Episode 46: How to Deal with Nemeses (2)
From the beginning, Kang Min-hyuk knew who he was going to choose.
“Choi Kwang-il.”
He was the most skilled student in the first year of swordsmanship.
If the Department of Magic calls Jeong Sang-hoon a genius, Choi Kwang-il is his equal in the Department of Swordsmanship. Choi Kwang-il, who slaughtered dozens of Orcs alone at the Suseong battle, had, if the rumors were true, the experience of defeating B-class monsters. Unlike those who were clearly inferior to Kang Min-hyuk, he had real talent. That’s why he chose Choi Kwang-il.
“Will you be okay?” Kim Moo-jin asked.
Even if an inferior student in the department of swordsmanship and an honor student in the department of magic go head-to-head, the swordsmanship student is bound to have an advantage.
At the thought of fighting a man so talented as Choi Kwang-il, even Kang Min-hyuk was worried first.
“I’ll be fine.” Kang Min-hyuk was cool.
Choi Kwang-il’s name held sway in the Academy, and in contrast, Kang Min-hyuk’s wasn’t quite as inspiring. Monsters dwelled at the Guardian Gate, and Kang Deok-cheol, his father, was a well-known, talented person. Even his friends who had been successfully trained alongside him had defeated A-class monsters. That is the world Kang Min-hyuk was brought up in. The Department of Swordsmanship students hold up Choi Kwang-il as if he had tremendous talent, but it wasn’t so in the eyes of Kang Min-hyuk.
He might be excellent, yes, but nobody to be stunned by.
Choi Kwang-il was far from the level of true genius. Kang Min-hyuk felt that if he couldn’t defeat him, he would always hold a position of Eul before fortified warriors.
Choi Kwang-il came up to the training ground. His laughter twisted out of his lips as if he found the situation absurd.
“I’m glad you chose me.”
He’d admitted defeat at Suseongjeon; Kang Min-hyuk reached the perfect result of sweeping.
But life and death duels were another matter. Suseongjeon is a stage where a wizard can play an active part, while a life-and-death duel has no geographical advantage to protect the wizard. Choi Kwang-il’s pride had received a blow, and it was time for him to rectify that.
He grasped his sword tight, lowered his posture, and stared at Kang Min-hyuk fiercely.
“I’ll make you regret that choice soon.”
“Begin!”
Kim Moo-jin’s signal commanded.
Simultaneously, as the professor’s voice rang around the room, and before the final echo had died out, Choi Kwang-il immediately hit the ground.
Thump.
Choi Kwang-il vanished from Kang Min-hyuk’s view.
* * *
The duel progressed slowly. The swordsmanship students were confident in their avoidance of magic, and even if they were hit, the damage of the second circle wasn’t great, so they were often spared any pain.
However, Choi Kwang-il’s experience was different.
Crack!
Swoosh.
He moved a lot from the outset to make himself a less visible target. Choi Kwang-il was skilled, and it seemed that he could easily beat Kang Min-hyuk. He was spurred on by the memory of losing out at the Suseongjeon – he was so sure that he’d win.
Sasak.
He was fast. The students’ eyes darted back and forth as they watched the situation from outside. It was hard to keep up with Choi Kwang-il’s movements.
Kang Min-hyuk’s gaze accurately captured Choi Kwang-il. Then, mana burned red for an instant.
“Fireball.”
Wow!
The flames arose.
Kang Min-hyuk’s magic hit Choi Kwang-il, predicting his position as he moved. Choi Kwang-il’s expression grew stern; he thought his coordinates would be undiscoverable, but Min-hyuk’s magic was accurate.
“I’m a Gangwha warrior; you won’t defeat me!”
Boom!
Pop!
Choi Kwang-il dodged the blow by millimetres. The coordinate calculation was accurate, but Choi Kwang-il was able to dart out of the way just in time. Mana rose from the warrior’s legs as his body surpassed human beings’ speed, shedding magic as he did. The moment he tried to tackle again; a powerful bundle of electricity arose in front of him.
“Lightning shock.”
Buzz.
“Ugh!”
The bundle of electricity hit Choi Kwang-il directly. It was an exquisite combination attack.
For Choi Kwang-il, who was focusing on avoiding the fireball, the lightning shock could not be missed.
‘He’s double-casting!’
He hadn’t noticed at first. There is no rule to state that the first attack is limited to a single cast. Simultaneously preparing two magics didn’t go against the rules, but Choi Kwang-il didn’t expect it. Even if he had expected, the attack would not have been avoided. Min-hyuk had used a fireball to force a direction and attacked with a lightning bolt. The fireball was thought to be in vain, so the joint attack drove Choi Kwang-il into a corner.
Pop.
Choi Kwang-il did not perish at the lightning shock. Mana in the body rotated fiercely, protecting it from electrical penetration. A reinforced warrior is known as the magician’s natural enemy because they have the power to protect the body from magic.
‘It’s over now.’
Choi Kwang-il hit the ground.
Kang Min-hyuk used double-casting twice, so there would be a delay until the next magic. Choi Kwang il’s bulging legs quickly narrowed the distance between himself and Kang Min-hyuk. His pace transcended human speed, and Choi Kwang-il did not allow Kang Min-hyuk more than 5 seconds.
The duel should have ended there. However, Choi Kwang-il’s body staggered for a moment, mid-sprint.
“Rock!”
Puck!
The timing was spectacular. Precisely when he couldn’t see them, a rock protruding from the floor caught Choi Kwang-il’s feet. If he’d been traveling at a regular pace, he would have avoided the rocks easily, but his super-speed didn’t allow the time for observation. A tingling pain shot upwards through his body, sending goosebumps across his skin.
“Impossible…”
Lightning shock.
It was a trap. The purpose of the attack was to paralyze the body and slow down the reaction.
It worked, and Choi Kwang-il’s advance was blocked. As he looked up, still stumbling, a powerful light burst out.
“Flash!”
Flash!
“Ouch!”
His head was spinning, and intense light invaded his vision.
Flash had no attack power, but if the opponent were unprepared, he would be temporarily blinded.
Bash!
A blunt force smashed against his head. He realized it was first circle magic – Rock – and Choi Kwang-il’s face twisted with rage.
“That son of a bitch!”
* * *
Kang Min-hyuk’s eyes were everywhere.
“Fireball.”
“Lightning shock.”
“Rock.”
“Flash.”
The joint attacks flew from Kang Min-hyuk like water flowing rapidly.
The physical abilities of reinforced warriors are great. Someone with the talent of Kwang-il was particularly difficult to beat, so the solution was to play with his expectations. Kang Min-hyuk intentionally used the fireball as a waste – a distraction from the true attack. Choi Kwang-il was immersed in the idea that he had to avoid the first attack, so he did not expect a second. That’s how the lightning shock hit him.
Lightning Shock was chosen for its ‘paralysis effect,’ even if the damage is not great. Even if the power of magic is comparable to that of Circle three, it is the same. Choi Kwang-il stumbled for a while but quickly recovered and began running toward Kang Min-hyuk.
The magic flowed from the wizard.
Rock.
Flash.
Rock.
The magic was not especially powerful – only the first circle, but it had the advantage of rapid casting. The instantaneous spells were well-suited to Choi Kwang-il’s feet. It wasn’t a great number to take one by one, but it came together killed his speed.
Kang Min-hyuk had to buy some time to generate third circle magic.
Hwaaak!
Mana scattered through the air.
Kang Min-hyuk’s hand moved quickly, and in an instant, he established a mana system and formed a 3rd circle magic.
“Fire Lance!”
Wow.
It was the most powerful magic among the third circle. A flame in the form of a spear burned bright. Through double casting, Kang Min-hyuk kept Choi Kwang-il at bay with little magic on one side and cast a fire lance on the other. As Kang Min-hyuk was still a third circle wizard, he couldn’t apply the circle’s correlation to the Fire Lance, but the time he earned was enough to finish casting.
It was perfect.
Fire Lance ignited on Choi Kwang-il.
Quaang!
Wow, wow!
The explosion it created was huge. The immunity equipment wasn’t enough to protect from such power – the strength of the fourth circle penetrated through the barrier. No first-grader could endure the attack.
“This son of a bitch!”
Choi Kwang-il appeared through the flame, expressing his proficiency. He had intuited the danger and acted accordingly, protecting his body with mana before stepping out of the danger zone. Nevertheless, the shock was great. His outer garments were burnt black, and he felt sick to the stomach from the blow. Still, he refused to give up.
His opponent used a conversion blow. If it didn’t work, the odds would be stacked against him. After activating his mana to the maximum, Choi Kwang-il reached in front of Kang Min-hyuk and said, “It’s over for you now.”
He was convinced of his victory. The moment he tried to cut down Kang Min-hyuk, Choi Kwang-il opened his eyes.
“…huh?!”
Choi Kwang-il immediately noted two facts. The first was that Kang Min-hyuk hadn’t moved a single step since the beginning of the duel. Despite having ample time to spare, Kang Min-hyuk stayed static. The second?
“It’s as if he expected my reaction.”
His calm eyes made it creepy. There was a rule often overlooked by fortified warriors. If you approached the wizard, the game was over; a mage only had a chance from a distance. However, it wasn’t over yet.
Kang Min-hyuk avoided Choi Kwang-il’s attack with a simple gesture of twisting his body sideways.
Then, Choi Kwang-il’s heart opened. Toward that wide chest, Kang Min-hyuk raised mana.
“Fire Bolt.”
Wow!
It was first circle flame magic, but it didn’t take the shape of a firebolt that everyone knows; it manifested as an abstract flame that fluctuated as if it would explode right away. It was an example of Kang Min-hyuk’s ‘Magic Shape Change.’
“Damn…”
Choi Kwang-il’s was aghast, and he knew instinctively that the consequence of the attack was inevitable. The moment the firebolt landed, a massive explosion occurred.
Rumble!
The smoke rose in sharp waves. Students watching from outside jumped up from their seats at the unexpected situation. In their confusion, they worked hard to grasp the situation until the smoke subsided, and the result was seen.
“Ah.”
Through the smoke, Choi Kwang-il fell to the floor, and Kang Min-hyuk looked down at him.
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