Hong Yeom-baek raised his eyebrows in surprise.
“You want to see a Trait? Are you sure that’s all you want?”
“That’s more than enough.”
Judging by his reaction, he probably would’ve been willing to offer a high-grade item. Compared to that, letting me take a look at a Trait or two was a cheap price to pay.
It’s not like it would wear out from being shown, and it wouldn’t seriously expose his full capabilities either.
Someone like the Ruby Tower Master surely had more than just one or two skills and Traits under his belt.
“Is that so? If you’re fine with it, then sure.”
He seemed to suspect there was more behind my request but didn’t press further and accepted it.
Dinner continued for a while longer, and once we were done, we got up and left the restaurant.
By then, night had fallen, but the downtown streets were still bustling with students and their parents.Looking around, Hong Yeom-baek gave a sly grin.
“Since we’re doing this, might as well have an audience, right? What do you think?”
“Fine by me.”
It’s not like he was going to launch fire magic at pedestrians. He probably had something specific in mind.
And it wasn’t my Trait being put on display anyway.
With a slight nod of his chin, Hong Yeom-baek pulled out a small wand.
“Then let’s begin.”
The ruby embedded in the wand began to glow a deep red.
Several magic circles formed, filling with complex formulas.
Moments later, a small ember blazed intensely at the wand’s tip.
Lifting it above his head, Hong Yeom-baek launched the ember high into the night sky, where it exploded.
Boooom!
Brilliant fireworks burst forth, coloring the night in dazzling colors.
He had modified fire magic to create a fireworks display.
Hong Yeom-baek added softly,
“Yeon-hwa’s loved this ever since she was little.”
This time, Hong Yeon-hwa didn’t object with her usual, “Daaad!”
She simply stared blankly at the sky, entranced.
So did the rest of our group and even the passing crowds were captivated by the spectacle.
From time to time, murmurs of “Wow”, and “So pretty”, echoed around us.
And it wasn’t just a one-time show.
The fireworks continued, one after another.
As the fireworks display drew to a close, Hong Yeom-baek turned to me with a question.
“Did it help?”
“It helped a great deal. Thank you.”
I bowed with utmost politeness.
At the same time, a notification quietly popped up in the corner of my vision.
[Activated ‘Copy-Trait’.]
[Trait ‘Chain Explosion (S)’ has been registered in the slot.]
▷ Copy-Trait [4/4]
1. Sovereign’s Crown
2. Time Resistance (S)
3. Pain Delay
4. Chain Explosion (S)
The efficiency of Chain Explosion increases with rank, while its cooldown decreases.
At S-rank, the effect was roughly a 50% boost in power, with a 5-minute cooldown.
In short, a single copied Trait just boosted all of my explosive-type skills by 50%.
Unfortunately, Inferno Fist didn’t qualify as an explosion-type skill, but Wind Force’s compressed air bursts, Spiral Explosion, and Frozen Spirit Shot could all be effectively chained with it.
That fills up all the trait slots.
I decided to save the one remaining fixed pin for now.
After all, I had no idea whether I’d want to copy a skill or a Trait next.
The Next Day
The latter half of the round of 32 matches continued.
Shin Byeong-cheol who was desperate to make up for yesterday’s losses was now busy running all over the spectator stands selling snacks.
The empty spot he left behind was quickly claimed by Hong Yeon-hwa.
She kept sneaking glances at me, then pulled out a bag of potato chips from her inventory and opened it.
After a few more glances, she quietly held the bag out to me.
“…Wanna share?”
“Ah, thanks.”
When I took one, I saw that the potato chip was completely coated in a bright red seasoning.
On the outside of the bag, roaring flames were printed.
Hellfire flavor, huh.
I let my guard down since it had been a while.
I couldn’t be the only one to suffer, so I offered some to Go Hyeon-woo as well.
“Care for one?”
“Much obliged.”
Seo Ye-in was excluded since she had no tolerance.
“Mmm, this is quite…”
Ignoring Go Hyeon-woo’s groan, I turned my attention back to the tournament bracket.
Not a single first-year left.
In the first half, the only one who survived was Hong Yeon-hwa.
And even she was likely to drop out in the round of 16.
Her next opponent hadn’t been decided yet, but it would either be a third-year club president or Song Cheon-gi.
Still, I’d say they all held their own.
It wasn’t the main objective, but this tournament was also a chance to see how much my companions had grown.
Public opinion was that Go Hyeon-woo and Seo Ye-in were around 0.8-promising student level, while Hong Yeon-hwa was at the lower end among promising students.
But Go Hyeon-woo fought the Disciplinary Committee to a draw,
Seo Ye-in defeated a recognized promising student,
And Hong Yeon-hwa scored victories over both the Disciplinary Committee and a promising student.
They had all proven themselves to be at a promising student/ Disciplinary Committee level… or beyond.
Of course, neither they nor I had any intention of settling here.
We need to widen the gap even more.
Until there were no rivals left among our peers.
And then, until we could even challenge the upperclassmen.
Ultimately, since we’d have to fight for world peace, this much was only natural.
As I thought about what to do after the tournament, I shifted my gaze back to the stage.
Even if the first-years had been all but wiped out, it wasn’t as though there was nothing left to watch.
After all, there’s still Bat Gyu-young.
Like the three before her, Dang Gyu-young was also due for a reevaluation through this tournament.
So far, the general perception of her had been:
– As the president of the Thieves’ Club, she excels in covert operations, but her fighting power lags behind.
– Among club presidents, she’s in the lower tier. She’d even lose to some vice presidents.
But contrary to those assessments, Bat Gyu-young had defeated every opponent she faced in the preliminaries.
Some of them had decent reputations too, so her image had already improved quite a bit.
Depending on how far she went from here, that evaluation could rise even higher.
Right on cue, Dang Gyu-young’s match was now unfolding on stage.
Her opponent was a second-year member of the Disciplinary Committee from the Martial Arts Class.
[Dang Gyu-young 100%]
vs
[Sa Gong-dam 91%]
The moment I saw Sa Gong-dam, I thought:
He looks a lot like Sa Gong-wook.
Given the shared surname, could they be brothers?
It was a little surprising that the older brother was in the Disciplinary Committee while the younger one belonged to the Black Faction of the swordsmanship club. But really, there was no reason it couldn’t be so.
As long as the rules weren’t broken, that was what mattered.
Sa Gong-dam’s swordsmanship was suitably sharp, befitting someone from the Disciplinary Committee.
For a moment the blade blurred, then sword energy flared violently.
The Shadow Lab Director’s body shattered into pieces.
But the severed fragments reassembled within seconds, swelling and restoring themselves, and the Lab Director once again blocked Sa Gong-dam’s path.
Through the speakers came commentary from Lee Soo-dok and Seo Cheong-yong.
“His regenerative power is extraordinary.”
“He seems to possess the traits of a Flesh Golem! For Sa Gong-dam, breaking through won’t be easy!”
Of course, since the two teachers had participated in the Umbramancer quest, they already knew about the Lab Director. But it wasn’t something they could say outright.
So instead, they spoke in a tone of speculation.
While the Lab Director faithfully played the role of tank, on the flank Shadow Undead No. 2, the Vine Queen, lashed out repeatedly with tendrils. They struck like whips to keep Sa Gong-dam in check.
Dang Gyu-young made use of the two undead to sustain the exchange of blows, and then whenever she spotted an opening, she would dash forward and swing her shadow club.
Each time a solid thwack rang out, a new lump swelled on Sa Gong-dam’s head.
Thwack! Crack!
[Sa Gong-dam 88%]
[Sa Gong-dam 84%]
[Sa Gong-dam 79%]
Meanwhile, Dang Gyu-young’s health had stayed at 100% from the very start of the match.
She hadn’t allowed a single attack to land.
What’s more, she was fighting only with the Umbramancer’s core skills. Like Shadow Extraction, Shadow Bat, and a few shadow mage items.
The fact that she didn’t even need to reveal all her slots showed just how much of an advantage she had.
Go Hyun-woo let out a gasp of admiration.
“Senior Dang’s skill is truly remarkable. Even if I were in his place, there’d be nothing I could do.”
“There’s not absolutely no way.”
“Do you have a plan, Kim-hyung?”
“Not a plan, exactly.”
I pointed alternately at the Lab Director and at Dang Gyu-young.
“Flesh Golems regenerate quickly, but it’s not like their defense is that high. One big strike is enough to take them down.”
“If he could unleash his ultimate, perhaps… but the question is whether he’ll ever find an opening. The interference from the sides doesn’t let up.”
“The only option is to read the situation carefully and dodge.”
“Hmm… whichever way you look at it, it’s troublesome.”
Go Hyun-woo let out a low groan.
I glanced briefly at the bracket and said,
“There are at least two people who could pull it off.”
“Indeed. It makes me realize how far we still have to go.”
“No need to get impatient. For now, just watch closely and learn as much as you can.”
“I’ll do that.”
Even as we talked, Dang Gyu-young kept pounding away at her opponent without pause.
Healing orbs appeared from time to time, but the moment Sa Gong-dam moved toward one, the Lab Director stepped in to block the way.
If he tried to maneuver around, shadow vines would lash out to cut him off.
While Sa Gong-dam was tied up like that, Dang Gyu-young strolled over without a care and casually laid her hand on the orb.
Her health was already at 100%, but she gobbled it up just so he couldn’t have it.
I marveled inwardly.
How shameless can you get…!
Brilliant.
Though I couldn’t help but wish she’d taunted him a little more. Maybe using the healing orb as bait for another strike.
In any case, the match stayed one-sided to the very end, and Dang Gyu-young cruised into the round of 16.
[Dang Gyu-young Win]
vs
[Sa Gong-dam Lose]
Stepping off the stage, Dang Gyu-young waved warmly in my direction.
Then she mouthed the words,
– Con.ti.nu.ation.
Go Hyun-woo asked,
“What did she just say?”
“Complicated adult stuff.”
The kids don’t need to know.