Breaking Up With the Heroine in an Otome Game

57 – Appearance of the Villain (1)

057

“….”

Isiwoon silently gazed at the broken training sword with a serene expression.

The training sword lay in two pathetic halves on the ground, like a mere scrap of metal.

It was designed for hero trainees, quite sturdy, yet Jinhyuk managed to break it in a single strike.

“Was that just a display of swordsmanship?”

The Sword Ki Master.

One of the stages in the examination of swordsmanship.

Many people without talent often spend their entire lives without awakening as Sword Ki Masters.

Even if they have talent, it was questionable whether they could use it after endlessly honing their sword skills for a long time.

Among the geniuses who received various benefits, such as consuming top-quality nutrition from a young age, following a consistent curriculum, and receiving extensive support, only a tiny fraction could use it at the age of Isiwoon.

It was that challenging of a skill.

‘I can count on my fingers those in my age who can use Sword Ki Master.’

Even in the Union, where numerous geniuses gathered, there were only a few students who could dare to use the Sword Ki Master.

Isiwoon wondered if there were even a handful, given what he knew.

However, he never imagined that even Ijinhyuk could use the Sword Ki Master.

Moreover, Ijinhyuk’s Sword Ki Master was quite powerful. If Isiwoon hadn’t intervened midway, it might have been quite dangerous.

Its strength could boldly be said to be somewhat stronger than Isiwoon’s Sword Ki Master.

If he had taken a direct hit without defense, Isiwoon’s magical protective energy might have shattered into pieces.

Oh, of course, part of the reason why Ijinhyuk’s Sword Ki Master could be so strong was partly thanks to Isiwoon.

Because it absorbed Isiwoon’s magical power, he could use an even more powerful Sword Ki Master.

Of course, Isiwoon was completely unaware of this fact.

‘Using a bow was indeed a trick.’

There was no other way to think about it.

Ijinhyuk’s archery skills were somewhat ordinary.

Not bad but not particularly outstanding. It was somewhat ambitious to enter the Union.

Moreover, Ijinhyuk was not just anyone; he was a master who could use the Sword Ki Master.

It was not easy to train both the sword and the bow simultaneously for a prodigy of his age.

Surely the sword was real, and the bow was false.

‘But why did he hide the fact that he could use Sword Ki Master?’

Question.

There was a slight question.

As Isiwoon, it was completely incomprehensible why Ijinhyuk had been hiding this fact until now.

‘No, that’s not the only strange thing.’

The more he thought about it, the more peculiar the person Ijinhyuk seemed to be.

Not using the Sword Ki Master, making Isiwoon’s Sword Ki disappear for a moment, using strange supernatural abilities to disturb Isiwoon’s land…

‘I thought he was hiding something.’

I never expected it to be like this.

It seems like he’s hiding even an unidentified supernatural ability, but I can’t grasp what kind of ability it is.

A momentary supernatural power that scatters magic or makes the ground disappear.

Of course, there’s a possibility that it’s not a supernatural ability but some other method. For example, an artifact.

The types and abilities of artifacts were truly diverse.

If Lee Jin-hyuk had used an artifact, it would have been understandable enough.

‘Artifact… Hmm.’

For a moment, Lee Si-woon hesitated and then shook her head excitedly in her mind. No, that can’t be true.

Thinking rationally, there’s no way Lee Jin-hyuk would possess something as valuable as an artifact.

Even the SL Group, Heukyoung, and Gaon Nuri, let alone possessing artifacts, had almost never seen them in person.

In the first place, there were very few people who possessed artifacts.

And among them, those who had artifacts that could be useful in real combat were even fewer.

Rather than thinking that Lee Jin-hyuk, who came from an ordinary background, had a powerful and useful artifact for use in real combat, it was more realistic to think that he was hiding some unusual supernatural ability.

In fact, there were quite a few aspiring heroes who hid their supernatural abilities.

Usually, in such cases, either they had abilities that should not be known to others or the conditions for using their abilities were awkward.

‘Anyway, I don’t know why Lee Jin-hyuk is hiding these things, but two things are certain.’

Lee Jin-hyuk is a person with many secrets, and he is quite a powerful person.

Because he used the swordsmanship to the point of causing a tremor, there’s no doubt about his strength.

…But it’s not like only swordsmanship can be used by a swordsman.

‘Ugh, my head hurts. At first, I was just annoyed because he kept sticking to So-yeon.’

That’s right.

To be honest, the reason I fought with him was because Lee Si-woon was somewhat uncomfortable with Lee Jin-hyuk sticking to So-yeon, despite being her ex-boyfriend.

It’s not that she dislikes or hates Lee Jin-hyuk, but whenever she sees them laughing and chatting together, she can’t help but feel subtly uneasy.

After all, they broke up, right?

She knew very well that being childhood friends for over ten years was a fact, but from Si-woon’s perspective, it was somewhat uncomfortable to see the two who had broken up acting like it was nothing.

Even though Lee Jin-hyuk and Jin So-yeon claimed that they only saw each other as friends, there were many subtle aspects of their behavior.

If you were to watch the two of them closely, there were times when it was confusing whether they were spending time together as friends or as something more.

Moreover, the occasional glances Jin So-yeon showed to Lee Jin-hyuk were not just the gaze of a friend.

Whenever Lee Jin-hyuk was with another woman, she would cast fleeting glances at him, revealing a hint of discomfort or displeasure.

Jinhyuk seemed to be trying to keep some distance from Jinsuyeon in his own way, but in contrast, Jinsuyeon seemed to be trying to stick even closer to Jinhyuk.

Watching that scene.

Really.

What can I say?

‘Ah. I see.’

Suddenly, Isiwoon smirked inwardly.

‘Jealousy, is it…’

It was a bit embarrassing to directly confront the restless emotions that had been squirming inside. It was akin to exposing one’s raw, unpolished flaws.

Perhaps the somewhat jealous behavior of casually mentioning whether Jinsuyeon was a person worth being close to Jinhyuk or not originated from the emotion of jealousy.

No, it was definitely like that.

But Jinhyuk confidently neutralized Isiwoon’s sword as if proving his strength and position.

‘Although the posture and movements of wielding the sword seemed quite clumsy, if that too was a tactic to induce complacency…’

Really, Jinhyuk.

Isiwoon absentmindedly clenched the broken sword handle.

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Not as the mushy jealousy and envy as before, but as a swordsman, the sense of triumph stimulated Isiwoon’s heart.

Since Jinhyuk’s true abilities were unknown, curiosity and a sense of triumph seemed to bubble up even more.

A person who intentionally enrolled in the Union Academy as almost the bottom, hiding many things about their true abilities.

The mysterious superpower also drew attention.

‘If you continue to fight without giving up now, what will happen?’

The situation with the broken sword already.

It’s impossible to know what the opponent is hiding more.

Engaging in another battle would be tantamount to suicidal behavior, to say the least.

But despite that, why was the grip on the handle of the broken sword getting stronger.

The feeling of wanting to measure the opponent’s skill a bit more and engage in a swordfight was something he had rarely felt, except when fighting Bai Yulin or Gang Daehan.

But the current Isiwoon…

“It seems like you’re hiding more than I thought, Jinhyuk.”

“…”

“As expected, you don’t have any intention of telling me properly. Well, whatever. It doesn’t matter.”

“…”

What are you thinking right now, Jinhyuk? Isiwoon, who had been silently observing Jinhyuk’s expressionless face, slowly licked his lips.

“Lee Jinhyuk, I…”

And then, at that moment.

“hehehehe, cute little kids. Ready for a round with each other?”

A voice from a slightly distant place penetrated the ears of Lee Siwoon and Lee Jinhyuk.

Lee Siwoon furrowed his eyebrows slightly.

Due to focusing on Lee Jinhyuk, he didn’t notice someone approaching.

But who is that man?

An adult, for sure.

Although he wondered if it could be an exam instructor or a security agent, based on the speech, behavior, and attire, he definitely did not appear to be affiliated with the academy.

Wearing worn and tattered clothes, with a burnt and distorted rabbit mask hanging half-slanted on his body.

Furthermore, his laughter, reminiscent of a street thug, suggested he might be a troublemaker or a rogue.

“…Who are you?”

This forest is currently under the management of the academy.

Numerous security agents and instructors have been deployed to prevent access by the media or potential outsiders.

Moreover, there’s a barrier, making it impossible for ordinary people to enter.

In other words, that man is not just a lost civilian.

“Me? Huh. Well.”

The man, appearing to be in his early to mid-thirties, shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.

“Just a firebug, a firebug.”

Bouncing lightly.

Beyond the bushes, the presence of several others became more apparent.

Finally, two people emerged from the thicket.

They, too, were all adults. It was evident from their clothing and demeanor that they were far from ordinary individuals.

“I’ve seen him on the news a few times.”

With an unpleasant laugh, he adjusted the burnt rabbit mask.

Lee Siwoon furrowed his brows. The distorted rabbit mask, the identity of that man. He remembered seeing it somewhere.

Where was it?

Certainly, a memory from seeing it on television a long time ago…

“Siwoon! That guy is Kim Hwaseung, the pyromaniac! Ha Jeongsan, the fire rabbit!”

“…!”

“Hat! There was a little guy who remembered me!”

With Jiinhyuk’s shout, Kim Hwaseung created a murky fireball and threw it towards Lee Siwoon and Jiinhyuk.