The Heroine Stole My Regression

6 – Unit (3)

This forest will assail us with various demonic attacks as we progress.

Especially goblins – though it’s obviously not actual creatures they’re unleashing, but more like robots? Puppets? powered by magic.

This, in fact, allows the instructors to easily adjust the power output, making them even stronger than in a real fight.

On the surface, it might seem like a relatively easy task, but in reality, it’s not so simple.

‘Forming the right formation is key.’

This is why all five members need to be present.

Surprise attacks come in from exactly six directions simultaneously.

So even if five people defend, one spot is guaranteed to be left open.

Especially with goblins, allowing them to get close complicates matters. No matter how elite the academy students are, once they’re grabbed, they’ll be stuck wrestling for a long time.

From that point on, stamina and time will bleed away.

And that’s only if all five members are present.

If that number dwindles, the situation rapidly deteriorates.

The number of attack routes to defend doesn’t change, so the difficulty quickly escalates to overwhelming odds.

“They’re coming.”

Five minutes after entering the forest’s heart, the famed reputation of the premier academy proved to be no lie.

Each team member knew their task perfectly.

Yoon Sang-hyeok and Lee Sang-bong, at least in combat, fulfilled their roles admirably.

Yet, with five members and six avenues of attack,

one person had to cover two points.

That duty fell to me.

Yu Hana’s support made it somewhat easier.

She moved as if she were an extension of my own limbs, perfectly in sync, without the slightest misstep.

‘What is this?’

Even, at times when moving together, she would subtly, almost imperceptibly, stray into my space, giving the impression of playful flirtation.

It wasn’t particularly bothersome, so I simply observed.

And so, the goblin assaults continued, wave after relentless wave.

No sooner did we try to rest than they surged in again, but when we were on high alert, straining every nerve, they remained quiet. It was a tactic of the instructors, a deliberate attempt to bleed us dry.

We had just vanquished another horde.

After felling the last goblin, I was growing weary of this charade.

I lightly rested my spear on the ground, taking a moment to gather my breath. Just then, I heard Yoon Sang-hyeok’s ragged breathing.

“Haa, haa… When will this ever end…? I can barely keep my head on straight.”

Glancing sideways, I saw Lee Sang-bong slumped on the ground, massaging the back of his neck.

I breathed deeply and surveyed our surroundings. The faint, mechanical groans of the defeated goblins still echoed throughout the area.

On the shattered, exposed internal framework of the machines, the inscription “Mark. 8” was etched in small lettering.

‘There are supposed to be nine assaults.’

Mark 8. This was the eighth.

“Seems like we’re almost done.”

I turned my head slightly to respond to Yoon Sang-hyeok.

He asked breathlessly,

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

His face lit up, he nodded, and let out a deep sigh.

Now, perhaps, it was safe to take a short break.

The team members, one by one, settled into their spots, either sitting down or leaning against the trees, seeking some rest.

I kept my spear propped up beside me, and cast a slow glance around.

‘Any wounded…?’

I checked on Yoon Sang-hyeok, Lee Sang-bong, and even Kim Dae-hyeon, making sure none of them were seriously hurt.

Then it happened.

In an instant, my blood felt like it was boiling in my veins.

For no discernible reason, the back of my neck prickled, sending a chill down my spine.

The team members in front of me were gesturing frantically, their faces etched with urgency.

Everyone, that is, except Yoo Hana, who still wore that serene smile.

– *Zzzwiiiip*! –

Without even turning my head, I angled my spear, extending it behind me in a diagonal block.

A sharp *’Clang!’* rang out as the arrow was deflected, clattering to the ground after briefly sticking into a nearby tree.

Simultaneously, I twisted my body, rotating from my waist down to my legs, and hurled the spear.

It was a perfect throw, fluid as water.

– *Krunch!* –

The goblin archer (robot) that was still hiding breathed its last.

“Agh.”

The incredibly quick shift in movement had left my lower back throbbing. Such violent, abrupt actions weren’t good. This was why I didn’t care for throwing spears much.

Turning back around, I saw the team members staring at me, their mouths agape.

“Woah… how’d you do that?”

It was Kim Dae-hyeon.

“Like this, and like this, dodge, and then throw.”

He flailed his arms, trying to mimic my motions, clearly fascinated.

Yoon Sang-hyeok and Lee Sang-bong looked just as curious.

“…Was that Intuition…?”

Yoon Sang-hyeok seemed to have some idea of what it was. Guess he hadn’t gotten to the higher ranks just by sheer luck.

‘Intuition’ was, in its simplest terms, the ability to sense danger with your whole body. Behind you, in blind spots, or, if trained to the absolute limit, even to perceive dangers that had yet to occur. Of course, that last bit was incredibly rare.

You could just call it a kind of extrasensory perception.

“Something like that, yeah.”

My thoughts had shifted a little. Now, all I wanted was to get out of this forest as quickly as possible.

“Shall we take our break outside?”

At those words, Yoon Sanghyuk, Lee Sangbong, and Kim Daehyun exchanged glances, then nodded promptly.

Yu Hana, still wearing that serene smile, seemed to agree to my suggestion without uttering a word.

I pulled my spear free from the goblin corpse.

“Let’s go.”

*

“Just that one and we’re done!”

Kim Daehyun roared at the top of his lungs.

He took aim, ready to hurl his spear at the last goblin—

But in that instant, Yu Hana shot forward like a gale. A single, razor-sharp strike cleaved the goblin in two.

‘…She’s fast?’

Yu Hana being strong made sense, even by the setup. She was within the top ten, after all.

Well, stronger the better, I guess.

As we finished off the last goblin, the area ahead shimmered, revealing the safety zone.

We broke through the forest’s edge in a flash.

“That was rough.”

I hadn’t underestimated it. It was Gaon, after all.

Just then, the instructor standing in the middle of the safety zone gestured to us.

He announced our ranking in a booming voice.

“Second place!”

The rest of the team—Yoon Sanghyuk, Lee Sangbong, Kim Daehyun—were already sprawled on the ground.

“Nice…”

Yoon Sanghyuk and Lee Sangbong, lying flat, gave me a thumbs up.

If they’d remained uncooperative throughout the fight, I might have split the unit or just ignored them entirely, but in the end, they’d pulled their weight, so no bad blood remained.

Kim Daehyun had also done a good job in that regard. With his easygoing personality, he’d performed his role as a tank quite well.

Yu Hana stood perfectly upright.

Not a single drop of sweat seemed to have touched her, and her breathing didn’t even seem labored.

“Good work.”

I approached her and offered a light greeting.

“Thanks to your help, it was easier.”

Then she returned my gaze with a small smile, asking,

“Or perhaps… I wasn’t really needed?”

“Hmm… hardly.”

She’d hit the nail right on the head.

Truthfully, whether it was a two-way street, three, or even six, it wouldn’t have mattered all that much.

But her support had undeniably made things smoother.

“Pfft, you can’t tell a lie, can you?”

Yoo Hana lightly touched her hand to her lips, letting out a sweet little laugh.

“Sorry, it’s just my personality, I guess.”

She casually swept back her hair and then tossed out an unexpected remark.

“But, oddly enough, I kind of like that about you.”

Her eyes met mine, and they seemed strangely earnest.

Perhaps it was that, but a strange warmth seemed to bloom in the air around us. The atmosphere had grown peculiar.

“Ah, is that so.”

I replied curtly.

Yoo Hana didn’t seem to be expecting a response from me, as she simply shrugged with a gentle smile.

Seizing the moment, I turned my head, searching for the other teams.

The instructor had said that we were second. That meant there was one team that had arrived before us.

A little ways off, I began to make out a small cluster of people standing together.

Among the five, one was noticeably tall, and another seemed to radiate a soft, almost sacred aura.

‘No wonder they took first place.’

It wasn’t Sung Siwoo’s team; the protagonist wasn’t so strong just yet.

The first-place team was that group, the one that included the Hero, Yohan, and Chun Yeoul.

Sung Siwoo wasn’t a Hero. The Hero and the game’s protagonist were separate entities.

“Wow, the Hero and a Saintess candidate? No wonder they got first place.”

Yoon Sanghyuk, having risen sometime in the interim, approached my side and exclaimed in admiration.

I subtly questioned him,

“You know the Hero?”

Yoon Sanghyuk wore a somewhat bitter expression.

“I know him. But…”

Then he scratched his head, hesitating for a moment.

“No, never mind. Seems like it’s not my place to say.”

What’s with this guy?

There are two ways to irritate someone. One is to start talking and then stop.

When I stared at him, dumbfounded, he flinched and answered.

“… Apparently, things aren’t so good between the Hero and the Saintess these days.”

Ah…

It’s something that’s depicted in the game’s story as well.

However, the conflict was originally supposed to arise around the time feelings began to blossom between Seong Siwoo and the Saintess; it feels like the timeline is a little early.

I abandoned my thoughts and turned my gaze back towards the leading team, standing in the distance.

In the middle of that group, Cheon Yeoul’s and my eyes locked.

She had a bright smile and slightly raised one hand, waving it slowly. An elegant and graceful gesture.

A motion that was clearly visible, even from a distance.

“What…”

Yoon Sanghyeok traced Cheon Yeoul’s line of sight with his finger and seemed to realize that the path ended with me.

“Huh…?”

I quickly waved back at Cheon Yeoul, returning her greeting.

I could feel the attention around me shifting to this spot. At this rate, the whole world’s going to be staring.

Just then, I felt an intense gaze coming from in front of me.

Turning my head slightly, I saw Yohan, standing next to Cheon Yeoul, glaring at me as if shooting lasers.

His expression was stiff, but his gaze was definitely fixed on me.

Originally, Yohan is a character in the story who shows a strong obsession with Cheon Yeoul.

And that obsession, as time passes, manifests itself in an increasingly unpleasant way towards the object of his affection.

So, it’s not that I don’t understand.

‘But this…’

Why me?