The Backcode's Gambit
"B-Bring it on!"
Talent, huh...
There was a clear difference between someone who simply learned quickly and someone who was truly talented. Many people adapted faster than others and picked things up in no time, but their innate abilities were entirely different from those of actual geniuses.
Of course, before my Awakening, I wasn't even close to being the former.
I wonder what Woo-rin will show us...!
That was why I was so curious.
Was the Woo-rin that Eun-seol spoke of just someone who had reached his limits a bit faster than others, or was he—a true genius?
Lee Woo-rin fiddled with the silver, glittering bracelet on his wrist.
A mithril bracelet. Mother really doesn't spare any expense when it comes to investing in me.
His parents had always demanded that their child be the absolute best. Writing, singing, academics, art—he had to take first place in everything without exception.
Because he was their son.
Coincidentally, Woo-rin possessed enough talent to win grand prizes in almost every field. Thanks to his rapid adaptability, he had always been able to satisfy their desires.
Though that was only when I was a child.
Wasn't it a common story?
Kids who stood out in elementary school, only to abandon their talents as they entered middle and high school to focus solely on studying.
Still, it was fine.
By the time he graduated from the academy, Woo-rin had grown enough to still be called a genius. But—
I doubt I'll be able to grow much more after graduation.
He was already hitting a wall.
Kim Seong-hyeon, Ha I-hwa, and...
"Nice to meet you, Sunbae. Please take care of me, y'know."
He thought of this as he looked at Park Yeo-un, who represented the academy's Seekers at the tender age of seventeen.
"I believe we won during the last Academy Grand Festival. Are you challenging us again?"
"Oh my~ didn't we win the time before that, y'know? But then again... Backcodes are supposed to lose to Seekers anyway, so you shouldn't feel too bad, right?"
"Look who's talking. Haha, alright. Let's do this."
Despite her slow, drawling way of speaking, she didn't actually enjoy fighting. She simply liked playing along with the mood.
Since the stage had been set, she was merely throwing out playful provocations.
"Whew—"
"Then—let the match begin!"
At Kang Yong-su's declaration, the three Seekers—excluding Park Yeo-un—vanished into thin air. Hiding one's presence was, after all, the absolute basic skill of a Seeker.
Lee Woo-rin calmly held his breath and spread his mana into the surroundings.
"Su-a, the threads."
"Got it!"
At his command, the four Backcodes took their positions and channeled their mana. Jeong Su-a, a girl with pinkish-white hair and light pink eyes, spread her palms.
Her class was Samsin (C-rank).
It was a class related to the mythical grandmother goddess of childbirth and fate, Samsin Halmoni, and only three people in all of Korea possessed it.
Since she possessed the skill Vitality (B-rank), which allowed her to extend and freely manipulate threads of mana, she cast them in all directions according to Woo-rin's instructions.
"Jun-hyeok!"
"On it!"
Immediately after, Min Jun-hyeok, who had black hair and purple eyes, stomped his foot. A brand was stamped onto the ground, and black mana erupted outward.
His class was Sealer (C-rank).
He possessed a skill that could easily seal movements, targeting anything that came into contact with his mana.
Lee Woo-rin extended his palm.
"Hup—"
Telekinesis.
The skill that allowed him to interfere with objects, space, and phenomena using mana—the very ability that had earned him the title of child prodigy—was activated.
"Kyaah...!"
"Gasp!"
Two of the three vanished Seekers were revealed, bound by the threads and sealed in place.
Woo-rin had split his mana into incredibly thin strands to scan the area, and the moment he detected the Seekers, he instantly bound them with the threads and the brand. It was a masterful display of technique.
"You really are amazing, Sunbae, y'know."
And then—
Breaking through all of it, Park Yeo-un charged forward, enveloped in black smoke.
"W-What skill is that?"
A person was suddenly enveloped in smoke and flew forward in an instant. But the strange thing was... even though she wasn't moving that fast and was clearly visible, it felt as if she wasn't actually there.
"It's called Dark Shadow. It's a skill that prevents others from recognizing your presence. Even if you're looking straight at her, your brain perceives her as if she ain't there."
"Is that really possible...?"
It was fascinating.
I was looking at her clearly with my own two eyes, and my brain understood she was right there... but my instincts insisted there was nothing.
Was that why? Even Woo-rin, who had just detected two Seekers with his sharp senses, ended up letting Yeo-un get close.
As I was thinking that, Eun-seol nodded and spoke up.
"Yeo-un used her head."
"Huh? How?"
"She intentionally let the other two get caught, then activated Dark Shadow the moment his attention wavered, even for a split second."
"Ah, I see..."
So she hadn't just charged in blindly.
Anyway.
Once Yeo-un got close, she spread her arms wide and unleashed a burst of black mana. Countless chains erupted from the shadows, wrapping around the Backcodes.
They looked just like the chains that had bound Seong-hyeon and I-hwa earlier.
"Once you're caught in that, it's real hard to get out, ain't it? Touching those chains inflicts a debuff."
"...A scrub like you wouldn't be able to, of course."
"Hey! You couldn't get out either!"
Clink-clank! The moment the chains wriggled forward, flash! Woo-rin instantly teleported behind Yeo-un.
Short-range teleportation.
Teleportation-type skills were notoriously difficult to use. I heard it wasn't as simple as just moving wherever you wanted like in cartoons or movies.
You had to calculate the exact coordinates in real-time with yourself as the axis, which required an immense amount of practice.
"Whoa!"
"Woo-rin is really good at that. Teleportation."
"Ga-yeong! Seung-min!"
The moment Woo-rin teleported behind her and shouted, the two unbound team members nodded.
Whoosh! A sphere of wind formed in the air, and threads used to control marionettes gently settled over it.
It looked almost like a ball tied to a string.
"Good job!"
"Where do you think you're going, y'know...!"
Yeo-un immediately spun around in midair and shot her chains toward Woo-rin, but pop! He teleported once again.
Grabbing the thread connected to the wind sphere, Woo-rin swung it like a flail and charged at Yeo-un's back.
"That is really not how a Backcode is supposed to fight, y'know!"
"Isn't that the same for you? Seekers don't usually fight like this either."
"...Well, of course, y'know."
As Woo-rin closed the distance to Yeo-un—
"Hyaaaah!"
The last Seeker, who hadn't been detected yet, revealed herself and swung a massive needle.
It was Se-yeong, whose class was Thread Spinner (B-rank). I heard she was the youngest in the academy at sixteen, having skipped a grade—well, youngest besides me.
The moment the sharp tip of the needle fell toward Woo-rin, he smiled slightly and nodded.
"That's why you should have kept fighting unlike a Seeker until the very end."
Boom! As if he had anticipated this, Woo-rin twisted his body and swung the wind flail. The compressed air exploded, sending Se-yeong flying behind Yeo-un.
"Huh~?"
Ping! The thread connected to the wind sphere was now attached to Se-yeong's body. As the taut thread glinted in the air, Se-yeong slowly stood up.
"Uh, uh..."
Seung-min's skill, Marionette (A-rank), was said to allow him to control targets connected by his threads. However, the threads moved slowly and had to be attached perfectly, making it a tricky skill to use.
But Woo-rin had used his telekinesis while swinging the flail to plant the marionette thread directly onto Se-yeong.
"Yeo-un unni!"
"I-I forfeit, y'know."
The controlled Se-yeong and Woo-rin charged at Yeo-un simultaneously. Yeo-un stared at the two of them before raising her hands in defeat.
Woo-rin stopped immediately, offering his hand with a bright smile. Yeo-un reluctantly shook it and nodded.
"Geez~ I guess that was a good match, y'know?"
"Of course."
"Wow!"
I clapped my hands excitedly.
It was amazing! I had wondered how Backcodes fought, and it was fascinating to see them apply their abilities in such diverse ways.
If the Wildcard position didn't exist, the Backcode position might have been the one that manipulated mana in the most diverse and delicate ways.
But...
"Pfft! What are you doing, kiddo?"
It wasn't great that I had drawn the attention of everyone, including Yeon-hwa. I felt so embarrassed I wanted to crawl into a hole and hide.
"Good work. The winner is the Backcode team."
Grandfather Yong-su declared the victory, offering a warm smile to the cadets who were still tightly bound in threads.
Although it lacked the flashy effects of a battle between Vanguards and Strikers, I felt good having witnessed such a creative application of different abilities.
"Now, next up—the Strikers and the Wildcard."
And... the time had finally come.
The time for me to be the star of the spar.
My heart was pounding so hard I wanted to go to the bathroom, but I couldn't bring myself to say that with so many people watching.
Calmly... naturally... I walked forward.
"Do your best, Shiro."
"O-Okay!"
Woo-rin patted my head as he stepped out of the arena. So that's the relaxed confidence of a winner...
Gulp.
I stepped forward first, followed by the members of the Striker team. I could feel everyone's eyes on me, whispering among themselves.
— Hoot.
— Kee-oong.
— Pee-oong, pee-oong.
Jeolmi, Bombe, and Hwindungi put on a show as if greeting the audience. Meanwhile, their master—me—was shaking like a leaf.
"Man, I never thought I'd be sparring with a little kid, ain't that right?"
"I-I'm not a kid!"
"Pfft."
"D-Did you just laugh, I-hwa unni...?"
"No. That man laughed."
"Hey, that's totally unfair!"
Watching the two bicker naturally eased my tension...
Alright. Since I'm doing this, I might as well give it my all. I pumped myself up, striking a determined pose, and channeled my mana into Bombe.
"Huh? What?"
"Ah..."
Oh.
Come to think of it...
Is this the first time they're seeing giant Bombe?
— ROOOAAAR!
As Bombe returned to her original form and roared, Seong-hyeon and I-hwa stared up at her, completely dumbfounded.
"A polar bear...?"