chapter_0621

621 – Fortuneteller

621 – Fortuneteller

How can I win this duel?

After a day of contemplation, I finally came up with a somewhat plausible method.

If it turned into a physical fight, I would undoubtedly lose.

To win the duel, I had to rely on the stamina of the Beastmen and turn it into a battle of endurance.

“Wanga! Don’t lose, no matter what!”

“Hang in there!”

“Okay!”

With the children’s cheers, I raised my fists and took a fighting stance.

The most important thing in this duel was to avoid getting hit at all costs.

Even if I did get hit, my pot helmet would probably protect me once or twice.

I tapped the helmet that Haneul had made for me and looked around.

‘They came to cheer me on.’

I waved at the guild members, who were just as tense as I was.

Then, without a moment’s hesitation, I charged at my opponent.

“Here I go!”

“Wait, hold on…!”

Even without Mana, the speed of the Beastmen was considerable.

Surprised by my speed, my opponent stumbled backward in shock.

‘I need to avoid a frontal fight.’

I had to aim for the sides.

I circled around my opponent, throwing punches at their back and thighs, gradually accumulating my attacks.

Swish-swish! Thud!

Swish-swish! Thud!

While the damage might not be significant, in martial arts, there was something called striking points.

If I kept accumulating points like this without getting hit, I would ultimately have to win.

“Yah!”

Thud! Thud!

It was when I was striking my opponent’s back with both hands that they suddenly dropped to one knee and raised their hands toward the sky.

“Time out!”

“……?”

Why the sudden time out?

Did my punches hurt them enough to make them collapse?

I had a faint hope, but I knew better than anyone that my punches weren’t that strong.

“What’s going on…?”

I stepped back to the edge of the arena to avoid their strange behavior.

It was possible they might suddenly charge at me under the pretense of a strategy.

I had expected this to happen…

“Oh, oh no, I think there’s been a misunderstanding!”

The person, who had seemed somewhat arrogant, began to plead in a flustered manner.

We couldn’t help but be taken aback by their sudden behavior.

“Misunderstanding…?”

“What misunderstanding?”

“I-I didn’t come here to fight Gyeoul…!”

At their words, I had no choice but to lower my fists.

They really didn’t seem to have any intention of fighting me.

“I-I received this duel invitation…”

I pulled out the duel invitation to show them.

They looked visibly flustered, unsure if it was a legitimate invitation.

“Why…?”

“It was left at a place we often visit…”

At my words, they shook their head, insisting it wasn’t true.

Seeing their aggrieved expression, it really seemed like they weren’t lying.

“W-Wait, I think something got miscommunicated. I absolutely did not send this to you! I swear to Haneul!”

“Is that so…?”

Seeing them go that far made it seem like they really weren’t lying.

As I realized that they had no intention of facing me, the excitement of the battle began to fade.

“They said they weren’t trying to fight Gyeoul?”

“Yeah. But why did the duel invitation go to Gyeoul?”

The spectators who had come to watch the fight also appeared relieved.

Perhaps the tension had eased, as a sigh escaped from somewhere.

The fierce gazes of our Masters also softened, signaling that a fight was unnecessary.

“Then, who was the duel invitation sent to…?”

“Uh… to Kim Woo-jin’s team leader…”

“Yeah…?”

I knew that person was currently in a dungeon.

Could the duel invitation have gotten mixed up because of the dungeon?

It was at that moment of confusion that Master Park Tae-san strode onto the arena.

“Since it’s awkward to end it like this, how about you fight me!”

“Huh?”

Both of us replied simultaneously.

However, I saw Master Park Tae-san lightly step down from the duel invitation area while my opponent remained on the ring.

“Without Mana, right?”

“Y-Yeah, but…”

“Then let’s start!”

Master Park Tae-san charged at them.

Even with a Mana suppressor on, he moved with the speed of a tank.

Whoosh!

As Master Park Tae-san charged directly at my opponent, he threw a punch aimed at their face, and they hurriedly raised their guard.

Master Park Tae-san’s fist, as large as my thigh, broke through their guard and struck their face.

Thud!

Even without Mana, the sound of the impact echoed as they collapsed to the ground.

“Ugh.”

To knock someone out with a single blow without Mana—no wonder they were called the top guild.

Looking up at Master Park Tae-san with astonished eyes, I saw him throw the fallen opponent over his shoulder.

“Hey! I’m taking this one with me?!”

At Master Park Tae-san’s question, our Master nodded.

I was taken aback by the suddenness of taking someone who had just collapsed.

“Where are you taking them…?”

“They look useful, so I’m going to train them and teach them etiquette.”

Master Park Tae-san, who was always boisterous, now smiled with a somewhat frightening demeanor.

As he carried the person I had fought out of the building, no one dared to stop him.

“……”

What is this? Is it over like this?

I rolled my eyes for a while.

**

“Wow, it’s the King!”

After greeting those who had come to watch, I stepped out of the duel arena.

When we arrived at the park, Levinas did a joyful leap.

Even though I hadn’t fought properly, he acted as if I had won.

“Why?”

“When the opponent saw Wanga, they gasped in surprise, right?! That’s because Wanga is too strong!”

“I’m strong?”

“Yeah! They were trying to take out the weak ones first, but suddenly the final boss, Wanga, showed up! Of course, they would be surprised!”

“Ah, I see.”

So that’s how Levinas thinks.

It was clear how much he admired me.

It was ambiguous to speak of truth and lies here, so I just smiled.

“If you had fought Wanga, the opponent would have…! The opponent would have…!”

It was at that moment when Levinas raised his clenched fist triumphantly.

Someone approached us, sitting on the bench.

They were college students who often came to the park.

“Gyeoul.”

“Yes?”

“Is it true that you fought some strange person?”

“Um…”

It was true and yet not true.

As I pondered how to respond, Levinas spoke up first.

“No! Wanga didn’t even need to step in!”

“Really…? So the Master is…?”

The male college student mimicked cutting his throat.

Levinas didn’t understand what that meant.

“What is this?”

“Ah… it’s nothing.”

The group of college students waved their hands and tried to leave.

Before they could misunderstand something, I decided to tell them the truth.

“The person who sent the duel invitation was taken by Master Park Tae-san.”

“Master Park Tae-san? The one from Taesan?”

“Yes. Master Park Tae-san knocked them out and took them away to train.”

“Training them… is that right…?”

“Yes, that should be right?”

“……”

The group of college students exchanged silent glances.

Then they nodded as if they understood something.

“Serves them right.”

“Exactly.”

The college students nodded, and Levinas nodded along with them.

It was clear that they had misunderstood something greatly.

**

“Phew.”

Clearing up misunderstandings was quite a difficult task.

Exhausted from explaining, I took a moment to rest when the children and Hanyeoreum approached me.

“Master…!”

“Yes?”

“Would you like to visit a fortune teller…?”

“A fortune teller?”

“Yes…! I’m curious…!”

Do they want to have their fortunes read?

If Haneul wants to try it, then we should go.

I nodded in understanding and got up from my seat.

“Where is the fortune teller?”

“We have to walk a bit.”

“Okay. Shall we go together?”

We all followed Haneul as she led us to the fortune teller.

I wondered how a fortune teller in a world with magic would be different.

It seemed no different from the fortune tellers in the world I lived in.

It wasn’t a shaman-style fortune teller, but one that used tarot cards to read fortunes.

“Welcome. Did you come to have your fortune read?”

With crystal orbs, unknown symbols, and cards, it felt like we had entered a mystical world.

“Yes…! Can you also read about family…?”

Haneul and the children’s eyes sparkled at the thought of having their fortunes read.

Only Hanyeoreum, who had followed us, wore a disinterested expression.

I poked Hanyeoreum in the side and whispered in a voice small enough for the others not to hear.

“Don’t you believe in fortunes?”

“Yeah. I believe I can decide my own future.”

“That’s true.”

Fortunes were nothing more than entertainment.

There was no reason to be swayed by what the tarot cards said.

I decided not to care about whatever results came from the tarot.

“Could you please tell me your birth date?”

“Well, I don’t know my birthday…! But we decided to use the day I met my family as my birthday…!”

“I see… then could you tell me the day you met them and pick one card from these?”

“Okay.”

Haneul wagged her tail and picked a card.

After selecting several cards in order, the woman’s brow furrowed in a mysterious way as she looked at the tarot cards.

“Uh…?”

“What’s wrong…?”

“Something seems off. This is too terrible…”

“The future of… my family…?”

“No, it’s the past.”

The woman stared at the cards for a long time.

Then she glanced up at Hanyeoreum and began to look flustered.

“I’m sorry. I must have made a mistake somewhere. Could you please draw again?”

“A mistake…?”

“Yes. The cards show that Hanyeoreum has tormented her family in the past. It says she laughed at death; that can’t be true, right?”

Sometimes there are mistakes.

Hehe. The woman who was reading the fortune awkwardly smiled.

Upon facing that smile, Hanyeoreum’s breath momentarily stopped.

A word from the author (Author’s note)

Thank you so much for reading today, PIA1747014585384!

Thank you for the comments and recommendations! They always give me strength!

The fortune teller was a real fortune teller…!