Genius Swordsman In Reverse Game

In the middle of the night,

In the Chairman's office of Velvet Hunter Academy,

Lina looked at the woman in front of her with a bewildered expression.

"...So, Seol-hee. You've gotten stronger?"

In Rina's judgment, Baek Seol-hee was stuck on the level just below a transcendent, unable to get any stronger without a miracle.

So, when Baek Seol-hee suddenly showed up claiming to be stronger, Rina was bewildered.

Rina's eyes narrowed as she observed Baek Seol-hee, and when she checked her mana, she could see that the aura surrounding her had become denser and more concentrated.

'...You really have gotten stronger, and noticeably so?'

Bultak!

"What the hell happened──!! Unless you've caught a devil alone...!!!"

Rina stood up from her seat, but Baek Seol-hee ignored her and yawned.

"Haaam..."

Then, she covered her mouth with her hand.

It was an awkward gesture, clearly meant to show her hand.

Sparkle!

A lewd pink gemstone sparkled on her hand.

'...This thing?'

Rina immediately realized that this was related to Jin Yuha.

When something happened she usually ignored their superior-subordinate relationship and spoke bluntly, but whenever she had something to brag about Jin Yuha, she always did something ridiculous like this.

Baek Seol-hee enjoyed bragging about Jin Yuha indirectly like this, even though she wasn't good at it!

Rina's insides boiled as she watched Baek Seol-hee's behavior.

However, this time, the reason for her boiling anger was a little different from usual.

'Was it because of the artifact's ability...?'

Rina's face hardened as she recalled the events of a few hours ago.

.

.

.

"What's this again...? Utopia guys took the lowest-ranked quest? And they left on the same day they received the quest...?"

Rina, the principal of Velvet Hunter Academy, was overwhelmed by the hundreds of reports that came in every day.

Among them, matters concerning Utopia were given top priority.

They were an irregular group that always gave her a headache!

But she couldn't treat them lightly just because she was the Chairman. In reality, Utopia, despite being a newly formed party of only half a year, had already established quite a reputation, and their achievements were extraordinary.

Just thinking about it, they had accomplished a lot:

Early on, they defeated a demon.

Exposed the corruption in the Hunter Management Bureau.

Prevented student's causality during the mid-term evaluation.

And recently, they dealt with the Blue Crab Wave.

In terms of experience, they could be compared to a well-known mid-tier party. And yet, they were still first-year students, a party formed only six months ago. It was infuriating.

Moreover, personally, Rina owed them a great debt from the mid-term evaluation incident.

Because of this, she had to grant their requests as long as they didn't violate the school rules.

'So, even if they sweep through all the missions this time, I thought it was unavoidable...'

Out of the blue, they took the lowest-ranked quest as their first quest, and their only pending quest was the American monster extermination quest?

'What the hell are they thinking...?'

The addendum at the end of the report, 'It seems to be a consideration for other new and senior parties,' didn't convince her at all.

After all, she knew the kind of person Jin Yuha, the center of Utopia, was.

'I don't know about the others, but that bastard Jin Yuha will never do something that puts him at a disadvantage.'

From the very first day of school, he took her subspace tattoo.

And every time a new member joined the party, he demanded a subspace tattoos for them as well. Recently, he even took hers home.

However, at the same time, Rina acknowledged him.

The direction he was leading Utopia was not wrong, even if their methods were selfish. Their intentions were always noble and heroic.

'Hmm, there must be some intention behind this as well... What could it be?'

As she carefully examined the report, lost in thought,

Tting♪

Suddenly, a clear bell rang.

'...What?'

Honestly, she couldn't remember the last time she heard this notification sound. It had been almost ten years since she became a transcendent, and she had never encountered it since.

So, Rina's guard went up instead.

Woom─

Then, she felt an alien presence trying to penetrate her mana.

As she explored this presence, Rina's face hardened.

'...This is the aura of a devil!'

Flarrrrlrlrl─!

It had been so long since she had felt the aura of a demon. Of course, with a wave of her hand, the aura disappeared without a trace, but her guard was at its peak.

'...This aura is targeting even me, a demon's aura... This could be dangerous for the children.'

That was what she had concluded just a few hours ago...

And now, the cause of it all stood before her!

Rina's eyes narrowed as she looked at the ring on Baek Seol-hee's finger.

'An artifact imbued with the aura of a devil...'

Fortunately, there didn't seem to be any malicious intent within it, but it was still a ridiculous item with the full power of a devil's authority imbued in it.

'...What, that bastard Jin Yuha. Did he catch a devil somewhere again?'

Indeed, the 'authority' of a devil was in the realm of miracles.

While it might not be of much use to Rina, a transcendent, it would be incredibly efficient for Baek Seol-hee, who was right on the border.

'...That bastard, what is he up to now?'

They went on the lowest-ranked quest and came back with a devil's authority?

The thought of his smug face made her head ache again.

As Rina continued her train of thought,

Baek Seol-hee continued to do ridiculous things in front of Rina.

She casually ran her ringed hand through her hair, blew on the cuticles of her nails, and fiddled with her lips as she gazed out the window.

Each time, she directed the ring on her finger towards Rina.

Without saying a word, she kept doing these annoying things with a stoic expression, and it was honestly extremely irritating.

'…Really, it's unbearable to watch. I received it too! I received it too!'

Of course, she rejected it because it was suspiciously demonic energy! And even if she had accepted it, it wouldn't have been particularly useful to someone already at the level of a transcendent! But still!

She had received it as well!

However, explaining that to Baek Seol-hee seemed a bit unseemly.

Rina glared at the ring Baek Seol-hee was flaunting, moving one hand hidden under the desk.

Buzzzz—

'Does it look like this…?'

No matter how skilled Rina was, she couldn't replicate the demonic powers, but copying the appearance of an artifact was a piece of cake.

Swoosh.

In the blink of an eye, Rina finished her work under the desk and slowly raised her hand above it.

Freeze.

In that instant, Baek Seol-hee's body froze as if time had stopped for her. Only the trembling of her eyes, fiercely glaring at the hand, indicated that her time was still flowing.

Baek Seol-hee, staring at Rina's hand for a long time, finally opened her mouth.

"…That."

In response, Rina nonchalantly raised her hand.

"Oh, this? Hmm, this suddenly appeared on my hand earlier."

"How much, how much stronger did you get…?"

Baek Seol-hee asked in a stiff voice.

'How much stronger…?'

Hmm, if Baek Seol-hee's strength had increased by about 4%, as a superior, it should be a bit higher.

"Ahem, roughly… s-seven percent."

She increased it by just 3% more than Baek Seol-hee, honestly.

"…7%?"

Despite that, Baek Seol-hee's voice sank coldly. Rina sensed something was wrong, but she couldn't take back what she had already said.

"Y-yes! Seven percent!"

Crack—

Baek Seol-hee glared at Rina with a terrifying expression.

"S-Seol-hee?"

Feeling something was really off, Rina called out to Baek Seol-hee.

Whoosh!

Baek Seol-hee jumped out of the window.

"…Why on earth is she acting like that?"

Rina said, unaware that the artifact's power was determined by Jin Yu-ha's affection, but there was no one left to answer her.

.

.

.

Meanwhile, Utopia returned to Velvet Academy late at night after finishing their schedule.

As soon as Shin Se-hee heard about Utopia's return, she dashed out like a bullet.

And there, she met a new face.

A small girl with long blue hair down to her waist. Her expression was indifferent, making it hard to tell what she was thinking.

"…Ichika, right? Hello?"

"Yes, hello…"

Ichika greeted her with a weak wave.

'This woman, a new Special…?'

She knew that someday, a new person would fill the vacant Special position. But so soon…?

'This wasn't mentioned…!'

Shin Se-hee, feeling somewhat unfair, glared at Jin Yuha.

Clearly, she had become an Operator by her own will, letting go of her regrets. Yet, there was an inexplicable sense of emptiness, as if her position had been taken.

However, she couldn't show this on the surface. She mustn't show it…

Shin Se-hee bit her lip hard, suppressing the emotions that surged up.

"I'm sorry."

"…What?"

Amid this, Jin Yuha suddenly apologized.

"Wh-why are you apologizing…?"

"I didn't expect Ichika to become the Special of our party. This is true."

"…You didn't expect it?"

"Yeah, this wasn't planned at all. If I had known beforehand, I would have told you first. We would have discussed it together."

Jin Yuha apologized sincerely.

That alone melted away some of her disappointment and bitterness. But Jin Yuha continued, scratching his cheek as if it wasn't over yet.

"And, well, the Special position is quite unique, right? It often deals with multiple opponents at once, so it relies heavily on compatibility."

"Right… If the compatibility isn't right, it often becomes a burden."

Shin Se-hee nodded.

"So, our Utopia will now utilize the Special position too."

"Well, then we'll need to form a slightly different strategy than before."

"Yeah. So, what I'm saying is, there might be times when Ichika can't handle a mission." "…What?"

"As I said, the Special position depends on compatibility. So, if you don't mind, could you sometimes take on the Special combat role when that happens…?"

"…Me?"

"Oh, of course! I'll try not to interfere with your current duties! If you're too busy, it's perfectly fine to refuse!"

When Jin Yuha said this much, Shin Se-hee's heart softened like melted pudding.

'Am I really that easy of a woman…?'

"Ahem!"

Shin Se-hee cleared her throat, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"Alright. If you request it, I'll occasionally take on the combat role. But only if I'm not too busy!"

She spoke evasively, but Shin Se-hee had no intention of refusing.

As the situation settled, the next thing that came to mind was the ring that had suddenly appeared.

"By the way… Jin Yuha, I have something to ask about this…"

It was then.

Whoosh—!

"Ah!"

Someone suddenly appeared between Shin Se-hee and Jin Yuha.

"Disciple, I have something urgent to discuss."

"Oh, Master?"

"Follow me for a moment."

It was Baek Seol-hee.

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