Chapter 60: 4th Week Strategy Battles (2)

Chapter 60: 4th Week Strategy Battles (2)

Even in the duel battles, we had faced each other in two consecutive games.

And now, I found myself partnered with Hong Yeon-hwa.

It was interesting how fate kept throwing us together.

Well, its not bad.

I preferred her over a mediocre student for this strategy battle.

After all, she was considered a promising student and her combat skills were well proven.

I could simply delegate the necessary fighting to her.

Moreover, there was an inexplicable sense of familiarity about her.

The Ruby Magic Tower Master had been a favorite pick of mine in the past,

And the more I saw Hong Yeon-hwa, the more she reminded me of that Ruby Magic Tower Master.

It was like looking at a version of her from a few years back.

If only the facial expressions were similar, theyd be indistinguishable.

The only difference was the way she looked at me.

The Ruby Magic Tower Master always seemed like a ticking time bomb, ready to explode at any moment with her fiery temperament on full display. In contrast, Hong Yeon-hwa in front of me was completely frightened and intimidated.

Of course, I couldnt deny some responsibility for her state.

Having bested her in battle not once but three times, it was understandable shed be intimidated.

Yet, it seemed excessive for her to be so immediately overwhelmed with fear upon seeing me.

Perhaps there was some huge misunderstanding at play.

I could have chosen to sweetly engage with her from this point forward and gradually resolve misunderstandings,

But did I really need to?

Was resolving this truly necessary?

My aim was to complete the quest quickly and efficiently.

Maintaining a somewhat fearful atmosphere might actually aid in achieving my objectives.

So, I decided to act in accordance with the image she seemed to hold of me.

If she saw me as a tyrant, then a tyrant I would be.

With a menacing glare, I watched as Hong Yeon-hwas face turned even paler.

***

Hong Yeon-hwa felt like crying.

It was entirely her fault that things had come to this.

Hong Yeon-hwa arrived at the dungeon building as usual and tried to find a match.

But just before scanning her student ID, she saw him.

Kim Ho was there, waiting for his turn nearby.

Luckily, he was looking the other way with his back turned to her.

Yet, even the sight of his back sent shivers down Hong Yeon-hwas spine.

Now she had a new goal.

One that surpassed even the importance of her performance in this strategy battle.

I must avoid him as a partner at all costs.

While team members were assigned randomly, scanning her ID now risked the slim chance of being paired with that monstrous man

And if they ended up alone in a confined space

The mere thought was suffocating.

Hong Yeon-hwa decided to take her sister Hong Ye-hwas advice.

She would wait a bit longer before applying for todays strategy battle.

When Kim Ho enters the dungeon with someone else that will be when she would find her own team member.

So, she stealthily watched Kim Ho and waited endlessly.

Just waiting for a teleportation portal to open near him.

Waiting

And waiting

And waiting some more

She continued to wait.

As the wait dragged on, Hong Yeon-hwas pride was increasingly crumpled.

And her sense of self-loathing grew in inverse proportion.

Am I, who is destined to be the next Ruby Tower Master, really reduced to hiding around like a mouse and wary of others gaze?

When she glanced at Kim Ho again, she saw that he was deep in thought with an expressionless face.

There was still no sign of a match being made.

I cant wait any longer!

Her pride which was suppressed by fear until now sparked a fierce backlash.

She wouldnt just keep looking over her shoulder!

Not that she had suddenly gained the confidence to partner up with Kim Ho but she had slightly changed her strategy.

She decided to quickly enter on her own.

Hong Yeon-hwa then added a bit more cunning to her plan.

Lets go into real combat mode instead of practice mode.

Since the other party was a normal human, he would surely be matching for the practice mode.

By skipping practice mode and jumping straight into real combat, she could eliminate even the slightest possibility of ending up as his partner.

She felt somewhat uneasy about starting with real combat from the get-go, but she figured she could somehow get through it.

While Hong Yeon-hwa was marveling at her own ingenuity and scanned her student ID

A teleportation portal opened before her.

And another opened before Kim Ho.

Hong Yeon-hwas pupils darted around uncontrollably.

Why is this?

It couldnt be, could it?

It must just be a coincidence that they opened at the same time, right?

My partner must be somewhere else, right?

While Hong Yeon-hwa fervently denied reality, Kim Ho stepped into the dungeon without hesitation.

It was her turn to enter next.

But her feet wouldnt move so easily.

What was just an ordinary teleportation portal now seemed like a gateway leading straight into the abyss.

Hong Yeon-hwa who had been hesitating finally took a deep breath.

Haah Alright, I need to go in.

Standing around wasnt going to solve anything.

She forced herself to walk into the dungeon with heavy feet.

Of course, a sliver of hope remained in her heart.

The hope that someone else would be inside.

.

But that was just wishful thinking.

As soon as she entered her eyes met Kim Hos who had been waiting inside.

Whoosh!

[Remaining Monsters: 66]

Keruk!

But not all monsters reacted the same way.

Occasionally, some would turn and attempt to flee when discovered.

In the [Clearance] rule, these escapees were particularly troublesome because if they managed to hide elsewhere, it meant you would have to go back to places you had already cleared.

Keruk?

However, escape was never successful.

A gust of wind would blow, and the creatures would find themselves unable to proceed as if blocked by an invisible wall.

Soon after, they were engulfed by the flames summoned by Hong Yeon-hwa.

Whoosh!

And then Hong Yeon-hwa, who had no idea about the hidden aspects at first, began to notice something after a few repetitions.

A unique sense of unease marked the spots where monsters lay in ambush.

The more she looked, the more pronounced the sense of unease became.

Her observation skills were rapidly improving without her realizing it.

While Hong Yeon-hwa was watching Kim Hos back, she tilted her head in puzzlement.

Isnt this strange?

Could it be this easy?

Given her impatient nature, she was hardly suited for meticulous and time-consuming tasks like clearing out areas.

Thus, when she first entered the dungeon, she braced herself for a tough time.

However, in reality, monsters sprung up wherever Kim Ho went and all she had to do was to follow him closely before everything was taken care of.

Throughout the entire strategy battle, Kim Ho did not hesitate for even a second before moving on to the next spot, and then the next without hesitating even for a second.

He seemed as if he had done this dozens, if not hundreds, of times before.

But logically, it was impossible for him to have done this hundreds of times so it was clear that he either had incredibly sharp intuition or a detection skill to match.

Hong Yeon-hwa updated the information she had on Kim Ho in her mind.

Tremendous magical defense, unparalleled martial arts, and an exceptionally high level of detection ability.

And then while she was thinking of this, Kim Ho stopped in his tracks once again.

When Hong Yeon-hwa stopped to survey the area ahead, she noticed a terrain resembling a deep pit lying before them.

The topography of this great forest was known for its irregular terrain, but this particular formation appeared unnaturally out of place.

It was suspicious to any onlooker.

With a casual flick of his hand,

Bang

Kim Ho caused the soil on one side of the pit to crumble away which revealed the entrance to a burrow.

Hong Yeon-hwas eyebrows shot up in surprise.

He can actually see that?

She indeed thought it would be worth going down and taking a closer look, but she never thought he would find it so quickly.

Setting aside her astonishment, Hong Yeon-hwa too examined the burrow.

It seemed tailored to the size of goblins which meant that a human would have to crouch uncomfortably to enter.

It was then that Kim Ho spoke up.

Check it out.

Me?

You dont want to?

Kim Hos expression gradually hardened.

Hong Yeon-hwa sensed an instinctive danger and quickly responded.

I-I can go in, right? If I just go in

While muttering under her breath she crawled into the burrow.

In reality, Kim Hos suggestion to check it out was meant to hint at using fire magic inside but Hong Yeon-hwa had no way of knowing this.

Shortly after she entered,

Boom! Bang!

[Remaining Monsters: 35]

A series of explosions echoed from within before the number of monsters was greatly reduced.

Soon after, Hong Yeon-hwa emerged from the burrow with thick smoke.

She was covered in dirt and looked utterly disgruntled and her dirty appearance and sour expression said it all.

Why do I have to do something like this?

However, when she made eye contact with Kim Ho, she quickly managed her facial expression.

. Now that I think about it, I think I should do something like this.

After all, she had been riding on the coattails of this mans efforts until now.

She quickly rationalized the situation.

Seemingly oblivious to Hong Yeon-hwas inner turmoil, Kim Ho silently proceeded to the next location.

And Hong Yeon-hwa hastily followed him with her footsteps echoing softly behind.

***

[Remaining Monsters: 2]

The battle that raged like a storm was now coming to an end.

The last two monsters seemed like they wouldnt require much effort to find.

Because they were right before their eyes.

Trolls.

They were medium-sized monsters slightly larger than an adult male.

With their high regenerative abilities and fair resistance to magic, they posed a challenging match for any mage.

And there stood two such trolls.

Their presence was far from ordinary and they were exuding the aura of boss monsters.

One wielded a large club, while the other brandished a pair of axes.

Hong Yeon-hwa cast a cautious glance at Kim Ho as if silently asking about their next move.

After holding her gaze for a few seconds Kim Ho curtly replied.

Fight them.

alone?

.

Hong Yeon-hwa sighed inwardly.

Yes, I was a fool to harbor even a sliver of expectation.

The idea that he would kindly join in was utterly unlikely.

Hong Yeon-hwa took a step forward.

Soon, the air around her began to simmer with heat.

The trolls wavered within the rising haze.

I can handle this alone.