[Kim Ho: 763 points, Seo Ye-in: 775 points]
vs
[Wang Gon: 698 points, Jang Oh: 828 points]
The assassin duo.
For some reason, this week we’ve only had two matches, but both were against promising students.
On top of that, assassin-class characters were natural predators of ranged classes.
While the Gunslinger class was agile enough to make it a somewhat even match, we were still at a disadvantage.
This might actually be a good thing.
It doesn’t seem like a bad idea to use this opportunity to gain some real combat experience.
Seo Ye-in, on the other hand, didn’t care about experience or anything else; she just wanted to finish this quickly. Still, once the battle began, she’d show her usual enthusiasm.
Before entering, we took a final moment to check our preparations.
“Make sure the spikes are on tight.”
“Spikes tight.”
“Get your hand warmers ready.”
“Hand warmers.”
“Put your hood on to stay warm.”
“Hood on.”
“Let’s move out.”
“Let’s teach them a lesson.”
With that, we stepped onto the teleportation magic circle.
Whiiiiiish—!
Instantly, a snowstorm lashed at our faces without mercy.
The bit of enthusiasm Seo Ye-in had mustered quickly started to fade.
“......I want out.”
“Sure, let’s finish quickly and get out of here.”
“Now.”
“Yeah, let’s start right now.”
I responded naturally, and just in time, the countdown began.
[3]
[2]
[1]
[Start!]
[Kim Ho: 100%, Seo Ye-in: 100%]
vs
[Wang Gon: 100%, Jang Oh: 100%]
“This time, we’ll move together.”
“Mhmm.”
The Park Na-ri/ Jeong Soo-ji duo had been easy for me to handle alone, mainly because they were a defensive team with low offensive power, and the difference in mobility caused by the presence or absence of spiked soles worked in my favor.
This time, however, dividing roles would only put us at a disadvantage.
The opponents had overwhelming attack power, and there was no guarantee Seo Ye-in could endure it.
I asked her as we walked side by side,
“Which way is the crystal?”
“Over there.”
“Good.”
Seo Ye-in slowly raised her hand to point in one direction.
Even in this bitter cold, Lucky Charm’s radar seemed to be functioning perfectly.
Sure enough, after walking a little further, I spotted something standing out amidst the swirling snowstorm.
A makeshift altar with a crystal placed on top of it.
After retrieving the crystal, we turned toward the sanctuary.
“Let’s go charge it.”
“Mhmm.”
But before we got very far, we had to slow down.
Two silhouettes appeared ahead, blocking our path.
Naturally, they were Jang Oh and Wang Gon. Or more accurately, they were Jang Moo-geuk and Wang Cheon-sam.
I gave a light wave as a greeting and tossed out a question that had crossed my mind earlier.
“Are you sticking with those aliases? Jang Oh and Wang Gon?”
I had already told them those names were lame.
They each muttered a response with awkward expressions.
“...We’re not using them because we like them.”
“But we can’t keep changing them all the time, can we?”
It seemed they had no choice but to stick with those aliases for the time being.
In the first place, if they had chosen decent aliases, they wouldn’t have needed to change them so often. But since I could understand their situation well enough, I decided to let it slide.
Next, the two of them simultaneously turned to look at Seo Ye-in.
Although it was their first time meeting her, it seemed they had already caught on to the fact that she was someone who often accompanied me.
Perhaps because of this, Jang Moo-geuk asked in a somewhat playful tone.
“Is this our sister-in-law?”
Wang Cheon-sam also raised the corners of his lips and corrected his words.
“Wouldn’t ‘Hyung-nim’s wife’ be a more appropriate term?”
“Then that would make Kim Ho our Hyung (older brother).”
At the moment of impact, he swung the sword he had been holding low.
Clang!
I crossed the sapling just in time to deflect the blow.
As soon as Jang Moo-geuk brushed past me, he pivoted sharply and redirected his attack toward Seo Ye-in.
So that’s been his plan all along.
Distract me momentarily, slip past, and take Seo Ye-in out first. That was his intention.
And it was working to some extent; the two assassins closed in from either side before converging on Seo Ye-in in a coordinated assault.
Of course, I wasn’t about to stand by and watch.
“Jump.”
“Jump.”
At my command, Seo Ye-in activated Feather Step and leaped straight up into the air.
Bang!
I used Wind Force, and her trajectory curved as she flew through the air toward me.
The moment she landed beside me, she stabilized her stance and resumed firing.
Ratatatatatata!
“Damn it...”
The opponents, who had been confident they had her cornered, were momentarily startled as Seo Ye-in abruptly soared out of their reach. Jang Moo-geuk and Wang Cheon-sam scrambled to dodge the incoming magic bullets.
But they couldn’t evade them all; a couple of shots grazed Wang Cheon-sam and caused some damage.
[Wang Gon: 97%]
[Wang Gon: 93%]
The assassins were not discouraged and attacked again with the same unrelenting ferocity.
I made the dark clouds float near Seo Ye-in and let them drift aimlessly, then planted the sapling into the ground.
Then I stretched my hand forward.
[Earth Line]
[Chillwind]
[Wind Force]
Whiiiiiish!
“So annoying.”
Wang Cheon-sam muttered with a frown.
It wasn’t just the constant pushing and pulling that irritated him, but the fact that the accumulated cold slowed him down more and more with each passing moment.
[Wang Gon: 93%, Jang Oh: 97%]
On top of that, Chillwind’s freezing enhancement effect doubled the power of the blizzard and caused their once-steady health to chip away bit by bit.
Even so, their focus remained fixed on Seo Ye-in. Once again, they thrust their swords from two directions.
While I parried Wang Cheon-sam’s attack, Seo Ye-in used Feather Step to evade Jang Moo-geuk’s sword.
But as if anticipating her movements, the blade tip wavered and pursued her, only to collide with the dark clouds I had sent, causing its trajectory to falter.
In that brief opening, Seo Ye-in took aim with her gun.
Ratatatatatatatatata!
Even at such close range, Jang Moo-geuk deftly dodged and weaved through the magic bullets with movement technique.
As expected from a promising talent, his mastery of movement techniques was remarkable.
At the same time, the two assassins widened the distance before each of them hurled a dagger toward us.
Ssshhhkk!
A distraction.
The real attack was coming next. I deflected the daggers roughly and kept my eyes locked on them.
As expected, a thin nearly invisible layer of energy enveloped Jang Moo-geuk’s sword, which made it harder to detect.
With a few swift steps forward, he suddenly blurred, and his form faded as though he had become a ghost.
Ghost Dance.
A quick glance to the side confirmed that Wang Cheon-sam was also activating Ghost Dance. His movements were smooth, stealthy, and incredibly fast as he closed the gap.
In an instant, Jang Moo-geuk reached Seo Ye-in with his blade poised to strike—
Flash!
Seo Ye-in activated Bullet Time.
Her gray eyes captured the trajectory of the two blades.
In an instant, her presence seemed to fade.
Swish.
With movements as smooth as a sliding shadow, she slipped past the assassins’ attack.
She used Bullet Time to perceive their attacks and Ghost Dance to escape.
The two assassins, who had been confident their strikes would land, were visibly shaken when their blades sliced through nothing but air.
They frantically scanned their surroundings, but Seo Ye-in had already repositioned herself at a distance with her gun barrel aimed squarely at them.
Her magic gun unleashed a relentless barrage of blue fire.
Tututututututu!
The magic bullets slammed into Wang Cheon-sam’s shoulder and side before exploding on impact.
“Urgh...!”
[Wang Gon: 91%]
[Wang Gon: 64%]
The two were quite surprised and couldn’t speak for a long time with their eyes wide open.
Finally, Jang Moo-geuk broke the silence.
“...What just happened?”
“Didn’t I tell you?”
She learned it too.