Chapter 240 Selection Match (3)

Yoon-seok hoped it wouldn’t happen, but he always thought about what would happen if he encountered someone he knew in a duel. Whenever a duel started, he would always look at the opponent first and feel relieved since he’d never seen them before.

“O-oppa..?”

Perhaps it was the same for Cheon-ma and Lee Su-yeon. They must have thought about the inevitability as the duels were speeding toward the end. The day they would face each other in this arena.

Yoon-seok clenched his fists.

‘..Is this how it’s supposed to end?’

No one had ever opened up to talk about that day, as if it was an unspoken rule. They kept their mouths shut and talked about other trivial things. Even if they didn’t say it, they knew. Although they were getting along well now, when they met here, they had no choice but to kill each other.

’But am I still considered lucky..?’

Yoon-seok breathed out a heavy sigh. Fortunately, this wasn’t a common duel. They didn’t have to point their weapons at each other. Six people could make it out alive out of the thirteen challengers gathered here.

“..”

Yoon-seok nodded as if to tell Lee Su-yeon not to worry; then, he shifted his attention elsewhere.

*14th place, Steel Warrior (SSS) – Seheranbad.

No accessories, armor, or weapons. Nevertheless, no capable challengers would be able to overlook him. It was obvious where he’d spent all his points if he didn’t invest in equipment.

“A selection match.. interesting.”

The eyes of that absolute being shone through his long hair. Looking at this, it was meaningless to deny any more. This was the challenger he met on the 4th floor and taught him the taste of defeat. And as if to prove his point- historical

“Kerixis, King of Steel..”

Another man who recognized him recited the name blankly. It was the challenger with the nickname ‘Blue Meadow,’ who grew wary after seeing Yoon-seok. The King of Steel smiled.

“What do you keep muttering about? Rude swordsman.”

“..I-I’m sorry.”

For some reason, Yoon-seok also smiled. As King of Bernille, also named the Sword Country, his hate for swordsmen still hadn’t changed.

’It looks like he doesn’t recognize me.’

That was natural; the King of Steel didn’t know his nickname. He changed his sword, and the armor he was wearing was also different, and the mask had come after their duel. Nevertheless, Yoon-seok felt it was weird.

—You are the second most swordsmen-like swordsman I, Kerixis, the King of Steel, has ever met.

If he were the first, not the second, would he have remembered him? No, rather.. if they fought again now, could he win?

“..”

His fighting spirit was ignited. Although he thought it would be nice to recruit him as a colleague to join the Queen’s Expedition.. was it because he was the first man to have Yoon-seok admit defeat? Now that they were meeting again, he wanted confirmation on who would win.

「Waiting time has ended.」

「From now on, you can request each other for a duel.」

His heart started pounding. All he had to do was say the word. If he said he was challenging him, he could fight that man without anyone’s interference..

“I’d like to request challenger Benov for a duel.”

When Yoon-seok was about to open his mouth, someone else announced the start of the selected match. It was none other than Lee Su-yeon.

「Challenger Grape Jam has selected challenger Benov as a dueling opponent.」

「The selected opponent cannot reject the invitation.」

「The 5 minute grace period before the duel begins.」

Yoon-seok turned to Lee Su-yeon. When their eyes met, Lee Su-yeon sent a message.

—Don’t worry. I’ve got him roughly sorted out. I can win. I have higher stats too.

Now that he looked at it, it wasn’t a hasty move but quick. To survive the selection match involving Yoon-seok and King Of Steel, Lee Su-yeon quickly chose her opponent. However, the problem was that there were others like that besides Lee Su-yeon.

“I will also request challenger Benov for a duel.”

The man who King Of Steel just rebuked stepped forward. At the same time, he met Lee Su-yeon’s gaze head-on.

“You can’t take away the easiest prey by yourself.”

Lee Su-yeon didn’t reply. She quietly bit her lip and sent a message to Yoon-seok.

—This has turned into a headache. I didn’t know anyone else besides us would know about the selection match system.

Not only that, but that man seemed to have memorized all the lower-ranking rankers like Lee Su-yeon.

’In short, is similar to Su-yeon..?’

“..Who said I was the easiest prey!”

Yoon-seok turned his head at the angry outcry. The challenger Benov, having received applications for a duel from two challengers, huffed. He seemed to find the current situation very insulting.

’If it were me, I would just laugh and get over it.’

Getting angry and shouting was just proof that you weren’t confident. Was it because it was everyone’s first time in this sort of selection match? As if everyone chose to observe first, no one else selected an opponent.

「The grace period has ended.」

「A total of two people have selected challenger Benov as their duel partner.」

「Please throw the dice.」

After the rest ended, a dice appeared in both Lee Su-yeon and Blue Meadow’s hands. They threw their dice with nervous looks.

[5]

Lee Su-yeon’s role was good, but unfortunately, her opponent was luckier.

“A six? You’re lucky.”

“I’ll make you regret choosing me!”

The opponents of the first duel were chosen, and both parties began to burn with fighting spirit. Yoon-seok looked to Lee Su-yeon, but contrary to his worries, there was no sign of melancholy to be seen from her. No, she was already looking at the other challengers with shining eyes. It looked like she was scouting out her next prey.

And in the meantime.

「Get ready. The duel will begin soon.」

The first duel of the selection match began.

Boom-!

Metal bars fell around everyone else, keeping them from the duelers.

’So everyone watches the duel together after the matching is over, and the process repeats over and over.’

Yoon-seok slowly approached the bars. In the center of the wide arena, the two men were staring at each other and steadying their breathing.

‘One’s a martial artist, and the other’s a swordsman?’

It was rare to be able to watch a duel between rankers. What abilities did they have, and how would they fight in the duel? Yoon-seok watched with interest.

’It’s kind of fun.’

The confrontation didn’t last long. The duel began with the martial artist Benov making the first attack. Both of their styles were similar in many ways.

’Are they both agility-centered?’

Rather than extensive destruction, they each aimed for a finishing blow while relying on their speed. However, there was a slight difference due to their personalities.

Whoosh! Boom! Boooom!

While the martial artist continued to bring in new skills to snatch away victory, the swordsman took the initiative to aim for a longer battle. He saved his energy and dodged each attempt at his life with minimal investment.

‘If nothing happens, the swordsman will win.’

After watching for about five minutes, Yoon-seok could already visualize the direction of the first duel. The swordsman was one step ahead with his skills. For the martial artist to win, either he had to use an extraordinary skill or wait for the swordsman to make a mistake.

’Well, they don’t seem like the type to make mistakes.’

Yoon-seok shifted his interest to the King of Steel situated in the opposite cage. He sat in front of the bars, relaxing as he watched.

—You’re not thinking about fighting that person, are you?

—..Am I not supposed to?

— No, you can’t. No, never!

Lee Su-yeon freaked out.

—The more you fight against the strong, the more you gain. That’s how you could get powerful until now. But even if you’re going to say that, you can’t do it this time. Got it?

—..I haven’t said anything yet.

— You were going to!

—..

Yoon-seok had nothing to say. Lee Su-yeon was right.

’How did she know I was going to say that..?’

He was puzzled by Lee Su-yeon’s intuition. Yoon-seok scratched his nape disappointedly. However, as if she could feel his lingering thoughts, she added.

—It’s useless to fight King of Steel anyway. He said he couldn’t use any magic powers. It’s probably a penalty caused by his Unique Skill.

—He can’t use magic?

—Yes. I think it’s because of the penalty that he always goes around bare-handed without wearing equipment.. I guess it would be poison for you, who’s full of magic.

Come to think of it, this was the case with the Unique Skill b Cultivator} obtained from the duel with Lavan Vargas. The power was enough to be described as fraudulent, but he had to synthesis it away since it didn’t allow him to use magic. There were rumors that skills, powers, and item effects didn’t work on King of Steel, too.

However, wouldn’t it be easy to win by using Purity’s extinction effect or the destructive effect of the newly acquired b Devil}?

—Rumor? Are you sure?

—I’m not sure. Ever since coins disappeared from the 10th-floor, no one survived after fighting the King of Steel. Would there be smoke if there’s no fire?

Sometimes there could be smoke without a fire, but Yoon-seok had a hunch that the information was partially correct.

’If this is true, the reward wouldn’t be worth the effort.’

Yoon-seok made up his mind.

—..Okay, I’ll give up.

—..You gave up easier than I thought.

—I do want to fight him, but if we fight here, one of us has to die.

He didn’t resent King of Steel. Killing him just to get a skill for synthesis? It wasn’t worth it. Besides, Yoon-seok hadn’t given up on the idea of recruiting him for the Queen’s Match. If the King of Steel were with him, he would be as reliable as Cheon-ma.

—So what are you going to do now?

Yoon-seok changed the subject. He was curious about how Lee Su-yeon, deprived of her first prey, would react.

—What am I going to do? If I don’t want to compete against you or the King of Steel, I have to choose an opponent as soon as possible.

—..I’m feeling sorry for some reason.

—Why are you sorry? Don’t worry too much. There are two more opponents I can win against.

—Definitely?

—Hmm, not definitely but, about 80%?

—But what if the King of Steel or another selects you?

—Then you have to choose someone before that. Once you point at someone, other people can’t point at you.

—Ah?

He didn’t think he had to worry about Lee Su-yeon anymore. Yoon-seok watched the duel in a more relaxed state. A fierce battle was unraveling, but as expected, the victory went to the swordsman.

「The first duel has ended.」

「You can ask each other for a duel now.」

After one round of dueling, the challengers trapped to the sides were summoned back to the center of the arena. However, had they finished analyzing their selection match while the fight was happening? The challengers’ gazes were sharp.

「Challenger Grape Jam has selected challenger Little Giant as a dueling opponent.」

As soon as the selection began, Lee Su-yeon quickly applied for a duel. But, there was an interrupter again this time.

「Challenger Space Engineer has selected challenger Little Giant as a duel opponent.」

Fortunately, there were no further disturbances until the grace period was over, but..

「The grace period has ended.」

「A total of two people have selected challenger Little Giant as their duel partner.」

「Please throw the dice.」

Luck didn’t favor her this time either.

“That’s great. I can’t believe Taklan’s insect is my opponent.”

“I’ll turn you into ashes in three seconds, dwarf.”

Although her two attempts failed.. Yoon-seok decided not to worry too much. Wasn’t there still one more candidate left for Lee Su-yeon?

’I don’t think she’ll fail the third time round..’

Yoon-seok, who returned to the cage as the duel began, looked at Lee Su-yeon on the other side. At a glance, her expression was filled with frustration.

—I didn’t know the two people I picked would stick together..

Somehow, both challengers who faced off this time seemed to be the opponents she aimed for.

—..Is it alright?

—Yes, it’s okay. It’s just that it’s not advantageous, but I won’t be particularly in danger unless it’s you or the King of Steel.

Lee Su-yeon remained confident. However, was it because he witnessed her luck?

’What if something bad happens?’

For some reason, Yoon-seok became a little anxious.