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Translator: uly
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: Childhood Friend (5)
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When Yang Woo-bin threw that stone at her, Jin Se-jeong was shocked for the second time in her life.
She never could have imagined encountering a superhuman her own age in a place like this.
A male superhuman, no less!
Of course, there was no distinction between men and women during awakening, and for those born with noble bloodlines, awakening as a superhuman was a inevitable certainty. So it wasn't strange for a family to have male superhumans.
But when that male superhuman was only ten years old? That changed everything.
A superhuman the same age as me...
It was a proven fact in superhuman studies that the earlier the awakening, the greater the potential.
Even if male superhumans were inherently disadvantaged than females, an early awakening meant they could grow much stronger regardless of gender.
That's why, when Yang Woo-bin threw that stone with real power behind it, Jin Se-jeong was so stunned she couldn't even think to block or dodge.
But her surprise ended there.
"Let's head to the training grounds and have a go. I'll beat all those stray thoughts right out of your head."
"What do you...?"
"I'll thrash you so hard not even a single stray thought can clutter your mind."
The moment Jin Se-jeong heard those words from Yang Woo-bin, her head cleared, and the shock that had stirred her chest settled into calm.
A man—daring to provoke her, Jin Se-jeong, a innate prodigy and not just any female superhuman.
For someone who had been personally taught the basics of the Azure Dragon Twelve Swords by the head of the Jin family, it was such an absurd challenge that she didn't even feel angry.
'Sure, awakening at ten could make anyone that cocky. I was the same. But the power gap between men and women is stark. Men can never beat women. Especially if they awakened at the same time. A ignorant whelp like that needs a good spanking.'
Jin Se-jeong had said she didn't care about her own talent, but that was only because her circumstances were so harsh.
In truth, she loved her talent and took pride in her genius.
Yet here was this boy, awakened at the same age, talking about thrashing her.
"I don't know what your deal is, but I'm in a bad mood today. You'll regret those words and that attitude."
True to her ten-year-old impulsiveness, Jin Se-jeong filled her head with thoughts of knocking Yang Woo-bin down a peg and accepted his challenge.
※
"Wooden sword, right? Here."
Thud.
"...?"
Jin Se-jeong caught the wooden sword Yang Woo-bin tossed her, then watched in bewilderment as he headed to the training grounds empty-handed.
Tossing a weapon to his opponent but fighting barehanded?
"Why aren't you holding anything?"
Puzzled by his utterly baffling conduct, Jin Se-jeong tilted her head and asked.
Yang Woo-bin scratched the back of his head, looking almost embarrassed to even answer.
"Never learned. Anything."
"What?"
"I'm a guy. So they didn't teach me. Guys are supposed to learn housework or whatever. I can chop pretty well, though. Great at cooking. But you can't fight with a kitchen knife, right? So, bare hands it is."
"...Ha?"
Jin Se-jeong furrowed her brow in disbelief at his response.
It wasn't because Yang Woo-bin, who had challenged her, didn't know how to fight. It was because she couldn't comprehend her family's decision not to teach him any esoteric techniques despite his talent.
"You awakened at ten, and from that stone you threw earlier, you clearly have a mana core... And they taught you nothing because you're a boy? Just housework?"
"Oh, so it really is the family that's messed up, not me. Even a ten-year-old knows better. Actually, they probably know but just don't care."
Despite his family's refusal to recognize his talent, Yang Woo-bin's expression and voice held no regret or resentment.
He spoke in a calm tone, as if it was just how things were in this household.
"...Ugh."
And that attitude rubbed Jin Se-jeong the wrong way.
She saw her own reflection in his completely stoic indifference.
"Tch, you piss me off! Why aren't you mad? Even for a guy, with that awakening timing on par with mine, they should be cultivating your talent!"
"Right? But what can you do? They won't. So I just gotta live well on my own."
Her childish frustration only met with Yang Woo-bin's unchanging calm.
His refusal to even struggle for a better life was unacceptable to Jin Se-jeong, who had fled to another family just to survive.
So she pointed her sword tip at the barehanded boy and declared,
"Fine. I won't waste words on someone who's forsaken their own destiny. But those arrogant words you threw at me earlier—about thrashing me and all that—you'll answer for every one."
Jin Se-jeong was angry at his attitude, and at seeing her own situation mirrored in him.
But getting mad for those reasons would just be a mere tantrum, so she justified her anger by throwing his earlier provocation back at him.
"Yeah, all talk. When do we actually fight?"
Yang Woo-bin responded to her childish rage with casual ease, only fueling her fury more.
"Come on. Hit me with everything you've got."
As he beckoned her with a smug grin in that situation, Jin Se-jeong finally snapped. She activated her mana core and charged forward with explosive force.
Tssspang!
A superhuman body boosted by mana turned a ten-year-old's movement into a streak of azure light. As the distance closed in an instant, Jin Se-jeong drew her sword.
'Azure Dragon Twelve Swords – First Sword'
The foundation of the Azure Dragon Twelve Swords was decisive lethality.
Settling fights in one strike was the essence of its martial philosophy, so every form derived from thrusting attacks.
Her favorite first form was, naturally, a thrust.
The moment Yang Woo-bin entered her range, she thrust without hesitation.
[Azure Dragon Advance]
The Jin family's signature secret sword art: blue hair like the sea whipping as she channeled all the speed and power of her charge into the blade tip.
Like a blue dragon soaring through the sky, the relentless thrust carried enough destructive force to send Yang Woo-bin flying in one hit.
"Fly away!"
"Pass."
But no matter how powerful the attack, it was useless if it didn't connect.
Yang Woo-bin dodged the dragon-like ferocious thrust perfectly with just a slight twist of his body and a single step forward.
"Wha...?"
Her wooden sword slipped past his side. Tilting her head up, she met his gaze looking straight down at her, and Jin Se-jeong couldn't process what had just happened.
'He... dodged? A guy? My Azure Dragon Twelve Swords – First Sword, Azure Dragon Advance? How?'
And getting lost in thought mid-fight was as good as forfeiting.
"Told you no stray thoughts, even picked a fight to drill it in, and you're still daydreaming, kiddo."
Yang Woo-bin immediately swept his leg low, smashing into Jin Se-jeong's ankle.
Kudangtangtang!
The perfectly landed sweep sent her tumbling across the ground. Looking down at her, Yang Woo-bin grinned and said,
"Done. Whew, that was easy."
"Uh...?"
It was an undeniable, perfect victory for Yang Woo-bin.
※
"...Hey! Again!"
"Oho, got your spirits up?"
Whether the shock of losing to a guy hit her hard, she'd been lying on the ground for a while, mumbling nonsense like, 'No way. This can't be real? Wait, it can't? Then why am I on the ground? Because it is real, that's why I'm down here. But I'm Jin Se-jeong, a genius—how does losing to a guy make sense?' Anyone could see her mental state was shattered. Then suddenly, the kid jumped up and challenged me to a rematch.
Normally, this is when you'd go, 'Nah, you're trash~' and rub it in to humiliate her more. But I didn't challenge the kid to a spar to bully her or salve my ego.
That was just a bonus. My real goal was something else.
"Alright, round two."
So I cheerfully accepted her rematch request, stepped onto the training grounds, and took position opposite her.
"But plain sparring's boring and tiring. Let's make it a bet from now on. First to ten wins takes it."
And I slipped in my original objective.
"A bet?"
The kid furrowed her brows slightly at the word "bet."
She sensed something fishy, but having already lost once to a guy like me, she couldn't back out now no matter how suspicious. So I decided to go straight for it, man-style.
"Yeah, favour-bound wager. Loser grants the winner's every demand. Until the next round's over. Sound fun?"
"W-Wish? Anything at all...?"
The kid hesitated at "wish."
Having to grant the winner's every whim was a big commitment, after all.
But I knew the magic word to blast through that hesitation. I smirked with one corner of my mouth and tossed it at her.
"Chicken?"
"Arrrgh!! I'm not chicken! Come on, let's go!"
Anyway, the kid was ridiculously easy.