Week 2 Conquest (5)

Every role Seo Ye-in had covered for me in the two-person dungeon now fell on me alone. Punching through the goblins, keeping the Beheader occupied, smashing the totem — all of it. And for anything I couldn't handle on my own…

I'll just brute-force it with items.

The student shop exists precisely for moments like this. First, I checked how many points I'd managed to save up.

I'd fought my PvP against Yang Jihong last week, and other students viewing the saved replays had quietly piled up a decent sum for me. Given my reputation for scraping the bottom of the barrel, I'd expected almost no one to bother watching — but perhaps because it was a recording from ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the very first day, there had apparently been some demand after all.

Not that there was much to see. It was nothing but me spamming Hummingbird and beating the guy down; hardly enriching content.

Anyway, I scrolled down the item list and picked out what I needed.

Three firecrackers fired by yanking a cord, and a tiny buoy that bobbed on the water's surface the moment you tossed it in.

Prep complete.

Gripping the firecracker cord, I aimed myself forward. The countdown began.

Shuuuu—

BANG!!

The instant the firecracker shot away, I bolted forward, charging straight for the black maw of the swamp pool yawning open ahead of me. Just before my foot touched the mire, I snatched out a portable buoy and hurled it. Landing lightly on the bobbing float as I leapt, I threw the next one with my free hand, stepped on that one and threw the next again — throw and step flowing into each other so seamlessly it was barely different from running on solid ground.

The secret to shaving off time is going in a straight line.

Zigzag around the swamp pools and your speed never builds. And if you wanted to simplify that miserable, winding route?

Simple. Cross the swamp head-on — using the portable buoys as stepping stones.

"Kerruk!"

"Keeek!"

The firecrackers were far more deafening than the crack of Seo Ye-in's mana pistol — which naturally summoned every goblin in the neighborhood. I popped one more to make sure my presence was known to all.

Bang!

Dozens of goblins came swarming straight for me. The closest one swung its bone knife; I let it slide past with a light twist of [Thief's Step], then flicked it square on the forehead as I slipped by. The thing went berserk with rage and gave chase — only to fumble its buoy-hopping the way I never did, and end up flailing in the mire.

Shwaaak!

"Whoa."

A spine-chilling whistle of split air came from behind me, so I threw my next buoy sideways instead of ahead and veered as I ran. A rusted kitchen knife packed to the brim with mana sailed past my ear.

"Greureuk!"

The Beheader Goblin, growling low. I ran with my eyes fixed forward, radiating an attitude that said he wasn't even worth a glance. That only inflamed him further; he came after me with doubled fury — but even so, he never quite matched the speed of someone sprinting at full throttle on [Thief's Step], and the gap only kept widening.

Crossing the swamp at a dead sprint, I reached the goblin totem in a time most ordinary first-years wouldn't have covered half the distance.

One last one.

Bang!

I set off the final firecracker and seized the totem in one hand. Instead of smashing it on the spot, I tossed it up and caught it, up and down, waiting — like a hostage-taker's warning: come any slower and this thing gets it.

"Kerukruk!"

"Greuk!!"

The effect was superb. Dozens of goblins, the Beheader at their head, came boiling toward me in a seething mass, the killing intent they sprayed converging on me alone. I let that murderous glare wash over me without so much as a flicker and thought:

Hunting is best done as a drive hunt.

I clenched my empty hand — the one not holding the totem. From somewhere deep inside the fist, a dark-crimson flame roared to life.

"GRAAAH—!"

The moment the distance had closed to a certain point, the Beheader kicked off the ground and hurled himself at me. I strolled forward to meet him, as leisurely as if out for a walk. Slipping past his descending cleaver by a paper-thin margin, I plunged in deep — and the blazing fire-fist slammed square into his face.

KWA-KWA-KWA-KWANG!!

Everything ahead of me was wiped clean off the map. The Beheader, the goblins, even the swamp pool itself. I hadn't held back a shred of power the way I had against Gwak Seung-jae, so where Inferno Fist had passed, nothing remained at all.

Taking in the carnage I had wrought, I put my thumb to work and snapped the goblin totem's neck with a crisp crack.

"No saving this replay."

Because I'd milked the bonuses to their absolute limit, the remaining time actually blew past the five-minute cap. The quest, too, had been cleared far beyond its requirements.

One of the three traits could be chosen and acquired. The Seed of Abundance granted a bonus to recovery and buff-type skills; the Eye of Illusion boosted debuffs, illusion-type ones above all; and the Blessing of the West Wind boosted wind-element skills.

No need to even think about it.

I had run this quest aiming for that trait from the very beginning, and my path going forward was already decided as well: an all-rounder supporter who looked after his own combat power to a reasonable degree while faithfully covering Go Hyeon-woo and Seo Ye-in. In other words — a wind-element supporter.

Of course, a trait meant nothing if I didn't actually possess any wind magic.

Then I'll just rip the magic out of something.

I'd trade for it through the [Life Cube], premiums stacked sky-high. As I'd mentioned to Dang Gyu-young, I needed to squeeze out value worth at least four Season Passes for the math to balance — by my standards, at the very least.

About time that side started moving, too.

I'd decked Gwak Ji-cheol the moment he swaggered out to test my skills and sent him packing, so the Emerald camp was, nine times out of ten, in an uproar. The odds of them trying the same approach twice were slim — at most, they'd come to put a face to the name?

"Kh… ugh!"

Gwak Ji-cheol could barely breathe. He strained with all his might to pry away the enormous wooden hand pinning him to the wall. A colossal wooden golem, each of its hands the size of a human torso — and the Emerald president commanding it, Mok Jonghwa, was roaring at the top of his lungs in a towering rage.

"What kind of godda—mn embarrassme—ent is this!!"

When the golem loosened its grip for a moment, Gwak Ji-cheol gulped down ragged breaths ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠where he stood.

THWACK!

"Ugh!"

The next instant, a blow from the golem's swinging hand sent him rolling across the floor. Mok Jonghwa approached him slowly.

"So the brothers are smearing filth on my face as a set, are they? The older one struts around with a Disciplinary Committee badge and loses to a common thief."

Gwak Ji-cheol's older brother, Gwak Seung-jae, was skilled enough to stand out even among the second-years, his name already in the running for the next vice-chief seat. But in last week's temporary storage break-in, he had been defeated by an unidentified masked figure, and that seat had been shaken to its foundations. No matter that his opponent had used Inferno Fist — the idea of the Disciplinary Committee, that symbol of invincibility, losing to a mere thief defied all reason. That incident had sent the Emerald Magic Tower's prestige plummeting to rock bottom, and now Gwak Ji-cheol had come home a loser as well. Worse, he had fought a two-on-one with Jeong Su-ji backing him up, and the two of them had conveniently passed out together.

"I asked you what his skills were like, and you said with total confidence — what was it? 'A famous coward'? 'Even a truckload of guys like that wouldn't be worth my time'?"

THWACK!

The wooden golem hammered Gwak Ji-cheol yet again.

"And that famous coward smashed you flat? How am I supposed to hold my head up at the Magic Tower Association, you little brat!!"

WHAM! THWACK!

Ha Suyeon, president of the Mother Nature Club, let out ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a small sigh. She had come to check on how the Gwak Ji-cheol affair had been handled, and this was what she walked in on.

No wonder it felt ominous from the very start.

From the moment Mok Jonghwa chose a show of force, a collision — large or small — had been all but inevitable. What she hadn't anticipated was that the first-year, this Kim Ho, would take on Gwak Ji-cheol and Jeong Su-ji simultaneously and break them both. Considering the pair were both solidly in the 600-point tier, it meant he had real skill. At the very least, it was clear the 'coward' nickname was seriously undervalued.

And then there was Kim Ho's attitude. After subduing the two of them, he had reportedly declared, cool as you please:

"If you have business with me, don't send someone to fetch me — come yourself."

First-years, as a rule, trotted along obediently whenever a third-year senior summoned them. Tossing out a provocation like that was at once a demonstration that he was a force to be reckoned with, and a declaration that he intended to show not one inch of a lower posture in trading over the mystery box. Which was also to say, the item was worth exactly that much.

He did not look like an easy man to deal with.

I'd better change my approach.

The raging Emerald president was proving it with his own two hands at this very moment. A man like that was hard enough to bend, and even if you managed it, the damage was steep. Besides, her goal was to secure a good item for Park Na-ri — not to burn energy on a pointless feud with a first-year.

How shall I smooth things over…?

A gift would be best. Something nice enough to set right the button that had been fastened wrong from the start. Even at a loss, there was no helping it. Her curiosity about the mystery item had grown that large — and so had her fondness for Park Na-ri.

"In any case, we ought to meet him at least once, don't you think?"

THWACK!

Having landed one last blow on Gwak Ji-cheol, Mok Jonghwa recalled the golem and took a long, deep breath, forcing his anger back down. His interest in the box hadn't waned — but now his list of objectives had grown by one.

"Hah… You're right. We meet him. Emerald's prestige is in the gutter. For me, this can't end with just the item anymore."

Gwak Ji-cheol hauled himself unsteadily upright.

"I'll make it up to… kheul! I'll make it up to you."

"What exactly did you do right, that you're opening your mouth?"

Gwak Ji-cheol hurried on before the golem could strike him again.

"Last time I let my guard down and fell into a trick. That, I admit. But had I fought in earnest, there is no way I would have lost. Grant me just one more chance…"

"Jeong Su-ji. How did it look to you?"

Mok Jonghwa called over Jeong Su-ji, who had been standing in a corner holding both hands up in punishment.

Jeong Su-ji stripped out every personal feeling and answered with only what she had seen.

"The fight didn't last long, so I couldn't read much. His movement was good."

"Movement was good, hm…"

Caught by a trick. Movement was good. Going by words alone, there was no judging the man properly. What was needed at a time like this was—

"The replay."

At Mok Jonghwa's word, Gwak Ji-cheol immediately bought up every replay Kim Ho had on file. Both PvP matches, and the two-person conquest dungeon cleared just today. Dropping 300 points on this stung to the bone — but there was no choice now.

They all gathered around the replay crystal and started with the PvP. The bout between Kim Ho and Yang Jihong.

BZZZT!

Paralyze him with a Hummingbird, beat him down with a staff, the end.

Gwak Ji-cheol felt a cold dread clutch at his gut. Those were precious points, and this was all they bought…?

The conquest run was a different story altogether. His partner Seo Ye-in's performance was dazzling.

KA-BOOM!

A single sniper shot rendering the Beheader Goblin combat-incapable on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the spot. Even Mok Jonghwa and Ha Suyeon couldn't help but be impressed.

"Formidable."

"To think someone that skilled was hiding in the first-year class."

Gwak Ji-cheol, too, had been on the receiving end of that magic bullet not long ago. Watching the Beheader Goblin crumple backward, he couldn't help seeing himself in its place, and an unaccountable chill ran down his spine.

From start to finish, it was Seo Ye-in dominating everything. Meanwhile, all Kim Ho had done was loose the occasional Hummingbird or kick away goblins that drifted too close — light harassment, nothing more. There was no way to describe it other than: he rode the bus.

That said, the two presidents, befitting third-years, watched the replay through a wider lens.

"So the good movement was no exaggeration."

"His Hummingbird control is top-notch."

"And yet beyond that, I can't find a single thing that stands out."

"Could he be concealing his true skill?"

Ha Suyeon offered the suggestion carefully, but Mok Jonghwa shook his head.

"There'd be no reason to wrap himself up that tight. The likelier hypothesis is that he genuinely has nothing beyond the Hummingbird."

The problem was that even that much made him a decidedly tricky opponent. In Mok Jonghwa's judgment, if Gwak Ji-cheol marched into a revenge match as he was now, the odds of losing again were considerable.

After a moment's thought, Mok Jonghwa gave Jeong Su-ji his orders.

"Jeong Su-ji."

"Yes."

"Go to the Topaz crowd and pass along a message. Tell them I want to borrow a paralysis-resistance accessory."

"…!"

That way he wouldn't be paralyzed in the first place, cutting the Hummingbird off at the root. Next, Gwak Ji-cheol's deficient close combat would need shoring up.

"I'll lend you my golem. You can win with that, can't you?"

"…Certain victory. I couldn't lose this even if I wanted to."

Gwak Ji-cheol nodded along, beaming. He had been confident all along that he couldn't lose if only he fought in earnest. Stack on a paralysis-resistance accessory and Mok Jonghwa's golem, and he was invincible.

"Challenge Kim Ho to a duel."

"Understood."

"You lost once already, so even a win only breaks even. You will have to crush him. Overwhelmingly."

"Naturally. I won't disappoint you."

Wow… that's just low.

Ha Suyeon clicked her tongue as she watched. Fine, Emerald Magic Tower's face was on the line — but lending a third-year's golem to a first-year just to beat down another first-year? Emerald and Mother Nature might be partners, but this much she could not bring herself to view kindly. Mok Jonghwa's disapproval rating shot upward in her heart, straight as an arrow.

It looked as though she would need to have a word with Kim Ho separately.