Chapter 17
Chapter 17
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Counter Response
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“To President Baek Juseok, I publicly challenge you to a magic duel.”
The moment I dropped that bombshell, a barrage of questions poured in from the reporters.
“Masked Instructor! Does challenging him to a magic duel mean you’re confident you can beat President Baek Juseok?”
“Clearing a dungeon and PvP are completely different realms. Do you have plenty of PvP experience as well?”
“Using external mana in PvP seems way too unbalanced. Will you be using external mana in the duel too?”
Dozens more questions assaulted my ears. I answered them appropriately.
Of course, mixing in a few lies.
“I have almost no PvP experience. But it’s hard to say I lack confidence. As you all saw, I’m a mage who can solo clear an A-rank dungeon. I don’t think I’d lose to President Baek Juseok.”
“Also, I won’t use external mana during the duel. If I did, wouldn’t President Baek Juseok just make excuses and dodge the fight? Don’t you all think so too? After I showed such an overwhelming performance with external mana, of course he’d avoid it if I used it. So, for the duel with him, I’ll only use internal mana.”
To thoroughly thrash President Baek Juseok in front of everyone and demonstrate the clear gap in our levels, nothing beats a direct duel. And if I say I won’t even use external mana, the dramatic effect will be even greater.
I shared my thoughts with the reporters like that.
“That’s all for questions. We’ll do a Q&A on my channel and Jang Hyena’s channel for the rest, so check there.”
Even as I turned and walked away, the reporters’ questions didn’t stop. But I figured stopping here would pull more aggro, so I ignored the rest.
Now Baek Juseok can’t back out.
If I’d said I’d use [External Mana], he would’ve made every excuse to avoid fighting. And even if he lost to the monster who soloed an A-rank dungeon, it wouldn’t hit as hard.
But now I’d publicly declared I wouldn’t use external mana.
People didn’t know I could use S-rank high-level magic. So they might think Baek Juseok had a shot in the duel as long as I didn’t use that cheat-like [External Mana]. Of course, he’d think the same.
I deliberately stuck to mostly low-tier spells.
Except for one A-rank, the magic I used was mostly B to D-rank.
If I couldn’t layer multiple spells with [External Mana], they weren’t all that destructive.
Of course, I could use high-tier magic anytime, even without external mana.
Though without it, I couldn’t spam a bunch at once.
I absolutely wouldn’t lose to Baek Juseok. He was just an A-rank mage, after all.
-Step
-Step
As I walked through the crowd of reporters, Seol Euna approached.
“Congratulations, Masked Instructor. You cleared the dungeon so spectacularly. Honestly, even I was surprised. Though of course, I believed in you.”
Seol Euna approached with a pleased smile. As we chatted privately, the reporters started yelling questions again.
“Masked Instructor! Are you close with Luster Guild Leader Seol Euna? If so, how did you meet? Are you lovers or something?”
The reporters unleashed a flood of questions, trying to dig for more. Seol Euna’s face flushed red as she shouted.
“W-What are you talking about! We’re close, but d-dating? Nothing like that...”
Seol Euna glanced at me, then muttered softly.
“I mean... I haven’t really thought about d-dating yet...”
The reporters around us went wild at her reaction.
“Hey, get a camera on Seol Euna right now! Move a few more reporters over there—this smells like a scoop!”
Things were getting messy, so I stepped in front of her and addressed the reporters.
“Seol Euna and I aren’t anything like that. We just met by chance before I started as a creator. She’s helping with my videos now. So please stop with the wild speculation. More importantly, isn’t the real focus my duel with President Baek Juseok? I hope he doesn’t dodge with weird excuses and accepts my challenge. I’m even offering a penalty.”
The heat didn’t die down. Leaving the reporters behind, I took Seol Euna up to the floating artifact where Jang Hyena was waiting.
-Thud
“Eek!”
Jang Hyena yelped in surprise as the artifact wobbled. I looked at her and said.
“Let’s go. Before it gets any noisier.”
She stared at me blankly, then soon took off into the air.
-Whoooosh
We climbed high until the people below looked like dots. Then Jang Hyena turned to me.
“Masked Instructor! I just ended the broadcast! The viewers loved it, right? Millions watched your dungeon clear live! It’s the first time a live stream has gotten this many viewers! I was so excited and nervous. This is all thanks to you. Thank you so much!”
Jang Hyena grinned ear to ear, expressing her sincere gratitude. I looked at her and replied.
“Thank you. My fame’s skyrocketing thanks to you.”
“No way! If anything, I’m the one blowing up thanks to you! To be honest... my views have been dropping lately, and live viewers too. I was worried. Funny, right? With 5 million subscribers, still stressing over this.”
It made sense. NA TUBE weeded out creators without fresh content constantly. Growing was hard, and maintaining explosive growth even harder. I told Jang Hyena.
“Glad you look happy. The edited video should do great too.”
“Yeah! At least a few million views, maybe even ten million!”
“Oh! Right... um...”
Jang Hyena hesitated, speaking tensely.
“What is it?”
“Should... I upload the video first to your channel, or mine? It’d make sense for yours first, right...?”
The first solo clear of an A-rank mage dungeon. The video’s value was immense. Who uploaded first mattered.
I’d asked her beforehand to film with multiple cameras and magic tools for both her channel and mine.
Hm... Anyway, for me, fame matters more than views on my channel.
As long as it blew up somewhere—hers or mine—it was fine. Plus, all those reporters would upload their footage too, and write articles. So I told her.
“Doesn’t matter if you upload first. Just send me the video you promised.”
She looked at me in disbelief.
“R-Really...?”
“Yeah, the reporters filmed plenty too.”
“Even so, official uploads like ours are way different from theirs... If you don’t know and are just okaying it, you don’t have to...”
She spoke like a drenched puppy, all deflated.
“I know that much. I’m saying it knowingly, so don’t worry. Just edit it awesome, and emphasize the part where I challenge Baek Juseok at the end.”
She beamed and shouted.
“Got it! Of course! I’ll edit it myself—no editor—to make you look epic! I’ll do my best and upload fast! Thank you so much!”
“That’d make me grateful.”
“Oh! Masked Instructor, do you have a phone? Give me your number!”
“Hand me your phone, I’ll put it in.”
I gave her the number I’d set up for contacts from my Masked Instructor activities.
As it was time to go, Jang Hyena waved with a smile.
“Alright! Take care!”
Seol Euna gave an awkward farewell.
“Masked Instructor. Get home safe...”
“Thanks for your hard work today, everyone.”
After a brief chat, I parted ways with Seol Euna and Jang Hyena.
Now... just wait.
After getting home, showering, and resting a bit, a text came from Jang Hyena.
- Masked Instructor! Editing’s done! Uploaded the video—wanna check? It’s exploding!
Checking NA TUBE, there was a video with a sensational title.
[Mage’s First-Ever A-Rank Dungeon Solo Clear!! Declaration of War to President Baek Juseok!! Will He Run or Face It Head-On?!]
I chuckled at the title.
Why does it sound like Jang Hyena’s voice is in the title?
I clicked the video. Perfectly edited, including my declaration. Everything was there.
[Uploaded 5 min ago], [Views: 2.2 million]
Over 2 million in 5 minutes? It’s gonna skyrocket. Squirm, you bastard, Baek Juseok.
At that moment, in Baek Juseok’s office.
“Fuck! That goddamn bastard!”
-Bang
Baek Juseok was watching the video where the Masked Instructor publicly targeted him.
“Fucking worm crawling up without knowing its place. Penalty? Fucking penalty?”
“Fine, I admit it. The external mana trick is impressive. But this loser who couldn’t even use a single S-rank spell in the dungeon thinks he can beat me without it? Fuck. He’s lost his mind.”
He’d always taken pride in being a mage and Helmont Academy’s president. Furious, he yelled at his secretary.
“Get the cameras ready now. I’m filming a counter video.”
And soon after, the official Helmont Academy NA TUBE channel was created, and Baek Juseok’s video went up.
[This is Helmont Academy President Baek Juseok.]