Forging the Team Through Sparring
Thirty minutes had passed since the sparring began.
“Hah… hah.”
Karla exhaled, her breath reaching the very edge of her throat. Her blue hair clung to her skin, damp with sweat, and the scythe in her hands trembled intermittently.
“Impressive,” I murmured.
Her ability to interfere with space itself. I knew it was an extremely rare power, and one notoriously difficult to control. Yet Karla, who had only just entered the Iron rank, wielded spatial manipulation with remarkable freedom.
She was on par with Ping Lei—perhaps even slightly above him. Their abilities were similar, but what set Karla apart was her overwhelming will.
—That child has already surpassed her limits, partner.
“Her limits came long ago. She’s simply moving her body through sheer mental force.”
—Yet you seem displeased.
“Because it isn’t her own will driving her.”
The force propelling Karla was command. Ellen’s orders. Or William’s. Even in the midst of exchanging blows, she never once released even the faintest trace of killing intent. How was that possible?
“It must be the flaw the Goddess mentioned.”
If I were to call Karla an artificial intelligence, at least that would make sense. She pushed her body beyond its limits simply to execute the orders she had been given… No matter how I looked at it, this wasn’t normal.
—Then do you intend to reject her as a teammate?
“I’ll accept her.”
If I could uncover the source of that mental flaw, I might be able to prevent the future incident that would turn Ellen into an enemy. Back then, she had risen all the way to High Ranker. Changing that future would mean gaining another powerful asset. Besides, with a Gate Break looming, having even one more capable teammate couldn’t hurt.
“Time to end this.”
Karla only focused on catching her breath. She didn’t even have the strength left to respond.
Spatial manipulation was a versatile ability. Distortion, teleportation, deletion. Karla had only used distortion and teleportation so far. Erasing space entirely required an enormous amount of mana and mental strength, so she likely couldn’t manage it yet.
She primarily used distortion for both offense and defense. Teleportation was reserved for emergency escapes. But with most of her mana depleted, teleporting away was no longer an option.
That left her with only one move: combining distortion with her skills to land a decisive strike. I could have forced her surrender quickly by bombarding her with ranged magic attacks, but…
“That wouldn’t be any fun.”
I stepped into Karla’s range.
Shwaaaaak!
The moment my foot touched the ground inside her reach, blades came raining down. Her body had already reached its limit, yet her reaction speed remained astonishingly fast.
[Hundred Beasts Emperor Martial Arts - 5th Form]
[Using Radiant Beast Strike.]
I condensed my inner energy at my fingertips and knocked her scythe aside. My right arm trembled from the recoil, but I still had my left.
“Ah…”
A faint groan escaped Karla’s lips. My hand had dug into the side of her neck. Right after deflecting her scythe, I had unleashed the fourth form of the Blood Claw Technique with my left arm.
Clap, clap, clap!
“Just as the rumors say—truly remarkable.”
When Ellen applauded, I immediately withdrew my killing intent. Karla lowered her scythe to the side as well.
“I have lost.”
“Does this mean she passes?”
“I look forward to working with you from now on.”
Her voice remained devoid of emotion.
—Oh my.
Nyx let out a sound of admiration. Why was the Goddess suddenly acting like this? In any case, we were now officially a team. I extended my right hand toward Karla.
She tilted her head in confusion. Ellen, who had been watching, smacked her own forehead and said,
“He wants to shake hands.”
“Ah…”
Only after hearing that did Karla belatedly grasp my hand. I had no idea where to even begin teaching her.
* * *
Team Yeokcheon. I hadn’t planned it, but somehow we had managed to assemble the bare minimum of members.
“Master, does this mean we’ll be conquering the Tower together from now on?”
“No. First, we need to build teamwork.”
“Teamwork… So we’re really a proper team now!”
Jiyoung couldn’t hide her excitement. She was surprisingly proactive. I had expected her to be wary of Ping Lei and Karla, but…
“Hmm, honestly, I don’t like that Chinese guy. But he’s strong, so it can’t be helped.”
“That much is true.”
“If we train together as teammates, maybe I’ll even be able to beat him someday!”
Wow. She had thought that far ahead? She must have been holding onto the memory of their match during the promotion exam. Come to think of it, she had mentioned dying once to Ping Lei during the Laos gorge incident. Her enthusiasm was actually fueled by the desire for a rematch.
“I want to beat Karla too.”
“That’s not how team play works.”
“It’s healthy competition!”
…That word doesn’t mean what you think it means. Still, if Jiyoung was motivated, that was fine by me.
“Ellen, and… what was your name again?”
“Zhu Yixian.”
The middle-aged man who had accompanied Ping Lei as his instructor answered.
“You brought your promising talents here to train them. Surely you don’t expect to do so without any compensation?”
“Hoho, the Master already gave me this for that purpose.”
Ellen pulled a single card from her wallet. Wait a second. That card—was it…?
“A black card!!”
A shriek burst from the Chinese instructor’s mouth. He had said exactly what I was thinking.
“If it’s for Karla’s growth, I’m willing to invest as much as necessary.”
Originally, that card had probably been meant to recruit me. Its spending limit was practically unlimited. With that card alone, one could even pay for an entire cruise ship on the spot. She certainly knew how to talk.
“What about the Nine Dragons Syndicate? Did they prepare nothing?”
“The Great Elder said he would obtain anything Lord Jinho desires…”
“Hoho, so it’s just empty promises.”
When Ellen cut him off, Zhu Yixian’s face flushed bright red as he shouted,
“An American wouldn’t understand the Great Elder’s grand vision!”
The Nine Dragons Syndicate had been the first to make a move to recruit me, yet Gold Moon’s offer carried far more weight. Not that I had any intention of joining either side.
“In that case, would you be willing to invest in our team?”
“If it’s within my authority, I’ll do anything.”
“The Nine Dragons Syndicate will also do its utmost to assist you.”
Both of them waited for my next words.
“A Tyrannosaurus fossil.”
“……Pardon?”
“A fossil, you say?”
Their reactions were similar to Han Suchang’s. Well, that was only natural. Since I couldn’t just accept investments without giving anything in return, I needed to leak some information on my end as well.
“It’s to strengthen my ability.”
“If it will aid the young lord, then the Nine Dragons Syndicate must step forward!”
Zhu Yixian spoke with great emphasis. Ellen frowned slightly before quickly replacing it with a smile.
“Gold Moon possesses a fossil. I’ll make a suggestion to the Master.”
“Hmph. A great nation’s fossil will surely be larger and more magnificent. Look forward to it, young lord.”
They were competing to see who could offer more. It was almost beautiful to watch. Since the suckers had walked right into the trap on their own, I might as well milk them for all they were worth.
“Ah, and could you also look into finding a craftsman for me?”
It was for the puppets Kim Youngsoo would control. He had purchased some personally, but their performance was frankly too poor. Even if he obtained a Puppeteer-related class that would improve the specs of the puppets he controlled, Kim Youngsoo’s command ability was still inferior to that of a dedicated puppet specialist. His true talent lay in commanding large armies.
“Something suitable for the Iron to Bronze ranks.”
“The Nine Dragons Syndicate has many skilled artisans. I’ll place an order immediately.”
“Gold Moon has connections with artisans across the globe. We’ll have one made exactly to your specifications.”
“Y-You…!”
A vein bulged on Zhu Yixian’s forehead. He was really holding back his anger. Having secured investment promises from both guilds’ representatives, I gathered my teammates in one place.
“Before we start operating as a team, we need to synchronize our coordination.”
“Hmph. I can adapt to any situation.”
“Is that so?”
I unleashed Radiant Beast Strike right in front of Ping Lei’s face. The speed was too fast for him to even react. I stopped just before my hand touched his forehead, and only then did he stumble backward, belatedly creating distance.
“W-What the hell, you b—!”
“Before we work on teamwork, we need to educate your personality first.”
“I was going to say I wanted bread.”
“Use honorifics when speaking to the team leader.”
“……I was going to say that.”
Ping Lei’s face flushed with humiliation.
“Honestly, our team’s balance isn’t great.”
—Close-range DPS
Ping Lei / Karla
—Support Tank & Ranged DPS
Lee Jiyoung
—Supporter
Kim Youngsoo
“We lack a proper tank, and we’re heavily skewed toward close-range fighters.”
Karla raised her hand slightly.
“Um, I don’t see the team leader’s position listed there.”
“I’m an all-rounder.”
Strictly speaking, my position was closer to close-range DPS, but when I used Demonic Power, my instantaneous destructive power would be unmatched among Iron-rank players. I needed to devour more magic-related essences to unlock new skills. There hadn’t been a way to obtain more powerful magic in the Unranked ranks. Things would improve once we reached Iron.
“Youngsoo hyung’s buffs are still on the weak side. Ah, no need to apologize. I’m not saying this to discourage you.”
“I will work harder.”
Of course he would. Kim Youngsoo’s command ability would take time to shine. Still, I needed to lay this groundwork so that Ping Lei and Karla would understand the situation.
“Ah, since we’re teammates now, let’s drop the formal speech?”
“Understood, Team Leader.”
Karla replied curtly. I turned to the two of them.
“How far have you two cleared the Tower?”
“The 14th floor……sir.”
“The 16th floor.”
Ping Lei had started clearing floors immediately after passing his promotion exam, while Karla, who had reached Iron earlier, had already pushed further ahead.
“I’m at the 12th floor. And Jiyoung hasn’t attempted it yet.”
“It’s not because I don’t have the ability……okay?”
“Pick either informal or formal speech. Stick to one.”
“Is informal okay……then?”
“Not a chance.”
Ping Lei was definitely doing this on purpose. When I glared at him suspiciously, he trembled.
I’d have to educate him soon. No, spar with him again.
“Since our floors are all different, for the time being we’ll focus on teamwork training rather than clearing the Tower together.”
Including me, we had three close-range fighters, and our only supporter couldn’t fulfill his role yet. It was a lopsided formation for what was supposed to be a team.
“You two only go up to the 18th floor. We’ll clear the 19th floor together.”
The 19th floor was perfect for practicing team play. We also needed to break the record, and since it was a mission that would be difficult to handle alone, we had to bring our full strength.
“Jiyoung.”
“Yes, Master!”
“Your role in the team is the most important.”
For the team “Yeokcheon” to function properly, Jiyoung’s judgment—holding two positions at once—would be crucial. She needed to cover for Ping Lei and Karla when they were in danger, while also serving as the one who could strike enemies that were difficult for allies to approach.
“I-I’ll do my absolute best!”
Jiyoung looked at me with sparkling eyes.
“In that case, Ping Lei.”
“Huh?”
“‘Huh’ is informal.”
I frowned and beckoned with my right hand.
“To build teamwork, we first need to understand each other’s capabilities.”
“What do you mean by that……sir?”
“Let’s spar.”
“B-But Team Leader, didn’t we already cross blades once before?!”
“Karla doesn’t know your fighting style yet.”
Karla, standing beside him, quietly nodded. So she had been curious about Ping Lei’s skills after all.
“Team Leader, I won’t be defeated so easily this time.”
Ping Lei erased his flustered expression and stepped forward with fire in his eyes.
“Please, for my sake, don’t collapse from exhaustion.”
“Hmph. This time will be different!”
Five minutes later—
“I surrender! I surrenderrrrrr!!!!”
Ping Lei’s scream echoed throughout the training hall.