Lee Seul-bi left, saying she was going to get Geum Jo-han.
Song Cheon-hye and I scanned our student IDs at the terminal.
[Kim Ho 924 points Song Cheon-hye 804 points]
“…….”
“…….”
We stared at the arena and waited for quite a while, but there was no sign of us getting matched anytime soon.
There aren’t that many opponents to begin with.
At this point, 900 points put you among the absolute top ranks, so even across the entire year, only a tiny handful of students would be up there.
Probably last year’s promising students, members of the disciplinary committee, and a few other skilled students.
And it’s not like everyone’s rushing to play on the first day.
This duel battle period lasted a generous two weeks, so instead of trying to get it over with early like us, some people might prioritize club activities or personal business.
Others might be holding off because of the troublesome [Lock] rule, choosing to watch replays and see how the other students fought before deciding what to do.
And some of them are probably in matches right now.
Take those out, then take out some more, and there might barely be a handful left.
It was one of the minor downsides of being at the very top.
After waiting a little longer, I casually said to Song Cheon-hye,
“We’re not getting a match.”
“……Looks that way.”
“Maybe today’s just not our day?”
“Have some patience. We’ve waited this long, so we should get one soon.”
Song Cheon-hye lightly chided me, but traces of impatience were gradually creeping onto her face.
She seemed worried that if we kept failing to get matched, our pairing might fall through altogether.
There was also a chance she thought I might call Hong Yeon-hwa back.
I hadn’t told her about the Super-Duper Challenge, after all.
“…….”
The longer we waited, the more restless Song Cheon-hye became.
Her gaze kept darting back and forth between the arena and me, while the toe of her shoe scraped pointlessly against the floor.
It wasn’t like I didn’t understand how she felt, but we couldn’t just stand around like this forever.
So I turned on my heel and said,
“This isn’t working.”
“Where are you going?”
“The snack bar. Gonna grab a coffee.”
Song Cheon-hye immediately fell into step beside me.
The she said in a tone that made it sound like the most obvious thing in the world,
“I’ll come too.”
“Why are you coming?”
“Because we’re paired up.”
“It’s not like you have to follow me, though. Since things turned out this way, how about we just disband the pair~?”
“……!”
Song Cheon-hye seemed momentarily lost for words.
She appeared to rack her brain in a hurry for something to say, then spoke with an expression as if what she was saying was perfectly obvious.
“I think it’s important to take responsibility for what you do. Once you’ve formed a pair, shouldn’t you at least play one match together?”
“I don’t know. Sounds right, but then again, maybe not.”
“I-I already sent Seul-bi away because I said I was teaming up with you.”
So much for “Good luck finding someone” and “No thanks”.
Now she was acting like we absolutely had to pair together.
I slowly nodded.
“I guess Seul-bi did leave because of me.”
“Right? Let’s get some coffee and wait a little longer.”
Song Cheon-hye looked visibly relieved.
We headed to the snack bar and bought ourselves something to drink.
I went with a regular coffee, while Song Cheon-hye got a strawberry shake piled high with whipped cream.
“…….”
Song Cheon-hye had been in a foul mood after getting thoroughly crushed in the first match, but a dose of sugar seemed to perk her up considerably.
She took another sip of her strawberry shake before asking,
“By the way, what was going on with Hong Yeon-hwa? She was acting really weird today.”
I briefly debated whether to tell her, then decided there was no real harm in it.
According to Shin Byeong-cheol, they were planning to openly promote it anyway.
It was only a matter of time before the disciplinary committee found out.
“She took a potion this morning.”
“……What kind of potion?”
“Apparently, it’s a new product.”
I explained the effects of D.E.B – 001.
A random rank-up with a “high probability” of success, limited to one use per person, along with some minor side effects.
A look of realization immediately crossed Song Cheon-hye’s face.
“Ah……! So that’s why. She was acting like that because of the side effects.”
Then, perhaps because her disciplinary committee instincts kicked in, her brow furrowed.
“……Who made it?”
“No idea.”
“Who gave it to her, then?”
“Can’t tell you that.”
The more rumors about the potion spread, the better it was for Shin Byeong-cheol, but there was absolutely no benefit to anyone finding out that he and his “business partners” were behind it.
That would only increase the risk for no good reason.
For instance, someone might try to take the potions by force.
Song Cheon-hye fixed me with a stern look and warned me.
“I’m sure you already know this, but covering for a student who breaks school rules is also against the rules.”
“True, if they actually broke any rules.”
“They distributed an item with side effects.”
“It’s not like they’re dangerous. All it does is make you say some embarrassing stuff.”
The effects only lasted about half a day, too, so it was nowhere near enough to get it classified as a prohibited item.
Song Cheon-hye seemed to realize that as well, because she fell silent for a moment.
I casually asked,
“Be honest. If someone offered you one, you wouldn’t take it?”
“Of course not. I’d have to say embarrassing things in front of all those people.”
“But your rank goes up. With a high probability, no less. And for the record, Hong Yeon-hwa’s went up too.”
“……!”
Song Cheon-hye’s expression stiffened slightly.
She’d already been gradually falling behind in their rivalry lately, and now the gap had widened even further.
I continued as if it were no big deal.
“She’ll probably keep taking them, you know? Say she takes ten. Her rank would go up around five times. Even if you both train just as hard, she’ll still be that much further ahead.”
“……And she’ll have that many more embarrassing moments too.”
“She must’ve decided it was worth it. The first time is the hardest with this kind of thing. You get used to it eventually. I feel the same way.”
“…….”
“Take your time and think about it.”
Having given her something to mull over, I went back to sipping my coffee as if nothing had happened.
Song Cheon-hye, on the other hand, remained deep in thought the entire time.
If I had to guess, she was probably weighing the pros and cons over and over in her head.
But once our break was over and we returned to the arena, Song Cheon-hye’s usual serious expression was back.
It seemed she had decided to set the matter aside for now and focus on the PvP match in front of her.
Seeing that made me feel like teasing her, so I raised my eyebrows and looked off into the distance.
“Oh? It’s Seo Ye-in.”
“Where? Where?”
Song Cheon-hye flinched in alarm, apparently worried that our pairing might fall through.
She peered intently in the direction I was looking.
I let her search for a good while before tilting my head.
“Or not. Maybe I saw someone else?”
“Stop teasing me, seriously.”
“Gotta take responsibility, right? Even if Seo Ye-in shows up, I’ll still play one match with you.”
“……Good. Let’s queue up.”
Song Cheon-hye looked satisfied, as if she had never been worried in the first place.
We scanned our student IDs at the terminal again, and though we had to wait quite a while longer, our names finally appeared on the scoreboard.
[Kim Ho 924 points Song Cheon-hye 804 points]
vs
[Eom Jeong-tae 913 points Cha Hyeon-joo 657 points]
Guess there really aren’t many people around.
Considering we got matched despite this much of a difference in average score.
Like Hong Yeon-hwa, Cha Hyeon-joo had struggled to raise her score because she kept getting beaten up whenever she ran into me.
Hong Yeon-hwa had at least managed to scrape past 900 points, while Hyeon-joo apparently fell just short.
So she must’ve been reset to 400.
And unfortunately for her, she’d run into me during the placement matches and gotten flattened like a Chihuahua.
Still, she’d finished her remaining two matches with 200 points each and had already gained another 60 since then, so I supposed she was living up to her reputation as a promising student.
Who was Eom Jeong-tae again?
The name was unfamiliar, yet somehow it rang a bell.
I realized why once we entered the arena.
Whoooosh—
A desolate desert, with a faint breeze carrying sand through the air.
Cha Hyeon-joo stood across from us alongside a familiar-looking male student.
So he was Kang Hee-chan Number Two.
Kang Hee-chan Number One was a sword-and-shield warrior from the Guild Alliance who had paired with Cha Hyeon-joo as her frontline around the first semester of our first year.
But there had been a gap in skill between them from the start, and as the difference in their scores continued to widen, Number Two eventually took his place.
From my perspective, they were pretty much the same.
A little harsh, maybe, but neither of them had left much of an impression on me.
Still, now that I knew his name, I planned to call him Jeong-tae from now on.
Meanwhile, Cha Hyeon-joo glared at me with the same murderous look she always wore.
Though there was also a hint of delight in her expression.
“Talk about lucky. We got matched even with this much of a score difference.”
“You really think you’re lucky?”
“At least I do. I was wondering when I’d get another chance to fight you this year.”
Apparently, she wanted to show me how much she had improved.
I raised an eyebrow.
“We already fought, though. In the placement matches.”
“……What?”
“You don’t remember? Blue.”
“……?”
Cha Hyeon-joo blinked as she searched her memory.
Then, apparently recalling how she’d been beaten by “Blue” during the anonymous placement matches, her face twisted like a demon’s.
“……That was you!”
“Yup~ That was me~”
“You—fucking—piece—of—shit—!”
The rabid Chihuahua unleashed a torrent of vicious curses.
Song Cheon-hye frowned and stepped forward.
“That’s enough.”
“And who the hell are you to butt in?”
“Listening to you makes me feel like my own standards are dropping.”
“……!”
Cha Hyeon-joo’s eyes flashed murderously, and Song Cheon-hye met her glare without backing down.
I casually threw in a comment.
“What’s gotten into you, sticking up for me?”
“She went too far. There’s a limit to how much you should say.”
Song Cheon-hye complained with a slight frown.
Apparently, she couldn’t just stand by and listen to someone curse me out.
Maybe it was a case of, “If anyone’s going to do it, it’ll be me.”
Amid the hostile atmosphere, both teams finished preparing for battle.
Soon, the countdown began.
[3]
[2]
[1]
[Start!]
Tutututututututu!
Cha Hyeon-joo immediately raised her bow and opened fire.
Instead of the usual “Swhish—” of her bowstring, it made a rapid series of firing sounds, so one of her related skills must have been locked.
Even so, befitting a promising rookie, her attacks still packed a decent punch.
Tutututututututututu!
Song Cheon-hye and I immediately kicked off the ground, weaving through the rain of arrows as we advanced.
Eom Jeong-tae was charging toward us from the opposite side as well, leading with his sword and shield.
He hadn’t said a single word so far. Apparently, he was the extremely taciturn type.
Once the distance had closed enough, he swung his sword.
Swoosh-swoosh-swoosh-swoosh!
Sword energy joined the incoming arrows, making them considerably harder to dodge, but Song Cheon-hye deftly twisted her body around them and continued forward.
Then she collided head-on with Eom Jeong-tae.
Fzzzzzzt—!
Lightning magic erupted, but much of it was neutralized by the shield he thrust forward at just the right moment.
The damage he did take was minimal.
[Eom Jeong-tae 100%]
[Eom Jeong-tae 99%]
Scores don’t lie, after all.
With that thought, I left the two of them to fight and tried to slip past them toward Cha Hyeon-joo.
Eom Jeong-tae immediately caught on to what I was doing, stepped in my direction, and swung his sword.
Swoosh-swoosh-swoosh-swoosh!
Sword energy swept across my path, and while it forced me to hesitate, another volley of arrows came flying in.
Cha Hyeon-joo added confidently,
“He’s good at holding the frontline.”
I can just use Blink.
Had she already forgotten what “Blue” did to her?
But I decided to save Blink for a more dramatic moment.
We went back and forth like that several more times.
[Eom Jeong-tae 97%]
[Eom Jeong-tae 96%]
[Eom Jeong-tae 94%]
Eom Jeong-tae was being pushed back, but he was still holding the line.
The tension had built up nicely by now, so I casually called out,
“Song Cheon-hye.”
“Yes?”
“Let’s do that thing.”
“That thing? ……Ah!”
A look of realization crossed Song Cheon-hye’s face.
Then we exchanged subtle grins.
“Ready?”
“Ready.”
[Octopus Limbs]
[Mark of Concussion] *2
[‘Mark of Concussion (B)’ has been inflicted on the target.]
[Duration 00:00:09]
[Cooldown 00:59:59]
“……What?”
Cha Hyeon-joo’s eyes widened at the notification.
Everyone reacted like that the first time they got marked.
Ignoring Eom Jeong-tae’s attempts to keep us in check with his sword energy, we both broke into a run straight toward Cha Hyeon-joo.
“Hyeon-joo! You gotta run! Hurry up and run!”
“We’re coming to get you!”
A smile was already creeping onto Song Cheon-hye’s face before she even realized it.
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