Week 1 PvP (1)

Lee Sudok was an outstanding PvP instructor.

Even I—a veteran among veterans, an old hand of old hands—could see that much. Since graduating from Dragon Slayer Academy, he had hunted down and put to death any number of villains, and he had organized all of that experience into a coherent system, so his lessons couldn't help but be instructive. If the man had one flaw—and it was barely a flaw—it was that every last one of his anecdotes was gruesome beyond measure.

"…The boss didn't have the eyes of a man about to submit. So I took hold of his spine and pulled it out. Next I seized the second-in-command. You're the boss now, so make every last one of them kneel. Otherwise I'll find out who the next boss is…"

The students of Class 3 shuddered. Lee Sudok's tone was as matter-of-fact as if he ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠were saying, I got up this morning, took a shower, had breakfast—but listen closely, and it brimmed with grisly business: bursting someone's skull open, pulping a jaw, lopping off a neck with a chop. Then again, for a man like him, that probably was just daily life.

After finishing the tale of how he had wiped out an entire bandit gang to the last man, Lee Sudok checked the time. Realizing the bell would ring soon, he brought the class to a close.

"That's all for today. Before we dismiss, one announcement. As of today, PvP matches may be held at the Arena."

With a casual flick of his hand, letters surfaced on the blackboard.

"From now on, the PvP environment will be decided entirely at random. The time limit has also been raised from five minutes to ten, so manage your matches with care. First-years are required to fight at least three PvP matches this week. Absence will cost you points automatically, so take heed. That is all."

Throughout the explanation, I kept feeling his gaze snag on me. What business did a man like that have taking an interest in me? Nothing came to mind, so I wrote it off as my imagination.

Once Lee Sudok left Class 3, I took a closer look at the quest that had just arrived.

I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠have to win every one of these.

It looked like a quest you'd pass through without a second glance, but the reward for three straight wins was exceptionally generous. There was a good chance it included an item that would shorten the crafting time for the Life Cube, so winning all three was a given.

I called Go Hyeon-woo over.

"Let's head to the Arena."

"Right now, you mean?"

"Better to get them done early and out of the way. First-day replays sell better, too."

With the PvP season properly underway after the Placement Exam, everyone hesitated on day one. They figured it was smarter to study replays of opponents in a similar point bracket before stepping in themselves. They would sit on the sidelines playing it safe, and the Arena wouldn't fill up until around Friday. For that very reason, replays of matches fought now were in higher demand.

At the mention of earning points, Go Hyeon-woo nodded readily.

"Then there's no reason to delay. Let's be off."

Just as we were about to head straight for the Arena, Seo Ye-in tugged weakly at my sleeve. She met my eyes and said,

"Free today?"

"…?"

The sharp-eared hero hopefuls reacted instantly to her words. The girls covered their mouths and whispered rapidly among themselves; half the boys wore lecherous grins, the other half looks of envy. Go Hyeon-woo glanced at me, gauging whether he ought to excuse himself. Say it like that, chopped off front and back, and of course people would get the wrong idea. Moments like these called for filling in the missing words.

"You're asking whether we can practice Magic Bullet together, right?"

"Yeah."

"Not sure I'll have time today. I should know for certain by evening—let's talk then."

"Okay."

My top priority right now was finishing the Cube by Friday. If the three-win-streak reward turned out as I expected, the Cube would come together that much sooner—and that would open up a window to spare for Seo Ye-in. I could decide after seeing how the PvP matches went.

Since we had made a beeline for the Arena the moment class ended, I'd expected to be first—but to my surprise, someone had beaten us there. Another class's lessons must have let out a little earlier. One boy carrying a longspear, another hefting a thick two-handed blade. Judging by the shape of their weapons and the aura coursing through their frames, both were clearly martial artists.

The spearman seemed to recognize my face.

"That one there…"

"You know him?"

"The fellow who forfeited against Lady Song."

"Ah, so that's the coward."

"Disqualified as a man. Truly a disgrace."

They mocked me to my face, but I didn't much care. Court a measure of notoriety and you hear every kind of nonsense under the sun, and coward actually ranked among the more gentlemanly accusations. So I made to walk past as if I hadn't heard—but Go Hyeon-woo, who had no immunity to this sort of thing, flared up as if it were his own business.

"What utterly wretched creatures. How dare you wag your tongues so freely with the man himself standing before you?"

The two martial artists, primed to bristle at being called wretched, froze mid-motion. They had recognized Go Hyeon-woo's face. As the top scorer of the dungeon-clearance Placement Exam, he was something of a celebrity. Sensing instinctively that he was not a man to be treated lightly, they pushed back with somewhat deflated bravado.

"Hmph, hmph. And what, pray tell, did we say that was wrong?"

"Even now you're skulking behind him without a word to his face. Think hard about which of you is the wretched one."

"…"

Before Go Hyeon-woo could open his mouth again, I stepped forward. Not out of anger—my instincts had pinged. The hunch that this man's point total was probably close to mine. I singled out the spearman.

"And your point total, friend?"

"…Three hundred."

"Same as me. Tied with a coward, are you?"

At the light jab, a cold sneer settled on the spearman's lips.

"You think matching scores puts a small fry like you on my level? Had I not drawn Song Cheon-hye in my second match, I would have started from 600—no, 900 points."

"Song Cheon-hye?"

Now that he mentioned it, the spearman did look familiar. Song Cheon-hye. Second match. PvP. Placement Exam… As I retraced my memories, something clicked.

"That's right. You're the one who got struck by lightning and hauled off, aren't you?"

"…!"

I had forfeited against Song Cheon-hye, which had left her in a thoroughly foul mood—and her next opponent had been this spearman. The instant the match began, his body had been paralyzed by a Hummingbird, and the lightning bolt that slammed into him next had settled the bout in a single stroke. Then he'd been carried off on a stretcher, unable to fight his third match, and taken a loss by forfeit.

"Mind if I say one thing?"

"…Say it."

"I'd say forfeiting beats getting knocked flat in one hit."

At that, not only Go Hyeon-woo but the two-handed-blade boy as well signaled silent agreement. The spearman's face hardened.

"…It wasn't one hit! It was two!"

"What an achievement, pal. Anyway—300 points, was it?"

"…"

Judging that further talk would only cost him, the spearman gave nothing but a small nod. I tipped my chin toward the stage.

"We're the only ones here, so the matchmaking should hook us up right away. How about a round with the coward, then?"

"Very well. I shall make you feel the wall."

The two-handed-blade boy likewise challenged Go Hyeon-woo. Perhaps because neither bore the other any real grudge, his tone was comparatively courteous.

"You're at 600?"

"I am."

"Just as well, then. If you would permit it, I should like to beg a lesson from you."

"Gladly. Let us begin."

We scanned our student IDs at the terminal set up beside the stage. Matched by point totals, I—300 points—was paired with the spearman, and Go Hyeon-woo—600—with the blade wielder. The teleportation circle flared, and my view transformed in an instant. Not yesterday's Circular Colosseum, but an open field overgrown with thickets. The wind swept through and set the weeds swaying, and the swaying weeds tickled my legs.

So his name was Yang Jihong. I took the Staff of Earth in one hand. From the magic circle opposite me, the spearman—Yang Jihong—appeared, gripping his spear in both hands and glaring me down.

"I'll finish this in a single stroke!"

The moment the match began, Yang Jihong came charging at me in a straight line, spearhead leading. His stance was sound and his movements remarkably quick—he had clearly put in no small amount of training. The problem was that he was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠underestimating me far too much.

"Sure. Let's finish it in one stroke."

—Crackle!

"…!"

Barely a breath before he reached me, Yang Jihong's speed plummeted. He glanced down at his flank to find tiny sparks crackling there. He had been struck by a Hummingbird.

"Th…this… is…!"

"Hit by that again, are you?"

He had fought the Placement Exam just yesterday, so he likely hadn't managed to prepare a proper countermeasure yet. And lightning-attribute mages were rare to begin with, so he had no doubt approached the match in complacency, reasoning that nobody but Song Cheon-hye would have learned Hummingbird. That 'nobody' happened to be me. He would never have imagined I'd copied the spell straight off Song Cheon-hye.

I walked up to the staggering Yang Jihong and hoisted the Staff of Earth high.

"W-wait, just a moment…"

"Sorry. A clean two-hit finish like Song Cheon-hye's isn't in the cards."

—Thwack! Thwack! Crack!

I brought the Staff of Earth down on Yang Jihong's head again and again. He endured a few blows before finally losing consciousness and flopping face-down onto the ground.

With Yang Jihong incapacitated, the match ended and 30 points came in. I stepped through the teleport portal and waited—and Yang Jihong materialized on the ground, still out cold. When Song Cheon-hye had beaten him, his condition had been grave ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠enough to warrant a stretcher, but this time it didn't reach that point, so no staff members appeared. I had moderated my strength appropriately, after all.

"Hah?!"

Yang Jihong came to and sprang upright. He glanced around, spotted me, checked the points on the back of his student ID, and finished piecing the situation together. Galled by the absurd defeat, he ground his teeth.

"Grrh…!"

"Looks like I won?"

"…I was merely careless. Fight me again and I will win."

"Yeah? Then let's go again."

And so the rematch was arranged. This time the battlefield was a wasteland.

The instant it started, I conjured a hummingbird of lightning and sent it flying. Yang Jihong, charging to meet me, kicked hard off the ground and dove sideways just before the Hummingbird could touch him. Confirming that it had whizzed past, he leveled his spear at me on the spot.

"It's over!"

"Yep. Over."

—Crackle!

Yang Jihong's body seized up with paralysis. Forcing his uncooperative neck around to check his back, he found sparks crackling there.

"You… damned…!"

"Thought you'd dodged it?"

The Hummingbird was no mere projectile. It flew without pause, obeying its caster's guidance, until it struck its target or was shot down. The Hummingbird that had swept past Yang Jihong banked around at once, chased him down, and buried itself in his back. His face contorted, and he demanded,

"How… in the world… did you…!"

"Watch the replay later."

—Thwack! Thwack! Crack!

I hammered his crown and his temples without mercy with the heavy wooden staff.

I rode the magic circle back outside. Go Hyeon-woo and the blade wielder appeared to still be in the thick of their fight. My match had ended quickly, all right. I was dispensing points at roughly vending-machine efficiency.

"Huk—!"

Yang Jihong came to. Sitting where he'd landed, he clutched his spear, trembling, and opened his mouth.

"…One more match. This time I will win for certain."

"Don't feel like it. Two wins is plenty."

"Ending it like this leaves my honor in tatters!"

"That's your problem. I'm tired, so I'm calling it a day."

"Grrh…!"

"If you really want to—"

I let the pause stretch. I waited until Yang Jihong was on the very verge of asking, If I really want to, what?—then held out an open palm.

"—tuition."

"…!"

I had to fight three PvP matches to complete the quest regardless—it was this week's quota, after all. But I made a deliberate show of reluctance and drove my price up. Judging by the personality I'd sized up in this short time, Yang Jihong would want the match badly enough to accept whatever terms I set. Truthfully, the outcome of a PvP match wasn't something worth clinging to this desperately. Brushing it off with a so I lost twice, I wasn't ready would have been no problem at all. But pride is a stubborn thing—it wouldn't permit things to end like this.

Yang Jihong drew a small wooden case from inside his garment and opened it. Inside lay a single spirit pill.

"A spirit pill produced by my family. You shall have this one."

"Not bad. Let's tack on one more condition."

"Which is?"

"This match stays private. No replay saved, and neither of us breathes a word of what happens."

"Agreed. From my standpoint as well, a leak would do me no good."

The match was set. Tapping my student ID against the terminal, I said,

"I'll play along until you're satisfied."