I Escaped the Exile Story Only To Find It Was a Regret Trope

24 – 4# Class S Promotion Test (4)

You’ve come this far, and now you want to forfeit?

Isn’t that too much of a waste? If a man draws his sword, he should at least cut a radish.

Of course, there was a hint of mischief mixed in with that thought.

Moreover, it wasn’t entirely impossible to see Ho-jun’s figure overlapping with a certain bandit he had met in a fantasy world.

That man, while claiming to act in his own interest, had often given up his own things.

And in Yoo-shin’s view, although Ho-jun said he would forfeit, his inner resolve had not yet been broken.

Yoo-shin began to think carefully. How could he cancel that guy’s forfeit? Thanks to that, Yoo-shin immediately found an answer.

“You’re going to forfeit? Aren’t you ashamed?”

“What did you say?”

“You never know the length until you measure it. But forfeiting out of fear of a junior, your future is obvious without even seeing it!”

The first method Yoo-shin chose was provocation.

He would cancel the forfeit, even if it meant angering him through provocation.

However, despite considerable mockery, Ho-jun just stared at Yoo-shin silently. He took no further action.

‘What benefit would I gain from fighting a difficult battle?’

Thanks to that thought, Ho-jun did not fall for the provocation.

When Ho-jun did not fall for the provocation, Yoo-shin quickly began to search for another method.

‘Yes! That’s it!’

“Principal! Didn’t you say this academy is about the survival of the fittest?!”

“That’s right, but what’s the matter?”

“Then I won’t accept his forfeit!”

“What kind of nonsense is that?!”

Ho-jun could only shout in astonishment at the absurdity.

Not accept the forfeit? Why on earth?!

In the face of an unimaginable situation, Ho-jun felt a headache coming on, but Yoo-shin did not back down. Confirming his determination, Ban Se-rin smiled and said,

“Indeed, it makes sense.”

“Makes sense?! That?!”

“Life doesn’t always go the way you want it to.”

Thanks to her, who spoke lines that a duo of ballet witches might say somewhere, Ho-jun felt like he was going crazy. He had decided to forfeit because he saw no chance of winning.

Now, even forfeiting was not something he could do as he wished.

Since Principal Ban Se-rin said so, naturally, Ho-jun’s forfeit was not accepted. Thanks to that, Yoo-shin got the chance to fight Ho-jun properly.

Ho-jun, who ended up fighting due to Yoo-shin’s provocation, sighed but prepared for the fight. Since it has come to this, he would fight that guy with all his might.

“Even if I lose, I won’t just lose.”

It could be seen as a kind of stubbornness.

It would have been nice if he could just give up cleanly.

But since he ended up fighting because he clung on persistently, naturally, as a human being, he couldn’t help but be angry. So even if he loses, he will land at least one blow.

Thanks to that, Ho-jun felt his completely broken will reignite.

‘Could it be that guy was aiming for this…?’

Such a thought crossed Ho-jun’s mind for a very brief moment.

There was no time to think for long.

As soon as the duel started, Yoo-shin immediately closed the distance. At a speed much faster than expected, Ho-jun was taken aback, and Yoo-shin swung his sword.

However, although he swung with the momentum to cut Ho-jun down,

Yoo-shin’s sword did not reach Ho-jun.

Because he disappeared from sight in an instant.

Yoo-shin quickly looked around. Ho-jun was not visible in the arena. That meant he must have hidden within his own shadow.

And that thought was not wrong.

Because Ho-jun, who was hiding in the shadow, seized the opportunity to counterattack.

Ho-jun’s counterattack was faster and more accurate than expected.

A counterattack aimed at the moment when the shadow moved behind Yoo-shin according to the lighting of the arena. It wouldn’t be easy to avoid or defend against an attack from a blind spot.

Defense Zone)

(Pain Avoidance Block)

But Yoo-shin was someone who could easily accomplish such a difficult task.

It was clearly an attack aimed at the blind spot.

But before Ho-jun’s dagger could reach Yoo-shin, it was deflected by a powerful force.

Ho-jun clicked his tongue. It was the technique used in Selena’s duel before. A technique close to perfect defense, repelling all incoming attacks from all directions.

‘As expected, that guy is not at the level of a second-year student.’

It wasn’t just the technique, but the skill to respond according to the situation was no joke.

Where on earth did such a monster come from?

A strong person of that level couldn’t have remained unknown until now.

But no matter how much he thought about it, he had never heard the name Baek Yushin.

Yushin deflected Hojun’s surprise attack and immediately continued his assault. Hojun, whose attack was blocked, tried to escape into the shadows again, but his opponent was faster.

Just before Hojun could enter the shadows, Yushin drove a blade into the shadow.

Normally, this wouldn’t have been a problem. But the biggest issue was the timing.

Thanks to the exquisite timing, if Hojun entered the shadow, the blade would pierce him. As a result, Hojun had no choice but to escape from Yushin’s shadow.

Yushin launched a fierce attack on Hojun, who had emerged from the shadow.

‘It’s very annoying if he goes into the shadow.’

At first, Yushin couldn’t fully grasp Hojun’s shadow concealment, so he couldn’t use Gonik Begi.

Gonik Begi is a slash close to mutual destruction. If counterattacked, the aftermath cannot be guaranteed. Therefore, after receiving the enemy’s attack once, create a perfect gap, and then attack again. That was the conclusion Yushin reached through experience.

Certain Kill

Gonik Begi

The slash that disregarded the aftermath instantly engulfed Hojun. A slash that predicted the enemy’s defense, evasion, and counterattack. It could be said to be a sure hit.

Reacting to Yushin’s Gonik Begi, Hojun tried to hide in the shadow.

But Gonik Begi is a technique that predicts the opponent’s movements. Naturally, it also predicted Hojun hiding in the shadow.

“……?!”

However, the sure-hit Gonik Begi slashed through empty air.

It wasn’t that the opponent had evaded Yushin’s Gonik Begi. Gonik Begi is a slash that perfectly grasps all of the opponent’s movements and swings based on that.

Conversely, if the opponent shows an unexpected movement right in front of him?

In that case, Gonik Begi loses its power.

If you slash with wrong information, it’s like slashing yourself in reverse.

Yushin frowned as he looked at the situation unfolding before him. He was sure he had grasped all the shadows cast inside the arena.

In other words, if Hojun had hidden in any shadow inside the arena, he could have slashed it for sure.

But the shadow that appeared before him now was not an ordinary shadow.

The shadow, which should have been attached to the ground, had taken shape and was standing inside the arena. Dyed in deep black, it was closer to a golem.

‘What is that? A hidden technique?’

Could it be that when he was fighting the redhead, Hojun wasn’t giving it his all?

Yushin clicked his tongue and readjusted his stance. Calmly, he reassessed the situation.

Because if he didn’t, he would die. In this explosive, tense moment, a shadowy figure in the shape of a human suddenly raised its hand.

[Okay, I’m done here.]

“……?”

[Sorry, but this is the first time I’ve succeeded with this technique today.]

Hojun looked at his own hand. He wasn’t a fool; he already knew his weakness. Without his shadow, he was utterly powerless.

If the opponent could create light, he became too passive.

He needed another way to overcome this.

For example, a deep shadow that wasn’t affected by light.

Of course, that was close to denying reality.

He thought it was impossible unless he reached the blooming stage. Nevertheless, Hojun didn’t give up. He continued to train himself.

Then today, after a desperate struggle, Hojun finally grasped a clue.

How to materialize his shadow and use it to hide or attack.

Although it still had the weakness of being vulnerable to light, it was a way to significantly compensate for the passivity. It was called Shadow Armor.

“Thank you, thanks to you I was able to break my limits.”

I had given up on myself, thinking it was impossible.

If I was going to fail anyway, I might as well fail without doing anything.

Maybe I was already exhausted from continuous failures.

However, the opponent didn’t give up. Instead, he spurred on someone who might become his enemy. He told me never to give up, to keep fighting until the end.

Otherwise, why would he have spoken to the principal?

He couldn’t have refused my surrender just because he wanted to fight.

Thanks to that, Hojun fought Yushin to the end without giving up, and in the end, he gained the power to partially overcome his weakness.

It was all thanks to Yushin not accepting his surrender.

Thanks to that, Hojun couldn’t help but be grateful to Yushin.

Because he was the one who made him realize his shortcomings.

Although Yushin didn’t intend it that way.