Chapter 141

Chapter 141. Grudges, and More Grudgest (4)

“So, there were players who joined the government after all?”

The tone was ambiguous, seeming both to express frustration and a strange sense of amusement.

“I was hoping to finish this before you got here… What a mess.”

However, despite these words, Yun Jihye’s eyes remained icily cold.

Observing the scene, I sighed again and took a step forward.

“If you know it’s over, just quietly…”

“Take another step and this guy dies.”

With that, Yun Jihye pressed the dagger closer to Lee Junmo’s neck.

I came to an abrupt stop, not because the threat was effective, but because her words were so absurd they were amusing, causing me to halt involuntarily.

“Ha.”

I let out a hollow laugh, curling my lips as I cracked my neck from side to side.

“Do I really look that stupid…?”

Since she was making threats that wouldn’t work on me, I entertained the notion she might believe it possible.

“… What?”

Yun Jihye’s voice was slightly more tense than before, her body more rigid.

“Try anything, and I’ll…”

“Stop making empty threats.”

For someone immediately using informal speech on the first encounter, there was no need to be polite.

I pulled out the extra barrier stone I always carried, storing my jacket in the inventory.

I had finally bought the expansion pack after hearing from Yang Jochul, resulting in plenty of space to store clothes and the like beyond just my bag.

Once I stored my clothes, I resumed my standoff with Yun Jihye.

‘She doesn’t seem inclined to surrender willingly.’

If that’s the case, conflict was inevitable.

Combat between players capable of using attribute mana wouldn’t exclude the use of magic.

Yet, on Earth, we can’t go all out without restrictions.

‘I need to hide as much as I can.’

That way, Yang Jochul would have an easier time clearing up afterwards.

After breaking the barrier stone, I closed the distance towards Yun Jihye.

But Yun Jihye wasn’t idle either.

A sharp chill arose, followed by a hail of sharp icicles aimed my way.

Upon expanding my senses, time around me seemed to slow as my thoughts quickened.

‘Third-rank magic, is it?’

Given the strong feeling of it, the mana itself seemed to be of fourth rank.

Still, the magic used only employed ice as its element.

Of course, that didn’t make it any less formidable.

‘The barrier will be breached.’

Magic implementable with second-rank mana can block basic second-rank elemental magic at best.

So, I had two choices.

Suppress with a higher-ranking magic than my opponent’s, or counter with magic of the same rank but an opposing element.

Of the two choices, I opted for the latter.

‘Same-rank opposing elemental magic.’

With magic of the same rank, the dominance varies depending on the element, akin to rock-paper-scissors.

In this matchup of elemental attributes, I intended to come out victorious by leveraging my focus on learning fire magic, a counter to ice.

‘Flame Storm.’

Flame, accented with wind, roared more fiercely, swirling through the air.

Thanks to that, the ice created by Yun Jihye began to melt rapidly.

Even though the resulting water mildly dampened the flames, it wasn’t a major problem.

I merely had to pour more mana in to burn away even the water.

‘It’s hard to find a player with more attribute mana than me.’

From the start, the odds of me losing against Yun Jihye in this clash were slim.

The steam rising from the water boiling at her feet made it clear.

Under such circumstances, any additional water-based magic would lose efficacy.

“Is this your only area-wide attack? Please, let that be all.”

Evidently aware of this, Yun Jihye tried to buy time with a tone tinged with frustration.

However, I had no intention of playing into her obvious tactic.

“Reality isn’t so forgiving, unfortunately.”

This time, flames rose from beneath.

‘Hellfire.’

Unlike Flame Storm, entwined with wind elements, hellfire combined fire and earth elements.

Flames cavorted across both air and earth, heedless of anything else.

Though not a lethal threat to players wielding fourth or fifth-rank elemental magic.

“Haahk, it’s hot, hot!”

Lee Junmo, a civilian caught between two players, was in a different situation.

Unable to withstand the blaze, Lee Junmo screamed for help.

The player who responded was not me.

“Can’t you put out the fire? What if this guy dies?”

“Doesn’t your statement contradict itself? Didn’t you say you were going to kill him anyway?”

As I casually replied, Yun Jihye gritted her teeth.

Not long after, she encased Lee Junmo in cold frost.

‘And she claims she’ll kill him.’

From the start, Yun Jihye had no intention of killing Lee Junmo.

She intended to keep him alive if at all possible, which was plain to me.

That’s why her earlier threats to kill Lee Junmo were laughable.

I shook my head, letting out a hollow laugh.

“Instead of fretting with him in your grasp, just hand him over and let me send him outside the barrier.”

Reaching out to exclude Lee Junmo from the situation, I said.

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

Yun Jihye retorted with a sharp tone.

She had no intention of killing Lee Junmo nor letting him go.

A sigh mingled with frustration escaped involuntarily.

“Fine, suit yourself.”

Avoiding unnecessary stubbornness that prolonged the standoff, I continued maintaining the flames within the barrier while drawing a spear.

「Enhancement at 14.95%」

Currently, the spear of Kerak was still in the tortoise-paced process of enhancement.

Initially, I used the cross-shaped spear cautiously.

But after checking the enhancement state a few times, I surmised using it wouldn’t cause issues.

My personal use didn’t alter the enhancement pace.

So, I opted to use it freely.

‘It’s become more familiar in my hands now.’

When I swung the spear forward, Yun Jihye also unsheathed her sword, though her eyes locked onto my spear wavered slightly.

“Dear God… Are you K? No way, right?”

It seemed she connected the dots after observing the distinctive combination of electric mana and a spear associated with me.

“And if I am, are you going to lay that down gently?”

“Am I crazy?”

“Then why ask?”

Knowing wouldn’t change much at all.

After I mumbled as much, a short tension-filled silence ensued before breaking.

In that short moment, both Yun Jihye and I poised ourselves optimally to wield our weapons.

This time, I took the initiative.

With a long grip on the spear, I moved to seize control of the remaining distance to Yun Jihye in one stroke.

“Hm!”

Yun Jihye deftly deflected the spear aimed at closing in the effective range but was forced to retreat.

However, I followed immediately.

The sharp spearhead glided along her sword, slipping inward.

“Dammit!”

In distress, Yun Jihye leaned backward to evade the spearhead.

I then drew the spear sharply downward, intending to slice through her chest.

But Yun Jihye opted to roll across the ground instead.

Pursuing her once more, I thought, ‘Taking care of this shouldn’t be difficult.’

In just two exchanges, I realized Yun Jihye hadn’t faced someone skilled in spear handling before.

‘It seems like she’s dodging my attacks thanks to good reflexes.’

But that’s a Silver rank opponent. Without achieving the third awakening, physical abilities can’t match up.

As I approached once more, Yun Jihye sprung up and launched herself backward.

Meanwhile, she glared daggers at me, her eyes as sharp as the icy spikes that erupted all around.

‘Smells a bit like wind too.’

The scent, light for a fifth-rank, was definitely fourth-rank.

It seems like third-rank ice was layered with wind attributes.

‘She’s good at handling mana.’

Jihye’s mana, detected by my heightened senses, moved smoothly, unlike my own, where separating water drastically lowered operational efficiency.

Had the opportunity arisen, I’d have wanted to learn from her, though it seemed unlikely.

Suppressing a sigh borne out of regret, I infused regular mana into the spear before swinging it widely.

The ice created by Yun Jihye shattered, clearing a path.

Immediately, her attack patterns changed.

Perhaps she realized this was a futile battle of attrition, as instead of maintaining distance, she moved in closer.

Under normal training, I wouldn’t have allowed her proximity.

To leverage the advantage of the spear, I needed to maintain distance.

However, this time was different.

Because Yun Jihye’s approach was exactly what I desired.

I didn’t retreat even as her sword traced up the staff of my spear.

In fact, I took another step closer.

Taken aback, Yun Jihye’s eyes widened.

But before she could react—

Boom!

The sword, swung with the intent to cleave my neck, was halted by a barrier.

Had Yun Jihye enveloped her sword in attribute mana, it might have penetrated.

But I counted on her using regular mana.

Indeed, what coated Yun Jihye’s sword blade wasn’t ice but a red mist.

‘Knowing I’m of the lightning type, she…’

With the ranking disparity, using attribute mana would’ve been wasteful in a close-quarters fight.

Having anticipated her use of regular mana in melee instead of in a magic duel, I was right.

My utilizing regular mana on my weapon served to guide her there from the start.

As Yun Jihye’s sword ricocheted, I dropped the barrier and reached out.

The target was the package that Yun Jihye had constantly carried, Lee Junmo.

Upon making contact with Lee Junmo, Yun Jihye’s expression betrayed defeat.

That’s when confirmation hit.

‘Bad at personal combat.’

It wasn’t just a lack of experience with those wielding spears; she had little direct combat experience in general.

A ‘monster hunter’ type who exclusively cleared corrupted areas, perhaps.

The result was a potent yet overly straightforward sword technique, lacking in cunning or menace.

Merely slashing, stabbing, and blocking—hardly nuanced.

In sparring, tactical exchange is crucial, but she lacked experience or data from such exchanges.

Thus, she grew flustered when the fight veered off the predictable pattern.

Consequently, resolution came sooner than anticipated.

“Oh, no!”

Panicked, Yun Jihye tried to let go of her sword and wrest free from me.

However, I never planned to seize Lee Junmo.

Why aim for Junmo when grabbing Yun Jihye ends the scuffle at once?

My reach was purely a feint.

‘The real deal is my foot.’

By the time Yun Jihye attempted to fend off my hand, my boot had already begun its ascent.

Thud.

“Argh!”

An unabashed turning kick, exerting full strength, struck.

Yun Jihye, merely a Silver rank, couldn’t withstand the overwhelming pain.

Her grip on Lee Junmo slackened, and she rolled away like a rubber ball.

Following quickly, I abandoned Lee Junmo and approached Yun Jihye.

“Arghhh!”

Lee Junmo’s cries of agony echoed as he remained alone amidst the flames, but I paid little heed.

‘I can adjust the fire magic.’

He wouldn’t die thus.

Rather than Junmo, I locked my focus on Yun Jihye.

Seizing her neck as she attempted to twist in mid-air using an ice foothold.

With a slam, I forcefully drove her into the ground, fracturing it with the impact.

“Cough!”

Unable to bear the shock, Yun Jihye coughed up blood.

Even amidst such chaos, she attempted to retaliate by clutching at my collar.

“Let’s ease off a bit.”

I said, stifling Yun Jihye’s desperate struggle by restricting her throat.

Yet, she showed no intention of yielding to my request.

“H-Hey, let me…”

“What?”

Contrarily, she clung irritably to my arm and clothes, trying to articulate something.

Lightening my grip at the sheer desperation of her gestures, I allowed her to speak.

“Let me just gouge that bastard’s other eye!”

The words were absurd.

“N-no one can see because of the barrier anyway! I won’t tell anyone you allowed it, so please, just one more eye…”

“Stop spouting nonsense and just sleep.”

Cutting her off, I raised my left fist.

And struck Yun Jihye’s abdomen.

“Cough!”

She vomited more blood and went limp.

Retrieving her over my shoulder after dispelling the fire magic, I rose.

My footsteps echoed as I trudged over to the tree where Yun Jihye had tied up Lee Junmo.

Briefly glancing at Lee Junmo’s fingers, slightly roasted by flames, I sighed and bent over.

I picked up the item carelessly placed by his side.

Damned System