A Veteran Teaches Very Well

part 64

The training sword had precisely split the bell in half.

Park Seo-hoo bared his teeth in a bright smile.

“We won!”

“Yeah. You guys won.”

“Wow!”

Team A gathered together to celebrate their victory.

The team atmosphere seemed quite harmonious.

Park Seo-hoo was an asymmetric powerhouse.

He was a monster among monsters, at least two steps ahead of the other team leaders.

Perhaps Team A would soon become the strongest group in my class, led by Park Seo-hoo.

“This should definitely serve as motivation.”

That said, my students were not the type to easily be overshadowed by Park Seo-hoo.

—

No matter who the opponent is, those kids will never give up.

I was looking forward to it.

What impact will Park Seo-hoo’s appearance have on my lecture?

Chapter 3. Snow White

Group A of Park Seo-hoo was satisfying.

The overall tactical understanding was lacking.

However, by minimizing the tactical roles of the other group members and utilizing Park Seo-hoo to the extreme, they offset all the weaknesses of Group A.

One hour before the lecture began.

I called the group leaders separately and showed them the video of Group A’s lecture.

The pretext was to analyze and practice with the group leaders and to provide feedback to Group A.

But the underlying intention was a bit different.

The group leaders must have been filled with thoughts of pointing out various things when I called them.

Perhaps they recalled their own first training session?

Everyone had developed in many ways compared to that time.

However, when the video ended, they all wore expressions of shock.

The leader of Group D, Oh Jae-hak, spoke up.

“No way, how did it turn out like this? No matter how I look at it, it’s strange…”

I asked Oh Jae-hak.

“What do you think is strange?”

“Well… they’re a newly formed group. But what kind of synergy…?”

Park Seo-hoo answered humbly.

“I was lucky. All the group members are kind and skilled, so it turned out that way.”

“No, this is beyond that level…”

Oh Jae-hak looked displeased.

Of course, it wouldn’t make sense to him.

Teamwork, as Oh Jae-hak thinks, cannot be built overnight.

Baek Seol-hwa said.

“Park Seo-hoo’s movements are unique.”

Baek Seol-hwa is in the same martial arts department as Park Seo-hoo.

Perhaps being in the same class made Park Seo-hoo’s movements stand out even more.

—

“Tell me in detail.”

“In that last scene, Park Seo-hoo appropriately interrupted the professor’s casting of magic. If it were me, I would have attacked once more at that point.”

“Indeed, there was a turn where action could have been taken.”

“However, Park Seo-hoo used that turn to regroup. That turn allowed the mages in the back to launch their attacks.”

Oh Jae-hak interjected.

“Then isn’t that just a mistake? The ace of Team A is Park Seo-hoo. It would have been more advantageous for him to deal damage.”

“Um…”

Baek Seol-hwa struggled to respond.

She had accurately pinpointed Park Seo-hoo’s movements, but she failed to notice the organic changes within the entire party.

It was typical of Baek Seol-hwa to lack the ability to synchronize with her teammates.

An Se-ri answered in her stead.

“If that had been the case, even if the attack was effective, it would have been difficult to contain the professor’s movements. Park Seo-hoo used that turn defensively.”

“Defensively?”

“Yes. If Park Seo-hoo’s attack hadn’t landed properly, the professor would have been given the opportunity to threaten the rear. He didn’t want to give that leeway.”

“Ah.”

As An Se-ri elaborated on the intent, Baek Seol-hwa and Oh Jae-hak understood.

Especially Baek Seol-hwa appeared to be deep in thought.

As a fellow swordsman class, she must have felt a lot while observing Park Seo-hoo.

“Right. Everyone explained it well. For Team A to resolve their lack of teamwork, Seo-hoo moving as the playmaker is the strategy.”

Park Seo-hoo was akin to the conductor of an orchestra.

Just as the musicians look to the conductor to keep time, Team A moved in sync with Park Seo-hoo.

And this was the result.

“Now it’s feedback time. What are the issues with Team A, and what needs to be fixed?”

An Se-ri answered.

“If we just bind Park Seo-hoo, the party becomes powerless. While it’s impossible to bind in a one-on-one, if the enemy has a large number, the coverage area widens, or if we encounter monsters with skills to disrupt the party, it will become very difficult.”

As expected of An Se-ri.

She read the overall situation and accurately pinpointed Team A’s issues.

“Right. A one-man team is convenient, but it also has clear weaknesses. Therefore, it would be better for Team A to gradually share roles moving forward.”

“Yes.”

As the feedback for Team A wrapped up, it was time for the lecture.

* * *

In class, Group A stood out.

The most important thing I looked for in the interviews was the student’s motivation.

The new students were the most eager to attend the lectures, which inspired the others.

After the lecture, seeing Group A gather to train, Group D also came together, perhaps feeling motivated.

Given that Group D had somewhat established teamwork, it would have been better for them to train individually, but regardless of the direction, it was important to do something earnestly, so that was enough.

Group A played the role I had hoped for splendidly.

Everyone was conscious of Group A.

Among them, the one most affected was Baeksulhwa.

“…….”

As I was about to leave after the lecture, Baeksulhwa grabbed my sleeve.

“Professor, just a moment.”

Baeksulhwa possessed a strong sense of pride.

She knew she was a genius.

She also had the ambition to be the best.

Yet, she could not surpass the enormous wall that was Park Seohu standing before her.

Baeksulhwa regarded Park Seohu as her rival.

Though she didn’t show it in front of him, in games, Baeksulhwa always wanted to surpass Park Seohu.

Having seen Park Seohu actively participating in my class, she surely didn’t want to lose even more.

“Do you want to beat Park Seohu?”

“……!”

Caught off guard, Baeksulhwa’s eyes widened.

Then she nodded slightly.

“What did you feel after watching the video of Group A?”

After a moment of thought, Baeksulhwa replied.

“Seeing Park Seohu made me realize how lacking I’ve been as a leader.”

Leader.

In a typical party, the leader also plays the role of a commander.

Anseri and Song Seokhwan are natural commanders.

But Baeksulhwa lacks the talent for command.

So I suggested to Baeksulhwa that she step down from her role as commander and act freely.

At that moment, Baeksulhwa easily accepted.

The children of the massive guild and Baeksulhwa had grown up in entirely different environments.

Thus, Baeksulhwa found ways to leverage her strengths in other directions.

But Park Seohu was different.

He hadn’t been trained since childhood, nor was he an archer or magician giving orders from the rear.

Yet Baeksulhwa failed as a commander while Park Seohu succeeded.

“Can I do it like Park Seohu?”

Baeksulhwa had no talent.

She had tried multiple times in the game, but the results were dismal.

The hidden stats related to her command, confirmed through Sethhet’s teachings, were a mess.

Park Seohu’s path did not suit Baeksulhwa.

It was easy to break her will.

This girl trusted me.

If I firmly told her it wouldn’t work, she would simply give up.

It was foolish to lead her down a difficult path when a proven one lay before us.

“Well…”

But I couldn’t speak decisively and trailed off.

This could turn into a pointless torment of hope.

Still, I was curious.

Should I crush Baeksulhwa’s will and lead her only down the path validated by the game?

Could that truly be the answer?

The appearance of Bonivatus changed my thoughts in many ways.

The entire sequence of the scenario had been completely twisted due to a mere conflict with Song Seokhwan.

In all my time playing the game, this had never happened even once.

I might have been thinking about this world too simplistically until now.

The place where I stood was at least reality, not just a game.

Even the smallest actions had changed so much.

In such circumstances, could everything I thought was right truly be correct? At any moment, variables that had never existed in the game could emerge.

“You’ll know if you try.”

“…Really?”

“Of course.”

Baek Seolhwa paused for a moment before speaking.

“Honestly, I thought the professor would be against it.”

“Really?”

“Yes… To be honest, I don’t have any talent in that area. I can’t get along well with others. I’m not sure if I can cooperate well with my group members.”

“That’s true.”

It was hard to imagine Baek Seolhwa getting along well with her peers, just as she said.

“I feel like Seolhwa would attend lectures alone, and during breaks, she’d just go back and forth between my office, the dorm, and the training hall. She probably wouldn’t participate in departmental activities, wouldn’t join any clubs, and of course, wouldn’t know any seniors. The only one she’d share personal stories with would be Park Seohoo…”

Baek Seolhwa’s face turned bright red.

Then she kicked my leg and shouted.

“It’s not that bad!”

It hurt so much, I thought I might scream.

I barely held back a cry that rose to the back of my throat.

“It hurts.”

“I hit you to make it hurt.”

Baek Seolhwa glared at me with fierce eyes.

I had thought she would be a confident outsider, but surprisingly, she seemed to care.

“Anyway, if you really want to do it, I’ll give you all the support I can.”

Baek Seolhwa nodded with a serious expression.

“I want to try challenging myself.”

“Got it.”

I wanted to see something new that I didn’t know about.

Baek Seolhwa mingling at a party, Baek Seolhwa leading as a commander.

A sight I could never see in the game.

But this wasn’t a game.

Not just fragments of data, but living, breathing people. Maybe I could believe in that possibility.

* * *

I brought Baek Seolhwa to the training hall.

The training we would do together was the same distance control training I had done with Park Seohoo.

“Look at this.”

Kiiing—

I drew two circles around me, manifesting mana.

The small circle had a radius of about 50 cm, and the large circle was 2 meters.

“Do you see the two circles? They will move around me. Seolhwa, you must stay only between the two circles. If you go beyond them for more than 3 seconds, you’re out. The time limit is 10 minutes. Can you do it?”

“Yes.”

Baek Seolhwa replied confidently.

She might regret underestimating this.

“Let’s begin.”

Whoosh!

As I swung my sword, Baek Seolhwa parried.

Perhaps aware of the circles on the ground, her strikes lacked the usual force.

We exchanged a few more blows, but she still seemed drained.

This was not how it should be.

I pressed Baek Seolhwa harder.

“Ugh!”

As my movements became more intense, Baek Seolhwa responded more actively.

Good. This is what I wanted.

The wooden sword, swung with technique, produced a clear sound instead of the usual clattering of wood.

Fifteen seconds passed, and the training ended.

“Stop.”

“Pardon?”

“Look at your feet.”

“……!”

Baek Seolhwa stepped into the small circle, and 3 seconds had passed.

In her concentration, she hadn’t even noticed.

“This won’t be an easy training.”

Though I had her do the same training as Park Seohoo, I didn’t intend to teach Baek Seolhwa perfect distance control like him.

That was something that couldn’t be achieved through training alone.

What Baek Seolhwa needed right now was an expansion of her field of vision.

The white snow flower, when battle begins, experiences a sharp narrowing of vision, focusing solely on the enemy. Thus, it becomes impossible to pay attention to how allies are moving.

This is a fatal flaw in teamwork.

The reason for the white snow flower’s limited vision was largely due to the influence of the talent for eruption.

A power that grows stronger as emotions intensify.

Some might belittle a warrior without the talent for eruption as half a warrior, but that wasn’t entirely true.

Eruption is a double-edged sword.

“Focus on the enemy in front of you, but don’t pour all your nerves into it. If you do, you’ll never be able to synchronize with your teammates.”

Those who possess eruption typically experience more emotional fluctuations than ordinary people.

No matter what they think in their heads, once battle begins, they shut off their nerves.

Thus, warriors with eruption often took on the simplest roles in a party.

Naturally, it was very rare for a warrior with eruption to be the commander.

First, they had to overcome that state.

“Again.”

Distributing nerves appropriately sounds easy, but it was by no means a simple task.

After exchanging a few strikes, the white snow flower entered the circle once more.

This time, it didn’t last even 10 seconds.

“Again.”

This time, 9 seconds.

Without hesitation, the white snow flower resumed training.

“Again.”

This time, 7 seconds.

The time was steadily decreasing.

Wait a moment.

Why is the time continuously decreasing?

It’s decreasing so smoothly, what’s the point of that?

It felt so natural that it almost made me uneasy. This isn’t about finishing quickly; it’s about enduring longer.

It seemed to be the influence of eruption.

The more they fought, the stronger the effect became, making it seem impossible to control their emotions.

“Let’s take a moment to catch our breath and try again.”

“…Yes.”

Baeksulhwa plopped down.

She looked far more defeated than I had anticipated.

“Don’t be too disheartened. It’s not that you can’t do it; if you’re a warrior with a division, it usually goes like this.”

“Division, huh? I see now that it’s incredibly inconvenient.”

“But without division, you wouldn’t be able to focus 100 percent on your opponent like you are now.”

“…I’ve been a bit spoiled.”

Baeksulhwa picked up her sword again.

But nothing had improved. The first 15 seconds still stood as her best record.

It was far worse than I had initially thought.

In the end, the training that continued until evening concluded without any real progress.

* * *

Three days since starting training with Baeksulhwa.

Her condition showed no signs of improvement whatsoever.

“Let’s call it a day here and take a break.”

“…Yes.”

Baeksulhwa sank back down to her spot.

I considered offering her some comfort but decided against it.

She would be feeling quite a bit.

But it wouldn’t mean anything for me to ease her anger.

Baeksulhwa needed to learn how to control her emotions on her own.

I pulled two cans of coffee from the vending machine and handed one to her.

One was for me.

“Drink up.”

“Thank you.”

Baeksulhwa took a sip from the canned coffee.

She swirled the coffee in her mouth before speaking.

“It’s too bitter.”

“That’s what makes it good.”

“Bitter is more than enough with reality.”