“………”
After the clash, Kim Ho glanced over as if he had lost interest, then turned his back and started running again.
Jo Byeok imdiately resud the chase and thought.
What was that just now?
He had fought countless experts until now, but it was very rare for him to be pushed back like that.
Usually, this result occurred when he was overwheld in a battle of internal energy, but this felt quite different.
[Jo Byeok 100% vs Kim Ho 100%]
[Crystal: 24%]
If there was a gap in their internal energy, he should have taken so damage.
However, there was no change in either side’s health.
It was a new experience in many ways but,
I just need to confirm it again.
Jo Byeok increased his speed and quickly caught up to Kim Ho’s back.
Then just as he thrust his fist forward, Kim Ho who had been glancing over his shoulder turned around and extended his hand to et it.
Bang—!
Jo Byeok’s body was pushed back again.
But this ti, he observed more carefully with a wider field of vision so he thought he understood what had happened.
Wind.
The wind gathered and compressed in Kim Ho’s hand.
It exploded in a vortex-like form and pushed him away like a spring.
Considering that Kim Ho was a caster-type class, it was almost certainly wind magic but if it pushed him back so far, there must have been so physical force added.
In that case.
As Jo Byeok closed in on Kim Ho for the third ti, he drew up his internal energy and enveloped his body like armor.
In his duel with Go Hyeon-woo, he had responded similarly to the technique of [Clear Stream].
Soon, when Jo Byeok threw his punch, Kim Ho unleashed his wind magic to counter.
Bang—!
Jo Byeok was pushed back again, but this ti the distance was less than half of what it had been before.
Although the internal energy consumption was significant for just one block, it was the correct answer.
Kim Ho’s eyes glead with interest.
“You figured it out quickly.”
Despite having his technique seen through, there was no sign of alarm on his face.
Instead, he seed pleased with Jo Byeok’s keen perception.
Such composure could only be shown by soone with many remaining tricks up their sleeve and absolute confidence in themselves.
To think such a person was rumored to be a coward, it just goes to show how unreliable rumors can be.
Although Jo Byeok was growing more tense, he didn’t miss the opportunity he gained by answering correctly.
Since the distance pushed back wasn’t much, it was enough to continue his attack.
He stepped forward and unleashed a rapid series of punches like lightning.
Papapapat!
Kim Ho leaned and twisted his body to dodge the incoming punches while deflecting a few with his dark spear.
At the sa ti, wind quickly gathered and compressed in his empty hand.
When Jo Byeok imdiately surrounded himself with internal energy to counter,
Bang—!
While Jo Byeok remained still, it was Kim Ho the one who cast the spell who flew in an arc and landed gracefully on the layered cliffs before he turned and began to run.
Though Jo Byeok was not easily flustered, he couldn’t help but be montarily stunned by the sight.
…So it can be used that way too.
Since the opponent wasn’t being easily pushed back, it seed he had sent himself flying instead.
However, he couldn’t just stand there like a dog chasing chickens, so he imdiately kicked off the ground and continued his pursuit.
And when he checked the scoreboard,
[Jo Byeok 100% vs. Kim Ho 100%]
[Crystal: 48%]
After only three exchanges, the crystal’s charge was already at half.
Because of the 2.5x condition, the charging speed was incredibly fast.
This was bad news for Jo Byeok.
Despite using up half the ti, he had yet to steal the crystal or inflict any serious damage on his opponent.
Whenever he got close, he was pushed back by explosive wind magic or Kim Ho would fling himself away.
So Jo Byeok decided to switch tactics and maintain a certain distance while opting for long-range attacks.
He clenched his fist tightly and extended it forward before sending out fist winds.
Papapapat!
Kim Ho ran without even looking properly behind him.
At the sa ti, he used the Thief’s Step to glide and every ti he did so, the wind fists would just barely graze past him.
Although Jo Byeok had sowhat expected this, it still wasn’t working effectively.
Jo Byeok spoke while continuing to send out fist winds.
“Are you just going to keep running?”
“If I don’t have to fight, why waste the effort? By the way, I learned all this from Hyeong-taek.”
Although he had arrived late and couldn’t watch in person, he heard that Son Hyeong-taek had used this tactic against Song Cheon-hye.
The difference was that Son Hyeong-taek eventually got caught, while Kim Ho showed no signs of that happening.
Jo Byeok asked again.
“Do you have no intention of fighting?”
“Yeah, sorry, but I don’t. At least not in this match.”
Since quite a lot was at stake in the bet, it ant prioritizing winning the match over showcasing his skills.
Jo Byeok thought silently.
He’s cornering .
If he pushed his internal energy to the limit, his speed would be slightly faster than Kim Ho’s.
However, whenever he got close, that mysterious wind magic would push him back and make all his effort aningless.
Sending wind fists from a distance was also useless, as Kim Ho dodged them like a slippery fish.
It’s my own lack of ability.
Jo Byeok quickly admitted.
There was no clear way to turn the situation around.
He had always faced his opponents head-on, so he wasn’t prepared for soone who was determined to keep running away.
Not considering the unique nature of the crystal duel battle was also a mistake on his part.
Continuing the match would only waste ti.
However, he had no intention of ending it like this.
[Crystal: 67%]
He still had ti for one or two more moves.
Jo Byeok’s montum surged.
“Take this. If you withstand it, it’s my loss.”
“Well, let’s do it.”
Kim Ho was about to keep running but…
Since his opponent had spoken this far, it seed Kim Ho decided to comply and stopped to face Jo Byeok.
Jo Byeok’s montum continued to expand which created a terrifying sense of pressure in the area.
Soon, his huge bear-like body leaped nimbly into the air, and for a mont, his hands appeared to blur as if he had multiple ones.
Imdiately, large palms and fists made of internal energy rained down.
Boom boom boom—!
“…”
Kim Ho calmly looked up at the scene, then raised one hand slightly.
A small dark cloud appeared with a pop. And when he wrapped it around his spear, it turned into a long dark cloud rod.
Kim Ho stepped forward in that state.
With graceful sliding steps, he weaved through the falling fists and palms while waving the storm cloud rod here and there.
Though it seed aningless at first glance and like a child playing, strangely enough the fists and palms that touched the rod dissolved and had no effect on him.
Boom boom boom—!
Jo Byeok’s powerful move shattered and destroyed large and small cliffs and bizarre rock formations.
The area beca a wasteland that was covered in thick dust.
Kim Ho’s figure was obscured by the dust but,
[Jo Byeok 100% vs. Kim Ho 100%]
[Crystal: 88%]
Looking at the scoreboard, it was clear that he hadn’t taken any damage.
Jo Byeok silently nodded his head.
Impressive.
He might have been able to make excuses by saying he lost only because it was a crystal duel battle or due to the handicap. However, now that even his ultimate move had been perfectly neutralized, there was no room for excuses.
Jo Byeok spoke to the shadow erging from the dust.
“I acknowledge my defeat. I hope we can have a proper match soday.”
“Later, if there’s a chance.”
Kim Ho replied with a nonchalant attitude.
It was at that mont that Kim Ho’s na was added to Jo Byeok’s list of strong opponents.
[Jo Byeok Lose vs. Kim Ho Win]
***
Song Cheon-hye had a hard ti believing what she saw.
“…You really won.”
“I told you, I had a plan.”
Son Hyeong-taek’s strategy was highly successful.
As expected, Jo Byeok was quite vulnerable in the chase compared to his actual skills.
Still, he was a tough opponent.
His keen observation allowed him to understand the connection between Wind Force and Twister in just two moves.
Despite his bear-like build, he was surprisingly quick-witted.
His subsequent responses were excellent, so the “Jo Byeok Infinite Pushing Strategy” I had prepared alongside the “Son Hyeong-taek Strategy” had to be quickly abandoned.
Of course, there seed to be no way to counter the technique of propelling myself though.
Additionally, the final technique would have fallen on my head whether I responded or not, so I took it head-on. If the shock absorption through the storm cloud had been even slightly off, [Distortion] might have activated.
That’s how powerful his ultimate move was.
“Well done.”
Dang Gyu-young approached and offered complints.
Then she lowered her voice and asked ,
“…But are you okay with this? It was a perfect ga against Jo Byeok.”
I had won by dodging all the attacks against a promising student of the disciplinary committee. This would naturally draw the attention of those who watched the replay.
Moreover, it was even more impressive given the score difference was around 500 points.
This raised the question of whether this was the opposite of my intention to stay low-key.
I answered casually,
“It won’t stand out as much as you think.”
It was only a crystal duel battle and I had the handicap of a 2.5x charge speed.
Plus, I spent the whole ti running away with my back turned, so even if I dodged everything, I wouldn’t shake off the label of “coward”.
If my evaluation were to change, it would probably be sothing like “a coward but good at dodging”.
“You can’t hide everything anyway.”
It was wishful thinking to defeat a strong opponent like Jo Byeok without revealing anything.
Therefore, it was much better to show that I was good at running away and dodging rather than revealing my spatial trait of [Distortion].
After listening to that, Dang Gyu-young acknowledged the logic.
“Okay, as long as you’re fine with it.”
“Let’s go settle the score now.”
“Sure, let’s go, everyone.”
Next, it was ti to extort a handful of elixir from Toad Senior.
We left the arena with steps that were as light as a feather.
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