Before long, Hong Yeonhwa and I moved to the arena.
Then, when we scanned our student IDs at the terminal, a notification popped up that was a little different from usual.
[‘Lock’ will be applied.]
[You cannot use the following skills/traits.]
With [Amplification] sealed, I couldn’t juice my ranks.
[Wind Force] was one of the absolute cores of my kit, so there was no way it was going to dodge the lock.
And both [Grafting Blossoms onto Trees] and [Dipper-Shifting Star-Transposition], my absurd block-and-deflection skills, got sealed at the same time.
‘Still, the rest aren’t too bad.’
They didn’t account for that much of my total combat power.
For example, even if [Distortion] or [Retrocovery] got sealed, I could just avoid getting hit in the first place.
[Déjà Vu] and [Chain Explosion] were more like plus-alpha options anyway.
‘[Pulverize Zone] survived somehow too.’
It was S-rank, but it seemed to have gotten pushed out by the others.
Other useful things I still had included [Spiral Explosion], [Frost-White Shot], and [Mutual-Destruction Eye].
I dismissed the notification and asked Hong Yeonhwa,
“What got locked for you?”
“Fire Pillar, Aqua Flame, and......”
Well, that made sense. Every time a fight started, they were the type to open by laying down magic circles first.
If those were sealed, linked spells like Hydra and Burning Chick would be hard to use too.
Since Aqua Flame linked with basically all flame spells, it had probably been judged a high-usage spell as well.
And the third lock had landed on a spell they used fairly often too.
I asked again in a casual tone.
“You’ll do fine without them, right?”
“Yeah.”
Hong Yeonhwa answered confidently, and we scanned our student IDs at the terminal again to queue for a match.
[Kim Ho 900 points Hong Yeonhwa 800 points]
Thanks to the soft reset, everyone who had scored 900 or higher last year had been adjusted down to 600.
I had been over a thousand, obviously, and Hong Yeonhwa had barely scraped over the line.
‘The first week was the placement test.’
Four people fought, and points were awarded by placement.
First got 100 points, second got 50, third got 25, and last got 0.
‘I took first three times in a row.’
So I got another 300 on top of the soft-reset 600.
Hong Yeonhwa, on the other hand, had no choice but to come in fourth after getting pancaked by my [Pulverize Zone].
Still, it looked like they’d taken first in the other two matches and earned 200 points.
‘They can just do well from here on out.’
They were one of the best second-years by a wide margin, so wouldn’t they climb right back up fast?
Thinking that, I waited for a while, and then the match was made. Both sides’ information appeared on the scoreboard.
[Kim Ho 900 points Hong Yeonhwa 800 points]
vs
[Song Cheonhye 825 points Lee Seulbi 850 points]
Just then, I felt a gaze and turned my head.
From a short distance away, Song Cheonhye was glaring this way.
Her expression was a mix of half hurt feelings and half sulking.
Looks like she’d worked up her nerve to say something, only for Hong Yeonhwa to cut in ahead of her.
Still, taking care of the side effects came first.
I jerked my chin at Song Cheonhye, meaning we’d talk once we were inside, then headed to the stage with Hong Yeonhwa.
And one after another, we stepped onto the teleportation magic circles.
The next moment, what spread out before my eyes was a wide open field.
WHOOOOOOO—
A gentle breeze swept through the ankle-high grass.
Feeling my hair stir lightly in the wind, we watched the magic circle across from us.
Then I spoke to Song Cheonhye, who appeared wearing a sullen expression.
“You found a pair pretty fast after all.”
“We were already going to do it together.”
“Then why ask me?”
If you already had a pair, there was no need to ask me in the first place.
At that, Song Cheonhye’s face turned even more sulky, and she muttered,
“If you’d said yes, then just this once...... No. Never mind. I don’t need to apologize either, so this is probably better.”
Lee Seulbi watched her claim that hollow little moral victory with a wry smile.
In an emergency, they’d probably been willing to switch pairs without complaint, so I guessed they were rooting for Song Cheonhye in their own way.
But then Hong Yeonhwa stepped forward and said boldly,
“Yeah, then keep doing it together from now on too. Stop getting in our way.”
When I turned to look, they flinched and their face turned red.
Looks like that damn side effect had flared up again.
Covering their face with both hands, they slowly started backing away.
Song Cheonhye bristled for a moment, then asked with a slightly worried look,
“You’ve been kind of weird today, haven’t you?”
“......”
“You were proactive before, sure, but not to this extent.”
“......”
Hong Yeonhwa looked too ashamed to even lift their head, let alone answer, so I stepped in and smoothed it over.
“It’s hard to explain in detail. Think of it as a kind of penalty.”
“Did you use a wish ticket?”
“Why? You were thinking of trying it too?”
“......No, I’m good.”
Song Cheonhye shook her head with a pale face.
Then, afraid I might say something else, she changed the subject.
She nodded toward the scoreboard.
“Looks like it’s about to start.”
“Yeah. We’ll talk later.”
Before long, both sides drew their weapons and settled into combat stances.
Even Hong Yeonhwa, just for this moment, suppressed their shame and stared straight at the opponents.
Soon, the countdown began.
[3]
[2]
[1]
[Start!]
[Kim Ho 100% Hong Yeonhwa 100%]
vs
[Song Cheonhye 100% Lee Seulbi 100%]
Hong Yeonhwa and Lee Seulbi immediately began chanting.
The one who completed their spell first was, of course, Hong Yeonhwa.
Their trademark Fire Pillar had been sealed, but that didn’t mean their casting speed had gone anywhere.
FWOOOSH
The ruby gave off a red glow, and flames surged upward, gathering into three large spheres of fire.
Then, with a gesture from Hong Yeonhwa, they began flying toward the enemy side.
FWOOOSH!
Lee Seulbi showed a hint of tension but still completed their spell calmly, and a torrent of water shot upward like a waterfall.
ROOOOOOOAR—!
The torrent compressed into a giant greatsword shape, then slashed down the incoming fire spheres one after another.
BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!
Explosions erupted repeatedly in midair, and searing heat spread over the battlefield.
‘About sixty-forty.’
When Hong Yeonhwa had [Aqua Flame], it was closer to eighty-twenty or even ninety-ten, but now the locks were in play.
Lee Seulbi seemed to realize that immediately too.
Apparently deciding this might actually be doable, they kept casting with renewed energy.
BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!
While fire and water kept colliding in the air—
Song Cheonhye was already charging in fast.
Electricity crackled up around both her hands.
BZZZZZZT
Normally, she fought by wielding lightning like a short spear and throwing it at close range, but right now it looked like she was preparing a different lightning spell.
“Looks like the locks got you too?”
“What about you?”
“You’ll see.”
I stepped forward to meet her and cast [Twister].
WHOOOOOOO—
“......!”
Song Cheonhye’s vigilance sharpened instantly.
But she must have prepared some kind of countermeasure, because she didn’t slow down.
The distance closed rapidly, and like some old-school manga protagonist, I shouted the technique name with gusto.
“Wind—!”
“!!”
Song Cheonhye watched my every move, and the instant my hand swung out, she kicked off the ground and shifted to the side.
She was trying to dodge [Wind Force], or at least make it graze.
‘Even though I don’t actually have it.’
It was the first thing that got sealed.
I finished calling out the technique name.
“—Force—just kidding. [Frost-White Shot].”
BOOM!
A streak of cold came blasting in and exploded.
Song Cheonhye’s upper body was covered in frost, but then a brilliant light burst out and it cleared away at once.
Looks like she cast [Purification].
She came charging right back in and demanded in disbelief,
“What kind of fake-out is that?”
“What kind of person falls for a fake-out like that?”
“Ah, seriously.”
BZZZZZZZT!
Electricity burst from the fingertips of her gloved hand and swept across where I’d just been like a fan.
But there was no way I was suddenly going to let myself get hit by an attack that had never landed before.
After dodging lightly, I gathered wind once more.
WHOOOOOO—
“Wind—”
“!!”
This time, maybe thinking it was the real thing, Song Cheonhye kicked off the ground again and shifted to the side.
I pointed at her again.
“Wind—Ice Finger.”
BOOM!
Song Cheonhye used another debuff cleanse and broke the ice again.
“Honestly, you don’t have [Wind Force], do you?”
“Do I really not?”
“No matter how I look at it, this feels like bluffing.”
“You called it.”
When I nodded so readily, Song Cheonhye only looked more confused.
“......I guess I’ll know when I see it.”
The topaz scattered a sharp burst of golden light.
And centered on Song Cheonhye, a wave of electricity spread outward.
[Lightning Nova]
BZZZZZZT—
‘Area attacks really are the answer.’
At the very least, they didn’t miss.
The unfortunate part was that the power dropped by that much.
[Elemental Resistance] was locked, but it didn’t even matter. [Sylphid Armor] alone was more than enough to block it.
BZZZZZZT—!
I took the wave of electricity head-on and raised my index finger.
At the same time, just like before, I faked with [Twister].
WHOOOOOO—
“Ice—!”
“!!”
Song Cheonhye’s eyes filled with confusion.
I’d kept doing the opposite, so was this one really [Wind Force]?
Or was it actually [Frost-White Shot], just like I said?
In the end, for the third time, she kicked off the ground and moved to the side.
And for the third time, I fired [Frost-White Shot] at her.
“Ice—Finger.”
BOOM!
For the third time, Song Cheonhye got hit with the [Frozen] debuff and immediately cleansed it.
Looks like she’d brought a lot of cleanse skills because of me.
While pouring out electricity, she demanded,
“Why is this one real?”
“You complain even when I’m being honest?”
“You seriously don’t have [Wind Force]?”
“Yeah.”
Color returned to Song Cheonhye’s face.
If my most troublesome technique was sealed, she must have figured she had at least a little chance now.
Soon after, her eyes shifted toward Hong Yeonhwa.
‘Looks like she’s going after them first.’
Without being able to force-move her away, protecting Hong Yeonhwa would definitely be trickier too.
So I said with a bright smile,
“Instead, I’ve got this.”
[Octopus Arms]
[Concussion Mark]*2
[You engrave ‘Concussion Mark(B)’ on the target.]
[Duration 00:00:09]
[Cooldown 00:59:59]
“......!?”
“......!”
Song Cheonhye and Lee Seulbi both flinched and looked into the air.
Notifications like these were probably popping up for them.
[‘Concussion Mark’ has been engraved.]
[Duration 00:00:09]
[Additional effects occur in proportion to distance moved.]
Before long, Song Cheonhye came to a stop in place.
She’d decided all she had to do was hold out for ten seconds without moving.
And Lee Seulbi had been an artillery mage from the beginning, so they hadn’t left their spot in the first place.
Of course, there was no way I was going to let that stand.
I didn’t have [Wind Force], but I could just use something else.
[Pulverize Zone]
A blue circle appeared beneath Lee Seulbi’s feet, then rapidly expanded in size.
At that, I shouted urgently,
“Hey, hey! You need to get out of there fast! If you don’t, you’re getting flattened!”
Then I signaled Hong Yeonhwa with my eyes.
As if they instantly understood exactly what I meant, a cluster of fist-sized fireballs appeared and started flying at Song Cheonhye in a barrage.
BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!
At the same time, from the side, I kept firing [Frost-White Shot] one after another.
Adding commentary with each shot.
“Honestly, even I’d have a hard time with this. How are you supposed to dodge all that standing still?”
“......!”
“You’ve got to move! You’ve got to dodge while moving! More! Farther!”
“......!”
Deep fury filled Song Cheonhye and Lee Seulbi’s faces.
