Chapter 66

“Ayu, can I ask you for a favor to get some revenge?”

“Huh? What is it?”

“Can you hug me just once?”

“Eh?”

When I seriously asked, Ayu looked embarrassed but soon started blushing to the tips of her ears.

I feel bad for my close younger sister, but I wish she could just close her eyes once and help me.

“It’s a matter of a man’s pride.”

“…Hmph, don’t say anything later.”

Why does she suddenly look so excited?

“Are you really going to hug me?”

“Yeah, please.”

She giggled, stretched out her arms, and tightly hugged my waist.

Then she buried her face in my chest and looked up at me with a bright smile.

The soft touch and sweet scent unique to a woman from Ayu made my head spin for a moment.

Now that I’ve actually asked, it’s quite embarrassing.

But when I raised my head to win the battle of male pride, I saw Lee Soo-ho with a shattered face.

As if his worried girlfriend wasn’t even in his sight, he met my eyes, bit his lip, and slowly lowered his head.

I won.

“Idiot, what are you doing so childishly?”

Baek-san scolded me from the side, but since I won, it’s fine.

At that moment, I felt Ayu rubbing her face against my chest and stopped, lowering my head.

“Ayu, it’s over now, so you can let go.”

“No. You said you wouldn’t say anything else.”

“No, why is this ‘anything else’?”

“It is. I’m going to stay like this all day.”

Stop it. People are starting to look this way.

For a moment, I regretted my actions, driven by the thought that I must defeat Lee Soo-ho, and spoke to Ayu.

“Teacher Ayu, what should I do?”

“If you say, ‘Ayu-nim, I will serve you for life. Please, please marry me!’ then I’ll consider it.”

If that’s the case.

“Sora, let’s get married.”

“Eek!”

Ayu turned into a red tomato and collapsed.

Why does she always provoke and then get provoked?

I patted Ayu’s head a few times and then sat down by the wall.

It’s too early for her to attack me.

“Are you really doing this on purpose?”

Baek-san looked at me with an expression of seeing a crazy person, and I scratched my head.

No, you provoked me first.

After I took down Ayu and was about to chat with her, the sparring lessons of others had also ended.

The remaining time was for feedback from each instructor, and my instructor was none other than Josia.

“Yo, Kang Ha-chan, I’m your instructor. Nice to meet you?”

“Who’s this?”

As she approached with her characteristic squinty smile, Ayu whispered to me.

Her eyes look sharp for some reason.

Seeing Ayu for the first time among the students, she tilted her head.

I decided to introduce them to each other.

“Seo-ho’s potential girlfriend.”

“Ah, I see.”

“No, Kang Ha-chan, are you planning to spread rumors everywhere?”

When Josia blushed and answered, Ayu seemed to believe it immediately.

Then Josia subtly approached me and asked.

“So, Kang Ha-chan, is this person…?”

She raised her pinky finger.

What’s this?

“Bold. You’re involved with Ha Si-ho and now this girl. Was I underestimating people?”

“I think your brain’s delusions might be running wild again.”

“But you were hugging her earlier, right? Don’t worry. I’m a person who understands. I’ll keep it a secret until you get stabbed, though.”

What does she mean by understanding?

Now I have to worry about the future because of her misunderstanding.

“What are you two whispering about?”

Ayu slightly pulled my arm away from Josia and asked. I shrugged as if it was nothing.

“Ahem, so, shall we do some feedback and sparring?”

Josia changed the topic and spoke to me.

Since an S-class Hunter was offering to teach me, I had no reason to refuse and accepted.

“I’ll do a simple sparring, so come at me with everything you’ve got.”

As Josia spoke with a provocative smile, I thought about pulling out Keraf.

But I had no intention of doing such a crazy thing, so I decided to fight using only my body and 0.1% of my aura.

“Come on.”

While I took a stance, Josia didn’t take any stance, so her weak points were visible to me.

It was obvious she was baiting me, but considering the difference between her and me, I had no choice.

So, I stepped forward and closed the distance to her.

I aimed to fake a punch and grab her collar to throw her down.

The moment my movement, mixed with a simple feint, followed, Josia’s eyes flashed.

And in a short moment, my body floated into the air.

Josia had grabbed my outstretched arm and thrown me.

“Ugh.”

With a short scream, my body hit the ground, and I rolled once from the pain in my back.

“Kang Ha-chan, have you learned martial arts?”

“Yes, I have.”

“And recently?”

“That’s correct too.”

“No wonder your movements are precise but your application is weak. In a real fight, your weak points are obvious. I can subdue you without using any abilities.”

Is that how it looks to an expert?

I patted my back and got up.

It hasn’t even been a month since I started learning combat skills from Baek-san.

The fact that I could do even this much was almost a miracle, so I could easily accept Josia’s advice.

“Every attack has a kind of flow. Kang Ha-chan, you lack the connection in that flow. It feels like you learned the movements separately.”

As she spoke, Josia demonstrated the move she had just used to throw me in the air.

“I can perform that move from any stance. You need to be able to do that much to use it in a real fight.”

“Hmm.”

At that moment, Ayu, who had been quietly watching, snorted.

When Josia and I looked at Ayu, she smiled lightly.

“Connection in flow, huh. Sounds good.”

Then Ayu walked out to Josia, keeping a proper distance.

“You seem to have a few problems giving advice since your own connection is lacking and your weak points are showing.”

“…Weak points are showing?”

Josia’s eyebrows twitched as if her pride was hurt.

“It’s a feeling. I’ll teach you a little. It’s precious, so learn well.”

Regardless, Ayu smiled slyly and wiggled her fingers.

Perhaps because Ayu was dressed as a student, Josia looked bewildered.

To her, it sounded like a mere student was trying to teach an instructor.

Feeling like she had to humor this, she looked at me, and I smiled wryly and said.

“Give it a try. You probably won’t regret it.”

“Regret or not, it’s a precious opportunity.”

As Ayu grumbled, Josia reluctantly looked at Ayu.

“…Do I just attack?”

“Do that.”

When Ayu generously offered the first move, Josia smirked but took a stance.

At that moment, a completely different aura began to spread from her, unlike the weak points she had shown me earlier.

Tingling-

The strange sensation crawling up my skin gave me the feeling of facing a beast.

In that aura, Josia took a small breath and stepped forward.

At that moment, I felt her figure shrink and then stretch out.

Her leap was so fast that I couldn’t even see it with my eyes, and her hands instantly covered Ayu’s thin body.

“Watch carefully. This is what flow is.”

At that moment, Ayu’s feet began a strange step.

As if stepping on water, her legs lightly stretched out and brushed past Josia in a circular motion.

Even though Josia was much faster, Ayu easily avoided her.

Realizing this belatedly, Josia gasped and immediately sprang up like a bullet from the opposite side.

Seemingly determined to catch Ayu for real, she coiled around Ayu’s body like a snake.

But as Ayu’s footsteps continued, Josia had to wrap her arms around the air.

This time, it didn’t stop there.

Following Ayu’s light footsteps, Josia flailed around as if dancing, unable to break free from the flow, and when Ayu finally stepped away, Josia fell on her butt.

It seemed she didn’t use her abilities, but Josia, an S-class Hunter known as Imoogi, couldn’t even touch Ayu’s clothes.

As Josia’s dazed eyes turned to Ayu, who had an arrogant smile with the aura of Cheon Hong-ryun flowing from her, she asked.

“W-who are you…?”

As Josia’s tone instantly turned respectful, Ayu placed her hands on her hips, puffed out her chest, and raised her chin.

“The greatest in the world, Cheonma Cheon Hong-ryun. Do you understand the value of my teachings now?”

As Ayu’s tone began to change, she seemed to realize it and coughed.

Then she looked at me with a triumphant expression.

Looking at her, I subtly asked Baek-san.

“Baek-san, what’s the difference between an S-class Returner and an S-class Hunter?”

“For a kid like you, if you grow up, you might reach the level of an S-class Returner, but that girl would need a grade like SSS-class. Normally, an average S-class Hunter is similar to or slightly below an A-class Returner.”

What is an average S-class Hunter?

My common sense feels more and more strange.

‘It must be the Returner grades.’

I’ve studied the Returner grades before.

The criterion for an A-class Returner is whether they can open a dimensional gate and return on their own.

Among Returners, there are various types, and those below B-class are those who returned through some method existing in that dimension, not by opening a dimensional gate themselves.

Therefore, the number of A-class Returners drops sharply, and in the case of S-class Returners, if they decide to hide, even the World Returner Association might not know if they’ve returned.

‘Like my sister, for example.’

My sister’s information is scarce, but the fact that the World Returner Association couldn’t track her confirms she’s S-class.

Originally, my sister, who intervened in the fight with Giraseong, could escape against Ayu or Baekseolhyang, so that says it all.

Anyway, Ayu is an S-class among those Returners.

Of course, Josia couldn’t match her.

“Kang Ha-chan, don’t think of putting Cheonma on the same level as a normal S-class Returner.”

At that moment, Baek-san suddenly warned me.

“The greatest in the world, that title hasn’t been broken even once on Earth, which was overflowing with Returners before my regression.”

Hearing that, I was startled and looked back at Ayu, who was smiling brightly.

“On this Earth, at the current point, there’s no one who can face her one-on-one and win.”

Ayu was more of a big shot than I thought.

For some reason, I thought I should refrain from teasing Ayu from now on.

“Then is Baek-san stronger than you?”

“Damn, what do you take me for? I was beaten in the end. Thanks to the situation being a mess, though.”

As Baek-san looked at Ayu with a tired expression, I could feel Ayu’s strength.

After all, Baek-san, who turned Yekaterina, a B-class Returner, into Pavlov’s dragon, couldn’t guarantee victory against Ayu.

Meanwhile, Ayu tiptoed over to me.

“Ayu.”

“What, what? Are you impressed by how cool I am?”

“Even if you’re angry, don’t hit me.”

“What? When did I ever hit you!”

“Always.”

And I had to get hit.

It’s unfair.