123
* * *
[Notification: The duel will end immediately if defeat is detected by the Veritas System or if one side forfeits.]
[Notification: The duel begins.]
As soon as the alarm sound disappeared, Choi Jeongwook stepped backward. He could blatantly feel the mana surrounding and rippling around Doun standing before him.
‘Even so, you don’t die here. So somehow I need to persuade that bastard…’
While rolling his eyes trying to buy time, dense mana quickly gathered in one place. If a small magical beast that appeared on lower floors had been nearby, it would have suffocated from the tremendous pressure.
‘Could that bastard be serious?’
Only then did a sense of crisis surge up. Choi Jeongwook swallowed while creating distance.
No matter how much he had used Doun’s mana like his own all this time, was there really need to act like this?
Of course, he thought it was wrong to give harsh words out of concern for Doun’s wellbeing and to personally use part of the magic stone sales proceeds. However, wasn’t coming out with such a murderous attitude too excessive compared to his wrongs?
‘Now that the bulletin board takes his side and sucks up to him calling him number 1, he’s gotten cocky, right? Enough to be burning with sudden revenge now?’
Along with the grinding sound of teeth, irritation began surging. He hadn’t forced him to conquer by pushing his back. It was Lee Doun himself who stepped forward saying he’d do tower conquest.
Of course there was an unfortunate accident, but the suspicions were cleared up and even the guild was dissolved, so what more did he want?
Even when he called to apologize, he avoided it saying he needed time to think and kept blocking his number, but now after over a year, he wanted to determine right and wrong and settle with fists.
‘That ungrateful bastard…’
He had taken care of that dense guy and helped him in every way so he wouldn’t be exploited by worse people, but to repay it with a public duel. No matter how much he was ranked number 1, he should know people’s gazes were scary. Thinking that way, his anxiety seemed to disappear a little.
While Choi Jeongwook thought this in his head, he couldn’t hide his anxious expression. He just gripped his poor wand and glanced at Doun, who wasn’t immediately rushing in despite the duel starting.
“Doun. You should give hyung time to explain, right? This isn’t something to solve with fists. Isn’t that right?”
Though his self-rationalization was finished, Choi Jeongwook poured out words full of patheticness. Hoping he might be able to dig into the soft spots of weak-hearted Doun and at least buy some time. However, as he busily rolled his eyes, the moment he met those blue eyes, he stiffened completely.
A pair of blue eyes that suited his neat features so well were staring at him as if to bind him.
As if asking whether that was all he had to say.
‘Ah. Fuck.’
Only then did Choi Jeongwook realize. That his words could no longer have any influence on Magnetic, who had once believed his words like gospel.
* * *
‘That bastard is really still the same. To the point where I regret even briefly considering going soft…’
Doun swallowed his laughter inwardly. What should he answer to this pathetic stalling asking for time to explain?
Time to explain. Just what did he want to explain? Despite waiting so long, what came back to him wasn’t it criticism packaged in clever words?
‘I’ll just beat him until my anger subsides, then leave before sunset. I can’t make our Samin wait too long.’
Revenge on Choi Jeongwook was of course important. But now Doun had someone who should be placed at the very top of his priorities. So much so that even the time spent wondering how to best beat up Choi Jeongwook felt precious, as he had many things he wanted to try with Samin.
‘If you beat him with something strong from the start, Timer that pathetic bastard might get an incapacitation judgment right away and get bounced to the waiting room. Then it’d end with just one pathetic hit, which absolutely won’t do. When you get tired of playing around with minor skills and beating him! How about delivering a hard right hook to the solar plexus like this, bam!’
‘What?’
‘Hyung is good with physical stuff, so if I teach you, you’ll be able to apply it right away, right?’
A voice that was serious but exuded cheerfulness crossed through Doun’s mind.
Though he had boldly designated Choi Jeongwook as his duel opponent, he was at a loss for how to beat him. When Doun, who had been worrying alone, honestly asked Samin for his opinion, this was the answer he gave.
Though only a few days had passed since the duel system was added, he seemed like someone who had steadily prepared for such situations. After that, methods for one-sided beatings kept popping out of Samin’s mouth. To the point where Doun, who had been listening quietly while embraced, widened his eyes in surprise.
“Doun. Even now, let’s go out and have an honest talk with hyung. I came here because you ignored all my contacts and blocked my number, because I wanted to talk with you.”
Unable to wait for that brief moment of pondering which skill to use first, bullshit rained down. The guy who said he came to talk was firmly gripping armor and a wand, so who would believe these words?
“After this duel ends, a video will be uploaded for everyone to see, so how ugly would it look for us to be punching each other? What would people say?”
When he didn’t react, the words got faster as if impatience had reached its peak. Eventually Doun laughed. Because he felt pathetic for crying and making a fuss over such a human all this time.
“Hyung still talks that way?”
Doun muttered with a face fully prepared to attack at any time. Beating was beating, and conversation was separate.
“That… way?”
“That way of talking that always makes only me seem like a strange person. I thought I still wouldn’t know? Making me seem like someone making a fuss asking why only you act differently when others don’t, and acting like even things that should naturally be done are special favors just for me, that’s what hyung does.”
Doun regretted being swayed by typical gaslighting rhetoric. Even if it was a past born from ignorance, it was true that it had been affecting his surroundings in big and small ways until now.
Just thinking about guild members who watched his expressions whenever the previous guild was mentioned, and Samin who was flustered while comforting him as he panted from trauma, was enough to make anger surge even while sleeping.
“Enough small talk, come at me. You came dressed up for a duel but what’s this about conversation?”
Choi Jeongwook seemed not to know Doun would be so blatantly sarcastic, as he just moved his mouth soundlessly before widening his eyes. So it would become a dogfight after all. Choi Jeongwook gauged the number of recovery potions and closed his mouth.
“Fine. If that’s what you want, let’s fight. If that’s what calms your heart…”
“That way of talking doesn’t work anymore.”
Doun scrunched up his face in irritation. The way of talking that acted like he was wronged too and seemed to blame himself until the end was just disgusting. What exactly was the problem with that human?
Doun, whose mana reacted to the surge of irritation and was about to choose a familiar skill, pondered what Samin had said to him long ago while bursting with frustration.
‘Hyung’s heart is too weak so you absolutely can’t beat people! And look, you absolutely can’t think of beating with fists. I’m really frustrated.’
Samin had gotten angry on his behalf as if it were his own business and informed him. He might be disappointed with his mouth sticking out after watching the video that would be uploaded later.
‘If I control my skills wrong, the duel might end boringly like Samin said…’
Whoosh!
The mana circling around Doun disappeared. As the vivid and vast mana that seemed about to rush at him disappeared, relief appeared on Choi Jeongwook’s face. He must have finally decided to talk. Just as he thought that inwardly.
Doun kicked off the ground and instantly closed the distance. Through the flow of air brushing his cheek, he belatedly felt bewilderment at the neat scent.
“…Hey, wait…!”
Before he could finish speaking.
Thwack!
A fist loaded with tremendous speed struck his face directly. His brain shook and for a moment he had the illusion that everything before his eyes was dyed completely red.
“Ugh, kuh!”
Choi Jeongwook spat the liquid that surged up from inside onto the floor. His eyes rolled back seeing several white objects among the sticky liquid that fell on the floor.
“Fuck, you son of a bitch…!”
He grabbed his pulverized cheek. The shock of being hit by someone he still secretly looked down on as his subordinate was tremendous. Choi Jeongwook glared at Doun with his torn eyes wide.
Just by momentum, it seemed like he’d counterattack right away. But he couldn’t. As soon as he tried to straighten his posture, Doun’s fist approached again. Along with a spine-chilling wind sound, terrible pain crashed over the hand holding his cheek.
CRACK!
Finally Choi Jeongwook’s hand bones were shattered. If he hadn’t been covering with his hand, several more teeth might have been lost or he might have fainted from the impact.
His body that had been standing on two legs on the ground collapsed to the floor.
‘If I’ve taken this much beating, that ungrateful bastard should be roughly satisfied, right? When the video goes up, sympathetic public opinion will attach to me too…’
Based on petty calculation, he deliberately crouched on the floor and coughed dramatically, when an ominous voice dropped down.
“What are you doing not getting up?”
“…”
“I don’t mind if you want to keep lying down and getting beaten… But if you get beaten lying down by your much younger junior, your pride as hyung would be hurt, wouldn’t that be a problem?”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
