Chapter 440: Seo Ye-in vs. Cha Hyeon-joo (1)
Seo Ye-in stared at the scoreboard for a moment, then turned her head toward me.
“The kid who talks badly.”
“What are the odds you meet in the tournament?”
Honestly, I thought their rematch would come much later.
There was always a chance Cha Hyeon-joo wouldn’t make it to the finals, or that she’d be matched with a completely different opponent, or even get eliminated in the round of 32 or 16.
But having overcome all those odds to face each other again…these two must really have a strong thread of bad blood.
“…I’ll teach her a lesson.”
Her gray eyes, for once, burned with fighting spirit.
She’d trained and learned new skills just for this moment.
I gave her the same advice I’d once given to Hong Yeon-hwa during the preliminaries.“Just do what you’ve always done. Then you’ll win.”
“Got it.”
Seo Ye-in nodded and stood up from her seat.
Then she stared quietly at a certain spot.
There, approaching with a bunch of snacks in his hands, was Shin Byeong-cheol.
He greeted us awkwardly.
“H-Hey. Hello there. Good luck in your match.”
“……”
Seo Ye-in briefly looked away, then glanced down at the seat she’d just been sitting in.
Shin Byeong-cheol looked that way too, then asked with an awkward but cautious tone,
“Uh… mind if I sit here for a bit?”
“No.”
Seo shook her head slowly.
Then she rummaged through her inventory, pulled out a tiger plushie, and plopped it onto the empty seat.
“Reserved.”
Meaning she wasn’t giving up the seat next to me.
I placed a hand on the tiger plushie and gently chided her.
“Young miss, you can’t do that. You have to let someone sit in an empty seat.”
“It’s the tiger’s seat.”
Still being stubborn, Seo Ye-in held her ground.
I laughed and set the plushie on my lap.
“Just go for now. I’ll tell him to move when you get back.”
“Oh, of course I’ll move! Or, hey, I could just sit on his lap instead?”
Shin Byeong-cheol joked, throwing it out there without much thought.
An exclamation mark practically popped up above Seo Ye-in’s head.
“Great idea…!”
From my perspective, it didn’t seem like a particularly good idea, but now wasn’t the time to argue.
“Just go on down. I’ll be waiting.”
“Mhmm.”
Seo Ye-in walked toward the stage, and Shin Byeong-cheol plopped down in the empty seat.
Then he rubbed his hands together enthusiastically.
“Alright! Time to place our bets, everyone!”
“You really do like gambling too much.”
“Hey now, you’ve got the cause and effect all wrong. The tournament is the main event. This is just the spice. Watch some matches, earn some points? What’s not to love?” Ɽ𝐀ɴꝋʙËŝ
Shin Byeong-cheol launched into a passionate defense to justify his behavior.
He even went as far as glorifying the idea of earning points.
Since I was planning to place a bet anyway, I didn’t bother criticizing him for it.
Instead, I naturally asked,
“You betting on who wins?”
“Yeah. You can also bet on more detailed stuff. Like stamina differences, or how many healing orbs they pick up.”
“That sounds like a headache. I’ll pass on those. What’s the point cap?”
“Round of 32 and 16 share the same cap as the preliminaries, 5,000 points. After that, it goes up to 10,000.”
Starting from the quarterfinals, only the real powerhouses would remain, so the matches would naturally heat up even more.
The point cap was raised accordingly to match the intensity.
Then Shin Byeong-cheol turned to Go Hyeon-woo and me to confirm.
“Well, I’m guessing you’re both betting on Seo Ye-in, right?”
“Of course.”
“Absolutely.”
We answered without even a second’s hesitation.
Shin Byeong-cheol nodded and checked the current betting status.
“Let’s see… Seo Ye-in’s got 47, Cha Hyeon-joo’s at 53. Pretty close.”
Their skill levels were publicly seen as about equal, but it looked like Cha Hyeon-joo had a slight edge due to her reputation as a rising star.
Of course, I had a completely different opinion.
This is a 100 to 0 match.
There was no way Seo Ye-in would lose after everything she’d been through to get here.
***
While Seo Ye-in and Cha Hyeon-joo were getting their final checks done—
At a temporary desk near the stage, Lee Soo-dok and Seo Cheong-yong were seated.
Seo Cheong-yong spoke into the mic. His voice echoed throughout the arena.
“Hello everyone! Welcome! I’m Seo Cheong-yong, the first-year homeroom teacher, and I’ll be your commentator for the finals!”
“…I’m Lee Soo-dok.”
Seo Cheong-yong’s energy level was noticeably higher than usual, while Lee Soo-dok’s was the exact opposite.
That was because he’d been more or less forced into the position by the principal’s strong recommendation.
Seo Cheong-yong fully understood how he felt. But what was done was done.
When you can’t avoid it, the only choice is to enjoy it.
So he casually continued asking questions.
“Seo Ye-in is from your class, right, Mr. Lee? How would you assess her?”
“She’s lazy, but highly skilled.”
The phrase “lazy” was said with quite a bit of emphasis, but Seo Cheong-yong once again didn’t react outwardly.
“Then we can expect a good match against Cha Hyeon-joo?”
“That’s how I see it.”
As the two teachers continued their conversation, the stage was gradually transforming into a setting suited for battle.
The floor became completely covered in sand, and palm trees began to shoot up here and there.
“This terrain was selected with the fact that both contestants specialize in long-range combat!”
“A sandy beach, huh? Movement will be significantly restricted.”
“Exactly! It’s hard to pick up speed, and if they push too hard, they might lose their footing.”
“That also means it’ll be easier for attacks to land.”
“Yes! That’s precisely the point of this terrain! Even the cover, those palm trees, won’t offer much protection from ranged attacks. We’re expecting a fierce shootout!”
Soon, Seo Ye-in and Cha Hyeon-joo entered the arena via teleportation magic circles.
Cha Hyeon-joo growled and said something under her breath, but Seo Ye-in just looked off into the distance.
“Ah—! The mind games have already begun! Seo Ye-in clearly determined not to react to her opponent’s provocation!”
“She’s just not interested.”
Lee Soo-dok said flatly.
After all, that sloth in human form acted the same way in every class.
Seo Cheong-yong, also a fellow victim of the “sloth”, knew exactly what he meant but chose to move on before his commentary became too personal.
“Right! The match countdown is about to begin! But first, let’s take a look at the players’ gear! Cha Hyeon-joo is equipped with a bow, a quiver, and a pair of earrings as accessories.”
“Seo Ye-in has a magic gun, a bracelet… and a pot.”
– Hahaha…
Laughter erupted from the audience.
But the two teachers exchanged glances. It was the same pot Kim Ho had used during their A-rank dungeon run.
“Looks aside, that item has excellent performance. It might end up being the deciding factor in this match!”
“Let’s wait and see.”
[3]
[2]
[1]
[Start!]
[Seo Ye-in 100%]
vs
[Cha Hyeon-joo 100%]
[Time Remaining: 19:59]
As the match began, Cha Hyeon-joo raised her bow and reached for her quiver with her other hand.
She grabbed a handful of magic arrows and nocked them all at once.
Whoosh.
At the same time, flames burst forth from her earrings.
The fire instantly transferred to the magic arrows, and Cha Hyeon-joo released the string.
The flaming arrows soared upward and rained down like a storm of fire.
Whoooooooooosh—!
Seeing this, Lee Soo-dok and Seo Cheong-yong each offered a comment.
“Her earrings must be enchanted with support magic.”
“Judging by the power, that skill must have a pretty long cooldown! Cha Hyeon-joo is making a bold move right from the start!”
“She’s likely aiming to clear the cover as well.”
But just before the rain of fire could reach Seo Ye-in—
Pop!
The area was suddenly engulfed in thick smoke.
Upon closer look, it wasn’t smoke but fluffy clouds, almost like cotton candy.
Seo Cheong-yong spoke up.
“Seo Ye-in responds with a bold move of her own! The cloud is doing an excellent job of blocking the attack!”
“No damage taken on either side so far.”
As the firestorm faded, the cloud vanished just as cleanly.
Right on cue, Seo Ye-in and Cha Hyeon-joo unleashed a barrage of magic bullets and arrows at each other.
Tududududu!
Swish-swish-swish—!
[Seo Ye-in 98%]
[Seo Ye-in 97%]
[Seo Ye-in 95%]
[Cha Hyeon-joo 98%]
[Cha Hyeon-joo 96%]
[Cha Hyeon-joo 93%]
“Damage is stacking up quickly! Could it be due to the restricted mobility?”
“The conditions are the same for both. In terms of health, Seo Ye-in has a slight edge.”
The two teachers took a closer look at Seo Ye-in to see why.
Swish-swish-ting, ting,
Flaming mana arrows flew at her with force, but those that struck the dented pot dealt no damage at all.
“Despite how it looks, that pot has excellent defense!”
And of course, Seo Ye-in was well aware.
After all, it had two busted but overpowered effects: [Energy Blocking] and [Impact Nullification].
Even though it was permanently stuck at C-rank, its performance was far beyond that.
She even leaned her head toward the incoming arrows and muttered,
“…Kim Ho-durable.”
[Seo Ye-in 91%]
vs
[Cha Hyeon-joo 85%]
The two teachers continued their commentary.
“At this rate, the gap’s only going to widen!”
“There are still a lot of variables in play.”
And just as Lee Soo-dok had said, the first variable soon appeared.
Pop—
A green, glowing orb materialized in one corner of the arena.
“It’s a Healing Orb! Who’s going to get to it first?”
“Cha Hyeon-joo is a bit closer.”
“Ah~ Seo Ye-in’s out of luck this time!”
Sure enough, Cha Hyeon-joo reached the orb first.
As she placed her hand on it, the green light was absorbed into her body.
[Cha Hyeon-joo 85%]
[Cha Hyeon-joo 90%]
vs
[Seo Ye-in 91%]
“Their health levels are nearly even now! Though, of course, that was just the first orb!”
“For now, it’s back to a bombardment match.”
Tududududu!
Swish-swish-swish—!
Streams of blue light continuously flew back and forth between Seo Ye-in and Cha Hyeon-joo.
[Seo Ye-in 91%]
[Seo Ye-in 90%]
[Seo Ye-in 88%]
[Cha Hyeon-joo 90%]
[Cha Hyeon-joo 87%]
[Cha Hyeon-joo 84%]
“Cha Hyeon-joo still seems to be at a disadvantage!”
“There’s a big gap not just in armor but in defense skills too.”
“Still, it looks like she’s holding back her trump cards for now!”
Pop,
Soon, another green orb appeared.
“Once again, it’s closer to Cha Hyeon-joo! Is luck on her side today?”
But in the next instant, Seo Ye-in’s body blurred, and she shot forward at terrifying speed.
“Seo Ye-in counters with a powerful movement skill! But isn’t it a waste to use it just to reach a healing orb?”
“She must have something planned.”
“What will Seo Ye-in choose to do?”
Just as Lee Soo-dok predicted, the healing orb wasn’t Seo Ye-in’s target.
Using Ghost Dance, she quickly closed the distance to Cha Hyeon-joo and grabbed the pot she had worn on her head.
She pushed it forward and whispered something under her breath—
A space as dark as the night sky opened up and instantly swallowed Cha Hyeon-joo whole.
Both teachers flinched in surprise.
“It’s an Isolation Field! But spatial magic comes with huge risks!”
“Since she’s ranked in the Fixed Zone, the penalty must be more than double.”
“That’s right! Especially the mana cost….it’s so high that it could backfire badly!”
“Her next move could decide the outcome of this match.”
Seo Ye-in crouched down right where Cha Hyeon-joo had just been.
Then, placing one hand on the ground, she began channeling mana into it.
Wuuuung—
At first, it was hard to tell what she was doing.
But as a blue zone began to spread out around her, Seo Cheong-yong’s eyes widened.
“Seo Ye-in is setting a trap!”