

But she would never fall behind her.

After all, in terms of objective physical conditions, she had the advantage.

If you need any further adjustments or additional context, feel free to ask!

However, her ambitious plan only succeeded halfway.

What succeeded was,

her meeting with Jin Yu-ha.

The face-to-face encounter with Jin Yu-ha, which she thought would take at least a month after the training period and even more time, happened unexpectedly quickly.

The instructor in charge of special admissions and the male quota was Jin Yu-ha.

Honestly, it was hard to believe.

Jin Yu-ha, who wasn’t even a student, was now an instructor?

At most, he was a 2nd-year senior who had entered the academy just one year earlier than her.

“Is the Velvet Hunter Academy really that short on instructor talent?”

That was also a thought that crossed her mind when she first saw Jin Yu-ha.

At the same time,

“Wow, what the… Is this even a human face?”

She couldn’t help but be amazed by his unrealistically handsome appearance.

Of course, that skeptical gaze was shattered on the very first day.

It was inevitable.

Even as a woman, she was like a newborn calf, wobbling her legs.

She was only releasing a little of her hot breath, but she was carrying training equipment several times her own weight and performing the same training.

“Seriously, she’s a monster…….”

How on earth did she get that kind of strength from her slender body?

“Hmm, hmm! She’s really got some power!!!”

Still, her goal of becoming number one among the trainees remained unchanged.

However,

There was a second mistake.

To her shock, the number one of this batch was not herself!

“What on earth is this……?”

A woman with snow-white hair and blue eyes.

She suddenly appeared, exuding an enigmatic and cold atmosphere.

Until now, she had thought that there was no one who didn’t know her among the hunters of her generation, who had made a name for themselves.

“Seriously, what is this……?”

It truly felt as if she had just dropped down from the sky.

The shocking figure that appeared at the training ground was,

Omnyomnyom—

Now, she was mindlessly tearing into chicken right next to me.

Her expression, radiating coldness as if it were frozen on her face, was forgotten, replaced by a look of sheer delight.

Alice, in the midst of devouring chicken, picked up a few pieces of pickled radish and her eyes sparkled.

Then, she grabbed the plastic container filled with the pickled radish and drank it down.

Slurp—!

“Refreshing.”

At her admiration, Hwarang let out a chuckle.

Really, was she not some hidden master from a novel, forced to train in a place completely detached from civilization before escaping to the academy?

Honestly, it was an absurd thought.

But seeing her alternate between bites of chicken and sips of pickled radish broth, her eyes shining, it was hard not to entertain such ideas.

“Hwarang, aren’t you going to eat…?”

At that moment, Cheolbyeok, sitting across from her, asked.

“You’re not eating either…”

In front of her, a chicken leg was placed, but there were only signs of being poked with a fork.

It hadn’t decreased at all.

“I’ve lost my appetite.”

And with that stubborn remark, she also agreed.

“Me too…”

That’s right.

Stubborn and Hwarang,

They had both lost their appetite.

The reason was today.

Because of the training that had made the unknown man in the assigned seat wet his pants.

On Stubborn’s face, there were still visible tear and snot stains, and probably she would look the same.

The only one whose face hadn’t changed was this weirdo, Alice, who was calmly eating chicken.

“What is that person, Jin Yuha…?”

Hwarang thought back to the shocking events that had happened today.

Jin Yu-ha, saying that we had worked hard, gave us a gift we could never have imagined.

‘A potion that raises abilities below 60…’

Honestly, I had never heard of such a thing.

I’ve never tasted it, but I know that a potion that raises abilities is worth its weight in gold.

But then,

Not only did she give it to the three of us, but she also said she would give it to us every week based on our training results.

It goes without saying how significant this opportunity is.

I couldn’t even begin to imagine the extent of Jin Yu-ha’s wealth.

To be honest, I thought I had saved up some money from hunting monsters and selling magic stones, but I probably wouldn’t even be able to hand her my business card.

Anyway, any slight disappointment I had about that potion vanished in an instant.

What was I disappointed about, you ask?

At first, it was a bit obvious that she favored Alice, even if it wasn’t overt.

‘That’s understandable. Well, to be honest, I did cling desperately to her pant leg trying to keep up with her and Cheolbyeok. But she’s the only one who executed perfectly.’

If I were the instructor, I would have no choice but to pay more attention to a cadet like Alice.

In truth, what she was really disappointed about was the other male cadets rather than this overpowered girl.

If you need any further adjustments or additional context, feel free to ask!

Alice and Cheolbyeok, and I, were trying our best to get through the intense training and gain recognition from him, so we increased our training volume.

But there were those who, every day, would slack off and play around without lifting a finger, making a racket.

Despite that, Jinyuha didn’t say a word to those men, just watching them with indifference.

Honestly, no matter how hard I tried not to care, as a human being, I couldn’t help but feel a certain way.

It was because they were men, just like us.

Or maybe it was because they were from the same male conscription system.

But that wasn’t it.

‘Mr. Jinyuha’ was seeing us for who we truly were.

After all, only the three of us had received the elixir from him.

When we received the elixir, what did the male conscription system say?

Wasn’t it that it was unfair, that we couldn’t keep up with the training, and that they deserved to receive it too?

That insignificant guy, who was already unlikable, had the nerve to grab Alice and Cheolbyeok’s hair and spout nonsense.

At that moment, I couldn’t help but feel a surge of anger rising up inside me.

But then Jinyuha said something.

– You’re making me laugh. They were the same as you. They volunteered to undergo training that was several times harder than what they were originally supposed to receive.

– And they didn’t give up, even if it meant collapsing from exhaustion. Don’t associate with losers like you, who give up after just 10 minutes or 5 minutes of struggling. It’s an insult to them.

Hmph.

It was as if they had downed a shot of soda, feeling the satisfaction of something pent-up finally coming down.

‘I’ll consider any attack on Jin Yu-ha as an attack on me.’

I had even made that vow to myself.

If only,

it weren’t for the training that followed.

As Hwarang reminisced about Jin Yu-ha, his expression hardened.

‘…If only that guy hadn’t brought up the difference in physical abilities…’

A training session that didn’t take physical abilities into account, only mental strength.

Even when the male conscripts suddenly wet themselves and collapsed at the beginning,

I wondered why.

But soon, they too understood the reason.

It was just a matter of standing before Jin Yu-ha without backing down, enduring for 10 minutes.

Who knew it would be so terrifying.

At that moment, Hwarang realized just how remarkable a person Jin Yuha was.

Why he had become a hunter sought after by the entire world.

And why such extraordinary beings, including the fighting dog and Cheonhwa, chose to stay by the side of the man, Jin Yuha.

He deeply understood the reason.

Having faced various monsters until now, he thought he had developed a certain resilience to fear,

But this was on a different level.

Jin Yuha merely gazed at him with that unreal appearance,

Yet his legs turned to jelly, cold sweat beaded on his body, and tears and snot streamed down his face.

He tried desperately to hold on,

But managing to not step back lasted only four minutes at most.

Small and timid, yet possessing an incredible tenacity, the iron wall also held out for just four minutes.

Thus, she had no choice but to ask the munchkin girl in front of her.

“…How on earth did you endure that for ten minutes?”

Alice’s blue eyes, focused on the chicken, turned toward her.