episode_0156

156. Steel Duel.

The players around them slowly widened the distance. It was because they sensed the strange atmosphere that had formed between Johan and Alex.

Fortunately, the waiting room was quite large. The two men were able to secure a reasonably decent dueling space.

The woman who had been poking Alex in the side earlier cupped her hands to her mouth and shouted.

“Alex-! Why don’t you run away now? You’re going to shit blood if you don’t!”

“······Shut up! Please, just shut your mouth······!”

Alex’s face didn’t show much tension. At that, Johan chuckled. Whether it was confidence or arrogance, he could find out from now on.

Anyway, Johan had a few questions.

‘Why did he request a duel?’

Simply to satisfy his magical curiosity? And why did he pick me of all people?

Several questions floated up like bubbles. But there’s nothing I can do.

‘Steel magic, I didn’t even see it in the Yellow River battle.’

Is it a branch of the earth element? It felt somewhat different. Johan was a curious wizard, and he wanted to satisfy his desires.

When he first entered the tower, Johan’s goal was just one thing. To return to reality.

But as he overcame trials, a new goal suddenly emerged from within.

‘I want to explore various magics.’

Johan wiggled his fingers. At the same time, his mana surged and fluctuated.

“Ugh!”

Alex’s expression hardened rapidly. The playfulness disappeared from his face.

But that was only for a moment, as Alex grinned widely, stretching his mouth.

“Good! Great! I expected you wouldn’t be ordinary, but this is more than I imagined!”

Soon after, Alex and Johan’s gazes met in the air.

There was no signal to mark the start of the duel. As if by agreement, the two wizards stomped their feet simultaneously.

Crack-!

Crash-!

Rock sprouted from beneath Johan’s feet, and steel from beneath Alex’s. The two elements left long tracks on the ground as they rushed toward each other.

“Ooh!”

“Exciting!”

The people watching the two’s magical duel’s eyes sparkled. It was a more enjoyable sight than they had expected.

Soon, the two spells collided.

KWA-AAAAANG!

It was like a silver serpent and an earthen serpent colliding.

Sparkling steel dust and dirt scattered in all directions. The glimmer in the murky dust cloud blurred people’s vision.

But none of the people watching the two wizards’ duel blinked. In the first place, no average person can even come to this waiting room.

There was not a single non-superhuman in this place.

Within the dust cloud, the two wizards raised their mana again.

The previous match was a draw. The two wizards’ expressions were indifferent. Wizards are not bombs. They do not lose their attack power after exploding once.

They continue to build up spells to gain an advantage, and through this, they lead to victory. The wizard’s battle method was already deeply ingrained in the two men’s lives.

“Sigh!”

Alex took a deep breath, puffing out his chest. And then he exhaled it.

“Pah-ha!”

Shhhh-

Something blurry that came out of his mouth shot towards Johan.

Johan waved his hand with a relaxed expression. Then, a hand made of rock was created in the air and knocked it away.

‘Awl.’

It was an awl made of steel. But the shape of the awl was somehow peculiar.

It looked like a sea anemone. It was an awl densely packed with countless awls.

It sounds a little strange, but that’s how it was. Soon, the sea anemone awl broke apart into small pieces and scattered in all directions.

Squeeze-

Alex clenched his right hand tightly. Then, the awls that had been scattering in the air stopped with a snap.

The corner of Johan’s mouth tilted upwards. At this point, he could guess what was happening.

Immediately afterwards, Alex’s index finger pointed to the ground.

“Descend.”

Shwooo-

Up, down, left, right. Steel awls were fired from all directions. Even their speed was very fast.

Alex wore a triumphant smile. His firepower was lower than other wizards, but the speed of connecting each spell was unmatched.

‘Now, block this!’

Contrary to his elated face, Alex was not complacent at all.

His ‘trait’ told him. Among the wizards in this place, that man is the strongest.

‘He wouldn’t kneel with just this much.’

As expected, the man, presumed to be a rock wizard, spread both hands outward.

Alex’s brain spun busily, thinking of various possibilities.

‘Is he going to raise a spherical rock? Surely, he wouldn’t intercept and drop them all one by one? No, he might.’

But what happened next went against all of Alex’s expectations. Johan’s brow furrowed for a moment, and then the movement of the awls that were being fired stopped all at once.

“······What!”

Telekinesis magic?

Such an expectation suddenly arose in Alex’s mind. But it wasn’t. Alex is a high-level mage who has overcome numerous adversities.

It’s really absurd, but there was one magical concept that could explain the current situation.

That is······

“Spell seizure! This is ridiculous!”

At that moment, the corner of Johan’s expressionless mouth twisted. Johan rolled his eyes, looked at the awls, and said.

“There are some aspects that conflict with the rock element. Is it because of Manbyeon? I didn’t know it was really possible.”

‘Manbyeon?’

Johan’s gaze was clearly not looking at Alex, but Alex couldn’t feel any openings from Johan.

It felt like he was receiving the hungry beast’s fierce gaze directly.

The next moment, Johan pointed at Alex with his index finger. Then, the tips of the awls all glared at Alex.

The awls that had clearly been reassuring Alex until just now were now terrifying.

“Heh······.”

After all, the sharper your weapon is, the better you know it. Soon, the awls were fired at Alex.

“Kuh!”

Alex quickly swiped his right hand from top to bottom. Then, a giant steel sword was created in the air and slammed into the ground.

Pa-ba-ba-bak-!

The awls were embedded in the surface of the steel sword, making a sound like hail falling. Johan’s eyes sparkled with interest.

‘Why did he bother to shape it into a sword?’

That question was soon resolved. A huge stream of mana swirled around Alex, and then the sound of steel crumpling could be heard.

Crackling-!

A huge shadow fell over Johan’s head. Even Johan was quite impressed this time.

“Ho······.”

Golem.

Its height looked to be at least 10 meters, and if you measured the length from the left end of its shoulder to the right end, it would be at least 3 meters.

Also, how long were the thick arms made of steel, if you stretched them out to both sides, the reach would be around 11 meters.

Kala-la-la-lak-

The steel golem mumbled with its long, torn mouth. Sharp steel teeth collided with each other, making a cold metallic sound.

“Huk, huk······. My head is spinning······.”

Alex’s groans could be heard from behind the steel golem. Apart from the groaning mage, the steel golem was still energetic. Of course, since it was just born.

Kala-la-la-lak-

The steel golem stretched out its hands, making the same metallic sound as before. In front of it was a giant steel sword befitting the golem’s size.

The steel golem pulled out the steel sword as it was. The cracking sound echoed loudly in the waiting room.

“Go! Steel!”

It was a rather cute name. Johan chuckled and wiggled his fingers. There were countless opportunities to take down the mage.

He was just waiting because he was curious about steel-based spells.

‘It seems like he’s shown me everything he can.’

Whoooong!

When Johan looked ahead, the steel greatsword was drawing an arc as it approached. A sword strike packed with the steel golem’s heavy weight!

Johan stretched his right hand behind his back. His middle trapezius muscle contracted strongly.

Whoosh-!

Fire Harpoon.

Veins like earthworms popped out on Johan’s forearm. Holding the harpoon, he violently rotated his entire body.

Shhhhhhhh-!

Would this be the sound of a sonic boom caused by a supersonic fighter jet? The harpoon was fired at the steel golem, making a bizarre noise.

Soon, it pierced through the steel greatsword as it was, with a sound of Kwa-deu-deuk-. The harpoon did not stop there. The harpoon continued to extend and became embedded in the golem’s chest.

“Heo-eo-heop!”

Alex, who immediately recognized the golem’s condition, screamed.

But the true value of the spell had not yet been properly demonstrated. Immediately afterwards, Johan clenched his fist tightly.

KWA-AAAAAAAANG!!!

The embedded harpoon twitched for a moment, and then exploded, creating a huge mushroom cloud of flames.

At the same time, the golem was literally shattered into pieces. Alex hurriedly constructed a steel shield. If he wasn’t careful, he could die without even participating in the tournament!

“Keueueueut!”

“Sh, shit! You should at least give a warning!”

The influence of the fire demon was not on a scale that only Alex would be affected by. All the players who were watching the two’s duel quickly deployed their respective defensive techniques.

Kukwakwakwakwackwa!

The next moment, a red mushroom cloud embraced the players.