< Chapter 135: Progress (2) >
Coming out of the practice room, Choi Ji-hoon and I were staring at each other, maintaining a reasonable distance.
“Did you come up with a good strategy?”
I asked with a sly smile.
“Well, I wonder if we even need a strategy.”
Choi Ji-hoon also responded, lifting just one corner of his mouth. Oh, the confidence.
“What will you do if you lose, feeling embarrassed like that?”
“That won’t happen.”
I sneakily glanced at the audience seats.
Kim Chul-jin was wearing the most vicious smile in the world.
Judging by that expression, it seemed certain that Choi Ji-hoon’s ‘Magic Armor’ had really evolved.
… It’s going to be interesting.
“Then, without further ado, shall we start?”
“Yes.”
We each stepped back three steps.
“Jia, please do the countdown.”
Jia as the referee, nodded slightly,
“5!”
The countdown began. I gently grasped the training dagger, not forgetting to keep the magic active and on standby.
“4!”
Magic surged from Choi Ji-hoon’s body. Although I had seen the flow of magic from the Magic Armor intermittently, today something was definitely different.
“3!”
The magic armor began to cover Choi Ji-hoon’s body.
From the helmet to the armor, the gauntlets, and the boots.
In less than a second, all the armaments were complete. Clearly, this alone showed tremendous growth.
“2!”
However, the surprising thing was not the speed of equipping.
It was the fact that Choi Ji-hoon’s Magic Armor began to turn red.
“…Wow.”
An evolved version of the magic armor with superior characteristics.
[Asura Magic Armor]
I never imagined I would see that form now.
“1!”
It’s not the time to be admiring.
I immediately took a stance.
And heightened my tension, activated the ‘Elf’s Eye’, and focused on the ‘Wind’s Path’.
I decided to save the Dragon’s Eye for later.
Before experimenting with the Dragon’s Eye, I want to feel the power of that ‘Asura Magic Armor’ with my own body.
Also, to see how far I can go without relying on ‘item luck’.
“Start!”
Choi Ji-hoon’s afterimage came flying like an arrow. Much faster than I expected.
I swung my dagger following the trajectory pointed out by the Wind’s Path.
Swish!
Hearing the sound of metal clashing as I twisted my body, I noticed that my dagger had guided Choi Ji-hoon’s long sword to the ground.
If this were the Choi Ji-hoon from two months ago, it would have been over here.
“Hmph!”
As if anticipating my feint, Choi Ji-hoon used his long sword as a pivot to launch a kick.
Whoosh!
I avoided it by bending my upper body. I dodged the following flurry of fists and sword attacks with minimal movement.
At the same time, I thrust my dagger into his side. The dagger, infused with a powerful force, hit Choi Ji-hoon’s side accurately.
Squeak!
“Ugh!”
But my dagger couldn’t penetrate Choi Ji-hoon’s Magic Armor.
The shock transmitted to my arm felt numb. Despite the careful application of force, it only left a small scratch.
“It’s futile.”
The best chance to attack is the best chance to counter, as it’s said.
As if waiting for this timing, a red light burst out from Choi Ji-hoon’s Magic Armor.
…Dangerous.
That is the effect signaling the activation of the ‘Asura’ mode of the Asura Magic Armor. In this state, all ‘physical ability stats’ increase by one rank.
“Urgh!”
I twisted my body quickly.
Whish-!
The piercing sound of the sword cutting through the air echoed clearly.
I tried somehow to escape, but it wasn’t easy.
Choi Ji-hoon seemed unwilling to let me go while I was off-balance.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
A merciless continuous attack leveraging the enhanced physical abilities and strong defense.
Clang! Swish!
My situation was gradually getting worse under the onslaught.
This is much harder than I thought!
During the last team battle, I suppressed Choi Ji-hoon with my abilities, leveraging the advantage buff.
But now, the situation is the complete opposite.
My balance is crumbling bit by bit.
If this continues, I will lose!
I can’t let that happen!
I seized an opportunity and circulated my mana.
Whirl whirl whirl!
The fire arrow created above Choi Ji-hoon’s head targeted Choi Ji-hoon’s blind spot as it fell.
Choi Ji-hoon, who was fully focused on the attack, did not notice the fire arrow.
Boom!
Yes!
Fierce flames erupted around Choi Ji-hoon’s body.
Considering the defense of the Asura Magic Armor, this wouldn’t be the end.
First, I need to take advantage of this timing to create some distance and regain my stance.
That was what I was thinking when I tried to leap backward.
Whirl whirl whirl!
Through the flames, a red gauntlet shot out,
Snap!
and grabbed my right arm accurately.
“I told you it’s useless.”
From the center of the flames, Choi Ji-hoon’s eyes shone even redder.
“Now you can’t run away.”
He pulled the hand that was grabbing me, drawing me in while thrusting his sword.
Is there a way to avoid this?
No. As long as Choi Ji-hoon has hold of my arm, it’s practically over.
Looking at the longsword approaching through the flames, I thought.
I thought I could do a bit more, but it seems this is my limit without the aid of items.
There’s no helping it.
Smi-rk.
The corner of my mouth turned up in a crescent moon shape.
Flash!
A golden glow erupted from my eyes. It was the opening of the Dragon’s Eye.
Zzzzzz-!
“What?”
Choi Ji-hoon’s longsword stopped just 3cm in front of my body.
“… Ice magic?”
Starting from the ground, the ice had frozen and immobilized Choi Ji-hoon’s right hand and his longsword.
“Why are you surprised? Haven’t you seen the news? Do you know what my trait is?”
“A trait that allows the use of all elements…”
“That’s right.”
The characteristic of the Dragon tribe.
Dragon Eye.
For me, who possesses the eye that can see the essence of mana, freely using elemental magic was a very simple task.
“… Hmph. So what? Hah!”
Crash!
At the same time as Choi Ji-hoon exerted his fighting spirit, the mana dispersed and the ice shattered.
“Whoa!”
Dodging the longsword that swung around as the ice released, I leaped backward.
“Wow. Is it because you have fought a lot with Si-yeon? You are quite adept at breaking free from the frozen state.”
“Heh. Compared to Si-yeon’s ice magic, it was nothing.”
Choi Ji-hoon growled as he regained his stance.
“Hmm. I admit. Honestly, it’s nothing compared to Si-yeon.”
I admitted it honestly. From afar, I could see Si-yeon snickering.
Swish!
Seizing the moment when I was distracted, Choi Ji-hoon swooped in like a shot arrow.
“Where do you think…”
My mana seeped into the ground.
Rumble!
At the same time, a wall of earth sprouted up along Choi Ji-hoon’s charge path.
Crash!
“Even Earth attribute!”
With the sound of the collision, dust scattered.
I quickly stepped back three steps.
Whoosh!
Simultaneously, Choi Ji-hoon’s sword sliced through where I had been just moments before.
Even having lost his sight in the dust, he remembered where I originally stood and attacked that spot.
“Aha~ you really have improved a lot.”
The fundamentals were different.
It felt almost like dealing with a different person.
“Heh!”
The aftermath brought by the horizontal slash blew away the dust, momentarily opening the line of sight between me and Choi Ji-hoon.
Choi Ji-hoon hurled his body straight at me, but it was futile.
“…What is this?”
The earth wrapped around Choi Ji-hoon’s entire body like a snake, hindering his movements.
The earth attribute magic that was cast along with the wall of earth, ‘Earth’s Restraint,’ had delayed activation and was now restraining Choi Ji-hoon’s body.
“That one might be a bit hard to get out of. The characteristic of earth attribute is ‘mana flow reduction.'”
“…This trifling thing!”
Choi Ji-hoon’s muscles bulged.
It seemed he was thinking of breaking free through sheer force. Not a chance.
Once again, a golden glow shone from my eyes.
Zzzzap!
A frost magic overlayed on the restrained body of Choi Ji-hoon.
“…Ugh.”
Choi Ji-hoon’s body completely stiffened.
Although it seemed his body was perfectly protected due to the magic armor, he would be unable to move even a single finger.
Suppressing the flow of magic with earth attribute restraint magic, and suppressing bodily movement with frost magic. There would be few cadets who could break free from this.
“I won, didn’t I?”
“…”
Choi Ji-hoon gave no answer.
He seemed to be trying to somehow break free from the restraint, but it was useless.
“You can’t break that.”
“…”
Even then, he doesn’t give up.
“Tsk.”
However, he soon seemed to come to terms with it, clicking his tongue.
“I won, right?”
I grinned, bringing my face close to Choi Ji-hoon’s.
Looking at my smile, Choi Ji-hoon also smiled.
“…Heh. I haven’t lost yet.”
“Huh?”
“Unless you pierce my ‘Asura Magic Armor,’ my defeat is not acknowledged.”
“Oh~ Is that so?”
Once again, I applied a strong energy to the dagger. This time it was energy possessing the property of mana combustion coated with ‘Elemental Flames’.
Whooosh!
I thrust the dagger, enveloped in translucent flames, towards Choi Ji-hoon.
Kaang!
However, my dagger could not fully penetrate Choi Ji-hoon’s Asura Magic Armor. It had only pierced about halfway through.
“Wow…”
It happened because the amount of mana in Choi Ji-hoon’s Asura Magic Armor overwhelmingly exceeded the amount of mana in my strong energy.
“It’s useless. My Asura Magic Armor is invincible.”
“I see. It really is disgustingly hard.”
It was enough to make me stick out my tongue.
“Heh. It can’t be helped, it’s unfortunate.”
With that, Choi Ji-hoon casually spoke while looking at me.
“It seems we have no choice but to end this in a draw since we can’t deliver decisive blows to each other.”
Wow, look at how petty he is.
“Do you dislike calling me ‘hyung’ that much?”
“…”
Choi Ji-hoon remained silent.
And it was said that silence often means affirmation.
“I am determined to hear you call me ‘hyung.'”
It seems I have to win even if it’s just out of stubbornness.
Once again, I ignited a strong energy using the ‘Elemental Flames.’
“I told you it’s useless. With your amount of mana, my Asura Magic Armor…”
“Just shut up and watch.”
I stabbed down with my dagger again.
Ka-aaang!
Of course, the outcome did not change.
My dagger only penetrated halfway through Choi Ji-hoon’s Asura Magic Armor.
“Do you lack the ability to learn? I said you can’t pierce it…”
“It’s not over yet.”
But this is where the real deal starts.
I twisted the corners of my mouth upwards.
“Have you heard of counter-spelling?”
“Are you talking about the ‘witch’s’ trait that prevents the activation of magic?”
It’s a characteristic that can be seen as the identity of the witch, ranked 4th among the S-rank superhumans.
“That’s right. It’s a fraudulent trait that prevents the activation of magic by understanding the magic activation formula, calculating it, and casting it in reverse.”
“… And what about it?”
Choi Ji-hoon looked at me with puzzled eyes. I smirked.
“Watch carefully. I will show you something interesting from now on.”
Due to the combustion process of magical power, the pattern of magical power of the Asura armor scattered in the air.
The structure of Asura’s magical power is visible through the gap where the dagger is stuck.
And Choi Ji-hoon’s magical traits that have become familiar through over 30 bouts.
Based on the magic information read through the Dragon’s Eye, I completely analyzed the structure of the Asura armor.
“…8,849 patterns of magical power. That’s a lot.”
It was a success.
“What are you talking about?”
I quietly raised my hand to Choi Ji-hoon’s helmet.
At the same time, I moved the magical power.
I start to reverse the 8,849 patterns of magical power, breaking them down from the end.
It seemed to take longer than expected, but fortunately, Choi Ji-hoon couldn’t move. There was plenty of time.
“You, don’t tell me…”
Did he realize what I was trying to do?
Choi Ji-hoon’s voice trembled slightly.
“Consider it a good experience.”
I kept moving the magical power.
“Where else would you get to experience counter-spelling?”
The next moment.
Paaang!
Choi Ji-hoon’s Asura armor shattered into pieces and dispersed like smoke.
I put my dagger to the neck of Choi Ji-hoon, who was now bare-skinned.
“So, I won, right?”
“…”
“Now you have to call me ‘hyung’, right?”
“…”
“Go on, call me ‘hyung’, little brother.”
Choi Ji-hoon scowled with a face that seemed to have bitten into something bitter.
“Hyu…..”
“Say hyung, say it.”
Ujoojoo.
“Hye… I’d rather cut off my tongue!”
Oh, but really, how petty.
* * *
That night.
Returning home, I was giggling with admiration for the omnipotent effect of the Dragon’s Eye.
“Keuu~ I never imagined I could even cancel out the magic armor.”
It took a considerable amount of time, but that was no big deal.
On top of that, the ability to freely use all attribute magic spells.
Truly the Dragon’s Eye.
There is no fraud like this one.
“Do all dragon tribes have this eye as a passive trait?”
With eyes like these, plus the ‘Dragon language,’ near-infinite magical power, and strong physical abilities.
It was bound to be strong.
“Ah, it’s already this late.”
Looking at the time, it had already passed midnight. I headed to the bathroom to brush my teeth.
“Hmm?”
On the way to the bathroom, I noticed Rena’s room.
I stealthily opened the door to check inside.
Centered around Rena, Goldie, and White Tiger were huddled together, sleeping.
I quietly opened the camera app. Oh my, this needs to be captured.
“Click~”
Thus, one more photo was added to my healing collection today.
It was when I was leaving the room with a satisfied smile.
“Wha! Shit! You surprised me!”
I screamed out in surprise, noticing something black in front of the room.
Upon closer inspection, it was a person.
What, what is it? An enemy? Is it an attack?
I hurriedly grabbed a weapon nearby.
“Good evening.”
“…Huh?”
It was a familiar voice.
“Hermit?”
“Yes.”
The black mass, Hermit, lifted his head.
His two eyes were sparkling.
It felt like I could sense something like admiration or reverence.
No, more importantly.
“…Is it okay for you to be here?”
Aren’t you going to get caught by Unknown?
“You don’t need to hide anything. I know everything.”
What?
“Surely you didn’t calculate everything from the beginning and used the great spirit’s oath, did you…”
Hermit bowed his head deeply with a moved expression.
“I am impressed.”
Looking at such Hermit, I thought to myself.
< Chapter 135: Progress (2) > End
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