Chapter 362: 1stWeek Rematch Part 5

Song Cheon-hye simply shrugged her shoulders without responding.

“……”

“Why are you crying?”

I poked her a few more times with the sapling, and only then did she mumble a reply.

“…wasn’t…”

“What?”

“…I said I wasn’t crying.”

Eventually, Song Cheon-hye staggered to her feet.

When I looked at her face, it was clear she hadn’t actually cried, but it also looked like she had just barely held back the tears at the last second.

After taking a few deep breaths to steady herself, Song Cheon-hye faced me and spoke.

“I have something to ask.”

“What is it?”

“Did it really have to be like this? We could’ve had a proper fight.”

“Sure, we could’ve. But did we have to?”

I threw her own words right back at her.

There were plenty of ways to beat someone up.

I could’ve used Spiral Explosion, or blasted her around with Wind Force.

But a straightforward fight meant exchanging blows, and that was always more of a hassle.

Running around and stacking debuffs with the mutual destruction eye was much easier, wasn’t it?

There was no reason to reveal all my cards this early anyway.

This wouldn’t be the last time I’d face off against Song Cheon-hye in a duel battle.

We’d keep seeing each other, and the disciplinary committee members might share information too. So revealing all my skills and traits now would be the worst strategy.

And the last, most important reason was—

Because it pissed her off more.

After all, someone else’s frustration was my joy.

From the beginning, Wind Force and the mutual-destruction eye were skills designed for that very purpose.

If I hadn’t meant to get under her skin, I would’ve chosen something else..

Of course, I only said the first reason out loud, but even that seemed to rub Song Cheon-hye the wrong way, as her eyebrows drew together in a frown.

“So you’re going to keep doing things this way, then.”

“If I can help it. Still, you never know. A situation might come up where I have to fight head-on.”

Like in a crystal duel, where movement could be restricted, or in a team-based match with two or more people.

In that case, running away alone wouldn’t be ideal. It’d make more sense to protect your teammates.

On the other hand, judging by her expression, Song Cheon-hye seemed to interpret my words as a challenge: “Try creating a situation where I have no choice but to fight head-on,” or “Try cornering me.”

“Understood. I’ll remember that.”

“Alright. So, are we continuing this?”

We glanced over at the scoreboard.

[Kim Ho 100% vs. Song Cheon-hye 82%]

[Time remaining: 3:35]

Like being soaked by a drizzle, the damage had steadily accumulated, and there wasn’t much time left.

Considering she hadn’t managed to shave off even 1% of my health so far, it was safe to say a comeback was unlikely.

Even so, Song Cheon-hye clenched her fists with a resolute expression.

Sparks crackled from her black gloves.

“Of course we’re continuing.”

Flaaash!

At that moment, a halo of light enveloped her body.

It meant she had removed the debuffs using [Purification].

The odds of success should’ve been pretty low, but I guess luck was on her side this time.

I silently nodded.

“Yeah, you’ve got spirit at least.”

[The target has been afflicted with the ‘Weathering (C)’ status effect.]

And then I cast the mutual-destruction eye again.

“Argh! Again?!”

“Catch me if you can.”

“Get back here!!”

“Now you’re not even using honorifics.”

“I said stop!!”

I spun around and ran off again, and Song Cheon-hye chased after me, hurling lightning bolts in every direction.

Boom! Crash!

Thunder rumbled across the battlefield without pause.

***

The chase continued on, but no unexpected turn came in the end.

[Time remaining: 0:04]

“Ah…”

Up until then, Song Cheon-hye had been chasing me like she meant to kill me, but she gradually began to slow down. Eventually, she trudged to a stop and came to a complete halt.

She stared blankly at the scoreboard, stunned.

It was as if she wished time would freeze, but the timer heartlessly continued its countdown until it hit zero,

And the match result appeared.

A decision victory due to time running out.

[Kim Ho Win]

vs

[Song Cheon-hye Lose]

[839+87 points in the duel battle match]

I took a lot from her.

There must have been a significant point gap between us, and it looked like I earned bonus points for getting revenge.

The score I had started with in the first semester—just 300—had now climbed into the upper tier, somewhere in the 900s.

In contrast, Song Cheon-hye’s face had gone pale.

“E-Eighty points…?”

She looked like she’d just lost her entire country.

She may have accepted the loss, but she clearly hadn’t expected to lose that many points.

That must sting.

Eighty-seven points from a top-ranked student were worth far more than eighty-seven from a lower tier.

Mid-to-lower ranks were usually matched with students at a similar level, but those dominating the top tier rarely had to face each other.

Most of the time, they went against lower-ranked opponents and only earned 15 or 20 points per win.

She had painstakingly built up nearly 1,100 points over the first semester, only to lose a huge chunk of it in a single defeat.

It was going to take a lot of effort to recover from this.

Of course, the real reason Song Cheon-hye seemed furious didn’t appear to be the lost points. But the fact that I had toyed with her for ten whole minutes.

As I stepped onto the teleportation circle, she stopped me.

“Hey!”

“What?”

“…Let’s go again.”

“You want a rematch?”

“Yes.”

“We’ll probably run into each other again soon.”

It wouldn’t be long before our scores aligned again.

But Song Cheon-hye insisted.

“R-Right now.”

“You mean like a duel?”

“Even a sparring match is fine.”

“No thanks.”

Of course, I turned her down without a second thought.

What possible benefit would there be in accepting a sparring match?

Even if she offered an item as a match fee, it just didn’t appeal to me.

Sometimes, information was more valuable than any item.

Still, I figured I could leave a little room for negotiation, so I shrugged.

“If you really want to, use a Wish Ticket.”

“I don’t have a Wish Ticket.”

“Then win one. Beat me in a bet.”

Of course, she’d have to get rid of all my Wish Tickets first.

For reference, I still had two small Wish Tickets and one large one.

I thought she’d drop it out of sheer frustration by this point, but to my surprise, Song Cheon-hye nodded without much hesitation.

“…Let’s do it. A bet.”

“Didn’t you say you hate those?”

“I changed my mind.”

In other words, she was willing to do even something she disliked just to face me again.

Her light brown eyes blazed with determination.

In contrast, I maintained a nonchalant attitude.

“Well, I don’t really have anything worth betting right now.”

“Just pick something. Anything.”

“Anything, really?”

Like predicting the breakfast menu the day after tomorrow or guessing the next team match event.

Of course, I was confident I could win no matter what it was.

But Song Cheon-hye didn’t seem to feel the same. She flinched and took a step back.

“…Let me correct that. Not just anything.”

“At least I know you’re serious. I’ll let you know when I see a good opportunity.”

“I hope you don’t make me wait too long.”

“Of course not.”

I answered with a broad grin.

There was no way I’d make her wait long.

This was a golden opportunity to get a Wish Ticket.

***

[Wang Bin 95% vs Seo Ye-in 98%]

Seo Ye-in stood in the middle of a ruined building, staring blankly as she slowly took in her surroundings.

Collapsed walls and pillar stumps surrounded her on all sides.

For a marksman, this abundance of cover was bad news.

Her opponent could use it as a shield to close the distance without being seen.

And just as Kim Ho had predicted, “Wang Bin” really was Wang Cheon-sam.

That meant her opponent belonged to the Assassin class. He was someone who could use this terrain better than anyone.

If it had been the usual Wang Cheon-sam, he would have hidden his skills and approached the duel as an assassin should. But he owed Seo Ye-in a debt.

He wanted to get revenge for the beating he took in the glacier zone duel.

And, as a bonus, he wanted to see just how much stronger he’d become.

So the match had been agreed upon in secret, and Wang Cheon-sam was going all out.

He could pop out from anywhere at any time, and a surprise attack like that would be devastating for a gunslinger with weak defenses.

“……”

Even so, there wasn’t a hint of tension on Seo Ye-in’s face.

As always, she maintained a detached, indifferent expression.

She gently patted the pot sitting on her head, then once again scanned her surroundings.

Seo Ye-in had a gift. She had eyes.

Eyes that could see far more than others ever could.

And those eyes had grown even sharper over the past month.

That was thanks to the Underworld Dragon King, who had stuck close by her side during the second mentoring period and taught her personally.

– Niece, it seems you’re finally starting to get ready.

The power was so immense that, when her core was still below C-rank, it had been too much for her to handle.

Because of that, neither the Underworld Dragon King nor the chairman had dared to intervene recklessly.

But now that she had reached B-rank, the burden was far lighter, and it was finally time for her to take her first real steps.

With steady training here and there, Seo Ye-in had learned to use her eyes more efficiently and with much greater skill.

“……”

Her gray pupils collected all kinds of information.

Things like the flow of the wind or the drifting of dust. Those seemingly trivial and meaningless details.

But all of that came together to reveal one key piece of information:

The airflow near the pillar in front of her was ever so slightly unnatural.

As expected, Wang Cheon-sam was hiding there.

The moment Seo Ye-in’s gaze settled in his direction, he felt it.

She’s spotted me.

He didn’t know how she did it, but she had seen right through his concealment.

Even if he changed locations, there was a high chance he’d be discovered again.

In that case, it was best to act before it was too late.

Having thought this far, Wang Cheon-sam kicked off the ground and charged at Seo Ye-in.

Whooosh!

In a single breath, the distance between them closed.

At the same time, Wang Cheon-sam unleashed a thrust as fast as a bolt of light.

It looked as though Seo Ye-in’s heart might be pierced by the steel blade at any moment.

Clang!

But in the final instant, something Seo Ye-in thrust forward blocked the attack.

It was the pot she had just been wearing on her head.

Wang Cheon-sam’s eyes widened in shock and disbelief.

“What—?”

He had put his sword energy into that strike. How could it possibly be blocked by nothing more than a kitchen utensil?

Shouldn’t it have gone straight through or at least split it in half?

No, maybe if he gave it a huge amount of benefit of the doubt, it could be blocked.

If the pot was made from ten-thousand-year cold iron or something, its durability might be that high.

But what truly baffled him was the fact that Seo Ye-in hadn’t budged an inch from her spot.

Given the difference in close combat ability between a swordsman and a gunslinger, shouldn’t she have at least staggered back a few steps from the clash?

Of course, Wang Cheon-sam had no way of knowing.

That the pot was made of adamantite, boasting such formidable defense that it could block not just sword energy, but even reinforced aura.

Nor could he have known it even carried the A+ rank trait [Impact Nullification].

Seo Ye-in’s gray eyes gleamed as she spoke a single word.

“Kim Ho is strong.”

Her tone was as indifferent as always, yet somehow it carried a hint of pride.

While she had perfectly defended with one hand, her other hand was already pointing a mana-powered gun straight at Wang Cheon-sam.

And before he could even react, it began to fire a continuous stream of blue flames.

Drrrrrrrrt!

“Graaaargh!!”