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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: Hell Training (5)
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"You cannot cross this line."
Baek Seol-hee declared in a cold voice.
She drew the line, but deep down, she felt a pang of regret.
What she had hoped to see from the Utopia party through this test was...
...whether they could overcome an irresistible foe, should they encounter one.
The line drawn on the floor marked that boundary.
Of course, it naturally required the guts and mental fortitude to face death.
But most importantly, it was the potential to go beyond that boundary.
In other words, talent.
To distinguish one's worth by talent.
She found it cruel, but when she thought of Jin Yu-ha, it seemed inevitable.
'Considering the path my disciple will walk, an ordinary person wouldn't be able to endure it...'
Fortunately, however, most of the members of the Utopia party were overflowing with talent, to the point where one wondered how such individuals had been gathered.
The blue-haired one, Ichika, was beyond question.
Kang Do-hee, Sophia, and Im Ga-eul—those three also possessed an overwhelming amount of talent.
However.
The one before her was different.
Her innate caliber, one might say.
It was sorely lacking.
Of course, the one most lacking in that regard was, surprisingly, her own disciple, Jin Yu-ha.
That child was an exception from the start.
From the moment she first saw him, Jin Yu-ha effortlessly surpassed his lacking caliber, and his growth rate was so incomprehensible that he was beyond her assessment.
'So I wondered if this one might be like my disciple... But then again, such monsters aren't common, are they?'
A lacking caliber, just like Jin Yu-ha.
But unlike him, there was nothing visible that could transcend it.
One could tell Lee Yu-ri had a diligent personality just by observing her stance with the shield.
The traces of effort, painstakingly forged in unfavorable circumstances, were evident in every one of her movements.
And supporting this, her mental fortitude was also impeccably outstanding.
That's why it was a shame.
'She reached a wall too soon.'
Baek Seol-hee, who had long been stagnant before a wall herself, recognized it immediately.
Her stats had increased due to the artifact her disciple used this time, but that was all.
The other party members still had plenty of room for growth, but not this one.
Even if she seemed similar to others now, the gap would quickly widen the longer they were together.
Furthermore, there was another bad habit.
It was 'evasion'.
When faced with an attack she absolutely couldn't block with her own strength, Lee Yu-ri chose to deflect or evade, rather than raising her shield to block.
Of course, she had heard from her disciple that Lee Yu-ri had single-handedly blocked a formidable attack in the previous quest.
But to assess it coldly, that was merely a momentary feat of ingenuity, drawing in other monsters to diminish the attack's power.
She had only blocked an attack that was, in fact, 'blockable'.
'Her movements show she's been mastering evasion as her primary weapon since she was very young. A habit so deeply ingrained is impossible to correct now.'
If she continued to choose only evasion against irresistible attacks like this,
Someday, even in situations where she absolutely *must* block, she would listen to the voice of that habit.
And that would inevitably mean endangering Jin Yu-ha and the other party members.
Otherwise, she would be the first to die.
As a tanker responsible for the party's safety, she was disqualified.
With that series of assessments.
Baek Seol-hee ultimately had no choice but to utter cruel words.
"Give up, Student Lee Yu-ri."
*
"This isn't meant to belittle you. Rather, I say this because I acknowledge you."
That low voice echoed in Lee Yu-ri's ears, muffled as if she were underwater.
'Acknowledge me... and tell me to give up? What kind of bullshit is that...'
Her body was already a wreck from countless tests.
A cold sensation rose from her forehead, pressed against the floor.
The deep sword mark drawn before her reflected in her vacant pupils.
'What is this damn thing...'
She just had to take one step forward.
Kang Do-hee, Sophia, Im Ga-eul, even Ichika, who had only recently joined, had all succeeded in crossing the line before her.
But why, why?
Why was she the only one who couldn't cross this?
'...Is it all just a difference in talent?'
A tremor—
The corners of her tightly pursed lips trembled.
It was as if the line itself was speaking.
'You've come this far.'
'You've done well enough.'
'So stop now.'
"You have already reached your limit. No matter how much you train, you will only become a little more experienced. Becoming stronger than this is impossible. Give up."
Baek Seol-hee, uncharacteristically gently, urged her to give up once more.
Impossible.
At those words, like a terminal diagnosis, Lee Yu-ri's vision blurred.
'So, I can't be with Jin Yu-ha anymore...?'
Suddenly, the moment she first met Jin Yu-ha flashed through her mind.
Before entering the academy,
The dealer who was supposed to clear the Camilla's Forest Dungeon with them had flaked without a word.
And a man had hastily filled that spot as a last-minute replacement.
"—I am an academy student, though?"
How surprised she had been when she saw his face back then.
Even her own party members had expressed skeptical doubts, wondering if someone with that face should really be a hunter.
"—Two Naiki ahead."
However, as if to mock their suspicions,
Jin Yu-ha proved himself by displaying astonishing skill.
"—My, my food—!"
And how flustered she had been when he took her food while she was eating her simple meal alone in the dungeon.
"—I can't eat this much. It seems Yu-na gave you extra because you're a man."
It was truly strange how he approached her so casually, without any sense of distance, despite them having just met.
And that day, thanks to Jin Yu-ha's efforts, they cleared the dungeon earlier than usual.
Then, challenging the unknown,
They were suddenly surrounded by a goblin horde that appeared out of nowhere.
"—Everyone───!! Retreat─!!!!!"
And she had even led the goblin horde deep into the forest, resolving to sacrifice herself alone.
"—Tsk... Seriously, I thought I could get quite close to Jin Yu-ha if we went to the academy together."
Yes, she had even thought that as she watched the surging green wave of goblins before her.
That was when.
In that moment of crisis.
A man appeared like a miracle and saved her.
"—Then, let's go together, Gukbap."
.
.
.
.
"—So, it's a proposal. Can you be the tanker for my party? I do plan to bring in others separately, but you're the first official recruitment offer."
"—How am I? Am I someone your party needs?"
"—You were from the start, and now, you definitely are."
"—Yes, looking at my current state... Well, I can't really say anything... I'm adorned entirely with things you've given me. Others would probably see me as a woman who succeeded by finding a good man. A dirt-poor girl who got lucky and hit the jackpot."
"—What do you mean your gift is trash? Among all the gifts I received today, yours is my favorite."
"—Who touched our Gukbap!!!!!!!!"
"—So, let's move."
"—We came all the way to the ocean, and you're just going to look at other people? Come on, look. This is the ocean."
Scenes from after she met him flashed chaotically through her mind like a panorama.
A choked laugh—
Suddenly, a laugh escaped Lee Yu-ri's lips.
"...Why aren't you using that 'Lee Yu-ri Free Pass – Once a Month' you gave me before? You liked it so much, was that all just an act?"
Family, home, poverty, talent, effort.
Her world, which had always been desperate and steeped in shades of gray.
But that monochromatic world had begun to shine so vibrantly since she met Jin Yu-ha.
And then.
"—Lee Yu-ri, I want you to be Utopia's vice-captain."
From Lee Yu-ri's lips, still pressed to the floor, came a suppressed voice, as if chewing on her words.
"I know. I know I have the least talent."
She had known it well since she was first caught between Shin Se-hee and Kang Do-hee.
It was hardly new information.
Yes.
I fall behind.
"Even so, I promised to raise my shield..."
But someone as lacking as herself,
He had never once doubted her.
He had believed in her.
He had trusted her.
He had supported her.
"That's why I promised..."
To risk her life and protect him by his side.
She had staked her conviction on her shield.
But then.
"Without even knowing what this shield means to me..."
A wobble.
A sway.
Lee Yu-ri's body slowly rose, using her shield as a support.
She lifted her face, stained with tears.
"...And tell me to quit?"
Her eyes reflected the moonlight, emitting a brilliant blue glow.
A crunch—
Blood trickled from her tightly clenched jaw.
"If you cross that line, you could truly die. Your body isn't in a normal state right now."
That damn instructor's cold, indifferent voice.
A strained creak—
Veins bulged in the hand clutching her shield as she put strength into it.
"Shut up!!!!!!!!"
Lee Yu-ri, shield foremost, kicked off the ground and charged.
WHOOSH—!!!!
A colossal force, impossible for her to block with her strength, bore down as if to split her head open.
Her keen intuition and ingrained habits whispered in her ears.
To escape this place right now.
To evade to the side.
To deflect it somehow.
That there was no other way.
That she *had* to.
The faint echoes of her past, ingrained over a long time, clung fiercely to Lee Yu-ri's ankle, refusing to let go.
As if to fight off those voices, Lee Yu-ri threw her mouth open and screamed.
"I am—!!!!"
Before the sword, striking down powerfully from above,
The girl raised her shield.
"Jin Yu-ha's shield!!!!!!!!!!"
* * *
The quiet training ground, where the moon hung high.
Baek Seol-hee still stood there, unmoving, like a straight sword.
She gazed at the girl who lay collapsed before her.
Beside her lay the scattered remnants of a shattered shield.
"...Foolish girl."
She was truly a foolish one.
To charge forward knowing it wouldn't work isn't courage, but recklessness.
It's not spirit, but mere bravado.
Sometimes, knowing one's limits and stopping there is the proper course of action.
Yes, this girl was clearly like that.
"However,"
Baek Seol-hee looked at the line drawn before her.
"Precisely because she is so foolish..."
A faint chuckle—
"...A miracle can sometimes be made."
Lee Yu-ri's footprint, cutting across the line as if trespassing.
Her footprint left a deep impression, as if to prove her point.
"Student Lee Yu-ri. You pass."
Baek Seol-hee, with a faint smile, declared her passing in a calm voice amidst the silence.