Breaking Up With the Heroine in an Otome Game - Breaking Up With the Heroine in an Otome Game chapter 94

94 – Baek Yoorin and Ranking Match (8)

094.

The children in the trainee waiting room were startled and let out surprised exclamations.

Some children exclaimed, “Wow, I didn’t see Baek Yoorin move at all!” with amazed expressions.

Indeed, the appearance of rushing like a beam of light and thrusting the sword in front of Lee Jinhyuk as soon as the match started was truly remarkable.

Is she really the granddaughter of the first-ranked swordsman?

After quietly attending Union Academy without showing any notable achievements, it seemed like she was just a bubble, but she wasn’t.

Perhaps today, they could truly appreciate Baek Yoorin’s true skills, and the trainees watched with anticipation in their eyes.

However, not everyone was enjoying the spectacle.

There was one person who was deeply worried.

That person was Jin Soyeon.

“What, what is that? What about Jinhyuk…?”

Jin Soyeon looked at the monitors, alternating between the figures of Lee Jinhyuk and Baek Yoorin, her expression full of concern.

Baek Yoorin seemed stronger than I had imagined.

I had heard rumors about her, and to some extent, I knew about her, but I never thought she could use such powerful magic.

I couldn’t help but worry if Jinhyuk would get seriously injured during the duel.

An anxious feeling gradually boiled up from deep within my chest.

In these duels, it was common for bones to break and organs to rupture.

Baek Yoorin didn’t seem to have any intention of going easy on Jinhyuk.

You could tell just by looking at her gaze.

That Baek Yoorin was seriously planning to fight.

Come to think of it, didn’t Baek Yoorin provoke Jinhyuk back at the academy, even going as far as threatening his life?

It could be said that Baek Yoorin had openly displayed her negative emotions towards Jinhyuk.

Surely she wouldn’t use this ranking match as an opportunity to vent her anger, right?

Maybe, just maybe.

If that woman, Baek Yoorin, intentionally harmed Jinhyuk.

I definitely wouldn’t let it slide.

Without a doubt.

***

“What, what is this speed?”

It was fast.

Faster than I had imagined.

I could hardly see Baek Yoorin’s movements.

No, I couldn’t see them with my naked eye.

“Chukji, is that the chukji technique?”

Chukji (縮地).

A magical technique that allows one to fold space and travel between two points.

In terms of world-building, it is classified as a type of teleportation spell. It is considered the highest-level magic but also has a notorious reputation. It is a highly demanding technique, both in terms of skill and energy consumption.

“I never knew she could use chukji from the beginning.”

Even for someone like Baek Yoorin, chukji is quite a burdensome skill.

It requires a considerable amount of magical power every time it is used and puts a strain on the ankles and knees.

In the game, this was represented by depleting HP and MP.

That’s how much physical and magical energy it consumes in reality.

Therefore, I did not expect to use my acupuncture skills from the start of the confrontation.

Because I did not expect it, I couldn’t react properly.

If it was someone with a strong sense of combat, they might have been able to respond to some extent, but my combat sense was extremely poor, so I couldn’t even react, let alone respond.

I could truly be called a useless idiot.

“It was quite dangerous. If I had made a mistake, I could have lost the match as soon as it started.”

I suppressed my confusion and pretended to be calm on the surface, tightly gripping my sword.

If Bai Yulin had continued to attack with her sword, what would have happened?

There was no need to think about it.

Most likely, I would have tasted the humiliating result of a quick defeat in a ranking match.

However, for some reason, Bai Yulin quickly retreated without striking her sword.

Even though it was a perfect opportunity.

Why did she approach me using a burdensome yet certain technique like acupuncture, only to feign an attack and withdraw obediently?

Judging by her gaze, it certainly didn’t seem like she was going easy on me.

Bai Yulin remained silent and calmly observed me.

Her gaze was quite different from that of a predator eyeing its prey.

How should I describe it?

It felt like a sense of caution.

As if she was trying to determine whether her opponent was simply prey or an equal predator.

“I guess… She seems to be more cautious than I thought.”

It could be because I revealed too many vulnerabilities, even though I approached her using acupuncture.

Maybe she thinks I’m intentionally showing her weaknesses?

Maybe it’s a trap?

Since I couldn’t even react, she might have considered it even more suspicious.

Even an ordinary student would have been able to react to some extent, even if they couldn’t respond.

“I’m unsure, but maybe she’s being quite cautious because she thinks I might be the man from two years ago.”

Two years ago.

I was defeated by a man who Bai Yulin once lost to.

It was a very humiliating and chaotic defeat.

For Bai Yulin, who was hailed as an unrivaled genius, it must have been a very humiliating experience.

She had never lost a single battle against her peers.

Although I boasted a record of one hundred victories, I was truly overwhelmed by a peer I had never even heard of. The emotions I felt at that moment were indescribable.

It seemed that the irreparable humiliation from the past had made Baek Yurin’s defensive instincts extremely high.

“Baek Yurin’s defensive instincts… I should make the most of them.”

There is no chance of winning through normal means anyway.

Of course, losing to Baek Yurin is practically inevitable, but I don’t want to just obediently swing my sword and lose.

I intended to test how well I can fight against a villain by fighting against Baek Yurin this time.

Baek Yurin is a formidable opponent to test myself against.

Or rather, I wondered if she might be too strong.

“If this were a real battle, I could have used various tools and equipment to create variables.”

Planting explosives and landmines, obstructing vision with flashbang grenades, releasing nerve gas, launching unavoidable attacks with wide-range ultrasonic devices, and restraining with powerful special arrows, and so on.

I didn’t even know how many variables I could create by using various methods.

But a ranked match is watched by many people.

I can’t use cheap tricks.

But that’s okay.

In fact, there is meaning in fighting Baek Yurin, who is of similar skill, relying only on skill, tactics, strategy, and psychological warfare without resorting to various tools.

I’m curious to see how far I can go against someone like Baek Yurin using only pure skill and tactics, excluding strange items.

“….”

“….”

That’s how we stared at each other with our swords in hand for a moment.

A strange silence filled the arena.

The murmurs of the spectators in the distance were barely audible.

I heard that when masters fight, they don’t immediately engage in combat but rather wait for an opening and make a decisive move in an instant.

I quietly looked at Baek Yurin.

Baek Yurin was examining me intensively without blinking, searching for any weaknesses.

However.

“… There are too many weaknesses.”

There are too many weaknesses.

“… Intentional traps?”

I was trying my best to assume the stance of the Baekgeomryu swordsmanship.

“… Baekgeomryu is our family’s swordsmanship, but why am I so incompetent? Is she… provoking me?”

Ah, no.

It’s the most famous swordsmanship in South Korea, you know.

So, I’ve been learning it on and off for a long time, and now you’re provoking me.

It seems like my stance doesn’t look good enough in the eyes of the genius swordsman.

But there’s nothing I can do. I’m not a swordswoman.

The reason why, as an archer, I don’t use a bow is because I don’t have the confidence to break a thick tree trunk with practice arrows.

If it were special arrows or a giant crow bow, I could definitely inflict damage on Baek Yoo-rin, but I can’t use them during the duel.

It’s ridiculous that as an archer, I have to fight with a sword. Really.

“…Fine, whatever.”

Finally, Baek Yoo-rin clenched the sword tighter, as if she made up her mind.

“…If you don’t come, I’ll go to you.”

“…”

Is it finally coming?

Baek Yoo-rin placed her right foot as the pivot and slowly stepped forward with her left foot.

Holding the sword diagonally, she started to gather a little, just a little bit of magical power.

Engaging properly is no different from suicide.

I had to lead her into attack patterns that I could counter.

After analyzing the videos for a week, I discovered several habits and tendencies in response to certain actions.

When the opponent uses a certain swordsmanship in certain situations, Baek Yoo-rin often responds with a certain technique with a high success rate.

I diligently memorized them for a week… Ah.

“Oh, they’re coming.”

Hey, can you give me a moment to think!

Swish.

It was a split-second moment.

In the blink of an eye, Baek Yoo-rin’s figure blurred and leaped straight towards me.

But this time, it wasn’t a pivot.

Unbo (Cloud Step).

One of the stances in the Baekgeom school.

It was a stance that Lee Si-un often used.

It was slower than a pivot, but still not easily visible.

It was difficult to keep up with her movements with my naked eye.

But it doesn’t matter if I don’t see it in real time.

Unlike earlier, this time I saw in advance what actions Baek Yurin would take.

If I can see what actions Baek Yurin takes in advance, I can roughly guess what technique she will use.

If she takes a step forward in this posture from a distance like this and uses the skill of Yunbo, it is highly likely that she will use that technique.

If my prediction is correct, I should be able to block at least one attack.

“Ugh!”

Clang!

Suddenly, she appeared in front of me and swung her sword.

Baekgeomryu Iljeom. Stab.

Thanks to the shield in my left hand, I was able to block the attack.

It may have been an offensive move for Baek Yurin, but to me, it felt almost like a deadly blow.

If I had not looked up information about Baek Yurin, or watched videos, I might not have been able to block this attack.

“As expected… you blocked it?”

As soon as Baek Yurin confirmed that her first attack was blocked, she seemed happy(?) and immediately tried to swing her sword again.

The natural flow of the sword dance, flowing like water.

But I had a plan.

In numerous videos, Baek Yurin showed several patterns of actions after her surprise attack and stabbing failed.

From Noble mtl dot com

The position of her left hind leg, the right shoulder, the height of the chest, the position of the right foot, the angle of the waist, the grip of the sword, and so on, I was able to see the patterns up to the nineteen moves.

… Of course, it was impossible to memorize all those pre-move gestures one by one.

Even if I could memorize them, it would be practically impossible to recall and respond immediately in a real battle.

However, I was able to remember a few typical patterns.

The few counter patterns that Baek Yurin showed the most.

After all, Baek Yurin, being human, had habits and routines.

In other words, there is a high possibility that Baek Yurin will most likely use the technique she shows the most and is most skilled at.

‘Is it a posture where she slightly lifts her left foot, brings her right arm back, and slightly lowers her chest and waist… a diagonal slash from the upper body?’

Is my thought correct?

It should be.

Could she be using a different technique?

If my prediction is correct, the probability is roughly 70%, isn’t it?

‘Either kill or be killed.’

Without further thought, I quickly raised my shield.

I couldn’t afford to think anymore because I wasn’t relaxed enough.

I had to move before Baek Yurin swung her sword.

I wasn’t fast enough to react to Baek Yurin’s movement with my slow body.

In simple terms, when dodging bullets, you don’t dodge after seeing them, but rather move out of the line of fire in advance.

In other words, predict.

Uh, well. It’s prediction….

Damn it. It sounds good to say prediction, but isn’t it just gambling?

No matter how much I observe, memorize, and analyze her patterns, Baek Yurin could suddenly change her mind and launch an unexpected attack.

“!”

“Kuk.”

Suddenly, Baek Yurin swung her sword diagonally and grazed my shield. Oh, oh! I got hit, damn it!

With the blade full of magic power, it emitted a hot heat as it scraped the surface of the shield.

It was fortunate that it was a training sword and shield with safety measures, or else the shield could have been completely shattered in a real battle.

“Now’s the time!”

While directing Baek Yurin’s sword away, I immediately plunged into her embrace.

Just as I blocked Baek Yurin’s diagonal slash, I swung my one-handed sword with the intention of countering.

If it were an ordinary student, they wouldn’t be able to dodge it.

“….”

However, my sword still didn’t reach her.

Baek Yurin, like a flying squirrel, skillfully evaded my one-handed sword and hopped back.

I tried countering her attack after reading it in advance, but it still didn’t work.

In the case of Yudahee, I could have at least injured the back of her hand….

“That’s right. Yudahee was being careless then.”

Also, because she trusted her protective aura, she didn’t need to dodge my attack.

But Baek Yurin was different.

Baek Yurin was somewhat on guard against me.

“…Did you predict my movements in advance?”

She murmured, seemingly slightly surprised.

“….It doesn’t seem like a planned response. I was a little surprised that you anticipated it before I swung my sword…”

Baek Yurin enveloped her sword with a dense magical power.

“You have many weaknesses, your movements are sluggish, and your swordsmanship is lacking, so I’ve been skeptical… You seem weak, but… you’re not entirely weak… Is it all an act or is it real…?”

No, that’s a Martial Pill Sword, isn’t it?

“You… could it be the man I think it is…?”

“Hey, how many times do I have to say it’s not me?”

“Words are nothing but lies… I can’t be sure. So…”

Baek Yurin slightly raised the corners of her mouth.

“Bring it… I won’t lie with this sword.”

That was truly a madman’s remark.

Yes, Baek Yurin is like a madman.

A madman obsessed with the sword.