Week 14 PvP (4)

The assassin duo.

For whatever reason, this week's schedule held only two matches — and both had lined us up against prospect-tier opponents, back to back.

Worse, assassin-type classes were the natural enemy of ranged-type classes. A Gunslinger's mobility made the matchup relatively survivable, but a disadvantage remained a disadvantage all the same.

Then again, maybe this works out nicely.

Using the opportunity to stack some real combat experience didn't look like a bad idea at all. Seo Yein herself couldn't have cared less about combat experience — every sign pointed to her simply wanting it over and done with — but once an actual fight broke out, she would throw herself into it well enough.

Before going in, we took a moment for one last round of checks.

"Spiky Soles on nice and tight."

"Spiky Soles."

"Hot packs at the ready."

"Hot packs."

"Hoodie up, nice and toasty."

"Hoodie."

"Let's head out."

"Crush them."

And with that, we stepped onto the teleportation array.

Whhhsh—!

A blizzard that smacked us full in the face the instant we arrived. The little sprout of enthusiasm Seo Yein had managed to work up dripped away on the spot.

"...I want out."

"Right. Let's finish this fast and go."

"Now."

"Sure. Starting right now."

I fielded it smoothly, and right on cue, the countdown began.

"This match, we move together."

"Mm."

Against the Park Na-ri–Jeong Su-ji duo, I had run interference alone — chiefly because they were a defensive combo with little offensive punch, and the Spiky Soles gave us a decisive edge in mobility. Now, dividing up the roles would only put us at a disadvantage: the enemy's attack power was monstrous, and there was no guarantee Seo Yein could tank it.

So, walking side by side, I asked,

"Which way is the crystal?"

"Over there."

"Perfect."

Seo Yein raised a hand in slow motion and pointed off in one direction. Even in this brutal cold, my lucky charm's radar appeared to be in perfect working order.

Sure enough, after a short walk, something standing amid the swirling snow caught my eye: a makeshift altar, and atop it, the crystal.

We collected the crystal and turned toward the Sanctuary.

"Let's go get it charged."

"Mm."

Before long, though, we had to slow our pace — two human silhouettes stood blocking the road ahead. Naturally, they were Jang Oh and Wang Gon. Or, to use their real names, Jang Mu-geuk and Wang Chun-sam.

I gave a casual wave in greeting and tossed out the question that had occurred to me earlier.

"Keeping the aliases? Jang Oh and Wang Gon?"

I'd told them before that those names were terrible.

The two of them answered in turn, looking sour.

"...It's not as if we keep using them because we like them."

"Still, we can't very well go changing them too often."

In other words, they were stuck with those aliases for the time being. If they'd picked something plausible to begin with, they wouldn't have needed to change them at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠all — but I could see how they'd painted themselves into this corner, so I let it slide.

Then both of them turned to look at Seo Yein at the same time. Technically this was their first meeting, but they had clearly gathered that she was always at my side.

Perhaps that's why Jang Mu-geuk asked, half in jest,

"Sister-in-law, is it?"

Wang Chun-sam tugged his mouth into a smirk and corrected him.

"'Honored sister-in-law' would be the more appropriate term."

"Doesn't that make Kim Ho the big brother, then?"

"He's not exactly the little brother, either."

"If it's neither, then plain 'sister-in-law' sounds better to the ear."

Honestly, these two would fight over the most trivial things imaginable.

I stepped in to mediate.

"Kids, it's neither, so quit fighting."

The premise had been wrong from the very start. We weren't even dating — where would any sister-in-law title come from?

Seo Yein gave a small nod, then pointed at me.

"Butler."

"Butler's even further off."

This was only going to get more confusing the longer it ran, so I decided to move things along.

"Let's set our replays to private and fight at full strength."

Since Jang Oh and Wang Gon were operating under cover identities, they tended to hold back in official PvP matches and dungeon raids. That was why a pair made up of one full-fledged prospect and one 0.8-prospect sat in the same score bracket as us. But fighting them ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠like that wouldn't do much for real combat experience — hence my proposal.

Jang Mu-geuk and Wang Chun-sam exchanged a look, then each gave a nod and a line.

"You already know who we are. No point hiding anything now."

"Besides, we still have an unsettled score between us, do we not?"

Back when they'd come at me two-on-one at the Black Way faction's behest, the Disciplinary Committee had barged in partway through and left the matter hanging. They must have been quietly waiting for a rematch ever since — and now, with the numbers even at two against two, the timing couldn't have been better.

Jang Mu-geuk checked with Seo Yein as well.

"And you, sister-in-law? Are you all right with this?"

Seo Yein tilted her head, then looked at me.

"Will it end fast?"

"Probably."

Forget everything else — she just wanted out of this freezing place as soon as possible. Of course, with two assassins for opponents, win or lose, this was shaping up to be a short, decisive battle. Taking those two out of commission would be faster than charging the crystal anyway.

Click.

Watching Seo Yein chamber a round in her mana gun, Jang Mu-geuk seemed to take that as his answer.

"Good. Then we begin."

All four of us snapped into combat stances at once.

I checked the enemy's feet first.

So they bought some.

Spiky Soles, attached to their shoes. Word must have spread like wildfire through the students who'd fought the earlier matches, and most people would have come prepared for the blizzard and the ice.

And these two are assassins, on top of that.

For assassins, whose lives hang on every single mission, advance intelligence and preparation were elementary. They'd probably stocked up on items from the very first match. Tally it all up, and the conclusion wrote itself:

No item gap, then.

We'd be crossing blades on pure skill against pure skill — which suited me just fine.

I cast Bestow and Amplification.

I could have spread the amplification around more evenly, but that would have watered down the whole point of letting Seo Yein build combat experience. If all I cared about was winning, I'd never have asked those two to fight at full strength in the first place.

And I had cooldowns to manage, too.

There was no telling what this week might throw at us. If I spammed Octopus Legs in every PvP match, the cooldowns would balloon until Bestow and Amplification were locked at the exact moment I needed them most.

So I stopped at bestowing Elemental Resistance, so she could stay a little more active in the cold, and Distortion, with the intent of giving her one more chance.

"...!" Seo Yein — four hot packs deep and with S-rank Elemental Resistance layered on top — looked considerably less cold.

She glanced back and forth between Jang Mu-geuk and Wang Chun-sam, hefted her assault rifle, and took the first shot.

Rat-tat-tat-tat!

The two split to either side, weaving through the hail of Magic Bullets, footwork blurring as they closed the distance at a frightening pace. Jang Mu-geuk toward me; Wang Chun-sam toward Seo Yein.

Pop! A fist-sized dark cloud blossomed out of thin air. Winding it around my sapling, I cast Wind Force and Chillwind at Jang Mu-geuk simultaneously.

Whiiish— Even slowed, Jang Mu-geuk came on at express speed. At the instant we clashed, he swiped the blade he'd been trailing low — screech! — but I crossed my saplings just in time and let the cut slide harmlessly away.

The moment Jang Mu-geuk brushed past me, he changed direction, switching his target to Seo Yein and charging her down.

So that was the plan from the start. Snag my attention for a heartbeat, shake loose, and put Seo Yein down first. The ploy landed well enough — the two assassins seized the two approaches to her and pressed in from both sides.

Not that I intended to just stand and watch.

"Jump."

"Jump."

At my word, Seo Yein cast Featherwalk and hopped straight up — whump! — and as I cast Wind Force, she came sailing over in a clean arc, touching down beside me and settling into her stance to resume firing without a pause.

Rat-tat-tat!

"Damn it..."

Their quarry, whom they'd thought all but caught, had suddenly gone flying through the air. Jang Mu-geuk and Wang Chun-sam faltered for an instant before flinging themselves aside to evade the incoming Magic Bullets — but they couldn't dodge everything, and a couple of rounds grazed Wang Chun-sam, drawing blood.

The assassins came charging in again, same pattern as before. I set the dark cloud drifting near Seo Yein, drove the sapling into the ground, and stretched my hand out front.

Whhhsh—!

"Annoying."

Wang Chun-sam's brow furrowed. Being shoved this way and that was problem enough, but the chill kept stacking, and every new layer slowed them further.

On top of that, Chillwind's frost amplification doubled the blizzard's bite, and health bars that had barely budged began ticking down bit by bit. Even so, their target seemed fixed on Seo Yein; once more they thrust their blades in from two directions.

While I batted aside Wang Chun-sam's attack, Seo Yein rode Featherwalk to evade Jang Mu-geuk's blade — but as if he'd anticipated it, the tip of the sword wavered and gave chase, only to collide with the dark cloud I'd hurled out and veer off course. In that sliver of an opening, Seo Yein leveled her muzzle.

Rat-tat-tat! Even at close range, Jang Mu-geuk wove through the Magic Bullets with shifting footwork. Befitting a prospect, his command of footwork was top-drawer. Then, widening the gap, the two assassins each flung a dagger.

Shwiiik!

Decoys for the eyes. The real attack would come after — I swatted the daggers aside roughly, holding my gaze locked on them. And just as expected, a layer of sword qi so thin it was nearly imperceptible sheathed Jang Mu-geuk's blade. A few steps forward, and his figure faded — for all the world like a ghost.

Ghost Without Shadow.

I flicked my eyes sideways: Jang Mu-geuk, too, appeared to have cast Ghost Without Shadow at the same moment, closing in with stealthy, seamless movement at tremendous speed. In the blink of an eye he was in front of Seo Yein, blade rising —

Flash! Seo Yein cast Bullet Time. Her gray eyes took in the trajectories of both blades. Then her presence thinned to nothing, and with a sliding, whisper-soft motion she slipped clean out of the assassins' offensive. She had read it with Bullet Time and escaped with Ghost Without Shadow.

"...!"

"...!"

When their sure-kill strikes sliced nothing but empty air, both assassins were visibly thrown. They whipped their eyes around in a panic, but Seo Yein had already dug in a short distance away, muzzle trained on them. Her mana gun spat blue fire again and again.

Rat-tat-tat-tat! Magic Bullets hammered into Wang Chun-sam from shoulder to flank, bursting one after another.

"Guh...!"

Shaken as they plainly were, the two stood bug-eyed for a good long while, unable to get a word out. At last, Jang Mu-geuk asked,

"...What exactly is going on?"

"Didn't I tell you?"

"She learned it too."

[253] The Support Ate It All