I Became a Genius Swordsman in the Pretty Girl Game

On the screen, Kang Do-hee and Alice were shown grabbing Lim Ga-eul’s threads and returning.

“Ah, this is unusual! Kang Do-hee and Alice are isolated! But! Right behind them, the sly schemer with narrowed eyes, Lim Ga-eul, extends her magical threads to offer them a helping hand!!!”

-Isn’t that the move? The one used during Soup’s aerial operations before?

-Yep, that’s right. It was originally used to provoke the enemy by dropping Lee Yoo-ri into their camp. But now they’re using it on other party members.

-Lim Ga-eul! Lim Ga-eul! Lim Ga-eul! Lim Ga-eul!

-Lim Ga-eul has really become proficient with those threads. It feels like she’s finally pulling her weight, lol.

-But seriously, the raised tension makes it funnier, lolol.

-Totally, casters should get hyped along with everyone else, lol.

“Next up is Jin Yuha’s sword dance! It’s a technique he rarely uses, but today, he’s bringing it out!”

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Jin Yuha, spinning his body, slashed his sword amidst the enemy camp.
The spider monsters were cleanly shredded by Jin Yuha’s blade.

Lee Min-young, showing the fervor of an ardent Utopia fanatic, was providing commentary.
Meanwhile, the chat was flooded with supportive reactions, turning the atmosphere entirely favorable.

However, contrary to the upbeat appearance, Lee Min-young was growing increasingly anxious inside.

‘…It feels like the pace of the attack is slowing down.’

Initially, with Jin Yuha’s hard carry and the coordinated attacks of the three damage dealers, they were making rapid progress.

But as time went on, the team was getting increasingly bogged down by the enemies.

‘I’ve neither seen nor heard of monsters like these… What are they even?!’

The spider monsters they were facing, with human torsos attached, were being cut down without much resistance.

But Lee Min-young knew.
Each of these creatures was disaster-level.

If even one of those spider monsters escaped outside the gate, it could easily destroy an entire city.

‘They spray venom from their mouths powerful enough to reshape the terrain on contact. They shoot webs from their abdomens that hinder movement… Each leg is like a sharp blade, incredibly fast, and they face no restrictions from terrain or mobility…’

Not a single one of their attacks could be taken lightly. Even a single hit could result in fatal injuries.

Moreover, the battlefield was a dense forest with limited visibility.
All directions—up, down, left, and right—needed to be guarded, but predicting attacks was nearly impossible.

Utopia was fighting these formidable opponents.

To be fair, they were doing incredibly well, given the circumstances.

However…

‘The biggest problem right now is…’

Glancing around, Lee Min-young’s gaze settled on a corner of the holographic screen.

There, the tank, who should have been at the forefront, was standing at the very back, gripping her shield tightly and biting her lips.

‘Lee Yoo-ri…’

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.

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-“Jin Yuha, to your left.”

Turning her head to the left, Jin Yuha spotted a spider aiming its abdomen at him, shooting out a stream of sticky white fluid.

‘…If that hits me, the internet would explode.’

In this gender-reversed world, wouldn’t some shady site filled with 19+ content cheer for this?

With that absurd thought in mind, he thrust his sword.

‘No way am I letting that hit me!’

Whoosh! Whoosh!

He unleashed short, sharp bursts of mana from the tip of his sword, slicing through the web the moment his blade made contact. Retrieving his sword immediately, he thought:

‘I can’t waste my Moonlight on some trivial spiders.’

The web was a notorious nuisance even in the game.

Blocking instead of dodging had a chance of disarming his weapon. Once that happened, his attack power would plummet, leaving him with no options.

Even Alice seemed irritated, showing a troubled expression.

Fortunately, Kang Do-hee didn’t seem affected—she had no weapon and wielded fire-based mana, so the web wasn’t much of an issue for her.

-“Jin Yuha, behind you. Ichika.”

A concise command buzzed in her ear. It was simple—just a direction and a name.

But that was enough for Jin Yuha.

‘It’s nice not having to monitor every direction myself. Makes things easier.’

With Shin Se-hee managing others’ movements, Jin Yuha could focus solely on his battle.

‘Was I being overworked this whole time without realizing it?’ he wondered fleetingly.

Tatatatatata!

He sprinted forward, stepping on Ichika’s hovering shadow and slashing his sword beneath it.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

“Keek!”
“Creeek!”
“Kyaaaak!”

As he massacred the spiders, green venom and white webbing flew toward him from behind, while sharp legs lunged at him from the front.

A situation of imminent peril.

To escape, he could either plant his sword in the ground and unleash a devastating burst of mana or use ranged skills like Single Strike or Crescent Moon to slice through the enemies.

But then…

-“Jin Yuha, the analysis is complete.”

‘Ha, you actually pulled it off?’

With a dry laugh, Jin Yuha awaited comfortably.

The return of their tank.

Swishhhhh!

At that moment, she heard the sharp sound of something slicing through the air from behind her.

Clang! Crash! Clang! Clang! Ting!!!

Suddenly, a shield came flying through the air. The spinning shield blocked the spiders’ attacks one after another before returning to the thrower.

Clack.

“Hoo…”

Glancing back, I saw Lee Yoo-ri, who had retrieved the shield she threw, exhale deeply, her eyes calm.

‘Heh, she said she’d try it, and she really did.’

Slice! Slice! Slice!

As I cut down the spiders whose attacks had been thwarted by her shield, I couldn’t help but think about it.

Honestly, this gate wasn’t particularly favorable for Soup. Not just for her, but for any tankers, really.

The role of a tanker is to stand at the forefront and block the attacks aimed at the party.

But here, if you just stood with a shield to block, you wouldn’t last long before the shield got taken away or you’d end up cocooned in spider silk like a mummy, becoming deadweight.

‘So when I suggested she should take it easy this time, she got visibly down.’

To cheer her up, I jokingly told her a story from the American Captain series in my previous life.

-“Throwing the shield to attack the enemies and having it return? It wouldn’t be easy, but if I could analyze these monsters’ attack patterns and movements… yes, it might be possible.”

This was a collaboration between Shin Se-hee and Lee Yoo-ri.

Perfecting the technique of throwing a shield and having it return isn’t something you do overnight. Unless the shield was designed for it from the beginning, it requires precise aim, control of power, a deep understanding of the terrain, and relentless practice.

‘But she’s doing it.’

I chuckled lightly.

‘Whether it’s the one calculating this on the spot or the one daring to suggest it…’

Boosted by her first success, Lee Yoo-ri now pulled out a long-handled dagger, gripping it like a baseball bat, and struck her shield to send it flying again.

KA-BOOM!

The shield flew through the air, and the spiders’ heads turned to follow its trajectory.

‘…Wait, she’s provoking the enemies just by hitting and throwing her shield? Mobile provocation? Isn’t this practically a new skill?’

It was almost hard to believe this was the same person who had clashed with Shin Se-hee earlier, refusing to follow her commands.

‘If the tanker does this much for us, we’ve got it easier. Time to pick up the tempo.’

Gripping my sword handle tightly, I prepared to move forward.

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.

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“Whoa, whoa, whoa!? W-What was that just now!? Did you all see that? It wasn’t just me, right?!”

Lee Min-young screamed and bounced up and down as she watched the holographic screen.

“Soup! Soup just threw her shield, blocked the enemies’ attacks, and it came back to her! And now she’s even provoking them with it! How is this even possible?!”

-“How would we know? You’re the one supposed to explain!”

-“Exactly, that’s your job.”

-“I thought Soup was overpriced today, but suddenly she’s a bargain now lolol.”

-“Lmao, she was struggling with the spiderwebs and shields earlier, but now she’s flinging them around like a boss.”

“She’s bouncing the shield off Ichika’s shadow, hitting heads, then catching it mid-air to shove enemies away! Finally, Utopia’s tanker is alive and kicking!!!”

-“Bro, is she doing a circus act or what?”

-“The definition of ‘tanker’ is evolving right before our eyes.”

-“Her physical prowess is insane. How is that even possible lol.”

-“I’m a tanker too, but now I feel a wall of skill difference…”

Watching the holographic screen with an excited expression, Lee Minyoung suddenly felt a wave of emotion well up inside her.

“I… I didn’t say it earlier, but honestly… it was really dangerous. When the tanker gets neutralized, the party’s combat sustainability drops sharply… I really thought today could be impossible… sniff.”

-“Wait, is she crying?”

-“Out of nowhere?”

-“Oh my God, lolololol.”

-“If you’re going to cry, at least do it dramatically in three parts for maximum drama.”

-“You’re insane lolol.”

-“Hey, be serious. Don’t tease her when she’s crying lol.”

“Sniff! With the tanker back in action, Utopia is picking up speed! Now Utopia spreads its wings!!!”

Raising her arms triumphantly, tears streaming down her face, Lee Minyoung cheered.

-“Uh, excuse me, but you’re the one spreading wings here, not them lol.”

-“Why are YOU the one spreading wings lololol.”

-“Lmao, this broadcast is so spicy! It’s way more fun than the usual ones.”

-“Sorry, Se-hee, but this is just talent. Some walls can’t be climbed lol.”

Watching all this unfold, Shin Se-hee looked bewildered.

‘…Okay, even if the pace slowed down a little, it wasn’t THAT bad.’

Kang Do-hee’s Avatar of Fire skill was still in reserve. Jin Yuha’s Transcendence was also untouched.

And while it was true Lee Yoo-ri hadn’t been actively involved until now, her absence hadn’t significantly hampered progress.

The team had just been focusing more on analyzing the gate up to this point.

Still, seeing Lee Min-young crying and celebrating with arms raised…

‘Hmm… Did I really make the right hire?’

That thought crossed her mind involuntarily.