episode_0073

A sharp tone of voice. And the eyes full of hostility staring at me the whole time. I could immediately see that there were many negative emotions mixed in.

No matter how much I think about it, there is no particular personal grudge or connection with Jin Ye-seo. However, large waves always carry people to unknown places.

While I was away in the south, Jin Ye-seo is said to have made a great contribution by annihilating a branch of a cult that had recently been on the rise at an external request.

In addition, they tied up dozens of fanatics who fiercely resisted and handed them over to the nearby Security Bureau branch.

If it weren’t for what happened in the south, the students’ attention would have been focused on her by now, not on Sympathy for me.

“I will admit it. It’s not quite as chaff as I first thought.”

“… ”

“But I just don’t understand. After catching the antennae snake alone, he lost the duel with senior Yeon Myeong-ha again. And then he single-handedly killed dozens of bandits in the south? How can the same person’s skills fluctuate like that?”

As I keep my mouth shut, the eyes become even harsher towards me.

“You. Now that we’re talking, let’s ask. That antennae snake during practice. Is it really true that you subdued it alone?”

“… Should I tell you that?”

I still had no choice but to remain silent.

The accident during the training led to a secret oath with the principal, the duel with Yan Yanha faked defeat, and much of the credit for the Nambu incident was given to Yan Yanha.

Each question was beyond my ability to answer.

“… Tsk. it’s okay. Because I knew you wouldn’t answer.”

The blonde girl frowned as if she didn’t like it.

“You can just check it yourself anyway. You’ll find out soon. Is he truly a qualified person, or is he just a parasite who benefited from political arrangements based on the prestige of his senior?”

“… ”

“But I think the latter is correct for you. This is usually the case with people whose achievements are vague and whose successive relationships are unclear. Am I wrong?”

Even considering each other’s positions, Jin Ye-seo’s words do not sound very good. I have to say that every single word I say gets on my nerves.

For a moment, I felt a surge of animosity as I wondered if there was a need to get so immersed in it, but I also thought that maybe it would be more comfortable for the other person.

-quantum. After saying hello, everyone goes to their seats.

Jin Ye-seo seemed to have more to say, but when the examiner’s instructions were heard through the amplifier, she clicked her tongue and immediately turned back.

And I was also about to return to my position. Suddenly, a loud commotion is heard from some part of the audience.

After biting off the people around me, I immediately saw someone occupying the center of the audience. The beauty clearly showed off her presence even from a distance.

It seemed like he made eye contact with me for a moment, but as soon as he took pity on me, he put on a somber expression and quickly turned his head away.

-This isn’t Minha’s first time watching someone else’s ranking match… ?

-I don’t know. It’s like I’ve never seen it before…

Some of the whispering noises pass by my ears. To them, I had suddenly become a loyal warrior with compassion. After experiencing the events of the South together, the duel she and I had in the past no longer had even the slightest meaning.

While sympathizing, he slightly furrowed his eyebrows as if he didn’t like something.

However, I don’t sense any particular antipathy toward me in his actions. Rather, it should be said that it feels like an unwillingness to receive too much attention.

But now they treat me like my own person? I am grateful for your willingness to endure the inconvenience.

But on the contrary, a frustrating sense of foreboding, as if something heavy was weighing down, began to gradually build up in my chest.

“Ah… !”

-uh… ? excuse me… !

And the next moment.

Jin Ye-seo’s face becomes infinitely brighter as she lets out an exclamation. And the students’ cheers spread even louder than before.

I closed my eyes tightly, feeling an ominous premonition that seemed like a lie.

I had to endure the strong urge to reflexively turn my head.

Even without looking, it was obvious who else had come to this sparring hall.

I definitely expected this situation. There would be no way for both of them to not come. Before I knew it, this ranking battle had become more like a proxy war for them.

However, even though I was thinking about it from the beginning, my mind has already become soggy that it becomes wet and heavy.

-Dang-! Dang-! Dang-!

After trying to shake it off, I took a step forward and stood at the starting position.

Before you know it, the final preliminary bell signaling the start of the sparring rings, and Jin Ye-seo, with a confident expression on his face, puts his hand on the particle array, ready to bombard the audience with magic as the match begins.

How should I deal with Jin Ye-seo? Even though I said that to Yeon Yeon-ha, it is difficult to say that my body is still normal.

It is currently impossible to expand the forecast to more than half of the paths. After fighting for such a long time while exceeding the limits of what the body can endure, it is strange that it has already recovered.

Maybe it will be a harder match than expected. But I have no intention of losing.

Rather, I am filled with the desire to show even more victory. Even for Yeon-myeong-ha. And to anyone else who might be here.

Moreover, this time there is no need to even pretend to be defeated like in the last duel.

-Dang!

Eventually, with the final bell ringing, cheers pouring in from all directions fill the surroundings.

***

The masked male student pulled out his blade and began running towards Jin Ye-seo at full strides. Loud exclamations can be heard from various parts of the audience at the rapid movement.

Jin Ye-seo focused on operating her particle array calmly but quickly. Soon, a pillar of flame burning with a strange black light was created in the air behind her, radiating heat in all directions.

Black flames wriggled around their bodies like living snakes. Then, as soon as it was created, it headed towards the masked male student running from the front with a fierce force.

-Quaaah!

The male student suddenly braked and attempted to avoid the black flame snakes. Some change direction by striking away with blades containing particles, while others move their bodies wildly to perform evasive maneuvers.

The flexibility in which he freely moved his upper and lower body was enough to make people who were watching hold their tongues.

However, it cannot avoid all attacks. One of the flame snakes he had hit with his blade earlier spun around behind him, set its teeth on its snout, and bit down on his thigh.

“… Ugh.”

The flame that left an effective hit shatters on the spot and disappears into thin air. There was a large, burning scar on the spot, as if it had been bitten by a snake.

The male student stops in place with a groan. Without missing the moment, Jin Ye-seo created an additional rain of flames and began pouring it into the spot.

-Quaang! Quaaaang!

-Wow!

-Yeseo, of course!!

Cheers for her can be heard from all over the audience. When she thinks of Baek Seo-yeon, who is cheering her on with a kind smile, the corners of Jin Ye-seo’s mouth turn upward without her knowledge.

He immediately deployed a barrier and narrowly avoided an additional direct hit, but before he knew it, Dalian was in a situation where Jin Ye-seo was unilaterally pushing him.

The most basic winning formula for an emission system against a circulatory system wizard is to not allow access at all costs.

Directly confronting the circulatory system, which possesses an overwhelming ability to strengthen the body, is tantamount to suicide.

However, unlike field battles where there are many variables due to various geographical features, fights in sparring arenas with wide visibility and well-organized space tend to be quite advantageous for discharge magicians.

However, in the case of freshmen who still lacked practical experience and had not mastered magic formula writing, access to the circulatory system was more often allowed, but for Jin Ye-seo, who possessed overwhelming talent, this was not the case at all.

-bang! bang! Quang!

Jin Ye-seo continued to bombard him. The area beyond the barrier he had spread was obscured by dust and flames, making it impossible to see.

“… ”

Jin Ye-seo felt a little discouraged as the fight went easier than expected. Although his movements were quite fast, they were not so fast that he could never react.

In the end, he allowed an effective hit and had no choice but to stop moving. And to stop moving against an emission wizard on a flat surface like this means that the pendulum has already tilted considerably.

I had already guessed to some extent that he would be receiving too much praise for his skills.

No matter how you think about it, subjugating the antennae snake alone is ridiculous. Although he was credited with preventing a terrorist attack by rebels in the south, this is largely due to sympathy for killing the leader.

But no matter what, it won’t be like this.

Maybe he went into the fight hiding his skills. Or, the injuries sustained in the south have not yet fully recovered.

But either way, you brought it on yourself. There is no reason to be considerate of the enemy in that respect.

Now there is only one way left for him. Jumping out just before the barrier, which could not withstand the bombing, breaks, risking bleeding and attempting a final close combat.

Just as Jin Ye-seo expected, someone’s new model soon comes out of the dust cloud. And then he started running towards her.

She calmly creates a swarm of black flames in the air again. He then splits him again, rolls him into a cone, creates dozens of flaming awls, and throws them straight at him.

Faced with an unavoidable attack that filled his face, he turned his body to the side and raised his blade to minimize the hit area.

-Kwaang!!

-Good luck!

With the sound of an explosion, the particle suit shatters and falls to the floor. His upper body has already been tattered for a long time as he steps on the rubble and races towards himself.

I had no choice but to allow him to approach because of his tenacity, but what would be the way if I approached him when he had already used up all his strength?

-Changerang!

A male student approaches her and raises his blade and tries to target her. Jin Ye-seo quickly deploys a barrier and blocks his attack once. The blade of the adrenaline blade dug into her again as if breaking a glass window through a barrier, but Jin Ye-seo ducked her upper body and dodged the blade in a split second.

Then he created a spear wrapped in black flame from his hand and swung it.

He tried to hit the spear with the blade, but the blade, which had already accumulated impact, broke with a loud snapping sound.

‘done!’

Jin Ye-seo cried out in joy.

The rule for winning in ranked matches is to render the opponent incapable of fighting. Or make a declaration of surrender come out of his mouth.

Although the blade is broken, strictly speaking, it is not incapable of combat. By strengthening your body with circulatory system magic, you can continue to fight as much as you want.

However, in the current situation, if there was anyone who could launch an attack that was more threatening to the opponent, it was him, no matter what anyone said.

He had already suffered blows to various parts of his body. The blade he was using was already broken. On the other hand, his particle array is still operating normally. The amount of particles in the body still remains at a reasonable amount.

“Stupid! Did you know what would happen once you approached it? You are done now… !”

Jin Ye-seo, who was confident of victory, looked at the male student and shouted as if it were ridiculous. At the same time, I created a spear of flame in one hand and prepared to throw it at him.

But the next moment.

In the illusion that time seemed to be passing slowly for a moment, Jin Ye-seo suddenly looked down at herself.

The masked male student threw away the blade with only the handle remaining, and before she knew it, he lowered his body and was digging into her front lower part.

And before Jin Ye-seo could consciously understand the situation. His tightly clenched right fist hit her lower abdomen.

-Quad!

Jin Ye-seo’s pupils become so big that they fill the black part of her head due to the intense shock she has never felt before.

“Kuhuhuk… !”

Soon, terrible pain spreads through her veins and throughout her body. For a moment, his knees almost collapse, but Jin Ye-seo grits his teeth and holds on. And even though it was late, I created a magic formula and attempted to counterattack him who was close by.

-Pow! puck!

“Ugh… !”

But her efforts soon go in vain. The male student’s attack hit the back of the joints of both legs, and she was unable to hold out any longer and staggered. The magic formula that could not be written is scattered in the air and returns to particles.

“Wow… Keck… ”

However, the male student seemed unable to even allow Jin Ye-seo to fall apart on her own. He grabbed the fallen Jin Ye-seo by the neck and pulled her up toward the sky again.

-Quaang!

He tightened his neck hard once, making a gasping sound, and threw all his strength into his arm muscles, slamming it onto the floor of the sparring room. Jin Ye-seo rolled over and over again on the hard stone floor. Her anti-violence suit, which had been clean without a speck of dust until just now, was broken into pieces and scattered in all directions.

“Huh… Ugh… ”

“… Phew.”

The masked male student finally lets out a deep breath. Then, he walked leisurely and approached Jin Ye-seo again. The audience was unable to adjust to the sudden change in victory and defeat and remained silent.

And from then on, the one-sided stage began.

***

-puck! Quack!

“Keheuk… ! This bird… ! evil… !”

-puck! Pow!

“Ugh… It’s a bit harsh… ”

“I thought Yeseo would win… ”

Behind some female students who were talking while frowning.

Although he just sat silently with a cold, pitiful expression, he actually had to put in a lot of effort to maintain his composure.

-puck! Crack!

“… Hmm.”

Her body was trembling slightly without her knowing. I shook my head as I felt the phantom pain subside again.

I took a deep, compassionate breath and calmed my mind. Now his hostility is not directed at himself. Rather, he stood there for himself.

Although she had no particular personal grudge against Jin Ye-seo, she was contributing to reducing her position by calling herself Baek Seo-yeon’s stooge.

So, whether you look at it from the disposition or the situation, the current situation where Jin Ye-seo is being trampled mercilessly should have made Ye Ye-seo feel better.

However, the strange, unpleasant feeling from last time comes to her again. I couldn’t figure out the reason, so I made a puzzled expression.

In an effort to sympathize, I turned my gaze to the other side of the audience to divert my thoughts. What kind of expression does that bitch make now? At least it’s not a good look. Those who follow him are being treated in such a miserable way.

“… ?”

However, when Yeon Myeong-ha raises her head and looks straight ahead, a look of puzzlement begins to appear on her face.

This is because the expression Baek Seo-yeon is making right now was not what she expected.

She had her eyebrows slightly drawn together and was tilting her head slightly, as if she didn’t understand something.