Why Is Everyone in This Dating Sim Trying to Kill Me?!

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Translator: Vine

Chapter Title: Personal Combat Training (2)

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The impromptu spar with the instructor was set.

I looked at Instructor Hong Jin-ah before me, recalling everything I knew about her.

Hong Jin-ah, the instructor in charge of the first-year Dealer class, "Personal Combat Training" at Velvet Hunter Academy.

Proficient in all types of weapons, her combat power was among the top contenders even among the instructors at Velvet Academy.

Her alias: Battle Maniac.

That was it.

'…I don't know anything.'

Instructors rarely appeared as enemies, so I'd never fought one before. And since classes weren't implemented in the game, there wasn't much information about the Velvet Academy instructors.

Just that they were overwhelmingly stronger than the students?

'Well, if you follow the main story, after a year, you'd hear things like, "Now you're at the level of Velvet Academy instructors."'

What I could roughly infer from the context was that she was a much tougher opponent than Ryu Jin-ju from the Hunter Management Bureau, whom I fought yesterday.

The basic power balance in the setting was that the Hunter Management Bureau was weaker than Velvet Academy.

Moreover, she was an instructor who taught Dealers, meaning her combat power must be top-tier even among Velvet Academy instructors.

That's why this spar was important.

There would definitely be enemies without information in the battles to come.

I couldn't just freeze every time, so it was actually a good opportunity to prepare a countermeasure for 'unknown enemies.'

'Still, she must be weaker than Instructor Baek Seol-hee.'

It wouldn't make sense for monsters like Instructor Baek Seol-hee to be crawling around everywhere.

If that were the case, even if the demon-kin ran rampant, Velvet Academy falling into crisis wouldn't make sense.

The instructors would just sweep them away, and it'd be game over.

'Hmm, first, I need to measure Instructor Hong Jin-ah's combat power…'

"Jin Yoo-ha, so do you have a plan in mind?"

At that moment, the orange-haired, by-the-book type, Lee Min-young, asked me.

I turned my head to look at her.

A rigid face, filled with conviction (which I read as stubbornness).

I subtly curled the corner of my lips.

'Oh, look what we have here? A combat power meter…?'

Sensing something ominous, Lee Min-young flinched and stepped back.

"…Wh-What is it!"

Hey, I won't eat you.

I quickly composed my face and spoke with a serious demeanor.

"Lee Min-young."

"…Yes."

"There are three of us here, all Dealers."

"…That's right."

"In this situation, blindly rushing into an attack would lead to an obvious outcome. Academy instructors are not opponents to be taken lightly."

She seemed to find my words reasonable and her face hardened as well.

"Yes, you're right. That's why we need a strategy."

I chose my words carefully, recalling her personality.

"Hmm, you're the only one among us with a shield."

"…A shield, you mean?"

"Yes, a Dealer with such good balance as you is rare. No, it's no exaggeration to say there's no one else. You're a balanced talent who can organically link offense and defense, doing both simultaneously."

As I suddenly showered her with praise, Lee Min-young swallowed a gasp, her face still rigid.

This girl, she pretends not to care, but she absolutely loves being praised and recognized by others.

Because she's so full of ambition, she's actually very conscious of what others think and sensitive to their evaluations.

"Th-Even if you flatter me like that, my resolve to defeat you won't change!"

Lee Min-young shouted, as if to say she wouldn't fall for my sugar-coated words.

"A-And you! You beat me so mercilessly last week, and now what are you saying!"

But Min-young.

Why is your voice so high-pitched, and your breathing so ragged? I really don't know.

"That's because it was you."

Swallowing the laugh that threatened to escape, I maintained a serious demeanor and said.

"…B-Because it was me?"

Lee Min-young's eyes wavered.

Now was the time to hit the nail on the head with words she'd absolutely adore.

"Yes, you're someone with a 'conviction' that won't easily break. Even before coming to the Academy, I've always 'respected' it."

"…My conviction, respected!? You, me?"

Her eyes widened further, filled with surprise.

"That's why I had no choice. You're not someone who easily surrenders. If I hadn't focused and had been careless then, it would have been me lying on the ground."

Gulp.

Lee Min-young swallowed dryly.

She trembled for a moment, then quickly turned her head away.

"H-Hmph! S-So that's what it was!?"

But her shoulders kept twitching, as if unable to hide her surging joy.

"Ahem! S-So, what's the strategy, th-then! Tell me!"

She said, still turned away.

"…First, you go ahead and face the instructor alone. Then, Kang Do-hee and I will seize that opening to attack."

"…Me, alone?"

Lee Min-young turned her face back, a bewildered expression on it.

I nodded.

"This is a request I can only make of you, someone who can perform the role of a tank while also being a Dealer."

"…Because it's me."

"How about it? Can you do it? Tell me now if you think it's too much."

"…H-Hmph. What do you take me for! Just leave it to me!"

'Easy.'

With a slight push, Lee Min-young fell for it all too easily.

Truly a top-tier simpleton, exactly what I expected from the by-the-book type.

And so, she proudly stepped forward, readjusted her shield, and took a tank's stance.

Kang Do-hee, who had been silently listening to the conversation beside me, had been giving me a look like I was trash for a while now.

"…"

What? Why? Why are you looking at me like that?

* * *

"Alright, have you all devised a strategy? Hmm, this is exciting."

Hong Jin-ah said, watching them step onto the sparring grounds.

She smiled, recalling Instructor Park Jin-soo's whining from the day before.

'Hmm, that ice-cold man grumbling weakly was quite cute— no, wait, he said he'd come up with a brilliant strategy that no one else could imitate.'

Even just being a student of Baek Seol-hee, her rival (though only Hong Jin-ah thought so), was enough to make him noteworthy.

And now, to hear that he possessed an outstanding mind made her even more eager.

That's why she had arranged this spar, not just for him alone, but for a team of three Dealers against herself.

'If I experience it firsthand and then tell Instructor Park Jin-soo, it'll be helpful to him.'

Of course, about 90% of it was her selfish desire to see Instructor Park Jin-soo break his icy facade again, grab her hand, and thank her profusely.

Hong Jin-ah abandoned the mindset of sparring with a first-year student and took her stance, thinking she was facing a senior student.

"Then, let's begin immediately. Fight with all your might."

Whoosh—

With those words, Instructor Hong Jin-ah's subspace tattoo glowed.

And axes, spears, swords, greatswords, arrows, katanas, daggers…

All sorts of weapons began to pour down from the sky like rain.

Swoosh!

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

A menacing shower of metal objects summoned from thin air.

Lee Min-young's face hardened, and she turned her head towards Jin Yoo-ha and Kang Do-hee.

"…It's dangerous! Everyone, get back!"

However, before she could even open her mouth, Jin Yoo-ha and Kang Do-hee were already far away, outside the attack range.

"…"

At that, Lee Min-young's expression briefly looked crestfallen, then she gritted her teeth and threw herself backward.

With weapons falling right behind her, Lee Min-young felt a chilling sensation and ran desperately.

Bang!

Bang!

Thus, starting with an area-of-effect attack from the very beginning.

Soon.

The summoning of weapons ceased. Around Hong Jin-ah, countless weapons were stuck in the ground.

"Now, shall we begin?"

* * *

"Wow, the level difference is insane…"

"Seriously, they said Academy instructors are on a different level from students…"

"That's totally broken, she can use all those weapons?"

"Just the first weapon summoning looks like it would grind all but the toughest monsters to dust."

"How high do you think her Hunter rank is with that kind of power?"

The students attending the "Personal Combat Training" lecture were observing the spar from a distance.

Swoosh—!

Arrows flew, spears soared, and swords swung like a curtain of rain.

She used various weapons as they came to hand, yet there were no gaps in the transitions between them.

For those who had only ever experienced student-versus-student combat, the sight of a true 'Hunter' recognized by the state was utterly shocking.

"…Min-young, will she be okay?"

"Yeah, she's not even a tank… What's she doing out there?"

"Ugh, getting involved with Kang Do-hee and Jin Yoo-ha, what a mess she's in."

"Hmm, Min-young is a good kid, but her personality is a bit…"

Even though they didn't finish their sentences, the students nodded as if agreeing.

"…But, she's dodging really well?"

Indeed, Lee Min-young was almost single-handedly facing Hong Jin-ah.

Instructor Hong Jin-ah did attack Jin Yoo-ha and Kang Do-hee with long-range weapons like bows and arrows, but they were quite far away, and by focusing on evasion with their swift speed, Lee Min-young was the only one receiving the concentrated attacks.

"Was she always that good…?"

Those watching the spar looked at Lee Min-young, who was desperately throwing herself around to avoid attacks, with renewed surprise.

Of course, Lee Min-young, with a pale face, was screaming internally.

'Uwaaaaaaaah!!! H-Help me!!!'

[ Lee Min-young, roll backward now. ]

She rolled.