Episode 98. 1-on-1 Duel (4)

My match ended, and the next one was Lucy’s turn.

I was worried about her match against Alice, so I should go check on her.

I went to the player waiting area where Lucy was.

“Huh? Lee Hoyeon! I watched your match!”

“Thanks. I came to support you.”

Of course, even though I said that, it’ll be tough for Lucy to win.

Alice is an overpowered character, capable of rivaling Nam Daeun if she could just fix her mana disorder.

Especially, Alice’s talent as a magic swordsman, with her versatile fighting style, is advantageous in 1v1s.

Still, I shouldn’t let Lucy see it and should cheer her on.

“Thanks. I’ll do my best too!”

“Yep. It’s starting soon. I’ll be in the waiting room. Let’s grab lunch together later.”

“Okay~!”

★ Heroine Status Screen

[Lucy]

• [ Affection: 88 ]

• [ Lust: 40 ]

• [ Appetite: 30 ]

• [ Fatigue: 35 ]

Current State: Even if I lose this time, I have to do better next time…!

Fortunately, even if she loses, her mental state shouldn’t be an issue.

It’s bittersweet, but Lucy seems to know the difference.

I saw Lucy off with a smile until the very end.

*

“I expected it, but it’s a shame….”

Unfortunately, the match was Lucy’s loss.

Still, the match itself was good.

Lucy’s overwhelming firepower was fully displayed.

Alice handled it too well, but Lucy did incredibly well, so her results should be good too.

Next, Nam Daeun naturally dominated her match.

She cut him down within 3 seconds of the start, so the opponent probably doesn’t even know why they lost.

[Match over! The winner is A Class Cadet Nam Daeun! We will have a break until 1:30 PM to ensure the players’ rest and lunch. Spectators, please also have lunch and return to your seats by 1:30 PM!]

With Nam Daeun’s match also concluding, the semi-final matchups of Lee Hoyeon vs Kim Young-han and Alice vs Nam Daeun were set.

First, since I decided to have lunch with Lucy, I sent her a message and went to her waiting room.

“Lucy. I’m here.”

“Yep, yep. Come in!”

As I opened the door and entered, Lumi was also sitting in the waiting room.

“Oh, Lumi’s here too?”

It seems she was waiting with them since I suggested lunch.

“Hoyeon-ssi. You were so cool.”

“Thanks.”

“Lumi. You didn’t say I was cool to me. Are you ignoring me because I lost?”

“Hoyeon-ssi greeted me in the practice arena… but you didn’t greet me.”

“Ah… Sorry. I forgot.”

As expected, small details really are important.

I gained points for something so trivial.

“Let’s go eat lunch. Where do you want to go?”

“The student cafeteria is too crowded! Let’s eat outside!”

“I don’t mind.”

Since it was lunchtime and also guaranteed rest time for the finalists, there was quite a lot of time.

“Alright. Then let’s go eat out.”

Eating out after a long time would be nice.

*

I came back after eating lunch outside with the Lucy-Lumi twins.

Even though Lucy wasn’t showing it, the loss seemed to bother her a bit, so Lumi and I tried hard to comfort her.

We decided to wait together in the waiting room until my match started.

“You have to go to the finals and get revenge for me. Okay?”

“Don’t worry.”

“If it’s Hoyeon-ssi, you can win the championship…!”

I relaxed while chatting with the twins.

Of course, the possibility of meeting Alice in the finals is almost nonexistent, so I won’t be able to get revenge, but anyway.

[The semi-finals will begin shortly. Spectators, please take your seats.]

“It looks like it’s starting now. I’ll head to the player waiting area soon.”

“Yep. Good luck! Win for sure! I’ll be watching intently!”

“Hoyeon-ssi, do your best…!”

“Thanks.”

Receiving cheers from Lucy and Lumi, I headed towards the player waiting area.

Hearing that I would fight Kim Young-han, something felt strange.

“Cadet Lee Hoyeon-nim. Please prepare to go up to the practice arena.”

“Yes. Understood.”

Starting from the semi-finals, each match is crucial, so it was noticeable they were doing their best to accommodate me and ensure my condition wasn’t affected.

Following the polite staff’s guidance, I went up to the practice arena.

[The match between A Class Cadet Lee Hoyeon and A Class Cadet Kim Young-han will begin soon!]

“Handsome guy. Hi hi.”

As soon as I stepped onto the practice arena, Kim Young-han, who had been waiting, spoke to me.

“Why have you been calling me ‘handsome guy’ lately?”

“My friend Lee Hoyeon has gone too far, so I’m disappointed.”

“Whatever. I won’t go easy on you, so be prepared.”

The finals are coming up soon, and I can’t afford the stupid mistake of losing due to carelessness.

I must face him with my best effort.

“Scary….”

Kim Young-han drew his sword with a wry smile, and I raised my mana.

[5, 4, 3, 2, 1, Start!]

With the starting signal, my combat senses stirred.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

‘What the….’

He’s stronger than I expected?

My combat senses warned me that Kim Young-han was a much more dangerous opponent than Do Jin-hyuk.

Kim Young-han approached me, swinging his unique thorn sword, which had dark red thorns sprouting from it.

‘Eye Opening’

Tang!

Blocking the sword with Cotton Guard, I created distance.

Without using Acceleration, Kim Young-han’s speed was faster than mine.

However, by reading the sword’s trajectory beforehand with ‘Eye Opening’, I could cope.

Kim Young-han continuously charged forward to close the distance with me.

Even though his sword strikes were blocked and he was counter-attacked, and his cadet uniform caught fire, he continued his all-out offense without caring about his own body.

Taang!

With a fireball and Cotton Guard, I bought time and distanced myself from Kim Young-han.

“Why are you attacking so ferociously?”

“Because I want to see your true abilities. You haven’t even used the skills you used on Do Jin-hyuk yet.”

“Because the situation isn’t right, I’m not using them.”

Acceleration and Spiral are not skills I can use freely.

Due to my limited mana, I can only use them once or twice, so I must use them at the opportune moment.

“Is that so…?”

Kim Young-han drew his sword again.

Even though he already had many minor wounds, there was no sign of him giving up.

‘It’s about time I finished this.’

Kim Young-han charged at me again, and we exchanged blows.

After dodging his attacks without taking damage, I cast a fireball at Kim Young-han as he retreated.

If the distance increased, I could attack unilaterally, so I couldn’t miss this opportunity.

However, right before I launched the fireball, my combat senses suddenly sent a danger signal.

My heart pounded even harder than when I faced two ogres simultaneously, and I felt a strong sense of unease.

I immediately threw myself to the right.

I couldn’t ignore this inexplicable sense of dread, so I relied on my intuition.

Kwagagagagak!

Simultaneously, a vicious sound struck my ears as something grazed my cheek.

“Wow… No one has ever dodged this from the start, you’re truly a monster.”

Kim Young-han, with his hand on the floor, looked at me with his mouth agape.

And where I had been standing just moments ago, dark red thorns over 3 meters tall had erupted.

“…What is this.”

My cheek felt hot.

Wiping my cheek with the back of my hand, red liquid came off.

“…Blood?”

Of course, since I’m inside the mana field, it’s not an actual wound.

It’s just one of the devices designed to make me feel pain to hone my combat senses.

But it was certainly a sharp attack, enough to wound me.

That was close.

If I had reacted even a moment slower, I probably would have lost with high probability.

My body would have been pierced by those thorns, activating the safety setting.

“It was my ultimate move… To think it failed.”

Kim Young-han muttered, seeming genuinely disappointed.

“…Hey. You should save something like this for the finals, shouldn’t you? You surprised me.”

“I intended to do just that. But what can I do when you’re so strong? First, I have to win the semi-finals to even reach the finals.”

“That’s absurd.”

The thorns erupting behind me were clearly, no matter who looked, beyond the level of a cadet.

I had never heard of or seen an ability that could exert such physical force in an instant.

Moreover, it ignored my ‘Eye Opening’ and [Mana Resonance] and burst forth; it wasn’t a mana-based skill but must be a unique divine power. I never imagined he’d hide such a trump card.

“Sigh, I wanted to end the 1v1 duel with the victory of the unexpected rookie Kim Young-han, but you ruined it.”

“…To offer my shallow condolences, even if you hadn’t used this and reached the finals, you wouldn’t have been able to beat Nam Daeun anyway.”

In the original work too, Nam Daeun was the winner, so Kim Young-han’s plan would have failed.

Nam Daeun’s divine power, [Space Domination].

The surrounding space is already Nam Daeun’s domain.

She would definitely know about the summoning of such giant thorns.

“Saying that hurts my pride. Well, anyway. Since this was blocked, I’ll forfeit. Referee! I forfeit!”

Kim Young-han coolly admitted defeat.

Surely summoning those giant thorns wasn’t the end, and it seemed he still had some strength left, but perhaps he just didn’t want to reveal his abilities.

[Ah! Cadet Kim Young-han, whose decisive surprise attack failed, forfeits. The winner is A Class Cadet Lee Hoyeon! Please give him a round of applause!]

As the mana barrier dissolved, I approached Kim Young-han, who was smiling bitterly.

“Hey. As a man, you’re not gonna sulk just because you lost this, right?”

“Of course not. If I stay friendly with the handsome guy, I can at least pick up the crumbs that fall.”

Fortunately, Kim Young-han didn’t seem bothered at all.

“After that last match, you’ll become a nuisance magnet too. Tsk.”

Kim Young-han, while not as much as me, is also good-looking, and since he revealed his hidden abilities, annoyances will surely swarm him.

“Well, it’s good for choosing where to work later, isn’t it?”

Lies.

Although it’s a fact no one knows yet, Kim Young-han is the successor of a major guild.

The problem is he’s a psycho who entered the academy wanting to prove himself alone, without using the guild’s name.

“Right. You worked hard.”

“You too. Since you beat me and advanced, make sure you win the championship.”

“Hmm, I’ll try my best.”

Kim Young-han immediately turned and went down below the practice arena, and I waved enthusiastically at the spectators as I came down.

*

“That’s a shame. But that final surprise attack was really good.”

Im Sol, who had been watching Lee Hoyeon’s match, smiled at his victory.

“I know, right? How did he dodge that? What’s our young master going to do?”

“What?”

“No, no, dodging that, Cadet Lee Hoyeon is amazing. I’m going to the restroom for a moment.”

Min Yeji tidied up her things, stood up, and left the spectator stands.

Checking her smartwatch, Kim Young-han was waiting at her destination.

“Young master. You worked hard. It’s truly a shame. To think that surprise attack would be blocked.”

“I know, right… You saw it too, Yeji-ssi? That Hoyeon guy is a monster. Didn’t you say you were contacting him about recruitment last time? How are things progressing?”

Kim Young-han greeted Min Yeji with an unusually serious demeanor.

“Uh… well, it’s going well. But it seems Cadet Lee Hoyeon has no intention of getting involved with a guild. Relatively speaking, compared to other guilds who can’t even get in touch, it’s only because it was me who secured this contact. You know?”

“Of course, I know Yeji-ssi’s abilities. That’s why you earn such a high salary. Anyway, please try harder. If we can bring Hoyeon in, the Ironblood Guild becoming #1 in Korea won’t be a dream.”

Although Kim Young-han doesn’t show it externally, he is already internally designated as the successor of the Ironblood Guild.

He intended to proudly announce it if he won the 1v1 duel this time, but unfortunately, this plan failed.

“Yes, yes. Of course. Speaking of which, Young master, you seem quite friendly with Cadet Lee Hoyeon. Are you trying to recruit him later by becoming friends beforehand? That’s amazing~.”

If Lee Hoyeon were to join the Ironblood Guild, of course he’d be welcomed, but that’s not why we became friends.

“That’s not it. Hoyeon is just a friend. Watching him is fun.”

*

After finishing my match, I returned to the waiting room to watch Alice and Nam Daeun’s match.

Of course, after the match, the medical team came and fully restored my stamina and mana.

They had to ensure I was in peak condition before the next match.

The moment I opened a can of drink prepared in the waiting room, a system window appeared before my eyes.

---

『Sub Quest Transmitted.』

[The Man Who Tops the Practical Exam!]

Topping the theory exam is a given!

Let’s become a man skilled in both literary and martial arts by topping the practical exam too!

• Reward: Affection +1 for all heroines

---

“…Huh?”

A sub quest that absolutely cannot be missed had appeared.