Kwak Ji-cheol frowned as he looked at Kim Ho on the opposite side.
“Talk about bad luck. Getting him in the first match of all people.”
“Is it really something to be that pessimistic about?”
Dam Dae-han asked, sounding genuinely puzzled.
“I don’t know much about him, but I think I’ve heard rumors that he’s a coward. If that’s true, I’d say it works in our favor.”
“…Yeah, that rumor did go around.”
Kwak Ji-cheol gave a bitter smile.
He remembered going in thinking the guy really was a coward only to get thoroughly beaten.
Baek Jun-seok joined the conversation.
“Rumors are never reliable, especially the old ones. From what I’ve seen with my own eyes, he’s not someone to take lightly.”
Lee Seul-bi also gave her opinion.
“Whatever else is uncertain, the score doesn’t lie. You don’t just break a thousand points by luck.”
“…Fair enough.”
At that, even Dam Dae-han seemed to accept it.
Just then, Kim Ho cheerfully waved at them, making gestures as if trying to say something.
Kwak Ji-cheol seemed to catch the meaning and checked his messages.
“…He’s asking if we can make this match private.”
“What did you say?”
“Haven’t replied yet. It’s not something I can decide on my own.”
To make the match private, all five participants had to agree.
Even one objection would make it impossible.
And from the looks of it, more than one person was already against the idea.
Dam Dae-han and Lee Seul-bi both chimed in.
“I get that he’s strong, but replays are a separate issue. I don’t see any reason to grant that request.”
“There’s no merit to making it private.”
If the match is public, they at least earn a trickle of points. But private? They get nothing.
And it’s not like the other side is offering any compensation.
Still, Kwak Ji-cheol decided to ask just in case.
[Kwak Ji-cheol: What do we get out of making it private?]
[Kim Ho: Less embarrassment]
He could more or less guess what that meant.
Yeah, if we get wrecked in a 4-on-1, it’s gonna be humiliating.
Even more so if the whole thing gets recorded and replayed.
If anyone else had said something like that, he probably would’ve scoffed.
But coming from that guy, it didn’t sound entirely ridiculous.
Still, was it really worth sharing with Dam Dae-han and Lee Seul-bi?
Kwak Ji-cheol thought it over for a moment, then made a decision.
…Better not.
Unlike him, they hadn’t experienced getting beaten down by Kim Ho firsthand, so that kind of taunt wouldn’t feel threatening to them.
It’d probably just sour the mood.
[Kwak Ji-cheol: Doesn’t seem doable]
[Kim Ho: Got it]
[Kim Ho: Can’t be helped]
Dam Dae-han asked,
“What did he say?”
“He said it’s fine.”
“Guess he was just testing the waters.”
“Probably. Let’s leave it at that and come up with a strategy.”
Lee Seul-bi said nonchalantly.
“Seems like we can go with the textbook approach.”
The idea was for the two melee fighters to pin down Kim Ho while the two mages poured in firepower.
Dam Dae-han nodded in agreement.
“For now, that looks like our best bet. No reason to gamble when we’ve got the advantage.”
Kwak Ji-cheol added a word of advice.
“Sounds good, but prepare large-scale spells with the widest range possible.”
“But won’t that hit the vanguard too?”
The rest of the team raised doubts, but Kwak Ji-cheol insisted more firmly.
“Take the hit. That’s the only way we’ll be able to land anything on him.”
“…Alright, I’ll trust you on this one.”
Though she could’ve shut him down with a “Who are you to be giving orders with your low score?”, Lee Seul-bi didn’t.
In situations like this, she believed it was better to follow the advice of someone with experience.
Soon, the four members of the attack team were ready, and the countdown began.
[3]
[2]
[1]
[Start!]
[Kim Ho 100%]
vs
[Baek Jun-seok 100%]
[Kwak Ji-cheol 100%]
[Dam Dae-han 100%]
[Lee Seul-bi 100%]
[Time Remaining: 3:59]
Kim Ho began approaching at a brisk pace.
Seeing this, Dam Dae-han let out a small exclamation.
“So the rumors really can’t be trusted.”
If he were the coward people said he was, he would’ve turned and run the moment the match began.
But instead, he seemed to be aiming for a head-on confrontation despite the 4-on-1 odds.
Which was, ironically, exactly what the attack team wanted.
They closed the distance as they advanced to meet him.
Soon, Kwak Ji-cheol and Lee Seul-bi came to a halt and began chanting their spells.
They must’ve judged that the enemy had entered casting range.
Mana gathered as complex spell formations took shape.
Tiny clumps of earth floated around Kwak Ji-cheol, while droplets of water hovered around Lee Seul-bi.
Meanwhile, Kim Ho and the melee fighters accelerated, charging straight at each other.
Baek Jun-seok slashed twice with lightning speed.
Twin sword strikes flew in an X pattern, but Kim Ho zigzagged to dodge them with ease.
Right after, Dam Dae-han closed in and launched a punch, but Kim Ho slipped past him effortlessly.
At the same time, wind began to gather and compress in Kim Ho’s hand.
He’s targeting me.
Baek Jun-seok immediately raised his shield and summoned his mana.
But in the next instant, Kim Ho suddenly spun and struck Dam Dae-han who had been chasing behind him.
Boom!
Dam Dae-han’s body shot backward like a cannonball.
[Dam Dae-han 100% → 97%]
Then Kim Ho pointed his staff toward the mages.
A thick wall of ice erupted in front of them.
Kwak Ji-cheol and Lee Seul-bi exchanged a few quick words.
“Looks like he’s trying to block our line of sight.”
“Yeah, that’s what it looks like.”
If their vision was obstructed, then even if they completed the spell, it wouldn’t manifest. At least, that was the calculation.
Of course, for skilled mages, this level of interference was hardly an obstacle.
They continued their incantations while circling around the ice wall.
But just then, something semi-transparent and dumpling-shaped flew right up to Kwak Ji-cheol.
“…A spirit?”
Boom!
Compressed air exploded, slamming him hard into the ice wall.
There was a dull thud as his head hit it.
Seeing the Sylph approaching her next, Lee Seul-bi realized it.
The Ice Wall was just a decoy.
It had blocked their vision and drawn their attention, all to let the spirit get close.
Bang!
Lee Seul-bi was hit by Wind Force in the same way, smacking her head against the ice wall.
Naturally, the spell was canceled.
Meanwhile, Dam Dae-han who had been sent flying was now charging forward at full speed.
Kim Ho glanced briefly over his shoulder and looked at him.
A string of notification messages popped up.
[The ‘Poisoning’ status effect has been applied.]
[The ‘Poisoning’ status effect has…]
[Poisoned status…]
[Dam Dae-han 97% → 94% → 91%]
When the hell did he poison me?!
Was it when he got hit with that technique?
Or had he stepped on something without noticing?
Either way, the questions didn’t matter.
Boom!
In the end, the result was the same. He was sent flying backward once again.
“You bastard—!”
His shout quickly faded into the distance.
Baek Jun-seok swung his sword while shifting his shield, but there was no way Kim Ho would just let himself get hit.
Dodging effortlessly, Kim Ho cast two skills in quick succession.
Whoooosh—
A vortex gathered tightly around Baek Jun-seok, compressing rapidly.
At the same time, wind was also compressing around Kim Ho.
It felt like something terrible would happen if it wasn’t stopped.
“Damn it.”
But there was nothing he could do.
All he could do was swing his sword uselessly at empty air.
It’s about to blow.
Sensing the danger, Baek Jun-seok ducked behind his shield again and wrapped himself in mana.
Boom!
But the spiral explosion’s shield-piercing effect shattered his defense completely.
With his guard broken, Kim Ho extended a hand toward him, releasing a fully charged Destructive Gale.
Whoooooooooooooosh—!
“……..!”
The overwhelming force left Baek Jun-seok feeling his consciousness begin to fade.
In the end, he lost hold of his shield, dropped to his knees, and vanished into a burst of radiant light.
Kim Ho immediately moved with Featherstep.
Shwish, shwish, shwish—!
Pebbles and water bullets rained down on the spot where he had just been.
The ones who had launched them, of course, were Kwak Ji-cheol and Lee Seul-bi.
They clicked their tongues and muttered comments under their breath.
“Didn’t I say it wouldn’t hit?”
“There wasn’t any other way.”
Boom! Boom!
Even now, Sylphid was circling the area, relentlessly firing off wind magic.
They were barely holding it back with layers of barriers, but maintaining this defense while trying to chain a large-scale spell didn’t look easy.
So, they were throwing out suppression attacks as a temporary measure.
Baek Jun-seok is down. Dam Dae-han has to pull through……
[Dam Dae-han 77% → 73% → 70%]
At some point, the poison had started stacking, and his health was visibly dropping in real time.
He likely wouldn’t last much longer.
Knowing that himself, Dam Dae-han looked even more desperate.
I can’t let it end like this!
If he had taken a fatal blow like Baek Jun-seok, it would’ve just been due to a lack of skill.
But to go down pathetically, just flailing around in the air until he ran out of health?
It would be disgraceful. Not just to himself, but to the entire Martial Arts Club.
No way senior will just let this slide, either.
As the image of a furious Kim Gap-doo flashed through his mind, Dam Dae-han grew even more urgent and began channeling his internal energy, desperately activating his light movement technique.
Sensing the approach, Kim Ho turned his head in this direction.
And just as he raised a hand to strike, Dam Dae-han quickly gathered his energy.
Thousand-Jin Hammer!
Slam!
He drove both legs deep into the ground.
His plan was to endure that damned wind magic just once, then launch a counterattack.
But what he saw instead was Kim Ho pointing a finger at him, followed by a chilling beam of frost shooting straight toward him.
Boom!
A small explosion erupted, and the point of impact was instantly covered in ice.
Only then did Dam Dae-han realize he’d been deceived.
“You bastard…!”
Kim Ho gave a shrug and turned his body again, weaving through the downpour of water and earth-element spells as he closed in on Kwak Ji-cheol and Lee Seul-bi.
Then, as he casually pointed his staff at them, a whirlwind began to gather.
Whoooooosh—!
It felt distinctly different from the one he had used on Baek Jun-seok.
Warning bells rang nonstop in Lee Seul-bi’s head.
“We… we have to run.”
Even Baek Jun-seok, a knight, had crumbled helplessly before that whirlwind.
And the one being cast now looked even more powerful. There was no way their defensive magic could hold up against it.
Kwak Ji-cheol seemed to think the same and tried to retreat, but that damned spirit was the problem.
Boom, boom!
Every time they tried to step outside the barrier, it would blast them back in with rapid-fire wind spells.
As the two mages struggled desperately, the air around them grew more and more compressed until finally, it detonated in a massive explosion.
Booooooooom—!
“……!”
“……!”
Kwak Ji-cheol and Lee Seul-bi were sent flying, tumbling across the ground.
They vanished together, turning into shimmering particles of light.
Watching the scene briefly, Kim Ho slowly turned around and said in a casual tone,
“Told you we should’ve kept it private.”
“……”
Dam Dae-han groaned inwardly.
Then, suddenly, his eyes shot open and he clenched his teeth, slamming his foot into the ground as he gathered the last of his strength.
He charged in close and unleashed a flurry of punches.
But just as even he had expected, his fists only struck empty air.
Kim Ho effortlessly dodged and looked him straight in the eyes.
As if to say, “Isn’t this enough already?”
The next moment, Kim Ho extended his hand and the compressed air exploded.
Boom!
As he was sent flying backward, Dam Dae-han thought to himself,
How can someone be this strong…?
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