Week 16 PvP (3)
That takes care of scouting Cha Hyun-joo.
I had pinpointed their location, confirmed their party composition, and verified that their health was still sitting near a hundred percent. Even if we didn't end up clashing directly, having even a shred more intel on the enemy never hurt. That held twice as true under blind match rules where almost all information was blacked out. Depending on how the situation developed, we could flexibly widen the distance or press an attack.
Now to check on Team Three.
Whether we should take them down in a brawl or exploit the environment to drag things into a war of attrition could wait until after we laid eyes on them. That was why, after bumping into Cha Hyun-joo, I had simply thrown up a single ice wall and turned right back around. Clashing with her now and burning through our stamina would only end up handing an easy victory to Team Three, whom we hadn't even met yet.
Besides, I had another angle in mind.
Thud! Bang!
Cha Hyun-joo was raising an ungodly racket trying to smash through that ice wall. Even though we had put decent distance between us, the sound of her hammering against the barrier echoed down the passageways. If Team Three happened to be anywhere nearby, their attention would inevitably be drawn straight toward the noise. And if the two collided and bled each other dry, all the better.
Meanwhile, we had to stay in constant motion.
Wandering a labyrinth is headache enough, and it’s crawling with traps—wouldn’t it be better to just camp in one spot and ride it out, come what may?
It was an obvious thought anyone might have. Naturally, the academy had anticipated that exact turtle strategy and prepared plenty of countermeasures.
Blatantly so, in fact.
Right on cue, a pulse of mana swept across the area from somewhere in the distance. In its wake, the metallic grinding and clicking of mechanical gears echoed from the walls, ceiling, and floor.
Seo Ye-in blinked, glancing around with mild curiosity before pointing toward the floor a short distance away.
“Traps. Increased.”
“There'll be even more in a bit.”
The longer time dragged on, the more traps would spawn. If you lingered in one spot for too long, they would sprout up concentrated heavily around that very location. You could be standing completely still, only for a trap to materialize right beneath your feet and immediately trigger. Therefore, sticking to the original plan of continuous movement was the best course of action.
However, a fresh problem had just presented itself.
“Bit crowded, isn't it?”
“Yeah.”
Looking down the corridor ahead, there was barely any room to place a foot. Magic circles glowed in rapid succession, and mechanical contraptions dotted the floor in numbers beyond counting. The path behind us wasn't any better; no matter which way we went, triggering something seemed inevitable. And this situation would only worsen as time wore on.
“Nothing for it. We'll just have to step through.”
If we couldn't avoid them entirely, we had to pick the safest ones to trigger. A pitfall or puddle trap would do far less damage than an explosive fire rune. Pointing toward a tiny gap nestled between glowing magic circles, I singled out a target. There was a pressure plate there that would obviously trip a mechanism, but...
“That one looks like our best bet. I'll toss you, so hit the plate and jump.”
“Mm.”
Seo Ye-in gave a nod and stepped back slightly. Activating Feather Step, she broke into a quick, light-footed stride. I caught her wrist, whipped her forward with a fluid motion, and cast Wind Force simultaneously.
It was our cooperative maneuver: Wind Hop.
“Hop to it, now. Hop.”
“Hop.”
Whoooosh—!
Seo Ye-in traced a graceful arc through the air. Touching down lightly on the pressure plate I'd indicated, she barely paused.
“Jump.”
She kicked off instantly, bounding forward a second time. The triggered trap caused a barrage of sharp spears to erupt from both walls, but she had already glided clear across the danger zone and landed well out of reach. Turning back to me, she waved her hand lazily as if telling me to hurry up.
Blending Thief Walk with Wind Force, I leapt across the distance in similar fashion. We'd have to keep repeating this circus routine as long as we wandered the maze, but our situation wasn't half bad.
Because we're not the only ones dealing with it.
KBOOOOM!
An explosion boomed in the distance, sending a subtle tremor through the ground beneath our boots. Judging by the direction, it seemed to be Cha Hyun-joo. Sadly for her, she must have tripped an explosive trap.
All three teams faced the same reality of navigating this minefield of traps, but neither of the others could match Seo Ye-in or me when it came to spotting and reading them. Which meant their casualties and damage from the traps would be far steeper.
Still, she caught up surprisingly fast.
Craaaash!
Another roar of destruction echoed from nearby—the sound of something heavy violently slamming down. What mattered was the distance; she felt distinctly closer now than when the explosion went off. We were bound to run into each other again soon, but for us, dragging out that reunion worked strictly in our favor.
So our strategy remained unchanged: keep moving.
Then, a thought struck me, and I turned to Seo Ye-in.
“O Lucky Charm, which way should we go to find the other team?”
“...?”
Rather than wandering aimlessly, trusting our resident Fortune Pig's absurd luck didn't seem like a bad gamble. If Team Three was there, great; if not, it was along our path anyway, so we lost nothing.
Seo Ye-in cocked her head this way and that, glancing down one passageway after another, before pointing in a specific direction.
“Over there.”
“Splendid.”
Just as before, we vaulted traps with Wind Hop and occasionally smashed through them, making our way through the labyrinth. When the corridor branched in two, I asked again:
“Left or right?”
“Right.”
Turning right and advancing for a good while brought us to a three-way split: straight, left, or right.
“Which way this time?”
“Right there.”
Instead of pointing out a direction, she made a flat statement. Wondering what she meant, I looked ahead, and sure enough, Team Three came into view.
Team Three spotted us as well and slowed their pace.
“A chrome-dome... wait, no, it's a monk.”
Il-gong.
Back at the start of the semester, he'd been randomly paired with Seo Ye-in in the two-on-two PvP evaluation, and during the mentoring period, he had been part of Kim Gab-du's martial artist team for our four-on-four wager. I fondly recalled beating Kwak Ji-chul black and blue back then.
Since our point brackets were similar—both hovering in the 600-to-700-point range—I figured we'd run into him eventually, and here he was.
Facing me, Il-gong softly chanted a Buddhist invocation.
“Amitabha...”
His demeanor was so relaxed it was hard to believe we were in the middle of a PvP match. He was always like that, so it came as no surprise, but I had no intention of playing at his pace. Returning the greeting, I immediately asked what was on my mind.
“Greetings. Who's your friend?”
Beside Il-gong stood another monk with a cleanly shaven head showing a bluish tint, though unlike the palm-and-fist master Il-gong, this one carried a sword. Finding himself addressed, he brought his palms together in a respectful clasp and replied:
“This humble monk is known as I-gong.”
Man, they really don't put much thought into names, do they?
Il-gong and I-gong—literally Monk One and Monk Two. I was sorely tempted to ask how many Gongs their temple went up to, but held my tongue since it felt a little rude. Still, at least their names were easy to memorize—a notch better than the assassin duo.
With a placid expression, Il-gong asked:
“Would you grant us your guidance in a match?”
“I wouldn't mind. But... how about getting your lesson from them instead?”
I tipped my chin over my shoulder, and everyone's eyes followed.
Over there—
Creak-k-k-k!
“Kim Hoooo!”
Cha Hyun-joo's team was charging in, loosing an arrow as they sprinted. Her eyes were bloodshot with sheer, unadulterated fury. She was setting off every single trap along the way, completely oblivious to the blades springing out and spells erupting all around her. It seemed she truly saw nothing in the world except me.
Her earnest feelings were conveyed loud and clear, but...
“Yeah, no. Not fighting you.”
If I wanted to give her what she wanted, I would have fought her earlier. Grabbing Seo Ye-in, I ducked back the way we came and slammed an Ice Wall across the corridor. Beyond the frozen barrier, the Cha Hyun-joo duo and the Il-gong and I-gong duo were sealed together in the same space.
“I told you to stop with the damn walls—!”
“Have a wonderful time, the four of you!”
“You son of a biiiitch—!!”
“Please refrain from vulgar language.”
Seo Ye-in nodded in solemn agreement.
“Bad words. Forbidden.”
Even in this absurd situation, the monk duo remained entirely unperturbed. As if this were simply the natural order of the universe.
From beyond the wall of ice, Il-gong's voice drifted through:
“Would you grant us your guidan—”
“Shut up—!”
Predictably, Cha Hyun-joo immediately turned the arrows of her rage toward the monks. Any other team would have formed a temporary alliance out of sheer spite toward my shameless behavior, but her mind had already snapped. Anything standing in her path was an enemy to be slaughtered.
Boom! Crash!
Leaving the two teams to tear into each other, I spoke to Seo Ye-in.
“Let's come back in a little bit.”
“Mm.”
Ultimately, one team would be eliminated, and I fully intended to swoop in and reap the spoils of the fisherman. However, given the dungeon's mechanics, waiting in one spot would only cause traps to spawn heavily right where we stood. We had to stay on the move even while waiting. So Seo Ye-in and I took a leisurely stroll around the maze before looping back to the exact same spot.
Thud, crunch.
The Ice Wall was spiderwebbed with fractures, on the verge of shattering, and someone was still furiously pounding on it from the other side. With a brittle crunch, a corner crumbled away, revealing Cha Hyun-joo.
“...!”
Catching sight of me, she glared with murderous intent. Despite the massive fatigue accumulated from her fierce battle, venom burned brightly in both her eyes.
She really is a top prospect, no doubt about it.
You had to have that kind of grit to reach S Rank.
Under her glare, I asked:
“Where's Hee-chan's replacement?”
“...”
“Taken out?”
“...Yeah.”
Her teammate had apparently been incapacitated while dealing with the Il-gong and I-gong duo. Nodding, I lightly waved my sapling, and with a crisp crumble, the damaged Ice Wall collapsed.
But immediately afterward, a pristine new Ice Wall surged up slightly in front of her.
And just to be safe, I added a second one right behind it.
Brightly, I announced:
“This time, it's double-layered!”
“Stop... Just stop it already...”
Pushed past the absolute limit of her rage, Cha Hyun-joo was practically on the verge of tears.
I was only teasing her this time, and since it was about time to wrap things up anyway, I dismissed the ice walls. Then I posed a question to her.
“Why are you so obsessed with fighting me?”
“Why do you keep running away from me, then?!”
She shot back a question of her own. I was well aware of her rotten temper, and it wasn't a difficult question, so I gave a shrug and replied:
“Because I don't waste energy on useless things. And besides, you're way too weak.”
“What... did you just say?!”
Her expression froze rigid as if she'd suffered the gravest insult of her life. Paying her reaction no mind, I pressed on.
“I mean, be honest. You didn't just lose to me in the past—you got utterly dismantled. If you'd landed even a single hit, maybe it'd be a different story, but you didn't.”
“...!”
“At that point, it's not a contest—it's just you bashing your head against a wall you can't break. And I'm not free enough to humor that every single time.”
“...!”
Cha Hyun-joo couldn't utter a single syllable, trembling violently from head to toe. Whether she secretly agreed with my assessment or was simply too incensed to speak was anyone's guess.
Then, taking a deep, shuddering breath as if reaching a decision, she glared at me and demanded:
“So... you're saying you won't fight me?”
“Not right now. There's a proper order to things.”
“What do I have to do, then?”
At Cha Hyun-joo's question, I pointed to Seo Ye-in standing beside me.
“Try defeating this lady first.”