Choi Do-won, the teacher in charge, and two other teachers who would help with the evaluation entered the training ground.
“As announced, first, there will be a grade-by-grade individual battle, and then each first-year student will choose an opponent from the second-year students for an individual battle. The final score will be applied by combining the two matches. That’s all.”
The explanation was simple and clear.
However, the most important explanation had not been given.
“Then we will start the grade-by-grade individual battle right away. The second-year leader, Sophia. Come down.”
“Yes~”
As she, with blonde hair, blue eyes, and a sunny smile, climbed up to the duel arena, Teacher Choi Do-won glanced in my direction and continued.
“The opponent for the grade-by-grade individual battle will be determined by grades. Sophia. Choose the duel opponent you like.”
As expected, Teacher Choi Do-won seemed to have already decided to give Cheong Haram a hand.
The students murmured and expressed their doubts about the changed rules.
『Didn’t they randomly select them last year?』
『That, you know. Last time with Cheong Haram.』
『Ah. That.』
Those who roughly understood the situation all said in unison.
『She’s dead.』
That was a natural assessment.
The previous Han Kang-yoon had shown nothing for a year, and Cheong Haram was the opposite.
Just as I was listening to it silently, someone suddenly stood up and approached me.
It was the second-year runner-up, Hwang Ji-hak.
“After Sophia, it’s my turn.”
I tilted my head at his sudden remark. Seeing that, Hwang Ji-hak continued.
“I’ll choose Cheong Haram.”
“Why?”
It was a natural question. Hwang Ji-hak and I had no connection at all. However, Hwang Ji-hak spoke as if to say, “What are you talking about?”
“Didn’t I say I would repay the favor? It may not be a fundamental solution, but it will buy you some time for now.”
Apparently, Hwang Ji-hak had some connection with the previous Han Kang-yoon, not me.
「𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙤𝙛 𝙞𝙩, 𝙄 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙨𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙨𝙖𝙙𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙮 𝙃𝙖𝙣 𝙆𝙖𝙣𝙜-𝙮𝙤𝙤𝙣’𝙨 𝙨𝙖𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙖𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙔𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙬𝙤𝙡 𝙄𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩.」
But it’s help I don’t need right now. I answered with a slight smile.
“I’ll ask for that a little later.”
“I see.”
Hwang Ji-hak nodded slightly and headed to the duel arena at his called name.
Then he turned his head and added one more thing to me.
“. . .Something has changed. I’ll be rooting for you.”
As was the case in the original work, he was truly a character with his own standards.
Hwang Ji-hak quickly finished the match after choosing an opponent of moderate rank.
After that, Baek Han-sol, who was ranked 3rd in the grade, chose Shin So-ra, who was ranked 4th, and had a close match, and the 5th and 6th in the grade did not take the Comprehensive Combat Practice subject, so it was finally Cheong Haram’s turn, who was ranked 7th.
Cheong Haram stepped up to the duel arena and pointed at me with a bloody smile.
“Don’t stay up there and come down?”
At that, I sighed and got up and headed to the duel arena.
The gazes gathered, and the air was tense.
It felt like a deja vu of the situation in the exchange class a few weeks ago.
When I finally faced Cheong Haram on the duel arena, the teacher who came with Choi Do-won covered the entire duel arena with a barrier technique.
“It’s not fun if it ends too trivially, so shall we make a bet?”
“I’m not interested.”
“Even so, Cheong Juhwa was a toy I cherished. But due to circumstances, I can’t touch her anymore. It has nothing to do with you.”
No, it’s not unrelated.
I was desperately trying to control my expression, feeling like I was going to laugh, and Cheong Haram said to me.
“So, instead, I’ll make you my new toy if you lose. Didn’t you say you were from the same orphanage? That girl in the first year.”
When I realized what Cheong Haram meant and turned serious, she continued to talk with a look of joy.
“Isn’t it funny, since you were abandoned by different parents and called family? Do such children think differently from others?”
This was exactly the kind of behavior I didn’t like. Cheong Haram, who made unnecessary enemies in the original story and created bad endings as if mass-producing them.
I was annoyed when I remembered that, and she, who had the trait of emotional predation, smiled with satisfaction, thinking that she had hit a sore spot.
Just then, the signal for the start of the match rang.
Cheong Haram immediately began to use the magic she had prepared, and I scattered the talismans that Cheong Juhwa had made all around.
Bam!
As much as there was a difference in ability scores, it was Cheong Haram who completed the technique first.
“Illusionary Dream”
Whoo-
An intermediate-level barrier technique that traps the opponent inside and makes them indulge in illusions. The hazy fog began to erode more than half of the duel arena, centered on Cheong Haram, who had cast the spell.
It was a fairly powerful technique, even as a check. As expected, it seemed that she intended to completely subdue me from the beginning and play with me until the end.
However, from the moment Cheong Haram started to construct the technique, I had already noticed it.
「𝘼𝙨 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙙, 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙞𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙪𝙩.」
That’s only natural, since Cheong Haram appeared as the enemy of the protagonist, Yoo Ha-on, in the first part. Of course, I’ve fought with her several times.
What I had prepared for her was a counterattack.
Click.
“Illusionary Dream”
Whoo━
A new fog began to gush out, centered on me, who had formed a hand seal. Cheong Haram, who confirmed it, broke her poker face and exclaimed in disbelief.
“How, the Cheong family’s secret technique. . . . . . !”
While saying that, she was steadily moving her hands to unfold a defensive technique. In such a case, it was obvious that the spells of both sides would be mixed and would become uncontrollable.
However, that action was too orthodox.
That’s why it was so pitiful.
「𝘼𝙨 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙙, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙋𝙑𝙋 𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙠𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙢𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧.」
As I mentioned before, I achieved the 7th place in the world ranking as a shikigami summoner in the latest virtual reality game.
In terms of equal specs, there were only six people in the world who could beat me.
“Phantom Nightmare.”
Puhwahak!
From my shadow, something with an ominous aura rose up.
It looked hideous, modeled after a ghoul that lives in the deep sea. And from it, black fog oozed out and began to erode Cheong Haram’s and my barriers.
“Ugh! W, what the hell.”
Cheong Haram was bewildered by the strange and grotesque shikigami that she had never seen before.
I grinned and started to approach Cheong Haram like that.
“. . . . . .Your useless nature. I’ll definitely fix that today.”
From now on, Cheong Haram will fall into a nightmare from which she will never be able to escape.
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