༺ Onward to the Climax… (1) ༻
“It was finally my turn.”
After another two matches, I was the next in line.
I lightly warmed up and headed to the arena where the second match was being held.
‘Oh, it seems he’s really pissed this time.’
I thought the opponent standing in front of me would be at a similar level to my last opponent, but this time, I could feel a strength that couldn’t be compared to the people I had seen before.
Of course, it was not that he was strong, but the buff was different from before.
‘The buff is on the verge of becoming visible.’
It really had come to the point where I could make out the buff without the [Eye of Greed].
I was sure that at this point the professor and the guy I had in front of my eyes both were putting up with quite a bit of risk, but it seemed they seemed determined to bear that risk if it meant getting rid of me.
‘I hope that’s it.’
If that was indeed the case, then my plan was almost complete.
It also meant that I was getting very close to finally getting rid of that damned guy.
‘Let’s focus.’
This was the important part.
From this point onward, I needed to get my act together.
The fact that he was acting this seriously meant that if I made a small mistake, I could end up getting hurt.
“Phew…”
I took a deep breath.
I acted cool, but because of the buff, the guy in front of me had stats that couldn’t even be mentioned in the same sentence as Ha-eun’s.
Name: Park Ki-pal
Level: 22 (2nd Stage Awakener)
Status: Nervous
[Strength: 20 (+50)] [Stamina: 14 (+50)] [Agility: 21 (+50)] [Magic: 12 (+50)] [Luck: 1]
(Remaining attribute points are 0.)
(Currently receiving a major buff.)
Skills:
Double Stab (D), Wind Stepping (C), Throw (D)
He had grown an unbelievable amount due to the buffs.
Of course, he was a 2nd stage Awakener like me, so he was not as good as the higher-stage Awakeners, but those stats were enough to take on even a 3rd stage Awakener.
‘Anyway, wasn’t it supposed to be someone else?’
It was such a long time ago that my memory was blurred, but I remembered clearly that the person I was supposed to face in the second exam was someone else.
Someone much weaker, someone who wasn’t even worth remembering.
On top of that, I felt like I’d heard the name Park Ki-pal somewhere before…
“I’m sorry.”
As I was trying to figure out who he was, the guy said something I would have never expected from him.
Could he be apologizing for cheating?
Now that I heard him say this, I seemed to have heard this voice somewhere before…
‘Wait, isn’t this guy the professor’s son?’
He was such a righteous guy that it made you wonder how someone like him was born from a father like that.
I liked him quite a bit because, unlike that professor, he was quite an upright guy.
Still, the professor had purposely changed my opponent, so I still had to be careful.
That guy probably had his own reasons…
‘But I’m not going lightly just because of that.’
This guy was one of the few I accepted.
I didn’t know about other stuff, but he didn’t fall behind anybody when it came to effort.
Besides, no matter how much he was threatened, it didn’t change the fact that he was still cheating.
Of course, it was because I was acting differently than in my past life, but right now, this guy was the same as the rest of the rubbish.
However, seeing how he was acting right now, he could still be redeemed.
“Let the match begin.”
And soon after, the fight started.
As soon as I heard the announcer, I fixed my grip on my sword.
It was different from last time, when I just rushed in because the gap in stats was small enough.
This time, I had to think about what I was doing.
He might not have been as good as Ha-eun or Seo-ah, but he was definitely still one of the top candidates.
Of course, that didn’t mean I was going to lose here.
Even so, he was just at the level of a student that hadn’t entered the academy.
Compared to me, someone who had been at it for six years, there was a huge difference in basic skills.
On top of that, I had been level 1 all through it.
-Slash
As I kept my guard up, waiting for him to come at me first, he rushed in to test my skills.
He swung his spear, which looked to weigh quite a bit, as if it were just a feather, and came at me in a threatening manner.
“Even accounting for his buff, his movements are quite good.”
His skills would be decent even without his father’s help.
He didn’t let his guard down just because he felt the omnipotence of the buff and continued to quickly attack me, even carefully setting up a way to retreat.
There’s just one problem…
“Your attacks are too honest.”
“…What?”
His attacks were too simple. His techniques were exactly what you would expect from someone who had practiced a lot in fixed positions without any real experience.
Stabbing, the basic skill of spearmanship. It focused solely on pinpoint accuracy and speed without mixing in any feints.
“Even if my agility stat is low, these are too predictable.”
It was easy to see where he intended to attack.
His agility and strength were much higher, but that wasn’t good enough.
‘I know where he’s going to attack.’
-Thud
I kneed him in the abdomen.
His stamina stat was much higher too, so it probably didn’t hurt him much, but I could still make it hard for him to breathe, even if just momentarily.
And if someone who didn’t have any combat experience was attacked…
“I can see where you intend to attack too.”
“Ugh…!”
It was crystal clear to me how he would retaliate.
His thought process became even simpler due to the pain he felt.
That was why it was said that against newbies like him, the first hit determined every…
“Tsk…! Wind Stepping!”
“Oh. You’re quick to respond.”
Maybe it was a result of his training, or maybe it was because the buff had significantly improved his stats.
He probably determined that there was no way for him to win if he kept being this close, so he used a skill to increase his body’s movement speed and widen the gap between us as much as possible.
Considering my stats were way too low for me to catch up to him,
I just let him go.
“Come at me. Stop teasing.”
“…”
There was no benefit in letting the fight drag on.
After all, the person I wanted to face right now wasn’t Park Ki-pal.
Even if it was just to save up my stamina, it’d be best if I ended this as soon as possible.
Thus, I provoked him to come at me again.
However…
He didn’t just recklessly attack me.
Instead, he used a skill to speed himself up even more and carefully considered his next move.
‘He’s too cautious.’
Being cautious was important in battles, but looking at him acting so passively while having a buff made me shake my head.
‘Does he just instinctively feel that he can’t win easily?’
Still…
‘This is perfect against someone like him.’
I could just make an obvious opening in my guard to make it seem he could attack me, something passive fighters like him loved.
Therefore, I continued to keep my guard up, but I left a bit of the left side of my waist unprotected on purpose.
So that he wouldn’t suspect anything, I pretended my posture was weakening without me realizing it.
‘If it’s you, you’ll rush at it, right?’
Of course, he was very careful, so he’d be suspicious as to whether this was a trap.
‘But, you being this cautious, does it not mean that even you think there’s no way around it?’
‘Instead of thinking of the possibility of this being a trap, you’ll just try to attack me through this unguarded spot you just found.’
“I knew you would do this.”
Just as I expected, he thought for a bit and then immediately used a skill and attacked the left side of my waist.
With his speed massively increased due to his skill, he tried to hit me exactly where I had left a gap.
But, of course, it was a trap.
“I’m not missing this time.”
I twisted my body to the right to avoid his attack.
He probably thought about different possibilities, so he assumed a pose as if he was going to counter, but this fight was over the moment he rushed into me.
I used the skills on the sword I was wielding.
Due to the explosion’s recoil and added Telekinesis, my sword traveled at a much higher speed than normal.
-Slash
It was a clean hit on the arm.
“AAARGH!!”
At the same time, screams filled the arena.
Maybe it was because of the buff, but the arm wasn’t cut off completely.
Despite this, an enormous amount of blood flowed from Park Ki-pal’s body.
‘Now it’s time for the climax of the second test.’
Thanks to the professor swapping my opponent with his son, things turned out even easier.
Moreover, thanks to this, I had the means to threaten him now.
‘Now choose.’
I forced the professor to make a choice.
‘Will he risk buffing his son fully, revealing the fact that he’s been cheating,
Or make his own son live with only one arm for the rest of his life just because of money?’
“Ugh!”
I stepped on Park Ki-pal’s arm with my foot as I looked at the professor.
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