Hong Yeon-hwa was dragged to the Ruby Magic Tower where she endured harsh trials.
She tried her best to explain herself, but being caught leaning comfortably against Kim Ho made it impossible for her to talk her way out of it.
On top of that, her explanation had plenty of issues.
– No, seriously, when you lean on him, you sleep really well!
– Hey! Hong Yeon-hwa! Are you out of your mind!?
– You should try it too!
– Yaaaaah!!
Thinking about it rationally, no one would believe a person had the properties of a perfect pillow for a good night’s sleep.
It would only sound like, “I like him.”
Hong Yeon-hwa realized this fact long after the argument with her sister had ended, just before going to bed.
That night, her mind was unusually clear…
Because of these overlapping misunderstandings, it seemed Hong Yeon-hwa would have to endure her sister’s suspicious glances for a while.
On the other hand, there had been some noticeable improvement in her skills.
Defensive magic.
Hong Yeon-hwa who had always focused solely on attack after attack had finally turned her attention to defense. This made Hong Ye-hwa overjoyed.
Though she wasn’t too thrilled that it was Kim Ho who had given her that advice.
The Ruby Magic Tower had no reason to withhold support for a promising student of their own, so they immediately provided Hong Yeon-hwa with everything she requested.
Two spellbooks from the [Barrier] series and one from the [Armor] series.
One of the [Barrier] books had arrived first, so Hong Yeon-hwa spent the last few days learning and practicing it.
And now.
She was in the arena, preparing for a match.
It was to test her new magic in a real battle and to finish the one remaining match.
“Hmph.”
A relaxed smile played on Hong Yeon-hwa’s lips.
She had gained a lot of confidence from mastering such powerful magic.
If she were to face Wang Cheon-sam again, she felt she could easily overwhelm him.
In truth, Kim Ho and Wang Cheon-sam were only exceptionally strong compared to their scores; any other opponent in the 600-point range would be no match for her.
Even if they ganged up on her, she was confident she could burn them all down.
However…
When the match was set and the names appeared on the scoreboard, the smile on Hong Yeon-hwa’s face slowly faded.
[Hong Yeon-hwa 714 points]
vs
[Seo Ye-in 730 points]
vs
[Kang Hee-chan 658 points]
Why…?
Why is my match luck always so miserable?
In the first match, an assassin and a monster appeared, and in the second, a marksman showed up.
Considering that mages were inherently weak against marksmen, this match was bound to be extremely difficult.
Hong Yeon-hwa glanced around and her eyes caught sight of someone with gray hair.
Seo Ye-in, and in front of her, Kim Ho.
Those two are always together.
They claimed they weren’t dating, but it was hard not to wonder when you see them like this.
Seo Ye-in occasionally nodded slightly while listening to whatever Kim Ho was saying.
Normally, she gave off a strong impression of wanting to quit everything and go to sleep, but today, she was brimming with energy for some reason.
It was clear she had the mindset of someone determined to win at all costs.
Having that gunslinger girl as her opponent was already bad luck, but on top of that, she was full of motivation.
For Hong Yeon-hwa, this was bad news.
Haah, such is my fate…
She let out a small sigh before stepping into the teleportation magic circle and entering the arena.
A volcanic zone surrounded by rivers of lava.
A volcano in one corner of her field of view seemed ready to erupt at any moment.
Across from her, two opponents appeared one after another.
For Hong Yeon-hwa, Kang Hee-chan was a stranger.
Judging by his longsword, he seemed to be a warrior type.
His cautious gaze was something Hong Yeon-hwa was used to receiving.
After all, it was widely known that she was a promising student.
Kang Hee-chan then glanced at Seo Ye-in and his brows furrowed slightly.
It seemed there was some bad blood between them.
Even so, he occasionally snuck side glances at her. While Kang Hee-chan tried to act as if nothing was happening, it was painfully obvious to Hong Yeon-hwa.
She is pretty, after all.
Even as a fellow woman, Hong Yeon-hwa couldn’t help but admire Seo Ye-in’s beauty, so she could only imagine how the men must feel.
The information she could gather from these subtle exchanges of glances was limited; the rest would have to be assessed once the match began.
Once everyone was ready, the countdown quickly started.
[3]
[2]
[1]
[Start!]
Boooom!
The volcano erupted, sending a rain of fireballs down from the sky.
While dodging the fireballs, all three kept their eyes on one another.
Hong Yeon-hwa immediately began chanting her spell.
Geometric symbols formed from mana floated in the air as a complex formula rapidly assembled itself into a completed spell.
Meanwhile, Seo Ye-in pulled something out and threw it over herself.
Swish—
Her figure became transparent and then completely vanished.
She had put on her invisibility ghillie suit.
Hong Yeon-hwa was so taken aback that she almost lost focus and disrupted her own spell.
Seriously, that’s just not fair…
Disappearing right at the start?
In a three-way battle, there really wasn’t a more efficient strategy than going invisible.
If there was no way to detect invisibility, the remaining two would have no choice but to fight each other.
And unfortunately, Hong Yeon-hwa had recently poured almost everything into offensive magic, so not only defensive magic, but she was lacking in utility spells as well.
As a result, there was no way for her to locate Seo Ye-in.
“…….”
It seemed the same situation applied to Kang Hee-chan on the opposite side.
Brainless swordsmen couldn’t help it.
Kang Hee-chan clearly wanted to avoid clashing with the promising student, but he had no choice.
Moreover, the more time he gave a mage, the more disadvantageous it would be for him, so he immediately kicked off the ground.
Thud!
Kang Hee-chan closed the distance at a terrifying speed.
However, despite facing him, there wasn’t a single hint of urgency on Hong Yeon-hwa’s face.
“Hmph.”
Just a step before he reached her, Hong Yeon-hwa’s spell was completed.
She had taken Kim Ho’s advice and practiced casting longer spells, yet still managed to cast it in an instant.
[Reverse Curtain]
Whoosh!
Flames erupted from beneath Hong Yeon-hwa’s feet and they formed a sphere that enveloped her.
When he saw this, Kang Hee-chan furrowed his brow.
“A barrier? What a useless move.”
He was a swordsman who could control mana as well.
If she thought a mere barrier could stop him, she was severely underestimating him.
Blue mana gathered at the longsword gripped in Kang Hee-chan’s hand.
As he swung it diagonally,
Slash!
The barrier instantly tore apart to reveal Hong Yeon-hwa.
With the next strike, he would be able to deal damage to her.
However—
Whoosh!
Flames surged from the torn barrier and spewed out like a flamethrower.
Kang Hee-chan’s entire body was engulfed in fire.
“What!”
The Reverse Curtain usually maintained the appearance of a regular barrier.
But the moment it was damaged, the energy forming the barrier reversed and inflicted harm on the attacker.
Despite being a defensive spell, it automatically counterattacked, which was exactly why Hong Yeon-hwa liked it so much.
[Kang Hee-chan: 99%]
[Kang Hee-chan: 96%]
[Kang Hee-chan: 94%]
Kang Hee-chan’s health steadily dropped as the flames consumed his body.
If it had been Wang Cheon-sam, he would have pressed the attack regardless, but Kang Hee-chan wasn’t that ruthless.
He decided to put out the fire first and create some distance, but that was a very poor decision.
It gave Hong Yeon-hwa plenty of time to cast her next spells.
The ruby on her wand glowed a deep red, and she pointed it at a descending fireball.
[Outburst]
Boom!
A large explosion erupted, covering the area where Kang Hee-chan had retreated.
He tried to escape the flames only to get caught in an even bigger blaze.
[Kang Hee-chan: 86%]
[Kang Hee-chan: 82%]
“Urgh…!”
It was only then that Kang Hee-chan realized he had been cornered.
In a state of desperation, he charged toward Hong Yeon-hwa once more.
Of course, Hong Yeon-hwa was fully prepared to face him.
[Fireball]
[Flame Arrow]
[Fireball]
[Fireball]
Dozens of fireballs and flame arrows, each the size of a fist, rained down on him.
“Kuaaah—!”
Kang Hee-chan slashed through some with his longsword and took others with his body as he desperately pushed forward, but there were far too many.
Even after enduring the barrage, dozens more were conjured.
She was linking multiple spells with frighteningly quick casting.
In the end, Kang Hee-chan never reached Hong Yeon-hwa. He fell into an incapacitated state and vanished from the arena.
[Hong Yeon-hwa: 100%]
vs
[Seo Ye-in: 100%]
vs
[Kang Hee-chan – %]
Despite defeating one opponent with ease, Hong Yeon-hwa’s expression remained far from bright.
In fact, she began casting spells in rapid succession with a more serious demeanor.
I need to be prepared.
That’s because the remaining opponent, Seo Ye-in, was much more powerful than Kang Hee-chan.
She covered the ground with magic circles and replenished her fireballs and flame arrows in abundance.
But Seo Ye-in wasn’t going to just stand by and watch.
Ratatatatatatata!
From somewhere, a barrage of magical bullets broke through the barrier and struck Hong Yeon-hwa.
“Gah.”
[Hong Yeon-hwa: 100%]
[Hong Yeon-hwa: 83%]
In an instant, her health had taken a significant hit.
There was no way she could block the magic bullets of a gunslinger with a barrier she had barely mastered in just a few days.
Moreover, the Reverse Curtain was actually a close-range defensive spell.
Flames erupted from the destroyed part, but the distance between them was too far for it to reach the enemy.
One way or another, she was at a disadvantage against a gunslinger.
“……”
Seo Ye-in soon revealed herself after deactivating her invisibility.
Her emotionless gray eyes were fixed on Hong Yeon-hwa.
Hong Yeon-hwa shouted in protest.
“That’s too unfair!”
“I’m taking you down.”
With a brief remark, Seo Ye-in charged forward.
At the same time, the assault rifle in her hands continuously spewed blue flames.
Ratatatatatata!
“Ugh.”
Hong Yeon-hwa felt tears welling up in her eyes as the magic bullets struck her again.
The chances of victory had already swung heavily in the enemy’s favor.
However, she wasn’t planning to go down easily.
She activated all the spells she had prepared in advance.
[Fire Pillar]
[Flame Arrow]
[Fireball]
Kwooooom!
Dozens of fireballs and flame arrows rained down, all aimed solely at Seo Ye-in.
The pillars of fire erupting everywhere further reduced the space to evade.
“……”
Yet Seo Ye-in simply stared at them with her still expression and slightly vacant eyes.
Just as the flames were about to engulf her body,
Flash!
Her gray eyes gleamed with a chilling light.
Everything in her sight seemed to slow down as if frozen in time.
She could even see each flaming fireball in vivid detail as they blazed toward her.
Soon, she spotted a tiny, almost imperceptible gap between the incoming fire spells and the towering pillars of flame.
And she calmly slipped through it using Feather Step.
In the next instant, her slowed perception returned to normal speed, and behind her, the fireballs crashed down, creating a massive explosion of flames.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Hong Yeon-hwa’s mouth fell slightly open.
She dodged all of that…?
Despite concentrating so much firepower, she hadn’t expected not to land even a single Fireball.
Hong Yeon-hwa pouted as she found herself staring down the barrel of Seo Ye-in’s gun.
Why… Why…?
Why can’t I ever be happy…?
The magic rifle roared again and started spewing blue flames.
Ratatatatatata!!
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