Chapter 69
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: 3vs3 (2)
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Lee Jae-yeol rendered incapable of action.
Winner: Semy Arenz.
"...Hah... hah."
"..."
Semy lay sprawled on the floor, gasping for breath.
It had been a close call.
If she hadn't blocked the dagger with her whip, Jae-yeol would have won.
Semy had immediately thrust her dagger at the approaching Jae-yeol, and he hadn't been able to dodge it.
"...Even this wasn't enough, huh."
Jae-yeol rose to his feet with a look of regret.
He had put on an impressive fight against the No. 25 ranked opponent.
He had made excellent use of the attack routes available to him.
If Lee Jae-yeol had been just a bit stronger, the winner would have been different.
"Woooah!!!"
"Whoa-! Jae-yeol! Not bad at all!"
"Hey, good work! That was badass!"
Jae-yeol felt like the winner despite losing.
Semy felt like the loser despite winning.
She clenched her fists.
"D-Don't get cocky!!! You just got lucky, that's all. A weakling like you...!"
"...Got lucky?"
Lee Jae-yeol cut her off, pushing up his glasses with his middle finger.
"Sorry, but besides this strategy, I've got about 43 more up my sleeve."
His sparring uniform top came undone, revealing a multitude of hidden combat gear to Semy's eyes.
As he said, he could switch strategies anytime based on his opponent's actions.
It wasn't luck that let him catch Semy Arenz off guard—there was no fluke about it.
The man who had prepared 44 strategies in just one day.
He was Class C's class president.
"Grrrrr...!!!"
Semy bit her lip in utter frustration.
With the winner decided, the arena returned to its original state.
The slime disappeared, and the fighters' wounds vanished as if they had never been.
"Winner: Semy Arenz. Class Q, send out your next fighter."
At the instructor's words, Semy trudged back to her class.
Anjanif hugged the dejected Semy tightly.
"You did great, Lady... It was an excellent fight."
"Anjanif...!"
Instead of blaming her fighter, Anjanif comforted her.
The Class Q girls went wild at the sight.
In stark contrast, Class C ground their teeth.
"What a jerk."
"Why fall for such obvious pandering."
"Argh! It's all Jae-yeol's fault!! Why didn't you win!!!"
Unlike the heated spectator stands, the waiting room remained calm.
The next fighter up was Yoon Ah-young.
She took a deep breath and stood.
"Do your best."
At Tae-hyun's encouragement, Ah-young smiled back.
"You got it!"
Yoon Ah-young, ranked No. 50.
She was an elite in the top 50 rankings.
And Yoon Ah-young had improved tremendously up to now.
She was a cadet who would have been expelled during the tournament otherwise.
But through training with Tae-hyun, she had grown strong.
She used to shrink back in fear beforehand, but not anymore.
Thud... thud!
Yoon Ah-young faced her opponent.
"Wh... whoa..."
"Whoa... that's insane."
As Class Q's second fighter appeared, Class C cadets let out admiring gasps in unison.
Ah-young's opponent was a massive figure nearly three times her size.
Linzling, ranked No. 47.
The Wing Chun practitioner Linzling was a tank with devastating one-hit power from her enormous build.
Mitsuda clicked his tongue at the sight of her.
"Tch... Of all people, Linzling."
"Why, Mitsuda? You know her?"
"Of course. She's one of East Asia's top black belts, just like me. This won't be easy. This match..."
It didn't look easy at first glance.
If it were a pure martial arts contest, Yoon Ah-young would lose.
But battles weren't decided by size alone.
Linzling covered her mouth with the back of her hand and chuckled.
"Oh my, oh dear me. To face a Yoon family heir? I'm a lucky girl! Hohoho!"
"Nice to meet you. Let's have a good fight."
"I was hoping for Mitsuda, but... you're not bad either?"
A matchup between No. 47 and No. 50.
Linzling immediately assumed her stance.
A flawless posture without a hint of flaw.
The instructor approached slowly.
"Fighters, prepare for duel."
Ah-young mirrored her, taking a basic Taekwondo stance.
"Tae...kwon...dooo~? You think you can beat me with that martial art?"
"..."
The instructor backed away slowly and said,
"Begin."
The match started.
Yoon Ah-young moved first.
Whoosh-.
A Taekwondo kick.
She swiftly targeted Linzling's ankle.
With that huge body, taking out the legs to topple her first.
Thud!
The dull impact rang out as the kick landed.
But Linzling didn't budge.
She pondered a moment before declaring,
"Hmm... 2 points!"
Bam-!
Ah-young took a flying fist to the face and crumpled to the arena floor.
It felt like being struck with a solid log.
"Keeheehee. Hehehe."
Linzling laughed slyly.
Ah-young wiped the blood from her lip and stood.
'Her speed's a level above, power too...'
No close-combat path to victory came to mind against Linzling.
Linzling approached with her creepy grin.
"Taekwondo can't beat Wing Chun."
Up close now, Linzling unleashed a barrage of punches.
Bam-bam-bam-bam-bam-bam!
Her Wing Chun punches were too fast to follow with the eyes.
Ah-young could only barely block with repeated ice shields.
"Uryaaah!!!"
Bam-bam-bam-bam-bam!
Two punches per second, 120 per minute—the relentless assault left no room to think.
Ah-young was busy defending; counterattacking was a pipe dream.
But Ah-young was a mage.
A combatant who wielded magic.
"Ice Arrow!"
Dozens of ice arrows flew at her in that instant.
Too fast for Linzling to react.
Yoon Ah-young's cast speed surpassed even Yoon Seo-hyun and Kang Tae-hyun.
Crack-crack-crack! Shatter!
But Linzling destroyed every single ice arrow with her fists alone.
"Hmm... 5 points!"
Linzling stubbornly scored Ah-young's attacks.
"...Tch."
Ah-young unleashed another assault immediately.
This time, Ice Field.
If ranged attacks wouldn't work, she had to freeze Linzling in place first.
The arena froze over in seconds.
Linzling's feet were no exception.
Crickle, crackle!
Her thighs froze solid in an instant; she couldn't move from the spot.
With her target halted, Ah-young saw her golden opportunity.
"Thunderbolt."
She planned to shatter Linzling's legs and seize control.
The lightning bolt from Ah-young's hand struck the frozen foot directly.
Kraaack-!
It hit true.
But Linzling's foot remained intact.
She lifted it from the ground.
"Hmm... 8 points. Oh, full score's 100, by the way. Hohoho."
Thud, thud!
The arena trembled faintly with each step.
Linzling.
The 2-meter-tall, 220kg Wing Chun master from China.
At the academy, she played tank, her combat prowess rivaling Mitsuda's.
Wing Chun predicted and parried all enemy attacks with rapid approaches.
Fast fists, fast counters.
No monster could withstand her instantaneous barrages.
"You're... pretty."
Mid-fight, Linzling suddenly complimented Yoon Ah-young.
But it sounded more like an insult.
"I... hate pretty girls the most!"
Thud, thud, thud!
Linzling closed in instantly and rained down punches.
Ah-young tried blocking with kicks, but it was futile.
Guard right, punch from left; guard left, from below; guard below, from above.
Attacks poured from everywhere.
"Die, die, die!!!"
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Ah-young staggered.
Too many hits taken.
She quickly retreated.
"Huff... huff... Run awaaay...! Don't run!"
Enraged, Linzling glared at Ah-young with murderous intent.
Her sturdy build and blazing speed.
She had everything a tank needed.
'...Time to test it.'
Ah-young decided to try the technique she'd yet to perfect.
She slowly pressed her hands together and sank into meditation.
Gathering mana.
Linzling burst out laughing at the sight.
"Puhahaha! Praying? Begging to win? Puhuhu!"
As Linzling clutched her belly, Anjanif chided her.
"Linzling~"
"Y-Yes! Anjanif!"
Toward Anjanif, Linzling sounded like a delicate girl.
He replied somewhat seriously.
"Be careful of that skill."
"Huh? Anjanif?"
"Don't let your guard down. I believe in you, Linzling."
"Yes, Anjanif. Don't worry!"
To meet his expectations, Linzling prepared her attack.
Thud, thud.
She planted both hands on the ground, aiming at Ah-young.
She looked like a raging bull.
Semy, watching from the side, asked,
"That? Anjanif..."
"Yes. Linzling's signature move. Bull Charge."
Bull Charge.
The charge attack Linzling had developed.
When an expedition party was in crisis, the tank's role was crucial.
A tank had to break through clustered monsters to let the party escape.
This was the skill for that.
Rumble rumble rumble...!
Just taking her stance made the arena shake faintly.
She was emitting mana.
"Dieeee-!"
As everyone held their breath, Linzling's ferocious charge began.
Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud!
Taking that head-on would pulverize bones for sure.
But amid the furious charge, Ah-young stood her ground unmoving.
Class C stands buzzed.
"What are you doing...! Ah-young!"
"Be careful!"
As all eyes focused, Linzling closed in on Ah-young.
Now within arm's reach.
In that moment, Ah-young spread her arms wide.
Ice Time.
5th-circle magic.
It drastically lowered the temperature around the caster, freezing everything in an instant.
Ice crystals became visible as the air chilled rapidly.
Despite the summer heat, the arena turned Siberian cold.
"Ugh...!"
Linzling's charge halted.
Not just stopped—she slowed gradually during the charge, fully freezing solid right before Ah-young.
Panicked, Linzling stammered,
"H-How...? My charge pierces steel..."
"If external freezing won't work, make it internal."
"N-No way...!"
Ice Time was 5th-circle magic that froze the air.
But Linzling's insides were already freezing from Ah-young's embedded spell.
"Huff... huff...!"
Linzling gasped for breath.
Her organs freezing made breathing hard.
Flap-.
Ah-young shed her sparring top.
A black tank top accentuated her sensual figure.
"Woooah...!"
"Ohh?!"
"As expected... Class C's the best."
"Thank goodness...! We're Class C!"
Class C stands erupted.
Yoon Ah-young glared at the frozen Linzling and said,
"What was that about Taekwondo?"
"Hiiiik...!!!"
Terrified, Linzling struggled to move, but her body was locked solid in ice.
Whoosh-.
Ah-young twisted her waist.
...One documentary had tested kick power.
It was originally about how powerful Capoeira kicks from Brazil were.
But Taekwondo in the experiment overwhelmed Capoeira, stealing the spotlight.
In other words, Taekwondo kicks were the world's strongest.
BAM!!!!
"Gaaack...!"
Yoon Ah-young's roundhouse kick nailed Linzling's temple precisely.
"A... h-hun... dred... points...!"
Thud...!
Linzling collapsed unconscious.
Ah-young had felled an opponent twice her size with one kick.
This was the power of the Taekwondo she had learned.
Linzling rendered incapable of action.
Winner: Yoon Ah-young.
"Hoo...!"
With a clean victory, Ah-young draped her sparring top over her shoulder and turned away.
(To be continued in the next chapter)