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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: Inferno Training (2)
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The entire Utopia party stood in formation before Baek Seol-hee.
"It's been a while."
Baek Seol-hee greeted Utopia with a brief welcome.
The existence of Baek Seol-hee, Jin Yu-ha's master, was quite well-known among the Utopia party members.
She was an instructor who took no other disciples except Jin Yu-ha.
Unlike other classes that anyone could sign up for, Baek Seol-hee taught only Jin Yu-ha.
And after returning from her lessons, Jin Yu-ha always looked utterly drained, as if her soul had been sucked dry, and would take the entire day off.
Because of this, stories about her circulated like a ghost story among the Utopia party members.
Of course, Baek Seol-hee did have some minor connections with the Utopia party members, even beyond Jin Yu-ha.
When Jin Yu-ha first entered the Velvet Hunter Academy through the male quota system.
Shin Se-hee and Kang Do-hee, as special admission students, were grouped with Jin Yu-ha and received training from Baek Seol-hee.
Im Ga-eul and Sophia had also carried out a mission to slay demons together during summer break.
The only ones who had no prior acquaintance with Baek Seol-hee were Lee Yu-ri, who was in the tank position, and Ichika, the newly joined special position.
Baek Seol-hee surveyed the Utopia party members with a chilling, windswept expression, then glanced at Shin Se-hee, who was seated at a desk and chair against one wall.
'Hmm, I did as she said, but…'
Shin Se-hee wasn't participating as a trainee today, but as Utopia's operator. Her role was that of an evaluator, assessing the party's combat strength and performance.
'I wonder if this is truly alright.'
— Instructor, expensive gifts probably don't mean much to Jin Yu-ha.
— …What?
— Well, I've already tried all that… And to begin with, Jin Yu-ha isn't particularly materialistic.
— But… Director Lina achieved 7% with just gifts.
— You have to consider the meaning of those gifts.
— The meaning of the gifts?
Recalling Shin Se-hee's words, Baek Seol-hee felt a slight irritation.
'That the most important thing to my disciple is the Utopia party itself… And that Director Lina gained so much favor because she exponentially increased the party's combat power…'
In reality, Spatial Tattoos cannot simply be obtained, no matter how much money one has.
Highly skilled magic awakeners capable of performing Spatial Tattoos were rare, and the effort involved in a single procedure was immense.
Initially, only a mid-tier guild might barely possess one or two Spatial Tattoos.
'And providing a place where the Utopia party members could train freely, regardless of time or location…'
Baek Seol-hee sharply scanned her surroundings.
This very training ground, where today's session was taking place, was part of the mansion Director Lina had gifted Jin Yu-ha.
The training ground was imbued with various magical essences, providing everything necessary for training.
From spatial expansion to hologram monster generation, five-sense synchronization and manifestation, gravity control devices, and even time deceleration devices.
It was a facility several levels more advanced than those installed at the Academy.
— But Instructor, you can't provide those things, can you? So, you just need to do what you do best. For the Utopia party.
'What I do best, huh.'
As soon as she learned she would be in charge of the Utopia party's training, a call came from Jin Yu-ha.
— Instructor, are you really going to train my party members too!?
— Yes.
— Thank you so much!! Really. Thanks to Master, I have one less thing to worry about!!!
It was the happiest and most excited she had heard her disciple's voice recently.
Indeed.
The hellish instructor who made the Demon Slayer Corps wet themselves just at the thought of him.
She just needed to show them her true essence.
After experiencing this, they wouldn't be able to be weak even if they wanted to.
Baek Seol-hee's eyes lowered darkly.
* * *
Gulp.
Lee Yu-ri swallowed.
Instructor Baek Seol-hee. Lee Yu-ri had seen her around and knew her face, but she still didn't know what kind of person she was.
— Oh? Lee Yu-ri-nim? You're asking what kind of person Instructor Baek Seol-hee is…? She's, um, incredibly strong, and sharp as a knife… Hmm… Just someone you learn about faster by experiencing her?
— Huh? Yu-ri junior? What I said in that forest last time, I really didn't mean it! Th-that, huh? Instructor Baek Seol-hee…? She's incredibly protective of Yu-ha junior, a little… seems to have personal feelings… Old and shameless—. Huh? Why are you looking at me like that, junior?
— Well, she's exactly as she appears. She's not someone who hides her true intentions, so don't worry.
"First, before we begin training, I'll assess your skills."
As Baek Seol-hee manipulated the training ground's holograms.
A low hum—
Countless monsters of various kinds were summoned before Lee Yu-ri.
— Krrrrrrk!
— Kwaaaargh!!!
— Kweeeek? Keh-ek!
Though the summoned monsters were all holograms, they glared with eyes brimming with hatred for humans, as if they were real.
It was an extension of their usual training, but the knowledge that someone was evaluating them naturally made tension surge.
'Hoo… Calm down. Yes, just do as I always do. As I always do.'
Lee Yu-ri gently calmed her stiff body with a deep breath and re-gripped her shield.
Her eyes quietly burned with fighting spirit, sharply observing the monsters.
Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!
— Kyaaaah!!!
A massive, lizard-headed monster charged forward, emanating an overwhelming presence.
Swoosh!
A thick, grotesque, membrane-covered hand descended as if to split her head open.
Lee Yu-ri watched the attack until the very end, without even blinking.
And the moment its claws touched her head.
She raised her shield.
Cross Shield.
Between the cross-shaped pillars, a mana barrier unfurled.
The tip of its claws touched the barrier.
Clang!
But Lee Yu-ri merely twisted the attack's direction slightly before immediately retracting the barrier.
Whoosh—!
The monster's attack was lightly deflected to the side, losing no force as it powerfully shot past.
However, the deflected attack didn't reach any of the party members standing behind her.
Following the monster that had charged ahead, other monsters swarmed in.
CRASH—!
Lee Yu-ri stomped her foot, drawing their attention.
'Not yet.'
Even as the monsters swarmed her, she didn't tap her shield.
She had to deal with the entire horde of monsters, not just one or two in front of her.
Her skill, Provoke, had a wide range, but since it had a cooldown, she needed to gather as many monsters as possible when she used it.
'A little more.'
Therefore, she would endure with her body until the optimal moment arrived.
Through her actions, her gaze, her aura, her voice.
"Come at me, all of you!!!!!!"
— Kraaaaargh!!!
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Attacks rained down from all directions.
However, Lee Yu-ri's sharply honed concentration allowed not a single enemy attack to land.
It was then that her eyes suddenly gleamed with an unusual light.
'Now!'
With a fluid, natural motion, she drew the dagger from her waist and struck her shield.
KAA-AAAAANG—!!!
Immediately, a sharp metallic clang resonated, spreading with mana.
"…"
Whirl! Whirl! Whirl! Whirl! Whirl!
Then, as if in a horror movie, the monsters' heads simultaneously whipped towards Lee Yu-ri.
Thwack—!
Thwack—!
At that moment, two piercing sounds came from behind her.
It was the sound of Jin Yu-ha and Kang Do-hee pushing off the ground.
First, Kang Do-hee, wreathed in crimson flames, descended like a meteor into the midst of the monsters.
KWA-AAAAANG—!!!
A thunderous roar echoed, accompanied by violent tremors.
— Ku-eh-ek!!
— Kraaaagh!!
The monsters shrieked from the impact, either stumbling backward, or, if they were too close, having parts of their bodies torn off.
Slice!
Slice!
While the monsters were still reeling from Kang Do-hee's preemptive strike.
Jin Yu-ha's sword danced.
The sword gracefully grazed the monsters' vital points.
A low hum—
Then, a black foothold appeared beneath Jin Yu-ha's feet, as if following his movements, lending wings to his sword.
Bang! Bang! CRASH!
Slice— Slice— Whirrr—
Accelerated by Im Ga-eul, Jin Yu-ha and Kang Do-hee moved like streaks of lightning.
Ping! Piiing—!
Meanwhile, Sophia's intermittent healing support allowed them to deal with the monsters even more aggressively.
'This is different from yesterday.'
Monsters aiming for the supporter and healer.
Lee Yu-ri thought, evading attacks launched from her blind spots purely by instinct.
'…I think I'm doing well.'
Each enemy attack seemed to appear with crystal clarity, her steps were firm, and her body felt light as a feather.
The hand gripping her shield was also firmly fixed, without any slipping.
'Today, it feels like I won't allow a single attack to land.'
Days when her condition was this good weren't very frequent.
It was almost a shame that where she stood today was a training ground, not a battlefield where lives were on the line.
She even wished that today's battle would continue indefinitely, but.
[ Training session concluded. ]
As all the summoned monsters were defeated, the battle inevitably ended.
"Hoo…"
And today, Lee Yu-ri had not allowed a single attack to land, neither on the supporter and healer nor on herself.
It was the best performance she could possibly achieve, one she might not be able to replicate even if asked to do it again.
Lee Yu-ri felt a deep sense of pride swell within her, and she looked at Baek Seol-hee with expectant eyes.
Baek Seol-hee remained standing, arms crossed, with the same posture and expression as before.
Finally, her lips slowly parted.
"It's a mess."
Words different from Lee Yu-ri's expectations flowed from her lips.
"You lot, have you been holding back my disciple with such pathetic skills until now?"
At her biting words, the atmosphere in Utopia froze solid.
"Even now, stop being a nuisance and get out."