#Episode 19
"Alright, then… looks like everyone's ready… let's start with a light handshake~"
At the teacher's signal, Jae-min stepped forward and extended his hand.
Still wearing that insufferable expression of his.
I met his hand without changing my face, calm and unhurried.
"Let's have a good match."
At my flat tone, Jae-min snorted and yanked his hand back roughly.
"Hmph. I'll go easy on you. Just don't cry, okay?"
Even at his sneering attitude, I simply stood there.
Between us, the teacher's instructions drifted over.
"Everyone learned this in ethics class, right? Sparring is about gauging each other's skills — not about hurting each other. Don't get too rough, okay~? Alright, then…!"
The teacher raised the whistle to her lips, and a taut tension settled over the gymnasium.
Here we go…
Fweeeet!
"Begin!"
The moment the teacher signaled the start, Jae-min kicked off the floor and lunged at me.
The practice sword in his hand sliced through the air.
No blade, soft material — nothing life-threatening. But judging by the speed of the swing, a direct hit would leave a decent bruise.
Still, his movements were completely transparent to me.
No technique. No philosophy. Just a crude slash. I could read the trajectory of that clumsy attack as clearly as if it were drawn in the air.
Whoosh—
The moment the tip of the sword grazed past the bridge of my nose, I kept both hands in my pockets and ducked my head just slightly to dodge.
"……!"
At the minimal movement, his eyes flickered with brief surprise.
He was clearly flustered by the unexpected response.
But he quickly twisted his lips, as if trying to salvage his pride.
"Lucky, weren't you?"
He made that insufferable face again and came at me with a flurry of swings.
Swish— Swish—
But each time my upper body tilted smoothly left or right, the sword cut nothing but air.
"This little— dodging around like that…!"
His voice roughened as his frustration peaked.
Honestly… my current physical condition was pathetic compared to my prime.
But it didn't matter.
It was only pathetic by my own standards.
By the standards of the children here, it was perfectly ordinary.
"Hah… hah…"
After several missed swings, Jae-min's shoulders heaved as he let out ragged breaths.
His stamina was starting to run out, as expected.
Is he about to get serious…?
That's when it happened.
Jae-min suddenly dropped into a lower stance.
His eyes flashed pure white, and a faint luminescence began to ripple around his body.
Physical enhancement type…?
"Nice ability."
It was a genuine compliment, but it didn't seem to land that way for him.
"Ha… why don't you stop dodging and come at me already? You scared?"
"Oh… should I?"
I slowly pulled one hand out of my pocket.
"……?"
Jae-min looked puzzled, but that puzzlement turned to shock in less than a second.
Because my eyes had begun to glow, filling with a cold blue light.
I'd originally considered dropping a Nakroe (Lightning Fall) on him, but…
That was a bit much for an elementary school sparring match.
Besides, the ceiling was enclosed — not the most convenient structure for guiding lightning.
Just then, Jae-min started backing away, step by step.
"You… you…! What are you…"
Ah… did I get lost in my thoughts too long?
Even without me opening my mouth, the answer was already there.
Crackle-crackle-crackle—!
A bone-chilling burst of sound that shook the entire gymnasium.
In the air behind me, currents blazing with blue light tangled together, taking on a massive form.
[Lightning Magic]
You have discovered a new application of your unique trait!
A derived skill has been generated!
[Seomroe (閃雷) — Flashing Lightning]
Crackle-crackle-crackle—!
The current pulled toward him as if it had a will of its own, straining to be released.
"W-wait…!"
"This'll sting a little."
I moved my finger toward Jae-min, and the surging currents behind me rushed at him.
Shhhhhk—!
"Ugh… AAAAAH…!"
BOOM—!
And then…
"Shin-a… that was a little much, wasn't it…?"
Her usual gentle smile nowhere to be found, the teacher stood in front of Jae-min with a clearly flustered expression, having taken the attack bare-handed to block it.
Sparks crackled around her, but she didn't budge an inch — just stared at me, cold sweat on her brow.
***
Teacher Jeong A-yeong.
Thirty-five years old.
Endlessly kind to her students, known among colleagues as a dedicated educator — she was a rare talent who combined striking looks with genuine ability.
An enviable career, a flawless reputation, a warm and approachable manner.
Everything seemed perfect.
But even she had one worry that kept her up at night — the fact that she was still unmarried, standing at the very tail end of what people called marriageable age.
'Ugh… when am I ever going to get married…'
She'd sighed deeply at the mirror again this morning before heading to work.
After changing into her gym clothes, she called the children to the gymnasium in her bright, energetic voice.
Today was a little more special than usual.
A transfer student had arrived.
Kim Shin-a.
A quiet, composed first impression — a rather cute kid.
A-yeong watched warmly as Shin-a naturally fell into easy conversation with Mila during warm-ups.
'Already that close with Mila… she's more mature than she looks, and kind-hearted too.'
A-yeong smiled and glanced again at the note written beside the attendance sheet.
[Guardian: Kim Jang-mi]
Guild master of Hongryeon, one of the three major guilds.
One of the three pillars holding up the Republic of Korea. The child had been brought in personally by Hongryeon's guild master, Kim Jang-mi.
As a former hunter herself, A-yeong couldn't help but have expectations for Shin-a's abilities.
'Jae-min should be just about right for gauging her skill level.'
She'd told the children the pairings were random, but in truth, the sparring partner had been A-yeong's careful choice.
And the moment the match began, A-yeong's eyes went wide with shock.
"……!!!"
Shin-a's movements were anything but ordinary.
Like a veteran who had rolled through countless battlefields, she evaded every attack with clean, minimal motion — not a centimeter of wasted movement.
The ease of someone who had already read exactly where the opponent's blade was going.
'Incredible…! Movements that practical at that age. She's a natural.'
Her skill was already more than proven by the movement alone.
But before the admiration could settle, a cold unease crept down A-yeong's spine.
Crackle-crackle-crackle—!
A bone-chilling burst of sound tore through the gymnasium air.
'Wait… that's…'
Awakened who could wield electricity weren't uncommon.
But that blue-tinged, high-purity current stirred a memory buried deep inside A-yeong — the memory of someone.
'Hongryeon's signature Awakened was…'
"Ah……!"
A-yeong's mind reached its conclusion at the same moment her body moved.
Because this was not the level of a sparring match between children.
BOOM—
A cloud of dust rose and an explosion shook the gymnasium.
A-yeong took that lightning bare-handed.
As the smoke slowly cleared, it revealed Shin-a — a black-haired girl standing at the center with an impassive expression.
A-yeong caught her breath and stared at Shin-a.
Behind the expressionless girl—
The phantom of a legendary man overlapped with her image — a man who had commanded battlefields, turning countless monsters to ash.
"……Thunder God, Kim Shin-woo."
***
Oh…
This is bad.
The fact that the teacher stepped in herself meant…
my attack just now was probably too much.
I should've dialed back the power a little more.
In the silent gymnasium, the teacher straightened her clothes and walked toward me, one step at a time.
Gone was her usual gentle smile. In its place was an expression of absolute certainty—
And something deeply complicated.
"Um, Shin-a… I'm sorry to ask, but… could you tell me your father's name?"
"……?"
Out of nowhere, a background check.
I stared at the teacher blankly, unable to hide my bewilderment.
"Kim Shin-woo… is his name."
Saying my own name with honorifics felt too awkward, so I answered a little bluntly.
But the moment my answer landed, the teacher's eyes lit up.
"I knew it…! Of course… no wonder… I thought your movements were something else."
She nodded repeatedly, as if she'd just confirmed something she'd already suspected.
Then she shifted back into her strict teacher expression and rested a hand lightly on my shoulder.
"Shin-a… even so, what just happened was a little too far… you know that yourself, right?"
"Yes……"
I dropped my gaze slightly as I answered.
"Just this once, the teacher will let it slide. But from now on, you need to be more careful about controlling your strength, understood?"
"Yes."
The moment her lecture ended, I turned my head and looked at the floor.
Jae-min was sitting there, having landed hard on his backside.
Tears were barely clinging to the corners of his eyes, and he was staring blankly into space with a dazed expression.
The teacher had already moved over to him, brushing the dust off and starting to calm him down.
Once the atmosphere settled somewhat, she called us back to the center of the gymnasium.
"Alright, you both did great! Sparring's over, so shake hands~"
Under the teacher's mediation, I stood facing Jae-min again.
When I took his outstretched hand, the trembling of his body came through his palm, clear as anything.
"……"
"……ugh…"
Jae-min couldn't even meet my eyes, letting out something between a groan and a whimper.
Feeling that hand shaking in mine, I thought to myself.
Yeah… I went a little too far.