Break something that cannot be broken. Perhaps it was possible to break this cage and fight on behalf of Lee Su-yeon with this ability. However, Yoon-seok removed his clenched fists from the iron bars.
—No matter how smart and lucky the girl is, she will eventually die.
The King of Steel wasn’t wrong. Even if she passed safely this time, what about the next? There was no way Yoon-seok could help her every floor.
’She has to do it on her own. At least up until the 25th floor….’
The Queen and the Tower. Yoon-seok had determined the 25th floor as the time to declare war. If he wanted to use the Last Fortress item, he would have to wait until then. At least until about 300 rankers were left, he thought he should develop his power as a challenger and gather eleven trustworthy colleagues from among the duel rankers.
’Are there two more duels left after today?’
Even if he completed the selection match safely, the duels on the 23rd and 24th floors remained. No matter how good his luck, the enemies he would meet there would be much stronger than now. Therefore, Lee Su-yeon had to go through it independently, as it had been before and after meeting him.
‘…Then again, she never asked for help.’
Yoon-seok smiled. In the end, he was the one who worried and overthought on his own. Lee Su-yeon had never tried to run away from her fights since the beginning. It was a matter of course. Although she might not be as strong as Yoon-seok or the King of Steel, she was also a challenger who had crossed death’s path countless times.
“…”
Yoon-seok decided to empty those useless thoughts and watch. Unlike the previous duel, Lee Su-yeon and her opponent stood and watched each other for a while. But the moment one twitched, they charged.
Booooom-! Whoosh!
Blood was sent flying as the seconds slowed to a tense crawl. It was such a close match that even Yoon-seok couldn’t predict who would win.
’Is it the one who makes a mistake first…?’
Their desperate struggle continued for more than thirty minutes. Yoon-seok had a hunch the winner would be decided in a spur-of-the-moment exchange.
“Falling Meteor.”
It was the opponent who threw their winning move first. They used all their remaining magic to kick start the skill, and a massive burning meteorite quickly descended toward the arena. There was no place to avoid the attack.
However, Lee Su-yeon attempted to break through head-on without any hesitation. Holding her only dagger left in one hand, she flashed toward her enemy’s neck. And that moment-
Smile.
As a smile formed around the opponent’s mouth, a translucent shield unfolded over him.
Whoooooosh-!
Given no command was recited, it must be a power.
’Damn it, did he save up the magic just for this?’
Yoon-seok reached forward, feeling frustrated. His hand was reaching for the cage bars before he realized it. But then Lee Su-yeon’s lips parted-
“Power Breaking.”
At the same time the command was invoked, light emitted from the bracelet Lee Su-yeon wore. The enemy’s shield dissipated.
“Damn bitch.”
Slash-!
“I can’t believe you were hiding this…”
The enemy’s head rolled to the floor. As a result, the meteor disappeared, and the arena brightened.
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「The fifth duel has ended.」
「From now on, you can request each other for a duel.」
Lee Su-yeon won.
‘Was I worried over nothing…?’
Yoon-seok felt somewhat exhausted, watching Lee Su-yeon through the cage. Lee Su-yeon smiled at him and waved her arm high. It was the arm that had been torn off during the duel.
—What’s with those eyes? Did you think I’d lose?
She barely returned after a fierce battle, and yet she joked so brightly.
‘Still, this is normal around here.’
They should be able to smile with one arm cut off. Without that kind of bravery, they wouldn’t be able to continue these duels. Yoon-seok thought for a long time about what to say before responding.
—You did well.
It was a short but meaningful message.
—…The heck, you don’t seem cool at all acting this pretentious.
—I’m not saying that to look cool. I mean it. You did well.
Lee Su-yeon scratched her cheek.
—…Anyway, can I say something to ruin the mood?
—Anything.
Lee Su-yeon complained as if letting out everything she’d been bottling up.
—I thought I was going to die. Why did he have so many annoying skills? Did you see how he distorted space and dodged my dagger?
Confidence aside, she must have felt anxious. Even though she could laugh off killing someone, she hadn’t turned a blind eye to the fact she could be next. However, Lee Su-yeon survived today.
—How can he have all those fraudulent skills? If I hadn’t seen Cheon-ma, I wouldn’t have been able to react.
The experience of following Cheon-ma in their previous mission was a factor leading to today’s victory. Today’s experience would also serve as the foundation for her next. Of course, she would have to survive this selection match first.
—By the way, I guess that macho king doesn’t intend to choose anyone.
The fifth duel was over, so three challengers remained. No one asked the King of Steel for a duel. Regardless of who went first, the remaining two challengers chose each other, entering the grace period.
—Ah, seriously! I went through all that trouble and still have a chance to fight that monster.
—…
Yoon-seok had nothing to say. This was all because the King of Steel wanted to fight him.
—Weak ones aren’t fun? What kind of thoughts does a person like that live with? Please tell me.
—…How would I know?
—Please tell me that’s a joke.
Lee Su-yeon scoffed. Feeling uncomfortable, Yoon-seok turned away. He thought he was different from King of Steel, who liked fighting for the sake of fighting. But before he knew it, he could already imagine being matched with the King of Steel.
—See? I can feel it through your mask. You’re smiling while thinking about fighting him, aren’t you?
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—…Uh, the duel is starting.
He wanted to explain that the King of Steel and him were different, but unfortunately, the duel started. As a result, it became evident that the King of Steel would be randomly assigned with an opponent at the end. If he knew this would happen, he would rather fight the King of Steel instead of choosing the Orc, but…
’Nah.’
Yoon-seok shook his head. After fighting with the Orc and watching Lee Su-yeon’s duel, he could tell. If Lee Su-yeon fought against the Orc, she would’ve 100% lost.
’Aside from her ability, their compatibility is really bad.’
Yoon-seok abandoned his regrets. He made the right choice in choosing the Orc, although it was a little unfortunate that everything depended on luck in the end.
’All I can do is pray that Su-yeon won’t be chosen.’
Yoon-seok focused on the duel. It ended almost instantly. There wasn’t that much of a gap, and both challengers fired off their winning move from the start, and as always, that slight difference determined who survived.
「The sixth duel has ended.」
Without having time to think, the moment everyone was worried about came. The King of Steel’s large form appeared in the center of the vast arena.
“Please, don’t get one…”
“So one of us has to fight one more time? With that monster…”
“He ranked higher than that masked man, so I’ll lose if I go.”
The challengers in the cage muttered.
「Final challenger, please roll the dice.」
The King of Steel, picking up the dice, glanced over everyone behind bars before fixing on Yoon-seok.
“What should I get to fight that guy?”
“…I should have said I didn’t know from the beginning, damn my frivolous mouth.”
“Speak so I can understand.”
At the King of Steel’s question, Blue Meadow sighed.
“That man had the third duel, so you just have to roll three.”
“Sure, three…”
The King of Steel hefted the die in one hand. At the same time, the challengers watching gulped.
Rolling. Thud.
The dice bounced and rolled over the floor before coming to a stop.
“Did I make it…?”
The challengers who were watching breathed out sighs of relief. On the other hand, Yoon-seok froze.
[5]
「Get ready. The duel will begin soon.」
The most problematic situation occurred.
After the countdown, which felt like forever, ended, the King of Steel smacked his lips.
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“Just think of it as bad luck.”
That both of them were unlucky, he wasn’t wrong. The King of Steel didn’t get paired with Yoon-seok.
’Shit…’
He couldn’t help but swear. The worst-case scenario was happening at the very end? Was the Tower playing a sick joke on him?
’I’m the one who made this happen. I have to do something about it.’
Of course, Yoon-seok sat on the sidelines in the battle earlier. He always thought he should let her get through it. But now, if she died here against the King of Steel, it would be a meaningless death…
—Oppa, keep watching. You got it?
With the King of Steel before her, Lee Su-yeon sent a message to Yoon-seok. Did she have a scheme against that guy?
’Yeah, she’s a returnee. She must have a way…’
— I can at least find out about his weaknesses.
‘…’
Lee Su-yeon had already accepted her fate and wanted to help Yoon-seok until the final moment.
—I’m rather glad that I was chosen, not you.
He didn’t understand. She was glad? Why?
—If you fight here now, one of you will die. And you’re going to kill the queen, right? It would be better to have this person as a colleague rather than me.
Still, Yoon-seok didn’t understand. Even if the King of Steel killed her, she would smile and tell him to target the Queen like they originally planned.
“Colleague? Don’t make me laugh.”
“…”
“If you die, that man dies, too.”
Yoon-seok had spoken before he realized it. As a result, Lee Su-yeon made a strange expression that could’ve been either of happiness or sorrow, and the King of Steel smiled behind her.
“That’s still a relief. Doesn’t it mean that if I kill this woman, you will eventually come to find me?”
The King of Steel took a step forward.
“Don’t be nervous, kid. I’ll give you a painless death.”
Yoon-seok didn’t hesitate any longer. He immediately drew his sword and cut down the iron bars that separated the arena from the cages. It didn’t matter whether it was about recruiting colleagues or not anymore. Since he wanted to fight with him so bad, he would do as he wished.
Boom, boom, boom-!
As expected, the iron bars were easily destroyed by {Divine Ultimatum}’s effect. However, Yoon-seok grew still.
“…?”
There was nothing beyond the broken bars. No sun, no shiny soil, no King of Steel, and no Lee Su-yeon. Only complete darkness.
Like the dimension gap he passed through while escaping from Cheonma-dong.
’The iron bars and the arena were separated?’
The moment Yoon-seok realized, his method to help Lee Su-yeon completely disappeared.
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