I did. But he says he really wants to fight you. I had no choice.”
“Ah. I see.”
I started walking again. Yu Yeonha had been walking alongside me, but then she suddenly drifted back a little. Looking ahead, I saw a camera. So she didn’t even want to be next to me in front of a camera.
Once the camera disappeared, Yu Yeonha returned to my side.
“Oh, and.”
Snap. Then she suddenly snapped her fingers. In that instant, some lanky man appeared and handed her a suitcase.
“It’s 100 rounds of top-quality ammunition. This is all for now, but if there’s anything you want, please tell me anytime. Armor is fine too.”
“Oh, really?”
I was about to accept it without refusing, but Yu Yeonha suddenly yanked the suitcase back.
“But don’t get the wrong idea. I’m not trying to settle the debt for my life with this.”
“Huh?”
Yu Yeonha spoke haltingly, as if embarrassed.
“…It’s just a gift.”
“Uh. Got it, so hand it over.”
I snatched the suitcase with no particular interest.
“And. They keep asking me to testify?”
“Hm?”
“About the Djinn incident.”
“Ah, right. What about it?”
“They keep asking me to testify, but for some reason, it seems like you want to keep it hidden, so I’ve been putting it off.”
So she had deliberately avoided testifying to the fact that I’d provided covering fire.
“…Keep doing that, then.”
Lilith, the one Yun Hyeon had contracted with, was an especially dangerous devil. Lilith’s Djinn were so rotten that if my identity were exposed, someone like me—with no backing and not yet strong—would most likely end up in quite a bit of trouble.
“Yes. Ah, but will you win against Horak?”
I suddenly stopped. For some reason, the nuance of her question felt a little strange.
‘Will you win?’
It sounded like she was asking whether I wasn’t going to win even though I could. But right now, I was in no state to win.
“Well then. I’ll be going.”
Before hearing my answer, Yu Yeonha moved away from me.
I wondered if there was another camera, and sure enough, in the distance, reporters who had recognized Yu Yeonha were hurrying over.
* * *
I arrived at Duel Arena 2. It was only 8 a.m., yet the place was already teeming with people. There were also many reporters carrying cameras and microphones.
Just then, a nearby reporter was explaining the reason.
“The first matchups, which will be held today from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., include a large number of cadets who are well known to the public, such as Chae Nayun, Kim Suho, and Kim Horak…”
I pushed my way through the crowd and headed toward the duel arena entrance. However, a staff member stopped me.
“Um, I’m wearing a cadet uniform. Can’t you see?”
“Haha. No, that’s not it. Cadets are supposed to enter through that passage over there.”
The staff member pointed to the side. Looking over, I saw a separate passage beside the main entrance.
“Ah, yes.”
I walked down that passage and stood in front of the waiting room I’d been assigned.
[Waiting Room 5]
This place was probably full of small fries like me. Kim Suho, Chae Nayun, and the like were probably in Waiting Room 1, closer to the press.
I flung the door open. The space, where about thirty to forty people had been gathered and chatting noisily, suddenly went quiet. Dozens of pairs of eyes looked only at me. One second. Two seconds. Three seconds… But soon, they withdrew their gazes without much interest and went back to talking among themselves.
I went and sat down on a random chair.
“I heard you’re up against Kim Horak?”
As I was about to rest quietly, someone I didn’t know spoke to me. But since he somehow looked familiar, he was probably from the same class. I nodded without answering.
“Man~ Kim Horak must have you totally marked. You should’ve just kept quiet instead of acting out.”
“…”
I was about to say something, but stopped.
Unlike you guys, I’m a special type that has to act out in order to get stronger.
“Oh right. Why do you keep leaving Cube? You’re not really going around throwing money at bars, are you?”
So that rumor was still going around. I merely shook my head and didn’t answer.
“Gasp, so it really is true?”
So if I did that, he would just jump to conclusions. I had no choice but to open my mouth.
“No. Even if I wanted to, I don’t have the money.”
────────────────────────────────────
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Uninvited Guests (3)
The duel arena where today’s duels were being held had been modeled after a small colosseum. At the center was a match field slightly larger than a soccer field, and around it stretched spectator seats that could hold about five thousand people.
Its popularity was a tremendous success.
Ten minutes before the duels began, the spectator seats were packed without room to step.
“What the. These seats are amazing.”
Upper-rank Hero Oh Junhyeok said as he handed Seo Yeongji a hot dog. The seats Seo Yeongji had claimed were in the very front row, where the duels could be seen best.
“You told me to focus on the mission, but you came the earliest and got the best seats—”
“Shut up and sit down.”
Tsk. Oh Junhyeok smacked his lips for no reason and sat down beside her.
“…Wow~ This place brings back memories.”
“Aren’t they bad memories, not just memories? You got beaten and beaten so much that you once said you couldn’t even watch combat sports.”
“…I’ve gotten a lot better lately. They’re on TV so often, you know. My son loves them.”
Currently, martial competition was one of the most popular sports in the world. That was especially true from children around Oh Junhyeok’s son’s age up to high school students.
The brilliant and intense traces born from those tremendous bloodbaths, where superhumans fought one-on-one or in teams. Magic power scattering like a storm, and sword strikes cleaving the earth. The martial prowess they displayed was more than enough for boys and girls who sought strength to admire.
“Really? That’s good.”
“Good, my ass. It’s the end times, the end times. Djinn are wide awake and glaring at us, but these days the third most popular career path for Heroes is sports agencies. Their mindset is that if they’re going to join a small or medium guild, they’d rather go into sports instead.”
“That can happen.”
“That can happen? Because there are seniors like you, the Association is in the state it’s in…”
As Oh Junhyeok continued speaking, he suddenly felt an extremely combative gaze.
“…What’s with that guy?”
He looked toward the direction the gaze was coming from. Beyond the central match field, in the audience seats on the opposite side.
A rough-looking man was grinning broadly, showing his teeth. That hearty and bold smile was meant solely for Oh Junhyeok and Seo Yeongji.
“He’s been doing that since earlier. He must be a fan.”
“A fan? He recognized us through our disguises?”
“That can happen. Ah, it’s starting.”
No sooner had the announcer declared the start than Seo Yeongji took out her laptop.
“Seriously, as expected of an Association executive… Fine. Who are the ones to watch?”
“Kim Suho. Chae Nayun. The top two. If I had to include two more, Lee Yeonghan and Kim Horak.”
“Oh~ Two of the TOP 6 are here. Who are they fighting?”
Kim Suho and Chae Nayun. They were famous prospects even within the Association, and they were matchups that even Oh Junhyeok, who did not enjoy duels, could secretly look forward to.
“Kim Suho versus Lee Yeonghan. Chae Nayun versus Joseph. Kim Horak versus Kim Hajin.”
“Looks like almost all of them picked suitable opponents. Except Kim Horak. Who’s Kim Hajin?”
“Rank 934, Kim Hajin.”
“…934? That’s way too low. Anything noteworthy?”
Seo Yeongji pushed up her glasses.
“The rumors are quite bad. My cousin, who attends Cube right now, told me his character is more than a little awful.”
“Ah~ So he’s crushing a delinquent? I get it, I get it. Wow. Still, Kim Horak has a sense of justice, huh. Even sacrificing his own points to…”
Tak. Seo Yeongji closed her laptop.
“It’s starting.”
“…Tsk.”
Oh Junhyeok crossed his arms and leaned back against his chair.
The first match was the duel between the two people just mentioned.
—The first match is between 18th-ranked Kim Horak and 934th-ranked Kim Hajin! How will Kim Hajin overcome this great gap in rank, and how will Kim Horak deal with a lower-ranked cadet…
The pitiful announcer loudly seasoned a feast whose result was obvious.
Afterward, a mana barrier was erected around the match field. It was to prevent the attacks of the two cadets from spilling outside, just in case.
“That must be him.”
“Yeah. That’s right.”
Oh Junhyeok looked at the man walking out from the passage on the right. His impression was ordinary. So ordinary that it seemed he wouldn’t even remember him tomorrow.
* * *
Privately owned weapons could not be used during the exam. This was because scouts wanted to observe the cadet’s abilities, not the performance of their weapons. Therefore, I couldn’t use the Desert Eagle. It would also be best not to mobilize Aether if possible.
In other words, all I could rely on was a cadet-issued handgun and the secondary weapon I’d brought in advance. The chances of beating Kim Horak with only those two were slim. Even so, I had no intention of losing one-sidedly. Especially not to that bastard Kim Horak.
“Let’s go.”
“…Yes.”
Guided by the staff, I went up onto the stage.
First, I looked around. A translucent mana barrier surrounded the area on all sides, and beyond it, thousands of spectators looked down at me. An indescribable pressure and, at the same time, a thrilling excitement bore down on my body.
As I trembled from that strange exhilaration, Kim Horak appeared from the other side.
“Oh~ Kim Horak.”
I raised my hand with a deliberate smile.
“Did you do well on the written exam?”
Kim Horak gave no answer and merely equipped his gauntlets. I also raised my handgun. The difference between Kim Horak’s physical stats and mine, even by a strict estimate, was a whopping 4 points. It was the difference between an ordinary human and a grown elephant. Naturally, the moment the distance closed, my waist would snap.
“Why so scary? Let’s take it easy, take it easy.”
—Now, we will begin the countdown. Three!
Perhaps thinking both sides were ready, the announcer suddenly shouted.
Crack— Crack— I could hear the sound of Kim Horak loosening his joints all the way over here.
—Two!
He drew his magic power outside his body. It was Protective Aura, a technique that radiated the magic power inside the body in the form of a transparent film. Though his mastery was still immature, my bullets couldn’t pierce even that much.
—One!
His center of gravity tilted forward, and the soles of his feet dug into the ground.
The current distance between Kim Horak and me was 150 meters. For Kim Horak, it was a distance he could cross in three seconds.
However, of course, I had prepared a way to stop his approach.
—Start!
Immediately, he charged like a wild beast. My perceived time, on the other hand, slowed. ‘Bullet Time’ had activated.
I released the magic power of the Stigma. This magic power would seep into the handgun and cling to only a single bullet. The bullet fused with that magic power would then possess a specific property according to the ‘setting’ I had established in advance.
Its special name was ‘Anti-Magic.’
It was a property that shattered solid magic power the moment it collided with it.
“Whew.”
Half of the Stigma’s magic power poured out in an instant, but it was more than worth it.
I pulled the trigger toward the boar charging at me. He made no attempt to dodge the bullet. Naturally, it was because he was confident he could deflect it.
Clang—
However, the instant the bullet touched the Protective Aura, it caused a strange explosion. That explosion shattered the Protective Aura Kim Horak had worked so hard to weave like a pane of glass.
Kim Horak, now exposed, was nothing more than a large target.
I pulled the trigger to my heart’s content.
Startled, Kim Horak shifted his path to the side. It was a movement meant to curve around and strike me. I poured bullets along that trajectory. Left with no choice, he retreated. Even so, the barrage of bullets did not stop. I kept pulling the trigger, and the bullets continued chasing Kim Horak.
Kim Horak jumped upward, rolled to the side, tore up the ground itself and used it as a shield, and in such ways endured for a sufficient amount of time.
“…Hm.”
Pausing my shooting for a moment, I stroked my chin and watched Kim Horak. A blue energy began to rise in wisps around his body again. His Protective Aura had regenerated.
However, Protective Aura was not a technique that could be used repeatedly at any time. Even now, it was plainly apparent that its intensity was far thinner than when he had first wrapped himself in it.
This would probably be his last Protective Aura.
“Hss.”
He licked his rapidly drying lips with his tongue and charged again. This time, it was very different from before. Like some kind of crab, he charged while moving busily from side to side. There was no pattern, making it impossible to predict, and even if I aimed and shot, his movements were faster than a bullet.
However, I had prepared a countermeasure for this situation as well.
I took a dagger from my waist and bound the Stigma’s magic power to its blade. Then I threw it lightly.
Throwing also fell within the category of a sharpshooter. The dagger flew like a boomerang. However, this dagger had no effect, no magic power. Even if it touched his protective aura, it probably wouldn’t leave so much as a scratch.
“Fuck!”
But Kim Horak, as he was now, couldn’t think that way.
Maybe there was something to that dagger, too… He would surely think something like that. Just as the first shot had contained unexpected destructive power, there must be some sinister trick lurking in this blade as well.
In the end, Kim Horak twisted his body to avoid the knife. I pulled on the thread of magic power tied to the knife and altered its course. The knife bent at a right angle and aimed for Kim Horak. Eyes wide, Kim Horak probably became certain at that moment.
‘There’s something in this one too.’
He showed no movement to dodge. A knife wasn’t as fast as a bullet, nor was it as small. Because of that, Kim Horak tried to grab the knife. In fact, Kim Horak did grab hold of it. His dynamic visual acuity was impressive.
However, in order to grab something, one inevitably has to stop.
Toward his protective aura, a bullet that had already been fired struck true.
“Ugh!”
The bullet shattered the protective aura precisely. Taking advantage of his stagger, I retrieved the knife as well.
Kim Horak had definitely been stripped bare. Now, what choice would he make…
“…Damn it!”
As expected, he charged in even more recklessly. Without retreating, whether bullets lodged in his body or not, he simply rushed straight at me.
Both forearms, thighs, calves.
Even after being hit in all sorts of places, he endured.
“Uryaaa—!”
When he finally reached right in front of me and swung his fist, I retreated with a back handspring. Kim Horak pursued me fiercely without missing a beat.
Before long, I reached a dead-end wall, but before Kim Horak could feel any pleased satisfaction, I placed my hand on that wall and climbed up.
That was the power of parkour, which allowed me to climb anything so long as it was a “wall.” My hands and legs clung to the wall like magnets, and from above, where Kim Horak could never reach, I fired my handgun.
“Hey, shit! This is cheating!”
I had kept this situation in mind as well, so I had focused my shots on his thighs and calves. Kim Horak didn’t have the strength to jump up this far.
I fired one-sidedly.
Reduced to a target, Kim Horak moved this way and that, trying to evade however he could, but a gunshot hurt even if it only hit one spot. Thigh, shoulder, heel… As his wounds gradually increased, and as he grew sluggish in proportion, Kim Horak eventually stopped moving.
For the final shot, I intended to shoot him in the abdomen. Because inside there was the system that forcibly stopped the duel when a fatal injury was sustained.
Click—
“…?”
However, no bullet came out. I searched my pockets. There was no magazine.
“Ah.”
I had brought as many as 240 rounds, but I had used them all up.
Feeling caught off guard, I landed on the floor.
Since the magic power of Stigma was also completely exhausted, the only thing left was the knife.
I could just walk over like this and stab him in the abdomen with the knife, but… Kim Horak still didn’t seem to have any intention of giving up.
“Hoo. Hoo.”
Look at that stance, glaring at me with his eyes wide open. If I got close, he looked ready to grab me and kill me. On top of that, one of his arms was still fine.
I glanced around.
I remembered it being enthusiastic at first, but now it was quiet~. It felt similar to the atmosphere of a reading room.
“Hmm…”
Well, I think this much is enough revenge.
You couldn’t hit me even once, but I beat you up. Besides, even if I lose here, my score won’t drop anyway.
I gave Kim Horak a broad smile, then raised both hands.
And quietly said,
“I surrender.”
Fweeeet—
At the same time, the referee blew his whistle.
The mana barriers blocking off the four sides of the dueling arena disappeared.
Whistling, I walked out beyond them.
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Uninvited Guests (4)
The duel ended. The time taken was about eight minutes.
It was neither particularly fast nor particularly slow.
The result of the duel was as expected. However, the process was so far beyond expectations that the audience seats were deathly silent.
“Savage. Those were live rounds, right?”
Amid that silence, Oh Junhyeok looked down at Kim Hajin as he walked toward the waiting room.
“Yeah.”
Seo Yeongji nodded.
“But that guy doesn’t look like he’s in much pain at all. Isn’t he practically a beehive?”
This time, he spoke while pointing at Kim Horak. Just as he said, Kim Horak had bullets lodged all over his body. Although he had put protectors on places like his “neck” and “heart” in advance before the duel, there wasn’t much blood loss, and his expression didn’t look all that pained either.
“For martial-type kids, their body is their weapon. Recovery is their specialty.”
“So, what do you think?”
“Kim Hajin did too well.”