Episode 119 Week 7 Mentoring, Strategy Battle (4)
“So, you got shot by a shotgun and died in one shot?”
“… … .”
Kwak Ji-cheol kept his mouth shut in response to Dang Gyu-yeong’s question.
Even I thought it was absurd.
I thought I was going well in the game, but out of nowhere, Seo Ye-in closed the distance and shot me with a shotgun.
I have nothing to say to the ranged class, the Musketeer, who lost in close combat after practicing so hard for two weeks.
However, Dang Gyu-yeong did not look angry or reprimanding.
She continued to ask questions in a casual tone.
“Let’s listen. What do you think the pain is?”
Rather than wasting your emotions on things that have already happened, it would be more constructive to look back and reflect on where things went wrong.
Kwak Ji-cheol thought for a moment and then answered.
“It seemed like everything was fine until the fort was built.”
“Well, and?”
Quickly retrieve the crystals, connect them to the sanctuary, and build a mud wall to siege.
This was the best he could do at the time.
“… … I should have noticed something strange when the musketeers approached, but I was so focused on defending myself that I was late in reacting.”
Dang Gyu-yeong slightly nodded his chin as if telling him to continue talking.
Dang Gyu-yeong nodded.
“That’s right. When someone does something unexpected, you have to try to read their intentions. It’s rare for someone to act without thinking or just because they feel like it.”
This was the best he could do at the time.
Dang Gyu-yeong slightly nodded his chin as if telling him to continue talking.
“Well, and?”
“… … I should have noticed something strange when the musketeers approached, but I was so focused on defending myself that I was late in reacting.”
Dang Gyu-yeong nodded.
“I will keep that in mind.”
Hong Yeon-hwa thought as she listened to the conversation between the two people.
‘You have a lot of helpful advice, more than I expected.’
When they first started mentoring, Hong Yeon-hwa’s first impression of Dang Gyu-yeong was not very good.
The first reason is that although he is a wizard, he belongs to the Guild Union and not the Magic Tower Association.
The second reason was the prejudice against the thief class.
I’ve heard that thieves are so free-spirited that they tend to do things according to their mood and how they feel.
There was also a concern that mentoring would become a bit boring after a while and would be done in a perfunctory manner.
However, even though Dang Gyu-young has been mentoring for three weeks, he is still teaching the first-year students fairly diligently and is slowly gaining their respect.
I think you have to be at least that good to be a club president.
Dang Gyu-yeong looked around at the mentees, including Hong Yeon-hwa.
“That’s all for the feedback, let’s switch roles this time. It’s perfectly even.”
In the first game, Kim Ho and Kwak Ji-cheol were the ones who picked up the crystal first, so they were the ones who charged and defended.
Hong Yeon-hwa and Song Cheon-hye were one step behind in finding the crystal and recapturing it.
This time, let’s do it the other way around.
Dang Gyu-yeong said this in passing as he stepped into the teleportation magic circle.
“Come in two at a time. First, Kim Ho-rang and Hong Yeon-hwa.”
And then he went inside with a bang.
Hong Yeon-hwa had a hard time accepting the sudden situation and just stayed in place, blinking her eyes.
‘……yes?’
Who and who?
Only after repeating what Dang Gyu-yeong had said several times did the reality begin to dawn on me.
Switch roles. Two of you. One on one. Kim Ho-rang.
And then my eyes met with Kim Ho’s, who was giving me an indifferent look.
“… … .”
Hong Yeon-hwa’s mood suddenly plummeted.
Recently, the perception of Kim Ho has improved considerably.
In particular, there are almost no cases of people cringing at first sight like before.
But one-on-one combat is a separate issue.
In her mind, Kim Ho has already established himself as the final boss.
No matter how much of a sparring match it is, it is not at all enjoyable to compete against an opponent you can never win against.
Hong Yeon-hwa sent a protest in her mind to Dang Gyu-yeong, who had already entered the stadium.
‘Why me?’
Can I have a one-on-one duel with Song Cheon-hye?
But of course, there was no answer from Dang Gyu-yeong, and instead, Kim Ho’s voice was heard.
“Let’s go in. I’ll wait.”
Before he knew it, he was standing on top of the magic circle, looking at her.
“… … .”
“Aren’t you going?”
“I, I’ll go… … .”
Hong Yeon-hwa walked towards him.
At a much slower pace than usual.
However, when he realized that Kwak Ji-cheol and Song Cheon-hye were looking at him suspiciously, he tried to act as calm as possible and walked quickly.
It wouldn’t be good for them to know what was going on between him and Kim Ho.
As the two stood side by side, the magic circle began to glow, and soon the field of vision changed dramatically.
The next moment they were standing in the middle of the forest.
Considering that the first match was held in the forest, Dang Gyu-yeong set the terrain to the same level.
Hong Yeon-hwa unconsciously caught something flying towards her.
After receiving it and checking it, I found out that it was a crystal the size of a fist.
[Crystal 0%]
Next, Dang Gyu-yeong points to the sanctuary with his eyes.
“You go first.”
“… … !”
Hong Yeon-hwa quickly figured out Dang Gyu-yeong’s intentions.
In this duel, Hong Yeon-hwa is the one charging the crystal and defending, so she should go first and take up a position.
“… … .”
When I glanced at Kim Ho, he seemed to have a rough idea of what was going on, and he was just standing there, watching her.
When our eyes met, he nodded slightly as if telling me to try.
Hong Yeon-hwa took a deep breath and calmed her mind.
‘Okay. Let’s give it a try.’
Even if you lose, if you gain something from it, that’s okay.
A large flame rises from the ruby embedded in the wand,
– Whoosh, whoosh,
The rising flame was completely absorbed into her body.
Strengthen your physical abilities with Overheat, then kick the ground to escape.
– Wheein—
As soon as Hong Yeon-hwa entered the sanctuary, a mysterious light poured down from the giant tree.
Light slowly rises in the crystal.
[Crystal 1%]
[Crystal 2%]
Hong Yeon-hwa didn’t stop there, but moved a little further in and quickly explored the surroundings.
‘I like it here.’
And he chose the place that best suited his plans.
A place that is half forest and half open space, with little space between plants, but not completely empty space.
He took his place in the middle and began casting his spell.
– Flash!
The ruby embedded in the wand emits an intense red light, and small magic circles are carved into the floor one by one.
Hong Yeon-hwa continued to concentrate and steadily increased the number of magic circles.
Since her casting speed was much faster than others, the speed at which her magic circle expanded was also unparalleled.
Only after the intestines were filled with small magic circles did Hong Yeon-hwa stop casting.
Then I stared intently at the sound of approaching figures from beyond the forest,
– rustling,
Kim Ho appears leisurely, moving through the grass.
He takes a step forward, then stops and looks down for a moment.
We discovered magic circles densely packed inside the room.
At the same time, Hong Yeon-hwa snapped her fingers,
– Kwaaaaah—!
A nearby magic circle turned red and began to emit a fierce pillar of fire.
Fire pillar.
Originally, it was a magic that took a long time to cast because the size of the magic circle was so large, but there was a realization made while melting the eternal iron alloy in the blacksmith’s workshop.
Based on that realization, we continued our research and ultimately completed this significantly lighter fire pillar.
Just now, it was just a simple threat, a preview of how she would use this magic circle and what would happen if you approached it carelessly.
“… … .”
Kim Ho looked down at the magic circles with an expression that didn’t seem to show much sense of crisis.
Somehow Hong Yeon-hwa felt like she could read his thoughts.
– Should I just push in?
Thinking back to my memories from the placement test.
He was hit by a heavily reinforced fire pillar and not a single hair on his head was singed.
You can just ignore these lightweight fire pillars and walk over to them.
But Hong Yeon-hwa was confident that Kim Ho would not do that.
Since it is a duel during mentoring, there is nothing to be gained by winning, and I have come to understand that in training, you have to adapt to your opponent.
As expected, Kim Ho nodded while looking at Hong Yeon-hwa.
It means that she will accept the fight that comes her way.
In reality, even if you don’t take any damage from fire magic, you will be engaging in duels with the prerequisite of taking damage.
Soon, Kim Ho took the first step and began to slowly circle around the magic circles, waiting for an opportunity.
It was Hong Yeon-hwa who struck first.
– Hwaruk! Hwaruk!
As they shot flaming arrows one after another, Kim Ho quickly moved left and right to dodge them.
Then I took a step forward,
– Kwaaaaah—!
As a pillar of fire rises from the magic circle you just stepped on, you take your foot off and back away.
I wander around again, looking for an opportunity.
– Whoosh whoosh!
Hong Yeon-hwa continued to shoot arrows at Kim Ho even though she knew that he would not be hit.
The intention was to keep them busy by keeping them in check.
Then, every now and then, when Kim Ho steps into the magic circle,
– Kwaaaaah!
Immediately activate the magic circle’s Fire Pillar to make it retreat.
Kim Ho would avoid the Fire Arrows and circle around, then invade their territory once in a while, and each time Hong Yeon Hwa would chase him away. This pattern repeated itself.
The number of magic circles was steadily decreasing, but because there were so many of them that they filled the entire room, it was impossible to reduce them one by one.
Kim Ho may have to step on and step back several times to reach Hong Yeon Hwa.
[Crystal 37%]
And before that, there is a much higher chance that the crystal will charge first.
A glimmer of hope appeared in Hong Yeon-hwa’s heart.
Can we win if we keep doing this?
Even though the conditions were unilaterally advantageous to him, was it like this?
At that moment, Kim Ho lifted the spear in his hand and pointed at Hong Yeon-hwa.
-Whew—
“Eww—”
The red lotus flower was helplessly pushed to the side by the strong wind.
