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

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Translator: Vine

Chapter Title: Practical Combat Training (3)

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Whoosh—

A sword grazed the tip of her nose.

A spear cut between her arm and waist,

and the whistle of an arrow right next to her ear sent a shiver down her spine.

Lee Min-young gulped.

Her heart pounded, and the storm of attacks left her disoriented.

[Raise your shield, extend your sword to the right. And duck your head.]

"H-h-eek—!!"

She let out a pathetic cry and ducked her head.

Lee Min-young clung to the voice in her earpiece like a lifeline, continuing her perilous fight.

I glanced at Lee Min-young dodging, a weary expression on my face.

Hong Jin-ah, sweeping through the space, brandishing any weapon she could get her hands on.

'She's like an enraged wild boar.'

[Three steps to the right. Run, don't look back!]

CRASH!

Even as I gave her instructions, my mind raced.

Depending on whether she picked up a short-range, mid-range, or long-range weapon from the scattered arsenal, her attack range changed.

SWISHHHH!

A spear flew towards Kang Do-hee and me, as if we hadn't been forgotten.

CRRRRRACK—!!

I swung my sword with all my might, deflecting the spear that flew towards my face.

Sparks flew as I forcefully batted away the spear, imbued with immense power.

THWACK—!!!

CRRRRRRASHHHH!!

The deflected spear pierced through the wall behind us.

More than half of the spear was embedded in the wall.

If that had pierced one's body…

While we wouldn't die in a training arena imbued with the Chairman's power, just imagining the pain sent shivers down my spine.

'…If she were a real enemy, her patterns would be so vicious, you'd wonder if this was even a game.'

The silver lining, perhaps, was that her attacks were clearly visible.

Of course, blocking them was another matter entirely.

Even this would have been impossible without Instructor Baek Seol-hee's combat-like training.

I scanned the weapons scattered across the floor.

'Hmm, I've generally figured out what weapons she has… but that doesn't give me any clear advantage…'

It wasn't like Ryu Jin-joo where I could find parry points,

and these monstrous attacks weren't just brute force; they chained together relentlessly, leaving no opening.

As I continued to ponder,

I glanced sideways and saw Kang Do-hee running alongside me.

Tap. Tap. Taptap. Taptap—

Kang Do-hee was wiggling her fingers.

She was probably waiting for the right moment to intervene.

'Come to think of it, didn't she fight Instructor Baek Seol-hee bare-handed to a draw?'

It was a spar conducted as part of a skill test during basic training.

At that time, Kang Do-hee had put up an even fight against Instructor Baek Seol-hee.

Of course, now that I knew Instructor Baek Seol-hee's true strength, I understood she hadn't gone all out back then, and it was just a light test tailored to her level.

'Still, that spar seemed faster than this wild boar instructor's current speed…?'

As I stared intently at her,

Kang Do-hee twitched an eyebrow, her face sullen, as if asking what I was looking at.

I opened my mouth to her.

"Hey, Kang Do-hee."

"What."

"Can you beat that instructor bare-handed?"

She pondered my question for a moment, then nodded.

"…If she has no weapons, I don't know if I can win, but I can land a hit."

I grinned at her confident reply.

"Oh really?"

"You look like you're cooking up something strange again."

She narrowed her brows and said with a sour look.

"Then, I have a plan in mind right now. Want to hear it?"

I whispered the plan I'd come up with into her ear.

A look of bewilderment crossed Kang Do-hee's face.

"…That… will work?"

"Yeah, we'll have to try it to know for sure… probably?"

And soon, Kang Do-hee gave a short nod.

* * *

Lee Min-young, desperately dodging under Jin Yu-ha's instructions.

But her stamina wasn't limitless, and she wasn't a tank like Lee Yu-ri, so she eventually took a hit.

THWUUUUMPPP—!!!!!

A heavy iron ball, connected by a chain to the end of a staff, struck her abdomen.

"K-hugh—!!!!"

Struck in the abdomen by the iron ball launched at terrifying speed, she flew several meters, tumbling across the training arena floor like a skipping stone.

"…Ughhhh. Blech—!"

Lee Min-young tried to get up, but collapsed, coughing up blood.

In front of her, Hong Jin-ah scratched her chin and slowly approached.

Her heavily furrowed brow seemed to convey her dissatisfaction.

Contrary to what she had expected them to show, Jin Yu-ha and Kang Do-hee kept their distance, merely circling around without approaching.

The only one who stood against her was the orange-haired cadet Lee Min-young, wielding a sword and shield.

Of course, despite the overwhelming skill gap, her repeatedly dodging attacks by throwing herself around was certainly commendable.

'That keen eye must belong to *him*.'

Hong Jin-ah glanced at the black-haired boy far away.

His intention to identify the scattered weapons and make it difficult for her to switch them was not bad.

And raising a damage-dealer cadet, not even a tank, to this level with mere instructions was also excellent.

Indeed, for a mere first-year cadet to endure this long against her was a remarkable feat.

"Hmm, did I show too much power against a first-year…?"

However, Hong Jin-ah couldn't help but feel a strange sense of disappointment rising within her.

'I was hoping for something eye-opening, you know.'

Right, but they were still just first-years.

They hadn't accumulated enough combat experience yet, and it was far too early for training results to fully manifest.

'Still, hiding behind and not coming out until the end… that's a bit much.'

She had already figured out what strategy these kids had prepared a long time ago.

Lee Min-young would draw attention and dodge, and if an opening appeared, Kang Do-hee and Jin Yu-ha would attack together.

But in the end, Lee Min-young was taken down first, and they hadn't even gotten a chance to step in.

Clank.

Hong Jin-ah let out a soft sigh and raised her flail to finish off Lee Min-young.

And the moment she brought the flail down towards the orange-haired girl.

CLANGGGG—!!!!

Jin Yu-ha intervened, striking the chain connected to the flail's head with his sword.

"It's time for a player change."

CRASHHH—!!!!

The flail struck the floor right next to Lee Min-young.

'…Fast!'

Hong Jin-ah's eyes widened at the speed, which far exceeded her expectations.

"Instructor Wild Boar."

"…What? Wild Boar?"

Hong Jin-ah's face immediately soured.

Jin Yu-ha, feigning surprise, covered his mouth.

"Ah, my inner thoughts slipped out by mistake."

"Hah."

Hong Jin-ah let out a hollow laugh at Jin Yu-ha's audacious provocation.

"So, you've been going easy on *me* until now?"

"Oh, come on, how could we go easy on you, Instructor? It just means that attacking one person with three is a bit cowardly, something like that."

Jin Yu-ha spoke with an air of innocence.

'What, fighting one person with three is cowardly…? Is he saying they were being lenient with *me*?'

Indeed, while Jin Yu-ha had stepped forward, Kang Do-hee behind him still showed no intention of joining in.

CRACK—

A sharp sound erupted from between Hong Jin-ah's teeth.

"Ah. Yes, relay tactics, good. You certainly have a sharp tongue, befitting the Disciple of the Butcher Bitch."

Shake—

She began to swing the flail she held.

WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH—!!

The flail's head quickly spun with centrifugal force, making a menacing sound.

Jin Yu-ha's eyes, holding his sword, narrowed.

"Let's see if your sword is as sharp as your tongue!!!"

WHOOOOSH—!!!

The flail sliced through the air with a deafening sound.

Jin Yu-ha dodged the attack a step ahead.

CRASHHH—!!!

The flail's head smashed into the floor, breaking it.

Instead of retrieving the flail,

Hong Jin-ah simply released its handle, drew a sword from beside her, and swung it at him simultaneously.

SWISHHHHHHH—!!!

Jin Yu-ha, instead of retreating from the sword launched at him, closed the distance and charged forward.

He firmly planted his lower body and used his other hand to support the flat of his sword, taking a defensive stance.

His intention was to block the sword before it could fully unleash its destructive power.

CLANGGGG—!

Sword met sword, and a clear clang echoed.

"Kuh!"

A groan escaped Jin Yu-ha's lips as he blocked the sword.

Clang!

Clang!

CLANG!

The swords moved with lightning speed, like streaks of rain.

Sword exchanged blows with sword, their strikes intertwining.

"Hoh…?"

Hong Jin-ah's eyes flickered and widened.

Not bad momentum.

A sword imbued with internal power extended from his solidly trained body.

Above all, his sword path was incredibly clean.

'He must have really learned properly from that Butcher Bitch.'

This was the first cadet who didn't evade her sword but met it head-on.

For a first-year, wasn't this truly excellent?

In terms of aptitude, top-tier.

He was a prodigy, almost unbelievable for a man.

'His aptitude is extraordinary… Now I see why *she* is so obsessed with him.'

Hong Jin-ah felt her excitement growing.

'Then let's see you block this too!'

She began to use a variety of weapons now.

CLANGGG—!!

She dropped the sword and picked up a spear.

Jin Yu-ha still maintained his blocking stance.

SWISHHHH—!

The spear spun as if to grind its opponent, launched with immense power.

In response, Jin Yu-ha gritted his teeth and twisted his shoulder.

And the blue sword he held rode up the spear shaft like a salmon swimming upstream, aiming for her wrist.

"Hahaha!"

Hong Jin-ah burst into laughter, dropped the spear, and pulled back her wrist.

And then, a whip.

SWISHHHH!

WHIPPPP!!!

With a single crack of the whip, the surrounding weapons scattered into the air with a loud noise.

"…Hmph!"

Jin Yu-ha, seemingly unable to find any way to counter the whip, threw himself forward.

Hong Jin-ah felt herself becoming increasingly engrossed in the battle with this student.

To feel such a sensation in a fight with a cadet…

"Good!! This is good!!!!"

It was almost like reliving an old battle with the Butcher Bitch, wasn't it?

Of course, comparing her to this child now might be a stretch.

But the chilling killing intent and sword energy that occasionally surfaced were exactly hers.

Thwack—!

And the moment Jin Yu-ha pushed off the ground, launching himself into the air and charging forward.

'He made a mistake. But excellent…!'

Hong Jin-ah smiled with satisfaction, reaching for her next weapon, a greatsword…

Her hand fumbled in the air.

'…Huh? The greatsword? It was definitely stuck here, wasn't it?'

But there was no weapon in her hand.

At that moment, the corner of Jin Yu-ha's mouth curled into a smirk.

"Sorry, but we have something too."

Whirl—

Jin Yu-ha spun around, extending his sword.

"Subspace Tattoo."

"…My weapon, in subspace!?"

Hong Jin-ah, a beat too late, frantically channeled her magic and raised her hand into a defensive stance.

SWISHHH—!

And the moment Jin Yu-ha's Moonlight Blade extended towards her arm.

CRRRRRASHHHH—!!!!

"K-hugh—!"

Hong Jin-ah's eyes shot open.

A heavy impact, not on the arm she blocked with, but on her abdomen.

The attack landed where she was completely undefended.

And when she lowered her gaze.

There stood a red-haired girl.

Kang Do-hee, with a nonchalant expression, had her fist extended.

"Kang Do-hee, go for it!"