Chapter 441: Seo Ye-in vs. Cha Hyeon-joo (2)
Lee Soo-dok’s eyes also lit up.
“The moment the Isolation Space is lifted, she’ll trigger the trap.”
“Seo Ye-in really used her head well!”
“The only remaining question is its power.”
“Exactly! With such high mana consumption, a prolonged fight is no longer an option. She needs to deal as much damage as possible with this one move!”
Everyone in the arena watched the stage with eager eyes.
Just how powerful would the trap be?
Even Seo Ye-in herself couldn’t answer that question.
The skill she was casting was [Whimsical Trap].
Its power basically scaled with its rank, and for the purposes of the tournament, it was currently set to C-rank.But the type of trap that would be deployed was purely up to chance.
When sparring with Kim Ho and Hong Yeon-hwa, all sorts of traps had appeared.
Sometimes small explosions, sometimes spinning blade discs, or even walls suddenly rising around the trap.
However, none of them had shown particularly impressive destructive power.
If that were the case again this time, it might turn into a misstep, just as the commentators feared.
Of course, as always, Seo Ye-in simply acted on impulse.
Lock up the girl who talks badly.
Set a trap.
And then…
“…Teach her a lesson.”
Wuuung—
By the time she had stacked the third trap, her mana was nearly depleted.
Seo Ye-in backed away and held out the pot again. A space as dark as the night sky opened up and spat out its contents.
“!!”
Cha Hyeon-joo, apparently mentally prepared even within the Isolation Space, immediately raised her bow upon emerging.
But she quickly realized she had stepped on something.
A trap!
Just as Cha Hyeon-joo frantically tried to leap back, the layered traps all activated at once.
Flash—!
The entire arena was engulfed in blinding light.
Moments later, a massive explosion erupted, and a thick pillar of light shot all the way to the ceiling.
Booooooooom—!!
“……!”
“……!”
The destruction was far beyond anyone’s expectations.
Lee Soo-dok and Seo Cheong-yong forgot to even comment. They were struck speechless, forced to simply watch.
So were all the spectators in the arena.
Cha Hyeon-joo flew into the air like a puppet with its strings cut, then crashed straight down into the sand.
[Cha Hyeon-joo 84%]
[Cha Hyeon-joo 47%]
A health bar low enough that it wouldn’t be surprising if she were incapacitated.
Even so, Cha Hyeon-joo staggered to her feet and gripped her bow tightly.
She gritted her teeth and scanned her surroundings.
Seeing that, Lee Soo-dok and Seo Cheong-yong snapped back to their senses and resumed their commentary.
“A remarkable show of willpower.”
“We’ll have to watch the match to the very end! Ah! And just as we’re speaking, Seo Ye-in is making her move!”
From the moment she reappeared, Seo Ye-in was already fully prepared, aiming the barrel of her gun at her opponent.
Whiiing—
Wind gathered and compressed tightly at the gun’s muzzle, indicating that [Destructive Gale] was fully charged.
Cha Hyeon-joo widened her eyes and tried to say something.
“You…!”
“I’ll finish you off.”
Tududududu—!
Before she could even finish her sentence, the magic gun roared to life, spewing blue flames.
Each magic bullet rode the compressed wind as it shot forth.
“……!”
Cha Hyeon-joo drew on the last of her strength and reached toward her quiver.
In response, a flurry of magic arrows burst forth, spinning rapidly around her to form a defensive wall.
The first magic bullet tore a gaping hole in that wall of arrows.
The arrows quickly tried to repair the breach, but the second and third bullets followed close behind, widening the opening.
And everything that came after struck Cha Hyeon-joo directly.
Boom-boom-boom-boom—!
[Cha Hyeon-joo 47%]
[Cha Hyeon-joo 39%]
“…….”
Cha Hyeon-joo stopped moving.
Looking closely, her eyes were half-open with the whites showing.
She had fainted while still standing.
Seo Cheong-yong shouted into the mic.
“Cha Hyeon-joo is unable to continue! Seo Ye-in wins!”
[Seo Ye-in Win]
vs
[Cha Hyeon-joo Lose]
– Waaaaaaaah—!
The arena erupted in cheers.
“…….”
The expressionless Seo Ye-in looked around briefly and stepped onto the teleportation circle.
As she came out, the now-conscious Cha Hyeon-joo stumbled over to her.
Despite having taken a brutal beating, she was still growling.
“You. Fight me again next time.”
“…….”
Since their scores were similar, it was inevitable they’d be matched again sooner or later.
Next time, without the Fixed Zone rules, they’d fight at full power.
And perhaps the result would be different from today’s.
But to Seo Ye-in, Cha Hyeon-joo was already out of sight and out of mind.
If she had even the slightest interest in her before, now it was no more than the air around her.
She turned away, tossing out a single remark.
“Trash talkers are weak.”
“……!”
A thick vein bulged on Cha Hyeon-joo’s forehead.
“Hey, hey!”
Voices were shouting something behind her, but Seo Ye-in ignored them completely and walked away as if she hadn’t heard a thing.
***
We each said a word to Seo Ye-in as she returned to the spectator seats.
“Good job.”
“Miss Seo, that was a splendid match.”
“Oh dear~ That was fun to watch!”
Seo Ye-in slowly raised her hand and made a V sign.
Perhaps because she had successfully taken her revenge, she looked very satisfied.
Soon, Shin Byeong-cheol suddenly snapped out of it and got up from his seat.
“Oh, right. I should give the seat back.”
They had agreed he would temporarily hold her spot and return it when I came back.
But Seo Ye-in walked right past him and stood in front of me, staring at me silently.
“…….”
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Lap.”
“There’s a seat right next to me.”
“Lap.”
“It’s going to be uncomfortable once you sit.”
“Lap.”
She insisted on sitting on my lap, so after a brief back-and-forth, I gave in.
She did work hard, after all.
“Fine.”
“Lap.”
Seo Ye-in promptly sat on my lap and wriggled around, trying to find the best position.
I spoke up.
“If you keep this up, you might be able to make it to the quarterfinals.”
“……?”
Seo Ye-in turned her head toward me with a puzzled look.
Then she shook her head.
So I asked again.
“You’re not doing any more matches?”
“I punished the bad person.”
“Goal accomplished, then?”
“Correct.”
In other words, she was planning to forfeit the next match.
Well, it’s not like she’s especially ambitious or competitive to begin with.
And I wasn’t really in a position to argue. Didn’t I forfeit during the main round myself?
So I just nodded along… but then a question popped into my head.
Who’s her next opponent?
The first match of the round of 32 had just ended, so it probably wasn’t finalized yet.
Still, the bracket should at least narrow it down to two possibilities.
I glanced at one corner of the scoreboard.
The bracket had partially updated after the match with Cha Hyeon-joo.
And unexpectedly, her round of 16 opponent had already been decided.
[Kim Gap-doo vs. Seo Ye-in]
Lucky Gap-doo……
Just how far are you planning to go?
I went ahead and congratulated Kim Gap-doo on making it to the quarterfinals.
For the next few matches, the competitors were mostly upperclassmen, second or third-year members of the disciplinary committee or vice club presidents and club presidents, none of whom I was particularly familiar with. ᚱÄŊОβƐṥ
Then, Seo Cheong-yong’s voice rang out through the speakers.
“Next match participants, please get ready!”
[Go Hyeon-woo vs. Jo Byeok]
Go Hyeon-woo glanced at the scoreboard and slowly rose to his feet.
“It’s my turn now.”
“That’s a shame. If the match were tomorrow, you’d have had more time to recover.”
“Haha, even so, I’ve had a decent break since it’s in the latter half. One match shouldn’t be an issue.”
“Yeah, you’ll do great.”
“Thanks for the support. I’ll be back.”
Go Hyeon-woo gave us a small smile.
Then, he descended the steps at a leisurely pace, almost like he was taking a walk.
***
Seo Cheong-yong’s eyes fixed on the waiting participants and spoke into the mic.
“It’s the first time these two have faced off since the placement exam!”
“I’m curious. Will this be a rematch for revenge, or will the disciplinary committee rack up another win?”
“That’s right! With that in mind, we’ve minimized external variables in the terrain.”
The stage, once covered in sand and palm trees, was gradually being replaced by knee-high reeds.
No other obstacles were present.
Lee Soo-dok commented, seemingly pleased.
“Simple. A straight-up fight to look forward to.”
“Since both players have similar styles, we’re expecting an especially intense match!”
Meanwhile, Go Hyeon-woo and Jo Byeok stepped onto the stage.
“…….”
“…….”
The two stared each other down in silence for a long moment, and her eyes locked with intensity.
Jo Byeok was the first to speak.
“I’ve been waiting for the day we’d fight again.”
“Same here.”
“Still not planning to draw your sword?”
The “sword” Jo Byeok referred to was the sacred relic of Go Hyeon-woo’s martial arts sect.
During the placement exam, he had fought with an iron sword that broke in just two minutes.
That moment had left a lingering sense of disappointment. Not just for Go Hyeon-woo, but for Jo Byeok as well.
A faint smile formed on Go Hyeon-woo’s lips.
“It’s still not the right time. However…”
A golden magic sword slid smoothly from its sheath.
It was visibly cracked in several places. It was worn enough that even a layman could tell it was nearing the end of its life.
Even so, it was originally a durable weapon and still retained a significant amount of durability.
“…This sword should hold up well enough. At least until the match is decided.”
“That so? I’ll be looking forward to it.”
Jo Byeok gave a silent nod.
Then, after briefly scanning the stands, he spoke.
“I heard they intentionally reduced the variables this time.”
“I heard the same. Seems they want us to rely solely on our own skill.”
“That’s just the way I like it. So, I have a proposal.”
“What would that be?”
Jo Byeok looked straight at Go Hyeon-woo and declared,
“I won’t use any healing orbs. How about you?”
“Sounds good. I’ll do the same.”
Running off to grab a healing orb in the middle of a fight?
If you’re a by-the-book athlete, that’s totally understandable.
Under normal circumstances, they probably would’ve done the same.
But now, the two stood here not as competitors but as martial artists.
Everything outside of testing their true skills was unnecessary.
Wooooooaaah!
The crowd roared, shaking the arena with their cheers.
Without healing, the match would likely be shorter…but that only made the tension even sharper.
Soon, both fighters finished their final preparations, and the countdown began.
[3]
[2]
[1]
[Start!]
[Go Hyeon-woo 100%]
vs
[Jo Byeok 100%]
Taah!
Go Hyeon-woo launched forward with his sword lowered, while Jo Byeok raised both fists near his chin as he kicked off the ground.
The distance between them narrowed with every passing moment.