The original plan had been to lay some groundwork by acting pitiful, then take a somewhat passive approach to the fight.
That way, I’d be able to get a detailed read on how much Seo Ye-in had improved, and how well she performed against opponents in a similar score range.
Still, given the personality of a human sloth, I figured she would either find it a little annoying or see through my fake weakness right away.
Instead, I got an even bolder declaration than I’d expected.
She said she wouldn’t let me lift a finger.
I asked just to be sure.
“Then I don’t have to do anything?”
“Watch.”
“Watching sounds good. From the back?”
— VIP seats.
“Excellent.”
I nodded in satisfaction, and then those gray eyes stared straight at me.
“But in return, fluffy.”
“You want to borrow the bracelet?”
“Yeah.”
It seemed she had judged that if she was going to face two people by herself, it would be better to cover both physical defense and magic defense evenly.
As far as I was concerned, supporting her with gear wasn’t difficult at all, so I fastened the [Dark Cloud Fluffy Bracelet] around Seo Ye-in’s wrist.
Soon the match was found, and the names of both teams appeared on the scoreboard.
[Kim Ho 930 points Seo Ye-in 904 points]
vs
[Geum Johan 887 points Lee Seulbi 848 points]
‘Lee Seulbi again?’
They had stepped aside so Song Cheonhye and I could form a pair, only to team up with Geum Johan and get matched against me again.
Judging by the recovered score, it looked like they had won their second match.
Whether they’d gain even more points at the end or lose them again remained to be seen.
Before long, we stepped onto the teleportation magic circle and arrived in the middle of a pure white snowfield.
At the chilly air, Seo Ye-in hunched her shoulders.
“It’s cold......”
“Today really is different. You’re not immediately saying you want out.”
“I’m going to get out......”
— After we finish this fast.
“Very quick and decisive......”
While both Seo Ye-ins burned with fighting spirit, the mood on the opposing side had sunk heavily.
With a sigh, Lee Seulbi muttered in complaint.
“Looks like our luck with the bracket is bad today.”
“I suppose so, seeing who we drew.”
“Should I have just done this tomorrow?”
“What’s already happened can’t be helped. We can only do our best.”
Geum Johan answered calmly.
Lee Seulbi must have only been whining for the sake of it, because they quickly returned to a composed expression and started briefing Geum Johan about me.
“His forced-movement magic seems to be locked. But he still has plenty of debuffs.”
“Understood.”
“He has a marking skill too, so be especially careful. You never know when he’ll use it.”
“I’ll keep it in mind.”
At that, I cut into the conversation in a composed tone.
“Guys, don’t worry.”
“......?”
“I’m sitting this one out. She’s doing everything.”
When I said that while pointing at Seo Ye-in, the expressions on the two Discipline Committee members turned strange.
They exchanged looks, and then Geum Johan asked on behalf of both of them.
“You’re saying she intends to face us alone?”
“That’s right. Not completely alone, though. She has a double.”
“Even so, isn’t that an unreasonable judgment?”
One Discipline Committee member was one thing, but two at the same time?
I shrugged.
“Looks that way to me too, but I figured I’d trust her once.”
“And if we defeat Seo Ye-in?”
“Then you fight me next. Two against one.”
Geum Johan and Lee Seulbi looked at each other again, silently communicating.
Then, apparently having reached a conclusion quickly, Geum Johan spoke.
“......There’s nothing for us to lose, then. It would certainly be better than facing both of you at once.”
“Right?”
“Very well. We gladly accept the challenge.”
The two Discipline Committee members made a final adjustment to their formation.
After glancing over them, I asked Seo Ye-in again.
“What do you estimate the win rate to be?”
“100%.”
“That high?”
Then Sloth and Fast-Luckless each added a confident line.
“Guaranteed-win strategy.”
— Built on a brilliant mind.
“Total intelligence build.”
Well, it was true that Seo Ye-in’s head worked pretty well. She just rarely showed it, and everything in life felt too annoying for her to bother.
About three Han Somis’ worth of intelligence.
‘Honestly, I am curious.’
What exactly was this “guaranteed-win strategy built on a brilliant mind”?
And how well would it work against Discipline Committee members?
So, just as we had agreed beforehand, I clasped my hands behind my back and stepped away, tossing over a word of encouragement.
“Then good luck, and please make it very quick and decisive.”
“Very quick and decisive.”
Seo Ye-in gave a slight tilt of her chin in reply, then pulled out an assault rifle together with Fast-Luckless.
With the Immortal Pot on her head, and the Cumulus Cloud & Dark Cloud Bracelets on her wrist.
Like that, with both sides facing each other, the countdown began.
[3]
[2]
[1]
[Start!]
[Kim Ho 100% Seo Ye-in 100%]
vs
[Geum Johan 100% Lee Seulbi 100%]
The two Seo Ye-ins opened fire immediately.
RATATATAT!
RATATATATA!
Countless [Mana Round]s rained toward Geum Johan.
In response, he ignited golden protective force aura all over his body and advanced with footwork, his golden sword hanging low.
It looked like he intended to force a proper close-range fight.
‘That’ll be hard.’
Seo Ye-in unfortunately wasn’t a ★Blink★ user, but she had spent the entire winter break learning and training movement-speed-related traits like [Sailboat].
At pure walking speed alone, she probably had almost no equal among the second-years.
Meaning she could kite Geum Johan around as much as she wanted while attacking Lee Seulbi.
RATATATATA!
But instead of widening the distance, Seo Ye-in actually advanced straight toward him.
The gap between them shrank more and more, until at last his sword traced a golden arc.
With enough force to split anything in half.
CLANG.
Apparently, though, it still wasn’t enough to split a pot made of S-rank adamantite.
Geum Johan’s eyes widened in shock.
“......What?”
He had just unleashed what seemed to be a killer technique, only for a gunner of all classes to block it so casually.
He immediately pulled back his sword and tried to follow with the next form, but Seo Ye-in was faster to thrust °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° the pot forward.
“Containment.”
— Let’s lock him up.
Then a space like the night sky opened up and swallowed Geum Johan whole.
She had cast [Severed Space].
‘So the plan is to isolate and crush them one by one.’
If that was the case, then their odds really did increase sharply.
Especially with Fast-Luckless there too.
‘Quick and decisive really is the key.’
[Severed Space] consumed a ridiculous amount of mana.
She was sharing [Great Sage’s Ring] through [Bond], but even then, she wouldn’t be able to hold out for long.
She might have mentioned “even more quick and decisive” with this in mind from the start.
Then the muzzles of both Seo Ye-ins turned toward Lee Seulbi.
RATATATATA!
RATATAT!
In response, layers of walls made of water and ice rose up one after another.
The [Mana Round]s punched into them with dull impacts, but didn’t reach Lee Seulbi.
Unexpected, considering that marksman versus mage was usually a matchup that favored the former.
‘Because it’s a snowfield.’
With water and snow everywhere, a Sapphire mage’s ability was effectively doubled.
Maybe because of that, Lee Seulbi counterattacked right after defending.
When they released the spell they had been chanting in advance, condensed snowballs and droplets of water poured down like rain.
At that, Seo Ye-in and Fast-Luckless exchanged a glance.
“......Sliiide.”
— Sliiide.
The next moment, their bodies blurred and vanished without a trace.
They had activated [Ghost Without Shadow].
The snowballs and droplets only struck empty ground, and the two Seo Ye-ins appeared extremely close to Lee Seulbi.
RATATATATA!
[Lee Seulbi 99%]
[Lee Seulbi 96%]
[Lee Seulbi 93%]
Apparently, even Lee Seulbi couldn’t block this much. Their health dropped rapidly.
Even so, Lee Seulbi frowned and swung their staff.
A thick stream of water formed, then lashed like a whip in accordance with the motion of their hand.
Fast-Luckless dodged with [Featherstep], while Seo Ye-in—
“Sliiide.”
— used [Ghost Without Shadow] again.
How could she use a skill with a base cooldown of five minutes twice in a row?
‘Looks like [Time Oblivion] triggered.’
It seemed she had pierced through the “extremely low probability” and avoided triggering the cooldown.
Like that, Seo Ye-in appeared right in front of Lee Seulbi and—
“Puff-puff.”
BOOM!
— activated the skill of the Cumulus Cloud Bracelet.
A cotton-candy-white cloud spread out and covered the entire surrounding area.
It was an effect that granted magic defense across a wide range.
In keeping with the item’s grade, it was a full A+-rank defense.
‘Meaning whatever Lee Seulbi does, it won’t matter.’
It would either be completely blocked, or heavily reduced.
Meanwhile, physical attacks—in other words, a marksman’s [Mana Round]s—would land on the opponent exactly as they were.
Seo Ye-in and Fast-Luckless charged straight into the white cloud together.
RATATATATAT!
The sound of gunfire rang out without pause.
I couldn’t see what was happening inside, but one thing was clear.
Lee Seulbi was getting pummeled.
[Lee Seulbi 85%]
[Lee Seulbi 78%]
[Lee Seulbi 73%]
Their health was dropping at a frightening speed.
And then, finally—
CLANG—!
A clear, ringing sound echoed across the snowfield.
It looked like she had gone for a full-power pot swing.
At this point, there was probably a fist-sized lump on the back of Lee Seulbi’s head.
[Lee Seulbi -%]
For a Discipline Committee member, Lee Seulbi had been rendered combat-incapable with almost embarrassing emptiness.
Soon the Cumulus Cloud dispersed, revealing the two Seo Ye-ins crouched in place, busy doing something.
‘Setting traps.’
Lock the opponent away with [Severed Space], carpet the ground with [Fickle Trap], then release the space so the opponent steps on them.
It was a combo.
Since they had profited every time they used it so far, they were actively employing it again here too.
“Super genius.”
— Total intelligence build.
The two nodded at each other and stepped back, and then the night-sky-like space opened its mouth again.
The moment Geum Johan appeared and set his foot on the ground—
RRRRRUMBLE!
—the ground around him suddenly caved downward.
A huge, deep pit had formed.
“What in the—”
Before Geum Johan could properly grasp the situation, the two Seo Ye-ins gleefully poured [Mana Round]s into the pit.
RATATATATA!
RATATATAT!
There was even a bright, metallic ping followed by explosions, so it looked like they had mixed in grenade rounds too.
[Geum Johan 88%]
[Geum Johan 86%]
Even so, unlike Lee Seulbi, Geum Johan’s health fell much more slowly.
He was being beaten one-sidedly, yet he seemed to be holding up quite well.
Then again, he was a melee class, and with Golden Lotus backing him, his armor was bound to be solid too.
The two Seo Ye-ins must have noticed that point as well, because they exchanged another glance.
“Trap.”
— Trap.
Then, while continuing to fire, they formed [Fickle Trap]s in their palms and flung them down into the pit one after another.
Unable to hold back any longer, Geum Johan finally shouted.
“Enough! What kind of duel is fought like this?!”
“Intellectual play.”
— Kim Ho taught us.
Even so, there were no explosions or any particularly unusual sound effects coming from inside the pit, which meant Geum Johan was somehow barely avoiding the traps.
At that, Fast-Luckless spoke in a solemn tone.
— ......Special measures.
Then she jumped straight down into the pit.
KABOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!
The next moment, multicolored explosions shot upward.
‘She went down there and stepped on them?’
It was practically a self-detonation attack.
Right afterward, a hologram flashed beside Seo Ye-in, and Fast-Luckless reappeared.
She spread both arms proudly.
— I am immortal.
