Episode 73

Bang!

In the front, Meowi’s [Push Shield] burst forth.

The magic in the shape of a cute and adorable cat cried out ‘Meow!’

With the final powerful shockwave marking the end, the leader who had been holding on until the end fell out of the arena with a thud.

It was just a fall, nothing more.

Dusting off the dirt from her butt, saying ‘Ouch, ouch…’ and standing up suddenly, she didn’t seem to have any significant injuries.

‘…Seriously, she’s unbelievably tough.’

The other two team members had long been eliminated, and she was left alone.

Logically, without any support or dealing, she should have been eliminated immediately, but she amazingly endured for five minutes in silence.

That too, while fending off continuous attacks from me, Ma Hana, and Moon Bora.

“Hehe~ I lost.”

The leader scratched the back of her head as if she felt embarrassed.
With her characteristic cat-like mouth and soft demeanor.
Given her immense tanking ability, it was easy to guess that this woman was also a character from ‘GAL.’

‘Jeon Hui-ju, a naturally three-star main tank.’

Though she had no special skills, she was famous for blocking all attacks with her insane durability.

Without much effort, her crazy durability was her hallmark, but because of that, her shelf life came incredibly fast, making her a tragic character who wasn’t used much in the latter part of the game.

While I was lost in thought, Jeon Hui-ju approached and patted my head on her tiptoes.

“Wow, amazing~ For someone to be this strong. Unnie is impressed.”
“…Hey, I’m not a kid, you know?”
“Uh-huh~ Really? Sorry~ I’m just used to taking care of my younger siblings.”

Then, lifting her unconscious ally onto her shoulder, she waved her hand and disappeared.

“Good luck in the finals~”

Hmm, well, this was something.
I never thought I’d be the one getting patted for a change.

Anyway, with this, all matches up to the semifinals were over.
I lifted my gaze to look at the scoreboard.

The 91st ‘Duel Match’ finals.
[Yu Seha’s team vs. Ju Na-young’s team]

Ju Na-young.

The opponent with whom I promised to do my best by clashing fists.

The day to clash with her with all my might was not far away.

The next day.
The final arena where the grand finals would take place.

Buzzing!

My companions and I were a bit taken aback by the unexpectedly packed crowd.

“…What, why are there so many people?”

I heard the third week matches usually don’t have many attendees.

“Meow… Maybe it’s because of Bora and Na-young?”
“Is that so?”

Well, that might be it.

[Snow Ice] Moon Bora.
And [Flame Dragon] Ju Na-young.
Indeed, their match was something to look forward to.

In fact, there were many in the stands cheering and shouting their nicknames.

However, unexpectedly, there were quite a few who called out my name.

Sometimes, some even cheered for our Meowi, but…

‘This is quite unexpected…’

I thought no one would be interested in someone like me.

Not much, but Yu Seha’s name resonated clearly.
In fact, this was the result of a combination of complex reasons.

Yu Seha.

A handsome man who could make people stare as if bewitched while passing by.

If it were just that, it would be understandable, but the fact that he was secretly recognized for his skills was significant.

This resulted in him becoming very popular among the male classmates.

In this world, most men were discouraged by women’s talents.
There was a difference in inherent magical power due to gender.
At first, it might not be noticeable, but as time goes on, this difference becomes more pronounced.

Perhaps that’s why.
Some of the men who enrolled in the Academy often dropped out midway, feeling disheartened.
There were also unspoken issues of hierarchy.

In such a situation, Yu Seha appeared like a comet.

A man rumored to have made Peng Jin-ah drop her sword.

And in the second week of training, he showed such powerful prowess that the rumors seemed plausible.

He was the man who made even Ju Na-young, the “Flame Dragon,” flinch and feel a sense of rivalry.

This led to men seeing him as an idol.
Normally, there would be jealousy and envy, but there was none of that.
This showed how great the sense of frustration felt by the men was.

The reason for the unusually loud crowd and cheers in today’s match lay in this background.

To them, the person named ‘Yu Seha’ had become a symbol of hope before they knew it.

Additionally, there were those who marvelled at his boldness(?) of casually hanging out with pretty girls.

Of course, well…

Yu Seha himself had no interest in that at all.

To him, all this cheering was nothing but noise.

He solely looked beyond, at the woman with the flaming red hair.

“……”
“……”

Without saying anything, they both approached each other.
Then they bumped their fists together lightly.

“Finally, the day has come.”
“Ah, I thought I’d grow tired of waiting.”

They chuckled and nodded at each other.

“I won’t lose.”
“Neither will I.”

Right after finishing those words, Ju Na-young returned to her original spot.

Next to Ju Na-young, Ryu Da-rae, with shamanistic decorations around her eyes, approached.

“Ju Na-young. Do you remember the plan? First, we need to draw in Yu Seha. In the end, as long as we eliminate the main dealer, no matter how great <Snow Ice> is–”

“Sorry, I can’t do that.”

“…What?”

“Such a normal method. Even if we win, I won’t be satisfied.”

“Ah, no… this is the plan–”

“I’m going first.”

“?! W-wait a moment, Ju Na-young, Ju Na-young! Na-young-ah!!!”

The whistle signaling the start of the match echoed.

Ju Na-young used [Dash] on her legs and rushed forward.

Seeing this, Yu Seha smiled faintly and placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.

Soon, the two clashed fiercely with each other.

Ju Na-young charged in with terrifying momentum.

Yu Seha swiftly drew the [Turtle’s Longsword].

The one who took the initiative was Yu Seha, who had read her move first.

A horrifying noise rang out and a lightning like flash exploded.

Although it was powerful enough to make one feel cold, Ju Na-Young actually smiled.

That is right…

“I am already sick of it!!!”

Two weeks.
They trained to pound their skills into rocks and hone their strength.

As soon as Yu Seha placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, Ju Na-young figured out when to use her skill.

Her speed and power were a little higher than before.
But other than that, there was no significant difference.

Ju Na-young strengthened both arms.

Heiwk!

A burning flame rose up, like the wrath of a living dragon.

It was the Rare grade flame type skill [Burning Flame].

The flame was even higher than a few days ago, showing that her level had increased.
It didn’t end there.

Ju Na-young’s legs surged with [Dash], showcasing an even faster speed than before.

Yu Seha’s face was struck with astonishment.

’Insane, did [Dash]‘s level increase in the meantime?’

Just how intensive was your training, Ju Na-young?

Bang!

Flowing Slash and Ju Na-young’s fists collided with each other.

Normally, it should have blown her away.

But the outcome changed with their fists spreading like an afterimage.

Puh-puh-puh!

About seven fists continuously pounded towards Flowing Slash.
An expression of brute will to break and crush head-on without any trickery.
The intense will eventually shattered Flowing Slash into pieces.

“…Crazy.”
“Young-ah!”

He was dumbfounded.

No matter the level or stat difference, breaking the [Flowing Slash] reinforced with [Song of the Sword] head-on?

‘…As expected.’

He had somewhat noticed it during training or when fighting virtual holy knights.

Undoubtedly, Ju Na-young must possess the strength of a seasoned C-rank hunter.

Except for exceptions like [Divine], all average stats were probably in the 30s.

[Strength], [Speed], and [Endurance], the main stats, would be slightly higher.

‘…Of course.’

That alone couldn’t explain such power.

“An opening!”
“…!”

Oh no.

He had thought too deeply.

As if not missing the exposed gap, Ju Na-young pursued.

Sensing that retreat was not an option, Yu Seha filled his lungs with air and grabbed the Turtle’s Longsword.

‘…A head-on clash is not an option.’

The longsword, despite being sturdy, would cause his wrist to twist.

‘I have to endure.’

The core of this operation was how well he could lead the bomb called Ju Na-young.

Beyond that were Ma Hana and Moon Bora.
The two were diligently carrying out the operation.
He had to think of himself as dead now, and engage in a one-on-one direct confrontation.

‘Focus.’

Facing the impending crisis with his eyes and skin.
Sensing it with his sixth sense.

A red afterimage.
A world blazing with red light.

Ju Na-young, flashing red, came into view.

Her heart was thumping like an engine, supplying magic through her right arm to her fist.

*Bang! *She stomped her foot.
With force in her wrist, imparting her unique rotational power.
A fist filled with power extended toward Yu Seha.

‘Now…!’

At the precise timing that Yu Seha, who had seen through everything, raised the sword and slashed upwards…

Kang! Her hand was raised upward.

“…Eh?!”

Perhaps she didn’t expect the attack to be countered this way; Ju Na-young’s eyes widened.

She frowned for a moment.
Closing the distance even more, she threw a series of punches.

The increasing speed soon transformed into a skill, sublimating into her main technique, [Rapid Strike].

But with a sense of rhythm, Yu Seha continued to parry Ju Na-young’s punches using his sword.

The swordsmanship began to grow faster and more precise.

A technique that doesn’t focus on attack at all, solely dedicated to thorough defense, [Swordsmanship].

Unbeknownst to Yu Seha, this was commonly referred to as Sword Sound, a state of skill that softly deflects and counters the enemy’s attacks, a unique [Sword Technique].

Yu Seha’s class, [Sword Saint].
Coupled with 5★ talent.
And an astounding genius that would shock anyone.

Lastly, Peng Jin-ah’s swordsmanship.
The essence and core of [Overlord Sword technique], ‘Gentleness,’ flowed through Yu Seha’s arm.

This gave him the power to withstand Ju Na-young’s fierce attacks for a full minute.

“…Hey, hey, let’s take it easy…”
“Tch…”

Yu Seha took a step back.

He calmly analyzed the information from the red glow on Ju Na-young’s hands.

‘SSuch power can’t be achieved with just [Burning Flame] and high-level [Rapid Strikes].’

Now, this phenomenon was possible because of the two passives displayed in the information window earlier.

“[Red High Oak]?”
“…! What? Yu Seha, do you know about this?”

[Red High Oak].
A B-grade boss type.

It was equipped with only the best [Runes] available.

[Boiling Blood] boosts strength stats by about 3-5 during combat.

[Blood of the Combat Orc] enhances overall physical abilities.

In other words, both runes were simple yet good, focusing on stat increases.

“…Ah, damn, this is tough.”
“Now, do you understand the greatness of me, Ju Na-young?”

As she put her hands on her waist and went ‘Hmph~,’ a chuckle escaped me for a moment.

Greatness?
Well, that’s…

“I knew from the beginning.”
“…What?”
“That you’re amazing.”
“…D-don’t say weird things all of a sudden!”

…Even when I honestly say it, she gets angry.

Anyway, Ju Na-young was in an exceptionally good mood seeing me in trouble.

It was like a child getting acknowledged by an adult, looking excited.

Usually, I would have smirked, thinking she was cute.

Boom!
Thud!
Bang!

“Ugh!”

The formidable violence that came with that smile could never bring out a smile from me.

It wasn’t just the strength of her punches.

Accompanied by the [Burning Flame], hot enough to sear just by touching, it was extremely tricky.

She even mixed in kicking techniques using her feet.

Not the reckless swings of street thugs, but kicks with proper power and form enhanced by [Martial Arts].

“Yu Seha, what happened?! Where’s your usual momentum?!”

Ju Na-young closed the distance in an instant with [Dash] while bent over.

It was the moment when she was about to put an end to it.

She, who had been charging in, suddenly realized something strange and stopped.

The subtle protective shield around her body vanished in an instant.

“…Uh… what?”

According to Ju Na-young’s calculations, there should still be time left.

But it had disappeared.

What this meant was…

“…N-No way!”
“Oh dear…”

I really thought I was going to die.

Luckily, it seemed the two of them managed to help just in time.

“Ugh…”
“N-Na-young…”

Ryu Da-rae, Hwang Ki-beum.

Each playing the roles of <Wudang Warrior> and <Barrier Master>, respectively, a tank and a supporter.

Both of them had been knocked out of the arena and were retired.

Only then did Ju Na-young realize she had been tricked.

“Yu Seha. The reason you charged at me… was to aim for this?”

“Of course. Do you think I’m stupid? Do you think I’d face <Flame Dragon> head-on?”

“…What if I had aimed for the others?”

“No, you’d definitely only focus on me.”

I was convinced.
If it was Ju Na-young, she would definitely be obsessed with me.
Because she, with the blood of a dragon flowing through her, was weak to all kinds of desires.
This was proven by the strategy that worked perfectly.

‘…Good, the first button has been fastened well.’

The problem starts now.

Even in this situation, where I had the upper hand with a 3–1 advantage, I did not let go of my tension.

Because if it was the Ju Na-young I knew…
She would burn even more fiercely in this situation.

“……”

Ju Na-young lowered her head.

A shadow of despair cast over her face, but I instead raised my longsword and took a defensive stance.

Because the [Unprecedented Sense] was sending a frantic warning.

Bang!

It was different.

I couldn’t perceive it precisely, but a speed on a different level than before was coming at me.

At the same time, a sharp shock resonated through the hilt of my sword, echoing throughout my entire body.

“Keuk!”

A groan escaped my mouth involuntarily.

Where I barely defended with the sword blade, a heavy fist was lodged.

Even under normal circumstances, Ju Na-young’s fists were powerful.
But now, the weight was on a different level.

‘…The reason is.’

It was because of the red dragon scales that had suddenly covered Ju Na-young’s entire body.

Especially concentrated on her arms and legs.

It looked as if she was wearing armor that did not hinder her weight at all, giving the illusion of executing martial arts.

‘This is Ju Na-young’s true power.’

A barrage of information windows echoed in my ears.

Huh, crazy…

‘Look at that, what an absurd buff.’

It was rare even in ‘GAL’ for a single buff to increase stats that much.

Following that, Ju Na-young’s bright voice rang in my ears.

“Good, Yu Seha, that’s the way. Now it’s getting interesting!”

“…Hey, hey, you’re losing it a bit? Your eyes are rolling back.”

Seemingly not hearing, Ju Na-young showed a mad smile.

“Show me more.”
“Your true worth!”
“To me!!!”