Episode 92 Distortion
As the three moved out of the circular arena, Gwak Ji-cheol and Song Cheon-hye, who had been waiting, approached them.
Dang Gyu-yeong gathered the four first-year students in front of him and pointed to the sticker on Hong Yeon-hwa’s hand.
“But still, how did someone come out and take it? When I see this, I think my efforts were not in vain.”
‘You took it off? The sticker?’
‘Hong Yeon-hwa?’
Song Cheon-hye and Kwak Ji-cheol opened their eyes at the unexpected news.
This week’s match was so incredibly difficult that I secretly expected no one to succeed.
Hong Yeon-hwa felt even better when she saw the surprised faces.
‘I finally got over it.’
After entering Yongsal Academy, he got better grades than Song Cheon-hye for the first time.
It’s only a difference of 1 and 0, but a win is a win.
If we continue like this, the baseless rumor that ‘Song Cheon-hye is better than Hong Yeon-hwa’ will also disappear.
‘Hmm, hmm, but you shouldn’t show it too much.’
Hong Yeon-hwa had to make a desperate effort to keep the corners of her lips from twitching.
However, because of his personality that makes him bad at controlling his facial expressions, his attempts were not very successful, and to others, it looked like he was making a ridiculous mocking remark.
Song Cheon-hye’s eyebrows twitched and veins appeared on her forehead.
Regardless, Dang Gyu-yeong continued talking.
“Even those who haven’t been able to get away have been getting used to close combat quite a bit. However, there are still a lot of areas that need improvement, so it would be good to continue to have one-on-one duels.”
“… … ?”
“yes?”
What are you going to keep doing in the future?
The first-year students’ eyes were all fixed on Dang Gyu-yeong, but Dang Gyu-yeong had an attitude of not being surprised at anything.
“Of course we have to continue. The sticker battle is over.”
They say it’s not mentoring.
There are still three weeks left.
The frequency will be less than before, but we will occasionally fit in one-on-one close combat duels during the mentoring period.
Dang Gyu-yeong waved his hand without even noticing everyone’s expressions turning sour.
“Then go in and get some rest, and I’ll see you again tomorrow.”
Everyone was unable to recover from Dang Gyu-yeong’s shocking remarks and stood still for a while, but eventually, one by one, they began to take steps.
The first person to move was Song Cheon-hye.
Ever since she heard the news that Hong Yeon-hwa had removed the sticker, her mind was filled with one thought.
‘Will there be a replay?’
Since it was a mentoring match, it is unlikely that it was held privately.
I couldn’t help but wonder what tricks he used to break through Senior Dang Gyu-yeong’s defenses and remove the sticker.
I need to go quickly and check the replay.
“… … .”
Next, Kwak Ji-cheol sent an incomprehensible look to Kim Ho and left, and Hong Yeon-hwa also planned to hurry her steps.
But before that, there’s something left to say.
Hong Yeon-hwa approached Kim Ho cautiously and opened her mouth.
“Over there, that… … .”
When I met his indifferent gaze, my body froze as if it were a habit, but for some reason it wasn’t as serious as before.
I think my fear has been somewhat diluted thanks to this match.
So I had the courage to keep speaking.
“Thank you, thank you. For helping me remove the sticker… … .”
“You don’t have to thank me. It’s all the result of your own efforts.”
Kim Ho slowly shook his head, but Hong Yeon Hwa knew.
The fact that without him, even today’s small accomplishments would not have been possible.
Of course I put in the effort, and as a result, my skills improved significantly.
But even so, it might not have been enough to finally remove the sticker.
The reason this shortcoming was possible was purely because Kim Ho continued to keep Dang Gyu-yeong in check and created an opening.
In particular, one move that was crucial was getting close to Dang Gyu-yeong and perfectly controlling his movements right before he removed the sticker.
Even if Kim Ho had mentioned these parts and claimed that it was all thanks to him, Hong Yeon-hwa would have accepted it without a second thought.
But he didn’t act arrogantly, even though he had every right to do so, and instead acknowledged her efforts.
‘perhaps…….’
Could it be that I misjudged?
If you get to know him, isn’t he a better person than you thought?
Hong Yeon-hwa’s mind became complicated as the perceptions she had until then and the new evaluations became entangled here and there.
Strangely, I also felt a tickling sensation in one corner of my chest.
‘Huh!’
Then, when I came to my senses, I found myself staring blankly at Kim Ho for a long time.
Hong Yeon-hwa cleaned up the mess as soon as the words came out of her mouth.
“Anyway, uh, thank you! I’ll see you tomorrow? See you!”
And while he was walking quickly, he occasionally slowed down and glanced at Kim Ho.
* * *
As I watch Hong Yeon-hwa walk away, something keeps poking me in the side.
I looked out of the corner of my eye and saw Dang Gyu-yeong with a pouty face, repeatedly poking me with his index finger.
Knock knock knock.
He deliberately ignored her and continued to stare in the direction where Hong Yeon-hwa had disappeared, so now he changed places and pressed both cheeks alternately.
Then he gently pinched it and pulled it up and down.
“Senior, my balls aren’t glutinous rice cakes.”
“… … .”
“Why are you so upset again?”
“You have confessed your sins.”
Of course I knew why Dang Gyu-yeong was acting like that.
Because I kept harassing him with Windforce throughout the sticker battle.
It’s normal to be angry.
But since I knew why I was angry, but it wasn’t a sin, I started defending myself.
“I told you, this is the only useful skill.”
“Hey, but this doesn’t make sense. You’ve graduated hundreds of times, so why is that all you have? Shouldn’t you have at least 50 more?”
“If you re-enroll, everything will be reset.”
“Where is that?”
“I’m also dissatisfied with that.”
Dang Gyu-young narrowed his eyes, perhaps because my answer came out so smoothly.
“Swoop, this is coming off well. There are no holes in the concept.”
“That’s because it’s not a concept.”
“Yes, I guess so—”
And this time too, it seemed like he decided to just shake his head and move on.
In fact, the reward for graduating hundreds of times has already been received.
[Copy], [Amplification], and [Monarch] are the ones that were started under the name of ‘Reincarnation Quest Specials’.
Of course, this was something I couldn’t reveal to others, as it was the fact that I had entered the game world.
Dang Gyu-yeong stretched out.
“Oh my— It’s only the end of the week. Being a mentor is secretly an extreme job. There are no weekends or holidays.”
“Isn’t that better than cleaning the drain?”
If I hadn’t been mentored, I would have had to receive all the disciplinary action I was receiving.
However, Dang Gyu-yeong’s reaction was a bit skeptical.
“Well, I think these days, I should just be disciplined. I should be moderately tired. Anyway, let’s go.”
It was Dang Gyu-yeong who was walking away, saying he was going to go and rest for a bit.
however…….
“Senior, where are you going?”
“huh?”
“My week isn’t over yet.”
The one-on-one duel is over, but shouldn’t the one-on-one duels continue?
At least until you acquire [Distortion].
Dang Gyu-yeong made a face as if he was dying of exhaustion.
“Hey, I should take a break too. Don’t you feel bad for your senior who works without receiving weekend allowance? I mean, mentors have human rights too.”
“We’re almost there. Just a little more.”
“How much more?”
“Just a little more.”
Of course, there was no promise in that ‘just a little more’, so Dang Gyu-yeong looked at me with very suspicious eyes.
I met his gaze with the most innocent smile possible.
“… … Ugh, why did I make such useless promises. Is this really just this once for you?”
Although Dang Gyu-yeong grumbled and complained, he seemed to think that a promise was a promise and entered the circular arena with me.
And as soon as they each took their seats, they took out a bunch of shadow daggers and started throwing them around.
– Papapapat!
Black blades passing by precariously.
There, five or six shadow butterflies are summoned and pursued.
I said, my feet moving busily.
“You’re in a hurry today.”
“Since I’m already doing this, I might as well finish it quickly and rest.”
– Pfft pfft!
The shadow butterflies exploded all at once, shooting out various shadow weapons.
The circular arena turned into chaos in an instant.
However, even I, who was running around quickly, and Dang Gyu-yeong, who was constantly attacking, had a relaxed expression on his face.
‘My skills have improved.’
Even earlier this week, Dang Gyu-young would go on a long offensive run only to tire himself out and stop.
It was because they were trying so hard to catch me, who was running away like a loach, that they naturally became physically and mentally exhausted.
But if you practice similar patterns throughout the week, you’ll get used to it to some extent.
Now, he continues his attacks with a flowing flow and shows no signs of fatigue.
We even reached a point where we could chat comfortably.
This time, the conversation continues while scattering shadow daggers in all directions.
– Pararararak!
“I have a wish.”
“Yes, there was.”
“I was thinking about what to use it for.”
Dang Gyu-yeong also secretly helped me train and received a wish ticket in return.
The wish certificate that was bet with Song Cheon-hye is similar in wording but the content is quite different.
The former is simply a question or a minor request, so it is a small wish, while the latter is a medium wish, a bit stronger.
“What wish can I grant you?”
“You, don’t you have anything coming up next week?”
“There is nothing else but mentoring.”
“Then take some time then. Let’s go somewhere together.”
“Where are you going? Even using the wishing ticket.”
If it were an ordinary place, you could just say let’s go, but if you insist on using a wish ticket, you have to assume there’s a purpose to it.
Dang Gyu-yeong answered while sticking close to him and drawing his dagger.
“It’s no fun if I tell you everything in advance. I’ll tell you the details then.”
“All right.”
It was a little suspicious, but I couldn’t help but listen.
When bringing up the topic of Sowon Kwon, Dang Gyu-young added a condition with his own mouth, saying, “If you don’t like it after hearing it later, then don’t do it,” so he won’t make a request that has a high chance of being rejected.
In addition, considering that he took the time to train with me even after the interpersonal battle was over and that he will need my help in the future, it would be better for me to accommodate him as much as possible.
For a while, attacks, evasions, and pointless conversations continued.
Dang Gyu-yeong asked, “Are you starting to get bored?”
“Is the characteristic still far away?”
“We’re almost there. Just a little more.”
“You said that earlier. You couldn’t possibly… … .”
Dang Gyu-yeong frowns with an ominous feeling.
“Surely… … . You’re not doing this the entire mentoring period, are you?”
“That’s not it.”
The evasion stack I had built up before mentoring was enormous, and the additional stack I built with Dang Gyu-yeong over the course of a week was also considerable.
Now, we can say that it is almost on the verge of exploding.
No matter how unlucky we are, the outcome will be decided next week.
But they say that even tigers come when you call them.
The moment I tilted my head slightly to dodge the flying dagger,
A notification message appeared in the corner of my field of vision.
[Learn ‘Distortion’.]
‘Look at this.’
I told you, we were almost there.
I stopped moving around busily and just stood still.
At that time, Dang Gyu-yeong was gathering a lot of mana in his fist and reaching out, but I didn’t dodge and let him go in order to test the performance of my special ability.
As I was standing there blankly, as if I knew how to avoid dangerous situations like before, Dang Gyu-yeong’s eyes widened in surprise.
“uh?”
But it was too late to stop the attack that had already gained momentum.
Just as the mana-filled fist was about to strike my face,
Dang Gyu-yeong’s entire arm curved like a mollusk and passed by sideways.
“omg!”
Dang Gyu-yeong became lost in thought and immediately pulled his hand away, retreating a considerable distance away.
“What, what, what, what is it?”
I checked by feeling my bent arm while flapping around on my own, but it was fine without a single scratch.
Dang Gyu-yeong stopped flapping his wings and asked me, looking a little embarrassed.
“What just happened?”
“I just learned the trait.”
“Ah! Is this it?”
[distortion]
▷Distort space to evade enemy attacks.
▷24 hours waiting time for reuse
Your precious space series traits.
You can evade ‘any attack’ once.
Even if you just stand there doing nothing, the daggers of an assassin or the arrows of a sniper will automatically pass by you.
There is a 24-hour cooldown restriction each time it is activated, but even taking that into account, it is a fraudulent effect.
After hearing the explanation of the characteristics, Dang Gyu-yeong’s face became dumbfounded.
“No, this isn’t a total scam. Can’t I learn it too?”
“It is possible.”
“Really? How?”
“You can do with your faculty and staff exactly what I did with my senior.”
To quickly build up your evasion stack, it is best to build it from an opponent who is two or three levels higher than you.
As a first-year student, I avoided all of the attacks from the third-year class president without even hitting him once.
So, based on Dang Gyu-young’s standards, you just need to avoid heroes who are equivalent to B- or A-class heroes, that is, teachers and staff.
Dang Gyu-yeong stood there blinking for a moment.
It seemed like he was comparing the conditions I had mentioned with the sparring we had done so far.
And then he smiled faintly.
“I won’t do it.”
