Bears Tear People Apart!
Bears tear people apart!
"Man, what kind of bear is that huge? Ain't they supposed to be smaller than that?"
"...For once, I actually agree with you."
Watching the older kids panic over Bombe's size from across the field was oddly satisfying. This is my true power, mwahaha!
To be honest, I was a little surprised too.
Bombe looked even bigger than before. I hadn't even synthesized any extra snow into her, so why did she grow? I couldn't help but wonder.
Before, she was only slightly taller than Grandfather Yong-su. Now, she was practically the size of a dump truck.
"Are you ready, Shiro?"
"I'm ready!"
If I couldn't avoid the spar, I might as well enjoy it. I nodded at Grandfather Yong-su and turned my gaze toward the Striker team as they took their stances.
"Whew..."
There are six of them... If I want to win, this is the only way.
"Begin the match!"
"Hwaaaah!"
The moment Grandfather Yong-su raised his hand to signal the start of the duel, I flung my arms wide. At the same time, I unleashed thirty percent of my mana in all directions.
Whoosh!
A howling wind carrying a biting frost instantly swept across the training grounds.
Kim Seong-hyeon was thoroughly flustered.
He had never seen a bear that size in his entire life.
Sure, there were tamers who controlled massive beasts, and Gate bosses were usually gigantic.
But this was different.
Bears... tear people apart.
The primal terror associated with bears made the creature feel infinitely more menacing.
And it wasn't just Seong-hyeon; the entire Striker team, including Ha I-hwa, was visibly shaken.
It was right then.
Crack, crack, crack!
"...! Everyone, get out of the way!"
A violent surge of mana erupted from Shiro.
An overwhelmingly powerful and dense wave of frost-laden mana flooded the arena. In an instant, the floor froze over, turning into a sheet of slick ice.
The heavy mana weighed down the air, making it difficult for the Striker team to even move.
"Keep your wits about you and move! Don't hold back, strike now!"
Kim Seong-hyeon channeled his mana throughout his body, using his lightning to ward off the freezing cold. Shaking his head to clear his mind, he yelled and charged forward first.
Ha I-hwa immediately drew her sword and followed. The biting air and slippery floor hindered her movements, but she had no intention of stopping.
"Bombe! Block them, please!"
Rule number one: bears tear people apart.
Shiro watched the two approach and funneled her mana into Bombe. Her Seolan swirled with a brilliant blue light, tracking the flow of mana and frost.
— Groooaar!
A thunderous roar echoed.
As Bombe, now larger than ever, let out her cry, the entire building shook. The ice coating the floor shattered, sending sharp shards flying straight at Kim Seong-hyeon.
"Hey! Watch out!"
"I know...!"
While Seong-hyeon stumbled back a step or two, Ha I-hwa sliced through the incoming shards with her sword and pressed forward.
Having adapted to the slippery floor, she accelerated toward Shiro. But Bombe wasn't about to let her pass; she kicked off the ground and lunged forward.
— Roar!
"Ngh...!"
Clang! Bombe firmly blocked I-hwa's sharp slash with her shield. I-hwa's swordsmanship was incredibly fast and powerful, far beyond what anyone would expect from a high school girl.
Yet Bombe stood unfazed, pushing her shield forward to deflect I-hwa's blade.
"Jeolmi! Now!"
— Hoooot!
Ha I-hwa's stance faltered.
Jeolmi swooped in to exploit the opening. But just as the owl's wings swept toward I-hwa's exposed upper body, an arrow wrapped in green mana streaked through the air.
Clang! Jeolmi's wing, crafted from sharp blue ice, collided head-on with the arrow. The owl retreated slightly, giving Ha I-hwa enough time to quickly regain her footing.
"Nice! Good job, Son A-ra!"
"It's getting colder by the second! Let's finish this quickly!"
Shouted Son A-ra, a girl with shoulder-length turquoise hair holding a green bow. She drew back her bowstring, channeling her mana once more.
I charged that shot for quite a while, and all it did was push it back? What kind of bird is that...?!
Her arrows grew stronger the longer she charged them. Ever since the initial chaos subsided, she had been aiming from afar, waiting for the perfect opening.
Although she had released it in a hurry to save Ha I-hwa, the charge time hadn't been short, yet it barely seemed to scratch Jeolmi. She was deeply shaken.
"Do-hyeon, let's go!"
"On it!"
As Ha I-hwa caught her breath, Kim Seong-hyeon and Baek Do-hyeon leaped over her.
Baek Do-hyeon, a silver-haired boy holding a folding fan, possessed the ability to create clones. A horde of his clones, alongside Kim Seong-hyeon, flared their mana and rushed toward Shiro.
— Hoot!
— Roar!
Refusing to let them pass, Jeolmi and Bombe shielded Shiro, launching ice feathers and swinging the shield.
Bam, bam, bam!
However, because there were so many clones, it was nearly impossible to tell the real Do-hyeon apart, let alone pinpoint Seong-hyeon's location.
Crackle!
Kim Seong-hyeon grinned, aiming his lightning-clad spear at Shiro. Without some sort of countermeasure, he was sure he could land a clean hit.
— Squeak!
Hwindungi gave her tail a gentle wag.
"What?!"
Instantly, all of Baek Do-hyeon's clones vanished into thin air.
His cloning skill was notoriously difficult to deal with because the clones actually shared mana with the original body.
They even possessed physical mass, allowing them to deal real damage.
Yet, with a single wag of Hwindungi's tail, they shattered like glass. Do-hyeon's jaw dropped in sheer disbelief.
"There they are!"
Shiro pointed her index finger directly at the exposed real Baek Do-hyeon and Kim Seong-hyeon.
— Hoooot!
"Urgh!"
Obeying Shiro's command, Jeolmi slammed into the mid-air Do-hyeon, sending him flying. A loud crash echoed through the training ground as he tumbled across the floor.
Boom! Bombe leaped with enough force to crack the floor, swinging her shield directly at Kim Seong-hyeon's spear.
Unleashing the kinetic energy she had absorbed from Ha I-hwa's sword, the shield slammed into the spear. Crash! The impact launched Seong-hyeon high into the air, nearly touching the ceiling.
"It's Skadi!"
Shiro flipped her open palm downward. In an instant, a massive greatsword of blue ice materialized in mid-air, pointing straight at Kim Seong-hyeon.
Son A-ra wasn't about to let that happen and released her fully charged arrow.
— Squeeeak!
But as Hwindungi wagged her tail again, countless snowballs materialized in the air, clustering around the flying arrow and slowing it to a crawl.
Thud! The arrow, now trapped inside a giant snowball, stopped completely in mid-air before hurtling right back toward Son A-ra, guided by the movement of Hwindungi's tail.
"Huh...?"
"Gwah!"
Son A-ra was completely buried under the massive pile of snow, while Kim Seong-hyeon, who had tried to block Skadi with his spear shaft, ended up pinned to the ceiling.
Fortunately, the Backcode coach, Lee Gyeong-seon, was actively intervening with her skills to prevent any serious injuries.
It just hurt a whole lot.
"Phew—"
With three of the Strikers already out of commission, Ha I-hwa took a deep breath, steeling her resolve.
Whoosh! A flurry of flower petals pierced through Shiro's blizzard, filling the training ground.
As if winter were giving way to spring, the white snow began to recede, replaced by violet petals dancing gracefully in the air.
Or at least, that was how it was supposed to go.
I'll cut her down...!
Ha I-hwa intended to use her signature high-speed movement to place her blade against Shiro's neck in the blink of an eye. Even if she swung with all her might, the coaches would protect the girl.
She wanted to neutralize her quickly and end the spar.
But Shiro shattered those expectations by releasing another burst of mana.
Winter—an endless winter.
A blizzard of ice-age proportions reclaimed the space, crushing the flower petals into dust.
What...?
Slip! Ha I-hwa, who had already taken a step to dash toward her petals, lost her footing on the ice and went tumbling across the floor.
That made four.
Only two Strikers remained.
"Bombe! Go get them!"
— Groooaar!
As mentioned before, bears tear people apart.
"The winner is Shiro! Hoho, what a splendid job."
"Hehe, thank you."
As I stood there panting and dripping with sweat, Grandfather Yong-su patted my head. Yep, I'm the best.
I had won, but it had been exhausting. If my focus had slipped even for a second, I might have lost.
But... a win is a win. I took down six people all by myself...! Well, with a little help from my friends, of course!
Since Jeolmi, Bombe, and Hwindungi were created by my own power, it still counted as a solo victory, right?
As I stood there grinning, Woo-rin came over.
"That was amazing, Shiro. Now I'm starting to worry I might lose too."
"I-I'll do my best!"
"Haha, good."
Soon after, Seong-hyeon and I-hwa approached on trembling legs.
"Kid... you're seriously out of this world. How does this make any sense for a nine-year-old?"
"...I agree."
The two looked incredibly disheveled after the match. Seong-hyeon was one thing, but seeing the usually elegant, high-class I-hwa with her clothes all messed up felt bizarre.
"What is it?"
"There ain't no way another nine-year-old this strong exists in the world! Even Lee Woo-rin was probably just a runny-nosed brat when he was nine! Probably."
"Haha, why do you have to bring up embarrassing stuff like that?"
"Embarrassing my foot! You're gonna get beaten by the kid and end up just like me, so stop laughing."
"Hehe."
Seong-hyeon was shouting at the top of his lungs, clearly deeply impressed by the spar.
Geez, does he like me that much?
I-hwa silently nodded along with Seong-hyeon's words, which was very unlike her. They were usually at each other's throats, but I guess they got along when they shared a common sentiment.
"We'll see when we fight. Good luck, Shiro."
"Ah... yes! Good luck to you too!"
I watched Woo-rin's back as he walked over to where the Backcode team was gathered.
Can I win this time too...?
My main concern was that I had used up way too much mana during the spar with the Striker team.
They had six people, but since I was alone, I had no choice but to burn through a lot of mana.
I only had about forty percent of my total mana left.
I felt anxious about whether I could beat Woo-rin's team with only forty percent.
But as it turned out...
"Huh?"
— Squeeeak!
Hwindungi was an even more incredible companion than I had thought.