NOVEL NEXT Chapter 18: Disturbance
༺ Disturbance ༻
‘Ah, it’s so funny.’
‘I swear, Ha-eun’s reactions are so funny that I just can’t help myself from pranking her.’
She acted so high and mighty, saying how she was a dragon, puffing out her chest, but in reality, even if you just lifted a hand against her, she would get scared and shrink, as if to hide.
Maybe because she thought I was dangerous, Ha-eun instinctively tried to cover her body with her hands, and I couldn’t help but laugh at this image.
‘I should let her go soon, though.’
It was fun to tease her, but I had to let her go eventually. If one was late to the battle, they’d be automatically disqualified.
I never had any intention of getting anything else from Ha-eun.
Copying her skills was more than enough.
The reason I told her there was something I needed from her was just to give her more motivation to act.
Therefore, before Ha-eun left this place, I told her one last thing.
“I’ll make one demand. If you win your battle, I won’t ask you for anything. But if you lose…”
“I-If I lose…?”
“…We’ll see.”
By not being clear, I further stimulated Ha-eun’s imagination.
I wanted her to think she would be in deep trouble if she lost that battle, so I didn’t forget to look at Ha-eun in a suggestive manner.
-Gulp
As soon as she saw me with that leery expression, Ha-eun couldn’t think of anything and just gulped.
I didn’t know what she imagined, but considering how she was, it was probably something even more out of the ordinary than I could ever hope to fathom.
“O-Okay!”
Ha-eun immediately made up her mind and headed toward the arena.
***
“Si-woo.”
Once Ha-eun left for the arena, Seo-ah started talking.
I wouldn’t usually speak about the skills I have, but because it was Seo-ah, as soon as I gave her a brief explanation of my [Ability Copy], she understood why I had done everything I had done thus far.
And…
“The reason why you told her to win in the battle; was it because Ha-eun lost last time?”
“Yes. She’s a talented girl, so wouldn’t she fight better if someone encouraged her?”
“But don’t both Ha-eun and Lee Hyun pass the second exam anyway? Was there any need to…?”
She asked me questions about everything she didn’t quite understand. She didn’t get why I was going this far when Ha-eun would pass the exam anyway.
Of course, I agreed too.
After all, her passing was a given. There was no need for me to unnecessarily interfere.
“It’ll be better for me to show you why I did what I did rather than explain it with words. Look over there.”
Of course, I didn’t do this without thinking. Teasing Ha-eun was fun, but there was more to it.
This was why, so that Seo-ah could understand, I pointed at one side of the arena and continued talking.
“Okay, you see that boy who’s about to battle against Ha-eun?”
“Yes. He was stronger than we expected. He was not very skilled but his physical strength was something else.”
“Don’t you find that strange?”
“…I’m not sure.”
Seo-ah was still clueless.
It wasn’t that I didn’t understand. If I didn’t have the [Eye of Greed], I wouldn’t have noticed either.
‘Let’s see.’
Even if you didn’t look closely, you could feel it.
Still, I checked Ha-eun’s opponent’s status window, just in case.
[Status window]
Name: Lee Si-jun
Level: 15 (1st Stage Awakener)
Status: Malicious
[Strength: 20 (+30)] [Stamina: 8 (+30)] [Agility: 7 (+30)] [Magic: 6 (+30)] [Luck: 6]
(Remaining attribute points are 0.)
Skills:
Mana Manipulation (E), Mana Shield (C), Fury Slash (D)
Just like the status window of the guy I faced.
You could tell that the guy had probably paid a lot as well.
Ha-eun’s level was high, but she still lacked combat experience, so it would have been hard for her to deal with a guy with higher stats.
‘But this time, it has to be different.’
‘A corrupt asshole passing the exam?’
I couldn’t just stand by and watch it happen.
‘Starting with that asshole professor, I will grab all those who are involved, and I’ll make sure none of the guys that bribed the professor win even a single battle.’
“Nice to meet you. You’re the girl that got an A rating…”
Her opponent greeted her before the duel began. He was confident because of the buff he had.
The feeling of omnipotence in his body was addicting.
If I hadn’t said anything, Ha-eun would have probably responded to his greeting with something edgy and eventually just lost, but…
“H-Holy Arrow!”
Right now, Ha-eun was more serious than ever.
If she were to lose, she’d be in big trouble—this single thought occupied her entire mind.
To take her opponent for granted because she was a dragon? Such a thought was impossible for the serious Ha-eun.
“You fucking… Mana Shield!”
But unfortunately, her attack was blocked immediately.
The blue arrows she had conjured were blocked by a transparent wall.
Originally, Ha-eun would have ripped through the barrier and landed a hit, but because of that damned buff, the shield was not only blocking every arrow but didn’t even look scratched.
“Eh? S-Summon Meteorite!”
As the attack that she thought would definitely make its way through was blocked, Ha-eun panicked and cast her next skill.
It was a B-rank skill that summoned small meteorites to destroy the surrounding terrain, but…
“Even A-rank spells wouldn’t be enough, huh? This is too weak.”
Because of the buff, nothing was working.
On the contrary, the guy seemed to gain confidence in his buff and put on a smug expression.
It looked like Ha-eun was trying her best, but perhaps she was just too used to completely dominating a fight through her natural talent.
“Look closely, Seo-ah. I’ll show you what the problem is.”
If someone was found cheating, they should be punished accordingly. Just like Ha-eun.
There were no visible signs that the guy had received a buff, so there was no way to fuck him over legally; however, there were many ways to screw him over right now.
That way, I could show Seo-ah what was wrong with this match.
「Lesser Telekinesis」
I used the skill, directing it at the arena.
Just like that damned buff, this skill was not visible at all.
I used the skill on Park Ki-yeol, that asshole of a professor.
“…?”
As soon as the skill hit, the professor stumbled slightly.
It was a D-rank skill anyway, and I was using it on a 4th stage Awakener, so it wouldn’t do any damage. Nonetheless, it was more than enough to cause a brief distraction.
It was only a few seconds, but…
-Crack!
Due to the momentary break in concentration, the buff effect was disrupted for a very short moment,
As a result, the weakened Mana Shield was torn apart by Ha-eun.
“…What the?”
The professor felt that someone had caused this disturbance, even if just for a short moment. He was astounded by the disruptor’s courage.
Of course, he would be.
Most people would think this was just a malicious joke, and it was the simplest answer. But thinking about this situation logically, the fact that someone had chosen this exact moment he was cheating in… Someone must have noticed.
And this really was the case.
‘Try to look for me.’
I didn’t care if that professor caught me. He was in the wrong, after all, so he wouldn’t be able to bring it up.
I stopped focusing on the professor. The old man applied the buff again and kept looking around. I didn’t care and instead turned to Seo-ah.
“You saw that too, right? The Mana Shield became weak for a brief moment.”
“You are right… Why did that happen…?”
“You see the professor judging the match over there? You know how rotten this academy is. He’s helping students that paid him bribes by buffing them.”
“…What?”
Seo-ah opened her mouth in sheer disbelief, wondering if someone would actually go as far as to do something as absurd as that.
She stared at the professor with a bewildered expression.
“I will cast a skill on that professor. If I use it and that bastard who’s fighting Ha-eun suddenly becomes weaker for a split second, it should be proof enough, right? Keep an eye on him.”
“Then, even just earlier, you used the skill on…”
「Lesser Telekinesis」
Before Seo-ah could stop me and say how dangerous it was, I quickly activated my skill again.
Shortly after, the professor who was casting the buffing skill while looking around stumbled, disrupting the cast once again.
At the same time, as the buff disappeared, Ha-eun’s opponent became weak.
「Summon Meteroite」
And as soon as his power level decreased, Ha-eun’s efforts—casting skills until something landed—hit right on the mark.
“Ack…!”
The impact pushed back her opponent.
It seemed like he was trying to hold on as much as possible, but it was easy to tell he was at his limit.
‘If I do this just once more, Ha-eun will win.’
“Uhm… Hey, Si-woo…?”
As I was smiling at the fact that Ha-eun’s victory had become certain, Seo-ah called out to me in a worried voice, as if to indicate something was wrong.
I looked around to see what she was worried about,
‘Oh, it seems he noticed.’
Befitting of the professor’s title, the man realized where the skill originated from after just two uses.
I could see his face filled with rage as if asking if it was me again, and could even feel a bit of a murderous aura.
‘What are you going to do about it?’
What’s a guy who was committing the crime of corruption going to do about it except be angry?
It was ridiculous. Hilarious even.
Still, I could feel that he was losing his composure, so I performed a provocation that would be the grand finale.
“What. Are. You. Looking. At?”
By putting up my middle finger and flipping him off.
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