094. Pretext
Fortification: A+...Just the fact that it's an A+ grade ability already gave it tremendous tactical value. Skills at that level might have limited versatility, but they were often special enough to turn the tide of battle. In that sense, this Fortification: A+ felt like a perfect fit for our team.
'First off, the turret generation ability.'
From the air, propelled by my Air Anchor, I could see a considerable number of turrets that were automatically cloaked and invisible. Thanks to my Piercing Eye, I could spot them all, but anyone else would have a hard time. The ability to instantly form a turret kill zone was a massive advantage.
What if we hunkered down there like RIX had done to us in the past, and kept pouring fire from range? Even that tactic alone would put the enemy in a real bind. And the fact that it could be pulled off with just me and this guy made its value skyrocket.
'Of course, that's just on paper. Time to test it for real.'
How strong were the turrets? Could you really snipe away carefree in a Fortification zone? I had to punch through it myself to know.
With that in mind, I rode my Air Anchor up into the sky first. Once I'd mapped all the turret positions from above, my next move was obvious.
'Max firepower without special abilities. An attack via Mana Bomber.'
Of course, no one else could snipe the turrets as precisely as I could to trigger their Mana Bombers, but even without superpowers, this setup could dish out serious destruction.
BOOM! BOOM! KABOOM!
When the dust cleared, the results were in.
'All smashed to bits.'
Maybe it's not that impressive after all? The thought flashed through my mind.
"Thought that was pretty good, huh? But this ain't cutting it."
I tossed a line at him on purpose, giving him some breathing room. In a real fight, I'd have blasted him the second I broke through, but if he had more to show, I wanted to see it.
On the flip side, I couldn't shake this nagging doubt.
'A skill like this is A+ grade?'
Even if the cloaked turrets were hard to spot, it still seemed off for something this fragile to rank A+.
Maybe the turrets made up for weak durability with insane power? As I circled Kim Yu-hyeon on my Air Anchor, mulling it over, a sudden change rippled through the area.
I'd been maneuvering through the foliage and trees with my Air Anchor in a fairly open forest with sparse trees—plenty of aerial room. But now it was morphing into a dense, irregular thicket where even Air Anchors would struggle.
And that was just the start. The reshaping terrain was a nightmare for Air Anchor users. The newly grown trees were webbed with spider silk...
Vicious.
No other word for it. Maybe Fortification wasn't just turrets—it was a suite of abilities to turn an area into a fortress.
'Durability's crap, but turret summons alone had great versatility. And it can do this too?'
This power to reshape terrain itself. Subtle for a dealer, but god-tier for support.
And just like that, something whizzed past Lee Chang-hyun's neck.
I dodged it somehow amid the high-speed movement, but blood trickled from the graze.
'What the...?'
As I scowled and scanned with Piercing Eye, realization hit.
'Turrets are respawning?'
Not many—probably low on mana—but still insane.
"Looks like there's a no-superpower zone here."
BOOM! BOOM! KABOOM!
The turrets kept shattering and regenerating in a loop, but at some point, the attacks stopped.
'Didn't get him...'
[Kim Yu-hyeon: 8 kills]
The count hadn't budged. He'd probably ditched the war of attrition for elsewhere.
No matter how broken the ability, mana was running dry—he'd been bracing for defeat. What a relief.
As long as they didn't keep smashing them, holing up here and recovering mana wasn't too tough.
'The judges must've watched that monster get chased off.'
His hopes for the roster spot reignited.
But that lasted only a moment. Another problem cropped up.
While resting to recover, he checked the leaderboard. Ryu Jae-jun—the guy hot on his tail earlier—hadn't just caught up; he'd surged ahead.
'What now...'
At this rate, with only one spot, he might get cut.
Even with the impatience gnawing at him, abandoning the Fortification base now felt impossible.
Then, as if heaven smiled on Kim Yu-hyeon, Ryu Jae-jun headed his way.
'The last guy was off the charts, no helping it...'
This one wouldn't be another monster. He'd lost once today, but Fortification had been the talk of Third Division and even Second Division back in the day. He had faith in it.
'Come at me...'
The freshly rebuilt turrets would give a warm welcome.
Just like before, the enemy approached from the air via Air Anchor. Right as he entered the turret trap, Kim figured he'd be busy blocking Mana Bombs.
The turrets were just starting to fire.
KIIIIING—
'Huh...?'
A grating, metal-scraping screech echoed from the center. Ryu Jae-jun had activated his Wave skill.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! KABOOM—
The screech ended in reverberating explosions. Turrets detonated around him in a radius.
'What the hell...'
Kim Yu-hyeon blanked out. Someone who could not just smash turrets but neutralize Fortification like this? Unaware that team owner and judge Lee Chang-hyun held him in high regard, he slumped in defeat.
***
After the tryouts wrapped, they'd get personal acceptance notices later, so PER's bustling home base cleared out fast.
Not everyone left, though.
"Why didn't you come straight to me and jump into the tests instead?"
Ryu Jae-jun had shown up in the director's office for a one-on-one.
"No big reason. After the Hunters Day party, I thought... matching fists with the new recruits for the upper leagues wouldn't be bad."
Fair enough.
Knowing his personality, maybe he just wanted a scrap.
Or maybe he wanted to prove himself after that humiliating loss to me in Third Division.
Anyway, new team members for PER. Looked like he'd decided to join.
"So? Find anyone worth keeping on the team?"
"Hm... tricky. You never heard this from me, but having trained under someone like President Lee Geun-taek, Second Division isn't my goal."
"And?"
Ryu Jae-jun paused, then said,
"I don't think my current skill is just Second Division level."
"Hm... yeah?"
Objectively, he was right. His superpowers, plus early training under Lee Geun-taek. He'd only lost to me last time—his overall power wasn't lacking.
"If you disagree, that's on your judgment."
He said it flatly. Then came the fun part.
"Anyway... I've shown enough. Your turn."
Figured. No way he'd join off one invite. I knew he'd ask for something.
But just show him something?
Too easy.
Before regression, we'd synced up plenty. I knew what plays excited him and his style inside out. Whether 1v1 rankings or me dominating Hunter Survival, I could deliver.
"So. What do you want to see?"
"You're switching teams. Gotta check the teammates, right?"
"?"
"...?"
I could show him anything, but teammates? Fair point, but...
Trained under Lee Geun-taek? PER must look like a mom-and-pop shop...
With Ryu Jae-jun plugging the hole, it'd improve, but would he factor that in? Plenty of Second Division teams had probably already courted him, showing off facilities and rosters.
Then, best I could do was a half-assed demo without burning cash.
"How should I show you? Call the kids to the practice room?"
"Nah. To gauge team level, scrim a practice match."
Damn, he saw through my cheap dodge. With his league knowledge, no fooling him.
To reel him in, I'd have to show a match.
"Sigh... Off-season, not sure if we can schedule a scrim."
"Heard even this season, teams like current PER have plenty of scrims."
Impossible to bullshit this guy.
In the end, after that line, I called Kim Seong-jun to set up a scrim with a Second Division team. Opponent was TAK, who'd finished 3rd last season. Luck or curse?
No confidence we'd win. We barely beat bottom-feeder SMB last time, still adapting to Second Division pace. Versus top Second Division? No shot.
No alternatives, though—total bind.
Then, a silver lining hit me.
"Fine, I can show off the team, set up a scrim. But honestly, dragging unprepared kids into off-season scrims just to impress you? Don't you feel bad?"
Ryu Jae-jun was soft on this stuff. Harm to others because of him.
Practices happened anyway—no real harm—but sly wording like this worked.
"...Still, no choice. Can't join some no-name team blind."
"Not saying no scrim."
"?"
A smug grin crept up.
"We're short-staffed right now. For a scrim, gotta field 7v7, right?"
"If you're scrimming to check our players, join in yourself."
Sync up with me for a round, and he'd have a hook.