Hong Yeon-hwa was slowly approaching the stage as the queue gradually shortened.
All the other participants were avoiding her gaze without exception. Because she looked far more on edge than usual.
Like a volcano on the verge of eruption.
Of course, her actual emotional state was quite different from how she appeared on the outside.
What do I do, what do I do, what do I do.
The closer she got to the front, the more her anxiety and nervousness grew.
Her hand gripping the wand trembled.
In truth, there wasn’t really anything to be this scared about.
She was considered a promising student, one of the top ten out of hundreds of first-years. A standout by any measure.
In the Fixed Zone, she could probably beat most second- and even third-years.But if there was one thing she’d learned from the recent upperclassman sparring matches—
My luck… sucks!
It wasn’t just bad matchups; it was unbelievably bad.
What were the chances of drawing a third-year club president out of all the seniors?
She didn’t know the exact odds, but they had to be pretty low.
Even lower if you considered getting them multiple times in a row.
And yet I beat those odds.
She’d taken three consecutive hits. Dang Gyu-young, Hong Ye-hwa, and Dang Gyu-young again.
Her confidence had plummeted straight through the floor and into the basement, but thanks to encouragement and sparring with Kim Ho and Seo Ye-in, she’d managed to recover….at least a little.
But only a little.
Now that the preliminary rounds were truly about to begin, the trauma started creeping back in.
What if I get matched with some ridiculous opponent again?
And what if she got humiliated in front of a massive crowd?
Could she even show her face after the tournament?
That… can’t happen!
Hong Yeon-hwa trembled violently.
The students who had been sneaking glances at her quickly turned their heads away.
One way or another, she had to get through the preliminary rounds. There was no real choice.
She just really didn’t want to.
Whether he knew how she felt or not, Hong Yeom-baek’s enthusiastic cheers rang crystal clear in her ears.
– Kwahahaha! Go get ‘em, my daughter! Burn ‘em all down!
Ugh!! Dad, please!!
Why was it her job to be the embarrassed one?
Of course, the annoyance stayed internal.
She knew that reacting would only draw more attention and make things even more embarrassing.
Unnie’s probably watching too…
If she lost in disgrace, she’d be coming home to a flame back smash.
Her shoulders felt even heavier just thinking about it.
And then…?
As the next thought surfaced, Hong Yeon-hwa looked around, scanning the crowd.
And soon enough, she spotted Kim Ho.
Seo Ye-in was right beside him.
Of course they’re watching…
Her expression darkened even further.
The pressure now was nothing compared to the earlier matches.
What if I’m the only one who doesn’t make it to the finals, while those two did just fine?
As if they had somehow read her mind, messages from both of them came in one after another.
[Kim Ho: You’ve got this]
[Kim Ho: Just do what you always do]
[Kim Ho: (cheering cat emoji – left)]
[Seo Ye-in: You can do it]
[Seo Ye-in: 5000]
[Seo Ye-in: (cheering cat emoji – right)]
…What does 5000 mean?
Hong Yeon-hwa tilted her head in confusion.
Still, their messages brought her a surprising sense of comfort.
Mhmm… I just need to do what I always do.
So what if she got another bad matchup?
It was out of her hands anyway. If she just gave it her all and lost, there’d be no regrets.
Hong Yeon-hwa looked down at her own hands.
The trembling had stopped.
With a faint smile on her lips, she sent a reply.
[Hong Yeon-hwa: Thanks]
[Hong Yeon-hwa: (tail-wagging puppy emoji)]
Then she looked up and right in front of her was the teleportation portal.
Hong Yeon-hwa stepped into it without hesitation and entered the circular arena.
Moments later, a male student appeared on the opposite side.
[Hong Yeon-hwa 100%]
vs
[Sa Gong-wook 100%]
Sa Gong-wook unsheathed the longsword from his waist and smirked.
“A good matchup. Looks like I’ll get to cut down a promising student.”
From a martial artist’s perspective, a battery-type mage is an easy target.
As long as you manage to get close, you’ve basically secured more than half the victory. So even against a promising student, it feels doable.
Meanwhile, Hong Yeon-hwa was trying to recall a memory.
Where have I seen him before?
Since she had little interest in male students, his face looked familiar but her recollection was vague.
Then it came back to her. He was one of the swordsmen from the Black Faction she faced during finals.
For some reason, he’d picked a fight with Kim Ho back then.
Hong Yeon-hwa’s face turned ice cold.
You’re dead.
***
Booooom—!
The circular arena was engulfed in flames.
The crowd erupted into cheers.
Shin Byeong-cheol was among them.
“Whoa, definitely worthy of the ‘promising student’ title.”
Then, in a subtly amused tone, he said to Seo Ye-in and me,
“Looks like the point inflation’s happening again, huh?”
“We’ll have to keep watching.”
It was only the first match, and no one knew who she’d be up against next. Not even me.
Of course, I had enough confidence to bet 5,000 points on her.
Out of all the first-years, she’s the most likely to win.
Hong Yeon-hwa’s score in duel battles was a bit lower than that of the other promising students, which led to slightly lower evaluations.
But in terms of actual skill, she ranked among the very top even when compared to other first-years and the disciplinary committee.
After going through all that hellish training, it’d be weirder if she wasn’t this good.
She’d also gotten a lot tougher from all the beatdowns she took from me and Seo Ye-in.
In many ways, she was worth betting on as a first pick.
[Hong Yeon-hwa Win]
vs
[Sa Gong-wook Lose]
While Sa Gong-wook staggered out of the arena, his whole body charred black, Hong Yeon-hwa showed not even the slightest sign of fatigue as she calmly rejoined the line.
Then she looked this way and gave a small, shy wave.
As I waved back, Shin Byeong-cheol asked,
“So one of the Group 3 picks is Hong Yeon-hwa. Who’s the other?”
“Well, I don’t know that many people yet.”
I’ve been expanding my network, but the second and third years are still pretty much uncharted territory.
Besides, picking a finalist candidate based only on rumors isn’t reliable or fun. So unless there’s a really good reason, I’m planning to limit my picks to first-years.
There is a third-year, though.
I turned my gaze toward a circular arena in one corner of the stage.
Jegal So-so was gliding across the floor with fluid footwork, swinging her sword effortlessly.
With that level of skill, she was practically guaranteed to make the finals.
But she probably won’t go.
Jegal So-so was the same type as me and Oh Se-hoon.
Which means there’s a good chance she’ll drop out halfway through.
Especially with Namgong Chang-cheon in the second year.
Still, there was no harm in checking. So I sent a message to Jegal So-so, who had just finished her match.
[Kim Ho: Noona]
[Kim Ho: Are you planning to enter the finals?]
[Jegal So-so: Why?]
[Kim Ho: Wondering if you might end up facing Qyu-Qyu]
I gave her a vague excuse and played it off casually.
But the next moment, Jegal So-so calmly scanned the audience and somehow spotted me right away before narrowing her eyes.
[Jegal So-so: You’re thinking of making a bet, aren’t you]
[Jegal So-so: (Detective raccoon emoji)]
[Kim Ho: What kind of sixth sense is that]
[Kim Ho: (Startled raccoon emoji)]
[Jegal So-so: How much did you bet?]
[Kim Ho: I haven’t yet]
[Jegal So-so: Good]
[Jegal So-so: Don’t]
As expected, she had no intention of going to the finals.
[Jegal So-so: But I still feel kind of offended]
[Jegal So-so: (Annoyed raccoon emoji)]
[Kim Ho: sry sry]
[Jegal So-so: I’m coming to catch Qyu later]
[Jegal So-so: Wait quietly]
And what exactly are you planning to do after you catch her…
Anyway, with Jegal So-so out of the running, I decided to stick to my original plan and focus on the first-years.
The top candidates were either Lee Seong-hyun or Song Cheon-hye.
Shin Byeong-cheol must have noticed me going back and forth between the two, because he smirked and said,
“I put my money on Song Cheon-hye.”
“Aren’t the odds kinda low?”
“That’s true, but I’d call it a small yet certain happiness. You should enjoy some happiness yourself.”
I weighed the two options a bit more before answering.
“Five thousand on Lee Seong-hyun.”
“Yeah? Well, he’s not a bad pick either. Do as you please.”
Shin Byeong-cheol seemed to think there wasn’t much difference and let it go without much reaction.
Soon, Lee Seong-hyun and Song Cheon-hye each began their first preliminary match.
Lee Seong-hyun’s opponent was a second-year archer.
The moment the match began, the archer backstepped and rained down a flurry of arrows.
In response, Lee Seong-hyun steadily advanced with a shield as big as his own body.
His turtle-like slow steps gradually picked up speed.
And the moment he came into range, the shield tilted away and a greatsword came swinging down.
Shin Byeong-cheol and I flinched at the same time and muttered in unison.
“Whoa, that’s not a slice… that’s a full-on smack.”
“That landed heavy.”
Meanwhile, Song Cheon-hye was also paired up with a second-year student.
This one was a swordsman with a defensive style.
He cut down or deflected the lightning strikes flying toward him and occasionally countered with sword energy.
Song Cheon-hye had little trouble dispersing the sword energy and kept hurling lightning.
I watched both matches back and forth, making my assessment.
Both of them have a good offensive-defense balance.
Their skill and trait builds were solid. No surprise, given that they were raised by one of the Four Major Factions.
So why did I choose Lee Seong-hyun?
Because Song Cheon-hye had one glaring weakness.
Terrible control.
I heard she trained under the Thunder Lord during the break, but when I faced her recently, I didn’t see much improvement.
Of course, that’s coming from a stagnant water like me..
Usually, she just brute-forces things with her rank.
Unfortunately, this was the Fixed Zone.
Since ranks are locked here, raw skill carries more weight.
Still, she’ll probably hold up for a while.
At least until she runs into someone of equal or higher skill.
From then on, I expect she’ll hit her limit pretty quickly.
That said, this opponent wasn’t quite enough to test the limits of Song Cheon-hye.
At first, she was cutting and deflecting the lightning strikes with ease, but over time, she started to show signs of strain.
Shin Byeong-cheol nodded in satisfaction.
“Blocking them doesn’t really mean stopping them.”
“Because it’s lightning.”
At a glance, it looked like he had blocked it perfectly, but the electric current must have seeped into his body like clothes getting soaked in a drizzle.
That was likely what Song Cheon-hye had been aiming for.
Judging that she had finally gained the upper hand, she summoned a lightning bolt several times thicker than before and struck down with it.
Whooosh-boom! Crash!!
Leaving behind her senior, now sprawled out like a frog, she calmly walked out of the circular arena.
While waiting for her next match, Song Cheon-hye spotted me in the audience and flashed a smug expression.
Well? You saw that, right?
Everyone’s got such sharp eyes.
Why does everyone keep spotting me so easily?
It’s not like I have a particularly distinctive appearance.
Anyway, I gave her a small nod, meaning “Nice job”, then turned back to watch the rest of Lee Seong-hyun’s match.
Even after taking a brutal hit, the second-year senior kept scrambling around, firing arrows while running.
But in the end, he allowed the gap to close once more.
And this time, he collapsed to the ground and didn’t get back up.
The crowd erupted in cheers.
– Waaaaaaah—!
At first, I thought they were cheering for Lee Seong-hyun, but confusion quickly followed.
That match wasn’t impactful enough to get a reaction like that.
I looked around to check, and sure enough, the audience’s attention was focused on a different circular arena.
Two names had just appeared on the scoreboard above it.
[Song Cheon-hye vs. Hong Yeon-hwa]
I exchanged glances with Shin Byeong-cheol.
“I don’t know, but I think there’s something going on with you.”
“…You don’t have to tell me that.”