Chapter 62
Chapter 62
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 62
Chapter Title: Tournament (1)
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The Academy Tournament spanned two full days. On the first day, they determined the four semifinalists, and on the second day, they held the semifinals through to the finals.
Yesterday was that first day.
The matches took place at the academy's main stadium, and I advanced to the semifinals with ease.
At this point, I could beat extras without using my abilities, relying solely on spear techniques.
This was the result of consistent personal training from the "Weapon Master."
Today was the second day, starting with the semifinals and going straight to the finals. It felt entirely different from yesterday.
The venue was the Olympic Stadium.
The matches were broadcast live on national TV channels, and the stands were open to the general public.
Students got in for free, of course, while civilians had to shell out for pricey tickets.
The audience included students from other grades.
They had their own practical exam next week, a dungeon exploration event.
Isia and the other club members might be up in the stands somewhere.
On top of that, the tournament had a special event tacked on—a so-called "friendly match" against a Chinese academy student, supposedly arranged on short notice.
"Did you hear? The tournament winner gets to have a friendly match with a student from China. And both countries are broadcasting it live."
Yang Min-seo shared the intel she'd gathered with her group members.
A friendly match against a student from the Chinese academy.
The opponent was China's strongest first-year high school student out of a population of 1.4 billion.
"The winner's got a ton of pressure on them."
Oh Ha-na said it with a smug look on her face.
She was also a semifinalist, and according to the bracket, she was set to face me.
The other two were Park Ha-yeon and Hwang Je-seong—their match was up next.
Yang Min-seo watched me, Park Ha-yeon, and Oh Ha-na with a bright, cheerful face.
Three out of the final four had ties to her, so given her personality, she had every reason to be thrilled.
"I looked up some videos of those Chinese guys from yesterday, and holy crap, it's no joke. They treat Awakeners like an army."
Oh Ha-na said with a grimace of disgust.
Most Awakeners hated the idea of state control.
I'd seen the video she was talking about.
It was the intro cinematic from a late-game chapter.
China had assembled multiple divisions of Awakeners and held a massive military parade.
Rows of mass-produced artificial Awakeners with white hair and red eyes marched in perfect unison, without a single flaw. It was terrifying.
"Yeah, I saw it too. Sharing a border with a country like that? It's a disaster."
Yang Min-seo hugged herself with both arms and shivered as she replied.
It was a common trope in games like this, but North Korea had collapsed when the Gates first appeared.
Once the South Korean military confirmed the North Korean government had essentially disintegrated, they pushed north immediately, thinking unification was at hand.
Unfortunately, things didn't go smoothly.
China came sweeping in under the pretext of protecting North Korean civilians and aiding their blood ally, occupying Pyonganbuk-do and Hamgyong-do provinces outright.
They propped up a nominal North Korean government in the occupied territories, turning it into a puppet state.
That's how Korea ended up sharing a border with China, the world's second superpower.
And to top it off, the puppet New North Korean government kept demanding the return of the North's land they'd illegally seized, day after day.
Not only did we share a border with China, but we also inherited a disputed territory.
"If—if we lose, we're gonna get flamed so bad. Shinno and Ha-na might wanna just throw in the towel..."
Ji So-yeon fretted timidly.
This was a fight for national pride.
Bigger than any Korea-Japan match.
Losing the friendly bout would mean getting every insult in the book from the entire nation.
"What? You kidding? How could I pass up a chance like this? I'm taking first place, no question."
Oh Ha-na growled her declaration.
Her eyes were locked on me.
We participants headed to the benches to watch Hwang Je-seong and Park Ha-yeon's match, while Yang Min-seo and Ji So-yeon climbed up to the stands.
As participants, Oh Ha-na and I got to watch from the closest seats.
Oh Ha-na glared at me with burning eyes whenever she got the chance.
If our gazes met, she never looked away first.
*What a tiresome type.*
Oh Ha-na was pretty in her own way, but this creepy obsession was a bit much.
It'd be nice if it were positive obsession instead.
The announcer's voice boomed through the stadium.
They were all former Heroes.
《Our first semifinal match today is Bracket A! It's Park Ha-yeon, the electricity Awakener, versus Hwang Je-seong, the ice Awakener!》
《Hwang Je-seong is the son of the famous S-Rank Hero 'Bloody Striker.' Talk about pressure!》
《Haha! Mentioning it like this probably adds even more!》
The announcers bantered back and forth, dwelling on Hwang Je-seong's story for a while.
They seemed far more interested in him—the guy with the famous dad—than in the no-name Park Ha-yeon.
Her electricity ability was pretty common too, so they probably didn't have much to say.
The duel arena was simple.
Stone tiles laid over the existing stadium floor.
Step off the tiles, and you're disqualified.
Park Ha-yeon and Hwang Je-seong stepped into the arena.
They wore sparring suits and masks, with basic protective gear on top.
The sparring suits resembled fencing gear, made from special materials that resisted blades and absorbed impacts.
Sensors embedded throughout measured hits and scored them.
Park Ha-yeon had added chest and abdominal guards over her suit, while Hwang Je-seong wore none.
Dungeon gear was banned; only Earth-made equipment allowed.
For weapons, Park Ha-yeon had a sword, and Hwang Je-seong wore steel guards on his legs and arms.
The sword's blade was blunted for safety.
《Alright, match starts in 10 seconds.》
The announcer hyped it up.
***
Park Ha-yeon reined in her nerves.
*Is it okay to use this on a person?*
She'd devised a new technique.
Even the "Weapon Master" had praised its strength.
The only worry was her opponent's safety.
Its destructive power was off the charts.
Even with the special sparring suit, she fretted it might pierce through and hurt Hwang Je-seong.
Park Ha-yeon recalled Lee Chan-hyuk's advice.
*'I keep telling you, Miss Park, you're too considerate of others. Just think about yourself for once. A student who lives like that still counts as nice.'*
Park Ha-yeon steeled herself.
*I'm doing it.*
This was the time to win.
Her eyes fixed on the scoreboard.
The countdown ticked down.
3.
2.
1.
《Match... begin!》
Waaaaah—
The stands erupted in cheers as the announcer gave the start signal.
Park Ha-yeon thrust her hand out immediately, firing lightning at Hwang Je-seong.
《Park Ha-yeon wastes no time! Straight to electricity attacks—fierce!》
Zzzt.
An ice wall rose in front of Hwang Je-seong.
The lightning crashed against it.
He'd known about her electricity ability for a while, so he'd anticipated this.
《Predictable at this point, right?》
《Yeah, they're from the same school, so they know each other's patterns.》
Park Ha-yeon drew her sword and charged, closing the distance.
《What's her game plan? Not drawing her main weapon, the sword—just rushing in.》
《Hwang Je-seong specializes in kicks. Getting that close is bad news for Park Ha-yeon!》
It went without saying, but she was the protagonist of this game, *Hero Name: ZEUS*.
Her future moniker: "Zeus."
The god of lightning.
What Park Ha-yeon aimed to do was combine "Iaido" and "Thunder God's Fragment"—using both skills at once.
First, max out the "Thunder God's Fragment" skill to generate a powerful magnetic field in the rail embedded in her custom scabbard.
Then, unleash an "Iaido" strike accelerated to extremes via railgun principles.
The rail was short, so not as fast as a military railgun, but still insanely quick.
Hand on the hilt, Park Ha-yeon narrowed the gap with Hwang Je-seong.
Golden currents crackled along her scabbard.
Anyone could tell something was up.
《Oh! Park Ha-yeon's being way too obvious! She's straight-up telegraphing an Iaido ambush.》
《Must have an Iaido skill. But those aren't that strong! No idea what she's thinking!》
Hwang Je-seong backpedaled slowly, calculating the sword's trajectory in his head.
Zzzt.
Ice began forming on the floor.
He planned to freeze her feet and lock her in place.
Park Ha-yeon spotted it and leaped, flying straight at him.
She was in sword range now.
The blade began sliding from the scabbard.
"Hyaah!"
Park Ha-yeon unveiled her original technique for all to see.
Electric Rail Iaido.
Zero Second.
Zzzzzzt.
Golden lightning surged, electrifying the rail in her scabbard and accelerating the draw.
A speed no human eye could track.
Hwang Je-seong swore he'd never seen a faster attack in his life.
Even Shin Noda's jaw dropped in admiration.
*Using Iaido like that!*
He'd never even considered it.
The game had no concept of combining skills like this.
Hwang Je-seong hastily erected an ice wall.
But it was futile.
Kaboom.
In a Zero Second—near-instantly—the slashing strike shattered the wall and slammed into Hwang Je-seong.
The lightning-clad blade carved a long diagonal gash across him as he collapsed.
Waaaaah—
The stands went wild with excitement. The announcers were speechless.
《Whoa... I've never seen Iaido that powerful. What the heck?》
《Let's check the damage on Hwang Je-seong. Looking at the models now.》
Eyes turned to Hwang Je-seong's figure on the scoreboard.
Damage: 0.
《Huh? What's going on? Did Hwang Je-seong block it?》
《That seemed like her trump card. This puts Park Ha-yeon in a tough spot... Huh?》
Beep. Beep.
The referee blew the whistle, signaling the end.
They radioed the announcers urgently.
《Yes, got it. Latest update: Park Ha-yeon wins! Folks, she took down Hwang Je-seong in one hit!》
《Turns out Hwang Je-seong's sparring suit malfunctioned—no score registered. That's how hard she hit!》
The referee saw Hwang Je-seong's pitiful state.
Sparring suit half-torn, face guard completely crumpled.
A little more power, and his life might've been in danger.
Park Ha-yeon, her form collapsing from the effort, tumbled awkwardly to the ground—but no one cared.
She stood calmly, dusted herself off, and went to check on Hwang Je-seong.
"You okay?"
The medical team was already rushing over.
"Yeah, just knocked out. The suit kept him from real damage."
"Phew. Glad you're alright."
Park Ha-yeon sighed in relief.
She followed the referee's guidance off the arena.
"Finals berth. Congrats."
Shin Noda, waiting below, congratulated her on her victory.
"Uh, y-yeah? Thanks. See you in the finals."
Park Ha-yeon's face flushed red.
Knowing Shin Noda had watched her awesome performance made her heart race.
"Tch."
Oh Ha-na clicked her tongue from behind the bench.
She found their little moment cringey, but more than that, Park Ha-yeon's "see you in the finals" line grated on her.
*Shin Noda... just you wait. No matter how strong you are, you can't beat my ability. I'm the best in PvP.*
Once they confirmed Hwang Je-seong was carted off, the referee called Shin Noda and Oh Ha-na.
Next match up.