Breaking Up with the Heroine of the Female-Oriented Game

The buzz of conversation among the students who had been watching Teams 15 and 16 filled the air. The scenes unfolding were more intriguing than many had expected.

Especially the first arrow attack was quite impressive.

Though it was unlikely that such a combined supernatural ability attack could be used in rapid succession, it was enough to pique the interest of the students.

Trajectory adjustment, illusion multiplication, speed control. An attack that mixed these three abilities was more threatening than anticipated. The trajectory of the arrow was twisted, multiplied into several, and the timing of impact was thrown off by speed control.

Had it been anyone else, they likely wouldn’t have been able to respond.

But Yoo Seolhyun had cleanly swung her spear, seemingly already aware, deflecting the real arrow amidst the illusions, hadn’t she?

Was it because she was a descendant of Yoo Gamyeong, the Spear Phantom? The students looked at Yoo Seolhyun with admiration in their eyes. They had slightly underestimated her, ranking just below Lee Siwoon and Kang Daehan, but now it seemed they needed to reassess.

Yoo Seolhyun’s performance this time truly stood out.

“Yoo Seolhyun was amazing! She practically won the match by herself.”

“Wow~ How did she block that?”

Yoo Seolhyun’s group of students were busy singing her praises, all gathered together chattering away. To the students, Yoo Seolhyun was unequivocally the star of this episode.

“Hey, Lee Siwoon.”

Watching the scene from a distance, Kang Daehan shifted his gaze and looked over at Lee Siwoon. At his voice, Lee Siwoon turned his head and looked up at the red-haired male student with a calm face. Kang Daehan, with a sly smile, posed a question.

“Could you have blocked that first arrow?”

“I’m not sure.”

Lee Siwoon pondered for a moment, then replied with a hint of skepticism.

“Knowing in advance how the attack would come… maybe. But without any knowledge, it would have been tough.”

He was confident he could block it half the time, but even mentioning probability was nonsensical.

“I thought so.”

Kang Daehan smacked his lips and muttered.

“Well, I’m not sure I could’ve blocked it either.”

Unlike his usual arrogant demeanor, Kang Daehan honestly expressed his feelings and cast another look at Yoo Seolhyun as if seeing her anew.

“Yoo Seolhyun, huh. I didn’t pay much attention before, but now I want to try fighting her myself.”

The spear technique taught by the Spear Phantom himself…

It had not piqued his interest until now, but it certainly seemed intriguing.

Kang Daehan clenched his fist with a spirited smile. As a fellow spear-wielder, his competitive spirit was ignited.

“Hmm.”

Meanwhile, Hong Daye, who had been evaluating the clash between Teams 15 and 16, tilted her head curiously. There was a gleam of interest in her shadowed eyes. Yoo Seolhyun’s fight had raised many questions for her.

The reflexes she had observed in Yoo Seolhyun over the past month weren’t enough to block such an attack. Even an active hero would have found it challenging to respond. And though the students might not have noticed, even Yoo Seolhyun looked somewhat bewildered to have blocked the arrow.

‘It wasn’t mere luck.’

After all, she had precisely defended the impact point even before the arrow arrived. It certainly wasn’t a fluke. It was more like someone had given her a hint on what to do but she hadn’t completely trusted it.

‘There’s also the question of her fight with Han Dongwon.’

Ranked 7th, Yoo Seolhyun would naturally be expected to win against the 91st-ranked Han Dongwon. But a conclusive victory within one or two minutes hadn’t been anticipated.

Considering both their training, physical abilities, one-on-one records, and middle school data, she expected the fight to last five to ten minutes.
Yet, when the time came, Yoo Seolhyun won with startling ease.

She dominated Han Dongwon throughout the fight. Every time he prepared a counterattack or a big move, she countered as if she knew in advance. It was as if she was aware of Han Dongwon’s every move.

It meant she wasn’t simply relying on her physicality, but rather she was probably familiar with Han Dongwon’s techniques, habits, and tendencies in advance.

‘The duel between Sunari and Oh Seongwoon was also quite interesting.’

Sunari’s physical enhancement ability versus Oh Seongwoon’s illusion multiplication.

Oh Seongwoon’s illusions were so refined that they could easily confuse his opponent, but somehow, Sunari managed to quickly spot the real body among the duplicates and took Oh Seongwoon down without delay.

How did she distinguish the real from the illusions so accurately?

As far as Hong Daye knew, Sunari shouldn’t have been able to see through Oh Seongwoon’s illusions so easily.

‘And lastly, Lee Jinhyuk…’

Honestly, Lee Jinhyuk hadn’t done much in this match.

Compared to Yoo Seolhyun and Sunari, his contributions were minimal.

It was almost comical that he defended against Ko Mirae’s barrage of arrows with two shields.

But why had he prepared two shields from the beginning?

It was as if he had anticipated Ko Mirae’s arrow attack.

‘There was something the Team 16 kids said before the test started.’

– Let’s just do as we planned.
– Heh, I’m looking forward to your strategy.
– If it doesn’t work, you’re dead, Lee Jinhyuk.

A plan…
Could it be that Lee Jinhyuk devised the entire strategy?

Then the evaluation changes.

Gathering information in advance about the opposing team to devise such a precise strategy is worthy of high marks.

But for someone who was only known for his academic excellence, could he really have the capability to make such accurate plans?

No matter how much information was gathered and analyzed, the flow of events was too smoothly executed.

As if he already knew what was going to happen.

***

In Yoo Seolhyun’s room.

“…It’s better than I expected.”

Lying in the darkness of her bedroom, Yoo Seolhyun thought back to the practical assessments she had faced over the past few weeks.

The round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals…

Surprisingly, thanks to Lee Jinhyuk’s strategy, they smoothly made it to the finals, the last two teams standing.

Especially in the semi-finals, the opposing team was tough, but Lee Jinhyuk’s plan fit perfectly, and they won more easily than anticipated.

Frankly, she hadn’t had high expectations for Lee Jinhyuk…

But his ability to devise strategies and execute plans was beyond imagination.

Several times she was astonished by his ability to analyze the opposing team members’ habits, weaknesses, compatibility, and come up with accurate countermeasures.

Especially how he had tipped them off in advance about the enemy’s secret weapons, she couldn’t fathom.

Jokingly, could he be reading the future, perhaps?

‘Future sight ability…’

Such a power would be coveted by many.

It’s not unheard of in this world. There were oracles, after all.

‘But that’s impossible.’

Yoo Seolhyun smirked at the thought.

‘After all, Lee Jinhyuk doesn’t have any supernatural abilities.’

A non-ability user.

So far, Lee Jinhyuk hadn’t awakened any supernatural abilities.

‘Unless he’s been hiding it on purpose.’

Yoo Seolhyun shook her head, casting away the frivolous thought.

She didn’t want to waste more time on fanciful imaginings. Better to focus on productive ideas.

‘Well… whether Lee Jinhyuk has a future-sight ability or not, his tactical skill is admirable.’

Having observed many heroes over the years, she could say that his tactical abilities were superior to many active ones.

He had breezed through the round of 16, quarter-finals, and semi-finals, thanks to his strategic acumen.

She had initially thought of him as a liability.

But as a tactical advisor, he was quite remarkable.

‘Hmm, interesting.’

Lee Jinhyuk.
His combat abilities were lackluster, but his tactical and strategy planning skills were excellent.

Whether he was a talent worthy of Gaon Nuri Clan’s interest remained to be seen, but he was worth keeping an eye on for a bit longer.

Heroes rarely operate alone.

To adeptly handle numerous situations, they form teams.

As they work in units, they need talents that can compensate for each other’s weaknesses.

Someone like Lee Jinhyuk, specialized in support, could be valuable.

‘…Of course, priority still goes to recruiting powerful hero candidates like Lee Siwoon.’

Yoo Seolhyun chuckled and turned off the light.

Tomorrow was the final match.

The last day of the practical assessment.

She was a bit excited to see how far Lee Jinhyuk’s strategies would go against Lee Siwoon’s team.

Honestly, with Yoo Seolhyun’s team’s current strength, they had no chance against Lee Siwoon’s team.

A brilliant strategy was the only thing that could turn the tides in such an unfavorable situation.

If tomorrow’s match also goes according to Lee Jinhyuk’s plans…

‘What will happen, I wonder?’

Yoo Seolhyun was genuinely curious about the outcome.

***

“…Even though I gave Yoo Seolhyun and Sunari a plausible strategy, we’d get completely trashed within 10 minutes if we actually fought.”

I chuckled to myself at the thought.

How could we possibly beat those male and female leads brimming with talent?

“There’s no need to win anyway.”

Because tomorrow that incident will occur.

The special event that takes place in the finals.