Chapter 99.

The team duel arena was completely different from the first semester’s one-on-one duel arena .

Unlike the first semester’s Colosseum-like circular arena, the team duel took place in a rectangular arena that was 130 meters in width and 250 meters in length .

As soon as the judge signaled the start of the duel, the arena transformed into a mountainous ground with rocks and shrubbery . They served as obstacles separating the two teams, but they helped me more than they hindered me .

“Jin Hoseung-ssi and I will charge forward . Everyone else can slowly chase after us while supporting us from the back . ”

Rachel spoke .

However, I jumped up to a nearby tree .

“Um, Hajin-ssi?”

Rachel’s confused voice rang out from below . I smiled and gestured .

“Go ahead . I’ll support everyone from above . ”

Claiming high ground was the job of sharpshooters .

As Rachel also knew this, she nodded and entrusted me with the job .

Then, Rachel and Jin Hoseung charged forward . I chased after them, jumping from tree to tree .

“…!”

Suddenly, a sharp arrow cut through the air and shot towards me . I quickly bent my waist like a bow, and as the arrow shot past me with a narrow margin, time seemed to slow down .

“Wow . ”

At my current light-bodied state, this level of dodging was easy to do . Because of my new Physique, my speed stat was around 6 . 3 points . I was practically a ninja for now .

I turned to the direction the arrow came from . The opposing team’s archer shot a second magic arrow . This time, I struck down his arrow with a bullet . Although the bullet disintegrated the moment it touched the arrow, it still managed to twist the arrow’s path . The archer frowned .

It seemed he didn’t want to fight me .

“Daeyun! Handle their sharpshooter!”

He shouted at a teammate behind him, then aimed his bow forward, where Rachel and Jin Hoseung were charging in .

I also glanced at the battlefield . Immediately, I felt like I could hear a clear background music of freedom .

“…The heck . ”

Yohei looked like he came straight out of a manhwa .

Standing in the middle of the battlefield, he was biting on a tiny branch with his eyes closed . He looked comfortable and at ease, even with Rachel and Jin Hoseung charging straight towards him . In fact, he still had his katana in its sheath .

“Ronin, be free and wild like the wind . ”

By the time Rachel and Jin Hoseung got in range, Yohei blurted out some incomprehensible words and opened his eyes .

When Rachel’s rapier and Jin Hoseung’s saber were about to cut down Yohei… the katana sleeping inside his sheath flashed with a cold light .

A quick-draw .

A katana soared up in response to a rapier and saber . Yohei parried the two attacks like lightning and counterattacked with a beam of light . His sword was lighter than wind, yet fiercer than a storm .

I watched the clashing of three warriors in a daze .

Currently, Yohei was fighting two cadets on his own, with Rachel being one of them .

Still, they were evenly matched . It was thanks to all sorts of buff magic and the extra magic power he was being supplied with by his teammate .

It was then that I understood their team’s formation .

Yohei was standing in the frontline, a sharpshooter was positioned in the middle, and a supporter and a warrior were protecting their magician in the back .

It was the so-called four-protect-one .

Their strategy was to throw everything they had onto Yohei .

Their sharpshooter was positioned in the middle to support both the frontline and the backline, while the magician was pouring buffs and magic power to Yohei .

It was an efficient strategy for a defensive team .

As long as the magician didn’t die .

And as long as there wasn’t a hyena like me lurking around .

I made a detour and looped around to the magician, who was being protected by two people .

It seemed I wasn’t talented in moving stealthily as their warrior discovered me .

A muscular warrior with a buzz cut threw his axe at me . The axe flew like a boomerang, cutting down on the greenery around me, then returned to the warrior’s hand .

When he spotted me and the gun in my hand, he frowned .

“Why is a sharpshooter here alone…?”

Without answering him, I fired a barrage of bullets .

The warrior stabbed his axe into the ground without being flustered . When he imbued magic power into it, the axe grew big, and the supporter standing next to the magician also raised his shield and blocked the barrage of bullets .

Meanwhile, I looked for the blind spots in their defense .

Although their magician was hidden behind the supporter, I felt like I could reach him if I shot from above .

During combat training classes, cadets wore special protectors that absorbed damage to their vital points . Obviously, it was to protect cadets from being severely injured . By design, cadets were instantly eliminated if their neck protectors were hit .

At that moment, their warrior and supporter exchanged glances that seemed to say, ‘you protect the magician, I’ll get that sharpshooter . ’

The warrior charged at me with his axe .

I didn’t particularly mind it . In an obstacle-filled environment perfect for utilizing Parkour, a slow warrior was unable catch up to me .

I hopped from tree to tree and kept my eyes on their magician’s position . Their supporter must have felt my gaze as he performed something quite unique .

“—Conjunction . “

In an instant, his kite shield multiplied and surrounded them .

However, there were still gaps in their defense .

By design, shields were incapable of forming a perfect protective cover . Tiny gaps inevitably existed between them .

That was where I aimed .

“Huaaap!”

The warrior swung his axe . His axe turned giant and crushed the tree I was standing on . I jumped off at the same time, then made a big turn in the air .

Psssh— Pieces of the tree scattered into the air, and my body turned upside down 10 meters in the air .

At the same time, I activated Bullet Time .

Time slowed down, and I held up my gun . I could see a tiny gap between two kite shields .

Since the speed and trajectory of my bullets were completely within my control, my job was simple .

I twisted the gun slightly to the right and fired .

Whish—

The bullet I fired curved oddly in midair .

I could clearly see the bullet’s movement .

The bullet, which logically should have flown straight, suddenly dropped down . Then, almost as if it was a homing missile with a designated target, it dug through the tiny gap between two shields .

“Aak!”

The magician’s scream rang out .

Because the magician trusted the shields, he didn’t pay attention to his safety . If he had even a single layer of Barrier around him, he wouldn’t have died instantly .

However, the magician tried to conserve his magic power, and as a result…

—Team Yohei, magician Yoo Soohwan eliminated .

His neck protector was struck by my bullet .

“Agh, this sly bastard…!”

The enraged warrior and supporter rushed toward me .

“Come on, sly?”

I climbed up a tree . Then, just as a monkey would throw banana peels from a tree, I fired constantly .

“Get down! Get down here!”

Every time the warrior threw his axe, I repeatedly hopped to another tree and continued provoking him .

Meanwhile, the frontline battle was coming to a close .

With the magician’s magic power support cut off, Rachel and Jin Hoseung began to push back Yohei, and the opposing team’s sharpshooter was busy dodging Tomer’s magic attacks .

With the only two people who could help them chasing after me…

This battle was practically over .

**

10 minutes later, the victor’s waiting room .

As soon as the duel ended, I asked Yoo Yeonha about information on Yohei .

[He has the wind attribute, the rarest attribute among water, wind, earth, and fire . His Gift lets him use his magic power to display wind-like movements . ]

[Just like how wind is constant and intangible, he can send several sword strikes simultaneously and dodge his opponents’ attacks fluidly . The name of his Gift is ‘Covenant of Wind’ . ]

[In summary, his Gift and physical abilities are both excellent . But because he’s lacking in magic power, he is weak in drawn-out fights . ]

[It seemed he formed his team to make-up for this weakness . The magician Yoo Soohwan has a magic called ‘Target Chain’, which transmits spells and magic power to a connected target from a long range . ]

[If he survived until the end, this fight would have been more difficult . Yohei’s battle sense is said to be second only to Kim Suho and Shin Jonghak . ]

Yoo Yeonha’s message was thorough like a report . Cadets often kept their Gifts secret, but she was even knowledgeable about that . It seemed asking her was a good idea .

At that moment, the waiting room door opened, and Rachel walked in .

With the same expression she always wore, she spoke .

“Good work, everyone . ”

Although her face didn’t show it, her voice was full of joy . Anyone could see that Rachel was currently ecstatic .

“Especially… . ”

Rachel looked at me and made a thin smile .

“Hajin-ssi . We were able to win thanks to Hajin-ssi eliminating their magician . ”

“…I shouldn’t be praised . I went off on my own . ”

Yi Bokgyu said with a smile . Rachel continued looking at me for a while, then nodded warmly .

“Yes, well done . ”

“By the way, where’s Jamer?”

Jin Hoseung then asked as he looked around the room .

“Jamer?”

“Oh right, Jamer’s not here . She did well too . ”

When I tilted my head, Yi Bokgyu added .

“Jamer… Ah . ”

I kept getting confused .

Jamer and Tomer .

Tomer was her real name and Jamer was her fake name .

Anyways, why hasn’t Tomer responded to the message I sent her about having found Fernin Jesus? Violet Banquet had a trustworthy system . Although I asked her for 300 million won, she shouldn’t be worrying about being scammed .

…Did she not have the money?

“Let me go find her . ”

I stealthily left the waiting room .

I walked down the hallway and searched for Tomer .

She wasn’t in the bathroom and she wasn’t in a different waiting room .

Soon, I found her in an alley near a vending machine .

Tomer was hiding and calling someone .

I eavesdropped on her call as I walked towards her .

—Um, if you could loan me some money…

Just like I thought, Tomer didn’t have the money to pay for the information .

At Tomer’s careful question, the caller responded .

—Is that all you’re going to say? How long are you going to drag out what should only take two weeks to do?

He was clearly irritated .

—…Sorry .

—If you can’t close it out by the end of the week, prepare to receive punishment . Oh right, didn’t you also lose the item team leader sent you?

—Ah, about that… . I’m really sorry, but I’m pressed on money, so… .

—Are you out of your mind? You sold it because you needed money!?

—No, no, I didn’t sell it . I just lost it… .

—Yeah, I’m proud of you .

Tomer hung up the call dejectedly after being yelled at for a long time .

“Haa . ”

She let out a deep sigh and turned around .

I was standing in front of her .

“…Hiik!”

She immediately froze .

However, nothing from the call would have indicated that she was a Djinn . She seemed to have realized it too as she breathed out a sigh of relief .

I asked her as I put coins into the vending machine .

“What happened? You’re short on money?”

“… . ”

Tomer walked past me silently .

“Want me to lend you some?”

But what I said carelessly seemed to have drawn her attention as she turned her head and looked at me .

“…You don’t know how much I need . ”

“Well, you’re a magician . I can loan you as much as you want if you’re willing to write a promissory note . ”

Magicians could rake in money if they wanted .

Clunk, clunk—

A bottle of Sprite rolled down from the vending machine .

“I might not look like it, but I’m quite rich . ”

**

I left the duel arena, carrying my exhausted body along .

Our team’s second duel was at 3 P . M .

“There are only two duels left, so cheer up, Kim Hajin!”

“Hey, Kim Hajin!”

When I was encouraging myself, a familiar voice rang out behind me . I turned around and saw Chae Nayun walking up to me .

“Kim Suho wanted me to tell you he liked your match . ”

“Kim Suho did?”

“Yeah, he went straight into his own match . By the way, how did you do that?”

“Do what?”

“Your bullet curved . What trickery is that?”

Chae Nayun asked with a furtive voice . I retorted simply .

“My Gift . ”

“…What a boring explanation . …Huaam~”

Chae Nayun suddenly yawned and interlocked her fingers together behind her neck .

“Ah~ I want to fight too . My matches don’t start until after noon . ”

“…I see . ”

I tried to ignore her and go on my way, but I stopped because I saw someone in front of me .

Shin Jonghak and Yoo Yeonha were only about ten steps away .

Shin Jonghak’s dry and cold gaze fell on me . It felt like he was looking at me in disdain because of the emotionlessness in his eyes .

It was almost like I was in a haunted house .

He was handsome, but scary .

“… . ”

Shin Jonghak quietly looked back and forth between me and Chae Nayun . After receiving his gaze for a moment, Chae Nayun frowned and shot back .

“What do you want?”

“…Haha . ”

Shin Jonghak’s laughter flowed out from the crevice between his teeth . Shin Jonghak liked this side of Chae Nayun, although Yoo Yeonha who was standing next to him didn’t seem to understand why .

Shin Jonghak sauntered toward us .

Almost as if to switch places with him, I walked past him .

“Are you leaving?”

Yoo Yeonha asked . Her eyes were still fixed on Shin Jonghak .

“Yeah . What about you? Are you going to your match?”

“Yes, it’s at 11 A . M . ”

“…I see . ”

As I walked past her, I suddenly remembered something .

“Oh right, hey . ”

“…Yes?”

Only then did Yoo Yeonha turn to face me .

I spoke briefly and simply .

“Bullets . 5 . 56 mm . ”

“…You want me to get you some?”

“Yeah, but a lot of them . ”

“It’s possible… but what do you need assault rifle bullets for?”

“I think I’ll need them in the future . ”

“Hmm, hold on . ”

Yoo Yeonha immediately turned on her smartwatch .

“How many?”

“About… six hundred?”

“Six… what?”

“Six hundred . ”

“…You know that high rank 5 . 56 mm magic bullets are at least 200,000 won per bullet, right?”

“So in total it’ll be 120 million . Is it too much?”

I gave her a look of disappointment . After looking at me in a daze, Yoo Yeonha suddenly put on the smile of a queen .

“…Pft . I can do something like that with my eyes closed, so don’t try to scratch my pride needlessly . So, do you also need a weapon to go with it?”

“No, the bullets are all I need . ”

I was about to place my hand on Yoo Yeonha’s shoulder out of habit, but I realized it half-way through and stopped .

Kuhum . I let out a dry cough, then put my hands in my pocket . Yoo Yeonha hated people touching her .

“I’m leaving now . ”

“Yes… . Ah, wait . ”

This time, Yoo Yeonha grabbed me .

“It’s about that ginseng . ”

“What about it?”

“We’ll be able to make medicine with it in two weeks . So I was wondering…”

“Are you asking if I have any more?”

“…Yes . It’s looking like it’ll take a long time for us to look for proper traders . ”

I rubbed my chin and pondered .

Ginseng .

To be honest, I felt like I could obtain one by hiking a few times .

“I can’t say for sure that I’ll be able to, but if I do, I’ll trade it for your company’s shares . How about it?”

“That’s fine . ”

While we were talking, I could hear Shin Jonghak’s voice from the back .

—Chae Nayun, why are you staying close with someone like him?

—What? What are you spouting so suddenly?

—… . You didn’t forget about what happened before, right? You were the one who said he was weird and told me to squash him .

—Eh? Ah, no, um… I misunderstood him at the time…

‘Someone like him’ .

It was a bit unpleasant to hear, but that’s just how Shin Jonghak was .

He had strong pride in his bloodline and status .

Even in reality, they were something to be proud of .

Although the nobleness of his bloodline couldn’t compare to a royalty’s, Shin Jonghak’s ancestor was a prime minister who served a king, and Shin Jonghak’s grandfather, Shin Myungchul, was a true noble who saved starving Koreans after Outcall .

“…Just ignore him . Jonghak doesn’t know much about you . ”

Yoo Yeonha said so as she studied my face .

“I don’t really mind . ”

I walked past them and trudged to the lounge area .

**

7 P . M .

All my team duels ended, and I returned home exhausted .

“Hajin! Hajin!”

As soon as I opened the door, Evandel scurried up to me with a sullen face .

“Hajin! Hayang scratched me!”

She put her right arm out with teary eyes . I looked at her arm and saw a very light scratch mark .

Haa .

I swallowed my sigh .

One of the rules of childcare: never look bothered by your child .

“…How?”

“I don’t know . Hayang is a meanie! Hayang, you meanie!”

Evandel turned to Hayang and shouted .

I also looked at Hayang . She was on the couch yawning and acting self-important .

“She scratched you even though you didn’t do anything?”

“Un! I didn’t do anything wrong… . ”

Would a cat scratch someone for no reason?

I looked around the room . Cat treats were sprawled around the floor . The treat was called Churu, and it was delicious even for humans .

I told Evandel to give it Hayang only once per day… but I was somewhat doubtful .

But even if Evandel was curious and liked eating…

“Evandel, you didn’t do something like touching Hayang’s treat, right?”

“… . ”

Evandel flinched .

“…You did?”

“N-No… I just wanted to know how yummy it was because Hayang liked it so much… I only wanted a taste… . ”

Evandel made excuses, and I watched her slightly dumbstruck .

Then suddenly, my smartwatch rang .

It was a message from Rachel .

[Hajin-ssi! Happy birthday~~ ^—^!]

[This is my gift . Good job on the duels today . ]

[Let’s go to a karaoke once exams end ~ . ~]

“…Birthday?”

I tilted my head .

Then, I remembered that today was September 8th . It was indeed my birthday .

I turned on my smartwatch, wondering how Rachel knew .

I quickly found out as I had a party hat saying ‘Happy Birthday’ on my messenger profile .

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