“Daehyun! Guard!!”
Yoon Sanghyuk shouted sharply.
By now, the giant golem in front of us had multiplied from one to two, then to three.
One made of steel.
One covered in ice.
And the green golem we had already been fighting.
Since these weren’t from the side team, we had no choice but to handle them head-on.
“—.”
“—.”
Short, low incantations were simultaneously uttered.
Yoon Chaeha's eyes glowed a fiery red, and Jo Yuri’s breath began to show in white puffs.
-BOOM!
First to strike was Yoon Chaeha’s fireball.
The red projectile slamd into the steel golem’s chest. The golem’s body heated up and glowed red.
-CHAEENG!
Imdiately after, several ice spears from Jo Yuri pierced the heated area.
The cold ice made contact with the red-hot steel surface, and with a sizzling sound, mist began to rise.
The sudden temperature change caused the tal surface to crack.
-CRACK-CRACK-CRACK.
Spiderweb-like cracks quickly spread out.
At that mont—
-SWISH.
Yu Hana dashed in, thrusting her long sword into the center of the cracks.
The blade sliced through the golem’s split body.
From the crack, petals blood.
-BOOM...
The steel golem lost its center of gravity and collapsed, a cloud of dust rising from the floor.
However, there was no ti to rest.
-WHOOOOSH!
-GRRRRR....
There were still enemies remaining.
“...!”
However, Yoon Chaeha’s gaze kept drifting toward the left side. Without realizing it, she bit her lip.
She had been unable to focus fully on the battle since earlier.
A faint mana wave was transmitting through the air.
The sharp and intense sense of combat was pricking at her skin.
On the left side, there was definitely Jeong Haein.
But even though quite a bit of ti had passed, the battle was still ongoing.
She had never seen him fight for so long.
He must have already finished by now.
Though she knew it was unnecessary worry, her eyes were still drawn in that direction.
The red fla in her eyes wavered ever so slightly.
Then.
“Are you going to keep spacing out?”
It was Yu Hana.
She was looking directly at the golem, her expression unwavering, and spoke in a low, firm tone.
“Do you think Haein is going to lose?”
“....”
“Don’t get distracted.”
Yoon Chaeha’s lips trembled slightly.
It was true.
Yu Hana’s cold words snapped Yoon Chaeha back to her senses.
“Phew...”
She took a short, deep breath.
At least, the Jeong Haein she knew would never lose.
She refocused her attention on the enemy in front of her.
The red flas in her eyes blazed fiercely once again.
***
-SSHHH!
The sound of the wind being torn apart, an arrow flew at .
I instinctively twisted my body and swung my spear.
-CLANG!
The sound of tal clashing and bouncing off.
The missiled arrow veered off course, embedding itself into a nearby tree trunk once again.
But the attack didn’t end there.
“Catch if you can~”
A playful whisper, and Sion’s figure disappeared into the bushes in an instant.
The presence around dulled, and her position beca increasingly difficult to discern.
Then.
-SSHHH! SSHAK!
Arrows began to pour from unpredictable angles from the shadows.
From the trees.
From below the bushes.
Through the broken glass windows.
Sion was using the terrain to maximize the advantage of her archery skills.
As expected, she was an exceptional hero when it ca to adapting to the environnt.
-CLANG!
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
Again, I swung my spear and deflected the arrows.
Once I recognized the incoming threat, the arrows were no longer dangerous. Sion knew this too.
The arrows she was shooting now weren’t real attacks—they were simply threats designed to bind my feet.
I lowered my stance and took a short breath.
Since childhood, I had fought countless tis with Sion.
I had won many tis, and she had won many tis, but whenever Sion won...
There was always one condition.
‘If I can’t close the distance.’
I would lose, no matter what.
-CRUNCH.
I stomped hard on the tree and imdiately leapt into the bushes where Sion was hiding.
At that mont, my senses sharpened.
[All Sensory Perception activated!]
Every sense stood on edge like a needle.
I could feel the sounds around , the flow of air, and even the vibrations of the ground.
The subtle rustle of the bushes.
Even Sion’s faint breathing as she hid behind them.
To be honest, using a phalanx to wipe out the area might’ve been more effective, but I didn’t want to do that.
‘Sion’s not so demon.’
And honestly, I just wanted to have a good old scuffle with my childhood friend.
The mock exchange event had already reached a point where the left side no longer had much to do with either main force.
I didn’t hesitate and threw myself in that direction recklessly.
“Ha ha ha!”
Sion, who had been hiding, suddenly burst out laughing brightly and stood up.
Her eyes sparkled, and her expression was full of vitality, as if she and I were in sync.
Without breaking eye contact with , Sion drew her bow to stop my charge.
An arrow flew straight toward , but suddenly split in mid-air.
In an instant, the single arrow broke into dozens, each of them flying in sharp trajectories, changing direction to surround .
Each of the arrows, infused with mana, seed to move as if they were alive.
“Wow.”
360 degrees.
Arrows were shot at from all directions.
It was a perfect "Shik-sal"—a state that surpassed the simple speed shooting of multiple arrows.
Sion’s growth had once again exceeded my expectations.
‘Dodge? Where to?’
In fact, among the arrows surrounding , there was exactly one small gap behind that I could escape through.
If I threw myself there, I could avoid the arrows.
But in that mont, my eyes t Sion’s.
She smiled, the corners of her mouth rising in a way that almost seed to lure in.
That was exactly the point she was aiming for.
If I turned my back now, the distance between us would only grow.
I would never be able to catch up with her again.
The decision was made in an instant.
I didn’t stop my advance.
Instead, I threw myself forward, swinging my spear more wildly and with greater speed.
-CLANG! CLANG! KACHANG!
The spear left afterimages in the air, batting away the incoming arrows.
The mana-infused arrows ricocheted sharply, and so that couldn’t be avoided barely grazed my side and cheek.
‘Only block the vital spots.’
If it wasn’t a vital hit, a few arrows wouldn’t count as a fail.
In the blink of an eye, the distance between us closed.
“Sion!”
There was a trace of laughter in my voice.
I couldn’t even rember the last ti I had such a sensuous and enjoyable battle.
Sion’s eyes widened slightly when she saw break through the arrow storm.
She drew a dagger from her waist, preparing for a possible close-quarters combat.
She imdiately stepped back, attempting to retreat onto the next tree.
‘Gotcha.’
I had already anticipated her next move.
I imdiately hurled my spear at the branch she was about to land on.
-SSHHH!
The spear pierced the branch precisely.
-CRACK!
The branch shattered, and Sion lost her footing, tumbling through the air.
“Ugh!”
Caught off guard by the unexpected attack, she let out a small gasp as her body flew through the air.
I didn’t waste the opportunity. In that brief mont, I leaped toward her and pushed her into the thick branches of another tree.
-THUD!
Sion crashed into the sturdy tree, and I sat on top of her, pinning her down.
I pressed one knee against her abdon and firmly restrained both of her wrists with one hand.
It was a binding position she was familiar with.
We had done this countless tis since we were children.
“Phew...”
“Ugh...”
In an instant, the distance between Sion and beca incredibly close.
Our breaths mingled, and the heat of our skin clearly transmitted through the contact.
“...Got you.”
My voice broke the silence in a low murmur.
Her heart, beating quickly, transmitted through her wrists and into my palm.
Sion’s sweat ford small droplets that slowly trickled down her neck.
As the sunlight filtered through the branches, the droplets on her white skin shimred.
“Hah... Hah...”
Sion’s eyes deepened in intensity.
Her cheeks, flushed with heat, and the slightly parted lips emitted a soft, almost inaudible breath.
It seed that the effort it took to escape and "Shik-sal" had drained a lot of her energy.
I smiled lightly as I watched her.
“I won.”
I carefully removed the small dagger she had been holding from her tightly bound hands.
In that mont, Sion’s eyes widened, and she quickly grabbed my wrist.
“Haein...”
Her voice trembled slightly.
The fingers holding my wrist quivered as they slowly ran across my skin.
I couldn’t help but chuckle.
She must be upset about being eliminated.
“You should’ve co here sooner.”
I muttered lightly, slowly bringing the tip of the dagger to the side of her neck.
When the cold tal touched her heated skin, Sion’s body flinched.
-SSSSSHH.
The small force field she had created around her vital points tore open.
With the force field broken, Sion was considered to have sustained a fatal wound and would be disqualified from the mock exchange event.
Yet, Sion still didn’t let go of my wrist.
-THUD, THUD...
Even with her hands bound, Sion desperately, almost desperately, felt my wrist, her touch growing more persistent.
“Haein... just a little longer...”
Sion whispered in a low, desperate voice as she closed her eyes.
It was futile, but she couldn’t help it.
Still, thanks to Sion, I had a great ti, sothing I hadn’t experienced in a while.
It felt like I was rediscovering my combat instincts.
“See you in a bit.”
I smiled as I watched Sion slowly fade away from my grasp.
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