Chapter 44
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: The Mist Forest's Demonic Hand (3)
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“Kang Hyun-sol, ever since that fight in the artificial dungeon last time, I've been constantly reviewing our battle from that day.”
“I just couldn't understand it at all. No matter how much Yoon Seo-rin's intervention played a part, the fact that you and I were evenly matched, if only for a moment.”
Lee Soo-hyuk aimed his spear at me with eyes full of murderous intent.
Every single one of his movements was smooth and without excess.
As if fighting itself was a habit for him.
“But no matter how much I reviewed it, I still couldn't understand. So I wanted to clash with you once more... and the opportunity came sooner than expected.”
“Uh... um, I see. But what can we do? I really don't have the luxury to fight right now.”
To show I had no will to fight, I slightly raised both hands.
“There are plenty more guys up ahead I need to face, and above all, it's only been 10 minutes since the evaluation started... If we waste energy here, won't it hurt both of us? So let's just pretend we didn't see each other and move on.”
“Pretend we didn't see each other...”
Lee Soo-hyuk smirked.
“You said something similar back then too. Why is it that someone with that level of talent and power always tries to hide it?”
“...Hey! Hide what? What power am I hiding? I've always given it my all.”
“Given it your all? Good, then do your best this time too. I have to resolve this doubt no matter what.”
Lee Soo-hyuk's eyes flashed with a chilling brilliance.
“You can't avoid it anyway. How about just accepting it obediently?”
“...”
I let out a short sigh.
“Haa, you're not wrong. But if we really fight here, our evaluation rankings will fly off into the distance, you know? You care about your scores too, right?”
“That's true. But failing this one exam won't make much difference.”
Lee Soo-hyuk scraped the ground with the tip of his spear.
The sound of metal grinding against stone began to fill the surroundings.
“Conversation ends here.”
“...Ha.”
I shook my head with a laugh.
“Aw, whatever. Lee Soo-hyuk, like I thought before, you're a really exhausting guy.”
“Not sure what that means, but I'll take it as a compliment.”
In that instant, he lowered his body while keeping his spear planted.
The soil beneath his feet crumbled with a sound—
Bang!
The spear tip rushed right up to my nose in an instant.
“Damn—!”
I reflexively drew my sword and barely blocked the spear.
Kwang—!
“You're seriously going all out, huh?”
“No questions.”
He gave a curt reply, retracted his spear, and thrust it toward me in three branching trajectories.
A sound like space itself tearing apart—
“Aw shit, fine. I was planning to warm up properly anyway, so this works out.”
I still hadn't properly formed an aura core, so I couldn't use aura.
But something similar could be achieved with star mana.
I activated my Empathic Constitution and began wrapping the sword blade with star mana.
Sword-blue mana rose along the blade, and star patterns began to form in the air.
“Feels different from aura!!”
Lee Soo-hyuk's spear dove in again.
The straight thrust suddenly curved, bending into an 'L' shape midair.
A sudden change in angle. Completely unpredictable movement.
“This crazy... ugh...!”
I reflexively ducked and struck the side of the spear with my sword.
Sparks flew as steel met steel, and my arms began to tingle from the recoil.
But despite the same impact, only my arms trembled—Lee Soo-hyuk didn't retreat a single step, looking utterly unfazed.
“That's not your limit, Kang Hyun-sol!”
He spun his body and swung the spear in a large circular arc.
“Ugh.”
I rolled backward to escape the spear's trajectory, then immediately floated three mana bullets in the air.
The three projectiles flew in a triangular formation, surrounding Lee Soo-hyuk.
But as if unconcerned, he swung his spear in an instant and deflected all three mana bullets at once.
“You damn bastard, you think you're Moon Ha-yeon? Mana bullets...”
“Didn't I say no questions!?”
Lee Soo-hyuk aimed the spear tip at me again and charged.
Tremendous propulsion that exploded the ground. The spear's trajectory flashed past my eyes like a white streak.
Kaang—!
I slightly raised my sword and deflected the spear at an angle, successfully blocking the attack—but the impact slammed both my arms down to the ground.
Lee Soo-hyuk didn't miss the opening and used the spear's recoil to slam his left foot into my abdomen.
“Gah! Kk...!”
My breath caught, and my body was pushed back several meters.
I immediately planted my feet and rolled up, trying to catch my breath, but there was no time to rest.
“It's over.”
The spear tip approached right up to my neck.
But in that split second right before elimination, I locked my gaze on his spear shaft.
The tip of the shaft had a faint vibration flowing through it.
‘...There.’
I pulled my left hand back and quickly created a small mana bullet with star mana.
Tiny enough to be invisible to the eye, at a level almost undetectable.
And as expected, Lee Soo-hyuk didn't notice it.
“One last question.”
He asked.
“How did you block my spear back then?”
“Hm, well, simply put...”
I smiled faintly and looked up at him.
“I don't know, man. And don't drop your guard until you're actually dead.”
With those words, I snapped my fingers.
Taang—!
The small mana bullet launched from my fingertip sliced through the air, grazing Lee Soo-hyuk's side.
He reflexively twisted his body and dodged it successfully, but I had already anticipated that.
“Recall Shot.”
As I whispered, the dodged mana bullet twisted its trajectory midair.
Space flipped, the orbit bent.
The projectile accurately returned from behind, aiming straight for his heart.
Kwaang—!!
-Explosive Starlight Fragmentation
Recall Shot Trajectory Reversal
Starlight fragments burst outward with the explosion.
Lee Soo-hyuk collapsed from the impact.
“Ugh...! What the...”
A clear mark from the star mana bullet remained on his back.
Not a fatal wound, so he wasn't eliminated immediately, but it was obvious he couldn't continue fighting.
I slowly aimed my sword tip at his neck, panting as I shouted.
“Aw, you bastard, I can't breathe. How hard did you kick my gut? Because of you, I... aw!”
“Ughhh...”
Lee Soo-hyuk stabbed his spear into the ground and staggered to his feet.
He looked at me for a moment, then smirked.
“Ha... a returning mana bullet. During the midterms too, it seemed like you were using some weird magic. You're really something. Damn... if I hadn't let my guard down.”
“I wanna record that and post it every time. Something like 'Lee Soo-hyuk's defeat declaration.'”
“...But next time will be different. Definitely.”
“Yeah, looking forward to another good fight next time.”
I gave him a final farewell and finished it off with a mana bullet.
Then, staying in place for a moment to catch my breath, I looked up at the sky.
“Haa... this damn guy. I have to fight demons, but he drains all my stamina and mana...”
The two soldier-rank demons, the main quest targets, were still inside the dungeon.
But this sudden encounter with Lee Soo-hyuk had made things a bit complicated.
It wasn't to the point of being outright dangerous ahead, but the fights would be a hassle now.
“Whew... Let's move first. They definitely both emerged from the center, right?”
I racked my brain, recalling my memories, and started moving again.
At that moment.
Right around when Kang Hyun-sol and Lee Soo-hyuk's fight had just ended.
Sophia was still tracking traces of mana through the dungeon interior, searching for Kang Hyun-sol.
“Where could Hyun-sol be... Huh?”
“Uwaaa!! Crazy, it's Sophia Litwell!!”
“Of all people... Run!!”
Two male students who spotted her wandering with her golden mana stone staff gleaming quickly turned and fled.
But Sophia had no intention of letting them go.
“Oh my, even if the surveillance drones have decreased, cheating so blatantly like this... no conscience at all?”
She muttered softly and infused mana into the mana stone.
In an instant, chains of lightning manifested thickly around the staff.
“Chain Lightning, triple cast.”
Kwaaang—!!
“Uwaaaak!!”
“Kaaaak!!”
The lightning chains transferred the two male students out of the dungeon in the blink of an eye.
“Hm...”
Sophia stared blankly at the charred traces left on the ground for a moment before closing her eyes, focusing her mind, and resuming her track of Kang Hyun-sol's mana.
Then, five mist wolves spotted Sophia in her defenseless state and charged at her simultaneously.
But.
Tang! Taang—! Tang!!
Clean, precise three gunshots.
The five wolves were instantly killed, pierced through the chest and head.
Sophia cracked her eyes open just a sliver and glanced toward the source of the gunshots.
“Mm... Didn't expect to run into you this soon? Seo-rin-ah?”
“......”
Yoon Seo-rin emerged slowly from between the bushes, pistol in one hand, ignoring the lukewarm greeting.
After a brief staring contest, Yoon Seo-rin spoke indifferently.
“You're looking for Kang Hyun-sol too? Even so, letting your guard down like that... pathetic.”
“Hm? Guard down? I already knew the mist wolves were there. They weren't a threat, so I left them be.”
“Is that so? Then I helped for nothing.”
“...Ha?”
A faint vein pulsed on Sophia's forehead.
“Our Seo-rin's the same as ever, huh? How does that stiff way of speaking irritate people so perfectly?”
“Well, I just said it as it was, no intent... Sorry if it got under your skin.”
“...”
The air between the two girls began to grow tense.
From the encroaching mist, the golden mana stone at the staff's tip and the pistol's barrel each emitted their unique glows.
“Last time too, you lost to me because of that carelessness... Haven't learned your lesson yet?”
“Insufficient information back then, so it was the natural result. Plus, unlike you, my pistol hadn't been replaced.”
“Ah... meaning if your gear was good, you would've beaten me? What... is that it?”
“Not what I intended, but... technically not wrong.”
“......”
In that instant, a suffocating silence enveloped the space.
“Then shall we settle who's superior for real this time? Miss Mana Bullet?”
Sophia smiled softly.
“Welcome anytime. England's genius mage.”
Click—.
Yoon Seo-rin pulled the trigger halfway.
“Haa... I was planning to save as much mana as possible for Hyun-sol... but no helping it. Looks like you need some etiquette training, so I'm going serious?”
Sophia raised her staff as she spoke.
At the same time, the golden mana stone flashed, and dozens of lightning magic circles appeared in the air.
Confirming all the spells had finished casting, she unleashed them without a hint of hesitation.
"Chain Lightning, Thunder Storm, Thunder Crown, Thunder Spear!!"
⟨ Lightning Barrage ⟩
Yoon Seo-rin likewise fired off dozens of pre-prepared mana bullets after completing their imprints.
Mana Bullet Imprint: Pierce. Scatter. Accelerate.
Dozens of homing projectiles unleashed
Kwaaaaang—!!
Lightning and mana bullets—two S-rank unique traits—clashed, sending an enormous shockwave bursting outward.