NOVEL NEXT Chapter 15
015 – The Party is Only Fun for the Extroverts #4
I pointed out Wang Ja-hyeon as my opponent for the duel.
“Me?”
Wang Ja-hyeon, the very person in question, reacted as if it was a complete surprise.
He glanced at Seoga-eul and shrugged his shoulders slightly, almost as if he was pretending to be put off.
“Gaeul, what should I do? That guy just picked me!”
“Pfft, looks like Ja-hyeon is quite popular. Do your best.”
This was a perfect opportunity to score points with Seoga-eul by flattening the nose of that guy who dislikes me.
However, one of the male students raised his hand to express a differing opinion.
“Instructor Wi Seon-a, it might be a bit ridiculous for Ja-hyeon to duel like this out of nowhere. With his skills, he’s on par with active explorers, and it wouldn’t be fair to match him against a student now.”
Swoosh—
A male student stood up. I hadn’t noticed while he was sitting, but he turned out to be quite big.
Is he about two meters tall?
A golden knight brooch, just like our class monitor’s, proudly glistened on his chest.
“Can I duel instead of Ja-hyeon?”
“You’re from Class F…”
The doctor’s gaze flicked between me, the big guy, and Wang Ja-hyeon.
His eyes behind the goggles seemed to contain a hint of worry, but he seemed to make a decision.
“Well, suddenly dueling a Tier 4 Concept Holder isn’t really reasonable. You’re that transfer student, right? How about you duel Jang Geun-seong, a Tier 2 Concept Holder from this side instead?”
Jang Geun-seong? When I thought his name sounded like a Chinese restaurant, he cracked his knuckles and flexed his muscles as he stepped forward.
Behind him, a group of boys that seemed to be Wang Ja-hyeon’s cronies cheered him on.
“Geun-seong, good luck!”
“Don’t tell me you’re going to lose to someone from Class D?”
The atmosphere was charged with excitement.
Looking for support, I turned my head to notice Baek-Yeoul, who was pale-faced and trembling.
“I’m Jang Geun-seong. My holding concept is ‘Muscle.’ As the instructor explained earlier, I’m Tier 2. By the way, my lifts in the three major lifts are close to 1000 kilograms.”
Hearing this guy talk made me feel a little uneasy, as he sounded like a bodybuilder on steroids.
His fiery gaze felt almost threatening.
“Instructor, I’m still not very good at controlling my strength, so how about we go with the no-rule real combat style? The one standing when the opponent is incapacitated wins.”
“Hmmm, well… how does the opposing side feel about that?”
What’s the point of rules right now? I wanted to fight Wang Ja-hyeon, but now I was going to duel someone else, which slightly dulled my interest.
Whatever it was, I needed to finish it quickly.
“Real combat sounds fine. I’m Hanam-jin, and my holding concepts are ‘Leap’ and ‘Emotion.’ Not sure what my tier is.”
“Multiple concepts…?”
At my introduction, a strange light flickered across Jang Geun-seong’s face. Since even students from Class F, who were called elites, seemed surprised, multiple concept holders must be quite rare.
That means Seoga-eul, who can transfer concepts to others, is amazing.
“Emotion?”
Seoga-eul looked intrigued as she glanced at me, her eyes sparkling with interest.
That sparkle suggested a hint of curiosity. I felt pleased, thinking about changing that curiosity into fondness, but suddenly I became curious.
“Doctor, sometimes I’ve heard that when introducing your concept, you mention the tier. How high is it for Tier 4?”
Swoosh—
The doctor adjusted his goggles.
“We’re not in a theoretical classroom, so I’ll keep it brief. Each person’s holding concept has a level, ranging from Level 1 to Level 5. The researchers created the indicators.”
“So, are you saying a Tier 1 concept is Level 1 and a Tier 4 concept is Level 4?”
“Exactly. Most of you students usually have Level 1 concepts. The goal of this special class is to elevate your concept levels!”
Then, I became curious about the criteria that separate levels from Tier 1 to Tier 5, but it seemed quicker to look it up myself later.
“Okay, then face each other.”
Following the instructor’s words, Jang Geun-seong and I faced each other with about a two-meter gap between us.
“Hey, Class D transfer student. Since just fighting might be boring, how about we make a bet?”
“A bet?”
“You’re coming to the party at the office building today, right? Why don’t we bet our invites? If you win, I’ll give you mine. But if I win, your party invite is mine.”
If I lost this duel, my plan to announce the engagement with Seoga-eul at the party would all go up in smoke.
The risk was deadly, but it was also exhilarating.
I was thinking about who I would give the extra invite to if I won.
“Alright.”
“Then let’s not dilly-dally! Everyone heard? We’re betting our invites to the party today!”
Swoosh—
Jang Geun-seong positioned himself, placing his palms forward like he was going for a judo move or a martial arts stance.
What would happen if a guy who could lift 1000 kg grabbed me? My name would change from Hanam-jin to Pancake.
Hence, his moves could be lethal to me.
I suddenly remembered the time I fought Kim Jang-dong, the section chief, who chased me on a bulldozer. Could it be that I was in a better spot now?
Back then, I limped because my leg was injured.
“Start!”
Bam!
I quickly stepped back as soon as the doctor’s signal rang out.
The distance between us widened in an instant.
“Wow, fast.”
The doctor was impressed.
The real amazing part was only just beginning.
Whoosh—
I threw off my school uniform faster than anyone else.
Now I was left with just my underwear.
“Eek!”
“What, what is it!”
The girls screamed with flushed faces, and even the boys looked at me with expressions that read, “What’s wrong with that guy?”
Instructor Wi Seon-a frowned, speechless.
“What are you doing? Why are you taking off your clothes?”
“It’s strategy. It looks like he learned some judo or Brazilian jiu-jitsu, so if I strip like this, won’t the chances of him grabbing me go down a bit?”
The instructor looked completely unfazed by my reasoning.
But how about my opponent, Jang Geun-seong?
A mocking grin spread across the face of the oversized guy.
“Does taking off your clothes really change anything?”
Do they really not know?
“Molting” is a crucial skill for survival in a world that’s gone to waste.
Whoosh—
I picked up my discarded uniform top from the floor.
Then I started circling around Jang Geun-seong, looking for an angle and quickly threw a piece of cloth at his face.
“Han-jin Technique, Eye Blind!”
“Hey! That’s a really obvious trick!”
Bang!
Jang Geun-seong snatched my clothes from the air as if he were going to rip them apart with his hands.
“Name: Jang Geun-seong
Condition: {Dumbfounded} – The opponent’s absurdity has left him deflated. Conversely, he feels good about taking advantage of this chance to secure his position among his group.”
For a brief moment, there was a gap in my opponent’s concentration. That little moment was sufficient for me.
I dashed through his legs like a cockroach at breakneck speed.
“Han-jin Kick!”
Whoosh, smack!
My feet, energized by acceleration, landed squarely between Jang Geun-seong’s legs.
Every guy has a weakness down there—his two jewels.
With my attack precisely aimed there, Jang Geun-seong floated into the air.
“Eeeek…!”
It was a scream so thin it seemed impossible from a guy of his size.
He fell forward, shaking uncontrollably, clearly incapacitated.
But I couldn’t let my guard down.
“A man is divided into those who can truly kick their opponent’s balls and those who can’t!”
Bam, bam, bam—
“Guaah! Stop! Guaah!”
After giving his legs a few more taps, Jang Geun-seong foamed at the mouth and rolled his eyes back.
The match was definitely over.
Witnessing my perfect victory, all the boys in the room cringed and held their legs.
“Y-you sadistic little brat!”
“Isn’t that a foul?”
“No, it was Jang Geun-seong’s side who said to do it without rules…”
Instructor Wi Seon-a took off her goggles and pinched the bridge of her nose.
She looked deep in thought.
“I originally intended to showcase the difference between a Tier 1 Concept and a Tier 2 Concept with this duel, but I didn’t expect it to turn out like this. You skillfully led your opponent to be careless and expertly exploited their weakness, huh?”
An awkward atmosphere hung in the special lecture room. Did I win a match that I was not supposed to win? Why was everyone acting like this?
Of course, I didn’t care about everyone’s reactions. The expression I was focused on from start to finish was Seoga-eul’s.
“Pfft. This is the first time I’ve seen a duel like this.”
Seoga-eul couldn’t contain herself any longer and covered her mouth as she burst into laughter. As soon as she started laughing, Wang Ja-hyeon, who had been stiff-faced beside her, also laughed.
“Pffft, Geun-seong, what was that? Even if you were careless, that’s just embarrassing. Hey, are you going to get up anytime soon? Stop fooling around and get up.”
It may not have been a joke.
My “Han-jin Kick” mercilessly targets the opponent’s weakness. I thought he might need a couple of days resting at least—
“Hey, stop joking around.”
At Wang Ja-hyeon’s curt words, Jang Geun-seong, who had been staring blankly while foaming at the mouth, regained his composure.
He slowly stood up, limping back to his seat, and quietly apologized to Wang Ja-hyeon.
“Ja-hyeon, I’m… I’m sorry. If I hadn’t been careless, I could have won…”
“Why? Is there anything to be sorry about to me? You lost. You lost your invitation too, didn’t you? Ah, but it’s a shame. It would have been more fun at the party with Geun-seong around.”
Wang Ja-hyeon chuckled at that.
The human tractor, Jang Geun-seong, was now trembling, looking more nervous than when I kicked him.
Standing in front of a handsome guy seems to have made him even more anxious.
Whoosh—
At that moment, Seoga-eul, who had been standing next to Wang Ja-hyeon, came over to me.
She gathered my school uniform that had fallen to the floor and handed it to me, showing what a kind-hearted girl she was—like a fairy.
“Your name is Hanam-jin, right? I have a question: why are you wearing tiger-themed underwear today?”
“I change my underwear once a week.”
“…What?”
“I’m just kidding. I actually bought several of the same kind. Once I get fixated on something, I go all-in. It’s the same when I have a crush on a girl.”
“Oh, I see. By the way, here’s the ‘invitation’ for the party at the office building. I was worried when I could give it to you, but luckily you’re in the same class as me. Is this fate?”
Seoga-eul handed me a small envelope.
Then she leaned in close, her face brushing against my ear, and with an unmistakably tantalizing voice, she whispered.
“You know, one invitation lets one person in, but now you have two, right? If you have a friend or girlfriend, you can bring them, or you can sell it in the Yeongsa High Market. Selling it will give you points—”
She whispered the amount in my ear, causing goosebumps to rise on my skin.
Wait, is this invitation really worth that much?
In an instant, I started calculating how many meals I could have if I sold both for ramen.
“Still, you have to come. Got it? I’ll be waiting for you.”
As she said that, Seoga-eul gave my shoulder a friendly pat.
She sure seems eager to see me at the party.
There’s no doubt she’s planning to announce our engagement.
I tucked the invitation neatly into my pants pocket and pulled something out of my pocket to hand to Seoga-eul.
“Isn’t this yours? Why did you throw it away?”
“Oh, that’s my handkerchief! I lost it and searched everywhere for it. Did you find it? I was really sad and upset about losing it. Thank you!”
Seoga-eul smiled innocently like a seven-year-old girl meeting Santa Claus.
However, the ruby-like eyes of hers were directed somewhere else, not at me or at Wang Ja-hyeon, who was blushing as if angry while we were whispering away.
“…….”
“…….”
The brief moment where the robotic Baek-Yeoul, who had clicked away throughout the special class, exchanged glances with relaxed Seoga-eul felt more intense than any duel that occurred today.
“Well then, Hanam-jin, see you tonight. I’ll be waiting.”
In the end, I not only scored points from Seoga-eul but also got another party invitation.
I was pretty lucky.
It felt like the goddess of fortune was smiling upon me.