Breaking Up with the Heroine of the Female-Oriented Game - Chapter 94

Chapter 94

Baek Yoorin and the Ranking Battle (8)

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T h i s wa s c o pi ed f ro m k i n g m tl. o r g
The students watching the match from the waiting room were buzzing with surprise.

Some exclaimed, “Wow, I didn’t even see Baek Yoorin move!” filled with admiration.

It was no wonder. The moment the match began, Baek Yoorin had dashed forward like a flash of light, bringing her sword right in front of Lee Jinhyuk’s eyes. It was lightning-fast, a movement that could only be described as a flash strike.

As expected from the granddaughter of the greatest swordsman in the peninsula.

She had been quiet ever since entering Union Academy, without any remarkable accomplishments. Some had even thought her reputation was just hype, but clearly, that wasn’t the case.

Perhaps today, they would finally get to see Baek Yoorin’s true power in action, and many of the students observed with excited eyes, anticipating what was to come.

However, not everyone was enjoying the match.

One person in particular was watching with growing anxiety.

That person was none other than Jin Soyeon.

‘What… What is this girl? What’s going to happen to Jinhyuk…’

Jin Soyeon anxiously glanced back and forth between the monitor showing Lee Jinhyuk and Baek Yoorin.

Baek Yoorin seemed even stronger than she had anticipated.

Jin Soyeon had heard rumors about her, so she knew a bit about her strength, but she hadn’t expected Baek Yoorin to be capable of such a movement technique.

What if Lee Jinhyuk got seriously hurt during the match?

A knot of worry began growing deep within her chest.

It wasn’t uncommon for people’s bones to break or internal organs to rupture during duels.

And Baek Yoorin didn’t seem like the type to go easy on Lee Jinhyuk.

Just looking at her gaze, it was clear that Baek Yoorin intended to fight seriously.

Come to think of it, hadn’t Baek Yoorin even confronted Lee Jinhyuk aggressively at the academy grounds not too long ago, scattering killing intent?

It was no secret that Baek Yoorin harbored some bad feelings toward Lee Jinhyuk.

Could she be using this ranking match as an excuse to take out her anger on him?

What if, just maybe, she intentionally hurt him?

If that happened… she wouldn’t let it slide.

Never.

***

‘What… why is she so fast?’

Fast.

Even faster than I’d expected.
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I couldn’t see Baek Yoorin’s movements at all.

No, I literally couldn’t track them with my eyes. Not with my current level of perception.

‘Shrink Technique… Is that what this movement is?’

*Shrink Technique (축지; Chukji).*

It’s a movement technique that folds the space between the ground.

In terms of the world’s established rules, it’s classified as a form of spatial manipulation. It’s known as a top-tier movement technique and comes with quite a notorious reputation. It’s an extremely high-difficulty skill.

‘I didn’t expect her to use the Shrink Technique from the start.’

Even for Baek Yoorin, the Shrink Technique is a burdensome skill to use.

That’s because it consumes a significant amount of magic power each time it’s used, and it puts a lot of strain on the ankles and knees.

In the game, this was depicted by draining a massive chunk of HP and MP.

In reality, it would be a skill that consumes both physical stamina and magical energy.

Knowing that, I hadn’t expected her to use the Shrink Technique right from the beginning.

Because I hadn’t anticipated it, I couldn’t react properly.

If I had combat instincts, I might’ve been able to respond, but my sense of combat was far from good. I couldn’t react, much less defend myself.

Really, what a useless body I’ve got.

‘I was in real danger. If I had messed up, I would’ve lost the match immediately.’

Barely managing to calm my panicked thoughts, I gripped my sword tightly, pretending to remain composed.

If Baek Yoorin had fully committed to stabbing me, what would’ve happened?

I didn’t even need to think about it.

I would’ve likely suffered the most humiliating defeat in the shortest period in ranking match history.

But for some reason, Baek Yoorin had chosen not to strike and had retreated instead.

Even though it had been the perfect opportunity.

She had gone to the trouble of using the Shrink Technique, a taxing but reliable skill, to close the distance, only to pull back without launching a real attack.

Why?

Judging by her eyes, it didn’t seem like she was going easy on me.

Baek Yoorin was still silently observing me with a watchful gaze.

Her look wasn’t like a predator eyeing its prey.

It felt… how should I put it?

It felt like she was being cautious.

As if she was trying to figure out whether I was prey or a fellow predator.

‘Is she being more cautious than I expected?’
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She had gone through the trouble of using the Shrink Technique to get close, but then she didn’t attack—perhaps because I had shown too many openings.

Maybe she thought I was pretending to leave myself open?

A trap, perhaps?

Since I hadn’t reacted at all, she might have found my lack of response suspicious.
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A normal trainee would have at least shown some reaction, even if they couldn’t properly defend against it.

‘It seems like she’s uncertain, keeping a close eye on me because she’s wondering if I could be that man from two years ago.’

Two years ago.

Baek Yoorin had been defeated by a man.

A total disaster that left her utterly crushed.

For a genius like Baek Yoorin, who had never lost a single match against her peers, that must have been a deeply humiliating experience.

She had always been undefeated but had suddenly been beaten by some unknown boy her age; she must have felt emotions she couldn’t even describe.

It seemed that past, unforgettable humiliation had heightened her caution.

‘Should I try to take advantage of Baek Yoorin’s caution?’

If I fought her head-on, I wouldn’t stand a chance.

Of course, it was a fact that I was going to lose to Baek Yoorin, but still, I didn’t want to wave the white flag so easily.

I wanted to use this fight against Baek Yoorin as a test to see how well I could hold my own against a villain.

And Baek Yoorin was more than enough to test myself against.

In fact, she might be *too* strong.

‘If this were a real battle, I’d be able to use various tools and equipment to create variables.’

I could have set up explosive and binding mines, used flash grenades to obscure her vision, released nerve gas, deployed a wide-area sonic weapon for undodgeable attacks, or pressured her with powerful specialty arrows.

I could have created countless variables using all sorts of methods.

But with so many people watching this ranking match, I couldn’t just start pulling tricks like that.

Still, it was fine.

In fact, there was more meaning in fighting using only skill, strategy, and tactics without relying on strange items.

It was intriguing to see how far I could go against someone like Baek Yoorin using only my skills and tactics, without any fancy items.

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“…….”

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“…….”

We stood there, gripping our swords tightly, silently staring at each other.

A strange silence filled the arena.

I could faintly hear the murmurs of the audience in the distance.

I’ve heard that when masters fight, they don’t rush in but instead wait for the right moment to strike, ending the fight in a single instant.

I quietly stared at Baek Yoorin.

She didn’t blink even once as her eyes carefully scanned my body, searching for any openings.

However.

“……Too many openings.”

She said I had too many openings.

“……Are you doing this on purpose, as a trap?”

I had been trying my best to take a stance from the *Baek Sword Style*, but…
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“……Baek Sword Style, that’s my family’s swordsmanship. Using it so poorly… Are you trying to provoke me?”

Uh, no.

It’s the most famous swordsmanship in Korea, so I’ve been practicing it for a while now.

But provocation? That’s not what I’m trying to do.

It seemed that to the eyes of a genius swordsman like her, my stance looked downright awful.

But it couldn’t be helped. I wasn’t a swordsman.

The reason I wasn’t using a bow was because practice arrows weren’t capable of breaking through a *Protective Force Field*.

If I had special arrows or the Giant Crow Bow for Large Monsters, I could definitely deal some damage to Baek Yoorin, but I couldn’t use those in this match.

And here I was, a mere archer, having to fight with a sword. What a situation.

“……Well, whatever.”

Baek Yoorin seemed to steel herself, and her grip on her sword tightened.

“……If you won’t come to me, I’ll come to you.”

“…….”

She’s coming.

Baek Yoorin slowly pivoted on her right foot and stepped forward with her left.

Her sword raised at an angle as she began to gather magic slowly but surely.

Engaging her directly would be suicidal.

I needed to guide her into an attack that I could defend against.

After analyzing her footage over the past week, I had discovered a few of her habits and tendencies.

When faced with certain situations, Baek Yoorin had a high likelihood of responding with certain techniques.

I had spent the last week memorizing those tendencies… Ah.

‘She’s coming.’

Hey, give me a second to think!

*Whoosh.*

In an instant.

Before I could even blink, Baek Yoorin’s figure blurred as she leaped toward me.

This time, it wasn’t the Shrink Technique.

It was *Cloud Step* (운보; Unbo).

It was one of the footwork techniques from the Baek Sword Style.

Lee Siwoon frequently used this technique as well.

It wasn’t as fast as the Shrink Technique, but it was still hard to follow with my current level of perception.

However, it didn’t matter if I couldn’t perfectly follow her movements.

Unlike before, I had seen her stance this time.

If I could see her stance, I could roughly predict what technique she would use.

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Based on her distance and her use of Cloud Step in that stance, there was a high probability that she would use that technique.

If my prediction was correct, I should be able to block at least one strike.

“Ugh!”

*Clang!*
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Before I knew it, she was right in front of me, thrusting her sword.

*Baek Sword Style: One Piercing Point (일점; Iljeom).*
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A thrust.

Thanks to my preparations, I was able to block her attack with the shield in my left hand.

To Baek Yoorin, it may have been just a probing strike, but to me, it felt like a deadly blow.

If I hadn’t studied Baek Yoorin’s techniques and watched her footage, I might not have been able to block this.

“As expected… you blocked it?”

Baek Yoorin murmured softly, as if somewhat pleased that her first strike had been blocked, and immediately prepared to swing her sword again.

Her sword movements flowed like water.

But I had a plan.

From the numerous videos I had watched, I knew that when Baek Yoorin’s surprise thrust failed, she often followed up with certain predictable patterns.

By watching the position of her left foot, her right shoulder, the height of her chest, the placement of her right foot, the angle of her waist, and her grip on the sword, I could predict up to 19 different possible responses.

…Of course, memorizing all those motions was impossible.

Even if I could memorize them, recalling them and reacting to them in real-time was practically impossible.

But I had managed to memorize a few of her most frequent patterns.

Even someone like Baek Yoorin, a genius, had habits and tendencies.

In short, she was most likely to use the techniques she was most familiar with.

‘She’s slightly stepping forward with her left foot, pulling her right arm back, lowering her chest and waist a little… an upper diagonal slash?’

Could my prediction be correct?

It better be.

What if she used a different technique?

I’d say I had about a 70% chance of being right.

‘Well, it’s all or nothing!’

Without thinking any further, I quickly raised my shield.

I didn’t have the luxury of thinking any longer.

I had to move before Baek Yoorin swung her sword.

My body wasn’t fast enough to react to Baek Yoorin’s movements in real-time.

In simpler terms, when dodging a bullet, you don’t wait to see the bullet and then move; you anticipate it and get out of the way before it’s fired.

You have to predict it.

Well, uh. Predicting…

Damn it. Easier said than done, right?

No matter how much I had analyzed and memorized her patterns, if Baek Yoorin suddenly decided to change her mind and use an unexpected attack, I’d be screwed.

“!”

“Kgh.”

Suddenly, Baek Yoorin’s sword slashed diagonally across my shield. Oh, oh! I was right, damn it!

Her magic-infused blade radiated fierce heat, scorching the surface of my shield.

Thankfully, the training sword and shield had safety features, or the shield might have been cut clean in half if this were a real battle.

‘Alright, now!’

As I deflected Baek Yoorin’s sword, I immediately closed the distance.

I blocked her diagonal slash and swung my one-handed sword in a counterattack.

If it had been any other trainee, they wouldn’t have been able to dodge it.

“…….”

But as expected, my sword didn’t reach her.

Baek Yoorin dodged it with the nimble grace of a flying squirrel, leaping backward effortlessly.

Even though I had anticipated her move and launched a counter, it didn’t work.

When I fought Yoo Dahee, I had at least managed to graze her hand…

‘Well, Yoo Dahee had been caught off guard back then.’

And she had trusted her *Protective Force Field*, so she hadn’t bothered dodging.

But Baek Yoorin was different.

Baek Yoorin was keeping her guard up against me to some extent.

“…You predicted it? My movements?”

She murmured softly, somewhat surprised.

“…It doesn’t seem like you reacted by seeing it. You responded before I even swung my sword… That’s a bit surprising.”

Baek Yoorin infused her sword with dense magic.

“Your stance is full of openings, your movements are sluggish, and your swordsmanship is terrible, so I wasn’t sure at first… You seem weak, but… you’re not as weak as you appear… Is it all an act, or is this the real you…?”

Wait, is that Sword Qi?

“Are you… really that man I’m thinking of?”

“Hey, how many times do I have to tell you I’m not him?”

“Words can lie… but I can’t be sure. That’s why…”

Baek Yoorin’s lips curled into a slight smile.

“Let’s cross swords… because swords don’t lie.”

What a crazy thing to say.

Yeah. Baek Yoorin was definitely crazy.

A sword-obsessed maniac.

End of Chapter.