chapter_0620

620 – Duel

620 – Duel

“Yap! Yap!”

“U-yak!”

The children were caught up in the excitement of the battle, probably because they thought I would win for sure.

Watching the children jumping on the sofa made me feel uneasy.

‘What should I do?’

If I say I don’t think I can win now, will the children be disappointed?

I don’t want to see that.

I can’t think of a way to overcome this situation.

I sent a look of help to Saebyeok, who was the only one who knew the circumstances.

“…Why don’t you make some equipment first?”

“Equipment?”

“Yeah. You’re not going to fight bare-handed, are you?”

“Well, yeah, but is it okay to use equipment in a duel?”

“There was no rule saying you couldn’t.”

Certainly, there was no mention of equipment in the duel rules.

The opponent would probably come with at least minimal equipment.

“Good idea. But what kind of equipment should I get?”

“Hmm… Armor?”

“Armor?”

“Yeah. Since we’re fighting without Mana.”

“Ah…!”

Without Mana, even ordinary armor was hard to penetrate.

Of course, adventurers’ fists were different even without Mana… but it was better than nothing.

What should I make the armor out of?

Considering my speed, something light would be better.

Aluminum or plastic?

“Hmm.”

I was thinking with my arms crossed when Levinas ran up to me from the sofa.

“Wanga! What’s wrong?!”

“Armor worries.”

“Armor?!”

“Yeah. Something sturdy, light, and easily available…?”

“Gasp! Levinas knows something like that!”

Levinas ran to the pantry and came back with a pot.

It was a pot used for boiling ramen, and Levinas giggled as he put the pot on his head.

“If you use this, you’re totally invincible! Everyone, knock on it!”

Knock knock knock-

Levinas knocked on the pot he was wearing on his head.

Seeing this, Bomi started hitting Levinas’s head with a twig.

Tap tap tap-

“Levinas, does it hurt?”

“Nope! It doesn’t hurt at all!”

Ahem.

Levinas proudly puffed out his chest, showing off the sturdiness of his pot helmet.

He really didn’t seem to be in any pain at all.

“Gaeuri too.”

Clang clang-

Even when the children were drumming on the pot helmet, Levinas was fine.

‘Certainly…’

The pot is light, easy to get, and relatively sturdy.

A fist without Mana would have a hard time penetrating the pot.

If I asked a blacksmith to make it into a helmet shape, it would be even lighter than it is now.

‘Let’s prepare as much as possible.’

The more I prepare, the higher the chance of winning.

Of course, I couldn’t help but be nervous.

**

Gyeoul returned home and made plans on how to fight.

Next to Gyeoul, Levinas was drawing.

Swish swish-

As Levinas drew lines without hesitation, Hanyeoreum showed interest.

“Levinas, are you drawing?”

“Yup!”

“This is… Gyeoul and a monster? Is Gyeoul catching the monster?”

“Yeah! He’s punishing the bad guy who sent a duel to Wang!”

A duel?

Who sent a duel to such a small child?

Gyeoul was strong thanks to his speed, but he was still a small and fragile child.

What were they trying to gain by challenging such a Gyeoul to a duel?

Even if they won, they would be met with criticism from people, not honor.

‘Did someone Gyeoul’s age issue the duel?’

Then Gyeoul would win.

At least among his peers, there was no child who could beat Gyeoul.

Hanyeoreum couldn’t help but be flustered by the situation she was experiencing for the first time.

“Levinas, who sent the duel to Gyeoul?”

“Yeah! It must be a very, very bad person!”

Hanyeoreum agreed with Levinas’s words.

If someone was sending a duel to Gyeoul, who was innocent and hated fighting, there was a high probability that they didn’t have a good character.

Hanyeoreum felt discomfort rising in her heart.

“Gyeoul, is it true that you’re going to fight someone?”

“Yes…”

“Are you okay? Should I help you?”

“No, I’m okay. We decided to fight one-on-one.”

“Ah, okay…”

Our Gyeoul has always been the type to not accept help.

Even though she heard Gyeoul say she was okay, Hanyeoreum was worried.

It was because she thought that the person who was challenging that Gyeoul to a one-on-one fight couldn’t be in their right mind.

“Gyeoul, then can I watch?”

“Yes, you can watch.”

“Really?”

If it’s okay to watch…

Hanyeoreum was lost in thought.

She was worried about how to protect Gyeoul safely.

A crazy person who would challenge a young and fragile Gyeoul to a fight.

Even if they were crazy, wouldn’t they refrain from doing crazy things if there were many people watching?

Hanyeoreum decided to spread the word to as many people as possible.

She decided to gather as many strong people as possible so that they could help Gyeoul if necessary.

**

Han Ho-jae.

He was a very belligerent man.

His hobby was dueling with adventurers.

In the past, he took an idea from a movie that made his heart race and wrote a duel challenge, throwing it at quite a few adventurers.

Of course, Han Ho-jae knew that there were plenty of adventurers in the world who were stronger than him.

That’s why Han Ho-jae chose a duel that excluded Mana.

He was confident that he would not lose in a pure physical fight.

And this was by no means arrogance.

He was over 2 meters tall and weighed over 120 kilograms.

Han Ho-jae fought and won against those who accepted the duel, and evaluated those who refused the duel as losers.

Having defeated them one by one from the bottom, Han Ho-jae finally handed a duel challenge to a celebrity of the Dawn Guild.

He was still far from challenging Choi Jin-hyuk or Kang Jinho…

Hanyeoreum was strong, but in a situation without Mana, the physical difference between men and women was quite large.

That’s why he chose Kim Woo-jin, the leader of Dawn’s Team 3.

He knew that he was strong even without Mana, but he wasn’t impossible to beat.

‘I hope he accepts the duel.’

If he doesn’t come out, he’ll just be a loser.

Han Ho-jae moved to the duel arena with his competitive spirit burning, and there he encountered an unexpected person.

It was Hanyeoreum, a famous adventurer of the Dawn Guild.

“You…”

Hanyeoreum scanned Han Ho-jae up and down with cold eyes.

Han Ho-jae knew this look very well.

It was a sign of dissatisfaction with someone who had challenged them without fear.

“…Are you serious?”

“I’ve never not been serious.”

When Han Ho-jae sneered, Hanyeoreum’s expression hardened even more.

It was like looking at trash.

‘She’s going to kill someone with her eyes…’

This was the first time Han Ho-jae had seen this kind of reaction to a duel challenge.

How dare you challenge Dawn, or something like that?

It was an extreme reaction, but Han Ho-jae welcomed this situation.

Eventually, they would recognize him too.

“Can you really handle it? Are you really serious?”

“It’s just a duel, what’s there to handle?”

“…Crazy bastard.”

Han Ho-jae couldn’t help but be taken aback by Hanyeoreum’s undisguised curse.

Even so, wasn’t cursing too much?

Just as he was about to protest, Hanyeoreum gestured for him to follow her.

“Not here, we have a guild-only duel arena, so let’s do it there.”

Han Ho-jae quietly nodded.

As long as he could have a duel, the location didn’t matter.

Han Ho-jae followed Hanyeoreum to the Dawn Guild’s underground training facility.

Han Ho-jae, who was quietly moving his feet, realized that the people around him were looking at him.

“Is that him?”

“He looks normal, but he’s not in his right mind.”

Dawn Guild members and even those who weren’t guild members.

Everyone was buzzing as they watched Han Ho-jae pass by.

‘No, what.’

It’s not like the Dawn Guild is an inviolable territory.

He just applied for a duel, so why are so many eyes on him?

Was this guild originally so territorial?

Han Ho-jae, feeling rebellious, walked even more confidently.

He even sneered at those who were buzzing as they watched him.

“…Go up first and warm up.”

The duel arena that they arrived at after following Hanyeoreum.

For some reason, there were a lot of people gathered in the duel arena.

‘Kang Jinho and Choi Jin-hyuk… There are Beastmen too? Park Tae-san and Chae Ju-yeon are here too?’

Whether they were there by chance, or whether this fight was so important to Dawn.

Han Ho-jae didn’t know, but it was a good thing that there were many eyes watching.

‘I’m going to win no matter what.’

Han Ho-jae stretched and went up to the arena.

People didn’t talk to him, but they were sending him all kinds of curses with their eyes.

Kang Jinho, in particular, was trying to kill people with his eyes alone.

It was to the point where it would greatly interfere with the game.

“No, how can this be? Even if Gyeoul accepted, shouldn’t we stop it…?”

“Let’s watch and see what he’s doing first. We can beat him to death after he touches us first.”

Gyeoul?

It was when Han Ho-jae was feeling puzzled by the people’s anger.

A child slowly walked up to the opposite side of the arena.

He had a pot-like iron plate around his face, but it was easy enough to tell who it was.

It was Gyeoul, the most famous in this neighborhood.

Gyeoul’s ears and pupils were trembling when he saw Han Ho-jae.

It was because the opponent was bigger than he thought.

He’s a giant.

Gyeoul froze for a moment, but then he rekindled his will.

It was thanks to the plan he had made for how to beat his opponent in a day.

“C-Come on!”

Gyeoul, who had come up to the arena, shouted at Han Ho-jae.

Seeing this, Han Ho-jae felt that something was terribly wrong.

Author’s Note

Thank you so much for reading today, PIA1747014585384!

Thank you for the comments and recommendations too! It’s always a source of strength!

The snowball that threw the letter in the trash has rolled away…!