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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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As expected, Park Min-seok was indeed casting reinforcement-type spells on Si-hwa as soon as the match started.
Judging by the flow of mana, it didn’t seem like a very high-level spell, but with Si-hwa as the target, she could draw out 200% efficiency.
Si-hwa swung her spear down once from top to bottom.
A very concise basic movement.
However, the destructive power contained within was enough to turn Ha-rin’s face pale.
Her attack, which divided the ground between me and Ha-rin, left a huge scar on the surface.
If we had reacted even a bit slower, one of us would have suffered a fatal injury.
“…Ha-rin! Do as we planned!”
Just like the semifinal pair, our basic plan was for me to keep Si-hwa occupied while Ha-rin took care of Park Min-seok first.
Ha-rin nodded at my words and calmly began casting her magic.
The tip of her staff started to glow with a brilliant light.
Good. Now I need to buy time…
The moment Ha-rin started preparing her magic, Si-hwa flew towards her like a madman.
But Ha-rin was also a prospective S-rank talent.
Ha-rin immediately widened the distance and didn’t give her any range.
And I also reacted right away and blocked Si-hwa’s spear.
The moment her spear blade and my practice sword collided.
As I felt the blade of the sword being torn apart, I regretted my complacent judgment.
If I had known this would happen, it would have been right to bring the sword I acquired from the dungeon.
I wondered how many more exchanges it could withstand.
I instinctively sensed that it couldn’t last very long.
There was no hope in taking it all with force.
I had to dodge as much as possible and deflect what I could.
I dodged the following attacks and distanced myself slightly from Si-hwa.
“…Weak.”
She, who rarely spoke during battles, looked at me with an indifferent gaze.
“I told you to do it sincerely, Choi In-wook.”
Knowing that her standard was my previous life’s self, I couldn’t deny it.
Once again, her spear aimed at my waist, as if to pierce through me.
I raised my sword in a reverse grip, and deflecting her attack was the best I could do.
“Am I the only one being sincere? Or is this really your full power?”
…For now, this was my best move.
Of course, if I had reached the same level as my previous life’s skills, no, even half of that, I would have easily blocked Si-hwa’s attack just now and even looked for a counterattack.
“Answer me, Choi In-wook.”
She struck my practice sword again, filling it with mana.
I could see the blade of the sword being smashed.
“Ugh.”
The shock caused by the continuous collision of mana felt like it was shaking my internal organs.
I wished Ha-rin would join me soon…
As expected, Ha-rin was suppressing Park Min-seok very cleanly.
Park Min-seok was dodging Ha-rin’s magic quite well, as if he had received some kind of training from Si-hwa to avoid attacks.
If it were an ordinary magic-type hunter, they might have been a bit flustered when things didn’t go according to plan, but Ha-rin showed no such signs at all.
She calmly restricted the space he could move in, and before long, she succeeded in constricting his body with vines.
“Done! In-wook!”
At Ha-rin’s signal, I could finally feel a bit relieved.
Good. Then the real thing starts now.
Our pair’s power was known to be heavily biased towards Ha-rin from the beginning, right?
Si-hwa alternately glanced at the two of us, then raised her spear high.
“Do you really think that person next to you can be your true pair, Choi In-wook?”
At Si-hwa’s words, Ha-rin bit her lip tightly.
“I don’t need your permission to be In-wook’s pair!”
The tip of Ha-rin’s staff concentrated with mana and turned red.
“Yoon Ha-rin. You know it too, right? No? You remember it too. When his place was the brightest next to whom.”
Suddenly, Ha-rin’s eyes were filled with shock.
“…What are you talking about, you.”
Ha-rin’s small hand started to tremble.
“Seems like she didn’t tell you.”
One corner of Si-hwa’s mouth curved upward.
“Choi In-wook. The Yoon Ha-rin next to you…”
“Shut up!”
A beam of light too powerful to be called Ha-rin’s level so far burst out from the tip of her staff.
But Si-hwa’s expression was the epitome of composure.
The spear blade imbued with blue mana deflected her attack to the ground.
“Haa… Haa…”
Perhaps because she had impulsively exploded her mana, heavy breathing flowed from Ha-rin’s mouth.
If Si-hwa hadn’t said anything, I would have been worried about Ha-rin, but at this moment, I had something more important to say.
“…Ha-rin.”
At the sound of my voice, Ha-rin’s body flinched and stiffened.
“What on earth is Si-hwa talking about?”
“…I don’t know either.”
Ha-rin answered in a faltering voice.
“I see, Yoon Ha-rin. So that’s how you’ve been sticking to Choi In-wook’s side.”
Si-hwa’s eyes were filled with contempt.
“Then I have no choice but to defeat you and tell you the truth.”
I felt mana concentrating on the tips of Si-hwa’s feet.
Her target was Ha-rin, not me.
Although I couldn’t focus properly due to Si-hwa’s words, it was still in the middle of the match.
The right judgment was to do my job properly.
“Step back, Ha-rin.”
At my command, Ha-rin distanced herself from me and Si-hwa.
I also started squeezing out mana to gain propulsion, just like Si-hwa.
It was a far lesser amount compared to her, but for now, I was doing my best.
The blade of the practice sword turned black due to my mana.
Si-hwa’s body leaped into the air.
She flew up at least 3 meters and took a stance in mid-air.
I knew that technique.
It wasn’t like I hadn’t sparred with Si-hwa in my previous life.
During the time when we became lovers and worked as a pair.
We sparred countless times to improve each other’s skills.
We gave feedback on existing techniques and devised new techniques together.
She was my pair, my rival, and my lover.
And the technique she was demonstrating in front of me now was one of the strongest techniques I had taught her.
The huge flow of mana materialized according to the trajectory of Si-hwa’s spear.
Blue mana spears pouring down from the sky began to engulf me.
I took a deep breath and widened my eyes.
It was realistically impossible to dodge all of them.
…Let’s try it.
Every time I took an attack, I felt my arms trembling from the impact.
The sword I was holding now would also reach the end of its life if it blocked one or two more attacks.
But I had no other choice.
If I fell here, it would be the same as our pair losing.
Of course, Ha-rin poured attacks on Si-hwa as much as I endured.
Huge plant stems sprouted from the ground and lunged at Si-hwa, but unfortunately, they didn’t reach her body.
Every time Si-hwa swung her spear, Ha-rin’s magic lost power and was split in two.
There was still no sign of urgency on her face as she attacked me and received Ha-rin’s magic.
“…Both of you are too weak.”
She stopped attacking for a moment and opened her mouth as she slowly walked towards us.
“I’m disappointed, Choi In-wook. The you I remember was never a man like this.”
The more Si-hwa spoke, the paler Ha-rin’s face became.
“Yoon Ha-rin. Using sly tricks is always a characteristic of the weak.”
How many people could call Ha-rin, the prospective S-rank, weak?
“Look at yourself now. Trembling with fear, how pathetic you look.”
It was at that moment.
“…You think I’m afraid of you? Don’t make me laugh.”
Intense mana burst out from Ha-rin’s staff, and the surrounding area was instantly covered with dust.
This kind of magic wasn’t in our plan, so I couldn’t know what Ha-rin was thinking.
As the dust obscured my vision, I started by detecting Si-hwa’s presence.
In battles in the dark or when visual information couldn’t be obtained like this, it was always important to detect the flow of mana.
Si-hwa seemed to be in the same spot as before, and Ha-rin…
Is she preparing another magic?
I felt the vibration of mana.
Thinking she had a plan, I moved to Si-hwa’s location to block her approach to Ha-rin.
“Did you really have to resort to this kind of trick?”
In the thick dust, only her silhouette entered my sight.
“…It wasn’t a plan agreed upon beforehand.”
Making an excuse that wasn’t an excuse, I gripped the sword that was on the verge of breaking.
“Alright. Let’s wrap this up.”
The moment she finished speaking, the air around Si-hwa began to ripple.
…She still has that much mana left?
A hollow laugh escaped my mouth out of absurdity.
Sensing defeat, I still took a stance.
I thought it was courtesy towards her and the attitude of someone who had once pursued being the strongest.
The moment I was about to throw myself at her.
I frowned at a strange sensation.
I felt a very, very faint movement behind Si-hwa.
Judging from Ha-rin’s position, it didn’t seem like Ha-rin’s attack…
Something was flying towards us at a tremendous speed.
Si-hwa naturally tried to block it with her spear, but the moment I realized what it was, I was shocked.
That wasn’t something that should be countered head-on.
Why is that thing here…!
There was no time for me to think after confirming the identity of the object flying through the dust.
“Si-hwa!”
I pushed Si-hwa, who turned her head towards me with a startled expression, with all my strength.
I felt the mana armor that even monsters couldn’t easily penetrate being torn apart like paper.
A sharp pain clearly felt in my left ribs.
That thing shouldn’t have existed within the academy.
My white uniform began to be dyed crimson.
“Choi In-wook!”
Si-hwa threw away her spear and ran towards me.
Soon, the dust cleared, and the blue sky entered my sight.
“Kyaaaah!”
Along with Ha-rin’s scream, my vision gradually blurred.
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