Suicide Before Defeating the Final Boss

Suicide Before Defeating the Final Boss – 7

EP.7 Sparring Practice

The fight ended almost anticlimactically fast. Hearing that the supervising professor was on his way, the other students quickly separated the scuffling students.

“… See you during sparring practice.”

The muscular student, his mind still heated from the unfinished fight, vowed to continue this later. Jeong-hyeon responded by raising his middle finger.

“You piece of shit…”

Seeing the reaction to his gesture, Jeong-hyeon couldn’t help but laugh. There was a satisfying pleasure in both physically and mentally beating his opponent.

‘And he’s a perfect punching bag that even boosts my stats.’

The student was a godsend for Jeong-hyeon. After laughing for a while, he quickly returned to his seat, anticipating the professor’s arrival, and checked his stats.

*-*

[Stats]

Strength: 17 Agility: 15 Stamina: 13 Magic: 6 Divine Power: ???

*-*

To others, his rapid progression might seem unreal. However, from his perspective, knowing he could encounter those enemies at any moment, fast progress alone wasn’t reassuring.

‘At this rate, I won’t even be able to escape.’

Determined to grow even faster, he was deep in thought when the swordsmanship professor entered the classroom and spoke.

“Let’s begin.”

With the professor’s commanding voice, the swordsmanship class commenced immediately.

***

In the swordsmanship department, except for morning classes, all sessions were dedicated to training. Most of the time was spent on basic physical training, weapon skills, and sparring practice. Among these, ‘sparring practice’ was the most crucial.

‘Sparring practice affects your test scores.’

Through sparring practice, students determined their rankings, which in turn affected their exam scores. Therefore, swordsmanship students aimed to win as many matches as possible to secure and maintain high rankings.

‘So, we fight almost every day.’

But now, it was the end of the first semester. This period was known as a lull, as most had already fought their battles, leading to a decrease in sparring sessions.

‘It’s true.’

Jeong-hyeon nodded as he looked at the sparring ranking board, which was updated in real-time using magic stones. Despite there being nearly 300 students, not a single ranking had changed, indicating a significant lull.

‘Well, it’s lucky for me.’

Unchanging rankings meant that he only had room to climb. He silently scanned the list from top to bottom.

[Rank 300: Lee Jeong-hyeon]

Seeing his name firmly at the bottom, he couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh. Rank 300, the very last place. He sighed as he looked at his position.

***

The sparring classes in the swordsmanship department were conducted under the dean’s philosophy that there should always be an audience and variables in a duel. Therefore, the sparring sessions were open to all departments. It was often said that students from other departments would come to watch…

“This is the first time I’ve seen so many people here.”

Jeong-hyeon sighed as he overheard a senior remarking on the unusually large crowd gathered for the sparring class. While a moderate amount of attention was fine, this level of overwhelming interest wasn’t exactly welcome.

‘They must have spread rumours.’

Rumours like how some nobody threw a stone at Erie for no reason, infuriating the muscle-bound guy who was now eagerly waiting to crush him in the sparring practice.

‘It makes me look like the villain.’

In reality, it was these guys who had bullied Lucia. But it didn’t matter.

Such attention would fade quickly, and all he needed to do was win the sparring match.

‘Idiots.’

Jeong-hyeon couldn’t help but laugh as he saw Erie and her group sitting in the front row of the audience. They were either glaring at him or mocking him, as if they had planned it.

‘It’s funny to see a dozen people acting like that.’

He wondered if they were aware of how ridiculous they looked. Determined to make their expressions twist, he noticed Erie and the muscle-bound guy sitting with serious expressions, contrary to the rest of their group.

‘Unexpectedly calm.’

He had expected them to look at him with mockery or anger, but Erie seemed tense, and the muscle guy was focused.

‘It doesn’t matter, though.’

No matter what expressions they wore or what they said, it was nothing compared to the humiliation he had endured in the past. He could just laugh it off.

‘A sword, huh.’

In reality, he had never needed to use a sword, and even here, he had been dragged around so much that he hadn’t had the chance to use one. Looking at the sword, he felt a mix of emotions.

It was obvious he wouldn’t know how to use something he had never used before.

‘But it would be a loss not to use it.’

Determined to use it at least for show, he grabbed the sword. An oddly familiar sensation flowed through his hand. This feeling reminded him of a trait he had almost forgotten.

‘Unrealistic Genius.’

An overwhelming talent that even a sword master couldn’t possess it, rated at five stars. The sense of the sword flowed into his fingertips.

In awe of this sensation, Jeong-hyeon swung the sword absentmindedly, letting his talent guide him. The arcs he drew were beautiful. Though his stance felt awkward, the path of his sword was undeniably elegant.

Wondering how this was possible, he chuckled to himself. Suddenly, he heard murmuring from behind. Turning to see who it was, he recognized a familiar face he wasn’t keen on seeing.

‘The First Princess.’

Though he bore no particular grudge against her, seeing her at this moment was certainly unwelcome. Since she was of the same blood as the second princess, whom he despised, Jeong-hyeon couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

‘Moreover, she’s seen me a few times before I committed suicide.’

Unable to hide his discomfort, he accidentally made eye contact with her.

“……”

Her face turned pale, her eyes wide open as if someone had splashed mud on a pristine white canvas. She looked as if she had seen a ghost. Jeong-hyeon quickly averted his gaze.

‘She recognized me.’

He honestly didn’t think she would, considering they hadn’t spent much time together—just a few brief encounters in the royal palace. He didn’t expect the first princess to recognize him, but she had. Worry began to rise within him.

‘The first princess is essentially a fugitive who ran away from the royal power struggle out of disillusionment.’

Even if she knew about his existence now, she wouldn’t do anything. Attempting to act or inform others would mean getting involved in the royal power struggle she had tried to escape.

‘Given her position, the first princess can’t reveal anything about me.’

Even if she wanted to, she had no concrete evidence to prove he was the hero. She couldn’t do anything about it.

‘Still, I should be careful.’

He hadn’t expected this unforeseen variable. Meeting eyes with the first princess in this vast academy was a surprise. Thinking it was best to be cautious, he soon had a better idea and shook his head.

‘No, wait. This could actually be useful.’

If he played his cards right, he could use this to completely crush the Second Princess. As he contemplated this, the muscle-bound student descended from the audience and approached the swordsmanship instructor.

“Instructor, I’d like to spar with him.”

The instructor looked at Jeong-hyeon, whom the student had pointed to, and seemed puzzled.

“… The 7th rank wants to spar with the 300th? Why?”

The instructor couldn’t understand why someone ranked so high would want to spar with someone at the bottom. He asked for an explanation, and the muscle-bound student replied nonchalantly.

“I just want to see what he’s got.”

A foolish and blatant answer. Normally, the request would have been denied, but being a swordsmanship instructor, telling a student brimming with competitive spirit not to spar would have been odd, so the instructor remained silent, unable to respond.

‘He’s in a tough spot.’

There was no reason to refuse, but he didn’t seem eager to permit it either. Seeing the instructor’s dilemma, Jeong-hyeon approached and offered a solution.

“I’m okay with it.”

He strategically used the word ‘okay’ to create a sense of obligation. The instructor sighed in relief, looking between Jeong-hyeon and the muscle-bound student before finally agreeing.

“Very well. However, the moment the outcome is decided, the sparring will stop immediately. Understood?”

Jeong-hyeon nodded, picking up a wooden sword nearby.

***

Jer massaged his muscular shoulders as he picked up the wooden sword. Normally, he wouldn’t even bother using a wooden sword against lower-ranked opponents, preferring to spar barehanded.

‘But this guy…’

Something about Jeong-hyeon seemed different, compelling Jer to take this match seriously. He took a deep breath and fixed his gaze on Jeong-hyeon, who responded by raising his middle finger again.

“You bastard…”

It was a simple gesture, yet it infuriated Jer to no end. He clenched his teeth and forced himself to calm down, exhaling slowly.

‘Calm down.’

Despite Jeong-hyeon’s clumsy and unimpressive appearance, the final blow he had landed on Jer’s side was more brutal and precise than any attack from the top-ranked student. Jer couldn’t afford to be careless.

‘If I get hit by that again…’

He knew he wouldn’t be able to endure the pain and would lose the sparring match. Suppressing his overconfidence, he heightened his focus.

‘… I don’t know what trick this 300th-ranked loser used, but…’

Aside from that one strike, the gap between them was overwhelming. As long as he avoided that blow, he was confident he could dominate Jeong-hyeon. So, as soon as the match began, Jer swung his sword aggressively, trying to corner Jeong-hyeon.

But all he heard was the sound of his sword slicing through the air. No matter how many times he swung, his wooden sword couldn’t even graze Jeong-hyeon’s clothes.

‘…?’

Missing with his sword wasn’t the main issue. His goal was to keep Jeong-hyeon at bay and prevent him from using that deadly strike. He had anticipated a loss in accuracy due to his rapid swings, so missing wasn’t a problem. What truly troubled him was his ‘judgment.’ He was sure his strikes would hit, but they never did.

‘… That’s impossible.’

After countless hours of training, his instincts had developed to the point where he could reliably hit anything he aimed for. But against Jeong-hyeon, those instincts seemed utterly useless. No matter how certain he felt that his strikes would land, they never did.

It was just a misjudgement, but it sent chills down his spine, warning him that something was terribly wrong.

Jer wanted to stop and call off the match, but the eyes watching him and the reputation he had built pushed him forward. Reluctantly, Jer continued to swing his wooden sword wildly.

“Just die already!”

Desperate to prove his efforts hadn’t been in vain, the sound of his powerful sword strikes tearing through the air echoed repeatedly. Yet, his sword never touched Jeong-hyeon.

“Damn it!”

To conceal the growing fear within him, he swore loudly and attacked even more aggressively. However, the more he swung, the more his fear intensified.

Unable to bear it any longer, he unleashed his sword aura. A bright blue aura enveloped his wooden sword, a testament to his skill. The spectators gasped in astonishment.

“No way! Sword aura?”

“I knew he was strong, but this is insane.”

“Wow, a first-year using sword aura… that talent is incredible.”

The crowd was in shock. Sword aura was something only third-year students, and those in the upper ranks, could typically use. For a first-year like Jer to wield it was astonishing. But that wasn’t what mattered now. What mattered was overcoming the fear that gripped him.

Determined to use all his mana, Jer aggressively surged forward, cornering Jeong-hyeon in the duel arena. With nowhere left for Jeong-hyeon to retreat, Jer unleashed his strongest sword strike.

“Dieee!”

It was the most perfect strike he had ever executed, with flawless form and explosive sword aura. But with a single fluid motion, Jeong-hyeon deflected the attack, dissipating all the mana Jer had poured into it. The wooden sword flew out of Jer’s hands and embedded itself in the ground behind him.

“……”

Jer stared at his empty hands in disbelief and collapsed to the ground. This was… impossible.

“… No way. No way!”

Whether it was the aftereffects of using too much mana or sheer shock, Jer’s hands began to tremble uncontrollably. He tried to steady them, but the shaking wouldn’t stop.

‘This can’t be real.’

He couldn’t believe he had lost to someone he considered a nobody. As he grappled with his disbelief, Jeong-hyeon, who had been calmly adjusting his wrist, spoke coldly.

“Hey, bastard. Why are you trembling? Get up.”

“What… what?”

“You didn’t even put up a decent fight. Get up, damn it!”

Jeong-hyeon pointed his wooden sword at Jer’s neck, his voice filled with contempt. Jer, trembling, tried to back away using his hands.

“No way you’re ending it like this after attacking me. Get up, now!”

Jeong-hyeon’s voice was filled with rage as he followed Jer, rolling his shoulders as if preparing for another round.