NOVPUB[DING! Ethereal Grounds fully deployed.]
[Target "Min Yoora" has entered the dimension.][Combat restrictions lifted within personal field.][Unique effect: While inside the Ethereal Grounds, all visitors will feel increased gravity, 25% physical pressure, and lowered mana circulation until adjusted by host.][Selected student attributes boosted: Strength +30%, Speed +20%, Mana Flow Stabilized.][Stamina Recovery Doubled. Mental Resistance Enhanced.]
'Lower the gravity,' Seojun instructed calmly inside his mind.
[Adjusting Yoora's body pressure equivalent to Earth… done! She can move normally now, host!]
Yoora blinked slowly, her knees bending slightly as her weight adjusted and her muscles relaxed. She noticed it then — she was moving better now, like her body had just been released from a tight grip.
His gaze sharpened as he flicked the dagger in his hand, the blade humming slightly with mana. He took a step forward and vanished from sight again, appearing at Yoora's side so fast it left a gust of wind in his wake.
Yoora stumbled back in shock, barely raising her chains to block the incoming strike. Sparks flew once more as steel clashed against steel."You're not normal…!" she hissed. "How can you be this fast?!"
Seojun didn't answer right away. He ducked another chain, rolled forward, and with his free hand, tapped the flat of her weapon lightly with the dagger — just enough to irritate her more.He backed off again, graceful, quiet, untouched.
"You said earlier that I was underestimating you," Seojun finally said, his voice calm and cold. "But maybe… you've overestimated yourself."
Yoora growled, summoning her chains again, more vicious than before."You think I'm not strong enough?!"
"Not just strength," Seojun replied as he sidestepped her next attack like he was simply walking. "You act without thinking. You don't even try to understand your opponent. You fight with pride and emotion instead of purpose."
His words stabbed deeper than his dagger ever could.
Yoora's eyes flared with rage. "I do have a purpose! I'm not some spoiled kid swinging around just because I'm mad!"She pointed at him, breathing heavily. "I'm going to make full use of this power!"
Seojun paused. "But you still have no control."
He stepped forward again, fast — not teleporting this time, just raw speed — and Yoora barely blocked the strike aimed at her side.The clash sent a small shockwave through the dirt, scattering dust.
Yoora stepped back, gasping, but held her ground. Her chains hovered around her like angry snakes, trembling from the force.
Yoora's breathing had grown louder, each inhale deeper, harder, as if the air itself was trying to crush her chest.
Seojun didn't even break a sweat.
She wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand, her eyes burning as she took another breath.
And then the system spoke inside Seojun's mind, its tone unusually cheeky:
[DING! Host, you gotta do something to make her fight all out! She's still holding back a little, even if she doesn't realize it! Push her buttons!]
Seojun didn't answer it aloud, but his lips curved slightly into a small smirk.
He stopped moving completely for a moment, his figure relaxed, letting Yoora catch her breath — just enough to confuse her, to make her wonder what he was planning.
Yoora frowned sharply. "Why did you stop?"
But then his dagger began to melt into shadows in his hand, black mist curling up around his arm as if it were smoke from another world.
Yoora stepped back instinctively, her eyes narrowing.
From the mist, a long weapon began to take shape — tall, curved, and terrifying — a massive black scythe with a dark silver edge, glowing faintly with cold blue mana, as if it had been forged under a dying star.
The weapon landed softly in Seojun's hand with a soft hum, and he spun it once with one hand as if it weighed nothing.
Yoora's eyes widened, her mouth parting in shock. "That's… a scythe…?"
Seojun rested the massive blade on his shoulder with ease and looked at her, calm and deadly. "I advise you," he said, voice even, "to fight properly now."
Yoora clenched her jaw, her fists trembling with emotion. "You—! You can use other weapons?! Are you purposely trying to annoy me, Professor?!"
She gritted her teeth. "You can use the same weapon as my mom, but…!"
"She's stronger than you!"
She screamed the last words as her chains flared out again, sharper this time, moving faster, filled with more mana and more fury. The silver metal twisted and cracked through the air like lightning bolts, coming at Seojun from three angles.
But Seojun didn't move back.
He stepped forward.
And in a single motion, he swung his scythe — a wide, sweeping arc that clashed with two of her chains, the sound ringing out like metal bells clashing in the sky.
CLANG! SHHHHK!
Yoora's body trembled at the impact, and her third chain darted forward in desperation, aiming for his legs — but Seojun simply twisted his wrist and spun the scythe's handle, knocking the chain away with precise timing.
The ground cracked beneath them as the shockwave spread, dust flying up.
Yoora staggered back three steps, surprised that she had to block with her whole arm just from the force of one hit.
With a shout, she called her chains again — now surrounding her like a storm, forming a defensive circle while three broke off and shot forward like spears.
Seojun stepped forward again, not even avoiding this time, but cutting through the chains like slicing paper, the edge of his scythe glowing brighter now with each strike.
Yoora's heart was racing. 'How… how is he still faster than me even with that huge weapon?!'
Still, she clenched her fists tighter, chains whipping around her like a storm."I won't back down! I won't let you look down on me!"
Seojun tilted his head slightly and replied calmly, "Then prove it."
Their weapons clashed again, light and metal crashing in the strange moonlight.
In that moment, Yoora screamed and spun herself into the air, sending four chains shooting down like arrows — but Seojun leapt forward with one motion, raising his scythe high, and met her in mid-air with a clean, powerful slash that sent her crashing backward to the ground.
Dust exploded from the impact. Yoora rolled across the dirt, gasping, but managed to stand up again, blood trickling slightly from her lip.
