Genius Swordsman In Reverse Game

"······What? Master is going to test the kids himself?"

It was on the first night of training that I heard the news that Master had begun a test to evaluate the members of Utopia.

Because it was in front of the party members, the training was a little more intense than usual, and I had to go to bed early. So, as soon as I heard the news, I tried to head straight to the training ground where the test was being conducted.

"No."

Shin Se-hee pressed down on my shoulder.

I looked at her, wondering what she was doing, and she opened her mouth.

"This is a message from Instructor Baek Seol-hee. Jin Yuha should not approach the training ground during the test."

"Why?"

"You'll get in the way."

"······."

Since it was the Master's order, there was nothing I could do. All I could do was wait anxiously.

Fortunately, not long after.

Ichika brought the good news of passing.

"Pass. I'm the first."

I was quite surprised that Ichika was the first to pass. She took first place, surpassing all the other Utopia party members in the Master's test.

'As expected, is Ichika a 5-star character?'

In-game, she's a hidden character that no one has obtained, so it wouldn't be strange if she had insane abilities.

"Did I do well?"

Ichika, with an expressionless face, tilted her head and asked.

"Yes, really. You've worked hard. Master's test couldn't have been easy."

"Yeah, I almost died. So, reward."

"Reward?

"Yeah, two since I'm in first place."

"······What are they?"

"Speak informally to me."

I wondered what Ichika, who was hard to read, wanted as a reward, but it was an unexpectedly easy request.

'Well, it's weird that I speak informally to all the other party members, but only speak formally to Ichika.'

I nodded readily.

"Yes, I will. I mean, yeah, let's do that."

"Yahoo. And the next reward. Come on."

Ichika suddenly bowed her head to me.

"······?"

"What are you doing? Pat my head."

Ichika said, bowing her head to me.

"······your head?"

"Yeah, that's my second reward."

I had no choice but to pat her head with a reluctant expression.

'I really can't figure this person out. But her hair is so soft!'

Swipe swipe─

For almost an hour. She finally nodded, satisfied, with her now messy hair.

"It's not enough, but I guess I can hold out for a week with this."

Then. That night.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Suddenly, there was a loud knocking sound, as if someone were about to break down the door. I was startled and sat up in bed.

"Little Fool······."

The person who walked in through the door was Kang Do-hee.

"Puppy! You passed!?"

"Yes, but that's not why I'm here."

She suddenly pointed at me.

"You."

"······Huh?"

"Promise me."

"What, what?"

"From now on, if there's training like this, you must promise not to leave me out and not do it alone."

"Y-yes. I understand······."

Kang Do-hee left with a somewhat sulky tone.

Bang!

"Puppy! You've worked hard─!"

4th day.

Sophia came to see me.

"Jin Yuha-niiim─!! I passed─!!!"

She looked tired, but she had a bright smile on her face.

"So, I shot a healing arrow up, and then─! So, the instructor says this, right? Hmm, it was a shallow trick, but I can't just fail you."

She chattered on about how she had passed the test.

And on the 6th day.

"Yuuuuuuuuuuhaaaaaaaaaaa─! Juniorrrrrrrrrrrrrr─!!!"

Lim Ga-eul came, and the impact of the test seemed to be quite big, as she had tears in the corners of her eyes.

"I, I, it, it was so scaryyyyyyy─ hiccup─!"

I had to listen to her whining, but I couldn't help but have a deadpan expression.

'Where has this sister's original image gone······.'

The members of Utopia began to pass one by one.

Now, on the 7th day, only one person remained.

'Hmm······. Is Soup not here yet······?'

Master had said in a stern voice that if they did not pass her test, they would not be qualified to be my companion.

But I wasn't too worried.

In fact, I was most worried about Sophia and Lim Ga-eul, and they had passed.

And.

'There's no way Master wouldn't like our Soup.'

If Master asked me to choose one person from the Utopia party members to show her, it would undoubtedly be Lee Yoo-ri. However, the two of them had only met briefly due to their conflicting schedules.

Soup is fundamentally diligent,

strict with herself,

responsible,

and has an extraordinary mindset.

On top of that, she has an unwavering 'belief'.

It was hard to imagine that Master would reject Yoo-ri, who possessed all the qualities she admired.

'Hmm, but I didn't expect Soup to take this long. Is Master giving her special lessons or something?'

As I pondered the relationship between the two, I suddenly had a thought.

'······Should I go and see?'

Master had strictly forbidden me from coming to the training ground, but

I wanted to see them.

How they evaluated each other.

What kind of chemistry they would have.

I wanted to see them training together, nodding seriously!

Honestly, how can I stand this?

Swipe─

As soon as I made up my mind, I quietly headed towards the training ground.

It was still daytime, the sun was up.

Instructor Baek Seol-hee stood there with a cold expression, as sharp as a knife. And in front of her, Lee Yoo-ri, injured all over her body.

Yes, that was bearable. But what followed was completely different from what I had expected.

Bang!

"Grah!"

Bang!

"Aaah─!"

Boom!

"Ugh─!!"

Yoo-ri, despite her injuries, kept charging at the instructor over and over. And in response, the instructor mechanically swung her sword, her expression unchanging.

From the beginning, it was a one-on-one situation, so even Yoo-ri's renowned provocations had no effect.

How long did this scene repeat? Until the sun set and night fell.

'…What is this?'

Yoo-ri tumbled and fell dozens, hundreds of times, yet she kept biting her lip and charging again.

Desperate and earnest.

Like someone challenging the impossible, knowing it can't be done.

Watching her, I really wanted to stop her.

I wanted to tell her she didn't need to go this far. That she was already a proud tank for us without doing this.

I wanted to tell her that.

But of course, I couldn't. That would be throwing Yoo-ri's determination into the gutter. So all I could do was watch her struggle until the end.

It was almost midnight.

Yoo-ri was on the ground, her head down, shoulders trembling in despair. Soup was crying.

'…Yeah, let's stop. You don't have to go this far. I will never abandon you.'

The test was nearing its end. I was about to approach her.

Suddenly, Yoo-ri lifted her head. She adjusted her grip on her shield once more.

"I am─!!!"

Her tear-filled eyes glowed with a fierce blue light.

"Jin Yuha's shield!!!!!!!!"

She screamed and charged again.

"…!?"

And then, I clearly saw it. The radiant halo above her head. That light enveloped Yoo-ri, wrapping around her body.

'…No way.'

I almost screamed in shock from where I was hiding in the training ground.

I knew exactly what I was witnessing. Having experienced it myself and seen it countless times in the game.

Rise in Rank.

In other words, it was a rank-up event.

A brilliant light enveloped her body. And there was Yoo-ri, blocking the instructor's sword and lifting her shield.

'…How?'

I could only stare in astonishment at the scene.

Yoo-ri, who was naturally a 3-star, had become a 4-star. She hadn't even defeated a demon or anything like that.

'Usually, you either catch a late-story opportunity or grind resources to achieve this, but to do it on your own like this…?'

As I was watching with wide eyes,

"Student. Are you just going to stand there and watch?"

Suddenly, the instructor turned her head toward me.

"…!"

"You disobeyed your teacher's words."

"Uh, well, that is…"

"Enough. I will punish you in a future lesson for that. For now, support this girl and take her inside."

"Ah, y-yes, understood!!"

In a fluster, I ran out and supported the exhausted Yoo-ri. Next to her, I noticed the broken shield.

'It's broken? Well, she did experience a rank-up event this time. It's probably time to get a new shield anyway. Oh, and I need to get Ichika's subspace tattoo engraved too?'

While thinking about the most famous kid at the academy, and starting to head back,

"Student."

The instructor called out to me again.

"…Yes?"

"You have an excellent comrade."

It was clear that she was referring to Yoo-ri.

I smiled broadly.

"Yes, that's right. Soup is my pride."

"…"

However, it seemed my response did not please her. The instructor furrowed her brow and glared at me.

"…Even after all this, my abilities remain unchanged… Did I do all this just to benefit others?"

She muttered something, but her voice didn't reach my ears.

"Sorry, what did you say?"

"Never mind. Just get out of here."

"Why, why are you—"

"Get out."

"Y-yes, ma'am!!"