“Tap, tap, tap!”
Every time Cheon Hui-ryeong took a step, the sound resonated for a long time.
Her speed seemed as slow as an ordinary swordsman’s.
Nevertheless, the sight of her charging with an expressionless face was somewhat eerie.
Kim Song-cheol quickly cast Lightning Spear.
He intended to use Over Brain for as short a time as possible.
The allowed time was roughly one second.
By the standards of Kim Song-cheol’s overloaded brain, it would feel like approximately five seconds.
*Crackle!*
Magic circles began to manifest wildly in front of him.
Red beams of light erupted from a staggering 108 magic circles, shooting toward Cheon Hui-ryeong.
The bundle of beams flew forward before spreading out to surround her.
At that moment, Over Brain was deactivated.
*Boom!*
A rain of red light poured down on Cheon Hui-ryeong.
Her arms moved in a bizarre circular motion, and she began to strike out in all directions so fast it looked as if she had grown multiple arms.
It was an incredible speed.
One could only vaguely guess how her hands were moving by the trails of black energy left behind.
Watching the situation with a serious expression, Kim Song-cheol clenched his fist.
The deflected beams of light immediately turned back around and flew toward their target again.
*Bang, bang, bang!*
Her hands accelerated even more.
Black energy surged, and dust billowed up whenever a red beam was smashed into the ground.
Soon, the black energy and dust obscured Kim Song-cheol’s vision.
“Fly.”
Kim Song-cheol, who had been peering through narrowed eyes at the thick cloud of dust, suddenly soared into the sky.
At that exact moment, Cheon Hui-ryeong burst through the dust like a storm.
After sweeping through the spot where Kim Song-cheol had been standing just moments ago, she kicked off the ground and leaped into the air without hesitation.
There were several holes in her training jacket.
It was the result of failing to block every single beam of light.
Kim Song-cheol called down a bolt of lightning toward Cheon Hui-ryeong.
It was more of a predicted strike than one based on sight.
It was a spell that applied Fulmen Rubrum to the 3rd Circle Thunder Strike.
It was a much more powerful attack than a simple red light beam.
*Rumble!*
A pillar of red light struck down from the sky.
Cheon Hui-ryeong twisted her body in mid-air. At the same time, black energy shimmered on the back of her hand.
*Clang!*
Amazingly, she raised her forearm and deflected the red pillar of light.
However, the force of the impact skewed her upward trajectory, and she began to fly far away from her target, Kim Song-cheol.
Seeing this, Kim Song-cheol prepared another Thunder Strike, but then—
*Pop!*
The moment Cheon Hui-ryeong reached a height similar to Kim Song-cheol’s, she shockingly kicked the empty air and shot forward at an incredible speed.
This was something even Kim Song-cheol had not fully anticipated.
It was empty air; what on earth was she kicking off of?
At this rate, he wouldn’t be surprised if she could jump higher by stepping on her own left foot with her right.
‘Unbelievable.’
Kim Song-cheol activated Over Brain once again.
He retreated backward at full speed while urgently casting Shield. It happened at the same time Cheon Hui-ryeong’s black fist was thrust forward.
*Shatter!*
The moment the Shield broke, another Shield blocked the way.
When that one broke, yet another Shield appeared.
Cheon Hui-ryeong’s body slowed down as she demolished the Shields, but the energy extending from her fist still flew at him ferociously.
Though the Shields were being replenished infinitely, it was still a case of being overwhelmed by sheer force.
The black energy reached his very nose.
*Shatter!*
The final Shield broke. Deactivating Over Brain, Kim Song-cheol pushed a mass of pure Mana forward with both hands.
It was a desperate measure, but the mass of pure Mana mitigated the impact of the black energy to some extent.
Thanks to that, Kim Song-cheol was able to reduce the damage to simply being slammed toward the ground.
“…Fly.”
Kim Song-cheol, who looked like he was about to crash, skimmed across the surface of the ground before finally landing on his feet.
His face was twisted in a grimace.
His side hurt immensely.
It was the first time he had experienced this kind of pain since starting his life as a Hunter.
A bit of the black energy had reached him despite the pure Mana buffer.
‘I think a rib is broken…’
Kim Song-cheol first attempted emergency treatment with a Heal spell.
The pain subsided slightly.
If Cheon Hui-ryeong hadn’t dispersed her energy at the last moment, several of his ribs really might have shattered.
*Thump!*
Kim Song-cheol jerked his head up at the sound of Cheon Hui-ryeong kicking off the ground.
She had been floating in the sky just a moment ago; he had no idea when she had landed.
Cheon Hui-ryeong closed the distance in an instant.
‘She’s not going to give me time to cast?’
Kim Song-cheol guessed her psychological state.
It actually took a bit of time to use Bolt Bringer.
Cheon Hui-ryeong intended to deny him even that small window.
She likely knew she wouldn’t be able to handle it if a stronger spell came out.
Kim Song-cheol used Over Brain once more.
It was a spell that normally couldn’t be used so frequently, but it was possible because he had kept the load below the threshold.
“Hypnosis, Hallucinate, Haste.”
Kim Song-cheol cast several spells all at once.
He planted a simple suggestion with the hypnotic spell Hypnosis, created clones of himself with Hallucinate, and increased his speed with Haste.
Cheon Hui-ryeong arrived right in front of Kim Song-cheol in no time.
Five Kim Song-cheols were already lined up.
Without hesitation, Cheon Hui-ryeong struck the second Kim Song-cheol.
*Whoosh!*
Her fist swept through Kim Song-cheol’s side.
However, the real one was the fifth Kim Song-cheol.
He took a step forward and quickly thrust his palm toward Cheon Hui-ryeong.
The moment the magic circle was generated, a red lightning bolt shot out from it.
It was the 3rd Circle Thunder Strike.
Originally a spell that fell from the sky, he had altered its direction.
*Boom!*
The red lightning struck Cheon Hui-ryeong in the side.
He expected her to be pushed back, but she stood firm on her two legs.
Steam was rising from her left hand, which was positioned at her side.
She had blocked an attack fired from such a close distance.
As Kim Song-cheol’s eyes widened, Cheon Hui-ryeong’s fist flew toward him.
Over Brain and Haste were still in effect.
Kim Song-cheol narrowly twisted his body to move his upper torso out of the fist’s range.
*Crack!*
The sound of breaking air erupted from the fist as it grazed his ear.
At that moment, the Blind spell activated, obscuring Cheon Hui-ryeong’s vision.
The spell had certainly triggered correctly, but she showed no sign of panic.
With unfocused eyes, she threw her fist once more.
It was a punch aimed accurately at Kim Song-cheol.
Perhaps choosing close-quarters combat had been a mistake.
*Shatter!*
Several Shields appeared to block the front, but they were ruthlessly destroyed. Eventually, Cheon Hui-ryeong’s bare fist slammed into Kim Song-cheol’s abdomen.
“However—”
‘…?’
There was no sensation of impact in her hand.
“Since when did you start hallucinating that I was there?”
Kim Song-cheol’s voice was heard from the right.
As the Blind spell wore off, the first thing she saw was a circle radiating golden light.
It had been hidden inside the illusion.
She turned her gaze to the right.
Kim Song-cheol was standing there.
It was a completely different spot.
For the first time, Cheon Hui-ryeong’s eyes wavered.
“You’d better be prepared.”
When Kim Song-cheol reached out his hand, Il-won emitted a brilliant golden light and moved quickly toward him.
The diameter of Il-won grew larger as the light intensified, and by the time it was positioned behind Kim Song-cheol, it radiated a light so intense it was dazzling.
It wasn’t just light.
A mass of incredibly pure energy was clearly revealing its power.
*Vroom!*
Suddenly, black energy erupted from her entire body and gathered in her fist.
She didn’t know how powerful a spell was coming.
This was checkmate. She had no choice but to decide to counter it with an Esoteric Art.
“But.”
Slipping through the opening while Cheon Hui-ryeong was flustered and gathering internal energy, a pillar of red light erupted from beneath her chin.
‘Oh…!’
With a look of sheer dismay, Cheon Hui-ryeong brought her hands together to block the pillar of light.
The internal energy she had concentrated in one point to prepare her Esoteric Art flowed backward, causing her meridians to swell as if they were about to burst.
Congestion rose up as evidence of internal injury, and at that moment, the pillar of light knocked her hands away and struck her squarely on the chin.
*Boom!*
Her body soared into the air.
*Boom, boom, boom!*
When two more pillars of light struck her shoulder and thigh, her body began to spin.
The final pillar of light that fell from the sky struck her accurately in the solar plexus.
Having taken that pillar of light, she fell to the ground on her back.
She bounced up nearly 30 centimeters before sprawling out in the shape of the character ‘Dae’ (大).
It was fortunate that Kim Song-cheol had adjusted the magic’s output; if he had struck with full power, she would have suffered a very serious injury.
Cheon Hui-ryeong was a mess.
Her body was covered in dust. Her training suit was in tatters.
“Cough…!”
Cheon Hui-ryeong stared blankly at the sky before turning her head to the side and spitting out a handful of blood.
Magic circles were already emitting an ominous aura all around her.
If Kim Song-cheol so much as flicked a finger, a brutal beating would begin.
Cheon Hui-ryeong slowly pushed her upper body up.
“…How on earth did you deceive my senses?”
It was the result of using Hypnosis to plant a suggestion, depriving her of sight with Blind, inducing a sensory disturbance by planting Il-won in an illusion, and moving while hiding his presence with various spells.
It might have looked like he deceived her with ease, but from Kim Song-cheol’s perspective, he was actually busier than when he was pouring out offensive magic.
All those efforts reached their peak when Il-won emitted its light, eventually drawing out Cheon Hui-ryeong’s opening.
“I’m a mage, after all.”
But Kim Song-cheol condensed the entire process into a single sentence.
Cheon Hui-ryeong looked at the smiling Kim Song-cheol before eventually lowering her head and letting out a long sigh.
“Whew…”
Cheon Hui-ryeong stood up. She walked toward Kim Song-cheol.
The magic circles moved along with her.
Cheon Hui-ryeong glanced at the magic circles with a dissatisfied expression but didn’t say anything.
She stopped in front of Kim Song-cheol at a suitable distance.
“…I didn’t expect a day like this to come.”
Cheon Hui-ryeong sighed once more while looking at the sky, then let out a short breath.
She seemed to have made a decision.
She slowly lowered her head and performed a fist-to-palm salute.
“…I acknowledge my defeat.”
“That’s right. You did lose.”
“…I’d like you to listen to what I have to say first. It won’t be a loss for you, either.”
Cheon Hui-ryeong lowered her hands, her eyes shining.
“What is it?”
“Well… are you aware of the monsters that others call Field Bosses?”
“I know them.”
Kim Song-cheol nodded.
He had seen a large black bird when he first came to the D-rank Dungeon.
The pressure back then had been immense.
Though he didn’t know how it would feel now.
“Three types of Field Bosses exist. And if you hunt all three types, you can open the Sang-mun. It means you’ve achieved a single ‘Achievement.’ Did you know this as well?”
“That’s the first time I’ve heard that. What’s a Sang-mun?”
“It is literally a gate that gives rewards. The reward becomes greater the fewer people participate in the hunt. If things go according to plan… you’ll receive a reward that can’t be obtained anywhere else.”
“So, you’re saying we should catch a Field Boss together?”
“To state the conclusion, yes. Everyone can receive the rewards. That is why I am suggesting this to you. You wouldn’t be able to do it alone anyway. But if you wish… I could even get on my… knees. My options are limited.”
“No, wait a minute.”
Kim Song-cheol raised his hand.
“If that was your business, couldn’t you have just said so from the start?”
Cheon Hui-ryeong shook her head.
“I didn’t know you then. But now I do. You are benevolent yet have a fierce side, and though you seem cunning at a glance, you are not wicked and possess deep foresight. What about you?”
She was stubborn, her words and actions were clear, and her inside and outside were the same, giving her a transparent feel.
Those thoughts surfaced naturally.
That wasn’t all he had gained.
Cheon Hui-ryeong had adjusted her attack power during the duel, and Kim Song-cheol had felt that and reduced his magic output as well.
In other words, trust had been built between the two during the duel.
“I’ll have to admit it. I’ve come to know you a bit, too.”
Kim Song-cheol replied.
If they had brought up the business through conversation from the start, how much time would have been needed to build even a little trust?
Especially in a dungeon full of people who would smile while aiming for the back of your head.
But now, he could trust her to some extent.
They had exchanged more information in one duel than in a hundred words.
‘Is this what they mean when they say kids grow up by fighting…?’
When they first met, Cheon Hui-ryeong had asked to spar.
To Kim Song-cheol, ‘sparring’ wasn’t much different from ‘fighting,’ and he had disliked Cheon Hui-ryeong for appearing out of nowhere to pick a fight.
But through this spar, he clearly learned the difference between sparring and fighting.
Cheon Hui-ryeong’s approach was crude but not hostile.
Rather, it could be called friendly.
This ‘Way of the Martial Artist’ was something he didn’t know because he hadn’t learned it in class.
‘I should keep this in mind for the future.’
Kim Song-cheol firmly etched the information about martial artists into his mind.
“If I get the chance, I’d like to have a proper spar with you.”
Cheon Hui-ryeong said.
Aside from everything else, it seemed the defeat was stinging.
“If we do it properly, I’m not confident I won’t kill you.”
Kim Song-cheol shrugged and said lightly.
It was an indirect refusal, but to Cheon Hui-ryeong, it sounded a bit chilling.
The golden circle that had now vanished back into Kim Song-cheol’s body—it certainly wasn’t something that just emitted light.
“Anyway, I’m not saying I’ll do it yet. I’ll decide after taking a look.”
Kim Song-cheol didn’t fully commit.
He solidified his stance by just keeping his foot in the door for now.
“…Fine.”
Cheon Hui-ryeong nodded reluctantly.
“By the way, are the two of us catching it?”
“No, there is one more person.”
She answered simply.