Genius Swordsman In Reverse Game

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Warm sunlight streamed through the window, casting a faint shadow on the curtain. And with it came the sound of birds chirping.

Lee Yoo-ri slept soundly in her bed, looking comfortable.

"······!?"

Suddenly, her eyes snapped open, and she sat up in bed, looking bewildered as she glanced around the room.

"This is my room······?"

With little interest or enthusiasm for decorating, her room was simple and sparse, a familiar sight.

'Ah, I must have passed out after the test.'

Realization dawned on Yoo-ri, as memories of the previous day flooded her mind.

─ Give up.

That unfriendly and annoying woman, the master of Jin Yuha. She had spent the whole day charging at her.

She had said that Yoo-ri lacked talent and should give up, repeating it like a broken record until Yoo-ri, frustrated, made one last charge…

And then…

And then…

"······Ah."

A disappointed sound escaped Yoo-ri's lips.

"I-I······."

Phew─

She lay back down, the soft pillow engulfing her head.

"I failed."

Yes, after blocking that attack, she had lost consciousness, so there was no way she could have passed.

As she realized the situation, a sense of emptiness and disappointment filled her chest. Despite her desperate charges, the result was still failure.

"Now, I can't be with them anymore······?"

As she spoke the words, the reality of the situation hit her.

Always confident and someone she wanted to emulate, Kang Do-hee.

Although her first impression was a little strange, unlike her usual image, she impressed with her meticulous work and flawless support.

Shin Se-hee, who, despite occasionally seeming lacking, always greeted her with a warm smile and showed her kindness.

Lim Ga-eul, a senior who, despite her occasional clumsiness, always maintained a positive and cheerful attitude, brightening the mood of the party with her colorful hair and personality. Sophia, who easily blended into the party with her unique cheerfulness and bright, cheerful demeanor. And finally, Ichika, the newest member of the party.

Now, she could no longer be with them.

And…

"Jin Yuha."

As she spoke his name, tears welled up in her eyes.

"I really wanted to be with you till the end······."

But now, she couldn't.

Of course, Jin Yuha wouldn't give up on her. He would likely smile awkwardly, say that the test result was unfortunate but that he still wanted her to be with them, and encourage her to keep trying.

That's just how stupid he was. But she didn't feel worthy of such kindness.

Shuck Shuck─

Yoo-ri rubbed her eyes with her forearm, wiping away the tears.

"Let's prepare to leave as quietly as possible, without making a sound."

Only then did she feel like she could leave. She was afraid that if Jin Yuha tried to stop her, she wouldn't be able to resist.

"······Ha."

Yoo-ri turned her eyes away and looked around the room. She had received too much from Utopia during her time there.

"I have to return everything I received here······."

When a new tank came in as her successor, she would have to pass on all the items to them.

"First, I need to find a separate house for my family, and slowly start moving my belongings out. And… is there a way to return the subspace tattoo? What about the items inside it…?"

As she was organizing her thoughts and opening her subspace tattoo, she noticed something strange.

"Hmm…?"

There was an awkwardness to it that felt different from usual.

"Where is it…?"

She started rummaging through the subspace tattoo, her hand moving more frantically as a sense of urgency mixed with her confusion.

Rustle, rustle, rustle, rustle, rustle—

Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.

Yoo-ri eventually turned the subspace tattoo inside out, dumping all its contents out.

"Why isn't it here…?"

She frantically searched through the emergency kit, rope, hunting knife, fire steel, and other hunter supplies, as well as her personal knick-knacks.

But no matter how many times she looked, it wasn't there.

The most important and expensive item to her, something akin to her lifeline, was missing.

The item that she polished several times a day, making it shine—Yoo-ri's most treasured possession—was gone.

"Where's my shield!!! Where did it go!!!!"

As she shouted in confusion, a scene suddenly flashed in her mind.

Kwaaaaang!

Instructor Seol-hee Baek's sword clashed with Yoo-ri's shield, creating an earth-shattering sound that seemed to shake the heavens and the earth.

At the same time…

Crackle…

A sinister sound that should not have been heard. And a fine crack appearing on the surface of the cross-shaped Cross Shield.

Kwa-ching!

The shield shattered into tiny pieces, disintegrating before her eyes as if in slow motion.

"Kyaaaaaaack!!!!"

Yoo-ri clutched her head and screamed.

"Tha, that's so expensive!!!!!"

Then…

She still had debts to pay off from her family's loans.

Without a home or a penny to her name…

and incur a huge debt in the billions…?"

"······."

Just then,

Barge!

Jin Yuha rushed into the room with a concerned look on his face, having heard her scream.

"Soup! What's wrong!"

"Jin, Yuha······."

Yoo-ri looked at him with eyes devoid of light.

"The shield… the shield… to pay back all that money, what kind of job will I have to do now…?"

Yoo-ri, thinking that she had been kicked out of Utopia and was now burdened with a huge debt, suddenly felt overwhelmed with sadness, and her face twisted as she burst into tears.

"What do I do now…!!!"

'······Huh?'

I couldn't help but look confused as I listened to Yoo-ri's complaints.

'What is she talking about?'

I had rushed in, worried that something might be wrong with Yoo-ri after hearing her sudden scream, only to be met with an unexpected outburst.

"I was really trying to leave quietly… but now I can't just disappear quietly… I'll have to face my fellow ex-teammate as a debtor…"

Sniffle, sniffle.

Yoo-ri's voice was filled with sadness as she sniffled.

"You, you… you'll probably say that, I know. I knew it… even though we were once teammates, will you still charge me interest…?"

No, in the original story, it's rare to see Yoo-ri cry like this, even in the latter half of her personal story.

This is really rare… or rather, that's not it.

"What do you mean, disappear? And what do you mean by 'once a teammate'?"

As I responded to her, Yoo-ri bit her lip and once again looked on the verge of tears.

"You… you… I knew it, I knew it, but…"

"Tell me, why do you want to disappear?"

Yoo-ri turned away and lay facing the other side of the bed. Curling up like a pill bug, she pulled the blanket tightly around herself.

"······I failed."

She spoke in a small voice, as if she were whispering.

"What…?"

"I didn't make it! I'm the only one who failed the instructor's test! So, I have to leave Utopia now, and I broke that expensive shield!"

When I asked her to explain, Yoo-ri closed her eyes tightly and confessed,

"How am I going to make a living now? Will I have to go back to working construction for minimum wage…? No, that's not it. Even though I'm from Utopia, I'll still be sought after as a tank mercenary… yes, if I put on a thick face, I'll be fine…!"

As she spoke quickly, as if confessing, her voice began to reflect confusion, anxiety, and urgency.

As I listened to her, a realization dawned on me.

'Ah, Soup. She doesn't know she passed yet, does she…?'

So, Yoo-ri, who had achieved the impossible by reaching the fourth star through her own efforts, thought she had failed.

Seeing her tremble, I felt a slightly sinister emotion welling up inside me.

'This is kind of fun…'

I immediately straightened my expression and patted her shoulder.

"Hmm, that's right. You didn't pass Master's test? So, we can't be together anymore."

As I drew a line in the sand, Yoo-ri turned back to me with a bewildered look on her face. She had expected me to try to stop her a few more times.

"······Jin Yuha?"

I nodded seriously.

"······And you broke the shield I gave you. Hmm… that was expensive. Well, you're right. No matter how close we are, money matters should be handled thoroughly."

"······."

"But we've spent time together, so I won't charge you an excessive interest rate. The legal interest rate should be enough, right?"

"······The legal interest rate."

Yoo-ri's pupils quaked as if she couldn't believe I would even suggest such a thing.

"Oh, right. How about this? Instead of leaving, how about you join our sub-party as a tank, but without pay?"

"Sub, sub-party…?"

Now her voice was trembling.

"Yes, as Utopia grows bigger, we'll eventually need a second party. You'll be the tank there. But without pay."

"The tank of the sub-party… so, every day, I'll have to endure the pitying glances of the others… and on top of that, without pay…"

"Even so, the treatment and salary will be much better than working as a tank elsewhere. After all, we're Utopia."

Yoo-ri gave me a deadpan look, like a recent graduate who had just experienced the harsh realities of the working world. I patted her shoulder again and said,

"But you still have to pay back the debt, right?"

I pretended to search for something on my phone, tapping on the screen.

"Let's see, the price of a Cross Shield is…"

"······I'll do it! I'll be in the sub-party!"

"Yes, good decision. Now get ready, we're leaving."

I stood up and straightened my clothes.

"Where are we going…?"

"I need to report the changes in Utopia to Lina, the director."

"······The director?"

Yoo-ri gave me a resentful look, as if it was unreasonable to take both the new recruit and the expelled member to see the director.

'Well, technically, we're going to get your shield and Ichika's tattoo.'

I couldn't help but smile inwardly at Yoo-ri's reaction, which was so delicious.

I turned away, pretending not to notice.

"Let's go. Get ready quickly, Miss Yoo-ri."

I said in a cold, sunken voice.

"······!!!"

Yoo-ri bit her lip, her eyes welling up with tears at the formal address, as if drawing a line.

"Yoo-ri, not Soup, but Miss Yoo-ri…"

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