When I came to my senses, I had already left the Training Ground. Looking around, this seemed to be some kind of lounge area, probably set up near the practical exam site.
As I realized that, the memory from earlier came flooding back. The pathetic sight of me flailing to get away from him, only to end up knocked out cold after accidentally running into his elbow.
“Ah… I must really be an idiot.”
It was almost too generous to even call it a loss.
Even if that hadn’t happened, my hasty actions and terrible response left no room for excuses. If I had waited for him to attack first or hadn’t panicked when he charged, victory would’ve been a sure thing. But I couldn’t do either.
Honestly, I’d been overconfident. Even I could admit I’d been raised like a precious gem, never once having my shortcomings pointed out.
“Was his name Rudion?”
He introduced himself as someone unremarkable, but the fact that he’d already finished the theory exam and showed up at that time was anything but ordinary.
And yet, I underestimated him. Looking back now, it was such a dumb decision.
As I replayed the events in my head, I couldn’t help but feel embarrassed.
“That was the first time I’ve ever clung to a guy like that.”
Not because of my mistake, but because of… well, the whole male-female dynamic.
The memory of his forceful actions, pulling me in, kept resurfacing.
Lost in thought, I absentmindedly rubbed my left wrist when the door opened, and a woman walked in.
“You’re awake? How are you feeling? Any headaches or anything?”
“Ah, no. I’m fine.”
“That’s good. Still, just in case, should I give you another treatment?”
“Uh, no. I think I’m okay.”
I knew my own body best. And honestly, I really was fine.
“Alright then. Oh, right. I should’ve introduced myself earlier. I’m one of the supervisors here. Though I’m here for this kind of thing.”
As she said that, she poked my temple. Her tone and expression made it feel like she was teasing me…
But maybe because she was an adult, she did offer some comfort.
“Don’t be too discouraged. From what I can see, there’s no way you could’ve beaten him no matter what you tried.”
I’m not sure if that was meant to comfort me or just roast me further.
Either way, I couldn’t accept that there was no way to win. If I had just handled it better, my magic would’ve activated, and things would’ve been different from the mess I ended up in.
“You look like you don’t believe me. Well, the exam’s still going on… Want to go watch?”
“…Sure.”
The commotion outside suggested the exam was still in progress.
Alright, let’s see just how good he is that I’m getting this kind of talk. Let’s take a look.
Following the supervisor, I stepped out of the lounge.
Unlike the quietness from earlier, the examination hall was now packed with an overwhelming crowd.
The space was so densely packed that pushing through alone seemed impossible, but since the supervisor was clearing a path, I focused on keeping up without falling behind.
The place we arrived at was the front row of the spectator seats, offering the best view of the Training Ground. Over the railing, I could see Rudion still holding his position and another figure facing him.
And that duel was nothing short of shocking.
“What the…”
“Ridiculous, right? I feel the same. Who even is that guy?”
The supervisor’s words weren’t meant to comfort. They were just stating the facts.
“Did you really think you could win just by using magic properly, without bashing your head like an idiot?”
“…”
“Do you still think that now?”
I shook my head.
It was frustrating, but no matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t picture myself beating that guy.
Maybe it was because it was the first time I’d ever felt such an insurmountable wall, aside from my parents.
For some reason, I couldn’t take my eyes off him.
—
Bullying newbies turned out to be much easier than I thought.
The difference in stats had to be overcome with skill… but even Seria was still at a beginner level, right? And the fresh newbies who just took the entrance exam? Don’t even get me started.
Look at that cute newbie over there, holding a sword but failing to control the distance, swinging wildly from a completely wrong position.
‘This is way too tempting.’
I’m drooling. I really want to kidnap them right now and teach them all sorts of training methods and sword techniques.
But wait, that guy looks familiar… Oh no, could it be?
“What’s your name?”
“Artes.”
“Gasp.”
It *was* the protagonist. I didn’t recognize him at first because he always had some weird custom look.
The sturdy figure I saw on the title screen wasn’t there yet, but that shonen manga protagonist face was unmistakable.
Wow, seriously, later on, don’t go to anyone else—come to me. I’ll treat you well.
‘Anyway, he’s at a level where he’ll be assigned to the lower class, so I don’t need to pay him much attention now.’
After toying with him a bit, I knocked him down and made him surrender.
Since I’ve been accepting all the others until they showed their full potential, the supervisors probably won’t see me in a bad light.
While casually dealing with the lower-tier guys, I started sensing that the real talents were about to step into the Training Ground.
The upper-class candidates. These guys were actually pretty talented and often showed up to influence the story.
That’s why I knew exactly who was who.
Well… Honestly, compared to the other guys, he wasn’t an easy opponent.
Sure, my stats are top-tier at this point, but from here on out, there are plenty of powerhouses who aren’t far behind.
Some of them, unlike me who just relies on raw stats without fully utilizing game knowledge, have already mastered their traits and honed skills that suit them perfectly.
In other words, if I don’t strategize properly from now on, I could really lose.
‘But what should I do?’
While dealing with newbies, I realized that games and reality are definitely different. Unlike games where you input commands with a keyboard click, in reality, I had to move my body myself.
Of course, thanks to my high stats, I moved better than expected. Even after moving intensely for a while, I didn’t feel that tired.
But still, games and reality are different.
How can a game, made of 0s and 1s that ignore all physics, be the same as reality where one wrong step and you stub your pinky toe on a corner?
For example, in games, even if it looks like you got hit, you can just phase through it, but in reality, even a slight graze is no joke.
What’s the point of knowing all the attack patterns if you can’t dodge them?
So, at this point, I had no choice but to equip something that’s a bit looked down upon and even considered taboo by experienced players.
“What’s he pulling out?”
“No idea? But he’s been fighting bare-handed until now, so maybe he’s finally using something. He’s probably getting nervous.”
“Well, the guys showing up now are all pretty famous.”
“But is that a weapon? Looks like a shield.”
“A shield?”
That’s right. The best defense is something-something offense. If you can’t dodge, all that’s left is parrying!
Of course, that’s probably nerfed in reality too… Parrying? Forget it. I’ll just have to settle for blocking or deflecting one or two attacks.
I was thinking that, but as usual, things don’t go as planned.
“Whoa, it’s that guy. The dwarf with the huge build.”
“His muscles are insane…”
“But if we’re just talking about weight class, he’s not far behind either? Both of them are crazy.”
Immediately, a major character showed up.
An all-rounder cheat character skilled in equipment crafting and combat. The only tall, muscular pig among the pure-blooded dwarves in this world—Harold.
What kind of dwarf walks around with a name like some default hero from a game-making tool? But this guy’s backstory is just that of a hero.
He’s more protagonist-like than the actual protagonist, and despite being a male character, he has a lot of fans, so there’s a flood of questionable fan art… Thinking about that suddenly makes me feel sick.
No. Nope. Now’s not the time to think about Harold in a crop top and garter belt fan art.
Dwarf Harold. He would later become a MacGyver-like man, crafting all sorts of equipment and using them in the right places, but… at this point, he was just a barbarian warrior.
The weapon he currently uses is a large hammer.
And if you block the hammer with a shield? There’s no stupider move than that.
It’s a hard counter. All that pride you swallowed to raise your shield? Useless now.
*Whoosh! Whoosh!*
“A man shouldn’t just strut around beating up weaker guys, right? Let’s see you do it properly!”
He’s swinging a hammer bigger than his own body like it’s nothing, and one hit from that would send you straight to the grave.
Is his strength in the 20s or something? I’m really gonna die here.
And so, the sparring began.
I dodged attacks with my high agility stat, but in reality, I was just retreating.
The attack range of that massive hammer was so wide that dodging while staying close was practically impossible.
I could see the attack patterns, but there was no opening to dodge.
I tried to exploit a gap, but his trait activated, and he blocked it immediately.
As a result, I kept retreating until I was backed into a wall.
“Is this all you’ve got? You’re just another guy acting tough in front of weaker people.”
Harold’s tone dropped, seemingly losing interest as he watched me just run away.
“Still, I’ll give you credit for lasting this long. Let’s call it a break now.”
With those words, the hammer-wielding monster swung his weapon and closed in.
I knew the attack animation, but unlike in the game, I didn’t think I could dodge it.
If this keeps up, my head’s gonna get smashed by that hammer.
For someone who acted like a seasoned player, this was a pretty pathetic ending.
‘Ah, the karma for smashing Seria’s head is already coming back to me.’
Thinking that, I watched the hammer flying toward me.
Now that I think about it, getting hit by that wouldn’t just end with a cracked skull. I probably won’t die, though.
‘But damn, it’s gonna hurt like hell.’
Maybe because of that thought, right before the attack landed, an image of me deflecting it unconsciously flashed in my mind.
Following that image, I raised the shield I was holding.
My body moved on its own, not my head.
A motion I’ve seen millions of times on screen. The technique I thought was impossible just moments ago was now being reenacted by my own body.
A parry.
The heavy mass hit the shield and bounced off.
*Thud-*
“What the?!”
The massive recoil, unbelievable for such a light movement, sent Harold flying back, losing his balance and staggering.
It was clear he was caught off guard, but I wasn’t any less surprised.
This… I didn’t expect this either? Wait, why did that work?
