Suicide Before Defeating the Final Boss

Suicide Before Defeating the Final Boss – 30

EP.30 Instructor’s Nightmare

Lee Jeong-hyeon remained at rank 300 throughout the first semester. However, in one duel, he skyrocketed to 7th place. While it’s not uncommon for rankings to shift dramatically at that age due to sudden improvements, rising from the bottom to the top in a single duel was certainly noteworthy. Normally, this would have piqued some interest, but…

‘Given the substandard performance of the students before him, I’m not optimistic.’

Marpe thought Lee Jeong-hyeon might be just a bit better than Jer.

‘Still, if he’s at least that good, he’s one of the few worth salvaging.’

Deciding to try and make the best out of this situation, Marpe planned to give him some valuable lessons.

“Put your whole soul into this. As a commoner, you need to have tenacity and grit to survive.”

Despite Marpe’s sincere advice, Lee Jeong-hyeon didn’t even pretend to listen. Instead, he smirked and replied.

“Do you think you can handle it?”

Marpe laughed, finding the boy’s arrogance amusing. Rising from last place to 7th and even resolving a dungeon’s core issue must have inflated his ego. Marpe had seen many like him before and found their overconfidence endearing.

‘Reality won’t be so kind.’

It was foolish for a commoner to behave so recklessly without any support. He was setting himself up for a painful lesson.

‘As an elder, I should show him the harsh truth.’

Marpe decided to demonstrate just how insignificant Lee Jeong-hyeon’s achievements were in the grand scheme of things. He tightened his grip on his wooden sword.

“Come at me.”

Just as Marpe prepared to shatter Lee Jeong-hyeon’s arrogance, a loud explosion echoed, and something struck his shoulder with immense force.

“…!”

Eyes wide with shock, he looked ahead. A low, growling voice, like that of a beast, reached his ears.

“You damn bastard… What? Put your whole soul into it? I don’t understand why a nobody keeps flapping his mouth.”

Even on the battlefield, no one had insulted him so crudely. The intense humiliation shook his emotions, though he tried to calm himself.

“Shut your mouth and come at me. I’m sick of hearing your crap.”

With that final insult, Marpe decided to teach him a lesson in manners. He pulled the wooden sword from his shoulder and spoke.

“You have no manners. You’ll regret those words.”

Determined to make Lee Jeong-hyeon regret his disrespect, Marpe channelled his mana. Normally, using sword aura in a duel was prohibited, but the rules were lenient if both sides knew how to use it. Marpe intended to use this to teach Jeong-hyeon a lesson.

***

Jeong-hyeon was seething with anger as he glared at Marpe, grinding his teeth in frustration. From a distance, he hadn’t recognized him, but up close, his face was unmistakable.

‘This guy was one of the Second Princess’s cronies.’

He used to follow the Second Princess around, guarding that bitch Karina. His face had aged considerably, making him hard to recognize at first, but meeting his eyes confirmed it.

─ Even talking to you is revolting. As a hero, you should fulfill your duties, yet you whine and resist… truly pathetic.

Recalling those words from long ago, Jeong-hyeon grabbed a new wooden sword from the rack.

‘Dragged me here against my will, and now you talk about duty? Like it’s some natural obligation.’

Recalling how they spouted nonsense about self-sacrifice for their sake, Jeong-hyeon manifested a sword of divine power and stared at Marpe.

‘I’d love to kill him right here.’

But he didn’t want to get expelled from the academy and face death from failing the main quest. So, he decided to undermine Marpe’s social standing instead.

‘That alone would be a significant blow to him.’

Moreover, if rumours spread that an academy student defeated a new instructor in a duel…

‘It would utterly disgrace the kingdom.’

Deciding not to kill him, Jeong-hyeon drew out his divine power just enough.

‘Not too much, just enough.’

Using too much divine power could force him into a situation like before, where he became a divine power bomb. Drawing upon a level of divine power similar to what Regina had used, he stood ready, and those watching from behind expressed their shock.

“What kind of sword aura is that…!”

“A first-year student can release that much of sword aura?”

“That’s on par with the former Second Princess Karina!”

It seemed they had forgotten Jeong-hyeon had already struck Marpe with a wooden sword. They were now solely focused on his divine power, uttering astonished exclamations.

‘If they’re comparing it to Karina, who is now the Sword Saint and Second Princess, Regina must have been stronger than I thought. Well, regardless…’

Right now, the important thing was to crush the guy in front of him. He quickly advanced and swung his sword at Marpe.

“Not a chance!”

With eyes watching, Marpe chose to meet Jeong-hyeon’s attack head-on rather than deflect it, trying to overpower him with strength. But the unique nature of his divine power distorted and neutralized Marpe’s mana.

“… What?!”

His voice was filled with shock. He hadn’t expected his sword aura to be shattered so easily, and the panic in his eyes was evident.

Jeong-hyeon swiftly swung his sword at Marpe’s head, aiming to strike him down, but he managed to roll backward, narrowly avoiding Jeong-hyeon’s attack, Marpe’s face twisted in a grimace.

‘From what I’ve heard, knights consider rolling on the ground a great disgrace.’

Having done so, Jeong-hyeon could imagine the turmoil of emotions that Marpe must be feeling. Seeing Marpe kneeling on one knee and glaring at him, Jeong-hyeon decided to press the attack before Marpe could regain his stance.

‘Start with the head.’

Jeong-hyeon aimed for his most vulnerable spot, swinging his wooden sword infused with divine power at Marpe’s head.

Bang!

He read his move. Before Jeong-hyeon’s sword could reach his head, his wooden sword intercepted it.

“Where do you think you’re going? Not with this!”

Thinking the attack was over, Marpe shouted and attempted to counterattack. But Jeong-hyeon was faster. He used his foot, imbued with divine power, to kick Marpe hard in the stomach, sending him sprawling to the ground.

“Ugh!”

His agonized scream echoed around the training ground, drawing everyone’s attention. Seeing their focus, Jeong-hyeon wondered if he had gone too far, but…

‘What’s done is done.’

Jeong-hyeon figured there was no point in trying to backtrack, so he decided to see it through to the end. He rolled his shoulders, preparing himself.

‘Alright then.’

Time to really get started. Jeong-hyeon couldn’t beat him to a pulp with everyone watching, but he could land a few hits.

He quickly approached Marpe, who was trying to get up, and swept his legs out from under him with his own. As Marpe fell, he struck his shoulder hard with his wooden sword.

Bang!

The sound was more like a bomb exploding than flesh being struck, but it was all the more satisfying to Jeong-hyeon. He intended to keep hitting Marpe until he was knocked out, but…

“No more…! I won’t forgive this!”

Marpe, determined to fight seriously, unleashed a surge of aura twice as intense as before and quickly got to his feet. Seeing this, Jeong-hyeon couldn’t help but smile.

‘A training instructor sent to test the students, losing his temper after getting beaten by one of them… This is going to turn out even better than I imagined.’

Of course, given the magnitude of what Jeong-hyeon had done, many eyes would be on him as well. But one thing was certain: the number of eyes on him would be far fewer than those on Marpe.

‘So, shall we wrap this up now?’

Reaching this point, all that was left was the highlight. Jeong-hyeon watched Marpe’s face burn with rage, yet his actions remained calm. Jeong-hyeon beckoned him with a flick of his fingers, and he responded by charging at him with swift steps, Marpe’s sword slashing at him faster than he could see.

If Jeong-hyeon had to describe Marpe’s attack, he’d say this: it was the strongest attack he’d ever seen. His sword aura not only swung through the air but also shot out in a crescent shape, hurtling toward him. Jeong-hyeon smiled slightly.

‘Crazy bastard.’

Honestly, when Marpe kept falling to his consecutive attacks, he thought Marpe was nothing special. But seeing him go all out changed his perspective a bit.

‘Well, it makes sense.’

As the commander of the Second Knights Order and someone who fought on the front lines, it would be strange if he were weak. Realizing this, Jeong-hyeon dodged his sword aura attack by moving to the side. Marpe then flew behind him, aiming his sword at Jeong-hyeon’s body.

‘This is good.’

Jeong-hyeon appreciated this new combat style and turned, using his elbow infused with divine power to deflect his sword.

“Ugh!”

Marpe grimaced as his attack was easily blocked. It seemed he needed time to regroup after such a serious attack. Seeing this, Jeong-hyeon used his hand imbued with divine power to strike his head hard.

Crack.

Jeong-hyeon heard something break and wondered if he had miscalculated his divine power. Luckily, it wasn’t Marpe’s neck but his teeth that had broken. Marpe endured the pain and, with a roar, gathered all his mana into his hand and swung it at Jeong-hyeon’s head.

‘Now!’

He decided it was okay to take this hit. He protected his face with divine power and let Marpe’s fist connect.

Thud!

The divine power neutralized all the mana, significantly reducing the impact. His Advanced Tough Skin skill absorbed most of the physical damage, so it didn’t hurt at all. But for the sake of the highlight, he pretended to be thrown back and fell to the ground.

“Argh!”

He added a scream of pain for effect. Pretending to convulse, he rolled around a bit, subtly smearing Marpe’s blood on his face as evidence before closing his eyes and feigning unconsciousness.

“……”

The training hall fell silent. He could sense that Marpe was in deep trouble.