Chapter 56 – Finals (2)
[Rookie of the Year contest organizers respond to the ‘Ada Bomber’ controversy.
The tournament side announced its position on the recent controversial player, ‘Ada Bomber’, a participant in the Rookie of the Year competition. Mr. A, who is in charge of organizing the tournament, said, “I think it is wrong to take away the opportunity to prove the person’s fighting ability just because the nickname is strange. The gate does not cover nicknames,’ he said, revealing that he would tolerate the player’s participation in the competition.
However, the unsoundness of the nickname was acknowledged, and it was revealed that there would be measures such as mosaicing the nickname into ‘xx bomber’ when the player participates.]
“What is the xx bomber?”
Senior Yoo-jeong was giggling at the news article that came out today. Ichie helped while looking at my cell phone.
“It feels a little cooler because there are two x’s.”
“Yes? I think so.”
It was already spilled water. I’d rather go out boldly. We were in the waiting room. Unlike the pale and gloomy atmosphere of the stadium during the preliminaries, active heat was seething here now. I sat in the waiting room, holding my shield and spear tightly, overflowing with spleen energy.
On my head was a helmet that hid my face. It was a piece of equipment that the organizers considered to protect my face when my nickname and name were exposed. The helmet was meant to cover only the face, so it was soft to the touch, and the ears were exposed.
“I feel like a gladiator.”
At my words, senior Yoo Jung smiled. Ichie said as he tapped my helmet.
“Fit well.”
I really felt like a warrior, so I shrugged once. Let me stretch out my chest,
People gathered in the amphitheater. We were going to hit and fight right in the middle of it. The opponent is Oh “Howling” Min-young. She was a woman I felt a little strange thinking that the other person was a woman. I once imagined a knight that I would emerge victorious from.
[Defeat Ada Bomber Jung Soo-Hyeon and Howling Oh Min-Young]
[Howling Oh Min-young loses to Ada Bomber Jung Soo-hyun]
[Ada Bomber Jung Soo-hyun, Howling Oh Min-young kneel.]
“This is complete garbage.”
What? Is it a villain who eats opponents? No matter what article you think about, the opponent has become an idiot.
I laughed and prepared my equipment again. The shield was harder than ever, and the spear was as heavy as ever. I couldn’t help the damage my opponent would receive if I won. Didn’t it originally say that the world is only merciful to the winners?
Shouts were heard from beyond the waiting room. Senior Yoojung and Ichie were cheering me on. She seemed to have no regrets about not being able to make it to the finals. I said.
“It makes sense. Thank you for coming to support me like this.”
Ichie nodded at my words and replied:
“It’s a team. So cheer me on.”
It was time to leave in a little while. The stadium monitors were already showing the opponent preparing. ‘Howling’ Minyoung Oh took her big loudspeaker and hardened her spleen face. She was desperate, as if she could never lose.
I somehow felt like I had become the bad guy. But I couldn’t help it. The world of competition is a harsh law. I stood up and looked at the two of them. Senior Yoojung was still smiling with a smile on her face. I told them both.
“Then I will go.”
“Bye.”
Ichie said. Senior Yu-jeong shook his hand. I grabbed my shield and spear and turned around. A magnificent arena was visible through the dim light. A faint gray light was shining brightly from the passage of the young arena. The opponent was shaking the loudspeaker with his hand. She gnashed her teeth and shot fierce eyes at me.
She seemed to have a lot to say to me. As I stood forward with my shield and spear, I heard the announcer’s voice.
[Ah, the moment I speak! Bomber! Jung Su-hyeon has appeared!]
Bomber. After removing the letters attached to the front, it became a good name for Woollim in its own way. On the electronic display board, the two letters in front of my name were removed and only “Bomber” Was displayed. Cries of people were heard. It was a grand shout, as if swept away in the middle of an exuberant cheering squad. There were also people booing.
I was distracted by the noise. My stomach was a little tense and I broke out in a cold sweat. To shake off the tension, I responded by waving my spear and shield once like a gladiator.
Amidst the cheers, a gentle booing could be heard, like the sound of reeds in a hurricane.
They seemed to support Oh Min-young. I couldn’t afford to react to each of their jeers. I thought that if I just lifted the spear shield and performed, the tension would be relieved, but my mood didn’t improve much. Oh Min-young took up the loudspeaker and glared at me with her pale face. She wasn’t as beautiful as Yu-jeong and Ichi-e, but she had a charming appearance in her own way. She shouted at me
“Dirty bastard! How much am I on the internet because of you… !”
Since the voice itself is a woman with an awakening ability, her voice resonated throughout the arena. The people who had been cheering all at once fell silent. As the noise dissipated, I was able to find some peace. She was grinding her teeth. She looked back at me and tried to say something, but the referee raised her hand.
“Now, since we are on air, please refrain from swearing. Let’s play a healthy and well-mannered game.”
“Oh, sorry.”
She bowed her head to the referee once, as if she had never cursed at me, then looked at me fiercely again. The referee restrained us, then bent her hand into a remembrancer and said.
“Both sides, say hello.”
We faced each other face to face and bowed our heads. Even at the moment of greeting her, she was glaring at me with her vicious eyes open. Inside the helmet, I tightened my eyes and gathered my heart.
The referee raised his hand, and the lights on the electronic display board came on. A large number 3 was displayed, and the referee said.
“The count is over, and when the signal goes off, the match begins. Then, please prepare in place.”
Oh Min-young brought her loudspeaker to her mouth. I knew how she fought from watching her previous fights with Oh Min-young. As soon as the match started, she used a tactic to beat her opponent out of the field by blasting sound waves through the loudspeaker.
Her first opponent entered the game with no monitoring of her at all and was blown away without a single display of her abilities, while the second opponent used her earplugs to brace for her sound attack, but in the end Couldn’t stand her pressure and flew away.
Will I be able to hold on? She was waiting for the game to start. I lowered my stance and raised my shield forward. And I prepared to stick the spear into the floor.
The count is reduced to 2. I took a deep breath to calm my nerves. Oh Min-young was breathing heavily and glaring at me. Everyone who had been cheering was staring at us with bated breath.
Count 1. Minyoung Oh took a deep breath. I turned the window upside down. It was a blunt spear, but the ground was soft enough to drive it.
Count 0. An emergency bell-like signal announcing the start of the game rang, and Oh Min-young exhaled and screamed.
“Quaaaaa!”
I drove the spear into the floor with all my might. I tilted my shield at an angle and lowered my stance as much as possible. A fierce wind blew up a beat late to her screams. My shield swayed as if a large chariot had hit it. I had to hold on to a body that looked like it would jump out at any moment.
The storm quickly passed. But another storm was waiting with bated breath. I didn’t have time to hesitate. I quickly got up and grabbed the spear with my white shining right arm. I tried to pull out the spear, but it was not pulled out at once because it was driven deeper than I thought.
“Huh?”
While I hesitated in embarrassment, she pointed at me with the loudspeaker once again. I had no choice but to raise my shield once again and hide behind it.
“Quaaaaagh!”
“Fuck!”
A strong impact, like a crushing hand, hit the shield again.
The shield began to break little by little. When hit with a beam, if the strong impact partially broke the shield little by little, the impact Oh Min-young applied now gave the feeling of pressing down the entire shield with a large hammer. Clutching my shield with cracks everywhere, I raised my head again.
It should be longer now. One wrong hit would shatter the shield, and I would have to bear the noise with my bare body.
Oh Min-yeong’s field of vision must have seen my shield shatter. She was grinning wide as she caught her breath. I held the spear once again. This spear was so deeply embedded that it could not be pulled out anyway.
So what should I do?
She watched my actions as she caught her breath. I raised my shield wide to block my path once more.
I didn’t know what kind of expression she made when she saw it. I kicked the window sill and broke it while hiding my face. A short stick floating in the air. However, Oh Min-young did not know that I broke the spear pole.
As soon as I put my shield away, I hurled the spear with all the strength of my right arm. All the strength of his right arm, which had been shining white, was concentrated on the spearhead, and it seemed as if he was shooting white bullets. Oh Min-young, who was breathing hard for her, stiffened as it was. I picked up my shield and started running.
The spearhead exploded when the loudspeaker was hit correctly. In an instant, sparks flew through the loudspeaker, sending out black smoke.
“Kyaaaaagh!”
Oh Min-young heard her screaming and coughing. I saw her cover her performance. I grabbed the tip of her shield with my weight on her before she regained her senses, and swung it with all her might.
The wind roared. Over the crackling sound came the murmur of the audience. The sound of cheers pushed my back. Oh Min-young frowned and looked at me. Her lion crest was flying toward her head.
“You… !”
Empty!
With a cool sound like drumming, Oh Min-young fell to the floor. I caught her breath and looked down at Minyoung Oh. She clutched her head, trying to get back up somehow, but then she rolled over her eyes and collapsed.
