Episode 130 Week 7 Mentoring, In-person Battle (15)
“great job.”
“thank you.”
Hong Yeon-hwa returned proudly like a victorious general.
He proved his skills by overwhelming Bukgung Hanseol, who was in the 900s, throughout the game, so his pride was high as if it was piercing the sky.
But when our eyes met,
“… … .”
In an instant, he regains his humility and becomes more aware of the situation.
Although he had scored over 900 points, he remembered that right in front of him was an opponent he couldn’t even do anything to.
Even though he rolls his eyes like that, he seems to be expecting something from me. I guess he wants to hear feedback about this match.
If Hong Yeon-hwa had a tail, wouldn’t it be wagging weakly?
I decided to praise what needed to be praised and move on.
“Good job. You did a good job practicing as we did together.”
“… … !”
Hong Yeon-hwa’s complexion brightened even more, as if she was glad to be recognized.
If it had a tail, it would have a fierce tail propeller spinning.
Hong Yeon-hwa left it at that for now, and I asked Dang Gyu-yeong.
“Now I’m the only one left. Who’s coming out over there?”
“I’ll have to ask again.”
The last member of Kim Gap-du’s team was quite late, taking care of something, but he should have arrived by now.
As expected, as soon as Dang Gyu-yeong sent the message, a reply came back.
[Dang Gyu-young: Are you here?]
[Kim Gap-doo: Yeah, I’m here! >.<]
[Dang Gyu-young: Who is it?]
[Kim Gap-doo: Then let’s reveal it! The long-awaited last member is… … !]
[Kim Gap-doo: Drumroll, drumroll… … !]
[Kim Gap-du: (drumming frog emoticon)]
[Kim Gap-du: It’s Jo Byeok!]
“What? A wall?”
Dang Gyu-yeong frowned.
If Kim Gap-doo was hiding it so tightly until the very end, I expected that he would be a fairly capable member among the 900-point group, but I never thought he would be a leader.
[Dang Gyu-young: Are you kidding me?]
[Dang Gyu-young: If it was going to be like this, you should have said it from the beginning]
[Dang Gyu-young: (Fox emoticon holding a bat)]
[Kim Gap-doo: Surprise!]
[Kim Gap-du: (Surprised frog emoticon)]
[Kim Gap-du: (winking frog emoticon)]
[Dang Gyu-young: (Serious fox emoticon)]
[Dang Gyu-young: (Fox emoticon holding a bat)]
[Kim Gap-doo:… … .]
[Kim Gap-du: What handicap should I put on it?]
From the moment the two letters ‘조벽’ appeared, everyone’s attention was focused on me.
Although Dang Gyu-yeong was caught off guard by the sudden appearance of the leader, he didn’t seem too worried, thinking that he would do well if he were him.
Hong Yeon-hwa also seemed to think that I would win.
On the other hand, Song Cheon-hye’s expression suddenly became serious.
As a fellow leader, I know better than anyone that Jo Byeok is strong, but since I still can’t measure my own skill, the weight is on Jo Byeok winning.
And Gwak Ji-cheol, not only hanging on to the wall, seemed to be secretly hoping that I would lose.
I don’t know if he thinks he can’t be the only one who loses, or if he’s looking forward to me getting beaten up by Jo Byeok.
Anyway, I didn’t like it one way or another, so I decided to just complain a little.
“Why are you opening your eyes like that?”
“What’s wrong with my eyes?”
“It seems like there is some rather impure intention.”
“… … You saw it wrong.”
Kwak Ji-cheol looks away, saying he saw something wrong.
I guess it’s a stabbing.
I looked at him a little longer, then turned my head and asked Dang Gyu-yeong.
“What happens if I lose this?”
“Since it’s 2-2, we’ll have one more match point.”
And in the final match, the strongest cards from each team, Song Cheon-hye and Jo Byeok, will compete.
Dang Gyu-yeong asked Song Cheon-hye.
“What are the odds of winning against Jo Byeok?”
“It’s hard to see who has the upper hand.”
Song Cheon-hye and Jo Byeok have faced each other several times in one-on-one matches or duels between leading teams, and they say that the outcome of the match is determined by the condition of the day.
Sometimes I win, sometimes I lose.
If we really have to compare, the ratio is very slightly higher at around 4.8 to 5.2.
This means that the game’s outcome will be completely unknown.
This time, Song Cheon-hye asked me.
“Do you think you can win?”
“I don’t know, if you handicap it well.”
“What are you going to live with?”
Since Dang Gyu-yeong was also waiting for the answer to this question, I answered it for him.
“I’ll do it with the accelerated crystal charging speed.”
“Charging speed acceleration, not bad. What about the multiplier?”
“Three times.”
If the charging speed is 3x, it means that the crystal that was charging at 1% will now be charged at 3%.
Since charging completes much faster, game time is also greatly reduced.
Dang Gyu-yeong exchanged messages with Kim Gap-du again.
A quick glance at the message window reveals a flurry of cute frog emoticons.
However, judging by the fact that there is not even the slightest change in Dang Gyu-yeong’s expressionless face, I think that toad senior will be blocked again right after this match ends.
Anyway, after a brief negotiation, the two seemed to have reached some sort of agreement.
“It won’t be 3 times, let’s do 2.5 times.”
“I called it high on purpose, but how did it become 2.5 times higher?”
“This should be tailored to our side. You hit the back of the head with a stone like that.”
The original goal was to double the amount, but Dang Gyu-young received slightly more favorable conditions.
It seems that he made a half-step concession because he was hurt by the fact that the negotiation went well and Kim Gap-du kept the wall hidden until the end.
Therefore, the crystal charging speed is increased by 2.5 times.
‘It would have been better if I had given this to Kwak Ji-cheol, but… … .’
There is no way that Kim Gap-doo would have given a handicap to a contest between two players with scores in the 600s, and even if he had, Kwak Ji-cheol would have refused it out of pride.
That guy was destined to get beaten up by Ilgong one way or another.
As I was climbing the teleportation magic circle with those thoughts in mind, Song Cheon-hye gave me a request.
“If you think it won’t work out, somehow drag it out into a war of attrition. Then I’ll do the last one.”
“No, this is just a win.”
“… …Are you sure?”
“Of course, I planned the plan in advance.”
It was called Operation Son Hyeong-taek.
I was planning on running away with the crystal in my hands.
“Crystal charging speed is 2.5 times faster.”
Kim Gap-doo explained the handicap in front of the wall.
“Time will be tight in many ways. But even so, the opponent doesn’t even have 600 points, so it won’t be hard to win. What’s really important is what comes next.”
Regardless of the handicap, it is already a done deal that he will defeat Kim Ho and tie the score, and it is safe to say that the match point with Song Cheon-hye will be the main event.
As a fellow leader, he is by no means an easy opponent for Jo Byeok.
“So, it would be better to save as much strength as possible for the first match.”
“All right.”
“I’m sorry, I made you suffer for two games because of my greed.”
Kim Gap-doo let out a long sigh.
And he continued speaking while staring at the cliff in the distance opposite where Dang Gyu-young’s team was located.
“I know it’s boring and pathetic to make a bet like this. Even if I win, it’s pointless. Can there be any dramatic change in just one date? But… … .”
“… … .”
“It’s a crush that I’ve had since my freshman year. Rather than giving up like this, I just hope for even the smallest chance.”
Jo Byeok had never felt romantic feelings for anyone, so he couldn’t empathize with how Kim Gap-du felt.
Still, he understood that he had high expectations of him, and all else aside, this was a battle between two men.
So he answered in a calm tone.
“I will do my best.”
“Please.”
As Jo Byeok rode the teleportation magic circle down, the names of both sides appeared on the scoreboard.
[Jo Byeok 993 points vs. Kim Ho 569 points]
‘Kim Ho.’
Jo Byeok didn’t know much about Kim Ho.
All I heard was a few rumors as I went by.
Since I’m the type of person who doesn’t pay attention to such things, I mostly just listened to them with one ear and let them go, but among all the rumors, there was one that caught my ear.
‘He said he was Go Hyun-woo’s close friend.’
In the match between Ko Hyun-woo and Jo Byeok in the Dae-in Battle, the match ended in an ambiguous manner with the destruction of the iron sword, and Jo Byeok engraved his name in his mind, looking forward to the day when they would have a proper fight.
Since then, unlike Kim Ho, rumors about Ko Hyun Woo have been heard quite frequently and mostly in a positive way. With his excellent swordsmanship skills that allowed him to take first place in the strategic battle placement exam, his handsome appearance, and his well-rounded personality, he easily won the favor of other students.
So there were countless people who wanted to become friends, but because Go Hyun-woo kept a certain distance, no one was able to achieve their wish.
But when someone asked him about Kim Ho, Go Hyun-woo is said to have answered without a moment’s hesitation:
– Hyung Kim is a close friend that I acknowledge. It’s a relationship that I deserve.
This had a very strong meaning to Jo Byeok.
If he is a man acknowledged by the noble scholar Ko Hyun-woo, there must be a reason for him to do so.
In that case, if you are deceived by Kim Ho’s score of 500 points or the public’s assessment that he is a ‘coward’ and underestimate him, you may be caught off guard.
Kim Gap-doo had told him to conserve his strength for the match against Song Cheon-hye, but somehow it didn’t seem right.
‘I’ll give it my all.’
The countdown began with the determination of the wall.
[3]
[2]
[1]
[Start!]
Observing your surroundings at high altitudes is a basic necessity.
Especially in this week’s PvP, figuring out where the crystals are is a top priority.
The cliff quickly climbed up.
With an agility that doesn’t match its bear-like body, it quickly reaches the top and looks around.
And I thought I would soon run into Kim Ho on the other side,
‘There isn’t any.’
The top of the cliff was empty and just bare.
I thought Kim Ho would come up a little late, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.
‘For now, let’s focus on the crystal.’
Jo-byeok lowered his gaze and carefully examined the area below the cliff.
But as I slowly moved my gaze to the side, something moving quickly caught my eye in the corner of my vision.
‘That’s… … .’
That something was Kim Ho, who didn’t even cast a shadow on the top of the cliff.
He was running blindly in one direction, and at the end of it was a makeshift altar and a crystal.
A movement that seems to have figured out the crystal’s location in advance.
It no longer mattered how Kim Ho found out about it.
What’s important now is,
‘You’re late.’
That the player was taken away.
However, Jo Byeok was about to run towards the makeshift altar following Kim Ho, but soon changed his mind.
‘The next destination has already been decided anyway.’
You must move towards the sanctuary to recharge the crystal.
So he started running towards a rock that stood tall like a lighthouse in the distance.
As he was approaching the sanctuary,
-Wheein-
The sanctuary sent down a pillar of light not far from itself.
The place the pillar of light points to is where the crystal is and where Kim Ho is.
Because I went straight to the sanctuary early, I was able to close the gap with him considerably.
[Crystal 2%]
[Crystal 5%]
As if to prove the fact that it was 2.5 times, the crystal charge was rising at a frightening rate.
As Kim Gap-du said, time is of the essence in this match.
– Blame!
The wall kicked the ground and ran forward with even greater force.
Climbing up and down the cliffs that jutted out like a mountain and passing by strangely shaped rocks, I finally caught up with Kim Ho until he came into view.
“… … .”
Kim Ho, who keeps running with his back turned, then glances back over his shoulder.
There is not the slightest hint of urgency in his eyes.
Then he turns his gaze back to the front and runs away as if he doesn’t care about you.
“I won’t miss it.”
The wall concentrated its power on both legs to increase its speed.
Kim Ho’s running speed was fast, but the distance between the two was gradually getting closer.
Jo Byeok, who had almost caught up to Kim Ho, clenched his fists.
And as I was about to extend the book, Kim Ho suddenly turned his back and stretched one hand out in front of me.
– Boom!
Hands and fists clashed and the wall was pushed back.
