Chapter 102 – 1st Place vs. 152nd Place (2)

In front of the stadium entrance just before the afternoon match.
A beautiful woman with bright yellow hair stood amongst the bustling crowd.

“Miss, congratulations on winning the first round.”
“Thank you.”

When a secretary offered her a bouquet, Sansuyu accepted it gracefully. She then brought it to her nose and inhaled the fragrant scent of the flowers.

“It’s lovely. Thank you.”

She handed the bouquet back to her secretary and walked towards the entrance of the stadium.
Sansuyu’s striking appearance caused many passersby to stop in their tracks.

“Is that Sansuyu?”
“Wow… She’s truly breathtaking.”

Exclamations erupted all around. People of all ages and genders were astounded by her extraordinary beauty.

Unfazed by the gazes of so many, Sansuyu confidently displayed her captivating allure, as if she bore no burden at all.

It was an action that emerged unconsciously, not deliberately.

An aristocratic demeanor ingrained from a young age. Sansuyu’s secretary, Jiho, gazed at her with pity before bowing deeply to the man who appeared.

“Father.”

A towering presence. A middle-aged man with a fierce face and striking long, slanted eyes. Sansuyu greeted him with a hand on her chest, her voice still devoid of emotion.

“Hello.”

The head of the Cornus family, Sanhyeokwon. A powerful tycoon who sponsored numerous guilds and had many talented individuals under his wing. He winked at Sansuyu and spoke to her secretary in a low voice.

“You won, right, Jiho?”

“Yes, you have won.”

“Of course. Whose daughter is she? Strive harder.”

Sung Jiho bowed his head and continued speaking. In the corner of Jiho’s eye, he could see Sansuyu trying her best to avoid her father’s gaze.

“Isn’t it customary to apologize for being late?”

A man who regards his own daughter, his eldest who might one day inherit the family, as nothing more than a tool.

Biting down on his teeth in suppressed anger for a moment, he struggled to keep his resentment in check. Eventually, San Hyuk-won spoke up.

“Who are the contestants in this match?”

“Jung Si-woo and Lee Si-heon.”

“…Jung Si-woo! I see.”

He stroked his unkempt beard and walked past Cornus.

“Let’s observe the match.”

Hyuk-won, leading his bodyguards and secretary, headed toward the VIP room. Cornus merely gazed at the ground, her head bowed, as she watched his silhouette. Her face appeared devoid of emotion, but a sense of desolation was palpable.

Jiho felt his heart burning.

“Miss…”

“Yes?”

“Shall we make our way to the VIP room?”

Despite the lack of comforting words, Jiho silently carried out his duties.

After taking a few steps like that, Cornus stood alone, and I briefly observed her solitary figure with a bitter smile. She raised her head.

“…Cheering.”

The words soon fell from her lips, and Cornus began to walk hurriedly toward a destination.

“Miss?”
“I haven’t cheered yet.”

Jiho, who hastily followed Cornus’s movements, looked around the spot where she stopped. On the plaque at the door, ‘Athletes Waiting Room’ was written in black letters.

‘Why is she here…’

-Thunk.

Cornus attempted to open the door, but it caught on something and came to a halt. The door was locked tightly. She sighed softly.

“There might still be time left. Who are you trying to meet?”
“Sieon.”
“You can do it after the match.”

Jiho couldn’t see Cornus’s face well from where he stood, so he had no way of knowing her feelings.

I could only assume that their sudden behavior meant they wanted to meet a friend.

I understood the feeling of being disheartened after meeting one’s father after a long time, but…
Unfortunately, he was on the verge of a match. I didn’t know where he was, but at the very least, he wasn’t here.

There was no other choice. Jiho decided to restrain her by applying slight pressure to her neck.
He reached out and grasped Sansuyu’s elbow. Her resistance was feeble.

“Let’s go, miss. We’re just before the match, and it’s a nuisance-“
“Huh?”

But just before Jiho could finish speaking, someone interrupted him. For the first time, something flickered in Sansuyu’s eyes, which had remained emotionless until now.

“What’s going on?”

Lee Siheon.
He stood behind Jiho, wearing a white mask and tightly clad in a combat cadet uniform.

An unusual energy could be felt in his tall stature.
His face was quite flushed, likely due to the imminent battle.

“Sieon.”
“It’s Siheon, not Sieon… Anyway…”

Si-heon offered a feeble smile at Sansuyu’s words. However, sensing something amiss, he suddenly fixed his gaze on her expression.

“What happened to you?”

That single remark.

Sansuyu pursed her lips and shook her head at the words that saw through her expression, which no one else had noticed.

“…No.”
“From the looks of it, something bad must have happened. We can talk about it over dinner later. Right now, you’re busy.”

The words she tossed out were things one would never comprehend unless they paid close attention to her. As Si-heon gently pinched her cheek, Sansuyu stepped back and placed her hand on her own cheek.

“Si-heon is acting strange today.”
“What’s strange is that you’re calling me Si-heon.”

Lee Si-heon chuckled at her pouting lips.

Ji-ho gazed at Sansuyu, captivated by her appearance. It was a side of the girl he had never seen before, and he couldn’t help but feel his heart grow restless.

It wasn’t jealousy.
Rather, it was just that the lingering doubt toward him in a corner of her heart had slightly dissipated.

Si-heon, after tapping Sansuyu’s forehead, waved his hand.
Though it was a disrespectful act for a noble, he didn’t feel the need to restrain himself for some reason.

“The match is soon. I’m going.”
“Mm… Good luck.”
“Alright. Oh, you should go as well, Secretary.”

With a sly demeanor,
Si-heon turned his head and entered the waiting room, loosening his body.

-Thunk.

“…Yes.”

With the door closed and belatedly, Ji-ho replied.

“Miss, let’s go.”

Stammering a bit, he led Lady Sansuyu toward the VIP room.

All along the way, Ji-ho kept recalling the sight of Si-heon right before the door closed.
For some reason, that broad back kept coming to his mind.

The atmosphere, which had changed in a brief moment after parting with Sansuyu, felt as if…
He was witnessing a player right before a match, unable to contain themselves in their fully prepared state.

* * * * * *

Opening ceremony. And the waiting time.
I can’t fathom how long I’ve been waiting for this moment.

I glanced at the sky once and swiftly surveyed my surroundings.

Heated breaths, the audience’s shouts. Sweaty palms.

-Wow!

The buzzing that filled the stadium wasn’t particularly directed at me. The person everyone on this stage was looking at was Jung Si-woo, not me. Dressed in a distinctively white combat uniform, he stood there more solemnly than anyone else.

Valedictorian. First place.
A first-year academy cadet recognized by all as the strongest man.

The gazes I received with such a man before me were filled with ridicule. Merely the disdainful stares of those who relish in mocking others.

-What about that guy? He’s up against Si-woo Jung.

Everything is simply amusing.

The sound of his heart pounding, growing louder and louder, reminded him of the time he first ran for class president.

How it felt when he first shouted with confidence in front of the students. The immense satisfaction he experienced when he received the anticipated expectations from others, knowing they would return before long.

-Whoosh.

He gently patted the worn farming tool he was wearing and fastened the belt of his battle attire. VIPs, akin to guild executives who came to watch the academy match, were all licking their lips while gazing at Jung Si-woo.

…Though it couldn’t be heard here. They were probably grumbling about how the opponent was too weak, and how regrettable it was that the match ended so quickly.

There was no need for such trivial concerns. He wouldn’t be easily defeated.

“Ready!”

The referee’s booming voice echoed through the microphone.

Jung Si-woo and I locked eyes for a moment. The bitter sensation from the last drink we shared lingered in my mouth.

The damned secret we divulged during that last drinking party.

We were living a life of misfortune, and what we wagered on this match was tremendously heavy.
How much mental anguish must one endure the moment they lose?

And knowing that,

I laughed.

Jung Si-woo would have done the same.

“Begin!”

I remember the first time I faced his sword.

That day, I could barely dodge his attack with my cumbersome body, unable to even follow it with my eyes. I was so completely overwhelmed by Jung Si-woo that I couldn’t even feel a sense of inferiority.

– Ugh!

The surging mana coursing through my entire body expanded greatly.

The pure magical power I had cultivated, without regard for methods or means, since that day. This force, seemingly twice my size, enveloped me as if to swallow me whole.

– Coo-goo-goo.

The atmosphere vibrated.

Jung Si-woo’s sword shimmered with a brilliant white light. I instinctively sensed the power contained within.

‘…….’

This fellow was concealing a considerable amount of power as well.
Why he hadn’t used that strength in the previous pseudo-incident remained a mystery.

Perhaps, like me, he experienced a series of encounters and grew stronger within that brief interlude.

…Well, no matter.
Such distractions have no place in the midst of battle.

-Flash!

Jung Si-woo’s new form vanished before my eyes.

The tip of the sword that materialized in front of me was now aimed at my forehead.

-Ka-boom!

Right then-

A massive explosion erupted.
A crater formed in the ground, swallowing a portion of the arena.

A single strike. A double-edged blow.

-Beep! Beep! Screech!

The referee’s flustered whistle resounded throughout the stadium.

A temporary halt in the game due to the excessive shock.
As it was designed to protect the players, the atmosphere in the stadium chilled.

The dense cloud of dust gradually dissipated,
and the two of us stood unscathed, gazing at one another.

“…Remarkable.”

I laughed at Jung Si-woo’s sincere praise. The left-hand mana-bound weapon, astonishingly, had a harpoon attached to it.

*Hood deuk.*

A shard of metal fell from beneath his left arm.

I threw the sword in my right hand up into the sky.

*Huung.*

Jung Si-woo’s broken sword.

It pierced through the dust cloud, spinning rapidly as it soared upwards. Eventually, it embedded itself into the ground.

It was a moment when the chilly atmosphere grew even colder and more frozen.

“How do you plan to fight now?”

I relinquished one side and took the other. The exchange of attacks within that brief moment proved I could match Jung Si-woo’s speed.

The referee hurriedly approached, assessing our conditions with a baffled expression.

“W-what’s your status?”

“We’re fine.”

As we answered nearly simultaneously, the surrounding whispers gradually grew louder.

The atmosphere buzzes, gradually shifting. Guild executives press their index fingers to their lips, while the scouts make hurried phone calls. In an instant, I forcefully seize and twist the gazes of the many people who were watching me. Even without surveying my surroundings, I feel it throughout my entire body.

Goosebumps rise on my skin, and a thick smile blooms on my lips. An outcome no one could have predicted—how could anyone foresee it?

The catalyst for change was not victory or defeat, but a single attack. Just two individuals wagering something and clashing against each other.

Taking a few steps apart, both Si-woo and I assume our stances once more. Jung Si-woo, as if thoroughly prepared, draws an extra sword and grips it in his hand.

─────!!!!!!!

The sound of the audience, like cheers yet not quite cheers, fills the air.

I savor the cacophony with my entire being, not knowing whether it’s an exclamation, a sigh, delight, or joy.

– Squeak!

The sound of the horn resuming the match pierced the sky like a sharp blade.

There wasn’t much left for us to do after assessing our abilities in a single bout. All that remained was to display our individual prowess.

With a confident stance, I channeled my magical power into both arms, causing every part of my body to surge with energy.

“Black Sword.”

The ebony radiant tree.

At the very center of the arena, black petals began to whirl in a mesmerizing dance.