episode_0119

For a moment, I pondered the reason for the hostility that filled my green eyes. It’s extremely annoying and irritating, but at the same time, it’s just puzzling.

It is rather excessive to be an expression of competitive spirit. Jin Ye-seo was already displeased with me even before that because of the loss in the last ranked match.

There is no significant connection to begin with as a conflict between individuals or families.

Baek Gwang said that he was very close to Paecheon, who were of the same five families, but that he was not openly angry at Heukryeon.

Maybe it’s because I heard rumors that I had a conflict with her at the beginning of the semester.

The matter has already spread widely on campus to the extent that there is no one who doesn’t know about it. And it was said that Jin Ye-seo followed him so much that it was almost like worship.

But those reasons alone are insufficient to explain something.

I felt like there was something I didn’t know about beneath the invisible surface.

Should I say that I feel more intense disgust for defeat than desire for victory?

What on earth?

“… ”

I shook off the doubts that filled my head.

Even if I found out the reason now, the problem in front of me would not be solved automatically.

The task is clear and the solution is simple.

To inflict an even more miserable defeat on that persistent female student and completely subdue her. So that you never have to think about bothering them again.

At the same time, it may be able to give more strength to Yeon Myeong-ha.

“I guess you still haven’t come to your senses after being treated like that?”

As soon as I finished speaking, the blonde girl started gritting her teeth.

“I’m going to be sincere today.”

“I think I said something similar last time.”

“No. Today is different.”

“Different?”

Jin Ye-seo muttered, still sending her burning eyes towards me.

“I will come prepared to kill you.”

“… ”

It was a declaration that sent quite a chill down the spine.

“Then adopt. Go to your seat.”

At the examiner’s words, Jin Ye-seo turns around and walks away.

I also returned to the starting point and stood.

Soon, the countdown announcing the start of the duel begins to blare.

Jin Ye-seo was standing on the other side of the sparring hall with her hand placed on the particle array on her wrist.

As is standard for an emitting system dealing with a circulatory system, it seems full of intention to fire magic as soon as the duel begins.

“… two! one… !”

The motive is unclear, but what is certain is that she is more sincere in her duel with me.

Are you prepared to kill me? No matter how much I think about it, it doesn’t sound like a metaphor.

“… ”

However, there is no need for me to match Jin Ye-seo’s resolve.

Rather, now we need something else that is diametrically opposed to it.

If you treat her as poorly as you did last time, she will be even more vengeful. And it was obvious even without looking that he would use that shame as motivation to attack again like a moth to fire.

So what should I do… A feeling of despair that goes beyond humiliation is clearly etched into the body.

“… Start!”

-Wow!

With the examiner’s signal, a thunderous roar fills the ears.

Jin Ye-seo wrote the magic formula before even a few seconds had passed. In the air behind her, a snake of black flame burning so hot that it stung her skin was squirming.

“… ?”

However, a puzzled look soon appeared in Jin Ye-seo’s eyes, which were very nervous.

A murmur spreads among the audience, who were shouting in excitement.

Hundreds of pairs of eyes in the room were all watching me.

I did not move from my seat even long after the signal to start the duel was given.

***

The duel between an emission wizard and a circulatory wizard always takes place within the framework of a simple, large flow.

The circulatory system dealing with the emitting system closes the distance as quickly as possible. In this way, he suppresses the opponent’s vital points, rendering him unable to fight, and even if that is not possible, he continues to engage in close combat.

Short-distance emission magic has the risk of exploding, so it also places a burden on the caster. Moreover, emission-type wizards have a hard time defeating circulatory-type wizards with overwhelming physical strength in close combat.

Naturally, the emission system aims to inflict maximum damage or successfully suppress the circulation system before it approaches.

Under that premise, he should have already been rushing towards him. The last match also ended in a cruel defeat, but the situation was the same.

But now.

The masked male student didn’t even think about attacking him and just stood there with his arms stretched out and relaxed.

“… you. What are you doing now?”

Jin Ye-seo looked at the other side and asked as if she was shocked.

Before I knew it, a hint of anger was coming out of her voice.

“… ”

There was no particular answer from him.

Rather, he continues his unexpected behavior.

He reversed his blade, grabbed it, and smashed it into the floor of the sparring hall. It was so strong that the stone floor split as easily as dirt.

It was only after that that Jin Ye-seo could hear his voice.

“I don’t think there’s any need to use a blade.”

“What… ?”

His calm voice inflames Jin Ye-seo’s anger even more.

It was unusual for a circulatory wizard to spar without a Stellite weapon.

No matter how much you strengthen your body with circulatory system magic, there are clear limitations. The only protection you have while closing the distance is an anti-iron suit and weapons made of stellite, a particle conductor metal.

Moreover, it is impossible to respond flexibly in the first place with an anti-violant suit that is tightly attached to the body. If he didn’t have a blade to block the flying magic, he would be exposed to danger in an instant.

In the last sparring, he eventually overpowered himself with box fighting techniques, but he had to keep using his blade to block the incoming magic until he narrowed the distance. It was so overloaded that his blade eventually broke.

So there was only one case where such an unfair-looking sparring was established.

When it is judged that the opponent’s skill is significantly lower than one’s own.

Eventually, Jin Ye-seo’s face, realizing the meaning of that action, turns red with humiliation and anger.

“You… You piece of shit!!!”

Then, they shot ominous black glowing flame snakes straight at him.

***

Lee Hyun concentrates for a moment. Then, ripples seemed to spread through the surrounding air like waves, and eventually some kind of sensation began to pour into his body through the extremities of his limbs.

He could do things that were impossible for any wizard in the world as easily as exhaling.

Tiny, invisible particles tickled the blood vessels of my entire body. He then manipulated the particle array and built up a magic formula using the captured particles.

By placing points and drawing lines, a multi-dimensional three-dimensional magic structure consisting of five levels soon penetrates his body.

In the last ranking match against Jin Ye-seo, he could not even unfold half of the predicted paths. I had to face the duel without even recovering from the damage suffered during the Southern Collapse incident.

However, this time, we were able to have quite a bit of time to recover from the enemy fire incident.

It is possible to spread the prediction plan through 5 paths at least once without any major problems.

There was no need to end this duel as quickly as the last one. Rather, he intended to prolong the fight to the limit of the time limit.

Jin Ye-seo seemed to have taken the insertion of the blade as a mockery, but she would soon come to acknowledge the pure gap between the two.

-Quaang!

As soon as he finished applying the prediction, he jumped up from his seat. A huge wall of black flames was covering the area where he had been standing just a moment ago.

Soon, before he could land, several flame snakes with their teeth set burrowed towards his vital spot.

At the same time, a sharp arrow of flame, clearly aimed at the neck, is shot out of the air.

However, Lee Hyun sensibly avoided them all and tried to close the distance again in an instant.

“It’s faster? What is this… !”

Jin Ye-seo gritted her teeth as if it made no sense. Over the past few weeks, she has not wasted a single minute and has been focusing solely on training.

Moreover, in a duel between the circulatory system and the emission system, the right to go first is always given to the emission system.

However, rather than narrowing the gap, he did not allow a single effective hit.

Jin Ye-seo used evil to force her mind to break down in despair.

“Die!!”

She was shooting fireworks everywhere. Blazing black flames fill the floor of the sparring hall, leaving no room for movement.

-Chiek…

The moment Lee Hyun steps onto the sparring floor, a sizzling sound is heard from his feet. However, he didn’t care and still approached Jin Ye-seo at high speed.

Traces of the melted rubber of the sole appear behind him, just like footprints after a snowfall.

Now Jin Ye-seo could even see his own image reflected vaguely in his mask.

‘… no. We can’t lose like this again… !’

Jin Ye-seo gritted her teeth and created a huge black fireball on her palm.

She was planning to bring him down somehow, even if it meant risking her own involvement.

But before the magic was even created. A vicious hand comes out of nowhere and grabs her wrist.

It was already impossible for Jin Ye-seo to respond to that movement.

And without the slightest hesitation, the masked boy snapped her wrist in the opposite direction of the moving part.

-Uduk!

“Ugh… !”

The magic that could not be written was again converted into particles and scattered into the air, and Jin Ye-seo groaned and rolled around on the floor of the sparring hall.

-Quaang!

Soon, Jin Ye-seo rolls her body to the side, and Lee Hyun’s feet, with all his weight, hit the place where her head was.

Jin Ye-seo barely got up and produced a long, black, burning spear in her good hand.

And with bloodshot eyes, he swung it towards Lee Hyun’s head.

-Quaang!

Lee Hyun raised both forearms and used them as if they were shields, delivering a blow. The armor attached to the anti-incursion suit shatters and falls to the floor.

And Lee Hyun feels puzzled by the collision.

This is because Jin Ye-seo’s momentum was very heterogeneous.

If you think about it, it was like that in the last match as well. Whenever she approached, she always chose to fight back rather than increase the distance.

It wasn’t that there was no space or that there was no way to avoid it.

When the fight enters the realm of struggle and instinct rather than judgment, Jin Ye-seo always shows the same side.

This was not a simple difference in method, but something that felt like an innate temperament.

In addition, he has a body that is extremely well-trained for a release system, and even moves to instinctively stab the opponent’s vital points.

In fact, there is an aspect that is more threatening than when magic is fired at random.

“… ”

However, Lee Hyun soon shook that fact out of his head.

Whatever her nature, it doesn’t change what needs to be done now.

-Woe!

Jin Ye-seo’s attack, which was swung wide, is released. He immediately crawls into Jin Ye-seo’s temple, as if he were being held in his arms, and firmly grabs Jin Ye-seo’s temple with both hands.

Then, before Jin Ye-seo even realized it, Lee Hyun put his weight on his knees and took a picture of her.

-Quaaang!!

Soon a terrifying roar echoed throughout the sparring hall. Once the dust clears, the image of Jin Ye-seo colliding with the concrete wall is revealed.

Her golden hair was scattered because her hair tie had come undone. She was buried in a pile of stones, her limbs shaking ungainly.

“Keheuk… Keck… Ugh… ”

“Don’t worry. Because I won’t ask you to surrender this time.”

The masked male student grabbed Jin Ye-seo by the neck and lifted her up.

“Just stay still like that. Until the duel ends.”

His eyes beneath the mask had a mysterious glow.