Chapter 69
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: Blue Pine Festival (10)
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A golden bolt of lightning streaked across the stage. Like an anaconda slowly coiling around me, a net of electricity spread out.
I had no choice but to hesitate for a moment.
This wasn't Cheon So-yul's style as I knew it. She usually struck with consistent, linear attacks based on the offensive power of her lightning magic.
It had been ages since she'd squeezed the space around me this slowly.
'Did she prepare countermeasures...?'
Well... come to think of it, it wasn't all that strange. Even I had one or two trump cards prepared.
It was probably inevitable from the moment we both committed to this tournament matchup.
The problem was that Cheon So-yul's lightning right now was perfectly exploiting my weakness.
She was pushing out the frozen chill I'd claimed over the stage with her heat, dyeing the area in even deeper hues.
'This isn't easy.'
I grimaced. The way this was unfolding wasn't pleasant for me at all.
Given the nature of my unique magic, which favored dragging fights into prolonged battles, yielding space to Cheon So-yul would spell total disaster.
I had no choice but to make a decision.
A bit early, but time to play my trump card.
Flash!
My hand spread out in front of me. Cyan chill rippled like a slow wave, offsetting the electricity surging toward me with frosty negation.
"Hoo."
White vapor leaked from my lips as I exhaled shortly. I felt my body temperature plummeting sharply.
Then, eyes wide, I detonated my mana.
By clenching my outstretched palm harder.
Thus, the storm of chill swirled into being.
Kwaaaaaaaa—!
"...!"
Cheon So-yul's eyes narrowed slightly at the sight. She froze in place as a bonus, her expression tinged with wariness.
And I immediately kicked off the ground.
Thud!
There was a way to move even faster. I could borrow Baek A-yun's power to enhance my leg strength, but I didn't bother.
I just wanted to move with my own physical abilities. At least for now, in this fight against Cheon So-yul.
Thus, I closed in right up to her face. I thrust my chill-emitting hand fiercely, intent on seizing her wrist.
Grip...!
Success.
I transitioned immediately to the next move.
The cold, biting storm raging behind me condensed in an instant. Where to? Into my fingertips, my fist, and my wrist.
'End it in one shot.'
At this moment, I emptied my mind.
I ignored everything else, focusing solely on the thought of winning this fight.
Today's Cheon So-yul was approaching the match with an unusually passive stance compared to usual.
The reason was her buildup to take me down definitively.
In other words, her brainpower was slowly constricting the arena right now. Stealing my space.
If that process completed fully, I'd probably lose today's fight.
'So...'
What I needed to target was one thing: force a quicker resolution than usual. Even if it was reckless, even if it was a gamble—heavy on the one decisive blow to flip the board.
I moved straight into that action.
"Ugh...!"
I gripped Cheon So-yul's arm even tighter. She winced in apparent pain, and the next instant.
Whoooosh—
I half-clenched my chill-infused fist, then immediately thrust it toward Cheon So-yul. An ice-attuned palm strike.
That was my trump card.
My fingertips met Cheon So-yul's chest.
Then, the clash of attributes. The ensuing explosion.
Cheon So-yul's and my eyes locked perfectly.
"..."
"..."
Kwaaaaaang!!!
A massive roar erupted. One of my main techniques, a pseudo-fusion magic blending ice with a portion of wind attribute.
This attack could somewhat compensate for ice's innate lack of raw power.
It was the move that had toppled Cheon So-yul multiple times before...
I had no doubt it would do the same this time.
Suddenly.
"...Heh."
Until Cheon So-yul let out a stifled chuckle.
"...!"
My eyes widened hugely. It wasn't just her odd reaction.
The real reason was her condition.
She should've taken my palm strike full-on, yet she was fine. Or was she? Her twisted expression suggested some impact.
But standing firm on both feet meant my attack had essentially failed.
'Ah.'
I realized the cause belatedly. The faint lightning coiling around Cheon So-yul's solar plexus—too subtle to detect easily.
That had withstood my attack.
Not blocked it, but endured. Probably a stopgap. Had she cauterized her own body to forcibly suppress the pain?
"Ha...?"
What kind of idiotic move was that? I stared at her in sheer bewilderment, even mid-match.
And she smirked mockingly.
"Focus on the match, you bastard."
...No idea why that curse slipped out so suddenly.
But at least it was crystal clear she was relatively unharmed.
Naturally, the next turn fell to her. Cheon So-yul stomped the ground and raised her hand to point at the sky.
I initially braced, thinking she meant to harm me, but I realized the meaning late.
Heavenly Retribution. The bolt from the blue sky...
Cheon So-yul's absolute weapon.
It would pour down. I hastily erected an ice wall to shield myself, but Cheon So-yul didn't let even that slide.
My makeshift barrier shattered and scattered under a casual swing of her lightning blade.
Kwarrrrrrung...!
The blue sky began to roar.
Darkening, brimming with brainpower.
I couldn't help but feel a chill. A sensation crawling up my spine, oddly akin to electricity itself.
-Heavenly Retribution descends.
And I'd never once blocked Cheon So-yul's Heavenly Retribution.
"—."
My instinctive response in the next instant.
Was thus utterly primal.
I raised my hand. Thrust it upward. Just like Cheon So-yul, pointing at the sky.
Crackle...
And created lightning.
It was Heavenly Thunder.
Identical to what Cheon So-yul wielded. In the end, this power came straight from her.
Perhaps a token of our love...
With that silly thought, I chuckled softly and summoned mana. My unique cyan frozen mana.
And blended it into the Heavenly Thunder. Not the sloppy storm from before—this time, true 'fusion magic'.
Dual attributes.
Ice and.
Lightning.
'First time really mixing them for real.'
Failure was possible. But even on a first try, what couldn't I pull off?
I could do it. Because I was the prized disciple of the world's greatest mage, Seol Ha-yeon, and above all, a genius in my own right.
Crackle, crackle-crackle! Kwarrrrrrung—!!
Cyan blended into the lightning.
Heat tangled with the chill.
An intensely threatening roar tore through the space, vibrating it. Around then, Cheon So-yul noticed my change.
Her eyes shaking in alarm, she stared at me, lips trembling heavily.
"What are you... doing right now..."
"..."
I didn't answer. I just focused on fusing ice and lightning into one, creating a new attribute.
My arm repeatedly froze and burned.
Paradoxically, that's why it held up. Like cooling an overheating computer's parts with cold water.
Not exactly the same principle, but it let me complete the attempt successfully.
In one moment.
The arena felt silent.
'No.'
It was me who'd gone quiet. No sounds reached my ears. I'd blocked them out. Didn't want to hear.
My eyes fixed solely on one sight. The cyan thunderbolt soaring high into the sky.
Countering Heavenly Retribution. Matching her ultimate technique with my fusion magic.
Thus, collision. The sky blazed unnaturally bright for an instant.
──────!!!
The massive explosion that followed engulfed the stadium.
'Ah.'
Once I came back to my senses.
I did regret it a bit.
I'd resolved to beat her with my own power alone, but when defeat loomed, I turned tail and pulled out the stolen strength without looking back.
Put simply, it was embarrassing. Even in victory, it didn't feel like a win...
I let out a hollow laugh and struggled to prop up my upper body. Couldn't lie on the floor forever.
But.
"...Ha."
"..."
Cheon So-yul couldn't.
She remained collapsed, unable to rise.
She'd only delayed the pain from my trump card direct hit to begin with. Then her Heavenly Retribution, meant as the finisher, was neutered powerlessly.
How could she not fall? The clash between her Heavenly Retribution and my fusion magic—its aftermath alone forced her body to crumble.
Cheon So-yul ground her teeth silently.
Her expression looked seriously pissed.
Second-year Second Place student Lee Hyun-jin wins the second match.
Around then, the announcer's curt victory declaration echoed through the stadium speakers.
I gave a wry smile and extended a hand to Cheon So-yul, sprawled out spread-eagled.
Plus, I'd grabbed it, but she looked too drained to stand on her own... so I infused some strength and forcibly pulled her up.
Stagger—
Exhausted from that brief clash? Cheon So-yul wobbled, half-forcing her body against me for support, and ground her teeth.
She glared at me sidelong with fierce eyes.
"Hey."
"...What."
"Wanna die?"
And suddenly, a death threat.
I shut my mouth with an awkward expression.
If it were some out-of-context outburst, whatever—but I knew full well it had solid basis.
The fusion magic I'd just used must've looked utterly alien.
Still, plenty of people would've figured it out. The origin of the lightning mixed into my ice.
I sighed wearily and hung my head.
"I have no excuse. Sorry."
"..."
Cheon So-yul didn't reply. She just heaved heavy sighs of her own.
'Ouch.'
Soon, she pinched and twisted my forearm with her nails, then shot me a prim glare.
"...You."
And then she said it. Starting with a line I never saw coming.
"Should I take this as a marriage proposal?"
"...What?"
"You asking to come in as my son-in-law, you jerk."
A certain 'word' from months ago, one I'd briefly heard and forgotten.
Cheon So-yul brought it up again, her ear tips flushing red.