Before the 4-minute time limit was up, I sent Dam Dae-han flying and calmly walked out.
[Side Quest: 13th Week Duel Battle] (In Progress…)
▷ Objective 1: Win with more than 90% health (1/2 times)
▷ Objective 2: Defeat opponents (4/2 enemies)
That was easier than I expected.
The strategy Kwak Ji-cheol’s team brought actually worked in my favor.
Their biggest mistake was going for large-scale magic.
They were probably trying to ensure a hit, conscious of my evasion ability.
The problem was that Baek Jun-seok and Dam Dae-han, being melee classes, didn’t have the skill to pin me down.
As a result, their front and back lines got separated, and even their spellcasting was disrupted, throwing their plan into chaos.
Honestly, they would’ve been better off all rushing in together from the start.
That would’ve made things much harder for me.
I probably still wouldn’t have been caught, but at least they wouldn’t have been wiped out.
Before heading into the next match, I decided to wait out my cooldowns.
I had used [Octopus Limbs] + [Eyes of Mutual Destruction], and even [Amplification] when taking down Kwak Ji-cheol and Lee Seul-bi.
So I killed some time watching students walk by and exchanging a few messages before queuing up again.
Hopefully the next match goes just as smoothly.
Nothing too fancy. Just give me two people around Shin Byeong-cheol’s level.
As I was thinking that, the scoreboard popped up, showing the five names for the next match.
[Kim Ho – 1,048 points]
vs
[Shin Byeong-cheol – 503 points]
[Wang Pil – 790 points]
[Hong Yeon-hwa – 863 points]
[Han So-mi – 1,088 points]
Well, would you look at that. It really is Byeong-cheol.
But along with him, there’s one 0,8 promising student and two full promising students.
I got what I wished for, but it’s like one of those cursed monkey paw deals.
That’s just my luck.
Grumbling, I stepped onto the teleportation magic circle.
The scene of an urban battlefield unfolded, and across from me, Shin Byeong-cheol’s team of four began entering one by one.
Shin Byeong-cheol gave me an awkward smile as he looked my way.
Just seeing his face, I could practically hear him saying, “Hehe, go easy on us, hyung~.”
Next to him stood Wang Cheon-sam, fiddling with the hilt of his sword.
“Why is he ‘Wang Pil’ again?”
Is he rotating through a bunch of aliases or something?
Kind of makes me wonder why he’s still hiding his true skills, even with the first year almost over.
I’ll have to ask him about that sometime if I get the chance.
Beside him was Hong Yeon-hwa, looking like she was about to cry.
Every time she manages to climb the rankings a bit, she ends up matched with me. No wonder her motivation’s tanking.
Sorry, but it’s not like I want to beat people down.
Han So-mi, as usual, was chatting cheerfully, but the moment our eyes met, she started waving enthusiastically.
Figuring it was the perfect chance, I sent her a message.
[Kim Ho: Hey hey]
[Han So-mi: Hello Hello!]
[Kim Ho: Can we go private?]
[Han So-mi: Private? Why?]
[Kim Ho: I’ll show you something fun if you do]
She seemed intrigued and passed my message on to her teammates.
After a bit of whispering and discussion among themselves, I got a reply.
[Han So-mi: Approved!]
[Kim Ho: Much obliged~]
[Han So-mi: Looking forward to the fun thing!]
[Kim Ho: Of course, I’ll make sure it’s worth it, hehe]
Though we’ll have to see who it ends up being “fun” for.
Soon after, Shin Byeong-cheol’s team finished a quick strategy session and took their positions.
[3]
[2]
[1]
[Start!]
[Kim Ho 100%]
vs
[Shin Byeong-cheol 100%]
[Wang Pil 100%]
[Hong Yeon-hwa 100%]
[Han So-mi 100%]
[Time Remaining: 03:58]
The moment the match began, the four of them grouped up and started advancing toward me.
Meanwhile, Hong Yeon-hwa pointed her staff in my direction.
One by one, magic circles appeared, and pillars of fire erupted.
Whooooooooooooosh—!
Her casting speed was so precise and fast that she could pull this off even while moving.
Before the pillars of fire could transform into hydras, I struck back using Wind Force and Spiral Explosion.
Boom!
Hong Yeon-hwa kept up the pressure, continuously casting Fire Pillar to keep me in check.
While countering her, I pointed my staff to the other side and a thick wall of ice rose up.
Thud!
It was to block their view and disrupt their path, buying myself some time.
At first, Shin Byeong-cheol’s team simply moved around the ice wall, but soon enough, it seemed Hong Yeon-hwa had come up with another solution.
Bang!
A fireball exploded, melting the sturdy wall of ice into a shallow pool of water.
Knew that was coming.
With Aqua Flame in her arsenal, there’s no way a B-rank Ice Wall could stop her.
A B-rank just won’t cut it.
[Activated ‘Amplification’.]
[The rank of ‘Ice Wall’ has increased. (B → S)]
[Duration: 00:29:59]
[Cooldown: 00:29:59]
Why waste Amplification on something like Ice Wall?
Because this skill is key to my entire strategy.
The moment I raised another wall, Hong Yeon-hwa, as if waiting for it, fired another fireball.
Boom!
But this time, the melting was noticeably slower.
Even with an elemental advantage, you can’t completely overcome a rank gap.
Boom!
After a few more tries, Wang Cheon-sam spoke up.
“Let’s just go around.”
“…Yeah. We’re wasting too much time.”
Each time I summoned an Ice Wall, Shin Byeong-cheol’s team circled around it to close the distance.
Then, when we were close enough to see each other clearly, I spoke.
“All right, time to show you the amazing disappearing act of Kim Ho!”
I cast Ice Wall right in front of me and just as the thick ice shot up, I used Blink.
A moment later, I reappeared behind one of the walls I had set up earlier at a distance.
I could hear Han So-mi and Shin Byeong-cheol’s voices.
“Huh? Where’d he go?”
“Wait, was that actual magic?”
Drawing from his experience as a skilled fighter, Wang Cheon-sam voiced his suspicion.
“Doesn’t seem like stealth… probably Ghost Dance. But he likely didn’t go far.”
“You suggesting we split up and search?”
“What choice do we have? If we just play hide-and-seek, the match will end like this.”
Just as he said….I was in the middle of executing my ultimate technique: the “Invincible Kim Ho Infinite Evasion Strategy”.
Better not to fight at all.
Han So-mi and Hong Yeon-hwa are tough opponents, and even Wang Cheon-sam is no joke.
Now that the match is set to private, they’re bound to be going all out.
Shin Byeong-cheol is the only relatively manageable one, but trying to deal with him while dodging attacks from the other three is way too risky.
If I push too hard and lose 90% of my health, it’s not worth it.
It’s smarter to win this one safely and solidify my advantage.
And that’s exactly why I’m going with the Invincible Kim Ho Infinite Evasion Strategy.
Leaning against the Ice Wall, I checked the time.
[Time Remaining: 02:46]
Cooldown on C-rank Blink: 2 minutes.
Of course, there was still a way to cut the cooldown further.
[Activated ‘Time Share’.]
[Time Share: 20%]
[Cooldown Reduction: 15%]
[Cooldown Time: 01:16]
This should let me use it a couple more times.
Whoooooooooooooosh—!
While Shin Byeong-cheol’s team began their search, Hong Yeon-hwa quickly started chaining her fire spells.
She was setting up a favorable environment in case a fight broke out.
And melting the Ice Wall while she was at it.
Booom-Booom!
Hydras spewed fireballs, flames engulfed the area, and one by one, the ice walls were demolished.
Thanks to that, my nice cool back was starting to feel uncomfortably warm.
The Ice Wall I was hiding behind was slowly melting and turning transparent.
[Time Remaining: 02:02]
“There he is!”
Han So-mi spotted me and shouted right away.
She soared toward me with her movement technique, closing the distance fast.
Hong Yeon-hwa also pointed her staff in my direction, and pillars of flame shot up from all around, summoning Hydras.
Whooooooooooooosh—!
Booom-Booom!
Blades of energy and fireballs rained in from every direction.
Even a few chopsticks were flying through the gaps.
As I weaved through them using my movement technique, I sensed a stealthy presence approaching.
Whooooooooosh—!
It was Wang Cheon-sam, waiting for an opening to strike.
But just before I got caught in the crossfire—
Cooldown’s done.
I cast Blink.
The scenery flipped in an instant and suddenly, I was face-to-face with a wide-eyed Hong Yeon-hwa.
“???”
Before she could react, I grabbed her arm and used Ghost Dance to teleport us to the opposite side.
You just got kidnapped.
Smiling, I spoke up.
“Hong Yeon-hwa.”
“H-Huh…?”
“Turn off the fire. It’s hot.”
Whooooosh—!
In stark contrast to my gentle tone, fierce wind began swirling and compressing in my hand.
“……”
Hong Yeon-hwa’s eyes darted toward her teammates.
They were sprinting toward us like their lives depended on it, but they wouldn’t make it in time to save her.
With a resigned look, she waved her staff, unsummoning the Hydras and extinguishing the flames that had covered the area.
I nodded in satisfaction.
“Good.”
“Then…”
“I’ll throw you gently.”
“No—”
Pooooing!
“Aaaah—!”
Hong Yeon-hwa arced through the air and disappeared into the distance.
Watching her fly off, I turned my attention to the remaining teammates.
As I stirred the Crow Branch, ice walls suddenly jutted up around me.
Thud-Thud-Thud!
Han So-mi leapt nimbly over the walls, charging in.
She swung her sword and shouted,
“Where’s the fun stuff?!”
“I already showed you….the magic trick where Kim Ho disappears.”
“…Oh yeah?”
“Pretty cool, right?”
“It was!”
“I don’t show that to just anyone, you know.”
It was a special move I saved for private duels like this.
Wang Cheon-sam spoke up as he thrust his sword.
“I suppose you counted on us keeping the secret.”
“Everyone here knows how to keep their mouths shut.”
“You think that guy’s alright?”
The “guy” he meant was the teahouse owner, who was still throwing chopsticks with all his might.
With everyone’s eyes on him, Shin Byeong-cheol played it off with a grin.
“Aw, come on. You can trust me. That’s one of our VVIPs. If I blab about him, I’m the one who loses out.”
“Fair enough. Thieves do tend to be sensitive about profit and loss.”
Wang Cheon-sam nodded, conceding the point.
I kept dodging the trio’s coordinated attacks using wind magic, dark clouds, and occasionally, Harmonized Flows.
Before I knew it, the match was nearing its end.
[Time Remaining: 00:26]
With Blink off cooldown again, I used it one final time.
Two blades and a flurry of chopsticks sliced through the air.
“….…!”
“….…!”
I reappeared on the roof of a nearby building, a short distance away.
The three who had been attacking me, and even Hong Yeon-hwa who’d just barely made it back….could only stare at me in defeat.
This Blink….I really should learn it, huh?
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