*
Park Hye-ji, with her model-like, slender figure, had the ability to make even the cheapest clothes look luxurious.
She was somewhere between the seemingly indifferent Yoon Seo-ah and the sharp, strong-looking Kang Min-ji.
While not quite to the level of Yoon Seo-ah, who showed almost no change in expression, she mostly wore a blank face.
She wasn't very interested in other people, and she didn't particularly like dealing with anyone against her will.
Maintaining an indifferent expression was good because it meant she didn't have to deal with people much, but sometimes she got angry when she heard people say she was copying Yoon Seo-ah.
She was already pissed off about being pushed down in the rankings, so hearing that kind of thing only made her feel worse.
'Being in third place is bad enough.'
How much humiliation had she suffered from being pushed down to third place by two people? There wasn't even a term for third place.
There were terms like valedictorian and salutatorian, but no expression for the next one.
Some universities used terms like "second salutatorian" or "third seat," but those were just made-up words.
'It just sounds so cheap.'
She didn't think her combat ability was any less than Yoon Seo-ah or Lee Da-eun's, even if her written exam scores were a little lower.
Wasn't it strange in the first place that those guys didn't get a single question wrong and got everything right?
She had narrowly lost to Lee Da-eun in the last match, but that was in the past. Through her training, she was confident she could win if they fought now.
What was important now was the fact that Kim Si-woo had defeated Park Chan-hu.
'Grandfather acknowledged him, but I didn't think he'd be this good...'
She looked at Kim Si-woo, who had defeated Park Chan-hu with a single attack, with wary eyes.
She didn't know all the students, but she had looked up the ones who were in the top 50 to some extent.
Even though he had a somewhat strange personality, Park Chan-hu's combat ability was top-tier.
She had heard that he made good use of his delicate Mana control and that his swordsmanship was excellent, but the actual result was different.
If you only looked at swordsmanship, it was as if a child was fighting an adult, with Kim Si-woo being overwhelmingly superior.
'No... it's not just swordsmanship, he's overwhelming in every other aspect too.'
Choi Tae-soo, her grandfather, had said that he wanted to take him as a disciple, but she didn't think he would be this good.
She couldn't become a disciple even if she wanted to, but he had rejected her grandfather's offer?
She thought that his health must be bad due to his age, and that he had misjudged the person, but now it seemed like she needed to be wary.
She had seen him unable to do anything against the Red Yeti that appeared in the city center and thought he was just fast, but she needed to change her mind.
'Especially the output of that last attack...'
He had simply swung his sword and released Mana. He hadn't controlled the Mana to create a complex structure, he had just released it.
Even though she wouldn't be pushed back in a battle of Mana and strength against someone of the same level because of her anti-magic ability, that was an overwhelming level of Mana.
On top of that, his speed was ridiculous; no ordinary Hunter could imitate it.
'Grandfather said his Mana circuit was special, but I didn't think it would be this good...'
But it could be that it was more noticeable because his opponent was Park Chan-hu. It wasn't difficult for her to defeat Park Chan-hu in one blow either.
"What are you being so wary about?"
"..."
A low, resonant voice echoed. She had thought his voice was good when she heard it from afar, but it was quite something up close.
'No, that's not what's important right now.'
Park Hye-ji maintained her blank expression and approached Kim Si-woo.
"I've heard a lot about you from my grandfather."
"Grandfather?"
At the word "grandfather," Kim Si-woo frowned for a moment, then muttered with a look of disbelief.
"Are you talking about Choi Tae-soo-nim...?"
"Didn't you know that I'm Tae-soo Grandfather's granddaughter?"
"This is the first I've heard of it..."
Was he the type who wasn't interested in others like her?
Or was it perhaps because she was in third place that he wasn't interested?
Park Hye-ji gripped the sword at her waist tightly, her expression still indifferent.
He seemed to be standing completely defenseless, but there was no opening to be seen.
Well, Choi Tae-soo wouldn't have acknowledged just anyone.
Other than that man who he kept around as a disciple out of affection even though he lacked skill, he didn't have any other notable disciples.
So, if she defeated Kim Si-woo, whom Choi Tae-soo had acknowledged, Choi Tae-soo would have no choice but to acknowledge her as well.
"I don't have any ill feelings. I just want to see your skills."
Park Hye-ji said that and gracefully took a fighting stance. She positioned herself as if she were about to draw the sword from her right waist at any moment and glared at Kim Si-woo.
"Is it just my imagination, or do you seem to have a lot of emotion in that?"
Seeing Kim Si-woo speaking with a playful expression, she couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion.
His voice was deep and didn't seem frivolous, but wasn't he being too relaxed in front of her?
"Don't let your guard down."
"I'll take care of it, so you don't have to worry so much."
"..."
Park Hye-ji, angered by Kim Si-woo's attitude, grabbed one of her swords and drew it.
Just as Choi Tae-soo used Mana to perform martial arts techniques from martial arts novels, she also unleashed an attack through drawing her sword.
Just as magician-type Hunters used magic, close-combat Hunters used techniques through specific movements.
It looked like she was simply drawing her sword, but the Mana circuits inside her began to move in a complex manner.
Her technique, created through countless practices, moved the internal Mana in a complex manner without a moment's hesitation, creating a huge wave of water.
In that short moment, a fleeting moment, a huge wave of sword blades struck Kim Si-woo.
An ordinary person wouldn't even recognize that she had drawn her sword, but Kim Si-woo moved his body and dodged at the same time as drawing his sword.
Everything around them was shattered, and the gruesome blade marks made them realize its power.
"Do you know you have a fierce look on your face right now?"
The expression on her face changed completely from before when she saw Kim Si-woo smiling after dodging the sword.
Simply dodging an attack might be possible for a skilled Hunter, but accurately predicting the range and dodging with minimal movement was not something anyone could do.
She had warned him, but was it possible to accurately grasp that and dodge it in that instant?
Just as she was about to launch her next attack, Kim Si-woo ran up and swung his sword.
She used her quick-draw technique at close range to block Kim Si-woo, but he dodged with lightning-like movements.
Even though the attack was flying right next to her, she ran up and swung her sword without any hesitation.
__Chaeng!!
The moment she gave up drawing her sword and blocked Kim Si-woo's attack, she felt a heavy impact on her wrist.
She panicked at Kim Si-woo's attack, which flowed naturally like water, and swung her sword.
How many battles had these movements been created through?
She thought she had blocked it, but her shield began to crack little by little.
'The battle from earlier is showing here...!'
It would be one thing if it was a normal match, but this was an assessment test where she had to protect her shield.
Perhaps because of the damage she had taken in the battle with Kang Min-ji earlier, her shield was already about to break.
If she continued to fight like this, she might be eliminated.
'If I keep fighting like this...!'
It was impossible to continue fighting at close range.
She needed to create some distance. She used Mana to spray water at Kim Si-woo's face, aiming for his eyes.
It didn't create an opening, but it did create some distance.
'Now's my chance!'
Taking advantage of that gap, she began to draw her swords alternately.
It was impossible to maintain close combat due to the state of her shield.
She continued to unleash her quick-draw technique, intending to end it right there.
As the sharp water blades gradually widened the distance, she crouched down for the final attack.
"This is the end!!"
Unlike before, a large amount of Mana began to move.
Unlike drawing her sword vertically, she drew her sword horizontally from its scabbard, creating a huge wave.
It began to engulf the field as if it would swallow everything.
It was truly overwhelming in size and power.
There seemed to be no way to stop it.
Kim Si-woo stood still in front of that huge wave.
'Hmm... is it too overwhelming, so he gave up?'
If her shield had been in good condition, she might have fought properly, but it was an unavoidable choice.
Even if nothing else, Kim Si-woo's swordsmanship was the real deal.
"Haa... haa... This is the end."
Who could survive if they were caught up in that?
The moment she thought it was over, a blue flame bloomed from the center of the wave, so dazzling it was hard to look at.
A blue light drawn in a straight line.
As if to swallow everything, a clear sword energy began to cleave the wave.
Kim Si-woo, who had taken a stance as if he had swung his sword, crossed the torn wave.
"How could he...!"
Was it truly the power of anti-magic? The moment she hurriedly drew her sword, Kim Si-woo was right in front of her.
She instinctively raised her sword, and an impact like being hit with a hammer was transmitted.
'The next attack...!'
Block the next attack and counterattack.
The moment she thought that, an unexpected event occurred.
Her sword was cut in half.
'I forgot that it wasn't the weapon I usually use.'
She tried to move belatedly, but the sword was already under her neck.
"..."
If it had been the weapon she normally used, if she hadn't exhausted her stamina in the previous battle, if her shield had been in good condition, countless reasons passed through her mind.
But it was all just excuses.
A test to assess survival, it was her defeat for not considering all the circumstances.
She sensed defeat and closed her eyes.
__Ttak!
"Aya...?"
"Let's have a proper match later."
Kim Si-woo said that and threw a magic stone at Park Hye-ji.
At that moment, sunlight poured through the clouds, and Kim Si-woo smiled with a playful face.
"You can use that to restore your shield. Then, let's meet again later."
Park Hye-ji could only stand there blankly, watching Kim Si-woo disappear as if nothing had happened.
"Grandfather... might have seen the person well..."
Park Hye-ji clutched the magic stone that Kim Si-woo had given her tightly and left the spot.