The Duel (3)

Sovereign.

One of the reserves I'd set aside when I first began the EX-rank reincarnation quest. As mighty as Amplification and Copy, yet for the moment the conditions simply didn't align, leaving it unable to shine. Even so, raising it whenever an opportunity like this came along was the right call — it was a trait that was all but impossible to grow by any other means.

I pulled my gaze off the status window and turned it back to the front.

The wooden dummy was clattering along, diligently charging straight at me. It had been at it for a while now. The moment it seemed to close the distance, the headwind laced with Wind Force shoved it back; the moment it crept closer again, back it went — over and over, until in the end all it could do was run in place.

Whoosh—

I stretched a hand forward, and the wind blowing head-on intensified. The wooden dummy went flying helplessly backward and slammed into the training room wall.

Wind Force was only F-rank, having just been learned, but as wind magic it received the bonus from Blessing of the West Wind. Which made it F+. Roughly the midpoint between F and E.

To make it usable in the duel, I need at least D+.

A skill's power climbed together with its rank. In Wind Force's case, each rank-up increased the volume of wind under my control and strengthened the force it carried. Simply subduing Gwak Ji-cheol could probably be managed at E+, but that alone wouldn't satisfy me.

I have to grind him flat into the floor.

So I'd set my target at D+. Because the skill had been written through a Blank Skillbook, raising its rank was trickier than for an ordinary skill — but with two days to spare, I'd reach it comfortably.

When I worked the terminal mounted on one wall of the training room, the wooden dummy that had been rolling this way and that along the wind vanished, and an iron dummy took its place. Far heavier than the wooden one, and therefore far harder to shove back with Wind Force.

Difficulty is what forges you.

I focused the wind onto the charging iron dummy. The gale, laden with raw physical force, made it stagger back little by little.

I drilled Wind Force until dawn and finally punched through to E+.

After a very brief rest in the dormitory, I sent Seo Ye-in a message.

Today's breakfast menu was round little mini rice balls, in quite a variety. Whenever something caught her curiosity, Seo Ye-in asked me about it.

"What's this one?"

"Looks like anchovies."

"And this?"

"Hard to say. No idea what it is, but it looks spicy. Do you handle spicy food well?"

"No."

Even so, curiosity got the better of her, and she picked up one of the bright-red rice balls. We loaded our plates with an even spread of the different flavors and were heading for a table when—

"……!"

As luck would have it, we walked straight into the Gwak Ji-cheol and Jeong Su-ji duo. Jeong Su-ji offered only a cursory nod and looked ready to move along, while Gwak Ji-cheol came up grinning, a smirk plastered across his face.

"Making good progress on that skill of yours? The duel's tomorrow, you know. I do wonder whether you'll manage."

Already made it, actually. Ranked it up, too. But saying so now would ruin the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠fun. I feigned anguish and heaved a long sigh.

"Tell me about it. This is harder than I thought."

"Why not save the Blank Skillbook instead of wasting it on some half-baked skill? I'm only saying this for your own good."

"Nope. I'm going to keep at it."

"Suit yourself."

"You should prepare well too. Lose, and you're out of the Emerald Magic Tower, aren't you? I'm only saying this for your sake."

Gwak Ji-cheol's smirking face hardened in an instant.

"……Don't worry about me. I will never lose."

"Sounds like you've prepared quite a lot, then."

"Naturally. I even got a gol—"

Jeong Su-ji jabbed him in the ribs, cutting him off mid-word. Only then did Gwak Ji-cheol seem to realize he'd nearly leaked something very important, and an ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠oops-expression flickered across his face.

"……Tomorrow, after class. Don't be late."

With that, Gwak Ji-cheol turned to picking out rice balls alongside Jeong Su-ji.

Seo Ye-in asked, "Dueling?"

"That's how it worked out."

"He's weak."

Come to think of it, Seo Ye-in was in the 600-point tier — and so was Gwak Ji-cheol. They must have faced off in last week's PvP.

"Yeah, the kid really is a pushover."

"Two hits."

……So Gwak Ji-cheol got two-shot. However I looked at it, the man didn't have the skill to be picking fights with anyone, yet his confidence alone was top-prospect grade.

Seo Ye-in chewed on a mini rice ball, staring at me, then spoke as though something had just occurred to her. "Have something for you."

"For me?"

"Yeah."

She rummaged in her inventory, fished out a rectangular box, and pushed it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠across to me. Inside lay a pair of high-end sneakers.

Suddenly, last week's conversation surfaced in my memory.

"Got anything you want?"

"Out of nowhere?"

"If you receive, you should give back too. So says our butler."

"What I need most right now would probably be movement speed. I'd like a pair of shoes."

So she had remembered. I'd assumed she'd simply bring back some reasonably decent pair, but what arrived was several grades better than anything I'd imagined. Aside from a slight difference in coloring, they were nearly identical to the sneakers Seo Ye-in wore herself — and considering the caliber of gear she normally carried, that meant this was an extraordinarily premium item. A white base trimmed in clean blues, with traces of magitech worked in here and there.

Incredible.

B-grade shoes, no less. Just as Blessing of the West Wind granted a bonus to wind magic, wearing these conferred a bonus on all movement-type skills — meaning Thief's Step would function at B+. Inertia Negation was a skill that ignored a set portion of the weight shift when you braked hard or cut a corner mid-sprint, making your movements far smoother and your openings that much smaller. Those two options alone would have been remarkable, and on top of them sat two more upgrade slots. Depending on what went into them, this was an item that could one day reach A-grade — even S-grade.

"These are way too good. I'm not sure I should take them."

"Told to give a gift as good as my thanks."

"The butler said that?"

"Yeah."

Butler, I find myself thinking it again — you are a person of truly fine character. I offered Seo Ye-in's butler a word of thanks straight from the heart.

"Thanks. I'll put them to good use."

"……."

"?"

"……!"

Seo Ye-in had suddenly gone silent. Watching her pupils slowly dilate, I glanced at her plate — the bright-red rice ball was gone.

"Here, drink. Water, water."

"……! ……!"

Training room. Several iron dummies had me marked from every direction. I eased back a step, and a massive gray fist hammered through empty air. I kept retreating, dodging each fist by a hair, until I gathered mana into my legs, unleashed Thief's Step, and kicked off the ground with everything I had.

Thud!

A single stride carried me clear of the iron dummies' encirclement. I killed my speed hard on landing, and almost no strain settled into my legs — Inertia Negation at work.

Excellent shoes.

The nearest iron dummy came charging in. I shoved its exposed shoulder, and it went spinning grandly through the air as if caught in a judo throw, crashing down and away.

Crash!

I reached a hand toward the next iron dummy bearing down on me. The wind blew in toward me, dragging the dummy along with it. Once it was within arm's reach, I shoved its chest and fired the wind forward again, hard. The flung dummy plowed into the others, and they toppled in a heap like bowling pins.

Crash!

D+ once the Blessing of the West Wind factored in.

Preparation complete.

The Arena was deserted to the point of absurdity. The first reason was that it was Conquest week, so most students were killing their time in the Dungeon Hall. The second was that neither Kim Ho nor Gwak Ji-cheol carried much name value, so nobody much cared. The curious could always catch the replay later; actually trekking to the Arena was too much bother.

And so the spectators for this duel consisted mostly of acquaintances of the two fighters. From the Emerald Magic Tower: president Mok Jonghwa and Jeong Su-ji. From the Disciplinary Committee: Gwak Seung-jae, come to watch his younger brother's duel. From the Mother Nature Club: president Ha Su-yeon and Park Na-ri. And for the unaffiliated Kim Ho, a handful of friends made up the rest.

……Or that was how it should have been.

Mok Jonghwa's brow creased. "What business do you have here?"

"What business would it be? I came to see our junior, obviously."

Dang Gyu-young answered with a grin. From a conversation she'd once had with Kim Ho, she had a rough grasp of how things stood. He was trading the Life Cube with the Emerald or the Mother Nature Club. She'd thought even then that four Season Passes would be a tall order — but somehow, by whatever means, he'd pulled it off.

Her astonishment lasted only a moment.

She'd been left puzzled by the news Shin Byung-cheol passed along. When she looked into it, the whole affair was a complete mess.

The origin of it all was Mok Jonghwa. Aiming to seize the upper hand in the negotiations, he'd sent Gwak Ji-cheol and Jeong Su-ji to stage a show of force — and they'd been promptly smashed to pieces by Kim Ho. In a two-on-one, no less.

Wasn't that only to be expected?

Hadn't Kim Ho beaten even Gwak Seung-jae one-on-one? Setting a second-year Disciplinary Committee executive beside two first-years made the comparison easy: not even remotely in the same league.

In any case, had they simply swallowed that loss and moved on, it would have been far less pathetic — but no, they'd gone and filed for a duel, calling it a match to restore their honor.

Dang Gyu-young jabbed her finger at him without mercy. "Ugh, you petty little weasel. You green chafer beetle of a man. And now you're making the kids duel over it?"

"……This is no business for a thieving bitch to meddle in."

"Why not? He's a junior I'm rather fond of."

Dang Gyu-young draped an arm over Kim Ho's shoulder with easy familiarity. Kim Ho conveyed his discomfort purely through his eyes.

Senior, we are not quite that close.

Oh, come on. Just act close for a bit.

Then she jabbed her finger at Mok Jonghwa again. "Anyway — you people try any cute little tricks, and watch yourselves. I'll tear the whole deal up."

"……."

Mok Jonghwa only knitted his brow and offered no reply. Even Ha Su-yeon, whose tongue normally ran as smooth as silk, had fallen back and was sighing, deep and repeated.

Dang Gyu-young took in the shape of the situation and let out a small, hollow laugh.

So he's already laid his tricks, has he?

She pulled Kim Ho aside for a moment. "Hey. What's got into you, accepting this?"

"I accepted because it's winnable, Senior."

"You're sure it's winnable? That sneaky snake looked like he'd deployed every dirty trick he had."

"I accepted knowing all of it. Don't you worry. I have a few ideas of my own."

Confidence overflowed from his faint smile. Dang Gyu-young hadn't been around this audacious junior long, but judging by everything she'd seen so far, he somehow always managed his own affairs. If she butted in, it would probably only make the whole thing look stranger.

"Aigh, fine then."

Leaving the still half-doubting Dang Gyu-young behind, Kim Ho once more took his place across from Gwak Ji-cheol.

Mok Jonghwa produced the VIP ticket and held it up. "Before we begin, let the conditions be confirmed one final time. Should Kim Ho win, I, Mok Jonghwa, will transfer this ticket to him."

Conversely, should he lose, the victorious Emerald Magic Tower would at least be able to salvage a sliver of its fallen dignity.

Mok Jonghwa went on. "Furthermore, this duel will be recorded as a replay, open for anyone to view. Do you consent?"

"I do."

"Good. Then let us begin."

The terrain and rules bloomed across the display board above the stage.

Gwak Ji-cheol's face lit up at once.

Heaven itself is aiding me!

Of all the many terrains decided at random, Rocky Terrain had come up — a ground one might well call the home stage of an earth-attribute caster. Everything was turning in his favor. Brimming with confidence, he hurled a taunt at Kim Ho.

"Well, what can you do? For this to even count as a fight, the terrain really ought to have been against me. Looks like it'll be over in a flash."

"……."

"Gone quiet all of a sudden? Finally coming back to your senses?"

Kim Ho merely kept an unbothered expression. The man apparently still hadn't grasped the position he was in — but he would feel it, bone-deep, soon enough.

The two of them rode the teleportation magic circle into the arena. Rocks to be seen, rocks underfoot — from boulders to gravel, the field was blanketed in stones of every size.

Wham!

A fist-sized rock that had been rolling across the ground struck Gwak Ji-cheol square in the face.