Chapter 48: The One Who Controls Fire

Chapter 48

“Whoa!”

Kim Jinsung instinctively jumped out of the shadows, retreating quickly. Had he reacted a moment later, he would have suffered burns on at least one part of his body, but he managed to evade just in time. As the explosion smoke cleared, a young man he had never seen before stood where the rabbit burrow had been.

“I had a bad feeling about this! If I hadn’t been focused, I would’ve been in big trouble… Whew!”

The man spoke loudly, even wiping imaginary sweat from his forehead, then looked at Kim Jinsung.

“It doesn’t seem like you came here to form an alliance with me, right?”

Kim Jinsung didn’t bother to respond. Keeping his sword aimed at the man was answer enough. The man smirked.

“Alright, come at me! Just so you know, I’m pretty strong. Heh heh.”

The man assumed a fighting stance, ready to fight barehanded without any visible weapons. But Kim Jinsung didn’t let his guard down.

“He’s definitely strong.”

The man’s confidence wasn’t just bravado. Kim Jinsung’s instincts warned him that the man’s level was quite high, similar to when he had faced a sane Kang Minhyuk. But that didn’t mean he intended to avoid the fight.

“First, let’s see his abilities.”

Kim Jinsung launched himself at the man, closing the distance in an instant. He swung his sword with controlled force, ready to pull back if necessary. Despite this, the black mana swirling around his sword was thick. Just as the sharp blade was about to touch the man’s body, flames erupted from the man’s entire body, identical to the explosion when the rabbit had tried to detonate.

**Boom!**

“Grr!”

Kim Jinsung gritted his teeth as he was engulfed by a much larger explosion. If not for the Magi surrounding his body and the armor he had obtained from the supply box, he would have been severely injured. Then, something enormous swung at him through the flames.

**Clang!**

Even though he reflexively raised his sword to block the attack, Kim Jinsung was pushed back more than two steps. The attack was that powerful.

“Damn! Supply box armor, huh? I couldn’t see it in the dark!”

The man’s voice, now a bear’s, expressed disappointment. The man who had been a human moments ago had transformed into a massive bear. The bear scratched its head with the same enormous paw that had just attacked Kim Jinsung.

“Normal physical attacks won’t work on you, huh? Guess I’ll have to keep burning you.”

The bear muttered to itself, not caring if Kim Jinsung heard. Watching this, Kim Jinsung thought,

“A shapeshifter who can transform into animals? And it’s not just an ordinary bear’s strength…”

Kim Jinsung had never faced an opponent who could transform from a tiny rabbit to a massive bear over 3 meters tall since the preliminaries began.

—

“Oh wow.”

“That’s Yoon Aram!”

“Yoon Aram vs. Kim Jinsung? Can’t miss this.”

“I was going to sleep early for work tomorrow, but now I can’t.”

The chat on Colosseum’s official internet broadcast sped up rapidly. The commentators raised their voices.

“Ah, Kim Jinsung and Yoon Aram are facing off! The top superstar of Group A against the rising new star who has been gaining attention since two days ago!”

“The initial atmosphere is evenly matched. This is exciting!”

The staff in the monitoring room became busy instantly.

“Move all nearby unmanned cameras and drone cameras to their location.”

“Get as close as possible! Don’t let the battle scenes get obscured by leaves like last time!”

**Boom!**

“Another explosion!”

“Be careful not to let the cameras get hit by debris!”

“Just in case, move three fire-suppression drones nearby.”

The directors and managers couldn’t take their eyes off the monitors. Jang Seungwook, standing at the back, was also focused on the screen. Sensing someone approaching, he turned his head. It was Baek Jun, who had just arrived for his shift in the monitoring room. Jang Seungwook greeted him.

“You’re here?”

“Let’s watch.”

Baek Jun replied briefly, motioning for the staff who were about to greet him to sit back down. Both he and Jang Seungwook then focused on the monitors.

—

**Boom!**

Another massive explosion erupted where Kim Jinsung had been standing. He quickly sidestepped to avoid it and looked ahead. He saw another large fireball flying towards him. Desperately bending backward, he narrowly dodged it. Another loud explosion sounded from behind him.

“This is endless.”

Kim Jinsung looked at Yoon Aram. The gigantic bear was preparing to swing its paw, which was engulfed in fiery mana. If left unchecked, another massive fireball would fly towards Kim Jinsung. But he wasn’t going to just stand by and watch.

Kim Jinsung launched himself at the bear, closing the distance in an instant. Just before the bear could swing its paw, he swung his sword first. However,

**Whoosh!**

His sword sliced through the air, missing its target.

“Damn.”

Without even looking at Yoon Aram’s position, Kim Jinsung immediately dodged to the side. Just in time, a massive fireball landed where he had been standing. Another explosion followed, engulfing the area in flames. Before the flames could die down, a cheetah, engulfed in flames, charged at Kim Jinsung.

“A cheetah?”

Yoon Aram, now transformed into a cheetah, moved at a speed almost impossible to follow with the naked eye. Kim Jinsung, despite giving it his all, could only assume a defensive stance, unable to think of dodging.

**Boom!**

As soon as the flaming cheetah collided with him, Kim Jinsung’s entire body was engulfed in flames. Yoon Aram let out a triumphant shout.

“Nice! …Damn it!”

But the voice quickly turned to one of disappointment. Yoon Aram realized that the burning figure in front of him was not the real Kim Jinsung, but a straw scarecrow.

“I thought I got him this time… Huh!”

Muttering to himself, Yoon Aram suddenly gasped. Out of nowhere, Kim Jinsung appeared to his right, swinging his sword. The distance was too close to dodge. However, Kim Jinsung’s attack missed again. At the same time, he saw it.

“He transformed again.”

Just before the sword could connect, the cheetah shrank and burrowed into the ground. Looking down, Kim Jinsung saw a small hole.

“A mole? …Ugh!”

Kim Jinsung immediately sensed danger and leaped backwards. At the same time, an explosion erupted from the ground where he had been standing, flames shooting up.

**Rumble…!**

The ground collapsed completely, and Kim Jinsung saw it. If he had stayed there, he would have been engulfed in flames and fallen into the ground, facing a severe crisis.

“Damn it! Just take one hit, will you!”

Yoon Aram emerged from the ground in mole form, shouting in frustration. He then transformed into another animal, this time a monkey. He leaped up into a tree, pointing his fingers at Kim Jinsung. His hands were quickly engulfed in fiery mana, and ten fire mana arrows shot out. The speed of these fire arrows was incomparable to the previous fireballs.

“……”

Kim Jinsung focused on the incoming fire arrows, then took three steps back to the left.

**Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!**

The fire arrows hit the ground, causing a series of small explosions, engulfing the area in flames. But the spot where Kim Jinsung stood remained untouched.

“Oh really? Let’s see how long you can keep dodging!”

Yoon Aram shouted as he fired another ten fire arrows. Kim Jinsung watched the arrows intently, then moved forward. Another series of explosions occurred where he had been standing.

Meanwhile, the area around them was turning into a sea of flames.

—

“Wow…!”

“He dodged all of that?”

“But he keeps firing arrows!”

“This is intense!”

“Yoon Aram is really strong, right?”

“So far, isn’t it Yoon Aram’s win? Kim Jinsung is just running away.”

The viewers watching the battle were more excited than ever. While it was impressive that Yoon Aram was holding his own against Kim Jinsung, the spectacle of his fiery attacks was the main attraction. The staff in the monitoring room were also quite surprised.

“Was Yoon Aram always this strong…?”

“Isn’t this the first time someone has cornered Kim Jinsung like this?”

“The fact that he’s perfectly dodging Kim Jinsung’s counterattacks is significant. Even Kang Minhyuk couldn’t dodge, he just blocked.”

The staff praised Yoon Aram in unison. However, CEO Baek Jun and Vice President Jang Seungwook were calmly analyzing the battle.

“…It looks like Kim Jinsung is holding back, doesn’t it?”

Baek Jun nodded at Jang Seungwook’s observation.

“He hasn’t used any skills like ‘Confusion’ at all.”

Just a few hours ago, Kim Jinsung had been using the ‘Confusion’ skill against Forghinae whenever the timing was right. Yet, he hadn’t used any status-related skills against Yoon Aram.

“If he’s holding back, there’s only one reason.”

“To fully understand the opponent’s pattern.”

Baek Jun nodded again at Jang Seungwook’s agreement. Among the Colosseum staff, Jang Seungwook was the only one whose judgment was somewhat comparable to Baek Jun’s.

—

The sound of a large burning tree branch falling to the ground caught Kim Jinsung’s attention. He looked around. The entire area, including the ground and trees, had turned into a fiery hell. It was reminiscent of running through the wildfire the previous day.

“How about now? There’s hardly any place left to dodge, right? Heh heh.”

Yoon Aram, in monkey form, laughed at Kim Jinsung from a burning tree, seemingly unaffected by the flames. As a fire manipulator, he sat on the burning tree as if it were nothing.

“Alright, let’s continue. How long do you think you can last in the fire without a fireproof suit? Your skin must be starting to burn by now.”

“……”

“If you want to run away, do it now! I won’t chase you. But if you run, you lose. Understand? Heh heh.”

After saying that, Yoon Aram casually watched Kim Jinsung with his chin resting on his hand. Kim Jinsung looked up at Yoon Aram for a moment, then sheathed his sword. Yoon Aram looked slightly surprised.

“Oh~ Unexpected. I thought you’d fight to the end out of pride… huh?”

Yoon Aram’s expression changed as he realized Kim Jinsung hadn’t given up the fight. Kim Jinsung spread his hands wide, aiming them at Yoon Aram.

“You did this earlier, right?”

Saying that, Kim Jinsung infused his hands with Magi. Then, black mana arrows shot out from his ten fingers at incredible speed.

“!!”

Yoon Aram, shocked, reflexively jumped to the next tree. Just in the nick of time, the black arrows hit the branch where he had been sitting.

**Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!**

The tree was shattered into pieces by the successive explosions. As Yoon Aram’s eyes widened at the sight of flying tree fragments, he heard Kim Jinsung’s voice in his ear.

“Thank you.”

Kim Jinsung’s voice was calm.

“Thanks to you, I discovered a new way to use mana.”

(TLN: I guess dude is making use of them intelligence stats huh)

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