91 – Baek Yurin and the Ranking Match (5)
091.
“Are you okay?”
A gentle voice whispered in my ear.
When I turned my head slightly, I could see Yoo Seolhyun’s face, with her shiny hair swept back as if melting gold.
Yoo Seolhyun slowly shifted her gaze towards me and pursed her lips.
“It was what Soyeon said.”
She lightly pointed her chin towards Soyeon.
“Isn’t choosing Ju Jiyeon as your opponent in the ranking match not a good choice?”
“Hmm?”
After hearing Yoo Seol-hyeon’s words, I scratched my chin.
Strange, isn’t it? Soyeon must know that she took down several of Sung Yura’s bodyguards, so why is she saying this?
Ah, right. Yoo Seol-hyeon wasn’t at the scene, right? It seems like he didn’t receive a proper report.
“Yes, that’s right.”
Seonari, who was by my side, nodded several times and chimed in agreement.
Every time he shook his head, his long hair, tied on both sides, swayed like a puppy’s tail.
“Ju Ji-yeon… I may not like her, but her skills are the real deal.”
Seonari murmured, looking at Ju Ji-yeon in the stadium with a muffled voice, eventually turning his gaze towards me.
“That guy…do you know that he was evaluated as more than just an active hero in terms of his psychic abilities?”
“Well, yeah, that’s true. His output was quite remarkable.”
Ju Ji-yeon’s psychic abilities were quite powerful for a trainee.
Strength, versatility, universality, destructiveness, defense, mobility, and so on.
It could be said that there was almost no lacking aspect in his ability.
“I’ve even fought against Ju Ji-yeon before…”
“And you didn’t lose?”
“No, I didn’t!”
Seonari shouted with a loud sound.
Seeing him with a flushed face and a determined look, he seemed pretty angry.
“I heard that I suffered a judgment loss. Wasn’t that the case?”
“W-well, it was because of the time limit… the time limit! If we had fought without a time limit, I could have beaten him easily!”
Seonari was only ranked 17th among the rookies, but when it came to close-quarters combat, he could be considered one of the top students.
The fact that Seonari suffered a judgement loss was proof of how strong Ju Ji-yeon was.
“Anyway, what’s with Jin So-yeon? What is she thinking?”
“She seems confident.”
“Hmph.”
Seonari let out a short snort.
“Jin So-yeon?”
“Yeah.”
“From what I’ve seen of her training lately, her skills seem to have improved quite a bit, but she’s not on the same level as Ju Ji-yeon.”
Seonari crossed his arms firmly and nodded alone.
Soyeon, who was only in the top ranks of the freshmen ranking, looked amazed, as if she couldn’t believe how much her skills had improved.
Logically speaking, what Senari said was correct.
It didn’t make sense for Soyeon, who was just a mid-ranked student, to grow to a level where she could compete against the 12th-ranked person in just a few months of effort.
But do you know what, Senari?
“Well then, Senari. How about a bet?”
“What kind of bet?”
“Who will win between Soyeon and Joo Jiyeon.”
“Hmph, obviously Jiyeon.”
“Is that so? Then I’ll bet on Soyeon.”
Soyeon couldn’t be judged by common sense.
Because she is not only the protagonist of this world but also the strongest person in the world.
Soyeon’s extraordinary abilities and latent talents are beyond imagination.
After observing her for a few weeks, I could see that she was unaware of her own abilities, but her incredible powers and talents were gradually awakening.
“Let’s make a bet. The loser fulfills one small wish of the winner.”
“Heh, Jinhyuk, I understand that you want to support Soyeon, but I don’t think Jiyeon will lose that easily…”
“You, Yoo Seolhyun, how about you? Want to join in too?”
“Hey! Did you interrupt me?”
“Huh? Well….”
I ignored Senari’s chatter. Seolhyun glanced at me and then smiled playfully as she replied.
“Then I’ll also vote for Soyeon winning.”
“Huh, really? Seolhyun, why?”
“Well~”
She pointed at me jokingly.
“Seeing Jinhyuk being so confident, I thought there must be something.”
“Oh, no, it’s not like that. How could Soyeon beat Jiyeon….”
Seolhyun blinked as if she couldn’t understand and cautiously voiced her opinion while looking at Senari, who was blinking her eyes as if she couldn’t understand.
“We’ll soon find out who will win, right? Isn’t that true?”
Just as she finished speaking, a chilling announcement followed.
– All students, take your positions. The match between Group F will begin.
The match between Soyeon and Jiyeon was about to start.
Inside the battlefield of the stadium.
“….”
“….”
Jin So-yeon and Joo Ji-yeon are silently facing each other from a slight distance.
Inside the stadium, there are multiple battlefields divided so that multiple students can have 1vs1 duels simultaneously.
Each battlefield is protected by a transparent dome-shaped barrier, and inside there are judges, safety personnel, and others positioned.
In the distance, a scoreboard is visible.
The faces of the students are clear in the large screens of the scoreboard.
Furthermore, countless cameras are tirelessly recording and broadcasting the duels, so that all the people in South Korea will be able to watch.
This is Ji-yeon’s match!
“I don’t know what you’re thinking, Jin So-yeon. Why did you challenge me to a ranking match?”
“….”
Jin So-yeon just silently looks at Ji-yeon with a calm gaze without responding one by one.
“Well, fine. Whatever. How does it matter.”
“….”
“Your choice. I’ll make you regret it.”
“….”
Jin So-yeon pretending to listen with one ear and let it out through the other did not sit well with Ji-yeon.
“Enough with the idle chat. Return to your positions.”
“Yes.”
“Yes.”
The two of them lightly answered the judge and distanced themselves from each other.
“The match will be 10 minutes. If you surrender, get knocked out, or stay down for more than 10 seconds, the match will end, got it?”
Ji-yeon fell into deep thought with a serious face.
Many people are watching this match.
Not only her father, who opposes her becoming a perilous hero, but also Yoo Seol-hyun, who embarrassed Ji-yeon during the entrance exam, and even Kang Dae-han, whom she secretly loves.
Simply winning is not enough when everyone is watching.
I have to overwhelmingly win, overwhelmingly.
After all, Jin So-yeon is nothing more than a mediocre opponent.
It’s not about knocking down with just one or two points difference, but showing overwhelming performance throughout the match to surprise all the spectators.
Being ranked 12th is now a thing of the past.
After entering Union, she has grown even more and is now capable of entering the top 10.
– All students, take your positions. We will begin the match for Group F.
Soon, with the sound of the broadcast announcing the start of the match.
“Well then… 3, 2, 1, start!”
“Alright, Jin So-yeon, let’s see your skills… huh?”
Whoosh!
Jin So-yeon immediately threw her dagger.
A faint magical power imbued in the dagger rapidly attacked.
The sharp dagger flew like an arrow, reaching Ju Ji-yeon in close range.
However.
“The moment the match starts, you try a surprise attack… not bad, Jin So-yeon?”
Suddenly, the dagger slowed down and eventually fell to the ground?
As if blocked by an invisible barrier, the dagger did not reach Ju Ji-yeon.
“I knew it wouldn’t work.”
“You thought this would work against me?”
Ju Ji-yeon smiled cunningly.
She flicked her finger.
Should I give her a slight threat?
Surely Jin So-yeon wouldn’t break this easily, right?
“It would be wise to evade.”
Jin So-yeon quickly moved her feet.
The ground that was just there moments ago was crushed with a thud!
The solid ground split apart like a net.
It was as if it had been compressed by an invisible press.
“You dodged it well?”
“….”
Gravity manipulation ability.
Ju Ji-yeon’s extraordinary ability.
It is possible to create a powerful gravitational field within a certain distance.
It is almost like manipulating gravity and manipulating inertial forces, being able to change the direction of gravity to push or pull opponents.
Using gravity, it is possible to accelerate or decelerate objects, as well as move one’s own center of gravity and fly. Additionally, it is a widely versatile ability that can compress or bounce objects.
Furthermore, it cannot be seen with the naked eye.
From the perspective of an opponent, there would be no other ability as formidable as this.
Ordinary hero trainees would have instantly been overwhelmed and defeated, their morale shattered, as soon as they witnessed her power.
But Jin Soyeon was different.
Rather, she simply nodded her head as if pleased.
“…It seems stronger than what I’ve heard. Rumors might truly be right in saying that she is stronger than an active-duty hero.”
“Are you regretting it now?”
“No, I’m glad things turned out this way.”
Jin Soyeon tightly grasped her shield and sword, lifting the corners of her mouth.
“With this level of ability, she should make a decent sparring partner.”
With those words, Jin Soyeon swiftly stepped forward. She ran towards Joo Jiyeon with great speed. Joo Jiyeon chuckled at the sight.
How foolish. It was nothing more than a simple charge without any tactics. If she had used tactics like Yu Seolhyun does, using magic to confuse her direction while running all over the place, I would have been at a loss. But running straight towards me like that, she’s easy to hit, isn’t she?
“Should I just stop her movements for now?”
Joo Jiyeon flicked her fingers and shot a gravitational field towards Jin Soyeon with the intention of crushing her.
Soon, the intense gravity pressed down on Jin Soyeon’s body.
“Huh? What is this?”
However, for some reason, Jin Soyeon’s body did not stop.
When in contact with the strong gravity, Jin Soyeon’s shoulders twitched and she seemed to momentarily slow down, but unexpectedly, she quickly took another step forward.
Unexpectedly, she escaped the gravitational field and once again ran towards Joo Jiyeon.
An ordinary person would have been so crushed by the powerful gravity that they wouldn’t even be able to breathe properly. But she was able to easily escape from the gravity field like this.
The power must have been quite strong since the range was limited.
Of course, she had lowered the output so as not to cause major injuries, but Jin Soyeon was more than capable of defending against and blocking it.
Could she possibly be a physical enhancement ability user like Seonari?
No, that’s not it.
From what she remembered, Jin Soyeon was a buff-type ability user who could enhance or weaken objects.
Wasn’t it true that she didn’t have the extraordinary ability and physical ability to resist gravity like this, Jin Soyeon?
