“How did you end up mentoring?”
“Pffft, were you surprised? Bet you were.”
Dang Gyu-young let out a cheerful laugh.
“They said they’d cut me some slack on the penalties if I mentored. Seemed like the better option when I thought about it.”
“How much did they cut?”
“All of it.”
I nodded my head in understanding.
It makes sense if they waived everything.
Given that she had broken into the temporary storage and tampered with a bunch of prohibited items, the penalties must have been substantial. But if all of that is waived, the hassle of mentoring seems well worth it.
Still, I hadn’t expected a complete waiver.
It seemed the disciplinary committee president Oh Se-hoon was more willing to make bold compromises than I thought.
“Let’s continue this conversation later. The others are waiting outside.”
Since only Hong Yeon-hwa was sent out of the arena, the longer Dang Gyu-young and I stay here, the more suspicious the three waiting outside will become.
It’s best to wrap this up quickly and head out.
However, I decided to make one more request before we began.
“I’d appreciate it if you could turn off the replay.”
Dang Gyu-young who had been observing me up until this point couldn’t possibly have misunderstood the implication of my words.
Turning off the replay meant I was willing to showcase skills that couldn’t be publicly displayed.
Dang Gyu-young seemed intrigued but also appeared to be weighing her options.
“Honestly, I’m curious… But, you know, I’m a mentor right now? I’m supposed to upload all the replays.”
It might have been different if it were just a duel, but mentoring was also in progress.
The academic authorities wanted to track the progress of the students; hence recording and submitting all replays was recommended.
While it wasn’t mandatory, aligning with this would reflect well on Dang Gyu-young’s mentoring performance, so it was best to comply where possible.
So I made another suggestion.
“How about we make this one unofficial, and then have an official match with the replays on, maybe with someone else joining us?”
“Should we?”
[Side Quest: 5th Week Duel Battles]
▷ Objective: Remove Stickers (0/3)
▷ Deadline: ~ midnight on Sunday.
▷ Reward: Varies based on the time of completion
The objective of this side quest was “to remove stickers”.
As long as I received the quest rewards, I could take my time with the duel itself.
It was a proposition that Dang Gyu-young couldn’t lose out on.
After all, this meant securing a replay that could be submitted to the academy.
After retrieving the replay modifier, she wiggled her finger at me.
“Come on, then.”
Her eyes were filled with anticipation as if she was wondering what she was about to see.
However, contrary to her expectations, I didn’t plan on showing much this time.
My intention was to end things swiftly.
[‘Amplification’ activated]
[The rank of ‘Overheat’ has been increased. (D->B)]
I cast [Inferno Fist],
And the flames burning from my fist were absorbed with [Overheat].
The effect of Overheat increases with the strength of the fire skill being absorbed and the rank of Overheat itself.
Since I used a B-rank Overheat with Inferno Fist, the outcome was bound to be significant.
Whoooosh.
A surge of immense power began to boil up inside me and start to run wild.
The force was overwhelming for my current physical capacity which meant that control might be a bit difficult.
That’s why I need to end it even more quickly.
I took my stance and kicked off the ground forcefully.
Thump!
In the span of a single breath, Dang Gyu-young’s figure came closer.
With another forceful kick against the ground I found myself right before her.
Dang Gyu-young seemed somewhat prepared, but her eyes widened in surprise as if she hadn’t anticipated such a turn of events.
“Wh-what?”
Ssssh!
In an instant, my figure flew past Dang Gyu-young, accompanied by the sound of something being torn away.
And before she knew it, a sticker was stuck to my hand.
Dang Gyu-young glanced at the sticker and then looked down to check her waist area.
Her side was conspicuously empty.
This is why I have to raise my rank.
Currently, Dang Gyu-young was wearing a bracelet that restricted all skills and traits to C-rank.
On the other hand, the rank of the Thief’s Step I had copied from Dang Gyu-young was B, and with the bonus from the shoes Seo Ye-in gave me, it was even at B+.
Even this alone made a huge difference in speed, not to mention the significant boost in physical abilities from Overheat.
Even when Overheat was at D-rank, I managed to play tag with the Black Death Squad leader without so much as a hair out of place, so it goes without saying that B-rank would be extraordinary.
I straightened my posture right away.
“I’ll take the next one.”
“Hey, hey, wait a minute. Just wait a minute.”
“There’s no ‘wait a minute’ in a match.”
Pop!
I shortened the space between us again and charged in.
As Dang Gyu-young hastily stepped back and traced her hand through the air, several shadow hands and feet sprang up from below, attempting to block me.
I gathered mana in my hand and struck down the encroaching shadow limbs forcefully.
Boom!
The shadows dispersed which sent a considerable shock to Dang Gyu-young as well.
A shock sufficient to cause a momentary stiffening of her body.
In that brief window, I swiftly circled around the shadows to flank Dang Gyu-young.
“……”
The experience she accumulated up to her third year wasn’t for naught as Dang Gyu-young quickly regained her composure.
She pushed the hand reaching for the sticker aside and tried to grab it back.
However, since I only pretended to reach out and retracted my hand, Dang Gyu-young grasped at nothing but air.
I reached out again and Dang Gyu-young responded again.
With the tiny distance of barely a step between us, our hands collided and tangled in a frenzy.
Then I suddenly took a step back,
Thud!
Upon seeing a shadow hammer strike where I had just been standing, I kicked off the ground with force and surged forward.
Pop!
Dang Gyu-young reacted instantly, but her defense was a fraction too slow; perhaps her body couldn’t keep up.
Ssssh!
I seized that slight delay to successfully peel off a second sticker.
As I backed off and slapped the stickers onto my body, Dang Gyu-young let out a hollow laugh.
“Wow, you’ve already taken two. But Kim Ho, you should give me some time to prepare.”
“The more time I give you, the more it disadvantages me.”
“Well, that’s true.”
The main reason I was able to easily remove the two stickers was because my speed was much faster than that of Dang Gyu-young, who was wearing a limiting bracelet. But it also mattered that I kept pressing the attack after she was caught off guard.
However, the last third sticker wouldn’t be so easy.
As Dang Gyu-young waved her hand gently, the shadows at her feet began to ripple like waves, expanding their reach.
It meant she was pushing the skill’s performance to the maximum limit of C-rank.
“I must have been too tense because of those kids earlier. Now that I think about it, you came out of the Black Death dungeon with only an injured hand. I should at least treat the final round with the respect it deserves.”
The shadows which continued to expand their range soon formed a square-shaped garden.
[Shadow Flower Garden]
Instead of flowers, limbs made of shadows sprouted abruptly with three butterflies flitting above as if scouting the area.
Even with her abilities capped at C-rank, Dang Gyu-young managed to create area magic and the addition of three butterflies.
It was a glimpse into Dang Gyu-young’s depth of power.
Yet, on the other hand, it was also quite a foolish move.
Spreading out all sorts of magic like that and just maintaining them would continuously drain her magical power in real-time.
Moreover, the [Shadow Flower Garden] is a highly defensive spell, so as long as I don’t invade its territory, Dang Gyu-young can’t harm me either.
From a distance, it seemed she would exhaust herself and retract the spell on her own.
But could Dang Gyu-young really be unaware of this?
After all, she was the one who cast the spell.
She met my gaze and smiled wryly.
“What’s the matter, not coming in?”
Her eyes sparkled with anticipation.
Her gaze seemed to say, “Surely you won’t just stand there doing nothing after I’ve gone to all this trouble?”
To be honest, I was the type to wait from a distance at such times.
While spicing up the wait with a bit of trash talk.
It was the most effective way to get under an opponent’s skin.
However, given that my opponent was Dang Gyu-young, it seemed wise to avoid such tactics for the sake of maintaining a long-term relationship.
I guess I’ll have to play along.
I confidently walked into the Shadow Flower Garden on my own accord.
As I stepped deliberately across the boundary, shadowy hands and feet attacked me from all directions at once.
Shadow fists clenched and swung, feet kicked or tried to trip, and hands reached out to grasp me.
I leaned and twisted my body this way and that to avoid the fists, jumped over or dodged the kicking feet, and struck back at the grabbing hands with a surge of mana.
Boom!
A brief scattering of shadows created a gap, through which I quickly advanced.
Shadow limbs from all around continued to swarm towards me.
It felt like I was facing off against ten or even twenty people at once.
No matter where I looked, the area was teeming with pitch-black shadows that were enough to overwhelm anyone.
But I was far too experienced and had been weathered by countless battles to be intimidated by such a sight.
Moreover, the situation wasn’t entirely to my disadvantage.
It’s often said that one hand cannot defeat ten, but the difference in skill rank still tipped the balance in my favor.
If one hand could muster the strength of ten, it was a challenge worth taking on.
I advanced steadily, calmly evading, dodging, and shaking off the shadowy limbs bit by bit.
After repeating this a few times and measuring the distance to Dang Gyu-young at the center of the garden,
Now might be the time to make a dash.
I was close enough that a single leap could bridge the gap between us.
I gathered strength in my legs and kicked off the ground forcefully.
Thump!
As if anticipating my move, Dang Gyu-young wore a triumphant smile.
Somehow, she had summoned all three shadow butterflies that had been fluttering around the garden to her front.
The butterflies exploded all at once, raining down all manner of sharp projectiles like a downpour.
This won’t do. Abort.
Thump!
I kicked the ground again and retreated to my previous position.
As I dodged and struck at the relentless shadow limbs without a moment’s rest,
Now really might be the time to leap.
Having used up the three butterflies, there would be a slight delay before they could be replenished.
Thump!
I leaped towards Dang Gyu-young once more.
She seemed astonished to see me moving in and out of her domain as if it were my own living room.
Even if she used her best moves at C-rank, she couldn’t bridge the rank difference.
Especially if it is me who has the upper hand in the ranks.
But she didn’t lose her fighting spirit and threw her fist toward me.
I sidestepped and deflected the incoming punch further to the side.
At the same time, I reached out for the sticker, but Dang Gyu-young tried to grab my hand, and when I slapped her hand away, she countered, leading to a rapid exchange of blows in mid-air.
The longer I stayed in one spot exchanging blows, the more at a disadvantage I found myself.
After all, Dang Gyu-young had countless shadow hands to assist her in addition to her own hands and feet.
I had to change my position again to avoid the encroaching shadows from behind.
Thud!
A single footprint was deeply imprinted on the ground.
The next moment, I appeared on the opposite side of Dang Gyu-young.
After forcefully batting away the shadow hands, I extended my hand forward as if to peel off the sticker.
“……?”
A fleeting look of puzzlement crossed Dang Gyu-young’s face, as she realized that even with my hand stretched out, there was still a considerable distance between us.
However, in the next instant,
Boom!
An explosion of compressed air from behind propelled Dang Gyu-young’s figure towards me in a flash.
From the moment I first set foot in the Shadow Realm, I had been secretly preparing the Wind Force bit by bit.
Dang Gyu-Young’s eyes widened in astonishment.
She tried to hastily regain her balance, but before she could, I took another step closer and reached out toward her chest.
The moment the edge of the sticker caught on my finger, I gripped it firmly and ripped it off with all my strength.
Riiip—crack.
“?”
A question mark popped up above my head.
I understood the sound of the sticker being torn, but what was that cracking noise?
But that wasn’t the only odd thing.
At the same time as the cracking sound, something the size of a fingernail shot towards my face.
What was this? A secret weapon of the Dang family?
I quickly tilted my head to the side to dodge and then retreated a fair distance.
And looking at Dang Gyu-Young,
“……”
Her face was twitching as if she was very, very upset.
Her cheeks appeared to be slightly flushed.
Was there another reason besides the sticker being completely removed?
On closer inspection, I noticed Dang Gyu-Young clutching at her shirt collar with one hand.
As if something terrible would happen if she let go.
That’s when I realized what had happened.
Ah, the button.
The sticker attached to her chest had been torn off with such force that it had ripped off a button from her school uniform shirt.
The object I had dodged, thinking it was a hidden weapon from the Dang family, was that button…
Did I overdo it?
I took a moment to reflect.
Then, Dang Gyu-Young’s voice reached my ears.
“Hey.”
In a tone lower and colder than usual.
I immediately bowed my head.
“I’m sorry.”
Leave a Reply