Episode 42 Duel (4)
Go Hyun-woo was watching the duel from the stands with Seo Ye-in and Shin Byeong-cheol.
He let out a brief exclamation of admiration.
“Wow. This is truly a noble technique.”
Since the martial arts that Go Hyun-woo practiced were also closely related to the wind, his insight in reading the flow of the wind was superior to others.
I also immediately noticed a quick and strong flow of force near Kim Ho’s hand.
But even he could not read perfectly what happened after that.
“… … .”
The calligrapher also opened his eyes wide and focused on the duel, which was unusual for him.
“What is it? What is it?”
Only Shin Byeong-cheol had no clue at all.
Go Hyun-woo was about to explain as he knew, when he suddenly remembered what had happened to him last time.
– I won’t tell you~ I’ll leave it for tomorrow’s enjoyment.
– Hehe, the way of the martial world has fallen to the ground… … .
“Are you curious?”
“I’m curious. Why are you suddenly acting like a jerk?”
“I’ll let you know when it’s finished.”
“No, ah, a little.”
‘So this is how Shin Hyung felt at that time.’
It was Go Hyun-woo smiling happily.
Kwak Seung-jae and the third-year class presidents had more experience and could see a lot, but they also did not fully understand the situation.
Dang Gyu-yeong, who has a high level of understanding of the secret weapon, was closest to the correct answer.
‘Is that wind magic?’
As soon as the duel began, Kim Ho sent out a blast of extremely compressed wind.
He hit the rock with the wind and caused the rock to fly straight towards Kwak Ji-cheol’s face.
I understand it in my head, but honestly, it doesn’t make sense.
Hitting a small target from a distance is the most basic of basics, but hitting another target with that target?
It is not an easy task even for Dang Gyu-young.
Naturally, I start to have questions I had before.
‘Is that really a first year student?’
“Ugh… … .”
Kwak Ji-cheol was hit in the face with a rock and couldn’t come to his senses for a long time.
In fact, at this point, the match was practically decided.
If this had been a real battle, several lives would have been lost in that time.
But Kim Ho stood there leisurely and waited.
It was as if he was saying that the first room was just a taste, and that now was the beginning.
‘Fuck… what was it? Is this another trick?’
For the person involved, Kwak Ji-cheol, it was a very mysterious thing.
For a moment, a light flashed before my eyes, and I barely managed to hold onto my mind, which was starting to dizzy.
If it weren’t for the armor I borrowed from my seniors, I probably would’ve passed out right then and there.
As Kwak Ji-cheol desperately tried to get his bearings, he saw Kim Ho’s hand moving.
Fearing that I might get hit again without being able to do anything, I hastily raise my mana and cast a counter magic.
Although the appearance was urgent, the recipe was completed quickly.
[Earth Cluster]
The large and small stones scattered on the ground were drawn to a single point in the air as if they were magnets, and they gathered together to form a large sphere.
This is a magic that gathers the earth into a ball and uses it for both offense and defense.
Kwak Ji-cheol moved the sphere to protect the front.
The next moment, with a “bang!” a stone is thrown.
I bet that guy blew it up.
As Kwak Ji-cheol lightly ran his hand over the Earth Cluster, the sphere began to rotate faster and faster.
The rocks that were clumped together are shot out one by one.
Kim Ho passed the flying projectiles with a leisurely gait as if he was taking a stroll.
The look in his eyes seemed somehow provocative, so Kwak Ji-cheol ground his teeth.
‘Let’s see how long I can be free.’
The emerald embedded in the staff shone.
The stones clumped together to form another [Earth Cluster].
It’s certainly nice to have good equipment.
Since you’re wearing 2nd and 3rd grade equipment, whatever magic you cast is much faster and more powerful than usual.
With my original skills, it would have been difficult to maintain two [Earth Clusters], but now it is more than easy.
‘At this rate, three would be possible.’
As expected, I completed the third sphere without much difficulty.
The Earth Cluster set rotated and fired rocks like machine guns.
– Doo doo doo doo doo!
“Yeah, this is it!”
A sense of wielding immense power.
As I continue to use it, the awareness that I am borrowing strength from others is gradually fading away.
I am strong.
I can’t lose no matter how hard I try!
– Doo doo doo doo doo!
It felt good to see Kim Ho’s leisurely pace quicken.
Even if you can dodge them well now, as time goes by, you will eventually allow one or two effective hits and fall.
Kim Ho also seemed to think that he didn’t have much time left.
At least that’s what Kwak Ji-cheol thought.
I gradually close the distance while avoiding the pouring gravel shower.
As they got closer, electricity began to gather in Kim Ho’s hand.
Kwak Ji-cheol raised the corners of his mouth.
‘Are you finally writing it?’
A hummingbird of the brain flies across the sky.
Kwak Ji-cheol didn’t even think about avoiding or blocking it, but greeted the hummingbird with his chest wide open.
– Phagec!
“Did you think it would work? That’s too bad.”
“… … .”
Kwak Ji-cheol doesn’t even show any signs of being slightly shocked, let alone paralyzed.
Kim Ho thinks things have gone wrong and starts distancing himself again.
[Earth Cluster] Three are desperately trying to avoid the rocks they are shooting at them.
Kwak Ji-cheol laughed heartily, feeling relieved.
“Hahahaha! Now what capital do you have left—”
– Boom!
And then his face fell to the floor.
To the audience’s eyes, it appeared as if a transparent hand had grabbed Kwak Ji-cheol’s head and thrown him forcefully to the floor.
Ha Su-yeon’s eyes lit up with a strange light.
‘I guess that’s the skill.’
A skill written directly using the [Blank Skill Book] received from Park Na-ri.
I don’t know the exact effect, but it was like gathering wind and striking it down like a hammer.
Creating and utilizing such skills is not something that just anyone can do.
That wasn’t all.
‘It was all planned.’
Kim Ho set a trap to utilize the unknown wind magic.
Using hummingbirds as bait.
There is no way he didn’t know that the Emerald Tower would come up with a countermeasure.
Still, he cast Hummingbird as if it were nothing.
A sloppy hummingbird in every way compared to the replay.
I didn’t have high expectations from the beginning, I just threw it out there for show.
On the other hand, Gwak Ji-cheol was strongly aware of the fact that he possessed a paralysis resistance item, and he hit the Hummingbird with the intention of showing it off.
In the time between Gwak Ji-cheol’s glance at the hummingbird in front of him, the wind was gathering and compressing above his head.
In addition to your own skills, you also have a meticulous mind.
If you turn them into enemies, they will definitely tire you out.
Ha Su-yeon let out a sigh of relief.
I think it was a good idea to give [Rank Up] as a gift.
[Kim Ho 100% vs Kwak Ji-cheol 86%]
“Ugh… … !”
Kwak Ji-cheol raised his head with difficulty.
His face was so covered in dirt that he had to wear a mask, and a stream of blood was running down his nose.
The shaking of the two arms supporting the body was not simply due to the aftereffects of the shock.
When he finally got up, Kim Ho was right there, right in front of him.
– Phew!
Kwak Ji-cheol’s jaw turned after being hit by a powerfully extended fist.
I was backing away absentmindedly when I was blocked by something like a transparent wall.
There was no way of knowing that its true identity was a wind blowing faintly from behind.
– Phew!
Next comes a kick to the abdomen.
Kwak Ji-cheol’s waist was bent violently.
‘Fuck… …Fuck… …!’
What, where, and how did it go wrong?
Just a moment ago, I was 200% confident of victory.
– Phew!
Kim Ho slapped him in the face again, as if not giving him time to figure out the cause.
Kwak Ji-cheol staggered and thought.
‘This can’t go on.’
If this continues, I’ll end up getting beaten up without being able to do anything.
The conversation with Mok Jong-hwa flashed through his mind.
– If possible, do not take out the golem.
– Yes? Why?
– If the equipment looks plain, it won’t be noticeable even if you use third-year equipment.
But it’s not a golem.
– … … !
– Anyone can see that it’s a third-year golem, but what do you think those who see it will think?
It doesn’t do much to build up Emerald’s reputation.
– I understand. I’ll win without the golem. Overwhelmingly.
… … But now he is being beaten up so badly.
If you win using Golem, you’ll break even.
But what if I keep saving like this and lose?
Emeralds will be a laughing stock in the coming years.
He himself is the main character of the replay.
And retirement. Such a scary word.
That’s the only thing that must be stopped.
‘Yeah… I’ll admit that we’re a bit close. But I’ll be the one laughing last!’
Kim Ho, who had been swinging his fist while following, suddenly kicked the ground and retreated.
– Kwung!
And in that place, a wooden fist the size of a human torso fell.
The stones on the ground broke into smaller pieces and scattered in all directions.
A giant wooden golem.
The upper body was abnormally large compared to the lower body, and the hands were particularly large.
“Oh, is that the golem?”
“What, is this your first time seeing this?”
When Shin Byeong-cheol asked again, Go Hyeon-woo nodded while keeping his gaze fixed on the wooden golem.
“That’s right. There are certainly many things I’ve never seen before since entering Yongsal Academy. But I thought golems were originally made using terrain features… … . Am I mistaken?”
What is the story of a wooden golem emerging from a terrain where not even a single blade of grass, let alone a tree, can be seen?
Shin Byeong-cheol was about to retaliate against Ko Hyeon-woo’s outrageous behavior, but decided to just explain it to him.
“You’re right. Basically. But if you rely solely on terrain, you won’t be able to do anything when you run out of materials. That’s why you make things like this in advance.”
A golem refined using high-quality materials, a long time, and countless layers of magic.
It is on a whole other level of power compared to summoning it on the spot.
And that wooden golem was definitely not something a first-year student could refine.
If that had happened, the promising candidate for the rooftop club would have been Kwak Ji-cheol, not Hong Yeon-hwa.
It was natural that Dang Gyu-yeong swore at him as soon as he saw him.
“Hey! You conscienceless bastards! This is not right!”
“… … .”
Mok Jong-hwa did not respond and just looked straight ahead.
Kwak Seung-jae had a complicated expression on his face, as if he had not known that Mok Jong-hwa would do something like this, but there was nothing he could do right now.
Dang Gyu-yeong thought about it for a moment.
‘Shouldn’t this be stopped? Can you catch it?’
Only Dang Gyu-yeong knows that Kim Ho learned [Inferno Fist].
However, Inferno Fist is a strictly forbidden skill.
It can’t be used in a formal setting like now.
The replay is also running, and the leader, Kwak Seung-jae, is watching with his eyes wide open.
In the end, it means that we have to solve it without using fire fists… … .
‘At least the child looks okay… … .’
Looking at Kim Ho’s complexion, it was as calm as before.
The body moves without rest, avoiding the golem’s fists.
Dang Gyu-yeong decided to watch a little longer.
If you get hit even once, you have to intervene or something.
– Boohoo!
A heavy wooden arm swept the floor.
Then the other wooden hand clenches its fist and strikes the floor.
Despite its large and heavy body, its movements are agile.
That weight and that speed. If you get hit by even one, you’ll be completely disabled.
A smile slowly returns to Kwak Ji-cheol’s lips.
“Do you think there are only golems? Try avoiding this too.”
– Doo doo doo doo doo!
The Earth Cluster, which had stopped moving, began to rotate again.
Kim Ho was moving his feet much busier than before, trying to avoid the golem and the flying rocks.
[Kim Ho 100% vs Kwak Ji-cheol 74%]
Even in such a situation, it is worth acknowledging that his physical strength did not drop below 100%.
That means I avoided every single attack without exception.
But how long will that last?
The golem will last indefinitely, but its health will be finite.
As Kwak Ji-cheol spurred the Earth Cluster, the sphere began to rotate faster.
At that moment, Kim Ho looked straight at Kwak Ji-cheol and waved his hand.
Kwak Ji-cheol’s body was pushed hard by a strong wind blowing from somewhere,
I was hit by a rapidly spinning sphere.
“Kuaaaah!”
The supporters eat it all
