With a tone that just drops words, and a gaze full of hostility glaring at me, it was clear that a mix of bad emotions swirled around.
No matter how I thought about it, I didn’t have any personal vendetta or connection with Jin Yeseo. But big waves always seem to carry people to unknown places.
While I was off in the South, Jin Yeseo apparently achieved a great feat by completely annihilating a local branch of a cult that had been gaining momentum from external requests.
Not only that, but she also captured dozens of fiercely rebellious fanatics and handed them over to a nearby Security Bureau station.
If it weren’t for the incidents in the South, the students would likely be focused on her rather than me and Yeon Minha by now.
“I’ll admit it. You’re not as useless as I first thought.”
“…”
“But I just can’t understand it. You soloed that tentacle snake and lost in a duel against Yeon Minha-senpai afterward. And suddenly, you’re claiming to have single-handedly killed dozens of bandits in the South? How can one person’s skills fluctuate like that?”
The harder I kept my mouth shut, the more vicious glares came my way.
“You. Since we’re on the subject, let me ask you something. That tentacle snake during the practical, did you really subdue it all by yourself?”
“…Do I have to tell you that?”
I had no choice but to maintain my silence.
I made a secret pact with the principal regarding the incident during the practical, staged a loss in my duel with Yeon Minha, and attributed a significant portion of the credit for the South to Yeon Minha as well.
Each question from her was beyond my capacity to answer.
“…Tch. Fine. I figured you wouldn’t answer anyway.”
The blonde girl frowned as if displeased.
“Honestly, I can just confirm it myself. I’ll find out soon enough if you’re truly qualified or just a parasite clinging onto a senior’s prestige while getting political favors.”
“…”
“But I have a feeling you might be the latter. Usually, those with vague achievements and unclear timelines tend to be like that. Am I wrong?”
Even considering both sides, Yeseo’s words didn’t sound great to me. Every single word she threw out scratched at my nerves.
I wondered if I even needed to engage in this back-and-forth, and for a moment, resentment bubbled up, yet I thought maybe it would be easier for her to feel at ease in this confrontational stance.
“Alright. If we’re done with greetings, back to your spots.”
Yeseo seemed to have more to say, but upon hearing the judge’s instruction through the amplifier, she clicked her tongue and turned away.
I was about to return to my position too when suddenly, a loud commotion erupted from a part of the audience.
Looking around, I spotted someone who’d somehow made their way front and center in the crowd. Their beauty stood out unmistakably even from afar.
For a brief moment, our eyes met, but Yeon Minha quickly turned her head away with a haughty expression.
“Isn’t this the first time Minha’s attending someone else’s ranking duel…?”
“I dunno. I feel like I haven’t seen her before either…”
Amid whispers that drifted into my ears, I had somehow become a loyal knight for Yeon Minha. Having gone through the events in the South together, the duel I fought with her before now held little meaning.
Throughout, Minha furrowed her brows slightly, as if something was bothering her.
However, it didn’t feel like she held much resentment towards me. More than that, it seemed she was displeased with the excessive attention.
Still, was it a good sign that she treated me like one of her own? I felt grateful for her trying to endure the discomfort of my presence.
On the contrary, a heavy, unsettling dread began to swell within my chest.
“Ah…!”
“Oh…? Look over there…!”
And in the next moment.
With an astonished gasp, Jin Yeseo’s face brightened, and the students’ cheers grew even louder.
As my ominous predictions lined up like a bad joke, I squeezed my eyes shut.
I had to fight against the strong urge to look away.
Even if I deliberately avoided seeing, it was all too clear who had shown up at the dueling grounds.
Of course, they both wouldn’t miss this chance. It felt like this ranking duel was practically turning into their proxy battle.
Even having expected this situation, my heart had grown heavy and dampened, sinking like wet cloth.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
Trying to shake that off, I moved to my starting position.
The last preliminary bell signaled the duel’s beginning, and from a distance, Yeseo, wearing a confident expression, placed her hand on her particle arranger, preparing to unleash magical explosions.
How should I face Jin Yeseo? I had told Yeon Minha that I was fine, but my body still felt anything but normal.
Spreading out predictions over half the paths felt impossible right now. Having fought so long beyond my limits, it was odd that I was even recovering this quickly.
Maybe this duel would turn out to be tougher than expected. But I had no intention of losing.
On the contrary, I was filled with a desire to show my victory. For Yeon Minha. And for anyone else present.
Moreover, I didn’t even need to stage a loss this time unlike the previous duel.
Ding!
As the final bell rang, cheers flooded in from all sides, filling the atmosphere.
—
The Masked Male Student drew his blade and charged towards Jin Yeseo. The quick movement elicited loud gasps from various parts of the audience.
Yeseo remained calm while focusing on operating her particle arranger swiftly. Soon, a pillar of eerie black flames erupted behind her, radiating heat in all directions.
The black flames writhed like living snakes. They lunged fiercely at the approaching Masked Male Student.
Boom!
The male student slammed on the brakes, trying to dodge the black flame serpents. Some he deflected with his blade while the others he weaved around, performing evasive maneuvers.
His ability to move his upper and lower body fluidly left onlookers in awe.
But he couldn’t evade all the attacks. One serpent that he had knocked aside twisted behind him and sank its teeth into his thigh.
“…Ugh.”
The effective hit from the flame shattered and vanished into thin air, leaving a large burning scar behind as if he had been bitten by a snake.
He groaned and stopped in his tracks. Taking advantage of that split second, Yeseo unleashed a cascade of flames upon him.
Boom! Boom!
“Wooow!”
“That’s definitely Yeseo!”
The cheers for her erupted from the crowd. Thinking of Baek Seoyeon, who was sending her a warm smile of support, Yeseo couldn’t help but let a slight grin spread across her face.
Just barely, she managed to avoid additional direct hits by deploying barriers, but soon the duel had turned into a one-sided assault against him.
The basic strategy for a particle wizard facing an enhancement wizard is to never allow any close engagement, no matter what.
Facing an enhancement wizard with overwhelming physical prowess is akin to committing suicide.
However, unlike the chaotic battlefield filled with various obstacles, a duel arena with open visibility and order tends to favor the particle wizards significantly.
Unfortunately, however, rookies lacking practical experience and mastery of rune writing often ended up giving enhancement wizards close contact, which was irrelevant in Yeseo’s case, as she was endowed with exceptional talent.
Crash! Crash! Boom!
Yeseo continued to bombard him with attacks. The dust and flames obscured the view beyond the barrier he erected.
“…”
Yeseo felt a bit disheartened with how smoothly the fight was going. Although his movements were rapid, they weren’t quick enough to evade the onslaught.
He’d allowed effective hits and had no choice but to stop, and ceasing movement on open ground against a particle wizard was almost tantamount to conceding defeat.
She had already suspected he was receiving excessive accolades for his abilities.
Soloing the tentacle snake was preposterous, regardless of what others said. Although he had thwarted the rebel army’s terror in the South, the credit mostly belonged to Yeon Minha for slaying their leader.
But even so, this level of praise seemed atypical.
Perhaps he had downplayed his abilities going into the duel. Or maybe he was still recovering from injuries sustained in the South.
But either way, it was something he brought upon himself. I had no reason to show him any pity.
He had only one strategy left. To burst out and make a final desperate attempt right before his barrier crumbled under the bombardment.
Just as predicted, someone burst forth from the dust cloud, dashing towards her.
Yeseo calmly summoned a fresh wave of black flames into the air. Then, she spun them into a cone shape, creating dozens of flaming projectiles and hurled them immediately at him.
With unavoidable attacks filling her field of vision, he turned his body to the side, attempting to minimize the impact area by raising his blade.
Boom!
Thud!
With an explosive sound, his protective gear shattered into pieces, scattering across the ground. Crushing the debris underfoot, his upper body charged recklessly toward her.
Though desperate, permitting him to approach now was inevitable; however, once he got there, what choice would he have left to launch an attack?
Clang!
As the male student approached her, he aimed to strike her with the edge of his blade. Yeseo quickly deployed a barrier, deflecting his attack. As if smashing a glass window, the blade broke through, only to drive toward her anew; however, she crouched, narrowly evading the blade at the last moment.
She then fashioned a spear wrapped in black flames and swung it at him.
He attempted to counter with his blade, but the gradually accumulating trauma overcame the blade, resulting in it snapping with a crunch!
‘I did it!’
Yeseo internally cheered.
The rules of ranking duels dictated that one must incapacitate their opponent. Or coax a surrender from them.
While the blade had broken, it didn’t technically mean he was combat ineffective. Through enhancement magic, he could still be a viable threat.
But amidst the current circumstances, who could pose a more significant threat in delivering attacks? The answer was undoubtedly her.
He had sustained hits all over his body. His blade was broken. Meanwhile, her particle arranger functioned unobstructedly, with ample particles remaining in her body.
“Such an idiot! You thought just approaching would work? This ends now…!”
Confident in her victory, Yeseo mocked the male student. With that, she prepared to create yet another flaming spear to throw at him.
But in the next moment.
In a brief illusion where time slowed, Yeseo suddenly looked down beneath her.
The Masked Male Student had discarded the remnants of his weapon, lowering his body to dart beneath her, right in front of her.
Before Yeseo even consciously processed the situation, his tightly clenched fist collided directly with her abdomen.
Thud!
A shock unlike anything she had felt before made Yeseo’s pupils widen.
“Ugh…!”
Intense pain surged through her veins, spreading across her body. For a moment, she almost collapsed to her knees, but gritting her teeth, she endured. Late to the fight, she began to script a counter to strike back at him.
Thud! Pow!
“Ugh…!”
But her efforts quickly went to waste. She couldn’t hold on any longer against the attack directed at the joints of her legs, causing her to sway badly. The spell she had failed to complete dispersed into particles in the air.
“Ugh… cough…”
However, it seemed the male student couldn’t even permit her to fall apart by herself. He grabbed her throat, pulling her back up toward the sky.
Boom!
Holding her gurgling throat tightly, he slammed her back down against the stony surface, letting her roll a few times across it. Yeseo’s pristine particle gear, which had been spotless until now, lay in tatters everywhere.
“Ha… hack…”
“…Huh.”
Finally, the Masked Male Student released the breath he had been holding. He took leisurely strides toward her once again. The audience fell into silence, unable to adapt to the abrupt turn of victory.
And from here on, it became a one-sided stage.
—
Thud! Bam!
“Kuh…! That little…! Ugh…!”
Thud! Pow!
“Ugh… That’s too much…”
“I thought Yeseo would win without a hitch…”
A group of female students grimaced as they whispered amongst themselves behind the scenes.
Yeon Minha sat quietly with a cold expression but was making considerable efforts to maintain her composure.
Thud! Crash!
“…Huh.”
Her body trembled ever so slightly without her realizing it. It felt like phantom pains were shooting through her, making her head spin.
Yeon Minha took deep breaths, calming her mind. Now, his hostility was no longer directed at her. Instead, he stood there for her sake.
She didn’t hold any particular grudge against Yeseo, but she had alienated herself by acting as Baek Seoyeon’s proxy, further diminishing her standing.
So based on nature and circumstance, witnessing Yeseo getting trampled like this should have uplifted Minha’s spirits.
Yet, that lingering, uncomfortable feeling from earlier crept back in, making her feel an inexplicable tightness inside.
In an effort to focus her thoughts elsewhere, Yeon Minha turned her gaze toward the opposite audience. What kind of expression would that girl be wearing? Surely, it couldn’t be a good one, considering one of her own was being treated so miserably.
“…?”
But when Yeon Minha lifted her head to look straight ahead, her expression began to cloud with confusion.
Baek Seoyeon wore an expression that completely defied her expectations.
With her eyebrows slightly furrowed, she seemed to tilt her head as if she couldn’t quite grasp what was happening.
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