༺ Duel (3) ༻
-Crash!
Ten spears, all filled to the brim with condensed mana, were flying at me.
‘What ridiculous power.’
Not only was the trajectory unpredictable but the speed and power of each spear far exceeded my stats.
Even if I managed to dodge it, the mana compressed in the spear was more than enough to kill me if it exploded nearby.
Ha-eun would be able to counter this type of attack, but it would be impossible for me.
Something felt strange, however.
‘Why do I feel like it’s possible?’
My body was already severely injured, blood was pouring out of my wounds, and my movements continued to slow down.
And yet, I didn’t feel like I would lose.
It was a sensation I had often felt the moment before I used [Return By Death].
That faint sensation could now be felt tangibly.
As if the attack itself were resonating with me, it felt as though I would easily be able to dodge it.
-Crunch!
The first spear fell from the sky, aimed directly toward me.
Even if it brushed past me, it would still be dangerous.
But for some reason, I wasn’t scared at all.
‘Is it asking me to take it…?’
In a situation where I had barely scratched my opponent, the spear seemed to be calling out for me to use it.
That wasn’t all.
As time went on, I realized it wasn’t asking me.
It was as if I was the one telling it to be taken.
I didn’t know exactly where this sensation came from, but it felt like I had taken control of his skill.
It was impossible to control it fully, but I could prevent the mana from hurting me.
‘Does it have something to do with my [Ability Copy]?’
I couldn’t be sure.
The system window wasn’t notifying me of anything changing, yet it simply felt right.
Why was I feeling this way?
‘Should I try…?’
I moved.
While it was impossible for me to control the spears, I dodged, making each spear brush past me.
Then I reached out toward a spear embedded into the ground, preparing myself to take a risk.
If my judgment was incorrect, my hand would be reduced to nothingness.
-Grab.
It worked.
Despite the mana within the spear not being my own, I could grab it. This was something I would have to research later.
Right now, though, I had to throw this at that bastard Park Ki-yeol.
-Whoosh!
My heart raced, certain that I would hit him.
Strangely, it felt as though I hadn’t stolen the skill but had used it hundreds of times before.
And yet, I missed.
“…Huh?”
That strange sensation made my heart rate vanish, interrupting my concentration and making me miss.
‘Why did it disappear?’
I had felt it out of nowhere to begin with, but it was still surprising to feel it disappear so quickly.
I needed to check what the conditions to activate the skill were, but nothing had changed, leaving me confused.
“It’s a shame, I almost hit you.”
That tangible sensation I had felt no longer existed.
For now, I pretended to be relaxed, not showing my surprise stemming from that sudden change.
‘Think. I have to think.’
The situation was still not favorable.
In contrast to my critical condition, he only had a few minor injuries.
The spear I had just thrown had dealt more damage than all of my previous strikes and stabs combined. Therefore, I was out of options.
‘How can I deal damage to that bastard?’
With the skills I currently had, even my B-rank [Large Explosion] would have no effect. I needed something far more destructive and of a higher rank.
Without something like that, I had no way to break through.
‘This is really bad. I don’t have any skills that will work.’
Most of the skills I had copied were either B-rank or below.
The only S-rank skills I had were Ability Copy and Magi Manipulation. In a place without any magi, the latter was useless, and Ability Copy was only useful after my opponent felt they had been defeated.
‘…Wait, they only need to feel defeated?’
Suddenly, a thought raced through my mind.
The essence of the skill was to make one’s opponent admit defeat and copy one of their skills.
In other words, they just had to feel defeated.
‘In what scenario do they have to admit defeat?’
When I tossed a coin with Ha-eun, Ability Copy stated I had fulfilled the conditions required.
If Ha-eun had simply felt inferior, it would’ve been an incomplete victory, but because she believed she had truly lost, even though the game itself might have been rigged, it became a complete victory.
‘At least for now, I don’t have any way to fulfill the conditions with an incomplete victory.’
I searched my surroundings, but because of the mana barrier he had set up, I wasn’t able to see anything.
I had no idea where his inferiority complex stemmed from, so an imperfect victory was not achievable at the moment.
‘But why did I only think of fighting this bastard?’
If I thought about it, the skill itself and its conditions were quite generous. Even if I won in a completely pointless game, I would still receive benefits.
I tried to defeat him in combat because I thought it was the only way.
But did I even need to do that?
‘It might be a gamble, but I should test it.’
I only had to make him feel defeated.
I wasn’t sure if it would work, but it was worth trying even if there was a small chance of success.
‘Right now, he’s trying to keep me at bay.’
Perhaps terrified that I had thrown his spear back at him, he was trying desperately to keep me at bay.
Perhaps he had judged that a careless attack would result in further danger. Despite his clearly advantageous situation, he no longer attacked me, instead observing me.
That wasn’t all he was doing.
Rather, he was casting buffs on himself in preparation for my counterattack.
“…”
I breathed in deeply. ‘I might be able to win in close combat, but I don’t have an answer if he chooses to fight from a distance.’
His Agility stat was far superior to mine.
-Step. Step.
For that reason, I moved extremely slowly. I didn’t know where that power from earlier had come from, but the reason he was choosing to fight from a distance was surely because of that ability.
I wasn’t able to use it anymore, but he didn’t have to know that.
I calmly began walking toward him, giving off an air of ease.
“…Mana Control.”
As if seeing how I would respond, the professor launched a small-scale attack.
Perhaps because he was only trying to keep his distance, there wasn’t much mana embedded in the spears.
If I was able to successfully counterattack, he might feel that he lost.”
‘This is a good chance.’
Park Ki-yeol’s refusal to close the gap and his cautious approach to attacking helped me by giving me a chance to launch a counterstrike.
I prepared to use my [Stealth] skill right away.
‘…Even though this is my final attack, my limit is about five seconds.’
I would not be able to use the skill for more than five seconds because my mana pool was nearly depleted.
I did not require a lot of mana, though.
‘This is plenty.’
It would be hard to get anywhere near him, but this was enough for now.
I used the skill, knowing full well he would be able to track me because I had used it while within his field of vision.
Four seconds.
Even though I had used [Stealth], the attacks meant to keep me at bay continued, raining down on me from the sky.
Three seconds.
As I twisted my body at an extreme angle to dodge, I received some minor injuries, which I ignored.
Two seconds.
All of a sudden, I threw the sword I was holding at his face.
One second.
A mana barrier stopped the blade, but his vision was blocked briefly as a result.
As if on cue, the message appeared.
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