Episode 79 Week 5 Mentoring, In-person Battle (2)
When Kwak Ji-cheol met my eyes while I was climbing the stairs, his face turned slightly pale and he looked down.
The nightmare of that day, when I was beaten and thrown on the floor, must have come to mind.
On the other hand, I no longer had any lingering ill feelings toward Kwak Ji-cheol.
Because it has already been emitted enough.
So when we got a little closer to each other, I asked the question first.
“163-H?”
“… … That’s right.”
“You came to the right place.”
Song Cheon-hye’s attitude toward Gwak Ji-cheol was not as repulsive as when she saw me, but it seemed like a mixture of many complex emotions.
One of them seems to be a concern about the combination of Kwak Ji-cheol and me.
We even fought a duel, so now we’re all mentoring each other for a month. You might be wondering if this is okay.
And the last member was even more spectacular… … .
Red bob cut to her shoulders, a ruby-studded cane,
And the one who fought the battle with me last week,
It was Hong Yeon-hwa.
Hong Yeon-hwa’s face was filled with discontent, as if she didn’t like something.
In that state, I looked over the seating chart,
I turned my gaze towards where 163-H was,
He found me sitting there, completely still.
“… … !!”
Hong Yeon-hwa’s whole body became frozen like a stone statue.
Hong Yeon-hwa’s pupils were shaking violently as if an earthquake had occurred.
He quickly turns his body so that his back is visible, then takes something out and checks it.
Maybe they should double check the back of your student ID.
But just like Song Cheon-hye and Gwak Ji-cheol, there was no way that a predetermined fate could change.
Just accept it. I don’t know if it will make you feel better.
Hong Yeon-hwa climbed the stairs with heavy steps as if her legs were full of sandbags.
“… … .”
“… … .”
Me, sitting comfortably alone, and three people standing awkwardly, slightly apart from each other.
To a third party, it was a sight that was secretly comical.
‘So, who is our mentor?’
I don’t see anyone teaching so that everyone can gather to learn.
Fortunately, the wait wasn’t long.
When they sensed a presence below, the four people who were looking in different directions focused their gazes on each other.
Our mentor climbs the steps to the stands with a leisurely and relaxed gait while receiving those gazes.
He is a third-year student and the president of the thieves’ club.
It was Dang Gyu-young.
“Hello? I am your mentor.”
Dang Gyu-yeong gave a brief self-introduction and sat down, leaning against the back of the seat in front of me.
And then he secretly smiles at me,
It seemed to ask, ‘How was it, surprised?’
‘So this is what you meant when you said you’d see me on Monday.’
It wasn’t that surprising, but it was unexpected.
Those who belong to the thief class generally have free-spirited personalities that do not like to be tied down by anything, and they tend to prefer being easy-going like a bum rather than being diligent.
On the other hand, if you participate in mentoring, you will be tied to a contract with Yongsal Academy and will have to move diligently according to the schedule of the students you are teaching, which is the complete opposite of a thief’s nature.
In addition, Dang Gyu-yeong is the club president, so he must be several times busier than the regular club members.
Contrary to my expectations, he became my mentor.
‘I wonder if there’s some hidden truth behind it.’
Of course, I don’t think they would have just accepted it, and I think the bachelor’s side must have presented some merit to it.
I’ll ask you later when I get a chance.
“… … .”
Dang Gyu-yeong looked at the four of us one by one.
After secretly exchanging greetings, I didn’t pretend to know him anymore. After all, as a mentor, I didn’t want to give the impression that I was favoring only some students.
Song Cheon-hye is the younger sister of Song Cheon-gi, the third-year student council president.
Considering the barbed conversation they had during the raid on the temporary storage facility, it seems like he and Song Cheon-gi aren’t on very good terms.
Kwak Ji-cheol is Kwak Seung-jae’s younger brother.
Despite their relationship as a thief and a leader, Dang Gyu-yeong has a rather positive perception of Kwak Seung-jae.
A difficult opponent to deal with, but a worthy rival.
But I’m not sure about his younger brother, Kwak Ji-cheol.
I guess it will be very negative because he showed a poor performance in his duel with me, borrowing 3rd year golems and equipment, and even doing space defense.
Among the four of us, the one who seemed to have the least connection with Dang Gyu-yeong was Hong Yeon-hwa, but since we didn’t know much about the relationship between the Ruby Tower and the Thieves’ Club, we had to keep an eye on this.
In summary, it’s a combination that makes your head hurt just by looking at it.
However, since we entered through mentoring, we must embrace all combinations, no matter what.
Of course, Dang Gyu-yeong was a person with the distinction of public and private affairs to become the club president.
Open your mouth in a businesslike tone, without emotion.
“You came under me with the goal of becoming an all-rounder magician. Everyone can do well with magic, but that alone is not enough for an all-rounder.”
The role of a wizard is to faithfully carry out one’s role, but also to know how to take on additional roles by moving between the front, middle, and rear of the party depending on the situation.
Dang Gyu-yeong continued speaking.
“I don’t know where you are lacking and how much. So today, I’m going to check that out.”
Through this week’s match.
Dang Gyu-yeong put up the interpersonal environment and rules next to him.
MAP:[Circular Arena]
RULE:[Strong Enemy][Random Rule]
The first rule that stands out is [Strong Enemy].
The formidable enemy of the second week’s strategy battle was the Decapitator Goblin, a boss monster that was several times stronger than the standard Goblin.
The opponent in this match will also be an equally difficult opponent.
And at this point, it was almost a foregone conclusion who it would be.
“Of course, the strong opponent is me.”
“… … !”
Dang Gyu-yeong pointed at himself with his thumb.
If you want to test your skills, there is no surer way than to directly confront and fight.
On the one hand, it was an opportunity for mentors to prove their strength and confirm that they were qualified to teach.
‘In a word, it’s time to strengthen discipline.’
Song Cheon-hye, Hong Yeon-hwa, and Kwak Ji-cheol, who are gathered here now, are first-year students, but they belong to a fairly famous group.
Their pride was also extremely high, and there was a possibility that they would question their mentor’s origins or social status.
It was in a similar context that they were secretly sending cold stares at Dang Gyu-yeong.
There is also a negative perception of the thief class,
Isn’t Dang Gyu-yeong a wizard belonging to the Guild Union and not the Magic Tower Association?
In order to prevent unnecessary noise like the above, it is best to establish discipline now.
“Even so, asking them to knock out a third-year student is probably too harsh a request. So I’m going to add [an arbitrary rule].”
Some rules may be adjusted at the mentor’s discretion.
With a snap of his fingers, Dang Gyu-young added a rule.
MAP:[Circular Arena]
RULE:[Strong Enemy][Restrictions][Sticker][2 People]
“First of all, I fight with this.”
At some point, a bracelet was hanging from the tip of Dang Gyu-yeong’s finger and was dangling.
It looks like an electronic bracelet, and a large ‘C’ appears on the screen.
A bracelet that has a similar role to the [Fix Zone] in the strategy battle layout test, fixing the maximum spec limit to C rank.
The power of skills and traits is lowered, and some high-level skills cannot be used.
For example, [Blink], the magician’s ultimate general-purpose skill and movement magic, is a B-class skill from the start, so it can be considered practically unusable here.
Of course, even if they are all fixed at C rank, the difference in specs compared to first-year students will still be there.
The difference in the number of skills learned is enormous,
Most of the skills that first-year students have will have a C rank as the highest, and some will have an E rank as the lowest, and some will have an F rank as well.
That’s why the next rule, [Sticker], is also a rule that is advantageous to us.
Dang Gyu-young took out three stickers the size of his palm and stuck one on the outside of his thigh, one on his side, and one on his collarbone.
Seeing that sight, Kwak Ji-cheol blushed and turned his head.
What do you think?
He seems like such a sinister guy.
There is no way Dang Gyu-yeong didn’t see what I saw, but he didn’t show it and continued explaining.
“You don’t have to knock me down, just remove all three stickers and you’ll be considered successful. Of course, I won’t sit still either.”
To remove the sticker, you would obviously have to get close enough to reach it, which means that Dang Gyu-yeong can hold off any opponent who approaches.
The last rule, [2 people], is so obvious that it didn’t even need to be mentioned.
It’s a call for two people to work together to peel off the sticker.
“That’s it. If you have any questions or complaints, tell me now.”
“… … .”
There was no way I could complain about such a handicap being imposed.
Even if there is, it would be a blow to your pride to complain alone when the person next to you says nothing.
Dang Gyu-yeong took us to the front of the stadium.
And then he said while placing his foot on the teleportation magic circle.
“When you’re ready, come in twos. Choose your partners.”
Then it disappeared inside with a whoosh.
“… … .”
“… … .”
The gazes of the four people left crossed each other in the air.
After a breathtaking battle of wits, Song Cheon-hye made a proposal to Kwak Ji-cheol.
“Let’s be fair.”
“That sounds good.”
It seems that Kwak Ji-cheol has come to the conclusion that this is the least uncomfortable of the three.
The same goes for Kwak Ji-cheol.
No matter what happens, you probably don’t want to be with me, and you probably think it’s better to be with Topaz Matap than Ruby Matap, who are your enemies.
The two people who formed a team on the spot rode a teleportation magic circle and moved into the stadium.
“… … .”
And Hong Yeon-hwa had to watch the scene with a half-sad expression on her face.
In front of Song Cheon-hye and Kwak Ji-cheol, he maintained his usual confident yet slightly angry expression, but when he was left alone with me, he suddenly became shy and started to look around.
‘He’s still like that.’
I thought I would feel a little more at ease after we successfully completed the sweeping strategy last week, but I guess that wasn’t the case.
Anyway, if I recall that experience and do something similar, won’t things work out somehow?
While waiting for Song Cheon-hye and Kwak Ji-cheol to come out,
I just recalled the notification messages that had just arrived.
[Event: 1st Mentoring](In progress…….)
[Remaining period: 27 days]
▷Grow faster with the help of a mentor.
▷Increased probability of acquiring skills/traits
▷Increased skill/trait growth rate
[Sub Quest: Week 5 PvP Battle]
▷Goal: Remove stickers (-/3)
▷Deadline: ~Sunday midnight
▷Reward: Differential payment depending on the time of achievement
Let’s put the mentoring event aside for a moment.
Although Dang Gyu-yeong hasn’t mentioned it yet, this ‘sticker removal from a strong enemy’ battle can be attempted multiple times.
However, the point to note here is that the rewards vary depending on the ‘achievement period’.
There is a big difference in reward between succeeding on the first day and barely succeeding by the end of Sunday.
So, aim to get all three stickers off cleanly in your first try.
“Ugh.”
At that moment, Kwak Ji-cheol rolled out like a ball and broke my thoughts.
Rolling around, he loses speed and falls to the ground, a faint electric current crackling from his body.
Following this, Song Cheon-hye came out, looking very tired.
He looked like he wanted to collapse at any moment, but he became aware of us and tried his best to look normal.
And then he raised his thin, trembling hand and pointed toward the stadium.
“Next, please come in… … .”
