[3]
[2]
[1]
[Start!]
[Kwak Ji-cheol: 100%] vs [Ilgong: 100%]
[Crystal: 0%]
As soon as the match started, Kwak Ji-cheol swung his staff.
A large earthen disc formed and was placed on the ground, and as he mounted it, two hands rose from the earth to support and swiftly transport him.
He quickly climbed to the top of the layered cliff as if he was surfing the waves.
“Found it.”
Kwak Ji-cheol’s eyes flashed as he quickly scanned his surroundings.
He had already pinpointed the location of the crystal.
Such small luck was quite a good thing for him.
He swiftly moved again while riding the earthen disc.
Meanwhile, Ilgong’s speed was barely more than a walk.
He appeared to be taking a relaxed stroll rather than taking part in a duel battle.
Kwak Ji-cheol also glanced in his opponent’s direction from time to time with a puzzled expression on his face. It was as if he was troubled by the fact that he had yet to catch a glimpse of Ilgong’s bald head.
However, it was time to focus on his task.
Retrieve the crystal and head straight to the sanctuary.
Whirrrrr
[Crystal: 1%]
When the sanctuary and the crystal connected with a thick beam of light, Ilgong who had been leisurely walking turned his gaze towards it.
The thick beam indicated that Kwak Ji-cheol was at the other end.
Only then did Ilgong pick up his pace slightly, but he still didn’t appear hurried.
[Crystal: 28%]
By the time Ilgong finally confronted Kwak Ji-cheol, the crystal charging was already significantly underway.
He clasped his hands together and smiled gently.
“I apologize for being a bit late.”
“A bit late? You’re very late.”
Kwak Ji-cheol also wore a relaxed smile.
He was simply grateful that Ilgong had arrived late.
Thanks to this, he had been able to make thorough preparations.
The entire area had already been fortified with all sorts of earthen magic.
Layer upon layer of reinforced stone walls surrounded Kwak Ji-cheol, along with two golems and an earth cluster.
Ilgong still maintained his gentle smile and took in the scene slowly before addressing Kwak Ji-cheol.
“Then I shall make my move.”
“Come as much as you like.”
When Ilgong gathered his internal energy, his entire body took on a subtle golden glow, and Kwak Ji-cheol’s earth cluster gradually increased its rotation speed.
Papapat!
Ilgong swiftly launched three golden energy blasts, but one of the stone walls rose up as if alive, taking the hits and shattering in his place.
Then a new stone wall rapidly emerged to fill the gap.
Dudududu!
The earth cluster fired off dirt and gravel bullets.
Ilgong countered with his twin palms, but there were more projectiles than he could deflect, and the remaining ones weakly struck his body.
[Kwak Ji-cheol: 100%] vs [Ilgong: 99%]
Booom!
Moreover, the two golems swung their massive fists.
They were very slow and simple, making them easy to dodge, but getting hit even once could be fatal.
Therefore, Ilgong couldn’t afford to ignore them completely.
Dududududududu!
With his attention divided, more earthen bullets hit his body and caused cumulative damage.
[Ilgong: 97%]
[Ilgong: 95%]
[Ilgong: 94%]
[Crystal: 41%]
From the safety of his fortress, Kwak Ji-cheol displayed his typical combat style by using the golems and earth cluster to launch a one-sided attack.
“…….”
However, the expressions of Dang Gyu-yeong, Song Cheon-hye, and Hong Yeon-hwa who were watching the match were not very bright.
“This isn’t good.”
“It’s gotten much tougher.”
Kwak Ji-cheol was indeed holding a one-sided advantage.
But it was only one-sided, not overwhelming.
As a mage, he had prepared more than enough to face his opponent, but if all he achieved was a slight advantage, it was not something to be pleased about.
[Ilgong: 92%]
[Ilgong: 91%]
For example, despite having bombarded him with countless earthen bullets for a long time, Ilgong’s health had barely decreased by 10%.
The faint golden aura emanating from Ilgong’s body minimized the damage.
It was a well-known protective technique called the Demonic Buddha Shadow Vajra Energy and it was renowned for its toughness.
Even the Hummingbird was blocked by that.
Although the Hummingbird’s power was only E-rank when it was copied by Song Cheon-hye, it was perfectly blocked without causing even the slightest paralysis effect.
This was a clear demonstration of the protective technique’s performance.
Dududududududu!
[Ilgong: 90%]
Kwak Ji-cheol realized that his attacks weren’t dealing any significant damage, and anxiety began to show on his face.
However, it seemed he had no effective means of attack left.
All he could do was throw in a few earth-type spells to hinder his opponent.
“…”
In contrast, Ilgong remained calm and continued deflecting incoming earthen bullets and dodging the golems’ punches.
If the move he was about to make could overcome this situation,
That guy is just going to get wrecked.
It was a critical moment.
Sure enough, Ilgong suddenly twisted his body between the two golems’ attacks.
When he stretched out one hand and pushed forward, it seemed to grow two or three times larger in an instant.
[Great Hand Seal]
Bang!
The upper body of one golem was blown away.
The remaining rubble collapsed helplessly.
Ilgong then quickly stepped forward, dodged the second golem’s attack, and struck the stone wall layered behind it.
When he saw this, Kwak Ji-cheol let out a scornful laugh but it didn’t last long.
Thud!
“Ugh?”
Kwak Ji-cheol’s waist was bent in half.
It was as if someone had punched him hard in the abdomen.
[Kwak Ji-cheol: 92%] vs. [Ilgong: 89%]
Thud!
“Ugh.”
Another heavy hit echoed, and Kwak Ji-cheol clutched his abdomen.
[Kwak Ji-cheol: 83%] vs. [Ilgong: 89%]
His eyes were filled with pain and disbelief.
How could his opponent have managed to cause him harm despite the thick, multiple layers of walls he had erected?
Meanwhile, I understood the situation at a glance and nodded.
The bald guy really learned well.
It was the “hunting cattle across the mountain” technique.
Just like the saying of “hitting a cow with a mountain in between”, this martial art allowed damage to be delivered to a distant target by striking an object in front of it.
Though his proficiency seemed quite low for such an advanced martial art, it was more than enough to beat up a powerless mage.
No matter how many layers of walls were built, they couldn’t protect him which made Ilgong the perfect counter to Kwak Ji-cheol.
Thud!
“Ugh.”
[Kwak Ji-cheol: 77%] vs. [Ilgong: 88%]
Kwak Ji-cheol’s health was visibly dropping.
In fact, it had turned into a slugfest, meaning there was no chance of winning as things stood.
[Crystal: 65%]
The best option now was to somehow charge the remaining energy.
Kwak Ji-cheol quickly made his decision and swung his hand broadly.
The stone walls, golems, and earth clusters simultaneously shattered and surged toward Ilgong like a tidal wave.
Whooooosh—!
While buying some time, he climbed onto a dirt disc and slid away.
[Crystal 68%]
[Crystal 69%]
Almost there. He just needed to hold on a little longer.
Kwak Ji-cheol tried to calm himself with these thoughts but he soon widened his eyes in shock.
“What the hell!”
He had spotted Ilgong right nearby. The latter had somehow caught up to him.
He hadn’t even sensed Ilgong’s approach, so he noticed too late.
Even now, he could barely feel Ilgong’s presence, but when he looked down, he saw that while he was swiftly moving on then earthen disc, Ilgong was simply standing on his two legs.
This meant that although Ilgong’s feet weren’t moving, they were traveling at the same speed.
It was an application of the Immovable Wisdom King Step, but Kwak Ji-cheol seemed unaware of this fact.
As Kwak Ji-cheol was on the verge of losing his mind, Ilgong calmly suggested,
“Benefactor, let’s stop here.”
Of course, Kwak Ji-cheol didn’t listen to those words, so Ilgong smiled bitterly and extended his hand forward as if he had no choice.
Thud!
Kwak Ji-cheol was thrown off the earthen disc and rolled across the ground.
He swung a fist made of clumped earth at the approaching Ilgong, but once again, it was easily blocked and he was thrown back.
Thud!
[Kwak Ji-cheol: 61%] vs [Ilgong: 88%]
As Kwak Ji-cheol staggered to his feet, Ilgong slowly approached and once more gently suggested,
“Will you hand over the crystal?”
“Heh, heh heh… I’d rather…”
Kwak Ji-cheol let out a low laugh.
The emerald on his staff glowed with a brilliant green light, causing the area to tremble as if an earthquake had struck.
Finally, he stomped the ground forcefully and shouted,
“I’d rather… forfeit—!”
Boom—!
The earth overturned, and a tidal wave of dirt, gravel, and rocks surged towards Ilgong.
Ilgong watched this with a calm gaze, then raised his energy.
The golden aura of his entire body concentrated into his outstretched palm, making his hand appear two to three times larger.
[Great Vajra Hand Seal]
A huge golden force shot forward.
Boom—!
A tidal wave of dirt collapsed, and Kwak Ji-cheol’s body was pushed back a long distance.
He barely managed to stand and glared at his opponent with a look of resentment before his vision blurred and he collapsed backward.
Ilgong hurriedly approached and supported him.
“It was a good match.”
[Kwak Ji-cheol Lose] vs [Ilgong Win]
***
“I’m sorry.”
As soon as Kwak Ji-cheol regained consciousness, he bowed his head.
Having asked to be sent first only to return defeated, he had no face to show to Dang Gyu-young who had trusted him.
Dang Gyu-young looked down at Kwak Ji-cheol’s head with indifferent eyes and asked a question.
“You did your best, right?”
“Yes.”
“You tried every means available?”
“Yes.”
“Do you think you’d lose again if you fought him?”
“…Yes.”
“Then that’s fine.”
“……?
When Kwak Ji-cheol looked up, his eyes asked, “Aren’t you mad?” and Dang Gyu-young responded.
“If you did your best, who could say otherwise? You can improve your skills from now on. We’ll review the match later. For now, go rest.”
“…Yes.”
Kwak Ji-cheol was a bit moved and he went to a corner.
Dang Gyu-young then approached me and whispered.
“Kim Ho, be honest. You were expecting a 3-0 bus ride, right?”
“It would be a lie to say I wasn’t.”
Of course, it would have been great if Kwak Ji-cheol had won.
But once the match started, Ilgong’s skills had risen so sharply from before that I gave up on that idea a long time ago.
As a result, the current score was 1-1. Two matches remained.
“You’ll have to show your skills too.”
“Of course. But besides Bukgong Han-seol, hasn’t the last participant been revealed yet?”
“Well, I need to ask about that too.”
Dang Gyu-young showed me the chat screen.
To communicate with the other side, she had no choice but to unblock Kim Gap-doo on her phone.
[Dang Gyu-young: Hey, when is your last person coming?]
[Kim Gap-doo: Not here yet ㅠ.ㅠ Almost there though… Just a bit]
[Dang Gyu-young: So who is it?]
[Kim Gap-doo: It’s a secret! I’ll tell you when they arrive! Haha]
[Kim Gap-doo: (cute frog emoji)]
[Kim Gap-doo: (cute frog emoji)]
“I feel like blocking him again …”
Dang Gyu-young muttered to herself and clenched her fist as if she wanted to punch the frog.
I completely agreed with her muttering.
So that’s the kind of character that senior is.
Anyway, since one thing was certain, Dang Gyu-young asked.
“Next is Bukgong Han-seol for sure. Who’s going to go against her?”
“……”
Hong Yeon-hwa cautiously looked at me, as if she was seeking my approval.
I wasn’t sure why she was asking me instead of her mentor sitting right next to her, but even I thought it would be better for her to face Bukgong Han-seol.
The match against the 900-pointer in the fourth round might not be a good fit for Hong Yeon-hwa.
When I signaled my approval with a nod, Hong Yeon-hwa responded with a nod of her own and raised her hand.
“I’ll go.”
“That sounds good. Should we ask for a handicap?”
Since Kim Gap-doo’s team had one more 900-pointer, we had previously agreed to apply a handicap in one match.
However, Hong Yeon-hwa slowly shook her head.
“It’s okay, we don’t need that.”
Her voice was brimming with confidence.
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