Chapter 447: Qyu Qyu Round of 16 (1)
The Next Day.
While watching the round of 16 matches, a bright voice rang out from somewhere.
“Hi, hi!”
The owner of the voice was, of course, Han So-mi.
Next to her stood the Sword Queen, but unlike usual, she had changed her appearance to match our age group.
She was even wearing the Dragon Slayer Academy uniform, along with a hat and sunglasses as if trying to hide her face.
Even so, since her overall appearance still resembled her original form, and she was walking around with Han So-mi, it wasn’t hard to figure out who she was.
Apparently, Go Hyeon-woo realized it too and jumped to his feet, ready to show respect, but I stopped him with a wave of my hand.
“Just stay put.”
“…Okay.”
“She must have a reason for walking around like that. No, she has to have one.”
There’s no way the great senior of seniors, the Sword Queen, would wear a school uniform just for fun, right?
She wouldn’t do something so ridiculous.
There had to be a reason. Absolutely.
Perhaps having caught on to my train of thought, the Sword Queen’s face twitched with irritation.
“There is a reason, but you’re getting on my nerves. Can I just flick your forehead once?”
“Please take it as playful mischief from a junior. What brings you here?”
“Need to talk to you for a bit. In private.”
The Sword Queen gestured with her chin toward somewhere behind her.
Seo Ye-in immediately stared at me with suspicious eyes.
“Playboy—”
“That’s not it.”
I cut her off firmly.
I’ll admit to a lot of things, but not that.
Then I got up from my seat and said,
“I’ll be right back.”
“Okay.”
Soon, we walked to a corner of the arena.
The Sword Queen went straight to the point.
“The witch is coming for you.”
“I see.”
I didn’t bother asking how she found out.
Most likely, she used the Wall of Wisdom.
When I nodded without resistance, a strange light passed through the Sword Queen’s eyes.
“…You’re not surprised?”
“It’s nothing new.”
The witches and I had a deep, irreconcilable grudge.
They’re threats to world peace. There’s no way we could ever get along.
And it seemed like they didn’t have a good opinion of me either, so it was entirely plausible that the Witch of Exhaustion would try to eliminate me.
Seeing how quickly I accepted the situation, the Sword Queen spoke again, as if slightly relieved.
“I’ve been assigned to guard you for the time being. That’s why I’m dressed like this.”
“Understood.”
So there was a reason, after all.
If she walked around in her usual outfit, too many people would recognize her, and it would unnecessarily draw attention.
Then the Sword Queen spoke, her face full of irritation.
“Hey, and what’s wrong with wearing a school uniform anyway? It’s not like it looks weird or anything.”
“It doesn’t look weird at all. In fact, I think it suits you very well.”
“You sound like you mean something else.”
“Surely not. Let’s head back now.”
Before she could press further, I quickly took the lead.
When we returned to the spectator seats, a match had just ended.
Through the speakers, Seo Cheong-yong’s voice rang out.
“Alright, moving on to the next match! Contestants, please get ready!”
[Dang Gyu-young vs Kang Dae-san]
The Sword Queen looked down at the arena and spoke.
“A daughter of the Dang family, huh. If she had learned hidden weapons or even pursued martial arts properly, she could’ve become great. What a waste of talent.”
“I think she still has a lot of potential in the field of magic.”
The Sword Queen gave me a sideways glance.
“You sound awfully confident.”
“We’ve known each other for quite a while.”
“Is that so? Do you think she’ll win?”
“It’s too early to say for sure. But she won’t go down easily.”
After all, I was the one who trained her personally.
***
Thick plate armor covered Kang Dae-san’s entire body.
In one hand, he held a wide tower shield. In the other, a long metal rod.
After finishing his equipment check, Kang Dae-san stared at Dang Gyu-young across from him for a moment.
“…Unexpected. I didn’t think you’d make it this far.”
“As you can see, I’ve improved quite a bit.”
“I’m not talking about your skills, but your will. Isn’t this the first time you’ve taken a tournament this seriously?”
“Well, you’re not wrong.”
“Now I’m curious. What changed you?”
Dang Gyu-young raised the corners of her mouth slightly.
Then she glanced toward one section of the stands, then another.
“There are two people I want to impress. I’ve been talking a big game too. And…”
Suddenly, a bat made of shadow appeared in her hand.
She pointed it directly forward and continued.
“…there’s also someone I’ve been wanting to beat up.”
“I see. Understood.”
After three years of getting beaten up by the discipline committee, it’s no wonder she’d want to settle the score a little.
But will things really go the way she wants?
Kang Dae-san slammed his tower shield onto the ground.
Thud!
“I’ll be the judge of how strong that will really is.”
“Feel free to look forward to it.”
And with that, the countdown began.
[3]
[2]
[1]
[Start!]
[Dang Gyu-young 100%]
vs
[Kang Dae-san 100%]
Kang Dae-san advanced with his shield in front and a metal rod trailing behind, gradually picking up speed.
Watching him, Dang Gyu-young pouted.
“So boring, honestly.”
“I simply pursue the proper path.”
“Of course you do.”
Dang Gyu-young replied indifferently, waving her hand.
The shadow at her feet stretched out to both sides, and two human-shaped figures abruptly rose from it.
One was a man in a lab coat, the other a woman wrapped head-to-toe in twisting vines.
The Lab Director and the Vine Queen.
The Vine Queen quickly moved to the side, while the Lab Director stepped forward to face the enemy.
At the same time, his upper body and both forearms swelled like balloons.
It was the manifestation of a Flesh Golem’s traits.
Kang Dae-san, having seen previous matches, was well aware of this.
The strategy was obvious.
Use the golem to block me and the vines for interference.
Of course, just knowing the plan didn’t mean he was going to change his approach.
He was a knight.
And in this situation, there was only one thing to do.
Break through head-on.
A faint light began to radiate from Kang Dae-san’s entire body.
He had buffed himself.
Maintaining that state, he accelerated even more and charged forward.
At the same time, the metal rod in his hand seemed to melt and reform into a thick, long lance.
In the next instant, Kang Dae-san collided with the Lab Director using his lance.
Boom!
He tore through, piercing a hole the size of a human torso.
Dang Gyu-young clicked her tongue inwardly.
Knew he’d break through.
He had fully committed to the charge with added buffs. If he hadn’t broken through, that would’ve been surprising.
With that much damage done, it would take some time before the golem could regenerate.
But of course, Dang Gyu-young had planned for that eventuality.
In fact, this is the perfect opportunity.
After a powerful offensive, there’s always an opening.
Just as Kang Dae-san was slowing down to stop, the Vine Queen extended shadow tendrils toward him.
At the same time, Dang Gyu-young charged in.
Whoosh!
The shadow bat swung down, cutting through the air with explosive force.
Just as the shadow bat was about to smash into her opponent’s head, a broad tower shield rose to block the strike.
Thud!
The shield lowered a beat later, and Kang Dae-san swung a mace.
It had already shifted form from the lance.
Dang Gyu-young tilted her body slightly and spoke.
“So that didn’t land. Was it too obvious?”
“There wasn’t much else you could’ve done.”
Shadow vines wrapped around Kang Dae-san’s waist and limbs, but they didn’t seem to hinder his movement much.
After all, as a knight-class fighter, his motions weren’t that large to begin with.
Dang Gyu-young weaved left and right, swinging her bat again and again… but every time, it was blocked by the shield.
Thunk!Thud!
[Kang Dae-san 99%]
“……”
Dang Gyu-young stepped back for a moment, then swapped out her shadow bat for a pair of shadow daggers, one in each hand.
Kang Dae-san gave a small nod.
“Seems you’ve figured it out. Blunt attacks won’t work on me.”
“……”
Dang Gyu-young stole a glance at the Lab Director. His regeneration was almost complete. He looked ready to fight again.
Without delay, she launched a three-pronged assault with her undead allies.
“This all you’ve got?”
Just like before, Kang Dae-san paid the Vine Queen no mind.
Instead, he glanced between the other two, then suddenly channeled a surge of mana into his mace.
He stepped in toward the Lab Director and struck down with a single, devastating blow.
Boom!
The mace crushed not only the Lab Director’s head, but his chest as well.
Kang Dae-san spun on his heel instantly.
“Blades are indeed more effective than a blunt weapon. Because they can target weak points. However…”
Clang-clang!
Both daggers were blocked by the tower shield.
“You really think I’d expose my weak points so easily?”
“Knew it.”
As soon as she said that, Dang Gyu-young kicked off the ground and retreated.
The mace slammed down a split second later, right where she’d been.
Booooom!
[Dang Gyu-young 100%]
[Dang Gyu-young 97%]
The shockwave alone had dealt damage.
But Kang Dae-san wasn’t finished yet.
He leapt after her and brought the mace down once more.
Boooom!
[Dang Gyu-young 95%]
Another burst of shockwave damage.
Even the shadow vines had been torn away.
The lab director’s body had almost fully regenerated in that short time, but Kang Dae-san charged at him without hesitation and smashed him to pieces again.
Boom!
“Your regeneration speed is definitely fast. If there had been another one like you, things would’ve gotten tricky.”
“No kidding.”
Dang Gyu-young clicked her tongue in frustration as well.
She had only recently learned Shadow Extraction, so she had just two slots to use.
If she had registered two powerful undead, it might’ve been manageable. But pressed for time, she’d hastily filled a slot with the Vine Queen, and that had come back to bite her.
Preparing for his next attack, Kang Dae-san once again buffed his entire body.
A clear glow of mana gathered on his mace.
Seeing that, Dang Gyu-young thought to herself:
If this drags on, I’ll lose.
The lab director was doing a good job keeping his attention divided, and she was confident in her evasive skills, so she wouldn’t be taking any direct hits.
But the shockwaves were still chipping away at her, little by little. The gap in health would only grow wider over time.
Of course, she still had one more card to play.
She’d planned to save it for the quarterfinals or maybe the middle of a match—
But what’s the point of holding back?
Might as well use it now.
With that, the shadow daggers in both her hands vanished.
And in their place, the shadow club reappeared.
Kang Dae-san furrowed his brow.
“I don’t know what you’re thinking. I already told you blunt weapons don’t work on me.”
“……”
Instead of answering, Dang Gyu-young raised the shadow club high above her head.
[Solitary Stand]
Whoooosh…
The Vine Queen and the lab director dissolved into black smoke and were completely absorbed into Dang Gyu-young.
A massive surge of dark energy rippled from her body.
Kang Dae-san’s expression turned serious.
This isn’t normal.
Did she strengthen herself by destroying her own undead?
Of course, no matter the situation, a knight’s duty was always clear.
Face it head-on.
Without hesitation, he began to charge, picking up speed as he went.
And the moment she came within striking range, he swung his mace.
Dang Gyu-young met him head-on, swinging her shadow club.
Boooom!
The impact was so powerful that the arm holding his mace was knocked backward.
His eyes widened in shock.
This kind of destructive power…!
But there was no time to be stunned. The club was already swinging again.
Kang Dae-san twisted his body desperately, bringing his shield up in defense.
Boooom!
The force of the blow sent him stumbling back several steps.
[Kang Dae-san 99%]
[Kang Dae-san 95%]
Dang Gyu-young grinned.
“You said blunt weapons don’t work?”
Then just hit harder.