The Duel Challenge (2)
I had thrown down the gauntlet! (2)
“Then… I’ll… I’ll challenge Domin to a duel too…”
“You’re challenging me?”
After timid girl’s unexpected declaration, we headed toward the dueling arena to watch. As we moved, my curiosity and questions surged, and I couldn’t help but ask.
“Seoyoon unnie! Why did you challenge someone to a duel?”
“Yeah, seriously. Seoyoon, you hate stepping forward in situations like this, don’t you?”
“W-well… that’s…”
Had there been some kind of conflict while I was gone? Or was this revenge against the people involved in the courage arrow incident?
“The summoner class… they… they completely looked down on it… So… after that incident… when I finally opened up about it, I felt less scared…”
When timid girl said the words “looked down on,” she even clenched her fists tightly. It seemed she was far more angry about someone criticizing her fighting style than about the incident itself. Well, if someone weaker than me started lecturing me with “That’s not how you do it,” I’d probably get incredibly pissed off too.
So I patted timid girl on the shoulder and offered my support.
“Beat them to a pulp, unnie!”
“H-hiiiiek!”
Though timid girl had become a little less timid, it looked like she still needed more time or arrows.
******
The dueling arena, built similarly to a soccer field, had a flat, packed dirt floor in the center. On that barren ground where not a single blade of grass grew, a line of lime powder divided the space in half so two groups could duel simultaneously. In the exact center of that split area, a combat studies teaching assistant was explaining the rules to the duel participants.
While the assistant explained the rules, a crowd gathered. The rumor must have spread far, because not only freshmen but students from other years, different departments, and even non-ability users had shown up. Still, since the building also served as an event venue, a few hundred spectators felt rather shabby.
Even so, with a decent number of people gathered, quick-witted students volunteered as bookies and began taking bets. The spectators were only throwing around pocket change, but placing money on the matches added a thrill to the viewing experience.
“Looks like they’re taking bets over there?”
“Really? But this is technically an educational institution. Is it okay to gamble like that?”
“Assessing an opponent’s skill is a form of ability in itself, so I think it’s been permitted.”
“That’s true, but… betting money on it feels a bit different…”
Listening to the bookie shout, it seemed Peony and Pushy were the heavy favorites. Probably because of their performance at the entrance ceremony. Timid girl had stayed hidden in the corner and only sent out her summons, so she was being underestimated.
“Just watching is boring. Want to make a bet too?”
“A bet? You mean we’re putting money on it?”
“If we bet according to Siwoo sunbae’s standards, I wouldn’t find it fun at all. So, um…”
As I thought about what would hold appropriate value for the two of them, a good idea came to mind.
“How about a humiliating photo instead?”
“You seem pretty confident. Then I’ll bet on Peony and Seoyoon winning.”
“Wow. Our bets match.”
Since it was a fight where the power balance had completely collapsed, of course the bets would be the same. So I changed the condition and offered again.
“Then how about betting on who finishes their match first?”
“Wouldn’t Seoyoon’s side end first? Peony isn’t the type to care about putting on a show, so it won’t drag on, right?”
“Then I’ll bet on Peony unnie.”
“You’re not betting on Peony because of your previous-life knowledge or whatever, are you?”
“No no, I swear there’s definitely none of that.”
“You really mean that, junior?”
“Of course, sunbae.”
Separate from my personal bet with the protagonist, the betting on the matches was also completed. The stakes were only about ten thousand won—a small amount—but since both matches were being predicted, the odds came out to three times.
After chatting for a bit, the researchers in white coats who had been preparing something at the altar at the end of the arena announced that everything was ready. The teaching assistant then informed everyone that the duels would begin shortly.
“Looks like it’s starting.”
“Already? The healer and defense studies professors aren’t even here yet. Isn’t it dangerous to start the duels now?”
“I didn’t look into it too deeply, but apparently black magic… I mean, sacrifice studies is more efficient.”
On the neatly arranged altar, beakers and test tubes were lined up, and the suspicious contents had been meticulously weighed. Dark energy billowed across the altar and spread widely over the arena floor… It should be fine, right?
As the dark curtain spread across the dueling arena, today’s main characters made their entrance. Now officially academy students, they were carrying their personal armaments.
Peony had brought the bow she obtained from the World Tree. Branches and leaves still clung to it, making it look less like a crafted bow and more like she had simply snapped off a tree branch. Besides that, Pushy had a jet-black sword at his waist, while the other two had no equipment aside from light defensive gear.
Once the darkness had spread to the far end of the arena, the teaching assistant announced the start of the duels.
“We will now begin the duel between student Seoyoon and student Domin, as well as the duel between student Peony and student Hanarim!”
The moment it began, Extra A closed his eyes and concentrated while muttering something, then summoned a massive snake into the air. The snake that answered the call opened its jaws wide in a threat. Its mouth was large enough to swallow a small child whole, even if an adult would be too big.
“If Peony had taken the initiative the moment he summoned, it would’ve ended right there.”
“That’s true.”
On the other hand, Pushy didn’t give the summoner any time to summon and quickly thrust his sword forward. Timid girl, as if she had anticipated it, pulled her body back. Before the thrusting black sword could reach her, a right-angled wall of earth shot up from the ground, blocking the sword’s path.
Before Pushy could even retrieve his sword embedded in the earth wall, he leaped backward, and another wall burst from the ground right where his feet had been. The floor crumbled as a shape rose from below, revealing an earth golem with a perfectly angular, straight-lined body.
The earth golem’s height alone was easily more than twice that of Pushy. The summon pulled the sword stuck in its palm free with its rectangular fingers and tossed it back to him. Pushy caught the sword in midair and acted nonchalant, but he seemed quite shocked.
While the probing battle continued, the student who had been working as a bookie earlier had switched jobs and was now selling popcorn and cola. The prices were more than double what you’d pay at a convenience store, so it felt like a rip-off, but since the duels had already started, quite a few people bought some because they couldn’t leave their seats.
But I simply took out the popcorn I had prepared in advance from my bag.
“Ah… I should’ve prepared popcorn in advance too…”
“Hehe… Preparation is key.”
Pop! Pop! Pop!
Arrows struck the snake’s head in rapid succession and exploded. Extra A panicked and tried to regenerate his summon’s head while spraying poison, but the arrows Peony had planted beforehand detonated, creating a gale that prevented the poison from even reaching near her.
Even when the giant snake charged directly at her, Peony dodged nimbly, weaving back and forth while firing arrows into the creature. In the middle of dodging, she looked over at us, smiled brightly, and waved.
“That’s my wife.”
“No it’s not. She’s my wife.”
Watching the continuous explosions, I grabbed a handful of popcorn and ate it. The protagonist, who had been watching me enjoy the popcorn, glanced over and snatched a handful for himself.
“Ughhh!”
“Ah, that one was made with frozen corn…”
“Why is everything you make taste like that?!”
“Hehehe… Want some cola too?”
Satisfied that the protagonist had fallen nicely into my trap, I recorded the stat changes.
On one side of the arena, timid girl was using her golem to thoroughly pound Pushy into the dirt. The earth golem had split into multiple bodies and was overwhelming him with numbers, accumulating damage. Every time he somehow broke free from the group beating and tried to close in, she would resummon the golems to create a barrier and block him.
On the other side, Peony was dragging out what should have been a quick match by only shooting the summons instead of the summoner. She was probably planning to keep eliminating them until Extra A ran out of mana. The outcome was already decided, but it was hard to tell who would fall first.
Still, according to my calculations…
“Peony unnie! You can do it!”
“Peony! Give it your all, but take your time!”
Whether she heard the cheers or not, Peony fired magical arrows at an astonishing speed. The snake vanished without a trace amid explosions of various colors. The overwhelming performance drew every spectator’s gaze to the elf girl.
When Extra A saw his snake disappear, he looked horrified and tried to summon again, but no matter how much he gestured in the air, nothing appeared.
Whoosh!
A single arrow flew and struck Extra A right in the forehead, ending the match.
Piiiik!
The whistle signaling the end of the match rang out across the now-silent stands, which had been overwhelmed by the fight.
“Match over!”
“Waaaaaaaaah!!”
The moment the teaching assistant announced the match had ended, the spectators erupted in hot cheers and applause.
“Hehe… Looks like Peony unnie won first, right?”
“No way…”
It was only natural. Peony had leveled up far more than in the game or novel, so she had depleted Extra A’s mana much faster than the protagonist had expected.
Now then… how should I take the photo…
“Winner, Seoyoon!”
“Huh?”
“Next winner, Peony!”
Because my attention had been stolen by Peony, I hadn’t seen the other match. There, a massive crater shaped like a rectangular palm print had formed, and in the center lay a completely flattened Pushy.
Dark energy billowed up from beneath the dirt, and the flattened Pushy vanished like a mirage. He reappeared at the exact spot where he had first entered the arena, gasping for breath. A beat later, Extra A appeared beside him as well.
In other words…
“I lost?!”