"Is he any less crazy than the kid who comes to someone else's club and asks for food? As of today, 'Familia' has decided to protect this place, and I'm here as the responsible person, so security is my job. So, get lost."
"Familia? Security? What kind of new nonsense is this, Iseri?"
At the sound of his name, Iseri, who was behind Jin-woo, poked her head out and shouted.
"Um, our 'Recipe Development Club' has a contract with the 'Familia Club'! This is a threat, so... please leave!"
"What? A threat? Hah, really. I'm speechless. Did I hit anyone or insult anyone? I just got injured on a mission and am asking for some food. Isn't that what a support club is supposed to do?"
"T-That's not an obligation! We provide support, not tribute!"
The man made a bewildered expression at Iseri's words.
"Tribute? Hah, people might think we're bad if they see this. Is it wrong for a combat club to expect support from a support club?"
"It's wrong when you force it on people who don't want it."
For Jin-woo, who had lived with the Vivaldi Family members since childhood, this fact was important.
He had always been very proud of being part of the 'Vivaldi' Family under 'Calliope.'
And Calliope and Vivaldi do not force anything on those who support them.
"I'm saying this for the last time. Get lost, or you'll really regret it."
"Kid... Do you think I'm joking? What will you do if I don't leave?"
In that case, Jin-woo would simply follow his mission.
"To protect the 'Recipe Development Club' from threats, I'll have to beat you up."
His mission was to protect the 'Recipe Development Club' from threats.
"Hah, you want to fight me? For a club you've never heard of, 'Familia'? Are you serious?"
"If you leave, that won't happen. But you don't plan to leave, do you?"
Jin-woo glared at the man, who laughed as if amused.
"Hahaha! You're really a pain in the ass. Yeah, I was told not to come back until I get a clear answer from the club leader today. ...Follow me to the training hall. I'll fight you as you wish."
As the man turned and left the club room, Jin-woo was about to follow when something grabbed his clothes from behind.
"R-Really going? Like this?"
Iseri and the other members of the 'Recipe Development Club' looked at Jin-woo with worried expressions.
"It's all the same family now. Trust me. If you want, come and cheer me on."
With that, Jin-woo followed the man out of the club room and left a brief message in the club chat.
[Me: The Ranger Club guys are causing trouble again. Looks like we'll have a fight. Planning to fight in the training hall. Come watch if you want.]
This was Jin-woo's first sparring match since his match with the club leader, Yoo-jin.
While his first sparring match was a complete defeat, Jin-woo had no anxiety about the upcoming match.
The opponent he had just argued with was not a monster like Yoo-jin.
The two moved to the training hall and borrowed it from the instructor under the pretext of club activities.
"Let's make the field a forest, right? That way, you can't claim you lost because it wasn't a forest."
Before entering the training hall, Jin-woo discussed the field settings.
The man, grinding his teeth, replied with a look of disbelief.
"Do you really think you can beat a Ranger in a forest?"
"Yep."
"...Instructor, please set the field to a forest."
After changing the training hall's interior to a forest through the control panel, the two entered.
The white training hall began to transform into a forest as soon as they stepped inside.
The chirping of birds from the sky, the refreshing sound of the wind rustling the leaves, and the texture of the ground felt like they were in a real forest.
For a moment, Jin-woo felt a sense of wonder at the realistic implementation, but he quickly regained his composure.
Having learned the dangers of complacency from his match with Yoo-jin, Jin-woo drew the two daggers from his waist, closed his eyes, and stood quietly.
[Sparring begins]
As the instructor's voice echoed from above, Jin-woo immediately leaped onto a tree and hid among the leaves, surveying the surroundings.
Amid the eerie wind and rustling leaves, an out-of-place sound caught his attention, and he quickly turned his head.
───!
An arrow grazed Jin-woo's cheek and embedded itself in the tree behind him.
Despite hiding among the leaves, his position had been detected.
Realizing his location was known, Jin-woo began to move forward on the tree, searching for the Ranger.
"Damn."
Arrows continued to fly at him. Even trying to dodge them, the leaves obstructed his view, so he relied on his senses and hearing to avoid them.
But he couldn't just keep dodging.
Eventually, Jin-woo figured out the general direction the arrows were coming from and started running straight ahead.
With acrobatic movements, he leaped from tree to tree, gradually closing the distance. Suddenly, a white flash appeared before his eyes.
"Stupid kid, did you think I'd just stand there without a plan?"
The continuous shooting from one spot was a trap to lure Jin-woo.
"Die there."
The eerie sound of the bowstring being pulled echoed.
According to his plan, Jin-woo's eyes were still recovering from the blindness. Without his sight, there was no way he could dodge the arrow at this distance.
If his sight was gone, that is.
"Too obvious."
Jin-woo, who had been keeping his eyes closed, opened them and charged at the Ranger.
The Ranger, panicking, hastily released the arrow, but Jin-woo deflected it with his left dagger, laughing.
"How...?"
"Do you think I'm the only one who thinks like that? I've been keeping my eyes closed since I started running here."
Jin-woo was from a family background.
He had grown up watching street fights.
The street fights he witnessed were 'vile.'
Fights where any means were used to incapacitate the opponent. Fights that started with fists but soon involved rocks, and where crying children signaled an ambush.
This was the kind of 'fight' Jin-woo had grown up with.
That's why he admired his father, 'Vivaldi.' In such fights, his father and family never allowed a single defeat.
And Jin-woo knew himself.
He was also 'Vivaldi.'
Once given a mission by the boss, he could not afford to lose in a fight.
"Got you."
He immediately thrust the dagger in his right hand toward the Ranger's lung.
A small hole would be fatal. Realizing his plan had failed, the Ranger dropped his bow and drew a machete from his waist, blocking Jin-woo's blade.
"Think you can win in close combat?"
"Yeah, I will."
Their feet crossed as they struck each other forcefully.
Both fell from the impact.
Jin-woo immediately stabbed his dagger into the tree to stop his fall, while the Ranger hid behind another tree.
Jin-woo landed on the ground, retrieving his dagger.
"What are you trying to do, running away without your bow?"
While looking around, Jin-woo remained on high alert.
Expecting the Ranger to use the machete for a surprise attack, he chased after the Ranger's trail.
[You're just getting hit because you lack experience, chick.]
Suddenly, the arrows embedded in the trees were pulled out and started flying at Jin-woo from all directions.
'Telekinesis?'
Swinging his daggers, Jin-woo deflected the arrows flying at him.
Given the number of arrows the Ranger had shot, it was impossible for Jin-woo to deflect them all.
Under normal circumstances, that is.
'Wait? I can deflect all of them?'
Despite the surprise attack, Jin-woo was almost perfectly deflecting all the arrows.
Both the Ranger, watching from above, and Jin-woo himself were surprised.
But then, Jin-woo recalled what he had eaten earlier and understood the situation.
The 'Recipe Development Club.'
A club of Awakened individuals who could create food with buff effects.
Having eaten so much of their food, it was natural for his physical abilities to be different from usual.
"What the hell is this...?"
[Skill: Reverse Attack]
A unique skill that allowed him to shoot the arrows he had previously shot at his target again, regardless of the situation.
Seeing his skill being completely blocked by a first-year, the man, forgetting he was hiding, blurted out in disbelief.
And this gave Jin-woo an opportunity.
"──Found you."
"You crazy bastard!"
The Ranger, seeing Jin-woo swinging his daggers in reverse, hastily swung his machete to push him back.
As intended, Jin-woo dodged the attack and disappeared from sight.
"My weapon range is better!"
The Ranger, shouting to assert his presence, looked around for Jin-woo.
He couldn't see him, so he tried to locate him by the sound of rustling leaves.
─!──/─!──!/───/!───/───!
He quickly realized something was off.
'Why are the leaves rustling from all directions?'