Episode 159: The Swordsmanship Club (2)
Ma-Da-Woong leaves Jegal So-So’s office.
He seemed to be exchanging messages with someone, but then he started walking away.
The training center was bustling with students training and sparring.
Ma-Da-Woong just walked forward, and as the number of people gradually decreased, the loud noises naturally died down.
He soon entered the special performance room area and stopped in front of the firmly closed door.
“… … .”
If it were his natural nature, he would have pounded the door with his fist the size of a pot lid until it broke, but he had to be careful about what he did.
The opponent on the other side of the door hated having his concentration interrupted, and Ma-Da-Woong didn’t want to upset him in the least.
Also, even if you don’t knock hard, the other person will have noticed you coming.
So, the bear stood quietly in front of the door and waited.
After a while, the door opened by itself.
The room was so dark that it was difficult to distinguish objects.
But Ma-Da-Woong approached a corner of the room as if nothing had happened.
That’s because I don’t come here just for a day or two.
Sure enough, there was a man sitting there with his back to me. Judging from his posture, he seemed to have just opened his eyes after meditating just a moment ago.
The man asked the question with his back turned.
“Why did Zhuge Li call you?”
“He told me to bring one person.”
“Black Death Room?”
“I think so.”
A big shot who was as good as the vice president of the swordsmanship club personally visited the thieves’ club.
There hasn’t been much contact between the two clubs recently, so if there’s an incident that would make the vice president take action, it’s most likely a problem with the club’s vested interests, or an infringement on the right to preferential bidding.
And then, if Zhuge Liang wants to call someone and have a private conversation.
It is very likely that it is related to the Black Death.
“who.”
“My name is Kim Ho. He’s a first-year student.”
“… … First year?”
“At first, I thought I heard wrong.”
The Black Room is a B-rank dungeon in name.
If a barnacle goes in, it won’t be able to pick up even a bone, and the man won’t be able to avoid a hard time either.
But you’re only a first-year student who entered that terrifying dungeon?
This is not something that can be easily accepted.
So their thoughts naturally go,
“Did you put up a bullet catcher?”
“It seems so to me too.”
The idea is flowing towards there being someone behind Kim Ho.
After invading the priority bidding dungeon, he sets up a first-year student as a cannon fodder and secretly makes a deal with Zhuge Liang.
It’s a very plausible story.
The fact that Kim Ho is an independent also adds weight to the bullet shield hypothesis.
“But after looking into it separately, it seems like that first-year student also hangs around the basement often.”
It seems like a bold move for a first-year student who has only been in school for two months.
Then, in regards to the Heuksabang incident, isn’t it possible that he wasn’t just a bullet shield, but rather an accomplice?
The man asked.
“What should I do if I call you?”
“The instructions I received were to bring him in. I’ll just listen to what he has to say.”
“Don’t use coercive methods,” added Ma-ga-woong.
“… … .”
The air inside the special performance room suddenly became heavy.
It was because the man began to show his discomfort.
“Your head is still a field of flowers, Zhuge Liang.”
Allowing intrusion into the priority bidding dungeon is tantamount to invading the territory of the swordsmanship club.
But why don’t you call me and listen to my story first?
It was a method I really didn’t like.
This matter is still an internal matter of the fencing club, but it could leak out at any moment.
And at that time, Zhuge Xiaoxiao’s unparalleled and clever response will definitely be leaked out as well.
“I don’t care how those Baekdo guys get along with each other, but we can’t become a laughing stock.”
“That’s right.”
“Bring it to me. And before that… … .”
You have to pay the price for encroaching on others’ property.
Whether you’re an accomplice or a bullet shield.
Should I call and hear the story?
No, it’s not too late to listen to the story after it’s given you a taste of the heat.
Rather, the story will flow more smoothly that way.
Ma-da-woong also fully agreed with this extremely dark idea, so he nodded and asked.
“Okay. Who should I bring?”
However, the big boss cannot do anything directly.
Except in very rare cases, it is a serious violation of school rules for an upperclassman to touch a lowerclassman.
So, it is the job of a fellow first-year student to subdue Kim Ho, but the question is who will be assigned to do so.
The man uttered a word before answering.
“Replay.”
The bard tossed two crystal balls around, and the man, still with his back turned, caught them and examined them.
Two recent replays of Kim Ho.
One is the crystal battle against the Ogre this week.
The other is a crystal duel with the leader of the wall.
The man stared into the replay crystal ball for a while in silence.
And then a strange light came into my eyes.
“… … You seem to have some talent for avoiding things. The skill set is also a bit annoying.”
Kim Ho evades both the Ogre and the Wall’s attacks and finishes both the strategy battle and the PvP battle with a perfect game.
Especially, the way he relieved the pressure of the wall at the end of the game was so good that I thought he was pretty good.
The skill set of pushing and pulling enemies also seems quite difficult to deal with.
“But it is not without its weaknesses.”
Jo Byeok is a member of the leading team and is a skilled player with balanced abilities in all aspects, but in terms of speed, he is not lacking in being considered the top player in his grade.
Allowing such a relentless pursuit meant that Kim Ho’s speed would drop even further.
So the conclusion is,
“I guess we can just overwhelm them with speed.”
If you are competing at a speed that far exceeds the wall, even he, who dodges like a loach, will allow the attack and stop.
The man’s instructions were given.
“Take Cheolsu and Minsu.”
* * *
The ogre charged forward with terrifying momentum.
“Kuuuu—!”
The man who had closed the distance between himself and Kwak Ji-cheol swung his club down.
At the moment when Kwak Ji-cheol was about to become a flat pillow, fine dirt like sand gathered between him and the club, forming a slanted wall.
The club that had struck the mud wall went sideways as if sliding down a slide.
Although his posture was slightly off due to the swing, the ogre did not stop attacking and instead extended his hand to grab the human in front of him.
The speed at which it is approaching is unusual, so even if it just brushes against you, it seems like it would cause significant damage.
“… … !”
However, Gwak Ji-cheol seemed to have anticipated this as well, and used the magic he had prepared in advance.
A large earthen palm rose from the ground and slammed the ogre’s hand sideways.
– Bam!
“Kuuuu!”
An ogre that pushes in with its whole body without any regard.
Kwak Ji-cheol was able to quickly move his feet and retreat from the bastard’s path of attack.
And then he sets up the sand wall like a slide again, drops the club, and immediately prepares the earth palm magic.
The ogre showed unexpected behavior.
Instead of swinging his fist, he raised his foot and kicked.
At the moment when Gwak Ji-cheol, who had not been able to respond in time, was about to be kicked by a giant foot,
– Phew,
“Ugh.”
I kicked Kwak Ji-cheol out first.
Kwak Ji-cheol rolls around on the floor and gets up.
He got kicked so many times that he got used to it and continued fighting right away.
As I was casting sand wall and dirt fist alternately again,
– Paat—!
[Crystal 100%]
As the crystal charge finished, the ogre simply disappeared.
“Phew… … .”
Gwak Ji-cheol barely managed to catch his breath and collapsed on the floor.
It was a very disappointing sight, but in reality there was quite a bit of progress.
Just a few days ago, he was busy getting beaten up with clubs and lying down, but now he has become quite adept at fending off attacks.
‘They say that learning through being beaten is the fastest way.’
Today, too, it was a training method of beating a baton that continued the myth of undefeatedness.
At that moment, Dang Gyu-yeong suddenly emerged from the shadows and announced the end of the mentoring.
“Let’s stop here for today. You’ve worked hard.”
“thank you.”
After Kwak Ji-cheol bowed his head in greeting, he gave me a look that seemed to contain a hint of gratitude.
Just practice a little more and you’ll get the score.
Kwak Ji-cheol disappeared through the teleportation portal, and we followed him outside.
Then, Dang Gyu-yeong opened his mouth.
“Hey, were you from the fencing club yesterday?”
“What is it?”
“He asked who went into the black room.”
“You said it was me?”
“Yeah, you said to toss everything.”
Dang Gyu-yeong pouted his lips slightly, as if he wanted to help a little more, but I firmly drew the line.
Since I was the one who insisted on doing this, it is right for me to take responsibility for it and resolve it.
I have no intention of getting involved in the thieves’ club.
“I’m ready to negotiate. You don’t have to worry.”
“Okay. And I told you to return all the evidence confidentially.”
This part alone has been agreed upon separately.
Since the leadership is still on edge, we have to hide the fact that we entered the deep end that night as much as possible.
If we get caught, we’ll all be severely punished.
Therefore, it was necessary to keep all of the Black Sand Room strategy replays and photos that would be strong clues private.
The focus of the swordsmanship club was on ‘who ignored the right of first refusal and entered the dungeon’, so when Dang Gyu-yeong revealed my identity, they readily accepted the offer.
“Instead, please grant me one favor.”
“What do you want?”
“They said they’re sending a second-year student to you.”
It would be much more efficient for Dang Gyu-young to personally convey the message about meeting, as he is doing now, and it would also be okay to do it through a message.
Even so, the reason I spent my second year there is because
“I guess you don’t get along well with that second-year student.”
“I guess so.”
The intention is to lend me your hand and feed me some shit.
There are probably also significant political interests involved.
Of course, there is no need to worry about such complicated things, and what I have to do is very simple.
You just have to destroy whoever comes to you.
Dang Gyu-yeong asked casually.
“Just in case, should I put my kids on board?”
“No. I’ll handle it myself.”
“Tch, okay.”
Maybe it was because I kept rejecting her, but Dang Gyu-yeong was a little upset.
Anyway, Dang Gyu-young has to take care of club-related work, and I have to do Mana Yeon-gong, so our destinations are different.
So, it’s time to split up at this point.
“Come in, senior.”
“Okay, see you tomorrow.”
After saying goodbye to Dang Gyu-yeong and parting ways, I walked straight towards the training center.
Then I looked ahead and couldn’t help but laugh.
‘They say even a tiger will come if you call it.’
A male student was waiting at the crossroads.
As I approached, as expected, something blocked my way.
It is as large as Jo-byeok, but this one has an aura of a bandit for some reason.
I checked the tie pin and it was silver, second year.
Additionally, I sense blatant hostility in the way you look at me.
“Kim Ho.”
“Yes, senior.”
“Do you know why I came?”
“I know.”
“Follow me.”
The second graders turned their backs and took the lead.
