Interview
Interview
A blizzard raging so fiercely that one could not see ahead.
Looking at the storm covering the dueling arena, ordinary people would think Lee Sol was in the lead.
'Fools.'
However, Jack smiled.
'To use such powerful magic already.'
It was a suicidal move.
He already knew that since Lee Sol's Blizzard consumed an immense amount of mana, she couldn't use it twice unless she drank a mana potion.
As Jack reached his hand forward, a red aura gathered and took the shape of a bird.
The bird grew larger and larger, soared into the sky, emitted an intense light in midair, and then exploded.
Then, a curtain of fire covered the sky of the dueling arena.
The blizzard tried to pierce through the curtain, but lost its power and dissipated.
Because of that, the line of sight cleared, and Lee Sol's figure reappeared.
Lee Sol remained right where she was at the beginning.
Though she had a calm expression on her face, she must be extremely flustered on the inside.
That was because Lee Sol's magic just now had been canceled out, even though it was of a higher rank than Jack's.
Fire-attribute magic, which overwhelmingly dominated ice-attribute magic in type advantage.
The result of that was unfolding right now.
Except for the snow piled on the ground, not even a trace of the blizzard could be found.
Cheers erupted from the audience stands.
They seemed deeply impressed by the sight of the rookie, Jack, holding his own against a top-tier ranker.
As Jack waved to the audience, the cheers grew even louder.
"Do you know why I challenged you?"
Jack initiated conversation, but Lee Sol did not answer.
"Because I'm a fire-attribute mage? Of course, the elemental advantage putting me in a favorable position against you is one reason. But the decisive reason is..."
Jack raised his chin and pointed toward the audience stands.
"The audience goes crazy for the underdog. A top-tier ranker brought down by a rookie. What a provocative story, isn't it?"
And then he looked back at Lee Sol and smirked.
"Sorry, Lee Sol, but I'll be taking your spot. You'll have to become my stepping stone."
It was an arrogant statement for a rookie, but Jack wasn't just acting out of conceit.
He was provoking her so that Lee Sol's emotions would be shaken even just a little bit.
'I used more mana than I expected earlier.'
On the outside he was putting on airs, but on the inside he was breaking out in a cold sweat.
Lee Sol's magic was even more powerful than anticipated, forcing him to inject more mana just to cancel it out.
'Damn monster.'
So she really is a top-tier ranker after all.
He realized that even with the elemental advantage, one wrong move could cost him the match.
While feigning a relaxed demeanor on the outside, Jack focused all his senses on Lee Sol's movements.
'What's that? Magic?'
When Lee Sol reached her hand toward her waist, Jack tensed up.
He lowered his stance, preparing for the incoming magic.
Lee Sol pulled a glass bottle from her pocket, put it to her mouth, and began to drink.
On the surface, it looked like she was normally drinking a potion, but Jack didn't let his guard down.
Because the strategy of drinking a potion to induce complacency and then catching the opponent off guard was common in duels.
Lee Sol threw the empty glass bottle onto the floor and opened her mouth.
"Not bad. I thought you'd attack right away."
"A top-tier ranker wouldn't drink a potion without any preparation."
Jack said, still refusing to relax.
She probably had a spell loaded and ready to respond to her opponent's magic.
If he had attacked without knowing, he might have suffered a fatal blow.
'But this is truly the end.'
As Jack extended his hand forward again, the bird that exploded in the air turned into a fireball this time and flew toward Lee Sol.
'The potion Lee Sol drank just now was probably a Medium Mana Potion. It recovers quite a bit of mana, but not enough to cast Blizzard.'
Blizzard was a spell so powerful that even a Medium Mana Potion couldn't fill the required mana.
To use magic of that magnitude, one would have to drink a Low-Grade potion twice.
In other words, Lee Sol, who had only been able to drink one potion just now, would use a magic lower in level than Blizzard.
If so, his magic would win due to elemental advantage, and he could finish it once and for all this time...
Even if he couldn't finish it right here, if he—who still had remaining mana—forced a war of attrition, Lee Sol would ultimately lose due to a lack of mana.
Having finished his calculations, the corners of Jack's mouth curled up.
'No matter how much of a top-tier ranker she is, I win this time.'
It was right when the fireball was about to strike Lee Sol.
"Blizzard."
As Lee Sol extended her hand forward, the blizzard surged once again, obscuring his vision.
The fireball fell powerlessly to the ground.
Jack's eyes widened in shock.
'How did she cast Blizzard?'
She should have only been able to drink a potion once?
It was at that moment.
Two glass bottles, pushed by the blizzard, rolled over and hit Jack's feet, making Jack realize.
When she used Blizzard for the very first time.
When the blizzard obscured the view, Lee Sol had drunk one potion.
And then, when the blizzard stopped, she deliberately drank one more potion right in front of Jack's eyes.
It was to trick him into mistaking it for having drunk a single Medium Mana Potion.
In reality, Lee Sol had drunk two Low-Grade Mana Potions.
'Using cheap tricks...'
Jack's face crumpled in anger.
'However.'
His opponent wasn't the only one with potions.
As he swung his hand forward as if splashing water, a curtain of fire erupted from the ground, blocking the blizzard.
In the meantime, he pulled out a Low-Grade Mana Potion from his pocket and drank it.
Due to lack of Capacity, he couldn't drink a Medium Mana Potion, but this was enough.
As he reached out his hand, a bird of fire rose up, turned into a curtain, and pushed back the blizzard.
Lee Sol had now exhausted all her Capacity and could not drink any more potions.
Having cast Blizzard on top of that, she should no longer have the mana to perform magic.
On the other hand, by drinking a potion, he still had mana left to cast magic, even if it wasn't enough for another fire bird.
It was tougher than expected, but with the elemental advantage, he couldn't lose.
Just as Jack felt certain of his victory.
An unbelievable voice reached Jack's ears.
"Blizzard."
Lee Sol's signature spell, which should have been impossible to cast due to insufficient mana, unfolded once more.
'How on earth!?'
Jack was horrified.
She definitely drank potions twice, so her Capacity should be completely exhausted.
And after using Blizzard, she shouldn't have any mana left, right?
Jack wanted to deny reality, but the blizzard raged right in front of his eyes.
Jack grit his teeth, reached out, and shot a pillar of fire, but it dissipated before getting very far.
Now there was no mana left.
Until the moment the blizzard swept over him, only one question spun in Jack's head.
How on earth was she able to recover her mana?
Feeling his body freeze over, Jack's consciousness went dark.
Opening the plastic lid revealed the tuna sushi.
Having cashed out his points, Doyoon was indulging in the luxury of ordering sushi delivery.
Carefully picking up a piece of sushi with his chopsticks and placing it into his mouth, the tender texture and rich, fatty flavor swirled in his mouth.
'Is this the taste of tuna belly?'
As Doyoon closed his eyes to savor the flavor, the sound of the TV reached his ears.
"In the end, Lee Sol-ssi emerged victorious once again. Originally, there were many opinions that Jack, a fire-attribute mage, had the advantage due to elemental compatibility. How do you view this?"
"Actually, the general consensus was that Jack already possessed ranker-level skill. However, Lee Sol-ssi's skill turned out to be even greater than what was predicted in public speculation."
The match between Lee Sol and Jack was being broadcast on TV.
The result was Lee Sol's victory.
She won by stubbornly using her main skill, Blizzard, three times in a row.
[Awakened Gallery]
[General] Yo, what's with the triple Blizzard cheese? lololol
Seriously, I thought it'd be a fierce match, but he just got pounded by her main skill and it ended lol
For real lolol
Everyone said Jack had the advantage, but nope~ Not a chance, right? lol
Checking the Awakened Gallery on his smartphone, everyone was in the middle of discussing Lee Sol's match.
[General] But man, that bastard Jack losing is so damn satisfying
That guy bragged so much saying he had ranker skills.
He kept ignoring other Awakened, so this serves him so damn right fr lolol
Feels so satisfying~
If you got ranker skills, beat a ranker then lololol If you're salty, win next time lol
Seeing how many people were rejoicing over Jack's defeat, Jack's conduct must have been pretty terrible too.
> Lee Sol noona, take me, heu-eung
...Or maybe they were just captivated by her beauty and cheered for Lee Sol unconditionally.
And there were also reactions raising natural questions.
[General] But how did she use Blizzard three times?
Is Lee Sol's mana capacity that huge?
I don't know much, so someone tell me pls
Dummy, she drank potions to recover mana and cast it.
Even if she drank potions, how could she recover that much? Chugging two Low-Grade Mana Potions should be the max limit. Even then, casting Blizzard twice would completely drain her mana for a spell of that level;;
Fr I get that she drank potions, but even with that, two Blizzards should be the limit because of Capacity? How the heck did she do it?
Lee Sol, who cast Blizzard three whole times.
Even with potions, two casts were the limit for such a powerful spell.
At first, it was just one or two people raising doubts, but the topic gradually blew up in the gallery.
Just then, the commentators on TV were expressing their doubts as well.
"The most puzzling thing is how she was able to cast Blizzard three times. Even with potions, two casts would effectively be the limit."
"Yes. I am also puzzled by that. It's unfortunate that we couldn't see specifically what Lee Sol-ssi did because the vision was obscured."
However, Doyoon felt he roughly knew what Lee Sol had done.
When she first used Blizzard, she must have drunk a Low-Grade Mana Potion.
And when Blizzard was dissipated by Jack's magic, she drank another Low-Grade Mana Potion, inducing Jack's misconception.
Up to this point, it was easy to deduce.
What came after that was something only Doyoon and Lee Sol could know.
The Zero-Calorie Low-Grade Mana Potion.
Unleashing the second Blizzard, Lee Sol took advantage of the obscured vision to chug two Low-Grade Mana Potions back-to-back this time.
Mistakenly believing Lee Sol had no mana left, Jack used his fire bird to block the second Blizzard, leaving him with no mana to block the third Blizzard, and thus lost the duel.
'As expected, a top-tier ranker is different.'
Contrasting with her lazy appearance at home, he couldn't help but admire her side as a ranker.
At that moment, Lee Sol appeared on the TV screen.
The post-victory interview had begun.
"Lee Sol-ssi, congratulations on your victory in the duel. How do you feel about your victory today?"
"Not bad."
"Were there any difficulties during the preparation process or the duel?"
"There was nothing like that."
Lee Sol answered most of the questions with short one-liners.
However, the reporters seen on TV had expressions of familiarity.
She apparently interviewed like that normally.
It was a demeanor contrasting with her meticulous side in duels.
When the interview reached near the end.
One of the reporters asked cautiously.
"Um, you cast Blizzard three times; how did you do that? Even if you drank two Low-Grade Mana Potions, casting Blizzard one more time should be the limit."
At those words, the noisy reporters quieted down.
Everyone seemed to be most curious about that deep down.
Lee Sol remained still for a moment, then opened her mouth.
"Zero-Calorie Alchemist."
"Pardon?"
"I was able to obtain and use potions that consume zero Capacity from the Zero-Calorie Alchemist."
The press room, which had been silent for a split second, exploded into noise.
"Lee Sol-ssi! What do you mean, Zero-Calorie Alchemist?"
"Potions that don't consume Capacity? Is there such a thing?"
"Are you perhaps referring to the rumor circulating around?"
"Lee Sol-ssi! Lee Sol-ssi! Just a moment!"
Although the reporters desperately called out, Lee Sol nonchalantly walked out of the press room.
Doyoon stared blankly at the TV, then suddenly glanced at his smartphone.
[General] Didn't I tell you guys the Zero-Calorie Alchemist really exists? lol
[General] Potions that don't consume Capacity, how the heck does that exist? Isn't it a bug?
[General] Did an Alchemist raise their proficiency level? No, even so, they shouldn't be able to reduce Capacity beyond a certain point, right?
[General] Man, whoever it is, I'm so damn jealous sh*t. Even if I awaken as an Alchemist I can't make a single dime, but that guy must be making insane money.
[General] Zero-Calorie Alchemist confirmed real lololol All you bastards who said it was bullshit, shut your traps lol
The message board updating explosively.
The name Zero-Calorie Alchemist was etched into everyone's minds.