But Hyun Woo-seok suddenly turned around after walking a few steps and gave us a warning that wasn’t quite a warning.
“You might have noticed, but some of those guys have trained in unique environments. I was actually planning not to showcase them to the outside world… but a few should be understood by my father.”
“I’m a bit excited to show them to the many hunters of Vision, which is praised as one of the three great guilds. I hope you enjoy it.”
“Huh?”
“Oh, no… was that necessary to say?”
“W-What…?”
We were left speechless by Hyun Woo-seok’s shameless attitude.
With a sly grin until the end, Hyun Woo-seok left. Looking at him, my mind was overflowing with confusion.
‘He said a few… are there more monsters like that?’
What on earth are the plans of Hyun Joong-seob, Hyun Woo-seok’s father?
Anyway, that was the last time Hyun Woo-seok spoke.
He turned around and signaled, and soon only the first two duelists were left in the center of the enormous arena.
Noh Ha-yoon had just received some artifacts from Jang Yu-chan, who came in the morning.
“Hey, Hae-yoon, wearing a lot of artifacts doesn’t necessarily increase your combat power. Don’t forget, this is just for this one time.”
“I know! I think I can finally breathe now.”
She was probably feeling confident because of those three artifacts.
In addition to the ring and bracelet she was already wearing, she now had a necklace, a headband, and even earrings.
Each one was an extraordinary item that was hard to put a value on.
‘Magic amplification, area amplification, critical defense, element enhancement, vision extension… how many options does this even have?’
Just the abilities that could be vaguely gauged surpassed the number of fingers on one hand.
On the other hand, the man with a toad-like face representing Ilseom had no equipment except for a sword.
Even so, my assessment leaned slightly towards the man.
‘This will be tough…’
Evaluating the combat power of the two, Noh Ha-yoon seemed to win comfortably.
But considering the drugs they possess, it might be an even match or that Hae-yoon would be at a slight disadvantage.
‘The artifacts only restore stats that have fallen in this space…’
Of course, that alone was impressive.
Restoring ability to levels below half is no small feat.
With multiple options attached, they were assisting her.
‘Noh Ha-yoon probably thought that would be sufficient… but it won’t be easy.’
“Hehehe… The genius sorceress of the Vision Guild, Noh Ha-yoon. Just the right opponent for my first match.”
“What are you talking about, you blob of muscle.”
“This is all muscle, you know?”
“Not even close! And who do you think you’re talking to? Doesn’t Ilseom educate on manners?”
“Someone who’s rude would find that amusing, huh?”
“Shut your mouth. You smell.”
“I brushed my teeth before coming!”
“Ah, seriously!”
Due to the overly talkative man, Noh Ha-yoon seemed to be annoyed even before the duel began.
However, her visible magic was more stable than ever.
Beeeeee───
With a signal, the man’s figure vanished.
[Ice Field]
Kwa-za-za-zak──
“Ugh?!”
The range was significantly broadened.
And a much stronger chill grazed the man’s side just as he escaped.
The man’s pupils expanded as he fled far away, beads of sweat beading on his forehead.
It seemed he was quite surprised by Noh Ha-yoon’s powerful magic.
But seeing him escape somehow, Hyun Woo-seok smiled contently.
‘The arena is too large.’
Since the rules set almost half of this vast dueling area for the matches, it was a disadvantage for Noh Ha-yoon.
In a confined space, he wouldn’t have been able to run away like that, so it might have already been game over from the start.
Thinking back, it was odd that Vision would create such a favorable situation for Ilseom.
Even though it’s for their training, isn’t that a bit excessive?
‘She might as well be called a witch… they say even tiger cubs get thrown off cliffs.’
Noh Ha-yoon’s magical abilities had already gone beyond C-ranked, and even after he evaded, the man struggled to close the distance.
But after dodging her magic several times for about a minute, perhaps feeling confident, he began to demonstrate his true power.
“Hehe, I can see it now. I can see your future.”
“Shut up!”
The duel continued in a strangely similar pattern to training sessions with Rakan.
[Lightning Step]
Though Noh Ha-yoon had seen Ah-rin use it repeatedly, confronting it directly was another matter.
She wore a startled expression at the man’s much faster movements.
Whoosh—!
Eventually, the man’s attack reached her abdomen.
“Um?! Ice?!”
But the man’s sword cleaved through Noh Ha-yoon’s ice clone.
Smirking from dozens of meters away, the real Noh Ha-yoon appeared, and despite her calm demeanor, the flow of her magic was slightly disrupted.
‘Is she using that technique from the start…? She must see him as such a powerful enemy that she couldn’t even think of the next step.’
She had boasted loudly to us that we need not worry several times.
However, she concluded that it wouldn’t be easy to overpower the man, even with all those artifact effects.
In some ways, this was a natural outcome.
The man with the toad-like face who was representing Ilseom was the second-strongest among the five.
The man was just as startled.
“… I didn’t have any records of skills like this.”
“Unlike you, I grow as a hunter every day.”
“If you keep flapping your gums, I won’t hold back either.”
“Who says I won’t? You toad!”
“You little whore?”
The man’s remarks probably meant he had been instructed not to inflict fatal wounds on Noh Ha-yoon.
No matter what hidden strategy Ilseom had in store, he wouldn’t dare to provoke the wrath of the Transcendent ‘Witch.’
“Fine. Let’s go full throttle. I’ll make you beg for mercy.”
Woosh──
“?!”
Then, a game of tag began between Noh Ha-yoon and the man.
The man chased after Noh Ha-yoon, who was leaving clones behind.
Having a wide arena was an advantage at this moment.
In a narrow space, Noh Ha-yoon would have had little room to move and would have been caught quickly.
Buzz buzz buzz—
“Ugh…! My head…”
As time passed, similar to what Rakan had done, the man’s speed began to slow, and pain contorted his face.
Anyone facing that skill for the first time is bound to fall victim to it.
Then the man turned his head towards Hyun Woo-seok, who nodded in acknowledgment, granting some sort of permission.
Crunch—
“Hey? What’s that? Don’t tell me a member of Ilseom is using some abnormal item like Evolved Creature?”
The man pulled something out of his space pocket and swallowed it, while Noh Ha-yoon mocked him, pretending not to notice.
However, the Ilseom folks remained completely unperturbed.
It seemed they had prepared their minds beforehand.
Smoke-like wisps began to rise from the man’s body, similar to a mirage.
His body seemed slightly plumped up, and decisively, the quality and quantity of his magic mildly increased.
‘It doesn’t just enhance physical abilities…’
“Evolved Creature? Hahaha… that artificial stuff is nothing compared to this. Ahhh— no matter when I take it, it’s amazing.”
“Hmph! It won’t matter! You’re already in my Icicle Symphony—”
Boom! Bam! Bang!!
“What?! That’s supposed to be unbreakable!”
The man, having consumed something, began to explode through the ice clones, and Noh Ha-yoon showed disbelief as she saw the clones designed based on the man’s magic bursting apart.
The man continued to explode through the ice and chase Noh Ha-yoon.
“Ah, Ice Spea—Gah!”
In a moment, Noh Ha-yoon’s legs buckled and twisted sharply.
The man’s punch landed solidly on her jaw.
Once the momentum shifted, Noh Ha-yoon became little more than a punching bag.
Bam! Pow!
“Gah—! Cough…!”
Even so, she didn’t give up.
Trying desperately to distance herself with magic, she eventually failed and collapsed on the ground.
A knight using his fists instead of a sword— such behavior would never be allowed in Ilseom’s usual practices.
“That clumsy skill is so evident even to a knight. Do you really think the ice made based on me would keep working? Foolish girl.”
The man pinned Noh Ha-yoon down with his foot, immobilizing her, and placed his sword against her neck.
“Can I kill her?”
Then, Hyun Woo-seok slowly raised his hand, signaling for a stop.
“Ugh… Damn it…!”
Having her back turned to someone and even being stepped on, deprived of her life or death, Noh Ha-yoon.
For her, this was probably a humiliation she had never experienced in her life, so it was understandable that her eyes were bloodshot and her shoulders were trembling.
‘Maybe they sent her here to experience such humiliation…’
Perhaps the ‘Witch’ wanted Noh Ha-yoon to be thoroughly humbled? Thinking that way makes this situation a bit easier to understand.
[The first round goes to Ilseom.]
“Ugh… Ugh…”
A towel was draped over Noh Ha-yoon’s face as she was led to our side.
Watching her tremble with her fists clenched, one can easily guess how immense her humiliation must be.
Initially, it was clearly a match she dominated, but after that guy took something strange, the tide shifted rapidly.
“I will formally raise issues regarding the drugs later. To use such items in a duel between mere C-rank hunters— how shameful.”
“Dead men tell no tales.”
“… So, as long as you win by any means…? May I take that as a declaration of war against Vision?”
“I don’t understand why that’s being interpreted that way. Did you not see how we barely held back?”
“I guess we’ll see later if you can be so defiant even after death.”
“………”
The representatives of both sides, Jang Yu-chan and Hyun Woo-seok, sat side by side on the platform, and their killing intent prevented anyone from approaching.
And seeing Hyun Woo-seok casually pick his words while taking chances, I was convinced.
‘He’s genuinely planning to shake things up. Perhaps those who came out here might not even be the strongest within the shadow organization.’
While Hyun Woo-seok might care about the guild’s reputation or fame, after all, those above want to expand the stage due to money and power.
‘I finally understand why Jung-il was in agony.’
[Ilseom’s Kim Gun-seob Hunter continues on. The next representative from Vision, please come forward.]
“Hey! Not Vision, but the White Alliance!”
[… White Alliance’s second duelist, please come forward.]
Realizing the intention to drive the narrative towards a conflict between Vision and Ilseom, the executives of Vision immediately called for a correction.
We felt displeased just as much.
‘They probably don’t even consider losing, so they’re trying to steer things in their favor.’
I scoffed as I stepped onto the dueling grounds alongside Yeon-hee.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.
