Episode 131 Week 7 Mentoring, In-person Battle (16)
“… … .”
After the clash, Kim Ho glanced this way as if he had lost interest, then turned around and started running away again.
Jo Byeok immediately resumed the chase and thought.
‘What was that just now?’
I’ve fought countless masters so far, but it’s rare for me to be pushed back like this.
This is usually the result of being overwhelmed in a duel with an opponent, but this felt very different.
[Jo Byeok 100% vs. Kim Ho 100%]
[Crystal 24%]
If there was a gap in power, he should have suffered some damage.
However, there is no change in the physical strength of both sides.
It was an unfamiliar experience in many ways, but
‘It’s something you can check again.’
Jo Byeok increased his speed and quickly followed behind Kim Ho.
And the moment I was about to open the book, Kim Ho, who had been checking over my shoulder from time to time, turned around and reached out his hand.
– Boom!
A new type of wall that is being pushed back again.
But this time, I had a broader view and observed more carefully, so I thought I knew what was going on.
‘wind.’
The wind gathers and compresses in Kim Ho’s hands.
It exploded in the form of a whirlpool, pushing him back like a spring.
Considering that Kim Ho is a caster class, it is most likely wind magic, but if it is enough to push you far away, it is fair to assume that there is some physical power involved.
‘then.’
As Jo Byeok followed Kim Ho for the third time, he drew up his inner strength and wrapped it around his body like armor.
In the match against Go Hyun-woo, I responded similarly to the [Cheongryu (淸流)] he cast.
Soon, Kim Ho released his wind magic in response to Jo Byeok’s punch.
– Phew!
The wall was pushed back again, but not even half the distance it had been before.
Although it was a lot of stamina drain for only blocking it once, it was the right answer.
Kim Ho also had a strange look in his eyes.
“You got it right quickly.”
Even though his method had been discovered, there was not a single hint of crisis on his face.
Rather, it was closer to an expression of delight at Jo Byeok’s outstanding insight.
A leisure that can only be shown when there are not many cards left and when there is absolute confidence in oneself.
How can someone like this be a coward? I guess you can’t trust rumors.
Although Jo Byeok became more and more nervous, he did not miss the opportunity he got by guessing the correct answer.
The distance lost was not that great, so it was enough to continue the attack.
He takes a big step forward and throws his punches in quick succession.
– Papapapat!
Kim Ho avoided the oncoming fists by leaning and twisting his body left and right, and deflected a couple of them to the side with his dark-colored spear.
At the same time, the wind quickly gathers and compresses in empty hands.
As soon as the wall was built, the internal forces responded,
– Boom!
While he himself remained still, Kim Ho, who had casted the spell, flew away in a parabolic arc.
Then he landed gently on the top of the steep cliff, turned around, and started running.
Although Jo Byeok was not the type to be easily flustered, he couldn’t help but be stunned for a moment when he saw that sight.
‘… … So that kind of application is possible.’
Since his opponent wasn’t pushing back well, it seems he ended up blowing himself up instead.
However, I couldn’t just stand by and watch like a dog chasing a chicken, so I immediately kicked the ground and continued the chase.
If you check the scoreboard,
[Jo Byeok 100% vs. Kim Ho 100%]
[Crystal 48%]
I just exchanged three and the crystal charge is already half gone.
The speed of increase is incredible because of the 2.5x condition.
It was bad news for Jo Byeok.
Because even though I’ve spent half the time, I still haven’t been able to steal any crystals or inflict any significant damage to the enemy.
If you get close, you will be pushed away by an explosive wind magic, or Kim Ho will blow himself away.
So, Jo Byeok changed his tactics to maintaining a certain distance and launching long-range attacks.
A clenched fist extends forward and shoots out a blast of wind.
– Papapapat!
Kim Ho ran without even looking behind him.
As he was gliding and slithering along the path, the winds would pass by him exquisitely.
I had already expected this to some extent, but this also did not go down well.
Jo Byeok continued to speak while blowing a strong wind.
“Are you going to keep running away until the end?”
“If you don’t have to fight, why bother putting in the effort? By the way, I learned all this from Hyungtaek.”
Although I couldn’t watch it directly because I arrived late, I heard that Son Hyeong-taek used this tactic against Song Cheon-hye.
The difference is that Son Hyeong-taek was eventually caught, while Kim Ho shows no sign of being caught.
Jo Byeok asked again.
“You have no intention of fighting?”
“Oh, sorry, no. At least not in this game.”
With so much at stake, the intention was to prioritize winning the match over testing one’s skills.
Jo Byeok thought quietly.
‘The only one who can do this.’
The movement speed itself is slightly faster than Kim Ho’s if he raises his stamina to the extreme.
However, if you think you’re getting close, the unidentified wind magic will widen the distance between you, so it doesn’t really matter.
Even if you throw a gust of wind from a distance, it doesn’t work at all because it dodges like a loach.
‘It’s my lack of ability.’
Jo Byeok quickly admitted.
There is no clever way to reverse this situation.
He had only confronted most of his enemies head-on so far, so he had no idea how to deal with an opponent who was determined to run away like that.
It was also a mistake to not take into account the special nature of the Crystal match.
Continuing the game is just a waste of time.
But I had no intention of ending it like this.
[Crystal 67%]
There is still time to spread out one or two meals.
The momentum of the wall soared rapidly.
“Take it. If you hold out, I’ll consider you defeated.”
“Well, let’s do that.”
Kim Ho just ignored it and kept running,
When the other person said this, he stopped walking and faced the wall, perhaps wanting to agree with them.
The momentum of the wall continued to expand, creating a terrifying sense of pressure in the area.
Soon his bear-like body leaped nimbly into the air, and for a moment it appeared as if he had several hands.
Then, large palms and fists made of internal energy poured down indiscriminately.
– Kwakwakwakwa—!
“… … .”
Kim Ho looked up at the sight quietly and then raised one hand slightly.
Suddenly, a small dark cloud appeared, and when I wrapped it around my shortsleeve, it became a long dark cloud stick.
In that state, Kim Ho took a step forward.
He moves between the power and tension pouring down with graceful, gliding steps, and swings his dark cloud stick here and there.
At first glance, the sight seemed meaningless, like a child playing a prank, but strangely enough, the power and tension of the stick had no effect on him at all and he was disintegrating.
– Kwakwakwakwa—!
At the beginning of the cliffs, large and small cliffs and oddly shaped rocks were all destroyed and collapsed.
The whole area was reduced to rubble in an instant and covered in thick clouds of dust.
Kim Ho’s figure was not visible because of the dust,
[Jo Byeok 100% vs. Kim Ho 100%]
[Crystal 88%]
A look at the scoreboard showed that he had not taken any damage.
Jo Byeok nodded his head silently.
‘That’s great.’
The opponent may make excuses such as, “We lost because it was a Crystal match, or because of the handicap” as they ran away throughout the match.
But now that the desperate efforts I had poured out had been completely resolved, there was no room for excuses.
The wall spoke to the shadow emerging from the dust.
“I will admit defeat. I would like to have a proper fight someday.”
“Later, when I get the chance.”
And Kim Ho answered in a calm manner.
It was the moment when Kim Ho’s name was added to the list of strong people in Jo Byeok’s head.
[Jo Byeok Lose vs Kim Ho Win]
* * *
Song Cheon-hye looked as if she couldn’t believe it.
“… … You really won.”
“I told you, we already planned it all out.”
Operation Son Hyung-taek was very successful.
As expected, Jo Byeok was much more vulnerable to pursuit than his actual skills.
‘But I was still a guy.’
Observational ability to see the connection between windforce and twister in just two syllables.
Despite his bear-like size, he is quite quick-witted.
The subsequent response was also excellent, so the ‘Infinite Wall Push Operation’ that had been prepared along with the ‘Son Hyung-taek Operation’ had to be quickly abandoned.
Of course, there seemed to be no way to deal with the application of blowing myself up.
Also, the last blow was going to land on my head whether I responded or not, so I just received it from the front, but if the shock absorption through the dark cloud was off even a little bit, [Distortion] would have been activated.
That means it was a powerful cut.
“great job.”
Dang Gyu-yeong also approached and gave a speech.
Then he lowers his voice and asks me.
“… … But are you okay with this? It’s a perfect game against Jo Byeok.”
Since you won against a strong player in the leadership team while avoiding all attacks, it will naturally attract the attention of those who watched the replay.
Especially since it’s not even a similar score, it’s in the 500s.
The question is whether that is the exact opposite of my intention, which is to lower myself as much as possible.
I answered nonchalantly.
“It won’t be as prominent as you think.”
It was also a Crystal vs. Persona battle, and it came with a handicap of a 2.5x charging speed.
Since I turned my back and ran away the whole time, even if I avoided everything, I wouldn’t be labeled a ‘coward’.
If we were to predict the evaluation that would change, it would probably be something like ‘He’s a coward, but he avoids things well.’
“You can’t hide everything.”
It is also greedy to win against a strong opponent like Jo Byeok without showing anything.
In that case, rather than revealing the spatial series characteristics [distortion], it would be much better to show that you are good at running away and dodging.
After listening to Dang Gyu-yeong, he also agreed that it made sense.
“Okay, as long as you’re okay with it.”
“Now let’s go settle the account.”
“Huh, okay. Let’s go, guys.”
Next, it’s time to take a handful of elixir from Senior Toad.
We left the stadium with steps as light as feathers.
