episode_0091

091.

“Are you okay?”

Yum Kyohan’s voice softly brushed against my ear.

As I turned my head discreetly, I could see Yoo Seolhyun’s face, with her radiant hair flowing like melted gold.

Yoo Seolhyun slowly shifted her gaze towards me and pursed her lips.

“It’s about Soyeon.”

She lightly nodded towards Soyeon.

“Choosing Joo Jiyeon as her opponent for the ranking match doesn’t seem like a good decision, right?”

“Hmm?”

I scratched my chin, puzzled by Yoo Seolhyun’s words.

Strange, isn’t it? Soyeon should know that Joo Jiyeon took down several of Sung Yura’s bodyguards. Why would she say something like this?

Oh, right. Yoo Seolhyun wasn’t there at the scene, right? It seems like she didn’t get the full picture.

“Yeah, that’s right.”

Standing next to me, Sunari nodded several times and chimed in agreement.

Every time she shook her head, her long, flowing hair swayed like a puppy’s tail.

“Joo Jiyeon… She may not be likable, but her skills are real.”

Sunari, with a grumbling voice, looked at Joo Jiyeon in the arena and then turned her gaze towards me.

“That girl, did you know she was evaluated as having abilities equivalent to active heroes?”

“Well, yeah, that’s true. Her output is quite substantial.”

Joo Jiyeon’s abilities, for a trainee, were quite powerful. From strength, versatility, destructiveness, defense, to agility, there was nothing lacking in her abilities.

“I’ve faced off against Joo Jiyeon in the past…”

“And you didn’t lose?”

“No, I didn’t!”

Sunari, ranked 17th among rookie trainees, was considered to have close combat abilities that were among the best in the trainee group. Her defeat against Joo Jiyeon was a testament to how strong Joo Jiyeon was.

“Anyway, what’s up with Jin Soyeon’s thoughts?”

“She seems confident.”

“Hmm.”

Sunari snorted briefly.

“Jin Soyeon? Recently, she seems to have improved her skills quite a bit, but she’s not at the level to compete with Joo Jiyeon.”

Crossing her arms firmly, Sunari nodded alone.

It was hard to believe that Jin Soyeon, who was only in the upper ranks of the rookie trainees, had improved her skills enough to compete with someone ranked 12th in just a few months.

But does Sunari know that?

“Then, Sunari. How about we make a bet?”

“What kind of bet?”

“Who will win between Soyeon and Joo Jiyeon.”

“Ha, obviously Joo Jiyeon.”

“Is that so? Then I’ll go with Soyeon.”

Soyeon is someone who cannot be judged by common sense.

After all, Soyeon is not only the protagonist of this world but also someone who will become the strongest in the world.

Soyeon’s abilities and potential are beyond imagination.

After observing her for a few weeks, I realized that she was still unaware of her own potential, but her incredible abilities and talents were slowly emerging.

“Let’s make a bet. The loser will grant a small wish to the winner.”

“Hmph. Lee Jinhyuk, I understand that you want to support Jin Soyeon, but it doesn’t seem likely that Joo Jiyeon will lose…”

“Yoo Seolhyun, what do you think? Do you want to join in?”

“Hey! Did you just interrupt me?!”

“Hmm? Well….”

Ignoring the commotion from Seonari, I looked away. Yoo Seolhyun scanned my face and then smiled slightly before replying.

“Then I’ll vote for Soyeon to win as well.”

“What? Why you, Seolhyun?”

“Well~.”

She jokingly pointed at me.

“Seeing Lee Jinhyuk so confident, it feels like there’s something going on, right?”

“Well, even so, it’s still surprising. How could Jin Soyeon beat Joo Jiyeon…?”

Yoo Seolhyun shrugged her shoulders, looking at Seonari who was cautiously expressing her opinion as if she couldn’t understand.

“Well, we’ll soon find out who wins, right?”

Before the sentence could finish.

– All trainees, take your positions. The F Group match is about to begin.

The match between Soyeon and Jiyeon was about to start.

***

Inside the arena.

“….”

“….”

Jin Soyeon and Joo Jiyeon stood a little apart, quietly facing each other.

The arena was divided into multiple battlefields so that multiple trainees could engage in 1v1 duels simultaneously.

Each battlefield was protected by a transparent dome-shaped barrier, with judges and safety personnel stationed inside.

In the distance, a large screen was visible.

The faces of the trainees were clear on the multiple large screens.

And with numerous cameras constantly broadcasting the duels, everyone in South Korea would be watching.

Especially this match involving Joo Jiyeon!

“I don’t understand what you’re thinking, Jin Soyeon. Why did you challenge me to a ranked match?”

“….”

Jin Soyeon just looked at Joo Jiyeon with a calm gaze, not bothering to answer.

“Well, fine. Whatever.”

“….”

“Your choice, I’ll make you regret it.”

“….”

Jin Soyeon’s indifferent attitude didn’t sit well with Joo Jiyeon.

“That’s enough chit-chat. Take your positions.”

“Yes.”

“Okay.”

The two of them lightly answered the judge and moved away from each other.

“The match will last for 10 minutes. If you surrender, get knocked out, or stay down for more than 10 seconds, the match will end, understood?”

Joo Jiyeon’s face turned serious.

Many people were watching this match.

Not just her father, who opposed her becoming a dangerous hero, but also Yoo Seolhyun, who humiliated Joo Jiyeon during the entrance exam, and even Kang Daehan, who she secretly admired.

It wasn’t just about winning in front of them; she had to win overwhelmingly.

After all, Jin Soyeon was just a mid-tier trainee.

She had to show an overwhelming performance throughout the match to surprise everyone watching.

Being ranked 12th was a thing of the past.

Since entering the Union, she had grown even further and was now more than capable of entering the top 10.

– All trainees, take your positions. The F Group match is about to begin.

As the broadcast signal announcing the start of the match sounded.

“Well, then… 3, 2, 1, start!”

“Alright, Soyeon, let’s see your skills… huh?”

Whoosh!

Jin Soyeon immediately threw a dagger.

A dagger imbued with faint magic quickly attacked.

The sharp dagger flew like an arrow towards Joo Jiyeon at close range.

But.

“Starting with a surprise attack… not very cunning, Jin Soyeon?”

Unexpectedly, the dagger slowed down and eventually didn’t hit the ground but seemed to be blocked by an invisible barrier, unable to reach Joo Jiyeon.

“It seems it doesn’t work after all.”

“Did you really think this would work on me?”

Joo Jiyeon smiled.

She flicked her finger.

Should I give her a little warning?

Surely I won’t go too far, right, Jin Soyeon?

“You’d better dodge.”

Jin Soyeon quickly moved her foot.

The floor that was there just a moment ago was suddenly pressed down with a thud!

The solid floor cracked open like a mesh.

It seemed as if it had been compressed by an invisible press.

“Did you dodge it well?”

“….”

Gravity manipulation ability.

This was Ju Jiyeon’s extraordinary ability.

She could create a powerful gravitational field within a certain distance.

She could even change the direction of gravity, essentially manipulating both attraction and repulsion.

Using gravity, she could accelerate or decelerate objects, shift her own center of gravity, fly, compress or bounce objects – it was an incredibly versatile ability.

And the best part? It was invisible.

From the opponent’s perspective, there was no other ability as tricky as this.

Ordinary hero trainees would have fallen helplessly without even putting up a fight the moment they witnessed her power.

But Jin Soyeon was different.

She simply nodded approvingly as if she liked what she saw.

“It seems like the output is stronger than what I heard. Maybe her ability is even better than that of active heroes.”

“Regretting it now?”

“No, I’m glad.”

Jin Soyeon tightly gripped her shield and sword.

“If it’s just this, she might be a decent sparring partner.”

With those words, Jin Soyeon quickly took a step forward towards Ju Jiyeon. Ju Jiyeon chuckled at her approach.

How foolish. Just mindless charging without any strategy. If she used her abilities like Yuseolhyun, using magic to confuse and distract, it would be different. But charging straight like that makes it easy to predict and counter.

‘Should I stop her movements for now?’

Ju Jiyeon flicked her fingers, sending a gravitational field towards Jin Soyeon as if to crush her.

Soon enough, the intense gravity pressed down on Jin Soyeon’s body.

“Huh? What’s this?”

However, to her surprise, Jin Soyeon’s body didn’t stop.

As if startled by the high gravity, she hesitated for a moment, but then suddenly accelerated towards Ju Jiyeon again, breaking free from the gravitational field.

An ordinary person would have been crushed by the powerful gravity, unable to even catch their breath, but she easily escaped the gravity field.

The range must have been quite strong since it was effective, but she managed to break free so effortlessly.

Of course, she had to lower the output to avoid causing serious injuries, but Jin Soyeon could have easily defended against it.

Was she perhaps a physical enhancement ability user like Seonari?

No, that wasn’t it.

As far as she remembered, Jin Soyeon was a buff-type ability user who could strengthen or weaken objects.

She didn’t possess the extraordinary abilities and physical capabilities to resist this level of gravity, right? Jin Soyeon, was it?