Chapter 199: Hammer vs. Pot

Chapter 199: Hammer vs. Pot

I first explained the rules of the toy hammer game.

“Let’s play rock-paper-scissors. Rock, paper—”

“—scissors.”

I chose paper, and Seo Ye-in chose rock.

Kim Ho wins.

I picked up the toy hammer from the small folding table and lightly tapped it on Seo Ye-in’s head.

“The winner gets to attack with the toy hammer. Again, rock, paper—”

“—scissors.”

This time, I chose scissors, and Seo Ye-in chose rock.

Seo Ye-in wins.

Seo Ye-in slowly brought the toy hammer toward my head, as if asking, “Is this how you do it?” I nodded and flipped a pot over to place it on my head.

Then, the toy hammer lightly tapped the small pot.

“The loser defends with the pot. Got it so far?”

“Okay.”

“And if you grab the wrong thing, it’s a foul. Like if you win rock-paper-scissors but pick up the pot, or if you lose but pick up the toy hammer.”

“Foul, okay.”

In summary, when you win or lose at rock-paper-scissors, you have to quickly grab the right tool from the table and succeed in either attacking or defending.

It was a game that required a decent amount of quick reflexes.

Seo Ye-in seemed a little interested, but mere curiosity wasn’t enough.

If I wanted to keep this up all week, I needed stronger motivation.

So I decided to offer a light reward.

“If you win 10 times, you get a wish ticket. How about that?”

“...A pillow?”

Seo Ye-in was always true to her desires.

She has been strangely obsessed with me since she slept soundly on Kim Ho pillow during the midterm exam.

She even leaned on me the entire time while talking to Ahn Jeong-mi.

Since it wasn’t something I couldn’t grant with a wish ticket, I nodded without hesitation.

“A pillow’s fine.”

“10 wins...!”

Seo Ye-in became even more fired up with my approval.

It seemed she was determined to quickly rack up 10 wins and claim me as a pillow.

It won’t be that easy.

Whether she could even manage one win, let alone ten, against me remained to be seen.

Before starting, I raised the rank of [Enchantment] by two levels using Amplification.

[Used “Amplification”.]

[The rank of “Enchantment” has increased. (F -> D)]

Next, I passed a skill to Seo Ye-in using [Enchantment].

[Used “Enchantment”.]

[You have granted the skill “Wind Force (C+)” to the target.]

[The rank of the granted “Wind Force”: E]

[Cooldown time: 00:03:58]

When passing a skill with F-rank Enchantment to someone else, the rank drops by three levels, but with D-rank Enchantment, it only drops by two.

Additionally, as the rank increased, the cooldown time significantly decreased, and the 90% reduction effect of the special training room further cut down the time.

As a result, she could use this powerful skill once every four minutes.

During training, if she just kept using it each time the cooldown finished, escaping from F-rank in her skill was practically guaranteed.

Whirrr—

Seo Ye-in who was curious about Wind Force summoned gusts of wind here and there.

However, since it didn’t match her class, it only made her hair flutter a little.

I stepped half a step closer to the table and spoke.

“Shall we begin?”

“Mhmm.”

“Rock, paper—”

“—scissors.”

I chose rock, and Seo Ye-in chose scissors.

Seo Ye-in lost.

However, by the time she reached for the pot, the toy hammer had already landed on her head.

Thwack!

“Rock, paper—”

“—scissors.”

I chose scissors, and Seo Ye-in chose rock.

Seo Ye-in won.

But before she could swing the toy hammer halfway, it was blocked mid-air by the pot.

Clang—!

A clear sound echoed through the room.

Both of us calmly put down what we were holding back on the table and continued our game of rock-paper-scissors like nothing had happened.

“Rock, paper—”

“—scissors.”

This time, I won again.

Because Seo Ye-in had focused her Bullet Time on the toy hammer battle, I regained the upper hand in rock-paper-scissors.

So once again, I won.

Flash!

Just like before, Seo Ye-in immediately used Bullet Time but I had already anticipated it.

I just stood still with the toy hammer in hand and waited as the short duration of Bullet Time quickly passed.

And in the next moment,

Thump!!

I struck her gray hair with the toy hammer like lightning.

“Don’t use it too hastily. You need to time it better.”

“......”

Seo Ye-in gave a slight nod.

Her already few words seemed to grow even fewer.

The game of rock-paper-scissors continued, along with the back-and-forth of the toy hammer and pot.

I kept adjusting my speed, swung the toy hammer, then paused, then swung again, and repeated the rhythm over and over.

I wanted to help Seo Ye-in find the perfect timing without using Bullet Time too early or too late.

Though she still got hit more often than she blocked,

Thump, thump, thump! Clang! Thump, thump, thump! Clang!

She’s keeping up well.

The number of successful blocks was noticeably increasing.

As a result, my hit rate was noticeably decreasing.

It meant her skill was improving rapidly.

As always, her talent was monstrous.

At this rate, she would probably reach E-rank even before using the full week I had expected.

“Rock, paper—”

I threw scissors, and Seo Ye-in threw rock.

I lost.

I instinctively reached for the table to defend myself.

But the spot where the pot should have been was completely empty.

Seo Ye-in had already taken it.

Why’d she grab the pot when she won?

I lifted my head with that question in mind, and immediately had to widen my eyes in shock.

“Hey, you—”

I saw Seo Ye-in swinging the pot at me with a full swing.

Clang—!!

***

Due to an unfortunate accident, the toy hammer game and Bullet Time lesson were temporarily halted.

“Hold your hands up properly.”

“...Sorry.”

The offender, Seo Ye-in, stood with her hands raised above her head as a punishment.

When I glared at her, she slowly averted her gaze.

I approached her and asked in a questioning tone,

“You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”

—Shake head—

“No, that pot swing was full of emotion. You were angry, weren’t you?”

“...A little?”

“Yeah, it’s okay to get angry. But does that mean it’s okay to hit someone with a pot?”

“No, it doesn’t.”

I held the pot—the weapon and evidence of her crime—right in front of her eyes.

“Do you see this? Do you see what you’ve done?”

“A Kim Ho-shaped pot.”

She had hit me so hard the pot was deeply dented in the shape of my head.

Seo Ye-in was curious and poked at it with her fingertips, but quickly raised her hands again when I glared at her.

I questioned her again while pressing for answers.

“Do you regret it?”

“I regret it.”

“You won’t hit me with a pot again, right?”

“...Okay.”

“Put your hands down.”

When Seo Ye-in lowered her hands and stepped closer, I stuck my hand inside the pot and pushed hard.

The Kim Ho-shaped pot was flattened with a creaking sound, but the dents remained, leaving it uneven.

Looks like I can’t use this for cooking anymore.

I borrowed it from the kitchen.

Still, there shouldn’t be any problem using it to block the toy hammer.

I placed the pot on the table and said,

“Let’s continue.”

“Mhmm.”

The toy hammer game went on late into the night.

However, the once-clear “Clang!” sound from the now-dented pot could no longer be heard.