Chapter 251: 14th Week Duel Battle (3)

Chapter 251: 14th Week Duel Battle (3)

The tiger was a spirit beast in its own right; it even knew how to use mana, and each of its attacks carried the full weight of its body. This made it difficult for most close-combat classes to withstand.

As for a mage like me, there was no question about it.

I just have to dodge no matter what.

The moment the tiger’s front paw swung toward my face, I lightly twisted my body and sidestepped.

Bum realized immediately that it had swiped at nothing but air and swiftly adjusted its body to land.

However, the spot where it landed wasn’t solid ground but an ice sheet.

It couldn’t avoid slipping either.

To make matters worse—

Bang!

Compressed air exploded and forcefully shoved Bum away.

As the tiger slid rapidly into the distance, I briefly shifted my focus away from it and cast Wind Force on Park Na-ri and Jeong Soo-ji.

Whooosh—

“Ah, ahhh!”

“S-Stop...!”

The two of them wobbled and flailed like inflatable dancing tube men at a festival.

They could barely stay upright on the ice, as if someone kept pushing them from the side.

As the wind continued to blow, Jeong Soo-ji lost her balance and toppled over again.

[Crystal: 23%]

The charge is going smoothly.

“Graaaah!”

When I turned my body again, I saw Bum charging at me with terrifying speed.

I planted the sapling firmly on the ice and stretched out my other hand toward the tiger.

[Earth Line]

[Chill Wind]

[Wind Force]

Whooooosh—!

A wind imbued with cold and physical force swept forward.

The charging Bum began to slow down, and before long, it was being steadily pushed backward.

Even just the combination of slowing effects and pushing force was impressive on its own, but with the blizzard raging and the slippery ice beneath it, the effects were amplified significantly.

“Grrrr.”

“B-Bum!”

But Park Na-ri was a promising student and she wasn’t about to just stand idly by.

At some point, she had cast a spell and a green light radiated from her staff before it enveloped Bum.

Flash!

Debuff weakening.

“Grrrgh!”

Thanks to her spell, Bum shook off the slowing effect and regained its speed.

With a powerful leap, it moved to my side and swung its front paw in a wide arc, as if to strike across a broad range.

Mana infused into its claws created three streaks of crescent-shaped slashes.

I surrounded the sapling with dark clouds and cast Wind Barrier while retreating.

The crescent-shaped slashes tore easily through the barrier but ultimately collided with the dark clouds and were neutralized.

As if determined not to give me any breathing room, Bum kept following me while swinging its claws relentlessly.

I narrowly dodged each strike, and when a small opening appeared, I used the chance to cast Wind Force on Park Na-ri and Jeong Soo-ji.

Whooosh—

“Ugh.”

“Ah...”

Jeong Soo-ji slipped and fell again, causing the spell she was casting to be canceled, while Park Na-ri, though staggering as she lost her balance, managed to complete her spell to the end.

This was the difference between someone with their score in the 600s and someone in the 1,000s.

Flash!

Once again, a glowing aura enveloped Bum’s body.

As the buffs kept stacking, the longer the fight dragged on, the more it worked in their favor.

Still, it won’t go on for too long.

[Crystal 61%]

The charge would be complete soon enough. I only needed to hold out until then.

A claw swung diagonally toward me.

I leaned to the side to dodge and simultaneously exploded compressed air.

Bang!

Bum slid across the ice once more, but the distance it was pushed was noticeably shorter this time.

I had a good idea of what kind of buff Park Na-ri had just cast.

Increased weight.

The less Bum slid, the more opportunities it had to attack, and the more force its strikes carried. It wasn’t a bad choice.

As expected of a promising student, she had learned a variety of buffs.

That said, it’s about time for this to end.

Every buff had a duration.

The green glow surrounding Bum’s body began to fade and eventually disappeared entirely.

This meant the “Debuff Weakening” buff she had used to counter Chill Wind was no longer in effect.

Which meant—

I can use Chill Wind again.

Whoooosh—

“Look, my hand’s still freezing. See?”

“!!!”

Seo Ye-in suddenly shrank back and sidestepped away like a crab, increasing the distance between us.

Her eyes were filled with caution as her hand hovered near her inventory; she was hesitating whether to grab something or not. It looked like she was moments away from pulling out her beloved Kim Ho pot.

“I don’t like cold things.”

“I won’t do it.”

At that, Seo Ye-in slowly approached me and placed a hand warmer in each of my hands.

“Your hands will be warm now.”

“Thank you.”

But isn’t one of these originally mine?

It didn’t seem worth arguing over, so I just fiddled with the hand warmer as we walked.

Before long, we arrived at the snack bar. Each of us bought a cup of hot chocolate and sipped at it as we walked.

It seemed other people had similar ideas, as Jeong Soo-ji and Park Na-ri’s duo also entered the snack bar and ordered their own hot chocolates.

When our eyes met, the two whispered to each other briefly before Jeong Soo-ji hesitantly approached me and started to speak.

“Uh, so, um.”

“Hmm?”

“Well, about the replay... I was wondering if you could, maybe, keep it private...”

Jeong Soo-ji’s face was flushed with embarrassment, probably because she had spent the entire game performing what could only be described as “sophisticated performance art” on the ice.

And all of that mortifying display had been perfectly captured and stored in the replay.

What made the situation worse was that her partner in this tragedy was none other than the promising student, Park Na-ri.

If that replay were to be uploaded to the student marketplace, it would sell like hotcakes. But for her, it would mean her entire cringeworthy disaster would be preserved for the future.

It would be like switching classes from “Earth Mage” to “Clown”.

I understood how she must feel and readily agreed.

After all, it was partially my fault.

“Sure, no problem.”

“...Thank you.”

Jeong Soo-ji let out a deep sigh of relief.

As a token of appreciation, Jeong Soo-ji handed me two Random Rank Up scrolls.

Since keeping the replay private would mean a loss of points for me, this was her way of helping offset the cost.

“I’ll get going now.”

“Alright, take care.”

After Jeong Soo-ji and Park Na-ri left, I handed one of the Random Rank Up scrolls to Seo Ye-in.

“Here, this one’s yours.”

“Mhmm.”

Seo Ye-in wasn’t the type to care about accumulating points or saving replays, so I accepted Jeong Soo-ji’s offer without bothering to ask for her opinion.

Still, since we were on the same team, splitting the reward felt fair.

Seo Ye-in stared quietly at the Random Rank Up scroll in her hand.

“......”

“Are you going to use it right away?”

“Mhmm.”

Flash—

The scroll began to emit a faint, bright light.

Whooshhh...

Then it turned to ash and scattered.

While her innate luck might help push through in other areas, Random Rank Up scrolls weren’t so easy to exploit.

They weren’t affected by probability-related skills or traits.

Still, thanks to this, I managed to add another stamp to the collection.

[Stamp Coupon (C)]

▷ Stamps: 7/10

Not much left now.

Random Rank Up scrolls also appeared as side quest rewards, so the goal was finally within reach.

Of course, to complete it, we would need to successfully finish the remaining matches.

“Now that we’re warmed up, shall we get going again?”

The cooldown for buffs was almost over as well.

However, Seo Ye-in averted her gaze and started inching sideways.

It seemed the thought of diving back into the snowstorm made her hesitant.

I approached her and spoke gently to persuade her.

“Let’s do just one more match.”

“......”

“If we finish this, we’re done for the week. Let’s charge just one more crystal, then we can rest.”

“......A pillow?”

“I’ll positively consider that too.”

Using sweet talk, I coaxed the human sloth all the way to the arena and queued us for a match.

I checked over the items while waiting.

There’s no need to spend more points.

The spiked soles were still intact, and the hand warmers were holding their warmth.

Of course, as usual, all four hand warmers belonged to Seo Ye-in.

Soon, the scoreboard displayed our names alongside our opponents’ names.

“......It’s these two again.”