Week 7 Mentoring, PvP (15)
"Good work out there."
"Thank you."
Hong Yeon-hwa returned in triumph, every inch the victorious general home from campaign. She had proven her skill by overwhelming Bukgung Han-seol of the 900-point tier for the entire match, and it showed — her chin was lifted so high it looked ready to pierce the sky.
But the moment her eyes met mine,
"..."
her humility snapped back into place in an instant, and she began carefully reading my mood. She had dominated a 900-point tier opponent, yet standing right in front of her was someone against whom she couldn't so much as lift a finger — and she had just remembered it.
Even as she rolled her eyes this way and that, she seemed to be expecting something from me — feedback on the match, most likely. If Hong Yeon-hwa had a tail, it would surely have been giving a faint, hopeful wag.
I decided to praise what deserved praising and move on.
"Good work. You ran it exactly like we practiced."
"...!"
Being recognized clearly delighted her; her whole face brightened another notch. Had she possessed a tail, it would have been whirring like a propeller at full throttle.
That was enough for Hong Yeon-hwa. I turned to Dang Gyu-young.
"So it's just my match left now. Who might they be sending out over there?"
"Guess I'd better ask."
Kim Gap-du's final team member had been running quite late, apparently tied up with some business or other, but late or not, they should have arrived by now. Sure enough, no sooner had Dang Gyu-young sent a message than a reply came back.
"What? Jo Byeok?"
Dang Gyu-young's brow furrowed. She had assumed that anyone Kim Gap-du would squirrel away until the very last minute had to be a fairly capable member even within the 900-point tier — but never in her wildest guesses had it been someone from the Disciplinary Committee.
From the instant the name "Jo Byeok" appeared, every pair of eyes in the place converged on me. Caught off guard as she was by the Disciplinary Committee's ambush, Dang Gyu-young didn't look especially worried — she seemed to figure I'd manage fine on my own. Hong Yeon-hwa likewise appeared to believe I would win.
Song Cheon-hye's expression, on the other hand, turned grave in a hurry. As a fellow Disciplinary Committee member she knew better than anyone just how strong Jo Byeok was, while my abilities were still impossible to gauge with any precision — so the scales tipped toward Jo Byeok.
And Gwak Ji-cheol, as if betting on Jo Byeok weren't enough, was quietly hoping I would lose. Maybe he couldn't stand the thought of being the only one to drop a match, or maybe he was genuinely looking forward to watching me get pummeled — who could say.
Either way, it rubbed me the wrong way, so I decided to glower at him a little.
"What's with that look in your eyes?"
"What look? There's nothing wrong with my eyes."
"I'm seeing some distinctly impure intentions in there."
"...Impure, my foot. You're seeing things."
And with that, Gwak Ji-cheol stealthily averted his gaze. So he did feel guilty, apparently.
I kept drilling him with my eyes a while longer, then turned my head and asked Dang Gyu-young.
"So what happens if I lose this one?"
"It'd be two apiece, so you'd play one more match for match point."
And in that final match, each team's strongest card — Song Cheon-hye and Jo Byeok — would take the stage to settle it.
Dang Gyu-young asked Song Cheon-hye.
"What are your odds against Jo Byeok?"
"It would be difficult to say which of us holds the advantage."
Song Cheon-hye and Jo Byeok had crossed blades many times, in PvP matchmaking and in Disciplinary Committee sparring alike, and by all accounts the winner was decided by whichever of them was in better condition that day. Some days she won; some days she lost. If one had to be precise about it, the split came out to roughly 4.8 to 5.2, with Jo Byeok holding the barest of edges.
In other words, the match had become completely unpredictable.
This time it was Song Cheon-hye who asked me.
"Do you think you can win?"
"Depends — if the handicap's set right."
"And what will you be wagering?"
Dang Gyu-young had been waiting on that very answer herself, so I gave it to her.
"Accelerated crystal charging speed."
"Charging speed acceleration — not bad. What multiplier?"
"Three times."
A charging speed of three times meant the crystal, which normally filled 1% at a time, would fill 3% at a time. The charge would complete far faster, and the match would be drastically shortened accordingly.
Dang Gyu-young exchanged messages with Kim Gap-du once more. I stole a glance at the chat window and found it swarming with adorable frog emoticons. But with not so much as a hair's breadth of change in Dang Gyu-young's blank expression, I had a feeling that Toad Senior would find himself blocked anew the moment this match was over.
In any case, after a short round of negotiation, the two of them appeared to have reached their own settlement.
"Three times is out of the question. Two and a half it shall be."
"I only threw out a high number to open the bidding — how did we land at two and a half?"
"He had to come our way on this one. He did blindside us with Jo Byeok, after all."
The original target had been somewhere around two times, but Dang Gyu-young had walked away with slightly better terms. Part of it was her skill at the table, and part of it was surely Kim Gap-du, conscience pricked over hiding Jo Byeok until the very end, conceding half a step.
And so the crystal charging speed was set at 2.5 times.
It would have been even nicer if this had gone to Gwak Ji-cheol, though...
There was no chance in the world that Kim Gap-du would grant a handicap for a bout between two 600-point tier fighters, and even if he had, Gwak Ji-cheol would have refused on principle, pride stung. One way or another, that guy had been fated to take his lumps from Il Gong.
With those thoughts in my head, I stepped onto the teleportation circle — and Song Cheon-hye offered a word of caution.
"If it starts looking unwinnable, drag it into a war of attrition by any means necessary. Then I'll handle the final match."
"No need — I'm just going to win this one outright."
"...You sound very confident."
"Of course I am. The plan's already been drawn up, every last detail."
Its name: Operation Son Hyeong-taek.
I intended to grab the crystal and run my legs off.
"The crystal charging speed will be 2.5 times."
Kim Gap-du, Jo Byeok standing before him, explained the handicap.
"Time will be short in more ways than one. Even so, your opponent isn't even 600 points — winning shouldn't be difficult. What truly matters is what comes next."
Handicap or no, toppling Kim Ho and squaring the score was already a foregone conclusion; the match point against Song Cheon-hye that would follow could fairly be called the real contest. A fellow Disciplinary Committee member — and from Jo Byeok's own standpoint, by no means an easy opponent.
"So in the first match, it would be wise to conserve your strength wherever you can."
"Understood."
"Forgive me. My own greed has put you to work across two matches."
Kim Gap-du heaved a long sigh. Then, gazing across at the distant cliff where Dang Gyu-young's team was gathered, he went on.
"I know full well that wagering like this is absurd and pitiable. Even in victory it would be a hollow exercise. As if a single date could bring about some dramatic change. And yet..."
"..."
"It's an unrequited love I've carried since first year. Rather than give up as things stand, all I can do is hope for even the smallest of chances."
Jo Byeok had never once felt romantic feelings for another person, so he could not fathom what Kim Gap-du was going through. Even so, he understood that the man had placed great expectations on him — and setting everything else aside, this was a PvP match.
And so he answered in an even tone.
"I will give it my all."
"I'm counting on you."
As Jo Byeok rode the teleportation circle down, both names rose upon the scoreboard.
Jo Byeok — 993 pts VS Kim Ho — 569 pts
Kim Ho.
Jo Byeok did not know much about Kim Ho. A few rumors picked up here and there in passing — that was the sum of it. By nature he paid such things no mind, letting most pass in one ear and out the other, but of all those rumors, exactly one had stayed with him.
They said he was Go Hyeon-woo's friend.
In the PvP placement exam, the bout between Go Hyeon-woo and Jo Byeok had ended inconclusively when the iron sword shattered, and Jo Byeok had carved the man's name into his memory, awaiting the day they might cross blades in earnest. Afterward, word of Go Hyeon-woo — unlike word of Kim Ho — traveled frequently and, for the most part, favorably: swordsmanship outstanding enough to claim first place in the dungeon-clearance placement exam, handsome features, and a smooth, unblemished character that won other students' affection with ease.
Countless were those who wished to befriend him, yet because Go Hyeon-woo kept everyone at a consistent remove, not one of those wishes had ever come true.
And yet when someone had once asked him, offhandedly, about Kim Ho, Go Hyeon-woo had answered without a flicker of hesitation:
"Brother Kim is a friend I have acknowledged with my own heart. A bond more than I deserve."
To Jo Byeok, those words carried tremendous weight. If a man as aloof as a winter crane as Go Hyeon-woo had acknowledged him, there had to be a reason worthy of it. Which meant that if he let himself be beguiled by Kim Ho's 500-point score, or by the world's verdict of him as a "coward," and made light of him — he might well be dealt a grievous blow from out of nowhere.
Kim Gap-du had urged him to hold his strength in reserve for the match against Song Cheon-hye, but somehow, that felt wrong.
I will face him at full strength.
With Jo Byeok's resolve set, the countdown began.
3
2
1
Scouting the terrain from high ground was basic among the basics. In this week's PvP especially, where pinpointing the crystal's location was essential, it was the first order of business.
Jo Byeok scaled the cliff at speed. With an agility that ill-suited his bear-like bulk, he gained the summit in moments and swept his gaze across his surroundings. He had expected to lock eyes with Kim Ho on the far side within seconds —
Not there.
The clifftop stood bare, without so much as a silhouette. He wondered briefly whether Kim Ho was simply climbing up a little late, but that didn't seem to be it either.
Focus on the crystal first.
Jo Byeok dropped his gaze and studied the stretch of ground below the cliff with care. Then, as his eyes drifted slowly sideways, something moving fast snagged at the edge of his vision.
That's—
The something was Kim Ho himself — the man who had not cast even a shadow on the clifftop above. He was tearing headlong in a single direction, and at the end of that line sat a makeshift altar and the crystal. Movements that suggested he had scouted the crystal's location well in advance.
Just how Kim Ho had learned it was a mystery, but it no longer mattered. What mattered now was—
Too late.
—that the initiative had been snatched away.
Yet when Jo Byeok moved to chase Kim Ho toward the altar, he thought better of it before taking his second stride.
His next destination is decided regardless.
He would have to charge the crystal, which meant he would inevitably make for the Sanctuary. And so he set off running toward the rock that reared up like a lighthouse in the distance.
Sure enough, just as he drew near the Sanctuary—
- Vweee -
The Sanctuary sent a pillar of light plunging down upon a single point. That point was where the crystal lay — and where Kim Ho was. And the distance between it and himself was not great. By making straight for the Sanctuary from the outset, he had managed to narrow the gap with Kim Ho considerably.
Crystal — 2%
Crystal — 5%
As if to prove the 2.5-times multiplier true, the crystal's charge was swelling at a frightening pace. Kim Gap-du had been right — time was short in this PvP match.
- Tak! -
Jo Byeok kicked off the ground with even greater force and tore onward. He went up and down cliffs that swelled like garden mounds, threaded past grotesque rock formations, until at last he had closed in to the point that Kim Ho entered his field of view.
"..."
Kim Ho, who had kept his back turned the whole while, stole a glance back over his shoulder. There was not the slightest trace of urgency to be found in those eyes. And then, as if he could not care less about Jo Byeok, he swung his gaze forward again and ran on.
"I will not let you slip away."
Jo Byeok poured his power into both legs and accelerated further. Kim Ho's fleeing pace was swift as well, but the distance between them shrank little by little.
Having chased him down to nearly within arm's reach of Kim Ho's back, Jo Byeok clenched his fist tight. And just as he drove it forward — Kim Ho abruptly whipped around and thrust out a hand to meet it.
- WHAM—!
Palm collided with fist, and Jo Byeok was shoved skidding backward.