Chapter 221: 12th Week Duel Battle (4)

I took in the sight of Go Hyeon-woo and Seo Ye-in across from me.

This is perfect.

Winning was already a given.

Since there was a copy slot as a side quest reward.

It would be as easy as flipping a hand.

Amplifying Wind Force to A+ and pushing them off the clouds would end it right there.

But that would be a bad approach.

What good would it do to show off power and claim a quick victory against those two?

They already knew everything they needed to know.

What mattered was the process.

How they won or lost and what they learned from it.

In that regard, Hong Yeon-hwa was the perfect teammate.

Go Hyeon-woo hadn’t faced many true mages before, and Seo Ye-in only secured her victories by exploiting the natural advantage between gunslingers and mages, but in terms of raw skill, she still had a long way to go.

She was a promising mage so with a little nudge from me,

I could definitely help them realize that.

Therefore, in this match, it was important to win while “giving Hong Yeon-hwa the spotlight”.

“......?”

From the moment the match was set, Hong Yeon-hwa kept glancing at me nervously.

It seemed like she wasn’t sure what to expect since the opposing team consisted of my two closest friends.

I calmly broke the silence.

“Hong Yeon-hwa.”

“Y-Yes...?”

“For this match, you’re the main damage dealer.”

“M-Me...?”

“That’s right. I’ll just be supporting from the side.”

“Is... is that okay...?”

Hong Yeon-hwa didn’t look confident.

In the last three-way match in the volcanic zone, she had faced Seo Ye-in and lost, and now Go Hyeon-woo was added to the mix.

While he wasn’t quite at the level of a promising student, he was known for being quite skilled.

So it made sense that she couldn’t predict an easy victory.

On the other hand, I had a perfect grasp of both of their abilities, as well as Hong Yeon-hwa’s and my own.

So I spoke with certainty.

“It’s fine. You can do it.”

“.......!”

Of course, I’d be the one steering the ship.

I began explaining how we would approach this match.

Hong Yeon-hwa listened to me intently with gleaming eyes.

***

“What a coincidence.”

Go Hyeon-woo had a pleased smile on his face.

Ever since he first met Kim Ho in the middle of the forest, he wanted to fight with him once regardless of whether he won or lost.

So whenever he had the chance, he would request a spar, but Kim Ho always found some reason to decline.

Yet, unexpectedly, they had now met in an official setting.

“.......”

Meanwhile, Seo Ye-in seemed more interested in the cloud platforms than the duel itself.

She squatted down and pressed the clouds with her fingertips, then curled up on top of them before lying down.

As usual, her face was expressionless, but there was an unmistakable air of contentment about her.

Go Hyeon-woo was also curious, so he asked for her thoughts.

“How does it feel to lie on them?”

“Comfortable....”

Seo Ye-in’s eyelids began to droop slowly.

She looked ready to fall asleep at any moment.

However, as a responsible teammate, Go Hyeon-woo felt it necessary to bring this human sloth back to reality.

“I hate to break it to you, but that platform will disappear soon. Didn’t they say it vanishes in sequence?”

“.......”

“I’m sure you don’t want to fall down there, do you?”

Seo Ye-in was reluctant to skydive in her sleep so she sluggishly got up from her spot.

Still, her gaze lingered on the cloud platform with regret.

Still, since he had at least managed to get her on her feet, Go Hyeon-woo proceeded to lay out his plan.

“Our opponent is Kim-hyung, and I know Miss Hong’s skills are exceptional as well. It would be wise for us to cooperate, so listen to this—”

“.......”

But throughout his explanation, Seo Ye-in merely stared off into the distance with drowsy eyes.

Go Hyeon-woo couldn’t be sure if she had even grasped what he was saying.

The feathers that were each the size of a palm burned brightly as flames danced around them.

She threw them down without hesitation.

Go Hyeon-woo slashed with his magic sword, intending to cut down the burning feathers flying toward him.

However, as they approached their target, the flaming feathers suddenly slowed and began fluttering irregularly and drifting unpredictably like falling leaves.

Thrown off by the unexpected movement, his magic sword sliced through empty air.

“This!”

Fwoosh!

The feathers touched Go Hyeon-woo’s body, and in an instant, a blaze erupted furiously.

“So troublesome.”

[Go Hyeon-woo: 97%]

He quickly used wind to blow the flames away, so the damage wasn’t severe for now.

However, as he had just experienced, the irregular movements made it incredibly difficult to deflect or block them.

And it wasn’t just one flaming feather.

Each time Hong Yeon-hwa cast her spell, multiple feathers were created and with her continuous chanting, the flaming feathers fell endlessly.

Fwoosh!

Even when they managed to avoid them, the feathers set the cloud platforms on fire which forced the two to hurriedly jump to the next platform.

Of course, Seo Ye-in wasn’t just taking hits without fighting back.

Poof!

A small puff of cloud appeared from her bracelet and began floating around her.

It then swiftly swallowed the incoming flaming feathers.

Hong Yeon-hwa couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh in disbelief.

That thing baffles me every time...

What rank is that thing anyway?

Still, there seemed to be a clear way to deal with that cloud.

Simply send more feathers than it could swallow.

Hong Yeon-hwa’s casting speed quickened even more.

More flaming feathers appeared in her hand, most of which she directed toward Seo Ye-in.

Seo Ye-in had her cloud swallow some and dodged the rest while continuously hopping from one cloud platform to another.

“Jump.”

The distance between them slowly began to close.

As Hong Yeon-hwa grew increasingly desperate and started linking her flame spells together, there wasn’t the slightest hint of concern on Seo Ye-in’s face.

“Jump.”

Soon, Seo Ye-in landed just one level below the cloud platform where Hong Yeon-hwa’s team was positioned.

For the first time since the match began, she raised her magic gun and aimed it at Hong Yeon-hwa.

She had judged that her opponent was finally within range.

The moment Hong Yeon-hwa’s eyes met Seo Ye-in’s gray ones, along with the gun’s barrel, she felt her hair stand on end.

The memory of what had happened in their last match against each other flashed through her mind.

Ratatatatatata!

As soon as the magic gun spewed blue flames, she instinctively curled her body tightly.

“Nngh...”

But what was this?

There were faint impacts, but that was all.

There was none of the pain from magic bullets embedding into her.

[Hong Yeon-hwa: 99%]

She quickly realized it was thanks to the layers of defensive spells protecting her.

Her blazing armor, the reverse curtain, and even the shield Kim Ho had cast.

With three layers of defensive magic in place, even the magic bullets from a marksman couldn’t break through.

“.......!”

Hong Yeon-hwa looked over at Kim Ho with a face full of relief.

Kim Ho gave a small nod, as if to say, “Well done” and added a single comment.

“Stay focused.”

“M-Mhmm...”

Despite dodging the barrage of flaming feathers while frantically jumping from one platform to another, Go Hyun-woo and Seo Ye-in managed to close the distance. They were now just one level below.

Ratatatata!

Seo Ye-in continued to fire her magic gun in rapid succession, while Go Hyun-woo gathered wind to launch a sword of energy.

Naturally, Kim Ho had anticipated this situation and had a simple countermeasure ready.

“Here we go again.”

Boom!

With a burst of compressed air, both their bodies shot upward.

Go Hyun-woo and Seo Ye-in who were caught off guard could only watch them rise like dogs chasing after chickens.

“Huh.”

“That’s so unfair.”