Week 14 PvP (2)

The moment we arrived at the Arena, we scanned our student IDs at the terminals.

And while we waited for the matchmaking to lock in—

"Open the shop."

"..."

Seo Ye-in tilted her head at the odd request but opened the student shop all the same, her gaze sweeping down the endlessly printing item list.

Why the student shop, all of a sudden? For this week's PvP assessment, obviously. The Glacier Zone was a hostile environment in the truest sense—scout the intel and equip yourself beforehand, and settling in becomes far easier. It was the same principle as packing a gas mask, an antidote, or a Hundred Poisons Immunity charm before walking into a place seething with poison fumes. Though from the look of it, most students hadn't caught on yet.

Before long, I tapped one item on the list.

"They say it's the Glacier Zone. The ground's going to be slick as glass in there, wouldn't you say?"

"Mm."

"Then we'd best stock up, yes?"

"Charge it."

The instant the points drained from my account, a pair of sole attachments dropped into my palm—bristling with sharp spikes that turned any pair of shoes into makeshift crampons once strapped on.

I made another suggestion in that same studied-casual voice. "It'll be freezing once we're in. Shall we buy hot packs as well?"

"...Purchase."

I bought one. Seo Ye-in, for the record, bought three. One thousand points spent between the two ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of us—perhaps excessive for a single week's PvP. But if our opponents came in without any of this, that much more of an edge for us in the fight. And if the footage ended up selling, we'd earn back far more than we spent.

Soon enough the match was set, and the scoreboard printed out our names alongside our opponents'.

A rising star, huh.

Park Na-ri, the druid prodigy, and her miniature tiger, Beomi—plus Jeong Su-ji on the side, annoyingly doling out chip damage. Early in the semester, Go Hyeon-woo had gone through hell against that exact combo; even raining down joint attacks alongside Bukgung Han-seol, he'd failed to crack Park Na-ri's sustain and ultimately lost on time-out.

I'd assumed we were still a long climb away from facing Park Na-ri in PvP, but apparently Jeong Su-ji had been on a losing streak of late and bled a good chunk of points. Their team average had tumbled into the 800s as a result, and so they ended up matched against us.

Tricky opponents, no question about it. But you never know until you actually try.

This was a two-on-two match. And a Crystal match on top of that.

"Shall we, then?"

"Mm."

We walked out onto the field and stepped onto the teleportation circle. In a blink the view snapped open onto a stark-white Glacier Zone. Low hills of snow rose here and there, but on the whole the terrain was flat. There was just one problem—

— Whiiiish—!

The blizzard came howling straight into our faces. Even with the cold-proofing magic woven into our uniforms and my Elemental Resistance stacked on top, the chill still made itself known.

Colder than Winterhalt.

Well, that place had been a defensive battle at heart; this one was an out-and-out exercise in conquering a hostile environment. They'd deliberately brewed up a raging blizzard—if it weren't cold, that would be the stranger outcome.

Wondering how Seo Ye-in was faring, I stole a glance her way. Hood yanked down deep, shoulders hunched into a ball. She kept glancing around as well, so I asked.

"Looking for something?"

"...Way out."

So the exit. The mere fact that she'd once dug out the Kim Ho Pot over a light Chillwind told you everything about how much Seo Ye-in despised the cold. And here—snow and ice in every direction, with a blizzard howling on top of it—was no place a sloth could live.

Unfortunately, the match had already been locked in, and we were well inside the arena.

"The exits don't open until the match ends."

"...Forfeit?"

"...You'd be mad?"

Cold or not, forfeiting was not happening. There was the PvP itself, the side quests, the gear we'd just bought—far too much riding on this. I couldn't say for certain how much of that Seo Ye-in actually absorbed, but at the news that I'd be angry, she seemed to give up on the idea.

Putting on my most solemn voice, I asked, "Do you want out of here quickly?"

"Want out."

"Then there's only one thing for it. We finish this fast."

I raised a hand and pointed toward the far end of the field. One mound, taller than all the rest, with a massive boulder radiating blue light from its summit—the Sanctuary of this Crystal match.

"Sprint for the crystal first. I'll handle the containment."

"Roger."

The plan was a simple division of labor: Seo Ye-in charges the crystal, I pin down the opposition. But hunched up as she was, the cold had already slowed her, by the look of it. Which called for a little extra help.

B-rank—but even that would take the bite out of the cold considerably. On top of it, I handed over the hot pack I'd bought with myself in mind. It vanished into her hoodie in the space of a breath.

"Warmer now?"

"...Some."

"Then let's be off."

"Crush them."

Our opponents, too, seemed to have finished their preparations, because the countdown began.

The instant the match began, Seo Ye-in went transparent and vanished—she'd flipped the optical camouflage ghillie suit over herself.

Not that it buys her much in here. The blizzard made her silhouette flicker in and out of sight, and every step stamped itself plainly into the snow. Still, she was the crystal-charger; staying hidden even a second longer did no harm.

Her footprints ran at a slight angle from the Sanctuary's bearing. Crystal first, then. Crystal placement was random, and the blizzard cut visibility in half—normally that meant a long, freezing treasure hunt. Yet Seo Ye-in pressed forward without a hitch, as though certain the crystal lay exactly where she was headed. I had no real doubts of my own, either. I believe in you, lucky mascot instincts.

Because when it came to this sort of thing, our lucky mascot had uncannily sharp instincts—and when her instincts failed her, her luck didn't.

Meanwhile, a glance at the scoreboard suggested the other side was having a miserable time of it.

Health bleeding away on its own. And Jeong Su-ji's dropping faster than anyone's. She really is the weakest link. That's why I keep telling her to work out. I'd said as much back on the Cloud Stairs, too—that her physical conditioning was hopeless—no telling whether she'd heard me or let it run in one ear and out the other.

Park Na-ri at least had recovery magic, it seemed: no sooner had the numbers dipped than they climbed again, an endless loop of drain and refill. We, on the other hand, took no damage whatsoever—Elemental Resistance saw to that.

While I was idly admiring the scoreboard, invisible Seo Ye-in's path bent once more—dead straight toward the Sanctuary. Lucky mascot instincts, as advertised. She'd pinpointed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the crystal's location on the first guess and collected it, by the look of things.

Scanning our surroundings in the meantime, I made out faint silhouettes through the snowstorm—two figures and one enormous beast. Park Na-ri's team, no doubt about it. Containment was my assignment, so I set off toward them. Knee-deep snow swallowed my feet with every stride, and where it didn't, there was bare ice. Not that slipping was a concern—not with Spiky Soles strapped to my boots.

They, on the other hand, seemed to be having concerns. Their pace lagged far behind mine or Seo Ye-in's, and they even stopped dead now and then, plainly steadying their balance against a slide. Closing the distance couldn't have been easier.

Once I drew near enough, they noticed my approach and shifted into a wary stance. I offered a leisurely greeting.

"Good day to you all."

"Ah, h-hello..."

Park Na-ri waved with world-class timidity. Where Hong Yeon-hwa's timidity was the sort reserved for me alone, Park Na-ri's shyness was of an entirely different dimension. Jeong Su-ji gave a curt lift of the chin, and Beomi the tiger, swollen to the size of a house, let out a low rumble.

Exchanging pleasantries, I checked their feet. Not there. Just as I'd suspected on the way over—no Spiky Soles on their shoes. With that kind of mobility gap, our odds of winning had jumped by leaps and bounds.

— Whsh— I let ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠another light breeze loose nearby to check, and it confirmed the rest: the entire area was one wide ice sheet under a thin dusting of snow. Slippery beyond words—ideal terrain for the job.

Having confirmed all of that, I looked the three of them over and stated it plainly.

"As you can see, I'm here to stall. I drew containment duty, you see."

"Where's Seo Ye-in?"

Jeong Su-ji asked, but there was no need to answer that one. The Sanctuary had just then brightened a deeper blue and sent down a pillar of light. From this distance I couldn't make it out clearly, but who stood inside that pillar was obvious.

Jeong Su-ji's face went taut with urgency, and she turned to Park Na-ri. "Nari, I'll take him—"

Then she seemed to recall that fighting me one-on-one held no chance at all, shut her mouth for a beat, and tried again. "Nari, I'll go cut her off. You hold him."

"O-okay. Got it..."

Park Na-ri nodded, then squared up to face me. Beomi loosed a low growl in my direction as well. They'd divided the roles on their side too—Park Na-ri holds me, Jeong Su-ji stops Seo Ye-in. Sounded reasonable enough on the surface. It also had one fatal flaw.

"You think I'm just going to wave you through?"

I had come, after all, to tie down the both of them. Just as Jeong Su-ji moved to leave, I cast Wind Force on her.

— WHOOOSH—!

"Wh-wh-what?"

The headwind shoved her backward, and she flailed for balance on the ice, went down hard on her rear—and even then went on sliding for a good long while besides. I, meanwhile, stood on the ice sheet as naturally as if it were solid ground. Only then did Park Na-ri's and Jeong Su-ji's eyes travel down to my feet.

"Is that...?"

"Oh, this? Cost me a few points."

A full three hundred points of hard-earned currency had gone into these, no less—and when you've spent a fortune, showing it off is only common courtesy. Up on my toes, I presented one sole, sprouting spikes from heel to toe.

"Incredibly comfortable. Buy one each."

"..."

Both faces turned very serious indeed. They'd grasped just how badly they were outrun on mobility. And that their role split was, in practice, off the table. Combat, however, they still seemed to believe favored them. Two against one—combine attacks, sweep me away quickly, then go harass Seo Ye-in. That had to be the plan.

Park Na-ri drew one huge breath and called her tiger.

"B-Beomi."

Rrrrr.

Glaring at me with a low growl, Beomi crouched her massive frame down low. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Then she sprang like a released trap and came hurtling straight at me.

KRAOOO—!