Avoid Yandere Constellation

The difficulty of the quest was almost impossible, even compared to the previous ones.

Even Eileen, before her growth, couldn’t guarantee that she could land a single attack against Tony.

So it was almost impossible for Kaine to complete the quest.

But that was only if it was a simple spar.

‘I just need to succeed in a different way than Eileen.’

Kaine thought that he could succeed by using a different method than Eileen.

Tony narrowed his eyes at Kaine’s words.

“Old fart?”

It was a word that Soo-yong had used several times when talking to Tony.

‘I heard that it even appears in novels written by people from other worlds.’

But that wasn’t the important part.

He wasn’t sure why Soo-yong had used that word, but he had a hunch.

Provocation.

He was probably trying to make Tony lose his cool and become careless.

Normally, such a petty provocation wouldn’t work.

But maybe it was because he said it in such an annoying voice.

“You need to be taught a lesson.”

It seemed to have worked.

Kaine, with a tense expression, immediately channeled his mana to strengthen his body.

“Hwaak!”

He used his unique color and property setting technique.

“Hwoong!”

Tony swung his wooden sword with a condescending look.

Kaine barely managed to duck to avoid the sword strike to his face, but…

“Paak!”

His large movements made it impossible to dodge the next attack.

“Aaak!”

Was that a light hit?!

It was clear that Tony was attacking at a level that a student could dodge.

Yet, Kaine felt dizzy, as if his brain was shaking.

“Kreee!”

Kaine took a moment to regain his composure and looked at Tony.

Tony was looking down at him with his arms crossed, as if he had been waiting for Kaine to regain his senses.

‘…Even if there wasn’t a quest, I feel like slapping him.’

At first, Kaine wanted to hit Tony because of the quest, but now, seeing his annoying face, he just wanted to slap him.

“Clap Clap Clap.”

Tony clapped his hands, ready to return the provocation.

Kaine thought, ‘Is this how the other students felt when they sparred with him?’

His forehead veins popped out for a moment.

He had often provoked his opponents during spars and real fights.

It was a way to gain even the slightest advantage.

When an opponent loses their cool, they don’t perform at their best.

As a weaker opponent, Kaine had always taken advantage of this.

But now, being on the receiving end, he felt a surge of anger.

It seemed like the saying, “What’s good for the goose is good for the gander,” was true after all.

Kaine took a shallow breath to calm himself and not fall for the provocation.

“Hoo…”

He told himself not to get carried away.

Unless he was stronger than the man standing before him.

‘In fact, I’m much weaker than him.’

Even against a weaker opponent, losing one’s cool could lead to defeat.

But against someone much stronger, losing one’s composure would be suicidal.

So now was the time to remain calm, not get excited.

Meanwhile, Tony was reevaluating Kaine.

‘Hmm, his mental fortitude is not bad.’

He had initially been disappointed by Kaine’s movements, as they didn’t live up to Soo-yong’s praise.

Although Kaine’s body strengthening technique seemed quite unique, the result was what mattered.

‘What’s important is the outcome.’

Whether Kaine’s body strengthening technique was special or not, the question was whether he was strong.

Tony had been quite disappointed that Kaine was weaker than expected.

‘But his mental fortitude is definitely better than Soo-yong’s.’

There was no denying that Soo-yong was strong.

However, due to his lack of real-life experience, he sometimes lost his cool.

‘Then, let’s continue.’

Tony thought and took a step forward, lightly swinging his wooden sword.

Kaine dodged Tony’s attack and…

“Hwoong!”

…countered with his own sword strike.

“Kang!”

Tony casually blocked the attack with his aura-infused hand.

The two of them continued to exchange blows.

“Kwang! Kung! Kwajik!”

Tony’s attacks felt different from those of the other strong opponents Kaine had faced.

The previous opponents relied on their martial arts or body strengthening techniques to overpower their opponents.

‘But this guy is similar to me.’

That’s right.

Tony was willing to use any means necessary to win.

For example, he would throw sand in his opponent’s face…

“Hwaak!”

…or attack during their moment of distraction.

It felt like fighting against himself.

Of course, Tony was holding back, which was why Kaine felt this way.

If Tony had gone all out from the beginning, like he did with Eileen, Kaine wouldn’t have lasted long.

So, Tony and Kaine exchanged blows fairly(?) for about five minutes.

“Huh, huh.”

“……”

Unlike Tony, who looked relaxed, Kaine was panting heavily.

He wondered how he could land a single attack on the adventurer hero standing before him.

‘…Just using my body strengthening technique won’t be enough.’

He couldn’t deny that his technique was powerful, but he didn’t think it would be enough to land a hit on Tony.

Even Eileen couldn’t find an opening against Tony.

Using only his body strengthening technique to land a hit on Tony was impossible.

So…

‘I’ll use all my abilities.’

As Kaine was thinking this, Tony was surprised.

Kaine was holding out better than expected.

‘He’s different from the others I’ve fought.’

Tony had encountered countless opponents who boasted about their swordsmanship or martial arts skills.

But they all had one thing in common.

‘They couldn’t beat someone stronger than themselves.’

They could only defeat opponents of their own level or weaker.

But they had never once defeated someone stronger than themselves.

‘Of course, there are exceptions like Eileen.’

But such talented individuals were almost impossible to find.

Realistically, it was unlikely for someone to suddenly grow stronger during a spar.

In reality, it was impossible to grow stronger during a fight.

Only monstrous individuals, who were beyond the label of genius, could achieve such a feat.

Unlike those individuals, Kaine was willing to use any means necessary to win.

He would use every trick in the book, from attacking vital points to spitting to distract his opponent.

‘Individuals like these will survive and achieve great success.’

It’s not the strong who succeed, but those who survive to the end.

‘Hmm, should I end it here?’

As Tony was thinking this, he suddenly attacked.

“Hwaak!”

Kaine released more mana, as if this was his last chance.

Tony looked at him with interest.

He pointed his wooden sword at Kaine.

Kaine took a step forward, running straight towards Tony, who tilted his head in confusion.

‘I don’t know what he’s up to, but…’

Just as Tony was about to swing his sword at the right moment…

“Hwaaaak!”

A bright divine light burst from Kaine’s body.

Tony squinted his eyes against the sudden light.

“Kreee!”

But he was a strong warrior who had survived countless life-threatening situations.

He wasn’t going to be surprised by this.

Without hesitation, Tony used his aura sensing ability to locate Kaine.

He was right behind him.

“Hwoong!”

Tony swung his sword with his eyes closed.

The sound of tearing air filled the room.

‘He’ll get hit like this!’

Kaine realized that he would be hit if he stayed like this, so he channeled his magic power and used his body strengthening technique, maximizing the volume adjustment. Ṝ𝓪𐌽ȮΒËȘ

“Woong!”

Kaine moved at a speed far beyond what he had shown before.

“Hwoong!”

He dodged Tony’s attack a beat faster than expected.

“……?!”

Tony was momentarily surprised by Kaine’s unexpected speed.

In that brief moment of surprise, Kaine saw his chance.

‘This is my last opportunity!’

Kaine threw a punch, aiming for Tony’s face.

Tony, with his eyes closed, sensed the attack through his aura sensing ability and prepared to counter.

He knew that he wouldn’t be able to land a hit like this.

Instead, he might even be counterattacked.

But…

‘I expected this.’

The man standing before him was once known as an adventurer hero.

It was impossible to land a hit on him like this.

So…

“Ssuuuk!”

Kaine’s body began to shrink.

In no time, he was the same height as Keij.

His shrinking body meant that his attack…

“Kwang!”

…had gone from Tony’s face to his abdomen.

Tony’s body bent like a ‘ㄱ’ and flew across the training ground.

Kaine used his transformation ability to restore his original height.

“Hoo…”

I hope no one noticed.

Kaine looked around, wondering if anyone had seen him.

Everyone had closed their eyes due to the bright light.

‘No one noticed.’

Well, that was the plan from the beginning.

‘But things don’t always go according to plan.’

As he thought this, he slowly reduced the quality of the effect.

“Hwaak.”

The light from the holy water in his pocket gradually dimmed.

The students slowly opened their eyes, and when they saw the scene before them, they were shocked.

“What, what is this?!”

“Did Kaine land a hit?!”

“What, how did he do that?!”

“Did anyone see it?!”

It was natural for them to be surprised.

They had tried everything to land a hit on Tony, but…

‘No one could do it.’

The most they could do was get hit by Tony’s wooden sword.

Apart from that, they couldn’t even dodge his attacks, let alone land one of their own.

And it wasn’t just the students who were surprised.

If a third party was this shocked, how would the person involved feel?

‘I never expected to land a hit.’

Tony’s expression was one of shock.

He sat up and rubbed his abdomen.

“……”

It was bruised.

Just before Kaine’s attack, Tony had defended his abdomen with his aura.

Although he had done it hastily and didn’t block the attack completely, he still managed to…

‘He’s amazing.’

Even though Tony was holding back, Kaine had landed a hit on him.

This alone was enough for Kaine to accompany Soo-yong without any issues.

In fact, even Soo-yong hadn’t landed a hit on Tony yet.

‘Of course, I didn’t hold back when sparring with my disciple.’

What mattered was the result.

Kaine had exceeded Tony’s expectations.

This alone was enough for him to be recognized.

As Tony looked at Kaine, he thought…

“Woong!”

Kaine’s rough breathing gradually calmed down, and his body began to recover.

It seemed that Kaine’s recovery ability was indeed as powerful as Soo-yong had claimed.

‘He must have calculated all of this.’

Tony was impressed and smiled, showing no signs of being affected by the attack.

“In wars and battles against monsters, why do so many strong warriors die?”

Tony’s words caught the attention of all the students.

He continued, “Is it because they’re weak? No. They’re strong. There may have been people as strong as the Great Sage, the Grand Master, and the Knight Commander, who are here as external lecturers. But there’s only one reason why they die.”

“Gulps!”

The students swallowed their saliva in response to Tony’s overwhelming aura.

He raised one corner of his mouth and said, “It’s simply because they’re strong. If those people had acted like Kaine today, I can guarantee that some of the external lecturers, including myself, would have been replaced. So, remember the spar between Kaine and me today. Are there any questions?”

Jenny raised her hand in response to Tony’s question.

“I have a question!”

“Yes, what is it?”

“What about Ange? Could she have been replaced too?”

“No. She’s an exception. That wouldn’t have happened.”

Tony’s immediate answer made Jenny nod and whisper, “As expected.”

“Then, let’s end the lecture here. Well done, everyone.”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

With that, Tony and the students left the training ground.

Kaine also left with Eileen and Jenny, and as he did, he saw a message indicating that he had completed the original quest and the hidden quest.