Expelled Hero Is Too Strong

---

Chapter 69: Joint Training (2)

The training center of the Dice Guild was filled with machines that any hero visiting the Public Training Center would have seen at least once.

However, the scenario was a bit different in the center of the Sparring Arena.

“Wow…”

As Yoo Ji-han and Kim Si-hu opened the door to the sparring arena, they couldn’t help but gasp.

The area inside was much larger than what was visible from outside.

‘It’s Space Distortion Magic.’

The sparring arena, which Yoon Do-ha had invested the most effort into building, was enchanted with Space Distortion Magic.

This architectural method was said to have been first applied by Red Hole in Korea.

Simply maintaining it consumed valuable Magic Stones in real-time, and it required the country’s approval to even be constructed.

Moreover, only a limited number of companies were able to build using this method, making it naturally expensive.

“It’s really amazing.”

“I put a lot of thought into it.”

Yoon Do-ha pointed at the bright orb floating high above the ceiling with a proud expression.

It was an artificial sun meant to mimic the real one.

And there were numerous cameras installed throughout the interior walls.

These special cameras could monitor the movements and mana of the heroes in the sparring arena and even analyze data for future improvements.

‘This is something else.’

Yoo Ji-han was curious about how much it had cost to build this sparring arena.

But he refrained from asking.

It was surely an unimaginable amount.

“Officially, this sparring arena is being used for the first time today… excluding the test runs.”

“Really?”

“Yes, the designers of this arena are here as well. This first sparring session will provide valuable data for future improvements.”

“It’s an honor.”

Yoon Do-ha placed his hand on Yoo Ji-han and Kim Si-hu’s shoulders.

Then he looked at the Rank 4 heroes of the Dice Guild who had followed him and said,

“Is there anyone among you who wants to spar with this Yoo Ji-han party?”

“Me!”

“I’ll give it a try!”

“Leave it to me!”

All the Rank 4 heroes who entered the sparring arena raised their hands eagerly.

Each of them wore a confident expression, convinced of their victory.

“I’ll pick just 2 people.”

“Give me just 10 minutes, and I’ll take them down alone!”

“Hey, 10 minutes is too long!”

“Just give me 5 minutes!”

The Dice heroes boldly declared that they would defeat Yoo Ji-han’s party within just 10 or 5 minutes.

‘Who do they think they are, saying 5 minutes?’

Watching them, Kim Si-hu’s eye twitched slightly.

He felt somewhat uneasy about the confidence radiating from the large guild.

‘Confidence is good and all.’

In contrast, Yoo Ji-han surveyed the faces of all the heroes present with a nod.

After all, the Rank 4 heroes had only recently transitioned from Rank 5.

At that time, it was common to be full of confidence, feeling like they had accomplished something significant.

He too had experienced such feelings once.

“Jaekyung, what’s the current ranking of the Rank 4 parties?”

“I believe the top 1 and 2 parties are currently out in the field… Ah, there’s the 3rd place Lee Gang-mo party over there.”

“Lee Gang-mo is here!!”

Among the Rank 4 parties of Dice Guild, Lee Gang-mo, the leader of the 3rd place party, shouted loudly.

He was the hero who just minutes ago claimed he would defeat Yoo Ji-han’s party in just 5 minutes.

“We’re ready to start right now.”

Yoo Ji-han showed a demeanor that exuded composure.

Lee Gang-mo’s eyes sparkled as he looked at him.

“Are you Yoo Ji-han?”

“Yes.”

“Given that the Guild Master personally invited you, it must mean something significant is happening.”

“Yes, we’re about to show our skills.”

“Haha! I look forward to an exciting sparring match.”

With that, the opponents for the sparring session were chosen.

The individuals who had designed the arena approached them to explain the systems in place.

“What’s this?”

“It’s a sensor. You need to attach several of these to your equipment and weapons.”

Black flat sensors that could be affixed anywhere.

The cameras installed on the walls combined the visuals with the information from the sensors to check who had landed a valid hit.

“What if they break during the fight?”

“They shouldn’t break with any reasonable force.”

“Can we fight with our current weapons?”

“Yes. We have several skilled healing heroes on standby, so as long as the injuries aren’t too severe, it won’t be a problem.”

Attacking areas with severe vulnerabilities like the heart, neck, or head was prohibited.

But other than that, anything went.

After all, with the healing power of heroes, they could recover without lingering effects.

“We will immediately halt the sparring if it seems too dangerous, so keep that in mind.”

“Understood.”

Sparring was, after all, just sparring.

Since it wasn’t a life-and-death battle, they had no choice but to prioritize safety.

Still, Yoo Ji-han thought this was much better than sparring with wooden swords.

*

In the 30 minutes of preparation time given before the sparring began.

Yoo Ji-han and Kim Si-hu were warming up while surveying the arena.

“Are you ready?”

“Yes.”

Yoon Do-ha approached Yoo Ji-han and smiled as he looked him up and down.

“It hasn’t been too long since we last met, but… you seem a bit stronger than before, Ji-han.”

“You noticed, huh?”

“It seems some interesting circumstances occurred in that time.”

“I just got a bit lucky.”

“I can kinda guess.”

Yoon Do-ha had realized that Yoo Ji-han had obtained a Magic Crystal.

It was truly a lucky item he had acquired by chance.

Yoo Ji-han could only say that he had gotten lucky.

“But I won’t be using spirits in the sparring.”

“I expected as much. But do you think you can win without them? Not to brag, but my guys are pretty strong among heroes of the same rank.”

The strength of the Dice heroes was no mere brag or lie.

Each one had been carefully selected, and they were all formidable competitors.

Even the newly recruited Rank 5 heroes could compare to the Rank 4 parties of smaller guilds.

There was a solid reason behind their confidence of victory even before the sparring started.

“We’re confident too.”

“Ohhh…”

Yoon Do-ha’s expression turned quite satisfied.

‘Now this is what it means to extend an invitation.’

While it seemed like the opponent, Lee Gang-mo, was overflowing with confidence,

Yoo Ji-han was calmly discussing victory.

Judging by their attitude, Yoo Ji-han appeared to carry himself with the manner of someone with far more experience.

“I look forward to it.”

The 30 minutes given quickly passed.

Yoo Ji-han’s party and Lee Gang-mo’s party stood ready in the sparring arena.

‘This is the first inter-party match.’

The first official sparring taking place at Dice’s new training center.

At the same time, it was the first time Yoo Ji-han’s party experienced such a match.

The opponents consisted of one warrior and one mage, a combination similar to Yoo Ji-han’s party.

The warrior, Lee Gang-mo, intentionally brought along a mage from the same party to mirror Yoo Ji-han’s setup.

“I’ll check the sensors.”

The arena manager brought a weapon-shaped model toward Yoo Ji-han’s arm.

Beeep!

[0:1]

As the sound echoed from the arena’s speakers, the number displayed on the large monitor changed.

Given the nature of the sparring focusing on valid hits, the side with the higher number would emerge victorious.

After confirming that there were no issues, the manager quickly stepped back.

“Everyone, take your positions.”

The scoreboard resetting back to zero.

The Yoo Ji-han party and the Lee Gang-mo party stared each other down from their respective positions.

All present were watching with keen interest.

“Start!”

With Yoon Do-ha’s signal, the sparring commenced.

[Fireball]

The mage from Lee Gang-mo’s party launched a huge fireball as soon as the sparring began.

A total of five projectiles.

‘So he’s a fire-based mage.’

Yoo Ji-han quickly realized that the opposite party’s specialty was fire magic.

The speed of casting his fireballs was fast, and their form was stable.

[Water Snake]

With a flick of Kim Si-hu’s hand, water magic countering fire sprang into being.

The snake-like water glided forward, devouring the fireballs one by one.

“Yeah!”

Lee Gang-mo charged at Yoo Ji-han with the support of the mage.

Clang!

The two swords clashed together.

Lee Gang-mo’s sword was undoubtedly made by a famous artisan.

However, the sword crafted by Nam Ho-yeol was by no means inferior.

The equipment difference alone couldn’t establish a clear superiority.

Clang!

As Lee Gang-mo swung down his sword, he remarked to Yoo Ji-han,

“You seem to be using a sword made from a good place!”

“Someone will be pleased to hear that!”

“……!”

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Within just a few exchanges, Yoo Ji-han gauged his opponent’s skill level.

He gradually increased the speed of his attacks.

<—Probability of a valid hit when attacking the opponent's waist>

<42%>

Fighting against a human required much faster and more complex calculations compared to fighting against monsters.

Thus, while focusing on the battle at hand, Yoo Ji-han quickly narrowed down a few actions with the highest probability among the options available to him.

And generally, the action with the highest probability tended to align with what Yoo Ji-han instinctively considered.

‘The forearm looks good.’

In other words, determining probabilities in battle provided Yoo Ji-han with strong confidence in the choices he had already made.

Screech!

Moments later, the sound of scoring blared through the speakers as the monitor’s number changed.

[1:0]

The first to score was Yoo Ji-han.

Lee Gang-mo, who had merely grazed his forearm, grimaced.

He never imagined that he would first concede a point.

‘I let my guard down.’

Although it wasn’t a serious wound, Lee Gang-mo felt a bit off now.

The easygoing demeanor from his face quickly vanished as he regained his stance.

The opposing Yoo Ji-han was staring at him with an intense gaze.

Despite having scored first, he displayed no hints of excitement.

It simply meant he wasn’t some rookie.

‘He’s performing better than I expected…!’

He had to acknowledge it.

The capabilities of Yoo Ji-han’s party were certainly not to be underestimated.

Being part of a bigger and better guild was merely due to differing backgrounds.

“Lee Gang-mo! What are you doing?”

“Get in there! Attack properly!”

“Don’t forget! The Guild Master is watching!”

To think they would be embarrassed in front of the Guild Master and Vice Guild Master of the Dice Guild!

The watching heroes yelled at Lee Gang-mo.

[Water Arrow]

Swish!

Meanwhile, Kim Si-hu’s Water Arrow flew toward the opposing mage.

[Fire Wall]

In response, the mage quickly erected a wall of fire.

A standard countermeasure, setting a conflicting attribute magic in the path of attack spells to defend.

Swish—

However, right before the arrow hit the wall,

The Water Arrow gracefully arced, dodging the flames.

It soared effortlessly over the Fire Wall and aimed back at the mage.

Though the mage panicked, attempting to cast another spell in haste,

Two arrows had already grazed his shoulders.

Beeep! Beeep!

[3:0]

“What on earth is that….”

“Did the arrow magic really move that smoothly?”

“Lee Gang-mo! Cover your mage from behind!”

They had firmly believed the spells would vanish upon collision!

But the Water Arrows had easily bypassed the Fire Wall and attacked.

Kim Si-hu showcased exceptional mana control.

‘No way.’

‘Surely, we’re not actually losing?’

A sense of unease began to rise among the onlooking heroes.