The confrontation between Class 12 and Class 25.
Having left the rear to Park Sagun, Kang Hanbyeol was in the midst of attacking Class 25’s camp as a member of the siege unit.
However, no matter how much time passed, the siege showed little sign of progress.
It was because Class 25’s defenses, as the side holding the fort, were solid.
‘At this rate, getting close won’t be easy.’
Whenever he spotted an opening and tried to burrow into it, a trap would activate as if it had been waiting for him.
Feeling as though he had stepped on something, Kang Hanbyeol immediately threw himself to one side and rolled across the ground.
Had he been even a little late, he would have taken a pillar of flame head-on.
Thinking he had finally managed to close the distance, only to be forced back to his original position, he clicked his tongue.
Meanwhile, another reason the students of Class 12 were struggling was the brick towers.
“Bombardment’s coming again! Guardians, get your shields up, now!”
“Anyone who can cast protective magic, do so immediately!”
The brick towers standing at the front of Class 25’s camp looked as though they had been hastily made from earth.
The students in Class 25 capable of long-range attacks climbed those towers and kept Kang Hanbyeol and his classmates in check.
Since Class 12 had failed to secure the advantageous high ground, they had no choice but to face difficulties.
In particular, O Junsik of the black magic O family, who was commanding the Class 25 students, was extremely troublesome.
O Junsik coolly analyzed the battlefield, deployed personnel in the right places, and at times personally moved between the brick towers to reinforce the defenses.
His black magic, specialized more in suppression than firepower, was proving outstanding in a defensive battle.
Because of that, Kang Hanbyeol and his classmates were only exhausting their strength.
‘First, we have to do something about the towers….’
On a battlefield where all kinds of attacks ran rampant, one had to keep moving constantly.
Standing still was no different from volunteering for the enemy to kill you.
Having thoroughly internalized the teachings of the Fighting Ghost Seo Jeongjin, Kang Hanbyeol moved the moment he caught his breath.
His allies’ morale was falling.
He had to cut off the flow of battle, which was growing increasingly unfavorable, no matter what.
To do that, he needed to bring down the brick tower where O Junsik was.
He called over the guardians carrying shields and charged toward the brick tower.
From overhead, the magic of O Junsik and the Class 25 students came crashing down.
The guardians immediately expanded their shields and blocked the attacks.
Running under their protection, Kang Hanbyeol used the magic built into the magic sword Lucid.
He swung the blade tinged with red light, cutting apart the spells the guardians had failed to block.
Having recovered a portion of his mana that way, Kang Hanbyeol increased his speed and rapidly closed the distance.
Of course, there was no way O Junsik would simply let him approach.
Standing at the top of the brick tower, O Junsik traced the air with the staff in his hand.
The magic of the Three-Star Demon Judringlich, Envious Flame.
The black flames that had been leading the tide of battle alongside the brick towers came falling down.
Flames that could not be extinguished by ordinary means cut off Kang Hanbyeol’s path.
But he pressed forward boldly without the slightest sign of hesitation.
As if answering his expectations.
Lisa, who had risked danger to move to the vanguard, cast her magic.
A wave imbued with the effect of driving out the impure swept across the battlefield.
The black flames were extinguished in an instant, and O Junsik’s magic came to nothing.
‘Now!’
At last, an opening appeared.
With streams of water wrapped around his body, Kang Hanbyeol quickly fired off a slash before O Junsik could respond with his next move.
Moonlight.
The slash, flying with a silver gleam, carved a deep crack into the brick tower.
At that moment, O Junsik and Kang Hanbyeol’s reactions were completely opposite.
O Junsik was relieved that the brick tower had not collapsed.
‘That’s enough.’
Kang Hanbyeol smiled in triumph.
After retreating to avoid an attack, he took a device out of his pocket.
Muttering the activation phrase in a low voice and returning the metal plate to its original form, he found himself holding a staff.
It was the black oak staff he had once looted from the villain Dust Bug.
He infused the black oak staff with mana and pointed it at the crack in the brick tower.
Explosion magic was installed inside the crack.
Having caught O Junsik off guard, Kang Hanbyeol activated the spell before he could realize what it was.
Kwa-kwa-kwang!
“…!?”
The power of the explosion was not great.
However, it was enough to bring down a brick tower whose interior had already been cracked.
Unable to maintain its form, the brick tower collapsed with a heavy thud into a pile of earth.
O Junsik failed to react in time to the sudden loss of the ground beneath him and was buried as he was beneath the mound of dirt.
“Now I can finally fight properly.”
With the tallest tower collapsing, the initiative of the battlefield was seized.
As if proving that Class 12’s morale had risen, their cheers swept across the battlefield.
Kang Hanbyeol did not miss this chance and rushed toward O Junsik, who was rising while covered in dirt.
And so the tide of battle turned.
* * *
By now, fighting was probably taking place at our camp as well.
Even so, there was no need to worry too much.
I knew well how solid the defenses Min Arin and the defense unit had prepared were.
No matter what tactics the enemies used, they would not be broken through easily.
Most of all, there was no need to worry about our allies’ morale dropping.
‘Arin will handle it just fine.’
During the few days we spent preparing for the class confrontation.
The training we carried out was not limited to forming formations or coordinating combat.
Under the purpose of fostering unity, we also sought ways to boost morale.
In the process, unlike Hong Yena, we received advice from Yu Noeul, who occasionally came to watch our training.
Having often helped raise characters in games, she turned out to be well-versed in this field as well.
—As you said, morale is important in battle. Then, kids, what do you think determines morale?
—…Numbers, maybe?
—Yes, that can’t be ignored either. Animals move in packs for a reason, and when there are many of you, the sight alone is enough to intimidate. But I think what matters more than that is voice.
—Voice?
—You know the saying that if your voice is loud, you’re already halfway there, don’t you? That’s how important sound is in any fight. Especially in a fight where the logic of power dominates more than the logic of language.
—….
—But that doesn’t mean you should just shout loudly without thought. Sounds that aren’t united are nothing more than noise. You also need to know how to gather your voices like a choir. For that reason, I recommend making a cheer and chant that everyone can use together. And choosing a cheer captain to lead morale, too.
Judging at the time that she had a point, we accepted Yu Noeul’s advice.
And so, after everyone discussed it, we decided on Min Arin as the cheer captain and created a cheer song and chant centered around her.
In truth, Yu Noeul’s advice had played a large role in that as well.
—I think Arin would be perfect as the cheer captain.
—Pardon? Me?
—Well, Arin, you’re the class representative, and you’re the Little Griffin of the magic Min family, aren’t you? Of course, Gyeonu is here too, but given Gyeonu’s personality, I think he’d have trouble leading cheers. He’s specialized in close combat, so once the battle starts, it probably won’t be easy for him to survey the battlefield as a commander either… But compared to that, you’re different, Arin. I don’t think there’s anyone better suited to be cheer captain than you.
—Hmm….
—And Arin, you’re excellent, aren’t you? Isn’t it only someone excellent who can lead morale?
—….
—And you’re pretty, too. As far as symbolism goes, don’t you more than have enough?
—…Well, I am excellent and pretty.
—Yes, that’s exactly the confidence I’m talking about. There won’t be anyone who suits it as well as you, Arin. You can become, um… the dynamite of cheering. Min Arin… Dynamite… Kick….
—Min Arin Dynamite…. I like it.
To confess honestly now.
At the time, Yu Noeul had only egged Min Arin on half as a joke.
There was no way I didn’t know her personality, the kind that enjoyed teasing people.
Even so, the reason I did not bother stopping her was that there was no suitable candidate besides Min Arin.
And more than anything, I wanted to respect Min Arin’s wishes, since she had completely fallen for the sweet talk.
—Well… as long as Arin is satisfied, that’s all that matters.
I absolutely had no desire to follow Yu Noeul’s lead and tease Min Arin.
In reality, the judgment had not been wrong either….
By putting her forward as cheer captain, morale had risen greatly.
In a way, it could be said that the role suited her nature of wanting to stand out to others extremely well.
For that reason, I decided not to worry about our allies, who would be focusing on defense.
It was then that Yeon Haneul, who had been fighting me, suddenly spoke.
Displeasure was evident in her voice.
“You were thinking about someone else just now, weren’t you?”
“…No, I wasn’t.”
“It doesn’t seem like you weren’t.”
“….”
…Can she read my mind or something?
Seeing Yeon Haneul’s sulky expression, I inwardly flinched.
Retrieving the iron hammer she had slammed into the ground, she stuck out her lips as if warning me.
“When you’re with me, you should focus on me. Looking elsewhere like that…. If you get hit because of it, don’t blame me.”
“Got it. I’ll focus on you. I’m sorry, okay?”
Yeon Haneul was right.
I decided to focus not on the camp in the rear, but on her in front of me.
“….”
We each gauged the other’s next move.
When I subtly tried to close the distance, Yeon Haneul retreated so as not to give it up.
In the end, the distance did not shrink and we remained at a standstill.
There was no helping it.
Tap!
Even if it was reckless, I had no choice but to charge Yeon Haneul and close the gap in one go.
Having made my decision, I kicked off the ground at once.
At that moment, her rabbit ears pricked up, and she hurriedly dodged.
At the same time, the magic she had been preparing unfolded.
A black sphere left Yeon Haneul’s hand.
At first, the sphere was only large enough to hold in one hand, but it rapidly swelled in size.
“…!”
Before long, the black sphere, having stopped growing at the size of a watermelon, pulled me in as I charged toward Yeon Haneul.
Startled by the force pulling me from behind, I gritted my teeth and forced myself to endure.
But the feet I had planted on the ground were gradually dragged in the direction of the sphere.
‘She learned it after reaching the Fourth Rank.’
Fourth-rank darkness elemental magic, Gravity Orb.
As someone who had been a veteran player of the game in my past life, I knew this magic.
It created a black sphere like this and pulled in nearby enemies until the sphere converged into nothingness.
‘And the moment it converges into nothingness, it bursts outward in the opposite direction of the pull….’
Like a rubber band that has been pulled to its limit returning to its original state through elasticity.
In the game, it might have been useful for disrupting enemy actions, but from the perspective of the one on the receiving end, it was an extremely troublesome spell.
‘What should I do?’
Simply enduring like this was not a good choice.
The moment Gravity Orb disappeared, I would be pushed back by the recoil in proportion to how much I had endured.
And at that time, I would be struck by Yeon Haneul’s iron hammer, which was already ready to swing.
In that case….
Crackle!
I entrusted my body to my evasion instinct and tried to gauge the timing.
Matching the moment when the sphere would disappear, I took my feet off the ground altogether.
My body floated into the air.
“…!”
Yeon Haneul, who had likely failed to anticipate my action, looked flustered.
Smiling at her, I offered no resistance and flew backward toward the sphere.
Then Gravity Orb vanished.
────!!
Crackle!
A force arose, pushing outward in the opposite direction from the pull it had exerted until now.
Following exactly what my evasion instinct told me, I leaned my body forward the moment my feet touched the ground.
At that instant, as if something had pushed against my back, I accelerated in the direction my gaze was facing.
It was the direction where Yeon Haneul stood.
‘It worked.’
Lifting the corners of my mouth, I did not stop there and activated the skill built into the Ultramarine Sword.
The blue lightning that had been dwelling within the Ultramarine Sword all this time was released.
With blue currents wrapped around my body, I arrived in front of Yeon Haneul at a speed even faster than before.
Then, while dodging Saneullim, which she reflexively swung, with my evasion instinct.
“…!”
I launched a full-body charge at Yeon Haneul.
Having lost her grip on Saneullim, she was pushed by my strength and fell to the ground.
Since I could not let her get dirt on her, I quickly stretched out my arm and wrapped it around her waist.
Supporting her with all my strength like that, I switched the Ultramarine Sword to its reverse-edged form and held it to her neck.
“Looks like I won, doesn’t it?”
“…I guess so.”
The battle had essentially ended with that.
I declared my victory to Yeon Haneul, whose face showed her agitation.
For a moment, her red eyes trembled, and ultimately, she had no choice but to admit defeat.
It was then that she changed the subject.
“But while you won the battle, it feels like I won the match?”
“What? What do you mean….”
“My clone just contacted me.”
“Your clone? Don’t tell me….”
A possibility I hadn’t wanted to imagine suddenly came to mind.
I couldn’t finish my sentence.
Yeon Haneul, half-embraced in my arms, giggled.
Right at that moment.
“G-Gyeonu! We’re in big trouble!”
“….”
A presence approached from the direction of our class’s camp.
It was a student belonging to Min Arin’s fortress.
The student seemed to have run over without even a moment to catch their breath and relayed the situation to me.
“W-We had our flag stolen…. While we were distracted by Yeon Haneul’s clones… Go Eunbi snuck into our base….”
“….”
“So now everyone is chasing Go Eunbi, heading toward Class 8’s camp…. G-Gyeonu, you should hurry too….”
“…What happened to Arin?”
“W-well… she got hit by iron hammers from Yeon Haneul’s clones… and went flying off somewhere….”
“It’s okay. She probably didn’t die.”
The last answer came from Yeon Haneul.
She had already slipped out of my arms and was wearing a bright smile.
I was so dumbfounded that I was at a loss for words.
“Isn’t using your Gift cheating? I thought you’d have the sense not to use it….”
“But I wanted to win that badly.”
Yeon Haneul stuck her tongue out slightly.
With my heart racing for her, I couldn’t bring myself to get angry.
Instead, I decided to get moving quickly.
“Alright. I’ll join them to reclaim the flag too, so which way….”
“Where do you think you’re going, leaving me behind?”
“….”
“Are you going?”
“You’re really too much….”
Yeon Haneul divided.
Holding Sanullim, she multiplied into two, then four, then eight.
Looking at the versions of her surrounding me as if to hold me back, I was at a loss for words.
“No, you can’t go.”
“Ha….”
“Just stay with me.”
“….”
The eight Yeon Haneuls each grabbed my body and shook it while whining.
I couldn’t properly exert my strength against their devastating onslaught.
In the end, I had to resign myself and accept it.
I apologized to the student who had come to deliver the news.
“Sorry. It looks like I have to deal with her, so I can’t go. You know how it is. Someone has to hold her back.”
“Ah… yeah, well… it can’t be helped. You two have a nice… date, no, fight. We’ll reclaim the flag somehow! Sorry for interrupting!”
My classmate readily accepted this and hurriedly left.
Before long, only the two of us remained in the spot….
‘No, I suppose it’s nine of us.’
Left behind with eight Yeon Haneuls, I let out a sigh.
Then I spoke to them.
“I’m not going to run away, so release your Gift now.”
“Yeah! I won, right?”
“Yeah, I lost. I lost.”
I might have won in combat, but I had lost in strategy.
It was Yeon Haneul’s victory.
I raised both hands as a sign of surrender to her.
She covered her mouth with her hand and snickered.
And so, with my feet held down, I had to spend time with her until the class competition ended.
Unfortunately, our class ended up losing.
‘Still… I don’t feel bad.’
So what if we lost?
Haneul is this happy, after all.
I Became the Mid-Boss’s Childhood Friend