My mind snapped to attention.

"Hong Yeon challenged me to a duel?"

—"Yes! The student council is in an uproar! The rumor has already spread like wildfire among the other students!"

So she actually did it.

"When is it scheduled?"

—"It's probably this afternoon."

I took out my smartphone and checked the school app. Sure enough, it was set for 4 p.m. today. Seojin, who had overheard our conversation, adjusted his glasses. "What will you do, Tower Master?"

"I'm not sure."

Why would someone of her stature keep taking an interest in me? Was it simple curiosity or was this the student council's way of pressuring me for shaking things up at the school? There were too few clues to do anything but guess.

"The early graduation exam is coming up soon anyway, isn't it? I don't think there's any need to accept the duel."

"Hmm."

Seojin was right, I could just ignore it, but I was curious about the so-called greatest talent in the hunter world. I knew I'd be outmatched, but I wanted to see how far I could push myself.

I was a third-order mage who opened the third floor of the Magic Tower. I needed a more objective measure of my skills than just titles.

'Now, what should I do?'

* * *

The next day, in a waiting room of the Academy's central gymnasium.

"Yes, I know," Yeon said, holding her smartphone to her ear. She furrowed her brow, clearly displeased. "Why do you keep pushing that job onto me?"

—"Aw, come on, just do it. It's for the best," a voice chirped over the phone.

Yeon let out a deep sigh.

"This is the only time."

—"Oh, so you'll do it? Thanks! Where are you headed now?"

"In five minutes, I have a duel with Kim Yusin. Because of you."

—"You played hard to get, but you had it all set up, didn't you? Hmmm, you're so cute."

"Shut up. I'm hanging up."

Yeon ended the call. There was a knock at the door.

"Ms. President! It's almost time."

"I know."

Dressed in a practical training uniform with a sword at her waist, she left the room. When she opened the door, a girl with a voluminous bob haircut jumped in and clung to her arm. It was Seulah Yoon, the head of the student council's operations department.

"Let's go! A ton of people showed up!"

Yeon detached Seulah from her arm. "…I wanted to proceed quietly with a private duel."

"Hehe, what can you do now that it's turned out like this? I don't know how people found out."

"Are you sure you didn't leak the information?"

"N-No!"

Her reaction said otherwise. Yeon sighed lightly and walked outside with Seulah.

"Whoaaaaa!"

"It's really Hong Yeon!"

As soon as she appeared in the gymnasium, the massive crowd roared.

"You're here, Ms. President," said Seunghyun Kim, the third-year head of general affairs, with a laid-back attitude.

"Welcome, Ms. President," said Hoseung Oh, the fourth-year head of the athletics department, bowing deeply.

These three, including Seulah, were Yeon's self-proclaimed loyal followers. After exchanging greetings, Yeon walked to the center of the gym. She looked around and remarked, "It seems Kim Yusin isn't here yet."

"M-My apologies! I have people looking for him now!" Hoseung, a man of considerable bulk, fidgeted nervously under her gaze.

Seulah, following behind, shrugged. "Don't you think he's just hiding somewhere until the duel time is over because he's scared?"

"Idiot, if he was scared, he wouldn't have accepted in the first place," Seunghyun said, cleaning his ear. The five swords on his back clinked with every step. He blew the earwax from his finger. "My complaint is that, procedurally, he should have to beat all of us before challenging the president."

"There you go, talking crap again. What are we, the Four Heavenly Kings from a video game? Does he have to beat us all to move up?"

"Ahem, this is why I can't talk to kids who haven't been in the army. What's important is procedure and formality. Back in my day…"

"The draft was abolished ages ago. Why are you still so proud of your military service?"

While the three of them chattered, Yeon walked ahead alone and stood in the center. Not only were there Academy students, but also outsiders and scouts who had already caught wind of the event, and they were all filming.

"…How dare that bastard make the president wait!" Hoseung, his face beet red, was frantically trying to contact someone. When Yeon's gaze fell on him, he hurriedly bowed. "Please wait just a little longer! He'll arrive before the match starts! Haha!"

Yeon nodded expressionlessly, but Hoseung, his face pale, tore at his hair.

'She's mad! It's all over!'

Just then, the Academy staff member officiating the duel stepped forward. He glanced at his watch. "One minute left. If Kim Yusin does not attend within the time limit, the duel will be concluded, and the winner will be Yeon…"

"Sorry I'm late."

Just then, the door on the opposite side opened, and I appeared.

"Whoaaaaaaaaa!"

The students, who had been anxiously wondering if the big match would be canceled, let out a roar. Seunghyun and Seulah smirked, while Hoseung's expression twisted into something almost demonic.

Ignoring the commotion, I leisurely walked to the center of the gym.

"Welcome," Yeon said, bowing her head.

"Yeah."

I was busy stretching but raised a hand to acknowledge her greeting.

"You bastard! How dare you be so rude to the president!"

"Ugh, someone please stop this old boomer!" Seulah yelled, trying to hold back the enraged Hoseung.

Meanwhile, the stars of the show walked toward each other for the procedural handshake.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Yes."

"What possessed the great Student Council President to want to fight me?"

Yeon let out a soft sigh. "I'm sorry, but it wasn't my decision."

"Really?"

I nodded. I had expected as much.

"However, I do have a personal interest in you…"

I gave her a questioning look.

She glanced at my right eye before lowering her head. "Never mind. I look forward to a good match."

"Same here."

The two of us shook hands lightly and separated. Staff members approached and helped me put on a mana suit. Seulah and Hoseung rushed over to help Yeon.

Once the mana suits were on, a durability gauge for each appeared on a large screen. Even though it was a duel, they couldn't have students fighting to the death, so the rule was that the first person whose mana suit durability reached zero would lose.

"We will now begin the duel between first-year Hong Yeon and second-year Kim Yusin."

"Woooooooooah!"

A thunderous roar erupted, followed by a sharp 'BEEEEEP!'—the buzzer signaled the start of the duel. I slowly drew up my mana and synchronized with Ea.

'Why isn't she attacking?'

If she had done her research, she would have known my fighting style. But my opponent stood still, as if rooted to the spot.

'Is she letting me make the first move?'

I took my time, leisurely completing a magic circle, then slowly bent my waist. I lifted my heels and brought my hands down, brushing them against the soles of my shoes. Black smoke billowed out from under my feet. Straightening up, I looked at Yeon.

"Aren't you going to draw your sword?"

"It's fine," she replied. "Using a real sword would be too dangerous."

"Hmm."

I pondered for a moment, then shoved both hands into my pockets.

"This should make it a little more fair, right?"

Yeon's eyebrow twitched. "A duel is not a game."

"I could say the same to you."

That was enough of the mind games. I examined Yeon's status window.

Name: Hong Yeon

Unique Ability: Guardian

Personal Traits: [Child of Divinity Lv.3], [Sword Emperor Lv.10], [Blessing of the World Tree Lv.10], [Inviolable Lv.10], [Overgrowth Lv.8] [Mastery Lv.8], [Iron Wall Lv.6], [Prophetic Eye Lv.6], [Curse Immunity Lv.5], [Combat Logic Lv.5]

Basic Stats: [Strength 105], [Stamina 73], [Agility 60], [Magic Power 30]

Special Stats: [Divinity 43], [Insight 25], [Focus 15], [Luck 9], [Will 6], [Instinct 4], [Leadership 3]

Total Stats: [373]

'…What a monster.'

Truly, since gaining the ability to see others' status windows, I had never seen such a monster. Her basic stats were one thing, but those personal traits were overwhelming in both quantity and quality. And unlike me, she hadn't received artificial benefits from becoming a Tower Master or grown through a system of trials. And yet, she was this strong.

I could see why people called her the girl who received all the blessings of the Overlay. At this point, she shouldn't just be called the hope of Korea, but the hope of humanity. If she fully matured and entered the hunter world earnestly, couldn't she grasp the key to escaping the threat of these damn monsters?

My mind raced as I took a deep breath. After finishing the long inhale, I looked at her. My taunt about her sword had been pointless; her caution was entirely justified.

'Fwoooooooosh!'

Mana swirled around her as if to protect her. The sheer majesty of it was enough to cause a large-scale natural phenomenon. With my Sage's Eye, I could see the flow of mana, a sight different from what others saw.

It wasn't a simple vortex.

'Vwwwm!'

All the mana in this place was gathering and embracing her, as if the mana itself was her guardian. As if the world itself was trying to preserve her existence.

-Tower Master, be careful. A mana dissociation is occurring.

The mana in the atmosphere, which I thought I had under control, began to be sucked toward her. Even the mana from the Guide Arrow magic circle I had deployed was being pulled away, disrupting the construct.

Just by standing there.

She was the natural enemy of a mana wielder like me.

And so, my heart pounded.

Instead of drawing her sword, she raised her fists into a flawless fighting stance. It was so perfect I wanted to take a picture and hang it on a wall somewhere.

I admired it internally as I slowly bent my waist. And then, I froze.

This time, a look of puzzlement crossed Yeon's eyes.

'What is he trying to do?'

According to her information, my main skill was shaping mana into arrows and firing them in countless numbers, a long-range style that overwhelmed opponents with sheer volume. She had deliberately given me the first move because she wanted to see its true power, but now there were no magic circles around me. All there was was the black smoke flowing from my feet. And I was bending my knees, as if about to charge.

Charging at her without a plan would be suicide, but for some reason, Yeon couldn't let her guard down. There was something.

In a single moment during that suffocating silence, my body blurred.

Yeon's eyes widened in surprise.

And then I vanished.

Yeon was stunned. For her to lose track of an opponent's movement was unthinkable. Her eyes slowed the world down to comprehend the situation. My body was gone, and the ground where I had stood was rippling, a shape forming on its surface. It looked like a skull.

'Swish.'

The next moment, before she could even perceive it.

I appeared right in front of her.

'Ah…!'

The last thing she saw was the sole of my shoe, approaching with a trail of black smoke.

'THWACK'

The world's time snapped back to normal as my kick slammed into her defenseless abdomen. Her body, bent into a C-shape, shot away like a lightning bolt and crashed into the spectator stands behind her.

'CRASH!'

She smashed through the stands and became almost embedded in the wall. The space around Yeon's body caved in, destroying the section in the shape of a giant skull marked with an X.

A dreadful silence fell over the arena. No one could speak. Their minds couldn't even process what had just happened. In the complete silence, a few heads creaked as they turned toward the screen.

-Kim Yusin <1,000/1,000>

-Hong Yeon <0/1,000>

It was over. Yeon hadn't lost consciousness, but she stared at the screen in disbelief. No matter how many times she looked, the suit's gauge was, without a doubt, at zero.

I held my perfect kicking stance for a moment before lowering my leg and taking a deep breath. Then I opened my eyes and looked at Yeon fallen over in the spectator seats.

"I told you to draw your sword, didn't I?"

It was the moment a major upheaval struck the Academy.

* * *

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