Chapter 16
Chapter 16
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: Dignity (2)
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Ah, damn! Asuka broke!
Her reaction was so intense it brought to mind a line from some game.
Just from petting her head, Asuka's face flushed red as if steam might rise from it.
"Um, uh... excuse me, top rank... could you get your head away from my hand...?"
How flustered must she be to ask me to move her head away from my hand instead of the other way around?
I pulled my hand away from stroking her increasingly red face, which looked ready to burst any second.
Right then, I felt a sharp aura coming from somewhere.
Turning toward it, I saw Lee Seo-yeon—who'd been sitting close by—staring right at me.
But why?
Why did it feel like she was angry?
'No, why...?'
I had no idea.
I hadn't built up any favor with her yet.
Sure, she sometimes greeted me first, but that had nothing to do with affection.
So there was no reason for her to be mad at me... right?
I couldn't figure out why Lee Seo-yeon was angry, but I knew exactly when it started.
"...Huh."
So I reached out again, plopping my hand right back on Asuka's head.
Following her flustered reaction came...
Zap.
Lee Seo-yeon's subsided aura sharpened once more.
"...Is the AC cranked up high in here...?"
"Yeah... it's freezing."
The kids around her made excuses about the air conditioning as they edged away from her intimidating presence, putting some distance between them.
Seeing that, I removed my hand from Asuka's head, where she was hiccuping away.
Lee Seo-yeon's aura eased again.
I was tempted to tease her about her reactions, but...
"Hic... hic...!"
Asuka's face was beet red, hiccups coming nonstop. Putting my hand back on her head seemed like it might cause a real disaster, so I held off.
Only after I shoved my hand fully into my jacket pocket did Lee Seo-yeon's gaze finally shift from me to the arena.
I turned to the arena too, as the next match was about to start.
But first...
"...Hic!"
I should give Asuka some water.
⚙ MATCH RESULT ⚙ [C] [02] [Arthur Pendragon] [Win] [08] [Kim Woo-min] [Loss] Group C's match ended in just 10 seconds after starting.
Kim Woo-min was strong enough for rank 8 among the supporting cast, but his opponent was who he was...
He got steamrolled by Arthur without even exchanging a few blows.
And now, the ongoing Group D match.
Rank 5 Noah versus rank 6 Park Ga-ram.
Boom! Kaboom!
Kaboom! Kwarang!
It was such an even fight that it was hard to believe it was main cast versus supporting cast.
Noah, son of the Grand Saintess Gloria.
Golden holy flames wrapped around both his fists as he charged at his opponent.
In response, the woman with purple hair and purple eyes, Park Ga-ram, conjured a purple fireball in her hand and launched it at Noah.
The basketball-sized fireball hurtled toward him at high speed.
But Noah calmly thrust out his holy-flame-wreathed fist, detonating the fireball.
Even as the scorching heat from the exploding fireball washed over him, Noah pressed forward toward Park Ga-ram without a care.
"A-as expected of the Gr-Grand Saintess's s-son... M-magic d-doesn't w-work...?"
Seeing Noah completely unaffected by her magic, Park Ga-ram stuttered, letting out a sinister chuckle.
"Th-then... l-let's see if th-this works too...?"
As she spoke, a gray fireball—different from the previous purple one—rose from her hand.
Noah, charging toward her, widened his eyes in surprise and halted.
"That mana color... It's the Gray Witch's power."
The words "Gray Witch" from Noah's mouth stirred an uproar in the stands.
"The Gray Witch? The Transcendent who turned from villain to hero?"
"More precisely, she reformed during her top-tier villain days under the God of Martial Arts's urging."
"...Anyway, she's using that Transcendent's mana? Is that girl her disciple?"
As expected of Arena Academy students.
They knew their history well.
But there was a slight misconception.
'Was it really just "urging'?'
The God of Martial Arts who trembled at the sight of evil?
My mouth itched to correct their misunderstanding of history right then and there.
But even if I told them, they wouldn't believe it—not when it involved the God of Martial Arts, their absolute idol.
Park Ga-ram's master, the Transcendent who reformed from villain to hero.
The Gray Witch, Kirke.
In truth, she wasn't the one doing the urging—she was the one urged.
Back when she was a top-tier villain, Kirke never killed anyone, but she pulled plenty of heinous stunts, like turning an entire city's population into animals out of boredom.
But those wicked acts never lasted more than 19 days.
On the 19th day, she was caught by the God of Martial Arts.
Then, under his terrifying pressure, she was given an ultimatum.
Take 19 days of beatings until death, or reform nicely and become a hero—no real choice there.
Kirke swore an absolute oath on a Geas Scroll and became a hero.
As a side effect...
She hated leaving the house.
She'd never killed anyone despite turning them into animals, so the God of Martial Arts neither killed nor beat her. But his overwhelming presence crushed her spirit completely, erasing her villainous cruelty and leaving her with the gloomy personality like the Park Ga-ram we see now.
Even so, per her Geas pact with the God of Martial Arts, she occasionally ventures out to hero it up.
And this is something you learn after building enough favor with Park Ga-ram:
The reason Kirke took her as a disciple? Park Ga-ram was similar to her, and once Park Ga-ram graduated the academy and started hero work, Kirke could count it as her own heroic contribution for teaching a disciple—without ever having to leave the house.
Anyway, knowing she was Kirke's disciple made the kids look at Park Ga-ram anew.
From gloomy nerd girl to disciple of a Transcendent, the Gray Witch.
This is why background matters.
Or show overwhelming skill to prove the gap.
"Heh, heheh. Y-yeah. I-I learned m-magic from my m-master."
"...Impressive. To be a disciple of the reclusive Gray Witch."
"R-recluse? M-my master's j-just a h-homebody nerd."
"......"
Noah was speechless at Park Ga-ram's pure, unfiltered description of her master as a "homebody nerd."
Park Ga-ram grinned sinisterly at Noah's reaction.
"A-anyway. C-can you block th-this too?"
Without waiting for an answer—as if it were just a declaration—she hurled the gray fireball blazing atop her hand straight at Noah.
Whoosh!
Definitely something special about the Gray Witch's magic.
Unlike the purple fireballs she'd spammed before, this gray one started basketball-sized and kept growing, soon ballooning to human height.
And from the heat reaching even outside the arena, it packed insane firepower.
"Impressive power. Even I, blessed by the divine, feel the heat."
Noah said as much, but his face remained utterly serene.
"You've shown me rare Gray Witch magic. I should return the favor."
Noah clasped his hands in prayer.
Holy flames spread from his hands throughout his body.
He unclasped his hands.
The massive fireball closed in at close range.
Noah thrust his fist toward it and spoke.
"Immanuel."
And light descended.
⚙ MATCH RESULT ⚙ [D] [05] [Noah] [Win] [06] [Park Ga-ram] [Loss] "Agh! My eyes!"
"I-I can't see!"
"Instructor! To the infirmary—no, the ER!"
Noah's sincere prayer punch flooded the arena—and the entire training hall—with blinding light.
The kids who took the full eye-poke screamed, clutching their eyes as they shared their impressions of having ‘witnessed heavenly light’ through their agony.
Of course, I shut my eyes the moment Noah uttered "Immanuel," so I'm fine.
"...Whew."
Asuka's fine too, thanks to my signal to close her eyes.
Lee Seo-yeon and Arthur seemed unfazed, probably due to their high stats, even against the intense glare.
Ding.
"Group D goes to Noah's victory."
The light faded as Kang Cheol-su's voice rang out.
When the arena came back into view, Noah was praying skyward, while Park Ga-ram...
"Kii... aaaah......"
...was curled up on the floor like a pillbug, making weird noises.
Apparently, heavenly light pouring from above was too holy for a gloomy witch's disciple.
Kang Cheol-su scratched his forehead scar at the sight.
"...Gotta take her to the infirmary."
He hoisted the still-curled Park Ga-ram under his arm and addressed the stands.
"Next semifinal starts exactly 5 minutes from now. Top rank Lee Yoo-jin and Lee Seo-yeon, come down to the arena ahead of time and prepare."
Lee Seo-yeon and I stood up.
As we descended the stairs toward the arena...
Ding.
Not from my smartwatch on my wrist, but a system alert straight in my head.
📜 EVENT QUEST 📜 【Dignity】
Defeat main cast members to demonstrate the top rank's dignity.
□ Defeat Lee Seo-yeon.
□ Defeat Arthur Pendragon.
🎁 Reward: 10,000 Points (additional based on performance), B-Grade Item Selection, B-Grade Talent & Skill Selection, 3x Random Cheat Usage Tickets
❌ Failure: All main/supporting cast affection decreases.
'Oh.'
A jackpot event quest popped up.
&
&
&
"Ready?"
Lee Seo-yeon and I nodded at Kang Cheol-su's question.
Lee Seo-yeon assumed her elegant stance, ready to draw her sword.
I disengaged the safety on my pistol, primed to fire anytime.
Kang Cheol-su kicked off from his spot and stepped back at our preparations.
And then...
"Give it your all."
The match began.
At that signal...
Shing!
Lee Seo-yeon drew her sword and kicked off the ground.
I aimed my gun at her and pulled the trigger.
Bang!