Chapter 4: The Girl Who Smiled at Defeat

The young cult leader, Cheon Yuha.

I gazed at her intently.

Deep red hair, a face like white jade, and a black robe enveloping her entire body.

The simple color combination radiated an unusually intense vibrancy, etched into my retina.

Perhaps even her invisible inner strength.

…How many seconds had passed as our eyes locked?

Cheon Yuha suddenly twitched her brows and asked in a clearly guarded tone.

“Who are you?”

Her gaze was like one sizing up a thief who’d broken into her home.

Did she not realize that the one committing a crime here wasn’t me, but her, who’d spectacularly destroyed school property?

Sure, she was reckless, but she wasn’t shameless.

‘…Is she doing this knowingly?’

A bad feeling crept into my mind.

She didn’t think I was a school security guard or something, did she?

‘…No way.’

Sure, her mature aura was unmistakable.

But even if I’d regressed to my teens, I wouldn’t look that old, right?

I was about average for my age group, living youthfully.

No way I had an old face. No way she’d mistake me for a guard…

“Ahem.”

After calming myself for a moment, I swallowed my inner tears and answered.

“…Choi Kang-jun, first year, Class 3.”

I subtly unzipped my jacket to reveal the uniform underneath.

Its design was plain, but the mana and power imbued within were extraordinary.

Clothing enchanted with translation magic, life-preserving blessings, and various effects—a must-have item on Seondo’s campus, filled with diverse races and nationalities.

“…Oh.”

Perhaps because she confirmed I wasn’t suspicious, Cheon Yuha scanned me again and relaxed her tense expression.

…She didn’t actually think I was a guard, right?

Feeling uneasy and frowning, I noticed Cheon Yuha suddenly glance at her own appearance and the golem sprawled behind her, giving an awkward look.

“I’m Cheon Yuha, same class as you. I thought I handled it discreetly, but it seems I caused trouble. I apologize.”

Saying this, she willingly bowed her head.

Even I, who thought I knew her well, was inwardly impressed by the gesture.

Cheon Yuha, young leader of the Heavenly Demon Cult.

The sole treasure of a massive organization thriving in the 21st century, a transcendent warrior.

Though she ranked third in entrance scores, she was already called the Martial Dragon in the martial world.

Considering how many peers were arrogant and full of themselves, her attitude was remarkably mature.

Some might criticize her for bowing too easily, but honestly, I was moved.

‘Yeah, that’s the kind of person she was.’

I felt coming here was worthwhile.

It’d be better if she didn’t suffer the humiliation of showing up in a wheelchair on the first day.

Sure, she was a crazy woman who occasionally threw punches at me during the war because I seemed strong, but thinking about it now, that wasn’t too bad…

‘No, that was kind of bad.’

Should I just leave?

“Hmm.”

Her intentions mattered most.

Scratching my head, I pointed to the main road visible between the buildings.

“Planning to go that far?”

Cheon Yuha followed my finger, looked, and smiled.

She nodded cheerfully.

As expected.

She was heading to break the dojo.

I gazed at the research hall across the road, reassessing.

More precisely, the level of the monster at its entrance.

—Inner Gate of the Research Hall

The outer gate area housed less critical experimental facilities and administrative buildings.

That’s why they only stationed security golems.

They might not handle masters, but they were enough to block casual intruders.

No one but a battle maniac like Cheon Yuha would destroy golems and risk demerits to break in.

But the inner gate was different.

The buildings inside held the core research data and high-grade artifacts of Seondo’s faculty—a top-secret research hall.

Even Seondo, which was lenient with students outside academics, would react sensitively to this treasure vault.

Whether to reward those breaking in or to absolutely eliminate intruders was unclear, but…

At the inner gate stood a guardian.

A battle guardian of the transformation realm, far beyond ordinary golems.

Not quite on par with a true transformation-realm warrior, but for the current Cheon Yuha, it was an unbeatable final boss guarding the entrance.

I conveyed this clearly, hoping to stop her if she was charging in blindly.

“…Uh.”

Cheon Yuha flinched at the sudden specs rundown from a guy she’d just met, but soon nodded and listened.

After hearing how dangerous it was, she smiled brightly.

“You knew, but I didn’t! If it’s that strong, isn’t that even better?”

She looked like a kid excited about a gift.

“A machine that easily kills transcendent warriors?! A rock that moves like light? Of course I’m curious!”

Seeing her so thrilled, I swallowed the warnings I’d prepared.

“I don’t fight expecting to lose, but as a Seondo student, I hear I won’t die! So it’s simple, right? A chance to broaden my martial horizons! A few broken bones are worth it, don’t you think?”

I gave up trying to stop her. She wasn’t just enjoying herself thoughtlessly.

She fully understood the high chance of defeat.

But she was willingly going to get beaten for a moment of learning.

“Thanks for worrying about a stranger like me, but…”

Because she was confident that getting hit would teach her to dodge better, hurt less, and strike harder—

“I’m going.”

She spoke with conviction.

And she left.

I watched her receding figure.

“She was like that back then too.”

I felt grateful for this moment.

Seeing the growth of a comrade I fought alongside, someone I admired and envied, filled me with satisfaction.

Yet, I shook my head at her recklessness.

“Sure, you learn by getting hit, but…”

Fighting spirit.

Beyond that, it was a reckless mindset of getting crushed a hundred times to win the next.

I’d never been above her in skill, but I didn’t think this was the right approach.

It was a problem beyond defeat and pain.

“Still, you should have a plan to stay alive.

How do you get back if you’re crushed?”

In my past life, I heard she was found the next morning.

A professor screamed upon seeing her sprawled on the ground.

Her combat intelligence was high, but she was clumsy in odd ways.

‘Alright, what now?’

Since I came this far, I might as well get a taste, right?

I pondered if I could join the monster showdown about to unfold.

Jumping into a fight between a transcendent warrior and a transcendent golem in my current state was insane.

But with my experience, could I not hold my own at all?

“…One hit, maybe?”

That’d be enough.

Grinning, I started moving, chasing after her disappearing figure.

Was it youthful vigor from being young again?

Or had I lost my mind?

Or perhaps lingering resentment toward the school that expelled me?

“Let’s do something crazy.”

Suddenly, I wanted to destroy school property too.

Step step—

Walking through the midnight streets, the woman suddenly looked back at the path she’d taken.

Cheon Yuha thought of the man she’d just met, clicking her tongue.

“What a pity.”

At best, he was at the edge of first-class.

His body was well-trained, but he had the least inner strength of anyone she’d seen on campus.

Still, considering he was seventeen, it was decent talent for this high-level school.

That’s what she thought until she looked into his eyes.

‘…He dared to think he could beat me.’

At first, she thought it was lust.

Seeing her as a mere girl, underestimating her.

She considered breaking his limbs.

But as she kept looking into his eyes, she sensed an inexplicable confidence, a certainty.

—You could take her on right now.

That absurd thought was in the eyes of a first-class warrior.

Against her, a transcendent warrior.

Cheon Yuha let out a hollow laugh.

“Is he crazy?”

Or a hero who transcended realms?

She considered slaughtering him on the spot but stopped, thinking it wasn’t right to fight a classmate on the first day.

They were in the same class, so there’d be plenty of chances and time.

“First, the thing ahead.”

With a smile, Cheon Yuha took her stance.

Her gaze landed on the top-secret research hall—and the guardian at its entrance.

…Creak creak.

The transformation-realm battle guardian, THE King God Emperor Majesty The Angel ‘Maximus.’
Named ‘the greatest’ in Latin, modeled after the world’s strongest and most revered, Seondo’s chairman and principal, the Martial Immortal—an autonomous security system’s ultimate form.

The super-alloy statue rose, staring down at Cheon Yuha.

—Creak.

It beckoned with a finger.

“…Ho.”

Cheon Yuha’s smile deepened.

Perhaps her killing intent too.

“So many bold ones today.”

It was a sky she’d have to surpass eventually.

Facing a lesser version now wasn’t a bad idea.

Grinning, she beckoned toward the distant metal heap.

“Come at me.”

The moment she spoke, ‘Maximus’ was already in front of her.

Cheon Yuha’s eyes widened as she crossed her arms.

Crack!

Her arms broke.