Chapter 103
Chapter 103
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 103
Chapter Title: Episode 35. Ah, Those Bastards Are Really Fucked Now (1)
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Spring semester. As cadets in Lair donned their uniforms and began filing into the academy district...
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At the heart of the academy district stood a massive cylindrical building, a landmark in its own right.
Its name: Colosseo Lair. The starting and ending point for every competition in Lair.
"Ugh, this is annoying."
"......"
"So many damn people."
Yeoreum grumbled, hands shoved in her pockets.
6 PM. Colosseo Lair teemed with cadets fresh from classes and their guardians. One counter handled assignment pickups; the other accepted personal duel requests.
"Do you know about the system?"
"Huh? What system?"
"The personal duel system."
"......Can't we just fight?"
She probably didn't.
The 'personal duels' here were for earning 'points'—virtual scores.
Victory netted about 10 points. Defeat deducted roughly the same. Rack up enough, and your personal duel ranking climbed.
"Hmmm. Whatever, we just win everything, right?"
"Yeah, pretty much."
"So who'm I fighting? Gotta apply one by one like before?"
Yeoreum asked lazily. Back in the day, she'd pick fights everywhere but got rejected a lot. Couldn't just punch random cadets, so plenty of pent-up frustration.
"No. During competition season, opponents are randomly matched."
"Randomly?"
"See those rooms down there?"
Yeoreum followed Yoo Ji-tae's pointing finger. Beneath the security bars, small cylindrical rooms dotted the underground.
Over a hundred on this floor alone. Five basement levels meant about 500 duel rooms total.
"Enter one, and you're summoned to a temporary sub-space field. Fight your opponent there."
"Eh? So we can only fight in there? Not outside?"
"Yep. Keeps it fair, records everything, and no injuries to cadets."
A typical year saw around 2,000 first-years entering competition. That was the number of opponents Yeoreum now faced.
Competition.
Here, everyone was an enemy.
The air in Colosseo Lair hung heavy with a bizarre tension.
Cadets scanned surroundings with wary eyes, sizing up rivals. Guardians were even edgier, watching for anything harmful.
Yet outwardly, they all smiled. Acquaintances exchanged greetings.
"Oh, you should be doing even better."
"No, let's both thrive!"
And cheered each other on.
No one approached Yeoreum and Yoo Ji-tae. They avoided her solo; with her guardian, even more so.
Still, stares pierced from all sides. Whispers like "That's her, right?" floated over. Among thousands of cadets, only dozens were hyped as strong. Yeoreum was one.
"They're all staring like creeps..."
She clearly hated it.
"Hey, isn't that the Superhuman Association Without Borders?"
"Yeah... that gold cross emblem."
"Pfft, why freak over them? I saw folks from 'Regeneration' earlier."
"Whoa, that famous guild?"
Snippets of chatter drifted by.
Occasional outsiders spectated rankings for networking with promising unaffiliated cadets.
Irrelevant to Yeoreum, though.
"Let's go."
"Yeah."
Yoo Ji-tae silently led her to the underground duel rooms.
The elevator to the basement was packed. As doors nearly closed, a familiar pair squeezed in last.
"......?"
A long, jagged scar and menacing glare. Guardian: Mikhailov.
The snow-pale cadet: Sophia Borcova. The Russian who'd clashed with Yeoreum during Azure Dragon House interviews.
Spotting them, they scowled. Mikhailov turned, shielding Sophia's back protectively.
"Hey, aren't you that girl?"
Yeoreum wouldn't stay quiet.
"Yo, you know me, right?"
"......"
Mikhailov glanced at Yoo Ji-tae.
But Yoo Ji-tae met his gaze calmly, not reining her in.
"Long time no see. Face healed up?"
Mikhailov looked pained, like he was on pins and needles, glaring at Yeoreum before turning to Sophia. He subtly shook his head: Don't engage.
But couldn't corral a feisty kid. Sophia whipped around to face her.
"Yeah, all better. You look good too."
"Lucky, huh? Nearly got stabbed."
Mikhailov sighed, rubbing his face at Yeoreum's barb.
"......"
Silence stretched as Sophia didn't reply, tension crackling.
Both were hot-tempered. Mikhailov placed a hand on Sophia's shoulder, praying for silence.
But her words defused it.
"Sorry about that time. Meant to apologize properly, but... chickened out."
No real remorse in her tone or face.
Still, a clear apology. Yeoreum, who'd geared up to pick a fight, deflated sourly.
"Hmph."
Awkward quiet. Then Sophia spoke.
"...You've gotten pretty famous since then."
"What?"
"Hear your name everywhere."
"What're they saying?"
"Weird training stuff. Kids say you waddle around hand-in-hand with your guardian."
Yeoreum shook her head.
"Idiots who know jack shit."
"Yeah, well. Got me shit-talked too by those 'jack shits.' 'Sophia's a loser who got beat by that weirdo.'"
"You heard that?"
"Damn right. Those fuckers deserve to die..."
Yeoreum smirked at the casual curses.
"Should've pulled a knife. You're good at that."
"Guardian stopped me."
Yeoreum burst out laughing.
Sophia giggled too, tension gone.
Other cadets and guardians shot uncomfortable glances, but they ignored them. Mikhailov alone looked mortified.
"Sigh. Gonna prove it this time."
"Prove what?"
"That I'm fucking strong. Too many posers in our 10th class. Gonna crush 'em all."
"You?"
"......"
Sophia's smile cracked at Yeoreum's dismissive look.
"Aww, sis~ Just kidding. Don't get mad♥"
"......"
"Pissed? Wanna grope my tits?"
"Ugh... You're impossible to read."
Rift mended. Elevator dinged; they exited more relaxed.
Sophia stepped out first. As Yeoreum turned to her assigned room...
"Probably."
"Huh?"
Sophia added.
"Lots of eyes on you."
"Why?"
"You're strong and weird. Expect big spectator counts. Hide your aces—don't show 'em."
All duel room matches were recorded, viewable live.
Yeoreum just smirked.
"What changes if they see?"
Her confidence overflowed like a flooded river in monsoon. Sophia laughed incredulously.
"Psycho bitch..."
"You do you, fuckface."
"...Yeah, wasted words. Good luck. Let's meet again in single digits. I'll wreck you."
Harsh words, warm vibe.
Parting, Mikhailov nodded to Yoo Ji-tae.
He nodded back.
In her assigned room: sub-space teleporter, score/rank board, and a dangling 「Duel」 button.
"I'll wait here. Do your thing."
Guardians stayed in rooms.
"Yeah."
Yeoreum reached for 「Duel」.
Then hesitated. Her cocky vibe shifted to nerves.
A shadow of gloom crossed her face.
"...Warm up first?"
He watched her stretch.
The girl who'd cried after one loss. In joint training, she'd lost nearly a hundred times to orc warriors. Maybe defeat felt routine now.
Hence her tension.
"No need to stress."
"Huh?"
"You won't lose."
His ever-objective words rang with certainty. Yeoreum nodded, relaxed.
She hit the button.
Swallowed by mana light, she vanished.
Yoo Ji-tae sat, eyeing the display.
A wasteland outdoor stage unfolded.
Sand and pebbles scattered the ground. Far off: the Level 4 artifact 「Goddess of Competition Statue」, sheathing duelists in protective barriers.
Opponent locked: first-year male cadet. Name, age, basic stats popped up. Above average.
Game-like HP bars hovered overhead, database-fed. Hit zero, and you're ejected—defeat.
Yeoreum gripped her duel wooden sword, facing off.
Inside the duel sub-space.
"Hey, you're Yoo Yeoreum, right?"
The cadet recognized her.
"Y-yeah, uh, please go easy..."
Yeoreum ignored him. Her focus: numbers ticking up beside the floating face in mid-air.
Spectators watching via the Lair app.
Numbers surged: 15, then 10, back to 15...
Tch. Yeoreum raised her wooden sword.
Keep the hidden stuff hidden.
「3」
「2」
「1」
Gong rang out. Yeoreum launched.
Whiiiish―! Boom!
No one saw her move. Or how she struck.
Wooden sword cracked the opponent's skull perfectly.
"Gahk!"
He flew a dozen meters, dissolving into light.
Fanfare blared! Hologram updated.
A polygonal orb floated over, absorbing into Yeoreum.
All in one strike. One hit.