The Weapon Genius: Anything I Hold Can Kill-Chapter 61: Breaking Limits

The murmurs hadn't fully died down yet. Haneul was still standing in the center of the training grounds, gripping the staff tightly, his chest rising and falling with steady breaths. His expression was unreadable—half-shocked that he had won, half-unsure if he had actually done well.

Jin stepped forward, breaking the silence.

"You're good," he said.

Haneul's fingers flexed slightly around the staff. He didn't speak, just nodded.

Jin continued, his voice calm but firm. "Your form is strong. You're fast. You know exactly when to strike and where to hit."

He let that sit for a second before adding, "But you didn't use your skill once."

The praise that had been creeping into Haneul's expression faded slightly.

"You won this fight with technique alone," Jin said. "That won't be enough against stronger enemies."

Haneul's grip tightened. "I didn't need it," he admitted. "I just… focused on what I already knew."

"And that's the problem," Jin replied. "You're treating Shadow Step like it's separate from your combat style. Like it's something extra instead of something you should be using with every move."

Haneul swallowed, clearly thinking it over.

Seul spoke up from the side, her voice cool. "It makes sense. He's been training with a staff his whole life. He trusts that skill more than an ability he's only had for a couple of days."

Jin nodded. "That's exactly why you need to start incorporating it now. If you wait too long, you'll build bad habits—ones that'll get you killed later."

Haneul stayed quiet for a few seconds. Then, he nodded. It wasn't just agreement—it was a decision.

Jin could tell.

Echo yawned from where he was leaning against the watchtower. "You guys are making this too complicated. Kid still mopped the floor with Taesung, so he's doing something right."

Taesung, still sitting on the ground from the force of Haneul's final strike, let out a groan. "Yeah, yeah. We get it. Staff boy's strong."

Joon clapped his hands together. "Alright, then. Let's keep this going. Next fight."

Jin turned back toward the recruits.

"Pick an opponent," he said.

For a second, no one moved. Some of them were still processing what had just happened—watching one of their own dominate a fight in just two moves had clearly changed their expectations.

Then, someone stepped forward.

Jisoo.

She stretched her arms over her head, shaking out the tension in her muscles. "Alright, alright. I can't just watch everyone else have fun." She rolled her shoulders, grinning. "Let's see who's got the guts to go up against me."

A second later, Sujin stepped forward.

The two girls locked eyes.

Jisoo's grin widened. "Oh, this'll be fun."

Sujin didn't smile. She rubbed her hands together, a faint green glow pulsing under her fingertips—the sign of her Verdant Snare skill.

Jin's eyes flickered between them.

Speed versus control. This would be interesting.

"Step into the circle," he ordered.

The recruits cleared a space as Jisoo and Sujin took their positions, standing a few meters apart.

Jisoo bounced lightly on the balls of her feet, testing her balance. Sujin stayed still, her hands loose but prepared.

Jin looked between them, then raised a hand.

"Start."

Jisoo moved first.

The moment the word left Jin's mouth, she exploded forward in a blur of motion.

One second she was standing still. The next, she was already halfway across the space.

She was fast.

Too fast for an untrained eye to track.

Sujin barely had time to react before Jisoo closed the gap, aiming a quick kick at her ribs.

Sujin twisted at the last second, dodging, but just barely.

Jisoo smirked. "Close."

She disappeared again, reappearing a step to Sujin's left, already swinging another strike.

Sujin reacted faster this time, raising an arm to block, but the impact still made her stumble.

Jin watched carefully.

Sujin wasn't weak. Her Verdant Snare ability gave her the power to control vines—but she hadn't used them yet.

She was still trying to fight Jisoo normally.

That was a mistake.

Jisoo's speed was overwhelming. If Sujin didn't change her approach, she was going to lose.

Jisoo dashed in again, a blur of movement, going for a feint—she shifted left, then cut right at the last second, aiming a sharp palm strike at Sujin's side.

Sujin twisted, barely dodging.

And that's when Jin saw it.

Sujin wasn't just dodging randomly anymore.

She was watching.

Waiting.

Jisoo didn't notice—she was too focused on keeping the momentum.

She darted in again, aiming for a finishing move—a full-force strike meant to knock Sujin off balance.

And that was when Sujin acted.

She didn't dodge.

She didn't try to escape.

She took a step forward.

Jisoo's foot touched the ground—

And a thick vine lashed up from the dirt, catching her mid-step.

Jisoo's momentum broke instantly.

Her eyes widened. "What—"

Sujin didn't let her recover.

Another vine shot up from the ground, wrapping around Jisoo's wrist, yanking her off balance.

Jisoo stumbled—then hit the ground hard.

Silence.

Then—

"Damn," Joon muttered.

Jisoo groaned from the ground, blinking up at the sky.

Sujin exhaled slowly, stepping back, her vines retreating into the earth.

Jin nodded slightly.

That was good.

Sujin had struggled at first, but she had adapted. She figured out that she couldn't match Jisoo's speed—so she stopped trying.

Instead, she let Jisoo make a mistake.

Jin stepped forward.

"Jisoo," he said.

She groaned again. "Yeah, yeah. I lost."

"You relied too much on your speed. You thought she wouldn't catch you, and that's what got you caught."

Jisoo sat up, running a hand through her hair. "I won't let it happen again."

Jin turned to Sujin. "And you. You took too long to act. If you missed that last move, you would've lost."

Sujin lowered her gaze slightly but nodded.

Jin crossed his arms. "Both of you need to get better."

A pause. Then Jisoo grinned, stretching her arms again. "Well, at least I got to move around."

Taesung snorted. "Yeah, move straight into the dirt."

Jisoo flipped him off without looking.

The recruits started murmuring again, energy returning.

Jin exhaled.

One fight down. More to go.

He turned to the rest of them.

"Next fight."

And just like that, the tension returned.