Episode 90 Week 5 Mentoring, In-person Battle (13)
– Whoosh whoosh!
A small pillar of fire burned brightly before Hong Yeon-hwa’s eyes.
Inside the pillar of fire, a black, glossy ingot was melting little by little from the outside.
Hong Yeon-hwa’s gaze was helplessly focused on the sight.
Her sullen expression, her arms crossed, and one foot drumming on the floor spoke volumes about her state of mind.
‘Rank. Why. Isn’t it going up?’
It has been three days since I gave in to Kim Ho’s suggestion and started melting the eternal iron alloy in the blacksmith’s workshop.
[Aqua Flame]’s rank is the same as before,
It doesn’t move at all from E-class.
Of course, Hong Yeon-hwa also knew that skill rank ups weren’t something that could be achieved overnight.
If that had happened, the whole world would have been filled with S-class heroes.
But no matter what, there is something called expectation.
If it’s E-grade, it’s just below F, so isn’t it basically the initial stage?
It is normal for growth to be fast.
Also, considering the various efforts Hong Yeon-hwa had made in the past, it was expected that she would rank up within a day or two at most.
But there has been no news for three days.
Negative thoughts begin to creep in along with impatience.
‘I wasn’t fooled?’
What if the promise to raise your trait rank was a lie?
What if you simply wanted me to use fire magic?
What if you had been planning to use yourself as a portable furnace from the beginning?
What if Kim Ho himself is resting comfortably somewhere else?
When Hong Yeon-hwa thought about it this way, she felt a tremendous sense of emptiness.
Even without that, my break time has been reduced due to mentoring these days, and even that reduced break time is being spent in a corner of the blacksmith shop like this.
I was holding on with the sole intention of developing my traits, but when I realized that it was futile, my motivation dropped rapidly.
‘Should I just hit him?’
Hong Yeon-hwa examined each and every one of them from the beginning.
Kim Ho didn’t even make a separate contract with me, he just suddenly brought me here and said, ‘I’ll teach you how to develop your traits.’
It wasn’t my fault for being so obsessed with it and following it around! But it’s not too late.
‘I don’t want to do it, so I’m not doing it. What can I say?’
But as soon as Kim Ho’s cold face passed by, Hong Yeon-hwa shivered with chills.
The sights we’ve seen here and there so far.
He easily pierces through his own fire magic, throws Baek Jun-seok to the ground, and lightly grabs the twin trolls’ hatchets and flies them away… … .
But what would happen if I said I didn’t do it?
Hong Yeon-hwa quickly shook her head to shake off her thoughts.
Whatever happens, it’s not that it’s not.
‘Okay, let’s close it.’
I am more determined.
And just as I was about to collect the pillar of fire.
A notification message appeared in one corner of Hong Yeon-hwa’s field of vision.
[‘Aqua Flame’ has been upgraded (E->D)]
“uh……?”
Hong Yeon-hwa stared blankly at it for a moment, her eyes wide open.
‘Oh, really? … ?’
Soon, the thoughts that had stopped spinning again began to swirl and a myriad of emotions took over Hong Yeon-hwa’s head.
The thrill and relief of finally breaking through the Aqua Flame wall that I had been unable to break through no matter how hard I tried.
The confidence and anticipation that if we follow this method, we can advance not only to D-class but also beyond.
And it was gratitude towards Kim Ho.
“Hmm, hmm.”
Embarrassment followed the gratitude, and Hong Yeon-hwa coughed alone.
Kim Ho showed me the method with the pure intention of helping me, and even gave me the opportunity to use precious materials, but I was quick to judge and doubt him.
‘Well, he’s a little scary, but he doesn’t seem like a bad person.’
Hong Yeon-hwa promised to be a little more cooperative in the future.
The gesture of casting Fire Pillar was full of enthusiasm.
The flames, which had become even more vivid, quickly melted the ingot.
– Whoosh whoosh!
* * *
sunday.
Hong Yeon-hwa arrived at the arena at the appointed time to take on the sticker battle one last time.
As I approached the stadium, Kim Ho arrived first and waited for me. Then, sensing my presence, he slowly turned his head.
As soon as our eyes meet, he says something.
“You’ve ranked up.”
“How did you know!?”
Hong Yeon-hwa was startled and asked back.
You haven’t told anyone yet?
Did you install a crystal ball in the workshop?
Kim Ho replied as if it was no big deal.
“It all shows in your expression.”
‘On the expression?’
Hong Yeon-hwa turned around, took out a hand mirror, and looked at her face from all sides.
And he frowned a little.
‘… … It’s just the same.’
I don’t know what’s different from usual.
Of course, Hong Yeon-hwa was the only one who didn’t know, and the people around her had already noticed the change.
She, who had been looking like she was going to die all week, had been smiling with the corners of her mouth slightly raised since yesterday.
Such a drastic change would not have occurred without something good happening.
Especially since Kim Ho had been keeping track of her movements this week, he immediately noticed that the ‘good thing’ was the special rank-up.
“Once you reach C-rank, all the ingots will melt.”
“okay?”
Hong Yeon-hwa felt a little regret at those words.
I had asked the blacksmith club president a little and found out that the ingot was an alloy of Eternal Iron and Black Mithril.
Even if you learn how to increase the trait, you won’t often get the chance to handle such high-grade metal.
This means that once the ingot has completely melted, growth will stop for a while.
‘But where is the C-class?’
Until just recently, I couldn’t even get past D-rank.
Being greedy doesn’t mean you’ll get more opportunities, so it’s better to think positively.
“… … .”
Kim Ho stopped talking there and turned his gaze towards the stadium, and Hong Yeon Hwa also started killing time by looking at the same place.
Although it was covered with a translucent membrane and was practically a wall, it was a good opportunity to organize my thoughts.
What soon came to Hong Yeon-hwa’s mind was the pair of Song Cheon-hye and Kwak Ji-cheol, who were fighting a match one step ahead of them.
‘I don’t know how many they’ll take.’
The close combat duels with Dang Gyu-yeong were conducted one at a time, so the members rarely encountered each other.
Because of this, there was no way to know how much Song Cheon-hye and Kwak Ji-cheol’s skills had improved in one week.
But Hong Yeon-hwa didn’t think it would have increased more rapidly than her own.
‘One or two?’
“Ugh!”
At that moment, Kwak Ji-cheol was thrown out with a single scream.
The safety devices installed in the stadium ruled that he was unable to fight and kicked him out.
Hong Yeon-hwa looked at the sight with pitiful eyes.
‘He’s no different from Monday.’
After a week of hellish one-on-one duels, you should at least have more stamina, but judging by the amount of time you’ve been out, it doesn’t seem to be much different from the first day.
Have you made any progress?
On the other hand, it was after quite some time that Song Cheon-hye walked out riding the magic circle.
Compared to Monday, when Kwak Ji-cheol retired and he followed right behind, this time he was left alone and lasted quite a while.
“… … .”
Song Cheon-hye walked away without even looking at Gwak Ji-cheol, who was lying on the floor groaning.
I was not happy with it because I was unable to fulfill my role as a team member and had to retire early.
As he passed by, his eyes met with Hong Yeon-hwa’s and they exchanged cold glances for a short while, but they did not say anything to each other.
At the moment when Song Cheon-hye was about to pass by Kim Ho-do,
“Song Cheon-hye.”
“What’s going on?”
“Let’s talk.”
Song Cheon-hye nodded her head slightly in agreement, and the two walked to a corner of the empty stands.
Hong Yeon-hwa looked at the sight with strange eyes,
‘What’s your relationship?’
Because that combination was quite unexpected.
All Hong Yeon-hwa knows is that Kim Ho avoided confrontation with Song Cheon-hye during the placement test.
If it had been held as is, Kim Ho would have clearly won, so why did he forfeit? This is a question that has not been resolved yet.
I thought that was the end of their relationship, but seeing them talking to each other like that doesn’t seem to be the case.
Hong Yeon-hwa’s curiosity grew and she continued to look at the two people out of the corner of her eye.
– … … !
– … … !
Even though they were too far apart to hear each other with enhanced hearing, they were unable to eavesdrop on the conversation, but it was possible to infer their relationship from their attitudes and facial expressions.
‘It seems like we’re not very close.’
Even when Kim Ho spoke to her just now, she had been reluctant to go, and even now, while they were talking, Song Cheon-hye’s face remained cold and frozen.
Another thing is that Kim Ho is the one who takes the initiative in the conversation.
Every time Kim Ho leisurely blurts out a word, Song Cheon-hye responds by snapping back or trembling.
Well, I can’t imagine that monstrous human being being in trouble with anyone.
It seems like I’m talking to my third-year seniors without any problems.
Then, Song Cheon-hye suddenly pointed towards Hong Yeon-hwa.
Hong Yeon-hwa avoided eye contact and thought, feeling stung.
‘Are you talking about me?’
What on earth were those two talking about that made him get mentioned?
The curiosity is doubled.
As I was thinking about sneaking up and eavesdropping, the conversation ended, and Song Cheon-hye turned her head away from the cold wind and went to sit in the audience.
‘Oh, I’m really curious… … .’
Should I ask you in passing?
Since it sounds like my story, wouldn’t it be okay to ask?
Hong Yeon-hwa was worried, but when her opponent was Kim Ho-da, she couldn’t bring herself to do it.
But for some reason, Kim Ho approaches first and opens the conversation.
“I asked how many stickers there were.”
I think what Song Cheon-hye said while pointing at me just now was related to the sticker battle.
Hong Yeon-hwa, this is also something I was very curious about, so I would be grateful if you could tell me this.
“What? How many?”
“You said you couldn’t take even one.”
You still haven’t removed a single sticker after using up all three challenges?
This week’s match really looks like it’s going to be quite difficult.
I’ve thought about it several times already, but suddenly asking a wizard to engage in close combat was an incredibly difficult request.
But what can I do? If I’m going to blame someone, I should blame myself for deciding to become an all-rounder magician.
Anyway, Song Cheon-hye and Kwak Ji-cheol finished this week with 0, so what I said is,
‘One. If I can somehow get just one off.’
It means being superior to them.
Hong Yeon-hwa’s heartbeat quickened, half out of excitement and half out of worry.
I don’t know about three, but if it’s one, then it’s fine.
But… … . can I do it?
Even just one thing doesn’t feel easy.
‘No, I have to do it.’
Hong Yeon-hwa took a deep breath and calmed herself down.
When I looked to the side, Kim Ho nodded his head slightly in response.
And together they stepped into the teleportation magic circle.
As I entered the circular arena, Dang Gyu-yeong was standing leisurely in the same spot as always.
In a position that is so comfortable that it feels defenseless at first glance.
But Hong Yeon-hwa already knew, having experienced it countless times.
The fact that once you enter battle, you won’t be able to find even the slightest weakness in that defenseless appearance.
And there’s one more person right next to you who doesn’t show any weaknesses.
Luckily, this week is on the same side as him.
Kim Ho, who happened to meet her gaze, said briefly.
“Same as yesterday.”
Do whatever you want, unfold everything you have.
I will support you accordingly.
At those words, Hong Yeon-hwa felt a strange sense of relief.
Kim Ho-ji, who usually feels intimidated even when he is near someone, could not be more reassuring at this moment when he is standing next to a strong enemy.
‘I can do it.’
As Hong Yeon-hwa lightly waved the wand in one hand, a circular magic circle was created under her feet.
The magic that was immediately manifested was completely absorbed into Hong Yeon-hwa’s entire body.
[Fire Pillar]
[Overheat]
– Whoosh whoosh!
Hong Yeon-hwa’s entire body was covered in vivid flames.
