Chapter 81: 5th Week Mentoring and Duel Battles (4)

Chapter 81: 5th Week Mentoring and Duel Battles (4)

How did you end up mentoring?

Pffft, were you surprised? Bet you were.

Dang Gyu-young let out a cheerful laugh.

They said theyd cut me some slack on the penalties if I mentored. Seemed like the better option when I thought about it.

How much did they cut?

All of it.

I nodded my head in understanding.

It makes sense if they waived everything.

Given that she had broken into the temporary storage and tampered with a bunch of prohibited items, the penalties must have been substantial. But if all of that is waived, the hassle of mentoring seems well worth it.

Still, I hadnt expected a complete waiver.

It seemed the disciplinary committee president Oh Se-hoon was more willing to make bold compromises than I thought.

Lets continue this conversation later. The others are waiting outside.

Since only Hong Yeon-hwa was sent out of the arena, the longer Dang Gyu-young and I stay here, the more suspicious the three waiting outside will become.

Its best to wrap this up quickly and head out.

However, I decided to make one more request before we began.

Id appreciate it if you could turn off the replay.

Dang Gyu-young who had been observing me up until this point couldnt possibly have misunderstood the implication of my words.

Turning off the replay meant I was willing to showcase skills that couldnt be publicly displayed.

Dang Gyu-young seemed intrigued but also appeared to be weighing her options.

Honestly, Im curious But, you know, Im a mentor right now? Im supposed to upload all the replays.

It might have been different if it were just a duel, but mentoring was also in progress.

The academic authorities wanted to track the progress of the students; hence recording and submitting all replays was recommended.

While it wasnt mandatory, aligning with this would reflect well on Dang Gyu-youngs mentoring performance, so it was best to comply where possible.

So I made another suggestion.

How about we make this one unofficial, and then have an official match with the replays on, maybe with someone else joining us?

Should we?

[Side Quest: 5th Week Duel Battles]

Objective: Remove Stickers (0/3)

Deadline: ~ midnight on Sunday.

Reward: Varies based on the time of completion

The objective of this side quest was to remove stickers.

As long as I received the quest rewards, I could take my time with the duel itself.

It was a proposition that Dang Gyu-young couldnt lose out on.

After all, this meant securing a replay that could be submitted to the academy.

After retrieving the replay modifier, she wiggled her finger at me.

Come on, then.

Her eyes were filled with anticipation as if she was wondering what she was about to see.

However, contrary to her expectations, I didnt plan on showing much this time.

My intention was to end things swiftly.

[Activate Amplification]

[The rank of Overheat has been increased. (D->B)]

I cast [Inferno Fist],

And the flames burning from my fist were absorbed with [Overheat].

The effect of Overheat increases with the strength of the fire skill being absorbed and the rank of Overheat itself.

Since I used a B-rank Overheat with Inferno Fist, the outcome was bound to be significant.

Whoooosh.

A surge of immense power began to boil up inside me and start to run wild.

The force was overwhelming for my current physical capacity which meant that control might be a bit difficult.

Thats why I need to end it even more quickly.

I took my stance and kicked off the ground forcefully.

Thump!

In the span of a single breath, Dang Gyu-youngs figure came closer.

With another forceful kick against the ground I found myself right before her.

Dang Gyu-young seemed somewhat prepared, but her eyes widened in surprise as if she hadnt anticipated such a turn of events.

Wh-what?

Ssssh!

In an instant, my figure flew past Dang Gyu-young, accompanied by the sound of something being torn away.

And before she knew it, a sticker was stuck to my hand.

Dang Gyu-young glanced at the sticker and then looked down to check her waist area.

Her side was conspicuously empty.

This is why I have to raise my rank.

Currently, Dang Gyu-young was wearing a bracelet that restricted all skills and traits to C-rank.

On the other hand, the rank of the Thiefs Step I had copied from Dang Gyu-young was B, and with the bonus from the shoes Seo Ye-in gave me, it was even at B+.

Even this alone made a huge difference in speed, not to mention the significant boost in physical abilities from Overheat.New novel chapters are published on

Even when Overheat was at D-rank, I managed to play tag with the Black Death clan leader without so much as a hair out of place, so it goes without saying that B-rank would be extraordinary.

If one hand could muster the strength of ten, it was a challenge worth taking on.

I advanced steadily, calmly evading, dodging, and shaking off the shadowy limbs bit by bit.

After repeating this a few times and measuring the distance to Dang Gyu-young at the center of the garden,

Now might be the time to make a dash.

I was close enough that a single leap could bridge the gap between us.

I gathered strength in my legs and kicked off the ground forcefully.

Thump!

As if anticipating my move, Dang Gyu-young wore a triumphant smile.

Somehow, she had summoned all three shadow butterflies that had been fluttering around the garden to her front.

The butterflies exploded all at once, raining down all manner of sharp projectiles like a downpour.

This wont do. Abort.

Thump!

I kicked the ground again and retreated to my previous position.

As I dodged and struck at the relentless shadow limbs without a moments rest,

Now really might be the time to leap.

Having used up the three butterflies, there would be a slight delay before they could be replenished.

Thump!

I leaped towards Dang Gyu-young once more.

She seemed astonished to see me moving in and out of her domain as if it were my own living room.

Even if she used her best moves at C-rank, she couldnt bridge the rank difference.

Especially if it is me who has the upper hand in the ranks.

But she didnt lose her fighting spirit and threw her fist toward me.

I sidestepped and deflected the incoming punch further to the side.

At the same time, I reached out for the sticker, but Dang Gyu-young tried to grab my hand, and when I slapped her hand away, she countered, leading to a rapid exchange of blows in mid-air.

The longer I stayed in one spot exchanging blows, the more at a disadvantage I found myself.

After all, Dang Gyu-young had countless shadow hands to assist her in addition to her own hands and feet.

I had to change my position again to avoid the encroaching shadows from behind.

Thud!

A single footprint was deeply imprinted on the ground.

The next moment, I appeared on the opposite side of Dang Gyu-young.

After forcefully batting away the shadow hands, I extended my hand forward as if to peel off the sticker.

?

A fleeting look of puzzlement crossed Dang Gyu-youngs face, as she realized that even with my hand stretched out, there was still a considerable distance between us.

However, in the next instant,

Boom!

An explosion of compressed air from behind propelled Dang Gyu-youngs figure towards me in a flash.

From the moment I first set foot in the Shadow Realm, I had been secretly preparing the Wind Force bit by bit.

Dang Gyu-Youngs eyes widened in astonishment.

She tried to hastily regain her balance, but before she could, I took another step closer and reached out toward her chest.

The moment the edge of the sticker caught on my finger, I gripped it firmly and ripped it off with all my strength.

Riiipcrack.

?

A question mark popped up above my head.

I understood the sound of the sticker being torn, but what was that cracking noise?

But that wasnt the only odd thing.

At the same time as the cracking sound, something the size of a fingernail shot towards my face.

What was this? A secret weapon of the Dang family?

I quickly tilted my head to the side to dodge and then retreated a fair distance.

And looking at Dang Gyu-Young,

Her face was twitching as if she was very, very upset.

Her cheeks appeared to be slightly flushed.

Was there another reason besides the sticker being completely removed?

On closer inspection, I noticed Dang Gyu-Young clutching at her shirt collar with one hand.

As if something terrible would happen if she let go.

Thats when I realized what had happened.

Ah, the button.

The sticker attached to her chest had been torn off with such force that it had ripped off a button from her school uniform shirt.

The object I had dodged, thinking it was a hidden weapon from the Dang family, was that button

Did I overdo it?

I took a moment to reflect.

Then, Dang Gyu-Youngs voice reached my ears.

Hey.

In a tone lower and colder than usual.

I immediately bowed my head.

Im sorry.