Week 14 PvP Assessment (5)
The look in Jang Mu-geuk's eyes deepened. So that was how it was.
If Seo Ye-in had mastered Ghost Without Shadow as well, then what had just happened made a fair amount of sense. The fact itself gave him no complaint. Reaching the Phantom Demon's inner sanctum in the first place, and carrying the statues out of it, had only been possible because Kim Ho was there—and how any of it got used was entirely at Kim Ho's discretion.
He and Wang Chunsam had paid a price for their opportunity, and presumably Seo Ye-in had done the same. But one question gnawed at him, and so Jang Mu-geuk fixed his gaze on Kim Ho and spoke.
"I'd like to ask one thing."
"What is it?"
"Your missus..."
Jang Mu-geuk flicked a glance at Seo Ye-in before finishing the question.
"...how many times did she get caught?"
"You mean, how many tries did it take her?"
"That is what I mean."
"..."
Perhaps because the question felt far too trivial for such a solemn demeanor, Kim Ho's face went odd for a moment. Still, he seemed to decide there was no harm in it, and answered tersely.
"One."
"...!"
Shock flooded Jang Mu-geuk's face. He stole a glance at Wang Chunsam, who wore much the same expression.
Even he, who had taken no small pride in his footwork, had been hard pressed by the Phantom Demon's Trial and only barely passed on his second attempt. Go Hyeon-woo and Dang Gyu-young had fared no differently. And yet she had managed it without a single trial and error?
"How did you do it?"
"...?"
Jang Mu-geuk asked, but Seo Ye-in only tilted her head. It was the reaction of someone being asked, How do you breathe? or How do you drink water? Which was to say, succeeding on the first try was simply a matter of course for her.
No wonder those two were paired together.
He had suspected there must be some reason Kim Ho set Go Hyeon-woo aside to run the PvP assessment with Seo Ye-in. From everything he'd observed so far, Kim Ho was thorough and calculating to the bone. Even if Seo Ye-in really were his "missus," he would never pick a partner out of personal sentiment.
And just now, he'd glimpsed part of that reason: a measure of the genius-level talent Seo Ye-in possessed.
In that case, even if it was a little early—
I should throw my trump card right here.
In truth, the moment Seo Ye-in had countered their trump card—Ghost Without Shadow—with the very same skill, their options had narrowed considerably. Ghost Without Shadow carried a powerful concealment effect; normally, an opponent shouldn't even understand how they were being attacked. Yet Seo Ye-in had seen through the stealth, seized the fleeting instant with precision, and evaded.
What that meant was—
She has another skill.
Some utility-type skill or trait was almost certainly at work. And in all likelihood, its cooldown ran roughly on par with Ghost Without Shadow's. If it were any shorter, there'd be no explaining why she'd held it in reserve until now.
Put it all together, and it meant that the moment the five-minute cooldown came back around, Seo Ye-in would once again have Ghost Without Shadow and a surefire counter to it both. They themselves had no such luxury, which meant they had to make their desperate play before the odds tilted any further against them.
"..."
Wang Chunsam seemed to have sensed the same truth; when Jang Mu-geuk shot him a look, he answered with a slight dip of his chin. Long years of working in tandem meant a mere exchange of glances carried full meaning.
"Can you manage it?"
"Once, at least."
Wang Chunsam had taken a counter head-on and suffered massive damage. Even now he was barely clinging to consciousness. Still, one last time, lending support to Jang Mu-geuk's gambit should be within his power.
Whoooosh—
Meanwhile, as the blizzard kept howling, Seo Ye-in hunched her shoulders. Then she complained to Kim Ho:
"Cold."
"Right, let's finish this."
At that, as if she'd just been given permission, Seo Ye-in immediately leveled her assault rifle.
Ratatatat!
Jang Mu-geuk and Wang Chunsam split to either side, exchanging glances once more.
"We're going in."
"Whenever you're ready."
Their auras surged violently for an instant, then vanished as if snuffed out. Of course, they hadn't truly disappeared—the presence had been compressed to the extreme and wrapped in stealth, which only made it look that way. In that state, they slid forward on gliding footwork, bearing down on Kim Ho and Seo Ye-in.
Kim Ho immediately moved to intercept Wang Chunsam. Seeing it, Jang Mu-geuk's eyes gleamed.
Just as expected.
What Kim Ho was aiming for in this PvP assessment was real combat experience for Seo Ye-in. Accordingly, in most of their clashes he had mainly kept Wang Chunsam in check, steering things so that Jang Mu-geuk and Seo Ye-in faced each other. It was the same now. All he'd sent this way was a dark cloud.
The cloud was plenty annoying in its own right, but sweep it aside, and an opening was bound to come.
Ratatatatat!
Even as Seo Ye-in fired from ever-closer range, Jang Mu-geuk kept advancing with his footwork. A magic bullet or two grazed him along the way, dealing damage, but—
This much I can accept.
Give flesh to take bone—that was his mindset. And the moment Seo Ye-in stepped within Jang Mu-geuk's range, his first technique unfolded.
A vicious thrust, driving straight for the heart.
Shwaaaaak!
The blade drove in with ferocious force, aiming for her heart. Seo Ye-in activated Featherwalk and retreated diagonally, evading. Even so, Jang Mu-geuk's blade coiled like a serpent, relentlessly pursuing her heart.
The dark cloud Kim Ho had sent drifting between the two of them cut in, warping the blade's trajectory. But that, too, was within Jang Mu-geuk's calculations.
Now. Sensing his chance had come, he unleashed his next technique.
A single streak of light, piercing the chest to claim a life.
A blinding flash!
The longsword in his hand pierced Seo Ye-in's chest like one sharp streak of light. Soul-Chasing Heart-Piercing to strip away the opponent's evasion and defense, then Lightning-Flash Life-Stealer to finish. This combination had felled countless enemies, and today would be no different—
'Distortion' is activating.
—if only the longsword hadn't bent like a stick of taffy.
Jang Mu-geuk's and Wang Chunsam's eyes went wide enough to pop out of their sockets.
"Wh-what the—?!"
"..."
While they reeled in shock, Seo Ye-in kept her expression blank and carried on the fight. Magic bullets poured wildly from her assault rifle.
Ratatatatat!
"Ghk!"
Even in his flustered state, Jang Mu-geuk twisted his body in an instant, limiting the damage to a hit or two. Wang Chunsam, however, could not, and the magic bullets riddled his entire body, triggering chain explosions.
BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!
"...!"
Unable to even scream, he crumpled into the snow and was promptly ejected from the arena.
Wang Gon: —%
Jang Oh: 81%
Jang Mu-geuk, dumbfounded, kept looking back and forth between Seo Ye-in and his own sword. The world was full of skills and traits, but how could a sword bend like taffy?
A monster, plain and simple. She'd seen Ghost Without Shadow coming and dodged it, then brushed aside his finest stroke with some unidentified skill. At this point, the outcome was decided.
"...That's it for today."
He still had a spark of strength left, but he couldn't show all of it. And even if he did, there was no guarantee he could break through that unidentified skill. Above all, Kim Ho was still standing there unscathed—it was two against one, wasn't it?
"We lost."
"Good work out there."
The moment Kim Ho's greeting landed, Jang Mu-geuk turned his back and walked toward the exit. Somehow, his mouth tasted bitter.
I'd better keep training, too.
Someday, the day would come when he faced those two again. If he wanted a different result then, he would have to devote himself to ceaseless training.
I watched Jang Mu-geuk's retreating back and thought: He's pretty cool, that guy.
Even at two against one, he could have fought on a little longer, but the instant he judged his chances were low, he declared his concession without hesitation. Which meant he wasn't hung up on the points, I supposed. Even in a match that had ended mid-flow like this, Seo Ye-in must have learned a great deal, so our true objective was accomplished.
"Let's head out for now."
"Okay."
The blizzard was still raging without mercy, and the conversation could wait until we were outside. So we stepped into the teleport portal one after the other.
The moment we left the arena, a hubbub of noise and warmth washed over us from all sides. Thawing out, I turned to look at Seo Ye-in—she wasn't in hoodie-burrito mode like after the first match. Probably thanks to my having raised her Elemental Resistance all the way to S.
I held out my hand.
"One hand warmer, please."
"Here."
Fidgeting with the hand warmer she'd passed over, I asked, "They fight pretty well, don't they?"
"Strong."
Seo Ye-in surely knew it already, too. That if I hadn't bestowed Distortion on her, it would have been her felled by Jang Mu-geuk's technique. And in a one-on-one setup, there wouldn't even have been a dark cloud, so the match might have been decided even faster.
Perhaps because of that, Seo Ye-in seemed quietly stung. Most of the cold and drowsiness drained away, and a competitive fire blazed in her eyes. Then she stepped close and stared up at me.
"Kim Ho special lecture."
"Sure. It has been a while since I gave one, hasn't it?"
"Yeah."
"Let's head over right now."
The sloth was the living incarnation of laziness; she mostly trained only when I told her to. But right now she was showing rare motivation, so it was best to strike while the iron was hot.
As we walked together toward the Training Center, I pulled up my quest window.
Week 14 PvP Assessment(Complete)
📍 Objective: Complete 2 PvP assessments (2/2 wins)
🎁 Reward: Random Rank-Up ×2
I currently had seven stamps. And with the one I'd received from Jeong Su-ji, that made three Random Rank-Ups in total—burn through all of them, and the Stamp Coupon would be complete. There was no reason to put it off.
Might as well take care of it right now.
Random Rank-Up wasn't affected by external factors, so the results would be about the same wherever I used it. So, walking along, I began burning the Random Rank-Ups one by one.
Fsssshhhh...
Stamp Coupon (C)
▷ Stamps: 8/10
"Figured as much."
"..."
I hadn't expected anything in the first place, so I moved on to the next Random Rank-Up without missing a beat, while Seo Ye-in watched with interest.
Flash! The magic scroll glowed brightly. But of course, the light died out almost at once, scattering like dust.
Fsssshhhh...
Stamp Coupon (C)
▷ Stamps: 9/10
"Just one more to burn."
I used the last Random Rank-Up and held up the Stamp Coupon to explain:
Flash!
"If you fail ten times, they swap it for something else. You use that to raise a C-rank skill—"
FWOOOOSH—!
At that instant, the Random Rank-Up flared with an even more brilliant radiance, and the burst of light was absorbed into my body.
"—was what I was going to say. But look, this one took."
Never in a million years had I expected it to succeed. The odds of jumping from C to B were astronomically low. What's more, Sovereign was a trait that essentially couldn't be grown through normal means—one that would need a Rank-Up eventually no matter what. A double jackpot, in other words.
"..."
Seo Ye-in stared hard at me, then threw my own usual words back at me.
"You cheated."
"I did, didn't I. Total cheat."
What a steal.