I Became a Genius Swordsman in the Pretty Girl Game-Chapter 269: Botch the Alice (1)

"RAAAAAH!"

The Drake's maw opened wide, aiming directly for Kang Do-hee's head. Its sharp teeth seemed poised to snap her skull in two.

"Tch!"

Clicking her tongue, Kang Do-hee swiftly lifted her head.

CRUNCH!

The Drake’s jaws slammed shut right in front of her face.

Without missing a beat, Kang Do-hee reached out, grabbed hold of the Drake's mouth, and flipped her body, landing on the creature's massive head.

"SQUEEEEEAL!!!"

The Drake convulsed wildly, thrashing its head from side to side.

Under normal circumstances, Kang Do-hee would have easily maintained her balance and launched an attack. But with her power still suppressed, all she could do was cling tightly to the Drake’s neck, using every ounce of strength just to hold on.

"Ahh!! Noooo! My 938,000 won shield!!!"

A desperate scream made her glance down. Jin Yoo-ha was climbing up the cliff, kicking off the shield as he ascended.

Below him, Lee Yu-ri was shrieking each time a shield slipped and fell.

"Hyah!"

"Oh no! My 2,300,000 won shield that I bought for 2,265,000 after a 35,000 won discount!!!"

"Hyah!"

"Aaaaah!! That’s my 3,499,900 won shield! I got it during the shield sale, and I can’t get it at that price again!!!"

"Hyah!"

"Ah, noooo!!! That’s my 4,217,400 won shield from Tuntunz, the luxury shield manufacturer!!!"

As Kang Do-hee continued climbing, she momentarily locked eyes with Jin Yoo-ha, who nodded.

Even without words, she knew what he was asking for—a distraction.

"Hmph!"

Kang Do-hee took a deep breath and coiled her legs around the Drake's neck, locking her ankles tightly. Her legs trembled as if they might give way against the thick neck, but she only needed a moment.

The Drake thrashed even more violently.

"Stay still!"

Kang Do-hee clasped her hands together and raised them above her head.

"Stay DOWN!"

With all her might, she hammered her fists down. The Drake’s head crashed into the cliffside.

"Nice work, Kang Do-hee."

Jin Yoo-ha, having finally reached them, stood poised with his sword in mid-air.

SWISH!

SQUELCH!

He thrust his sword into the Drake’s snout, the blade cutting in and out in a swift motion.

In that split second, Kang Do-hee released her hold, grabbing the edge of the nearest shield with one hand and pushing off the Drake’s back.

With her other hand, she reached out to Jin Yoo-ha.

"Yoo-ha! Hand!"

Clasp.

Kang Do-hee successfully grabbed Jin Yoo-ha’s hand and kicked off the Drake’s body.

The Drake’s claws dislodged from the cliff as it tumbled down the mountainside.

"SQUEEEEEAL..."

Its terrifying roar faded into the distance.

THUD!

With a sigh, Kang Do-hee looked down at Jin Yoo-ha, who was dangling from her hand, smiling up at her.

"Nice one, Kang Puppy."

"Stop calling me Kang Puppy!"

Annoyed, she tightened her grip and threw Jin Yoo-ha upward. He landed on the cliffside, embedding his sword into the rock for support. Kang Do-hee also summoned her strength, launching herself up to safety.

But then...

The shield Kang Do-hee had been holding slipped from her grasp and plummeted down the cliff.

"Noooo! That’s my brand new shield! I only bought it a week ago!!! It’s a 7,500,000 won shield from Dandangun, and I didn’t even use a discount!!!"

Lee Yu-ri’s anguished cries echoed through the air.

Finally, we reached the top of the cliff.

Yet, Lee Yu-ri stood frozen at the edge, staring down the cliff with teary eyes filled with regret.

"My... my shields..."

Feeling a bit mischievous, I approached her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"It’s okay, Gukbap. Your shields are probably happy in heaven. You can always get new ones."

Lee Yu-ri turned her head sharply, her eyes welling with tears, her lips tightly pressed together.

"You, you! How can you say that, Jin Yoo-ha! Those shields were like children to me!"

"Like children?"

"I cleaned them every day, massaged them with the finest oils, and even sang songs to make them stronger!"

‘Huh, does singing songs really make shields stronger?’

Lee Yu-ri’s peculiar outburst made me chuckle.

"Heh, I was just kidding. They’ll be fine."

"...What?"

"Do you really think a shield would break just from falling off a cliff? If it did, that’d be a scam. I bet they’re perfectly fine down there."

Reassured by my words, Lee Yu-ri’s expression softened. Still, anxiety lingered in her voice as she hesitantly asked,

"Really... do you think so? But what if someone takes them?"

"Who would come all the way out here to Taebaeksan? No one’s been here in the last ten years, so what are the chances someone would show up now? We wouldn’t have come this way ourselves if not for the compass, right?"

The sourc𝗲 of this content is frёeωebɳovel.com.

"Y-yeah, I guess... they’ll be there when we go back, right?"

"Of course. So don’t worry and let’s go."

"...Okay."

Lee Yu-ri took my hand and stood up. She kept glancing back at the cliff, clearly still worried about her shields.

‘Hmm, no one’s been here for ten years, but... surely, no one’s going to suddenly show up now, right?’

Little did I know, I might have just set up another flag. With that, Jin Yoo-ha and the party headed toward the Sword Sovereign’s abode.

Meanwhile, Alice was anxiously pacing in front of the bathroom mirror, her grandmother’s words echoing in her mind.

Guests were coming.

"Guests? Suddenly? This is too much! I’m not ready yet!"

Alice—real name Kim Malsook.

Ten years ago, she had lost her parents to monsters from a gate and was taken in by the Sword Sovereign.

Since then, she had grown up in this remote part of Taebaeksan, isolated from the world.

Though she had occasionally ventured °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° out with her grandmother to buy necessities, those trips were brief and they rarely interacted with others.

Her only “social interactions” came from the manga and anime she studied. Her sole conversation partner was her grandmother.

In the past, she hadn’t understood, but now she did—her grandmother was a famous figure, and many sought to harm her. To protect Alice, her grandmother had chosen this secluded life in the mountains.

So, when her grandmother suddenly told her she would be enrolling in the academy next year, Alice made up her mind.

She couldn’t afford to be looked down upon.

From the anime and manga she’d seen, she knew that rural students entering a city school often became targets of bullying.

"You look so old-fashioned.""What’s with your accent...?""Even your name is weird."

Determined to avoid that fate, she decided to change her appearance and name before making her academy debut as the “New Kim Malsook,” no, as the “New Alice.”

She dyed her lifelong brown hair pure white, wore blue colored contacts, and even changed her name to one from an anime character.

In the anime she watched, cold, aloof characters were admired and flocked to by others.

She craved attention but was too shy and awkward to handle it directly. A cold, aloof image seemed perfect for her.

At first, it felt awkward, but with daily practice in front of the mirror, she was starting to feel more comfortable in her new role.

‘Should I try making my tone even colder?’

Alice raised her head and stared at the mirror.

"How trivial."

"Hmph, is this all you’ve got?"

"Tsk, enrolling was a mistake. I would have been better off training alone."

"Hah, friends? I have no interest in such trivialities."

"Pfft, you... very well, I’ll accept. Consider yourself lucky."

She recited lines from the anime character she idolized.

"..."

Her cold, expressionless face in the mirror slowly crumbled. She covered her face with her hands and stamped her feet in frustration.

"Ugh, I don’t know! I don’t know! How am I supposed to do this? What if I mess up in front of the guests? How am I going to survive at the academy next year?!"

In the midst of her self-induced panic, Alice suddenly froze.

"Wait a minute... if they’re Grandma’s guests... they must be around her age, right?"

If that were the case, she could use them as practice. Surely, elderly guests wouldn’t be attending the Velvet Hunter Academy, and even if she messed up, they’d likely brush it off as the awkwardness of a young girl.

SLAP!

She slapped her cheeks with both hands.

Phew.

She gazed at her flushed face in the mirror.

At least, in terms of appearance, she looked just like the anime character she admired.

"Welcome to the Sword Sovereign’s Forest, strangers. I am Alice, the Sword Sovereign’s granddaughter."

With a large, sweeping bow, she lifted her head confidently.

Yes.

I can do this.

Alice nodded to herself with the resolve of a hero preparing for battle.

"Malsook! It seems the guests are near—go out and greet them."

Her grandmother’s voice called out.

"Ugh, I told you not to call me Malsook!"

Alice opened the bathroom door and stepped outside.

‘Well, they’re Grandma’s age, so... it shouldn’t be a problem if they know my real name... right?’

Little did she know that the guests arriving were her future seniors, and one of them had a particular interest in her.