Chapter 143: Rising Dawn, a Past Surpassed (5)
He was an active member of the Falcon Guild’s Villain Response Team.
He was a man who might not have possessed the leadership to lead an entire organization, but he certainly had the leadership required of a team leader.
While his skills were not breathtaking, he was a man who faced reality head-on and had survived atop a mountain of victories in long-term combat by relying on his own unique fighting style.
All of these descriptions referred to Oh Seok-jae, the man who had been given the epithet "Falcon."
Because of this, Oh Seok-jae possessed the ability to intuitively analyze reality, adapt to situations that defied logic, and turn crises into opportunities.
However, even a man like Oh Seok-jae could only utter a single phrase at the scene unfolding before his eyes.
“Are those really cadets...?”
He was watching the battle being waged by the cadets trapped in the restricted space, including Choi Yu-seong and Kim Su-hyeok.
“What on earth...”
He was so dumbfounded that he could not even speak properly.
It was only natural.
This was simply not a fight being conducted by seventeen-year-old cadets.
‘To be honest, I thought there was no hope at first...’
The situation had been desperate from the beginning.
Space had been severed, they could not exert any influence on the other side, and even external communication had been blocked.
However, even then, although the situation was desperate, he did not feel it was hopeless.
This was because, in addition to the cadets, there were active Villain Hunters and even an instructor present.
But when the Villain Hunters disappeared along with the man who appeared to be the leader, and he saw the skill levels of the three remaining Villains, his thoughts had no choice but to change.
Objectively and subjectively, the coordination of the three Villains could only be described as fantastic.
‘Even so, they fought back better than expected.’
Contrary to his expectation that they would collapse in an instant, the results were surprising.
The centerpiece of that effort was Instructor Im Seong-cheol.
To be honest, if it had not been for him, the balance would have been shattered long ago.
He displayed a truly sophisticated and high-level style of combat, to the point where it was difficult to understand why he had retired from active duty to become an instructor.
Furthermore, although he did not know who had devised it, the strategy of having Im Seong-cheol handle one enemy while the others held their ground could be considered excellent.
However...
‘They could not turn the tide.’
Instructor Im Seong-cheol’s Player rank was likely in the range of the highest tier of A-rank to the mid-tier of S-rank.
With that level of skill, he would have been able to take down at least one of them without much trouble... but the problem was that Instructor Im Seong-cheol’s attention could not be fully focused on the enemy.
Instructor Im was periodically checking on the cadets, perhaps because he was worried about them.
It was a behavior that likely would not have occurred if he were still on active duty, but it was an unavoidable judgment for an instructor.
In fact, he had provided support using his Blue Flame several times when the cadets were in danger during the battle.
‘In that way, the battle was dragged out...’
Eventually, the decisive moment arrived.
The Villains rushed forward to kill the girl, even at the cost of taking damage themselves.
Because the sound was not audible despite their figures being visible due to the severing of space, he could not be certain, but the goal of the Villains from the beginning had likely been the girl named Ha Eun-ha.
It was a guess, but it was likely correct.
He knew quite a bit about the girl named Ha Eun-ha himself.
‘The girl with a one-of-a-kind healing talent.’
It was a sorry thing to say to the girl, but in truth, that alone was enough to make it unsurprising that she was being targeted.
There were countless people who would rather eliminate her if they could not bring her into their own organization in the future.
In fact, among the Villains he had caught while working as a Villain Hunter, there were those who handled such requests.
‘So I thought they would surely collapse...’
It was a sudden blow delivered by the Villains at an almost unpredictable timing, even as they accepted the risk of injury.
Furthermore, Im Seong-cheol was far away from the girl, and the cadets were failing to respond in time due to their lack of experience.
To that extent, the death of the girl was almost a certainty.
‘I felt so much resentment toward the fact that I could not be in that spot.’
Someone might ask if it was not too emotional for a Villain Hunter who made a living out of killing people, but his anger was only natural.
Think about it—why did Villain Hunters become Villain Hunters in the first place?
It could be for revenge, or it could simply be a sense of justice.
However, he could say this for certain.
A world without Villains. A world where the suffering caused by Villains disappeared.
That was what all Villain Hunters desired.
If he felt that way, how much more so must those cadets have felt?
Thus, he thought he had no choice but to watch the death of the girl with a gloomy heart.
But that was when a miracle occurred.
“Did they say he was Cadet Choi Yu-seong?”
He knew the name.
The cadet cherished by Shin Yu-hwan, who was called the idol of aspiring Villain Hunters.
The cadet that the Horizon Guild—the undisputed strongest guild that no one could rival—was showing interest in.
However, he only knew the name as there was not much other notable information, and that cadet had just performed a miracle.
“It was truly magnificent.”
He did not know how the boy had generated such explosive speed, but it was likely a hidden trump card.
However, that was not the important part.
The sight of him rushing forward to protect his comrade without giving up, even when everyone else judged it was too late.
And the fact that he took the attack of the Villain in place of the girl named Ha Eun-ha.
The fact that he had no choice but to be stabbed by the sword was likely the price for that explosive speed, and that meant he had rushed in prepared to die.
That was why it was magnificent.
It was impressive enough for someone of that young age to be prepared for death, and yet he had thrown his life away for the sake of someone else.
“Everyone showed their respect.”
The Villain Hunters, who had no choice but to watch the battle while blocked by the transparent wall, all placed two fingers to their foreheads toward the single cadet.
One was respect for the brave warrior who did not back down from a Villain even at the risk of death.
The other was courtesy for the noble sacrifice of one who willingly threw away his life for his comrade.
This was the highest form of respect that could be shown by Villain Hunters, who always had to continue through lonely and precarious battlefields—a lonely path that no one would acknowledge.
Of course, that cadet named Choi Yu-seong was not a Villain Hunter, but what did that matter?
Information such as the profession or age of a person who showed a performance worthy of receiving such respect was entirely unnecessary.
“And from that moment, the flow of the battle changed, and another miracle occurred.”
Since one person had become unable to fight, it was a situation where it would be logical for things to become even more disadvantageous.
But as life always is, things do not always move according to logic.
One might expect them to be frustrated after witnessing the sacrifice of a comrade, but there was none of that; instead, the cadets engaged in the battle with indignation.
As the saying goes, they were riding the momentum; he had never imagined that the flow could change so drastically in an instant.
But the miracle he was referring to was not that.
“It must be the awakening of the girl.”
The brilliantly radiating light and the appearance that changed along with it.
One could tell just by looking at that.
Although it was a rare case even among Players, the girl had achieved the awakening of her talent.
As if to prove it, the girl named Ha Eun-ha immediately saved the boy who was on the threshold of death.
“And the real show began from that point.”
Usually, a person who has faced a near-death state once becomes consumed by fear.
Of course, he could sufficiently predict that Cadet Choi Yu-seong would not fall into that category.
How could one who threw away his life for someone else be consumed by the fear of death?
As if to prove his prediction, the boy named Choi Yu-seong engaged in the battle immediately after waking up.
However... it was not long before he realized that even he had not predicted everything.
“Haha... No matter how many times I look at it, I can only say it is magnificent. How can you call that a cadet?”
No, it went beyond the concept of a cadet; it was difficult to even view him as an ordinary Player.
This was because the fighting style Cadet Choi Yu-seong was currently displaying was one that an average human could not even hope to imitate.
“Giving 100 to take 80. What kind of madman fights like that?”
It was not a matter of giving flesh to take bone.
It was literally a fighting style of taking flesh if flesh was given, and taking bone if bone was given.
Unless it was a madman aiming for a suicide attack, who would fight in such a manner?
“Of course, Cadet Ha Eun-ha is providing help, but still...”
It was a miraculous scene where healing was performed immediately every time a wound was inflicted.
Choi Yu-seong likely chose that method because he was aware of it.
However.
“Knowing something and putting it into practice are two different things.”
First of all, it was a matter of trust.
It was a method that could not be used unless they trusted each other completely.
Well, let us set that aside.
In the first place, was there any way that a fellow who would go as far as to risk his life to protect her would not trust his comrade?
“The problem starts from the second point.”
To choose such a method, there is something that must be achieved first.
What is it?
“Mental strength.”
Indeed, it is a fighting style that cannot even be established without immense mental strength.
Think about it carefully. For an ordinary human, even something as small as a paper cut or a prick from a thorn causes enough pain to create a brief opening.
Of course, there was no way a Player would allow an opening for that level of pain, but that only applied to minor pain.
What if it was the pain of having one's side deeply slashed by a sword? What if it was the pain of an arrow piercing through a leg?
‘Whether they are a Player or not, if they are a normal human being, it is the kind of pain where they have no choice but to allow a split-second opening even if they endure it.’
Well, there were exceptions.
If it were a body that could not feel pain, it would be a different story, but...
“That is not the case here.”
One could tell by looking at his expression.
Although he seemed to be trying not to show it, his expression changed slightly every time he received an attack.
It undoubtedly meant that he was feeling the pain exactly as it was.
‘And yet, he is not allowing even a split-second opening.’
While feeling the pain fully, he was avoiding attacks that could lead to instant death and landing effective hits of his own.
Furthermore, he was doing so without resting even once throughout the entire duration of the battle.
It sounds easy when said in words, but he could guarantee that even most veterans would not be able to fight like that.
If nothing else, his mental strength alone could be considered superior to that of a veteran.
“And... the root of that mental strength is likely his comrades.”
It was merely a guess.
Unless he became that cadet himself, he could not fully know the cadet’s heart.
However, given the circumstances, it was a guess that was close to a certainty.
After all...
“He is not fighting to overwhelm; he is fighting to protect.”
It was something that someone who had not rolled around in real combat dozens or hundreds of times would fail to notice.
When people saw him moving forward while being slashed and stabbed, slashing and stabbing back in kind, they would usually think he was overwhelming the enemy.
But to his eyes, which he could pride as those of a veteran, it was clearly visible.
Choi Yu-seong was focusing on protecting rather than concentrating on overwhelming the enemy.
“The direction of his movement, the position he takes. Every single thing is optimized for protecting Cadet Ha Eun-ha.”
What was impressive was that the level of his performance was by no means low.
He could guarantee that unless one broke through Choi Yu-seong first, they would not even be able to touch the hem of Ha Eun-ha’s clothes.
Yet, to break through Choi Yu-seong, one had to deal with a situation where he avoided all attacks that would lead to instant death, while everything else was being healed by Ha Eun-ha.
If he had been in the position of the Villain, he likely would have started cursing.
Asking how on earth he was supposed to break through that.
“I suppose I can consider this battle effectively over.”
He was only talking about Cadet Choi Yu-seong, but the battle currently visible was not just between Cadet Choi Yu-seong and the three Villains.
He had not mentioned it because he was only seeing sights that defied common sense, but the rest of the group could not be ignored either.
One Villain was almost completely handled by Im Seong-cheol, and the Villain using a bow was gradually collapsing against the three of them.
Furthermore, since Cadet Ryu Jin-oh was periodically landing attacks every time Cadet Choi Yu-seong created an opening against the remaining Villain, it was safe to consider it the end.
“Any variables would likely be a repeat of the situation from earlier, but...”
Most likely, no variables would ever occur.
The cadets, who had been a bit awkward, now seemed to have completely adapted to the battle.
To be more honest, their skills were at a level where it would not be strange for them to debut on active duty right away.
Well, they would need to fill in the experience-related parts a bit more.
“I can see why the Horizon Guild is making such infinite investments.”
He wondered if calling them the Golden Generation was an insufficient description.
After Glory, the academy, was established, there had been only five individuals he knew of who had shown that much impact at the age of a first-year student.
“The Spear God, Celestial Flower, the Empress, and...”
The Person of the Stormy Clouds and the Recorder of Prophetic Texts.
...The last two were in a state where they could not be seen right now.
At any rate, back then there were five, and now there were six—and as far as he knew, there was one more cadet the Horizon Guild was interested in, making it seven.
He thought that rather than the Golden Generation, adding one more part and calling them the Diamond Generation would be more fitting.
“Come to think of it, those five were said to have obtained their epithets when they were at least in their second year.”
Usually, obtaining an epithet at the age of a first or second-year student is a far-off matter.
An epithet is, after all, something that is only possible when skill and achievements back it up.
Usually, even when students go out for field training, they go in their third year, and achievements are made around that time, so it was almost impossible at the age of a first or second-year student.
“Well, as I am seeing now, there are exceptions.”
They say that a genius is bound to shine no matter where they are placed.
The five he mentioned earlier were such cases, and those he was watching now were surely such cases as well.
Perhaps because of that, he suddenly became curious about what the epithets for the cadets over there would be.
“Hmm... I am not sure about the rest, but for some reason, names for two of them come to mind immediately.”
How could one know everything from a single battle, but there was something that flashed into his mind regarding two of them.
First, the epithet "Saintess" seemed like a perfect fit for the cadet named Ha Eun-ha.
Although holy power did not exist in this world, there was a holy feeling about how she used her talent.
The silver light that appeared every time she used her talent seemed truly worthy of the word "Saintess."
And the remaining one was, of course...
“Cadet Choi Yu-seong.”
Was the performance he showed not incredibly intense?
Because of that, there was one thing that came clearly to mind.
“Watchdog.”
The way he tenaciously bit into the enemy with a fighting style that defied human common sense, while simultaneously fighting to protect someone.
Was it not a truly fitting epithet?
“Speaking of Watchdog, it reminds me of the first epithet mentioned for the Spear God in the past.”
Because he rushed at Villains like a crazy dog whenever he saw them, he was called "Mad Dog."
If his appearance using a black spear had been even slightly less impressive, he surely would have been called Mad Dog.
“Looking at it this way, the two of them are exactly alike.”
Mad Dog and Watchdog—they were similar yet different names, but he could say this one thing for certain.
The fact that they were exactly the same in how they fought recklessly, defying human common sense.
The name "Dog" did not just come to mind for no reason.
“A combination of a Saintess and a Watchdog. I look forward to the future.”
Does it not already feel invincible just hearing it?
Of course, they would have to win that fight first, but Oh Seok-jae was already certain.
That there was no way those cadets would lose.
Thinking that, Oh Seok-jae decided to watch the rest of the cadets' battle.
The battle of the shining talents who might become Hero-rank Players in the future.
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