Episode 86
Chapter 30: Defeat Alisa! (Part 2)
Alisa Badger.
A towering figure with a fierce scar running down the left side of her face, she was the captain of Tikan’s defense force and the wife of the renowned swordsman, Kashimir.
“Defeat her within six months?” Jin thought.
At first glance, Alisa seemed far stronger than any of the criminals Jin had encountered in Mamit. Her imposing build and rugged muscles were easily twice the size of Kashimir’s—definitely not ordinary.
But was she really that strong?
Jin knew that even with his swordsmanship, magic, and spiritual energy combined, it would take at least six months to overcome her.
During his month-long stay in Tikan, Jin had seen her almost every day. They often ate breakfast together and exchanged light jokes, but he hadn’t sensed anything extraordinary about her strength.
“She’s certainly unique… but is she really so tough that even magic and spiritual energy won’t make it easy? I’m confident I could handle any seven-star knight who isn’t exceptional if I use all my skills. Kashimir must know my capabilities are around that level.”
Still, judging by Kashimir’s confident attitude, Jin thought this would be an interesting challenge.
“Alisa, huh… If Lord Kashimir says so, there must be a reason. Very well, I’ll spar with Lady Alisa—if she agrees.”
“She definitely will. Since becoming captain, she’s been bored from lack of fights. Sparring with you will be a great gift for her.”
True to Kashimir’s words, Alisa responded enthusiastically. The moment Jin and Kashimir approached her with the request, she accepted without hesitation.
“Me, spar with Jin? Ha! Sounds fun. Lately, I’ve only been dealing with weak criminals, which is boring. Though I’ve caught so many of them that they hardly show up anymore…”
“Mom, are you going to fight Jin oppa?” little Yuria, clinging to Alisa, asked with wide, worried eyes.
“No, it’s not a fight—it’s about building friendship.”
“But everyone who fought Mom turned into steamed buns…”
“This time, it’s about friendship. Yuria, if Mom and Jin oppa fought, who would you cheer for?”
“Umm… Jin oppa.”
“They say raising kids is useless… This little one knows that a good five-year-old cheers for Mom in times like this.”
Alisa playfully pinched her daughter’s cheek, but Yuria’s next words left Jin momentarily speechless.
“But, but! Jin oppa is the weaker one. I’ll always stand by the weak! By those who are weak and struggling!”
“Pfft—hah hah hah!” Murakan, lying on the nearby sofa reading a risqué novel, suddenly burst into laughter.
“Weak and struggling, huh? Jin oppa, you’ve already got a good eye for people! Truly worthy of being Az Mil’s contractor.”
Jin forced an awkward smile and quietly approached Murakan, stepping hard on his foot. Murakan quickly pulled it away to dodge, but Jin swiftly snatched the red novel from his hands.
“You fool—no, a foolish dragon. Didn’t I tell you not to read this stuff in front of the kid?”
“I was sneaking it in because it’s written in small, subtle gore. Put it down nicely, will you?”
“Where do you keep finding these books? I’m sure they weren’t here when we left the Garden of Swords.”
Kashimir cleared his throat.
He had been supplying Murakan with five red novels a week. When a great black dragon needs something, who could refuse?
“Anyway, how about we start sparring the day after tomorrow, Jin?”
“After work, let’s have dinner together and spar every day for the next six months. I’ll show the captain of Tikan’s defense force what my prince is made of.”
“Every day? I don’t mind, but I worry about taking up too much of Lady Alisa’s time.”
Alisa smiled warmly and shook her head.
“It’s fine. It’ll probably be over quickly.”
Two days later, evening, in the underground training hall of Kashimir’s mansion.
Jin had rested for two days to recover his condition before the first sparring session. He wanted to face Alisa at his best and objectively assess the gap between them.
“Prince Jin, before we begin, there’s something I should tell you.”
Alisa, warming up opposite him, spoke.
“Go ahead, Lady Alisa.”
“I was once part of the Biment Special Task Force. Before Kashimir became the exiled prince, I was assigned to protect him. When he was banished, I left Biment with him.”
Hearing this, Jin immediately understood why he hadn’t sensed her true strength until now.
Unlike the royal guard, the special task force operates in the shadows and learns to conceal their power first and foremost.
‘I suspected something, but a former special task force member… No wonder Lord Kashimir mentioned six months.’
Jin knew the minimum rank for Biment special forces was six stars.
But that was just the minimum. If she had protected a prince like Kashimir, Alisa was at least a seven-star warrior.
“So, even if I beat you several times, please don’t get discouraged. Also, I won’t go easy on you. Shall we begin?”
Jin nodded silently.
Whoosh!
In an instant, Alisa’s fist closed the distance, coming straight at his face. The speed was impossible for an ordinary five-star knight to react to.
She intended to end the sparring with a single strike.
Her philosophy was that even practice fights should be as close to real combat as possible.
‘From what Murakan and Gilly told me about the prince’s past, what Jin needs now is an overwhelming defeat—and the process of rising from it. He probably won’t dodge this blow for at least ten days.’
Alisa knew that every crisis Jin had overcome so far had involved “opportunities and variables.”
Against Alu, he created variables with Multa’s runes.
Against Quikantel, he opened his sword without her knowing and cut off her wings.
Even recently, when fighting Andrei, thanks to Murakan and Luna, he managed to strike at least once.
The strongest enemy in his academy days, Quajito Truka of the White Wolf tribe, would not have defeated him if he had known about Jin’s spiritual energy.
In other words, all the tough opponents Jin had faced were either careless or lacked information about him.
Alisa, however, knew almost everything about Jin’s abilities—his swordsmanship, magic, spiritual energy, and even that he carried Multa’s runes.
So she decided to give Jin a “real crisis.” For a warrior to grow, nothing is more effective than a true threat.
But the fist aimed at his face struck—
The scabbard.
“Blocked!?”
Alisa’s eyes widened.
It wasn’t a perfect block. The shock transmitted through the scabbard caused Jin to lose his balance and instinctively step back.
Losing one’s center in a fight is fatal—it means losing both defense and evasion.
Alisa could have silenced him with the next strike.
Still, the fact that Jin didn’t take a direct hit was a shock to her.
“That speed should have been impossible to block. Even considering the blessing of Runkandel’s body… Have I gotten dull? I did feel my fist was slightly slower than usual.”
Jin was still off-balance and defenseless, unable to even strike back. Alisa’s next punch was already close to his ribs.
But Jin activated Multa’s rune, summoning a helmet.
In his left hand, he had pre-cast a spell before coming to the training hall.
Flash Cannon!
A brilliant flash burst forth!
No matter how well-trained a warrior is, they can’t help but close their eyes when suddenly blinded by intense light—even if they’re sure they can finish their opponent.
“Ugh!”
Because her stance faltered from the light, Alisa’s punch didn’t land as deeply as expected.
Still, it was enough to break one of Jin’s ribs. The power to end the sparring remained unchanged.
Before she could follow up with a third strike, Alisa couldn’t help but let out a breath of admiration.
“The opportunities and variables in Prince Jin’s past crises weren’t just luck. He created them himself! I never expected he’d prepare magic like this in advance.”
This time was no different.
In other words, Alisa had lost the “mind game.”
“Now I see. The reason the prince could block my first strike… was because he lowered the density of the ground beneath me with earth magic beforehand. That’s why my speed was slower than usual.”
Glancing back, she saw the ground where she had stepped was slightly more sunken than normal—a subtle difference.
If Jin had tampered with the floor just a bit more, she might have noticed before closing the distance. That’s the kind of sensitivity a warrior like Alisa has.
“It’s fine. It’ll probably be over quickly.”
Jin had expected Alisa would try to finish things quickly from the start.
Before the sparring began, he kept wondering what variables she hadn’t anticipated. In the end, all the variables he created worked…
But it was still too soon to defeat Alisa.
Crack!
The third punch struck Jin’s side.
He flew back about three meters and crashed to the floor.
Alisa shuddered for a moment, feeling a chill run through her body.
It wasn’t that he was drunk on victory—no, it was because Jin, who had thrown him off balance from the very first day, was simply astonishing.
“Ugh… as expected, no amount of tricks will do.”
Tricks?
Alisa almost corrected him right then. This wasn’t about tricks—it was strategy.
“…Impressive, Lord Jin. I never imagined I’d have to face three attacks on the very first day.”
Jin staggered to his feet, only to collapse flat on his back again.
He was just as shocked as Alisa.
‘As expected from someone from the Biment Special Forces. Even with all the variables in play, I didn’t get a single proper swing in.’
It was frustrating and disappointing, but his heart was pounding.
Maybe it was because this was the first time since his rebirth that he’d been so thoroughly defeated despite using every tactic he had.
Just as Kashmir had predicted, his mind felt refreshingly clear.
“Um, Alisa.”
“Yes, Lord Jin?”
“Are you… not going to call a healer?”
“Oh my, how could I forget? You must be in a lot of pain. Just a moment!”
Alisa hurried off, and Jin let out a small, amused chuckle.
Before six months pass, I’ll beat Alisa.
That goal—so close compared to the secret techniques of Shimgeom or Runkandel—ignited a fierce drive for achievement deep within Jin’s heart.