Chapter 136 – The World Martial Arts Tournament (3)

“So all the knights from our ‘Great’ Lania lost?”

“Well…”

“This isn’t good.”

“Do not worry. I, Lee Ja-rang, am here.”

Lee Ja-rang brandished his main weapon, a mace, and made a motion as if to crack Kim Tae-yang’s skull.

“Team Leader, I won’t die from shock or anything in here, right? I don’t just have to win; I can kill him, can’t I?”

Kim Tae-yang said, drawing a finger across his throat at Lee Ja-rang.

“It is a well-known fact, depicted in the ancient murals of Goguryeo, even in the Subakdo, that no one with blond hair has ever amounted to much.”

“…”

“Lee No-rae is an exception.”

“…”

After making an exception for the blond-haired Lee No-rae, Lee Ja-rang stepped onto the arena floor.

Kim Tae-yang did the same.

“You have made a poor choice. Today, you will kneel before Lee Ja-rang, and you will learn obedience.”

“Last time, I lost because I hadn’t Awakened yet. Wouldn’t it be embarrassing to lose again today?”

The two, having exchanged pleasantries, started trading blows the moment the match began.

Lee Ja-rang, whose main weapon was a mace, charged straight ahead.

Kim Tae-yang charged to meet him with a smirk.

The two clashed.

Lee Ja-rang swung his mace with gusto, while Kim Tae-yang ducked low to evade the attack.

“It’s over!”

Kim Tae-yang, imbuing his Kukri with mana, aimed for Lee Ja-rang’s leg.

The cutting power of a Kukri was renowned.

On top of that, it was a weapon personally crafted by the Hanul Guild’s technician, Graham, and enhanced with an attack skill. It could easily slice through armor.

“!”

*Clang!*

Kim Tae-yang saw his Kukri bounce off Lee Ja-rang’s body.

Lee Ja-rang was a classic tank.

His Fortress skill granted an incredible durability to anything.

And the HP Shield granted by the system he was connected to was also enhanced.

In other words.

“I will break you. That has been my only thought from the start.”

Lee Ja-rang brought his mace down.

But Kim Tae-yang was no pushover.

In that brief moment, he stepped with elastic agility, sliding to Lee Ja-rang’s side.

Lee Ja-rang desperately turned, but Kim Tae-yang’s Kukri had already swept across his waist.

Kim Tae-yang’s instantaneous movement speed was the fastest among the members of Team 3.

Even that gang of Villains hadn’t been able to stop him.

*Drip, drop.*

Blood dripped to the floor from the gash on Lee Ja-rang’s waist.

“Is there a bug? I am asking if there is a mosquito.”

“Quit bluffing. Let’s see who’s left standing at the end.”

“Have you added a good wheelchair to your shopping cart? I recommend an expensive model.”

“Where the hell does this bastard learn these lines?”

The two resumed their battle.

The HP Shield wasn’t invincible.

It neutralized the damage one took, but it couldn’t properly offset damage from an area one didn’t anticipate.

Meaning, if you didn’t predict where you’d be attacked, you took the full brunt of the damage.

This was the basis for why I could usually ignore the HP Shield and beat my opponents to a pulp.

Most Awakeners thought the HP Shield applied unconditionally.

Of course, that wasn’t the only reason my attacks were so painful, but it would be too difficult for these guys to replicate even if I told them.

The battle between Kim Tae-yang and Lee Ja-rang.

I could already see who would win.

Lee Ja-rang was a sturdy tank type, while Kim Tae-yang was a melee damage dealer who could also tank.

“Hahahaha, scared? Scared? You’re bleeding a lot, you know?”

“Why do you only strike my throat as if ringing a bell? Lee Ja-rang is merely tickled.”

At a glance, Kim Tae-yang seemed to be acting like a wild child, all worked up. But in reality, he was incredibly calm.

He knew his opponent’s weakness and, while pretending to be excited, was coolly analyzing the fight.

I remembered when I first met Kim Tae-yang.

An Awakened delinquent, swaggering around because he had some power, disrespecting me, his trainer. I thought he was a hopeless case back then.

But he possessed a dazzling talent.

Calmly, one step, and then another.

He relentlessly exploited his opponent’s weaknesses, and if he made a mistake, he corrected it on the spot and approached the opponent in a different way.

During that time, Gates had been appearing frequently.

With the Wizard System gone, the agencies struggled, unable to predict where Gates would form, and many innocent civilians were harmed.

But after I defeated the Undying Demon King, the occurrence of Gates noticeably decreased.

A Gate is, quite literally, a door.

A method for a collective consciousness connected to the system to move to another place.

The people who had to abandon their bodies and become monsters to fight the 100 Mages.

And the people who had to flee to another world to escape the Undying Demon King.

Now, there was no reason for that anymore.

The Undying Demon King who reigned in the other world was dead, so there was no longer a need to escape.

The world I had liberated began to prosper again. And, as if by magic, the appearance of Gates began to decline.

When Gates become less frequent, dungeons naturally don’t form as often.

In other words, the jobs for hunters were starting to disappear.

From now on, the main conflict would be with Villains.

How should I explain that I’m a dimension-crosser? That I possess dominion?

I don’t know what will happen in the future. Villains still exist, and there’s no telling what schemes the Demon Kings might be plotting.

A moment will come when world peace is literally threatened.

For that day, which will eventually come, I must solidify my forces.

Kim Tae-yang and Kim In-ho. These guys would follow me if I asked them to.

I believed that without a doubt, not because of some trust value shown by the system through the Knight Order.

In preparation for any unforeseen circumstances, I had trained them thoroughly.

Did they think I tormented them with sparring because I had a sadistic streak?

It’s a bit much for me to say, but getting hit by me probably felt like being hit by a car.

We did that for three sets every day.

Of course, I didn’t enjoy it.

Well, maybe a little. Just a tiny bit?

In any case, my team members grew stronger.

Kim Tae-yang and Kim In-ho. These two were already complete.

“Lee Ja-rang, loss by decision due to HP loss!”

Graham the blacksmith, acting as the referee, declared Lee Ja-rang’s defeat.

Hearing this, an agitated Lee Ja-rang began to protest.

“What nonsense is this? Lee Ja-rang is still perfectly fine.”

“You lost, you punk.”

“The dwarf cannot see properly due to his short stature. Did you even watch the match?”

“Why is this bastard insulting my height? Huh? You want to go a round with me? Huh?”

While Lee Ja-rang was bickering with Graham, Kim Tae-yang snorted and said.

“You should be grateful I was polite to your corpse.”

“I’ll kill the yellow-hair!”

A match is a match.

Defeated by Kim Tae-yang, Lee Ja-rang returned to his spot and began to sneak glances at Katrinne.

“Wow, look who’s here, our personal power-level scanners.”

At Katrinne’s smiling words, the three foreign brothers deflated, having nothing to say.

Hey, Katrinne was being a bit harsh.

Calling them power-level scanners after they fought so hard. A power-level scanner. Even if we were treating it like a real battle, it was virtual reality, so you couldn’t say they used 100% of their strength.

Though the same was true for their opponents.

“Now, kill each other.”

Hearing my words, the three foreign brothers glanced at each other before starting a fistfight.

The one who came in last among the three was destined for a fun training session with me.

I’d just come up with a new training method, and the loser wouldn’t have any room to complain, so they’d follow along nicely, right?

I was so curious to see their reaction that I started humming to myself.

Watching the three foreign brothers fight to avoid last place, I opened a pack of instant rice.

My appetite was whetted, oh yes.

Just as I expected, Kim In-ho, Kim Tae-yang, and Seo Hyun-ji won.

And then, the match between Seo Hyun-ji and Kim In-ho.

She was overwhelming this time as well.

“Seo Hyun-ji wins!”

The charred Kim In-ho could only blink his eyes.

***

Immediately, the final match between Kim Tae-yang and Seo Hyun-ji began.

“Go easy on me, noona.”

“Let’s get this over with, Tae-yang.”

Seo Hyun-ji was more motivated than she had ever been before.

‘I’m screwed.’

Kim Tae-yang muttered as he poured mana into his Kukri.

*Vwoom,* the Kukri glowed with a red light.

Seo Hyun-ji had been nothing more than an S-rank with talent. It was true that her actual combat ability was severely lacking.

But after intensive training with the Team Leader, she had changed.

‘Can I win?’

There was no way he could beat the Team Leader. But he had thought he could at least hold his own against Seo Hyun-ji, an S-rank.

Now, he wasn’t so sure.

Kim Tae-yang lightly bounced on his feet.

*Tap, tap.*

Feinting as if he would run, then not, Kim Tae-yang warily watched Seo Hyun-ji.

Mages were extremely powerful beings. But they were fated to be physically weak.

Kim Tae-yang was an exceptionally talented fighter in real combat.

Even in the license exam to become a hunter, Kim Tae-yang had hunted Lesser Goblins without any problem.

He was different from the others who vomited and cried after killing a Lesser Goblin.

‘This is totally possible.’

In his school days, Kim Tae-yang had been a troublemaker who got into a lot of fistfights.

Unlike his well-behaved, studious older siblings, he was the problem child the family had given up on.

It wasn’t that he wanted to bully weaker kids or make them his errand boys.

For some strange reason, he just didn’t want to lose to anyone.

If he heard there was a strong kid, a competitive spirit would well up inside him, making him want to fight them.

Sometimes, he even had the foolish fantasy that it would have been fun to be born in the Three Kingdoms period.

Kim Tae-yang licked his lips.

Dash.

Kim Tae-yang, who already possessed incredible movement speed, charged toward Seo Hyun-ji so fast that it looked like an arrow had been shot.

Seo Hyun-ji extended her hand.

Kim Tae-yang knew her skill casting was fast.

He accelerated, planning to trade flesh for bone if a counter-spell came flying at him.

“!”

Then, Kim Tae-yang couldn’t believe his eyes.

The floor was slippery.

In an instant, the ground began to freeze over.

“Huh? Whoa, whoa!”

Although Kim Tae-yang was incredibly agile, he couldn’t move quickly on the icy surface.

While he faltered for a moment, Seo Hyun-ji raised both hands, flicking her fingers in the air to manifest a skill pattern.

Auto Casting.

Red magic circle patterns materialized on either side of her.

“Ugh!”

A spirit summoner and a mage, she poured all her mana into her spirits to use her skills.

In other words, she had the water spirit instantly freeze the ground and the fire spirit unleash a rain of fire.

“Whoa, that’s insane.”

Kim Tae-yang muttered, looking at the dense rain of fiery arrows pouring down.

There were so many that it felt like the sky itself had turned red.

Seo Hyun-ji had been watching Kim Tae-yang and Kim In-ho all this time.

Though she had received an S-rank, in actual combat, she had always lagged behind the two of them.

It wasn’t because she was a woman. It was because her own resolve had been lacking.

Once, a Villain had invaded to kidnap Katrinne.

The Team Leader had entrusted the team to handle it.

Kim Tae-yang had performed brilliantly then. He instantly broke through the Villain’s encirclement and killed the enemy mage.

Kim In-ho had provided cover so that Kim Tae-yang wouldn’t be surrounded.

Seo Hyun-ji had also summoned a spirit to pressure the enemy, but she was subdued by a female Villain.

If the Team Leader’s niece, Lee Seo-yeon, hadn’t been there to help, they might have been wiped out.

Seo Hyun-ji felt a chill.

The Team Leader had trusted her, and yet she had been on the verge of being defeated by the enemy.

Then, an S-rank from another guild, arranged by the Team Leader, had arrived as support.

Seo Hyun-ji’s pride was wounded.

She was one of only six S-ranks in the country, but she wasn’t living up to her value.

‘Hoo…’

Even now, if she closed her eyes, she could see it.

The face of the Villain with the grotesque arm, smirking, drunk on victory.

Seo Hyun-ji steeled her heart. And she had a true Awakening.

Today, she would win. And she would get confirmation from the Team Leader.

Whether he was really the same person as the Hero she knew.

*KABOOM, KABOOOM!*

Explosions shook the very earth.

Kim Tae-yang didn’t fall. He saw his HP drop by more than half in an instant, but he felt no actual pain.

“Yaaaaaah!”

Kim Tae-yang knew that closing the distance was the only equation for victory.

Magic-users were weak in close combat.

No matter how powerful their spells, they wouldn’t be able to withstand a blade swinging right in their face.

Kim Tae-yang closed the distance in an instant. He even used his Dash skill, making it feel as if the ground itself was shrinking.

Kim Tae-yang threw a dagger.

Seo Hyun-ji dodged it as if it were nothing.

It was thanks to training her visual acuity by dodging the balls the Team Leader threw at her.

No, her movements were actually faster than before.

‘Why is a mage so good at dodging?!’

Seeing this, Kim Tae-yang thought Seo Hyun-ji was a completely broken character.

He moved to find an opening, but she had no blind spots.

In the end, Kim Tae-yang couldn’t hold out any longer and was defeated.

“Seo Hyun-ji wins!”

In the end, Seo Hyun-ji took first place in the team ranking.

And the person who had to pay the price of the bet was decided.

“C-couldn’t we just call it a draw…?”

*Tremble. Tremble.*

Lee Ja-rang’s large eyes were shaking as if an earthquake had struck.

The others had lost quickly and conserved their stamina, but Lee Ja-rang was exhausted from his fierce battle with Kim Tae-yang.

Ultimately, he came in last place in the individual rankings.

Lee Ja-rang looked at Hyunbin.

Hyunbin, holding a pack of instant rice in one hand, looked back at Lee Ja-rang.

Hyunbin nodded. Lee Ja-rang shook his head and took a step back.

Of course, he wouldn’t be able to escape.

“Um, Team Leader.”

Seo Hyun-ji approached Hyunbin.

He had said he would grant any wish to the winner.

Finally, she could ask him the question that had been vexing her.

The Hero, who was believed to have died along with the Inner Demon King, Dantalian.

Was that Hero the same person as the Team Leader?

“Oh my, Ms. Seo Hyun-ji. Congratulations on your win.”

“You remember what you said earlier, right?”

“What was that?”

“You said you’d give me a prize.”

“Ah, the prize. Right. How about a one-month free pass to the guild’s coffee shop?”

At Hyunbin’s words, Seo Hyun-ji wrinkled her nose and replied.

“Not something like that.”

“Uh… go ahead. As I said, nothing too outlandish. You know that, right?”

Today’s Seo Hyun-ji was fiercely determined.

Was there something she wanted?

An unwarranted anxiety began to creep over Hyunbin.

Just then, a lifeline descended to save him.

-Hero, you’re not too busy playing around, are you?

“Ah, Ms. Hyun-ji. Just a moment.”

“……”

The caller was Olivier.

Thinking it was a good opportunity, Hyunbin excused himself from Seo Hyun-ji and spoke with Olivier.

“I’m not playing. I’m getting the team in order.”

-It looked like you were playing. Anyway, the Representative is looking for you urgently.

“The Representative? Im Jae-joon?”

What she said next piqued Hyunbin’s interest.

-He said he found information on the 100 Mages.