Chapter 88: Exchange Match (11)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 88: Exchange Match (11)
A large name appeared on the scoreboard.
[Semifinal Match 2]
[Yoon Chae-ha vs. Gail]
Yoon Chae-ha’s gaze stopped on the name.
A swordsman, formerly ranked 11th at Carlos.
It was Gail.
The crowd began to stir.
“This should be interesting.”
“Gail should be a decent match for Yoon Chae-ha.”
But Yoon Chae-ha, standing at the center of it all, raised her head, her face devoid of emotion.
‘How predictable.’
Her heart wasn't racing.
No tension, no excitement.
If anything, she was a little bored.
She hated how easily she could picture the end of the match.
Everyone was looking forward to this, but she herself felt no interest at all.
What a shame.
She took a quiet breath.
The fingertips of one hand lifted gently.
– 3.
– 2.
– 1.
The system’s voice announced the start of the match, and at the same time, Yoon Chae-ha’s lips parted.
“Well then, here I go.”
The next moment, the arena burst into flames.
Flames crawled across the ground, heat sliced through the air.
The heat surged up the walls, and steam instantly clouded everyone's vision.
And within it all…
Gail reacted on instinct.
Even in a situation that had unfolded in an instant, he had to find a way out.
Obscured vision, tangled heat.
In the end, he chose a Single-Point Breakthrough.
Strangely, the direct path toward her was wide open.
‘It’s too open.’
But there was no time to think.
With no time to dwell on the strangeness of it, Gail threw himself forward.
Blade in hand, he poured his entire body into that opening.
And then.
– BOOM!!
With a deafening explosion, Gail was sent flying.
He slammed into the barrier protecting the audience and was instantly ruled unable to battle.
An alarm blared from the judge's seat, while Yoon Chae-ha's flames still blazed on the arena floor.
Gasps erupted from the crowd.
“What was that…?”
“Gail was taken out in one hit…?”
As the flames within the heat died down and the stage became visible again…
“Hah…”
Yoon Chae-ha let out a quiet sigh.
Then, she slowly walked down from the stage.
*
I was impressed.
She had endured countless of my attacks recently.
And in that process, she hadn't broken; instead, she had burned even brighter. It seemed she’d learned something.
She had intentionally left the path open to bait Gail's charge.
As if to say, ‘Come at me,’ she had cleared the way.
And she met him head-on. Perfectly and smoothly.
[Battle Over]
[Gail – Unable to Battle]
As the system’s voice rang out, the flames around Yoon Chae-ha slowly died down.
Not a hint of exhaustion. If anything, she seemed to have energy to spare.
‘Growth.’
The fact that she was growing felt clearer than ever.
Just then.
– Waaaaaaaaah!!
A roar erupted from the opposite arena.
The spectators turned their heads.
The status of the other match appeared on the scoreboard.
[Joo Seo-jun – Victory]
Her next opponent was decided.
As expected, the final would be Yoon Chae-ha versus Joo Seo-jun.
Now, only the final remained.
The final was tomorrow, to be held in this very same place.
I thought it would be worth watching.
I gathered my things and headed out into the arena corridor.
I was just about to sling my bag over my shoulder and leave.
From a distance, I heard the sounds of people and a commotion.
The crowd was turning to see something passing by, and they began to murmur.
‘What's all this noise…?’
I turned my head to look.
There, cutting through the crowd, was Yoon Chae-ha, walking toward me.
Her gaze was aimed precisely at one spot.
At me.
I offered her a word of congratulations.
“Congrats on the win…”
– Thump.
Without a word, she strode right up to me, shot out her hand, and roughly grabbed my wrist.
“Let's go. I booked a room.”
“Where?”
“The training ground.”
“……”
Her tone was full of conviction.
Her eyes were so calm it was hard to believe she'd just finished a match, and a faint blush colored her cheeks.
“You have time?”
A faint smile touched her lips.
Her eyes already seemed to be imagining our next battle.
I smiled slightly and gently removed her hand from my wrist.
“It's fine. Get some rest today.”
Her eyebrow twitched slightly.
“Rest today? Then… tomorrow morning…”
“Tomorrow's no good either. You have to prepare for your match.”
“…Then what am I supposed to do?”
A hint of anger crept into her voice.
“You don't need to train anymore. I've taught you everything I wanted to.”
A flicker of anxiety crossed her eyes.
“Chae-ha.”
I called her name quietly.
“Right now, it seems there's more you need to do for yourself than you need from me.”
At those words, she paused.
She looked like she was about to say something, but then closed her mouth and quietly lowered her gaze.
She knew I wasn't wrong.
After taking a slow breath, Yoon Chae-ha nodded.
“…Alright.”
And with that, she turned away.
I watched her back in silence.
She would be fine.
After all, she was a genius acknowledged by the world.
*
The gentle scent of lavender spread through the air.
Moonlight peeked through the half-drawn curtains, and not a sound could be heard in the quiet dormitory.
Yoon Chae-ha had completely botched her training that day.
After returning to her room, she lay down on her bed without a word.
With her forehead pressed against the pillow, she quietly bumped her head against it. Thump. Thump.
– Thump.
– Thump.
Her legs, stretched out, tapped slowly. Tap. Tap.
She swayed unconsciously to a rhythm.
– Tap.
– Tap.
Her lips were bitten tight.
‘Rest?’
That one word wouldn't leave her mind.
His gentle tone. The way his hand had slid hers off his wrist. The look in his eyes as he spoke.
It wasn't that she felt bad—no, to be honest, it felt good, like he was worried about her.
But strangely, after hearing those words, her body grew even hotter.
Yoon Chae-ha pulled the blanket up to her chin.
Her fingertips carefully curled around its edge.
She took a deep breath and slowly let it out.
When she closed her eyes, today's battle came to mind, but she quickly dismissed it.
There was nothing to gain from it.
Her thoughts quickly changed direction.
‘Tomorrow is the final.’
At that moment, the person who appeared behind her eyelids wasn't today's opponent, nor tomorrow's, but the man who had defeated her dozens, hundreds of times over the past few days.
Jung Hae-in.
The sensation of every single one of his blows was vivid in her mind.
Her breath was a little hot.
“Hah…”
A feverish breath escaped her lips.
Her heart beat slowly, but steadily.
A heat that refused to cool spread slowly through her body.
Yoon Chae-ha gripped the edge of the blanket with both hands and repeated to herself.
‘I'm not satisfied.’
Replaying the trajectory of his movements in her mind, carefully cooling the heat inside her…
And like that, she quietly fell asleep.
*
The day of the final match.
The academy's central arena was already packed with people.
The seats were full, and even the standing areas had no room to spare.
Every single person was waiting for today's final showdown.
A huge crowd had gathered to watch the battle between the two genius mages.
Even the renowned Magic Tower was in attendance.
Just then.
The scoreboard slowly lit up.
[Yoon Chae-ha vs. Joo Seo-jun]
The names appeared.
And in that instant, the entire arena fell silent, as if holding its breath.
Yoon Chae-ha slowly, very slowly, closed and opened her eyes.
She steadied her breathing and looked to the far end of the arena.
A familiar face was there.
Joo Seo-jun.
They had known each other for a long time.
“I'll win this time,” Joo Seo-jun said, breaking the silence.
His words were filled with determination.
He had never once beaten Yoon Chae-ha.
But he believed that today would be different.
He had always said that, and Yoon Chae-ha's reaction had always been the same.
An indifferent expression, or a quiet lack of response.
But today was different.
“No.”
In contrast, the corners of Yoon Chae-ha's lips were slightly raised.
Her expression was one of quiet fire, as if she were thinking of someone.
“Today, of all days, absolutely not.”
She was looking forward to this.
Joo Seo-jun read her expression, narrowed his eyes for a moment, then let out a short laugh.
“What's gotten into you?”
It was the first time.
The first time she had ever looked so serious.
As the countdown began, the audience held its breath.
Over a thousand people fell silent at once, as if by agreement.
– 3.
– 2.
– 1.
– Waaaaaaaaah!!
The moment the count ended, the crowd’s roar exploded.
The two genius mages, as if by agreement, simultaneously…
Began casting.
Red mana began to swirl at Yoon Chae-ha's feet.
In an instant, dozens of flame spears formed, cutting through the air.
Sparks flew from their tips, and heat shimmered around them.
– Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh.
At the same time, a massive magic circle appeared in front of Joo Seo-jun.
Dark blue mana twisted into a spiral and floated in the air, a single, massive sphere pulsing slowly at its center.
“……!”
Someone in the crowd gasped.
“…Compression Calculation?”
Joo Seo-jun's specialty. The Penetrating Spear.
Yoon Chae-ha's flame spears spread out in their dozens, attempting to dominate the battlefield.
Joo Seo-jun, on the other hand, planned to pierce through it all head-on.
The air distorted under the pressure radiating from their two manas.
It was as if a great rift had opened in the space between them.
And the first to move was Yoon Chae-ha.
“Go.”
As Yoon Chae-ha whispered softly, a single flame spear shot forward, tracing a swift arc.
Taking that as a signal, dozens of spears poured down like a storm.
The spears whipped through the air.
However.
– KRAKOOM!!!
Joo Seo-jun's Penetrating Spear tore through the center and advanced.
Several flame spears struck it at once, but the texture of their mana was different.
Yoon Chae-ha's magic had the property of burning. Joo Seo-jun's had the property of melting and piercing.
Slowly, the front line was being breached.
Yoon Chae-ha's pupils trembled slightly.
A confident smile spread across Joo Seo-jun's lips.
– Fwoooosh…!
But in that moment.
Yoon Chae-ha turned her palm over.
And then.
One of the dozens of scattered flame spears paused in mid-air, and all the spears began to merge into one.
All of them, straight ahead.
“……!”
Joo Seo-jun's expression hardened.
The flame spears combined into a single mass.
It grew thicker, longer, denser.
It was no longer a simple spear.
It was a single, long spear, burning crimson.
And its tip pulsed like the sun.
– WHOOSH!!
Jung Hae-in's unique skill.
A variation of Catenaccio, the Phalanx.
Yoon Chae-ha had perfectly reinterpreted the technique in her own way.
‘What do you think?’
She had never once used this technique before.
And this first move…
She wanted to show it.
To him.
The sound of an explosion engulfed the battlefield.
The great flame spear crushed the Penetrating Spear, pierced it, and tore it apart.
Thick smoke billowed up.
“What happened?”
“Who… who won?”
Just as the members of the Magic Tower and the professors of Carlos and Gaon were wondering…
The smoke slowly dissipated.
The blazing heat subsided, and the battlefield gradually returned to view.
Atop the remnants of the destroyed magic circle, Joo Seo-jun was slumped on the ground, catching his breath.
The winner was clear.
Yoon Chae-ha was standing, and Joo Seo-jun was sitting.
He looked up from the pile of debris he had created and smiled quietly.
“…That was amazing, Chae-ha.”
A clean admission of defeat, unmixed with jealousy or regret.
Joo Seo-jun already knew. That if Yoon Chae-ha started to get serious, he wouldn't even be a match for her.
And now, it seemed she had well and truly gotten serious.
Yoon Chae-ha looked at Joo Seo-jun and remained silent for a moment.
Then she slowly nodded.
“Thank you.”
It was gratitude.
If it weren't for him, Jung Hae-in wouldn't have pushed her so hard.
And she, too, would not have been able to get serious.
At Yoon Chae-ha's brief thanks, Joo Seo-jun's eyes widened slightly, before he nodded and smiled.
And then, she turned her head.
‘Where is he?’
She scanned the crowd.
Searching for the one person she wanted to show this victory to first.
One person.
And then.
Their eyes met.
Even in the massive crowd, he stood out with unusual clarity.
He was smiling quietly, just a little.
Without words.
But clearly.
‘You did well.’
His lips moved, just barely.
Those three words rang in her ears as if spoken right beside her.
Yoon Chae-ha's heart beat quietly.
Even among countless people, he was always the first one she saw.
A single glance from him, and her whole body grew hot again.
Yoon Chae-ha slowly raised the corners of her mouth.
She said nothing, but her eyes spoke volumes.
Her breath quickened.
Her heart pounded.
She didn't quite know why.
Even her Authority, A Priori, couldn't analyze it.
It was a realm that couldn't be explained by logic or analysis.
But one thing was certain.
Right now, deep in her chest, something was welling up like a spring and quietly bursting forth.
Perhaps, toward him, standing so far away.
It was okay not to understand.
She was only recently beginning to learn that sometimes, there are things in the world you aren't meant to understand, but simply to feel with your entire being.
And right now, the sense of fulfillment from that unknown sensation was overwhelming, and it felt so good.
Yoon Chae-ha smiled quietly.
To think that just recalling someone could make her smile.
To think that just the thought of his name could make every sense in her body react so sharply.
It was this…
Ecstatic.