Chapter 34

< Chapter 34: Rapid Rise (2) >

Time flew by.

Today was Friday.

It was the day of the ranking match between Kang Seo-yul and Choi Ji-hoon.

“Why are there so many people…”

Yu Hwa complained from the stands.

The stands were packed with people, with no empty seats.

They all came to see Kang Seo-yul in person.

“Choi Ji-hoon doesn’t matter, he’s the heir of the Suseong Group anyway. Kang Seo-yul. Focus on Kang Seo-yul.”

“Yes!”

Kang Seo-yul’s name was constantly mentioned from the mouths of the scouts around.

“Ugh.”

Kang Seo-yul was already a lottery ticket that had been won.

That’s how indescribable the versatility and usability of a fire attribute superhuman was.

‘If you’re going to show your power, do it moderately, not reveal your attribute magic from the start.’

Thanks to that, Yu Hwa was the only one who felt gloomy.

The fact that Kang Seo-yul’s true value was only known to her.

Well, Shin Jia should be included too.

Of course, Yu Hwa was also surprised by the fact that he could use fire attribute magic.

‘How much power are you hiding?’

She couldn’t imagine.

He even fooled Pi Jin-ho’s ‘eye of mystery’, so it wouldn’t be anything less than what she imagined.

‘No matter how much I investigated his past, I couldn’t find anything suspicious.’

He was a man who had everything questionable.

Yu Hwa sighed and leaned her elbows on the railing. She leaned her upper body forward and looked at Kang Seo-yul in the center of the arena with a smile.

‘Well, that makes him more attractive.’

A young man who had a lot of secrets, abilities, good looks, and youth.

It was impossible not to be interested.

Even if he was suspicious, he was still a benefactor of the Bihon Guild, so having a good impression of him was also one of the reasons for her interest.

“It’s starting! Report to the guild leader first!”

“Check the camera one last time!”

The movements of the scouts around them became urgent.

Yu Hwa sneered at the people who were moving hastily.

‘Kang Seo-yul is a sour grape anyway, why bother buying it.’

Is that what they call poking a sour grape?

Someone called Yu Hwa at that moment.

“Is Guild Leader Yu here for scouting purposes too?”

“Shin Jia?”

Yu Hwa bit her tongue.

How could she meet Shin Jia in this crowded stand?

“I don’t know.”

“I think it would be better to give up if that’s your purpose. Seo-yul has decided to join Shinwha Group after graduation.”

Yu Hwa fixed her eyes on Kang Seo-yul and snorted.

Kang Seo-yul is joining the Shinwa Group? Yeah right.

It’s hard to say this, but Shinwha Group is not a big enough vessel to contain Kang Seo-yul completely.

“Then I guess I’ll have to give up.”

Of course, she couldn’t say that bluntly, so she answered vaguely.

With that, the two girls fell silent.

Only the murmurs of various scouts around them could be heard.

“Who do you think will win?”

Yu Hwa casually asked.

“Seo-yul.”

Shin Jia answered indifferently.

* * *

“You’ll start in a minute. Check your equipment one last time, both sides.”

The instructor who was in charge of being the referee said that and moved away from me and Choi Ji-hoon.

The instructor seemed to check the safety settings of the magic field for the last time.

Only me and Choi Ji-hoon were left in the center of the arena.

“…”

Choi Ji-hoon’s sharp gaze pierced me. A fierce look. He must really dislike me.

“Do you hate me that much?”

“Yeah. I hate you.”

I scratched the back of my head.

I had a guess why Choi Ji-hoon hated me.

First of all, he wouldn’t like Ha Shi-yeon showing favor to me.

Given his personality with a sense of seniority, he wouldn’t like me, who was nothing but an F-rank loser, getting attention all the time.

But there was a fundamental reason.

“Do you doubt me that much?”

“Yeah.”

Doubt.

He must have suspicions about my existence.

He wouldn’t have been able to find any information even if he mobilized all the power of the Suseong Group.

Suspicion and jealousy and other negative emotions mixed together, he might have judged me as a villain who infiltrated the academy.

If I think from his perspective, it’s not such a strange thing to think.

Rather, it could be said to be a rational doubt.

There’s just one question.

“But I’m really curious. What does your suspicion of me have to do with the ranking match?”

“…”

Choi Ji-hoon was silent.

“It’s not like your doubt will be resolved by fighting me.”

I’ve been curious.

What does revealing my identity have to do with fighting me in the ranking match?

“Revealing your identity is just a pretext. You just want to beat me up, don’t you? In front of everyone?”

The surroundings are full of people.

Is his goal to humiliate me in front of these many people?

“I won’t deny it.”

“You’re honest, that’s good.”

Choi Ji-hoon doesn’t lie.

He’s rude, but honest.

He’s not a bad guy, just because of his tone and mood, and expression.

“Are you free after the ranking match?”

“What?”

I checked my equipment casually.

The training equipment such as spear, dagger, armor, etc. is fine.

There’s no problem with the weapon’s extreme.

Everything is fine.

“…What are you thinking?”

Choi Ji-hoon’s eyes became sharper.

“I don’t have any thoughts. We have to live together for at least four years, so it’s no use being suspicious all the time.”

I smirked.

“Let’s talk a little.”

“…”

Making an enemy of the Suseong Group is the worst of the worst.

“It’s better to solve it with dialogue, right?”

There’s nothing more foolish in life than having a grudge with someone.

Life becomes tiring.

“…”

Choi Ji-hoon’s brow furrowed.

He seemed to have a lot on his mind.

“Oh. And don’t hold a grudge for losing the ranking match like a man.”

Choi Ji-hoon’s expression completely crumpled.

“That sounds like you’re going to win.”

I didn’t answer.

I just replied with a confident smile.

“…You arrogant bastard.”

Choi Ji-hoon growled.

“It’s time! Kang Seo-yul, Choi Ji-hoon cadets, get ready!”

With the instructor’s words, a hologram appeared in the center.

[10, 9, 8]

Choi Ji-hoon drew his sword and twisted his wrist lightly.

I also held a spear in my right hand.

[4, 3]

Magic burst out from Choi Ji-hoon’s body.

―Wow!

An exclamation flowed from the audience.

The magic radiated from Choi Ji-hoon’s body began to take shape.

Full plate armor.

A mysterious [magic armor] that shone with a blue light covered Choi Ji-hoon’s body.

“…Wow. Even a helmet. You’re very prepared.”

[2, 1]

[Start!]

The next moment Choi Ji-hoon’s body was flying in the air.

It was a movement worthy of 103rd place.

He didn’t seem to be careless like last time, so he looked even faster.

But it was an expected movement.

I focused all my nerves on the spear in my right hand.

At that moment, magic condensed at the tip of the spear and began to swirl.

My sight was filled with all kinds of wind.

The path of the wind.

I moved my body to where the red line pointed.

One step to the right.

Bend your upper body down.

Swing your dagger obliquely.

Kigigigigik!

I felt Choi Ji-hoon’s sword slide down along my dagger.

The difference in overwhelming ability made the muscles in my left arm tremble like crazy.

But the synergy of [the path of wind] and [the Master of the weapons] overcame the difference in ability for a moment.

Ting-!

But the price was high.

The dagger I was holding flew away.

No, Choi Ji-hoon’s purpose was to get rid of my dagger in the first place.

My sight returned to normal.

Choi Ji-hoon was smiling.

But what do I do now?

I was planning to let go of the dagger after blocking this attack anyway.

Choi Ji-hoon’s body balance was collapsed.

He must have moved too hard to get rid of my dagger.

He probably trusted the defense of his magic armor.

That was a fatal mistake.

Whirr-!

I concentrated all my attention on the spear in my right hand.

At that moment, the swirl at the tip of my spear took shape.

A drill-like shape of strong energy.

A form that maximizes penetration by rotating fire energy.

Spiral spear.

“Ugh!”

A moment of stiffness.

Choi Ji-hoon’s body, which was moving his weight back, stopped awkwardly.

It was a moment.

But it was enough.

I seized the opportunity with everything I had.

Bang!

But nothing happened.

Choi Ji-hoon’s [magic armor] was not a trait that deserved to stay at 103rd place.

I succeeded in piercing the magic armor a little bit with the power of strong energy, but it was impossible to pierce it completely.

Kigigik-!

A rough friction sound rang between the magic armor and my spear.

Choi Ji-hoon sneered as his stiffness began to loosen.

“F-rank loser, there’s no way you can pierce my magic armor···?”

The confidence of victory colored Choi Ji-hoon’s expression froze for a moment.

Jiiing-!

“I’m F-rank, yeah.”

“…You!”

A loud noise erupted from the junction of the magic armor and my spear.

“But I’m not a loser!”

Whirr-!

The swirl at the tip of my spear was complete.

A drill-like shape of strong energy.

Spiral spear.

“Huh!”

I put all my strength into my body.

Paaang-!

My spear and Choi Ji-hoon’s magic armor collided, making a deafening noise.

It was indeed a high-strength magic armor that deserved to be called magic armor.

Jjanggrang-!

But the winner was my spear.

The sound of the magic armor shattering into pieces.

Kwaang-!

“Kuhuk!”

My spear pierced Choi Ji-hoon’s chest. The shock sent Choi Ji-hoon’s body flying into the air.

If it weren’t for the safety settings of the magic field, he would have died instantly.

“Huh… Huh…”

I gasped as I watched him. My whole body hurts. If this attack had failed, I would have lost.

But I succeeded.

Thud-

Choi Ji-hoon’s body sprawled on the floor with a thud.

“Winner! Kang Seo-yul!”

[Finish!]

My victory was confirmed.

“…You bastard. You should have known when I picked up a spear.”

* * *

The audience was very quiet.

They all had expressions that they couldn’t speak out of shock.

Then someone who came to their senses shouted.

“Did you rotate the strong energy?”

“No way! There’s no way a 20-year-old cadet can do such a precise manipulation!”

The audience became noisy again.

“Guild leader! We have to get Kang Seo-yul no matter what!”

“It wasn’t just fire attribute strong energy! His magic control was…”

People around were holding their phones and spitting saliva, expressing Kang Seo-yul’s greatness.

It was only a match that lasted for about four seconds, but those four seconds were enough to captivate everyone.

“…Maybe he just doesn’t have any intention of hiding his power.”

Yu Hwa laughed incredulously.

Strong energy is something that gets attention just by using it.

It’s not an easy thing to put magic into a weapon that is not your body.

But Kang Seo-yul was known to have used strong energy with an attribute.

In fact, Kang Seo-yul’s value was already decided here.

That’s why Yu Hwa described Kang Seo-yul as a winning lottery ticket.

But his value rose again. He added a transformation to his attribute strong energy.

It was a shock itself.

Strong energy with an attribute or strong energy shape transformation are not new techniques.

There were superhumans who used both techniques.

But there were no superhumans who used both techniques at the same time.

“That’s right! He added a transformation to his fire attribute strong energy!”

“If you don’t believe me, I’ll send you the video, hurry up and check it!”

“Condition? The best rookie is out of the question! Yeah! That’s right!”

It was natural that everyone was in an uproar at the appearance of an unprecedented superhuman.

‘He must have had some thoughts when he did that without any hesitation. Is his goal to get attention? But why?’

Yu Hwa looked at Kang Seo-yul and sank into thought.

“…You could have been a little more moderate.”

Shin Jia sighed as if she was dumbfounded.

“What did you say?”

Her murmur was buried in the noise around her and didn’t reach Yu Hwa’s ears.

“No. It’s nothing.”

Shin Jia looked around and sighed deeply.

It would be hard to stop the scouts who flock to her with the name value of the Shinwa Group.

The companies that the Shinwa Group’s breath didn’t reach would move.

What Kang Seo-yul showed today was that special.

‘Maybe every country will move.’

Shin Jia sighed again as if the ground was collapsing.