Chapter 241 Selection Match (4)

Fedomia’s dwarf, Little Giant, and Taklan’s Space Engineer with a third eye on his forehead. The duel between the two challengers was like watching a sci-fi movie.

Whirrrrrrrrrr. Click. Clackkkkkkk.

At the start of the duel, missiles and flames fired from both sides’ armor.

Whoosh-! Swooooosh! Boooom!

While Space Engineer shot missiles or rays from his gun barrel, Little Giant produced a black flame from his heart. Instead of other long-range options, he brandished an enormous ray ax.

’Do all dwarves use axes like that?’

Yoon-seok smiled as he watched the rotating ray ax. Come to think of it, Dracar also used one similar.

‘Anyway, it’s fun to watch those two face off.’

Instead of blood and flesh, it was a duel of sparks and steel. It was absolutely exciting for Yoon-seok, who liked sci-fi movies. Well, although Lynn’s nuclear rays could take them out in a few shots.. battleships and robots were different in the first place.

’They’re pretty good at fighting..’

Watching the two armored warriors crush and destroy each other’s suits suddenly made him think she had 80% odds against them? Was Lee Su-yeon that good?

’Again, I’ve never seen her fight properly..’

The Tower gave Lee Su-yeon an SS rating. Plus, she ranked up recently.

“The rating for last place was S+..’

Small fries died whenever a duel was held and leveling up occurred. Therefore, it was highly likely that the ratings of the two space people battling now wouldn’t be much different from Lee Su-yeon. Nevertheless, she confidently predicted an 80% winning rate against them. Either Lee Su-yeon was much more skilled at fighting or had high compatibility against space people.

’I think it’ll be the latter.’

Then, what would Lee Su-yeon do now she lost the enemies she had good compatibility with? Yoon-seok suddenly paused. It was because he felt someone else looking at Lee Su-yeon.

“..?”

Yoon-seok instinctively turned his head to the left. When he confirmed, it came from 5 o’clock. An Orc over there was looking at Lee Soo-yeon with a strange gaze. But did he feel it as soon as Yoon-seok looked at him? The Orc’s eyes shifted from Lee Su-yeon.

With teeth flashing and drool pooling, the corners of his mouth rose faintly into a smirk.

“Isn’t she cute?”

He realized the Orc was talking to him. However, he couldn’t understand what the Orc was saying.

“Don’t touch her because she’s mine. Human.”

Only at first.

The Orc’s nickname was King of Turquoise. He sent a message to Lee Su-yeon and confirmed that his rating was SS+, one level higher than Lee Su-yeon.. and one level lower than Yoon-seok.

—Except for you or King of Steel, he’s the highest-ranked guy here. I don’t have any information about him other than his rank.

—Yeah?

—But why do you ask?

—Just curious.

Instead of telling her that she was being targeted, Yoon-seok chose to brush it off. Why did he aim for the only female ranker, and why did he look at her like that? Yoon-seok wasn’t that slow to notice.

—Anyway, you’re saying that he’s the strongest, right? Can I pick someone next?

—Yes. I’ll be relieved if you do.

Yoon-seok quietly waited for the duel to end. As soon as the selection time arrived, he would point out the Orc guy who had made a sly provocation. Of course, he was a little anxious that the King Of Steel’s opponent hadn’t been decided yet..

’According to his personality, he won’t choose Su-yeon.’

Seven players remained even after Yoon-seok dueled with the Orc. And Yoon-seok, who had fought with the King of Steel before, was convinced. King of Steel would never choose the fragile (?) Lee Su-yeon while leaving the muscular men alone.

「The second duel has ended.」

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

The battle between the two space people ended when Little Giant split the opponent’s mech in half with his ray ax. At the same time, the matching time came back. Yoon-seok and the Orc spoke simultaneously. However..

“I, King of Turquoise, choose..”

“Request King of Turquoise for a duel.”

Yoon-seok, who excluded everything unneeded, was one step faster.

「Challenger Predator has selected challenger King of Turquoise as a duel opponent.」

「The selected opponent cannot reject the invitation.」

「A five-minute grace period will be given before the duel begins.」

No one stepped up during the grace period.

“SSS- and SS+.. we’ll appreciate it if you leave yourselves out of this.”

The waiting challengers watched silently. No, there was one who wasn’t. The King of Steel.

“Is it the fight of the Predator? It’ll be worth seeing this..”

Blue Meadow, who was spectating after finishing the duel early, muttered something.

Booooooom!

“Argh!”

The King of Steel rushed like a beast and slammed into his bars.

“W-what’s wrong..?”

“I have something to ask you. Are they the strongest ones here?”

“O-other than you, that’s probably the case.”

Was he overwhelmed by his spirit? Even though he was in a safe cage, Blue Meadow answered the question as if possessed. Somehow, Yoon-seok felt he could see Cheon-ma’s shadow. No way, were the social skills she taught him something like a passive skill that every person had in common?

He didn’t know, but King of Steel seemed upset.

“The ones who will be fun to fight are competing against each other? Then who am I supposed to fight?”

“W-why are you arguing with me..! Hic, no! I didn’t say anything.”

“So, who’s stronger between the two?”

“Predator will most likely win.”

“So that cowardly mask guy is much stronger...”

King Of Steel, who instantly tamed this utter stranger to serving as his loyal advisor, rubbed his chin. Then he shouted.

“I, King of Steel Kerixis Jagun Alzbehiyan Bernille, will fight the challenger Predator!”

It was enough to say that his loud voice was overwhelming, but.. that was that. Nothing else happened. When the King of Steel tilted his head, Blue Meadow explained.

“..During the grace period, only the selected party can be selected again.”

“Say it so I can understand.”

“How can I make it easier to under..”

Boooooom-!

“In short, it means that you can only apply for a duel with that Orc, not Predator.” historical

“I see.”

The King Of Steel nodded. However, it didn’t seem like he did so because he understood the rules of the selected match. However, there was no problem.

“Then what should I do to fight this Predator guy?”

If he asked so kindly, everyone would answer.

”..There are two cases. The first is if someone else snatches that Orc away. Then it’s easy. It’s over if you choose Predator, who’ll be a no-mark chance.”

“No mark chance..?”

“..There’s a saying like that in Moorim. I’m not good at explaining, so please bear with me.”

“..”

“Anyway, all in all, let’s say the duel between the two has been established. In that case, the probability of meeting Predator is 1/6.”

“1/6?”

“..In other words, it means you have to be very lucky.”

Blue Meadow looked more exhausted than when he had just won the duel.

“Then there’s no problem. I’m lucky.”

The King of Steel, finally hearing everything he needed to, stopped paying attention to the man. He sat down by the bars. It seemed like he had decided to leave it up to luck.

“..Damn it, I made a mistake.”

Blue Meadow belatedly realized his mistake. Should he say he fell into his trap? If King of Steel withheld his choice until the end, he also had a 1/6 chance to stand in the arena with him. In other words, it meant a 1/6 chance he would die.

“Hey, I think challenger King of Turquoise isn’t far behind Predator. Why don’t you choose to have a duel with him?”

“I thought you said the masked guy is 100% going to win?”

“Come to think of it, I miscalculated.”

If he chose the second strongest Orc, the probability was only half. Even if he couldn’t fight the strongest guy, wasn’t it much better than a 1/6 chance? Subsequently, Blue Meadow eagerly worked to persuade the King of Steel.

Nothing worked.

“As I said earlier, I’m lucky. I’ve been on the battlefield thousands of times, and a blind arrow has never hit me.”

“..I’m sure all the arrowheads bounced off.”

“What did you just say?”

“..I didn’t say anything.”

The man sighed and gave up trying to persuade the King of Steel. Yoon-seok, who was watching, clicked his tongue.

’Is he that eager to fight me..?’

It wasn’t the situation he expected, and it wasn’t looking good. Of course, Yoon-seok wasn’t scared to face him.. but if the King of Steel was randomly matched, didn’t it mean Lee Su-yeon’s life would eventually be on the gambling table?

’..If it weren’t for him, I could have just watched it until the end.’

Yoon-seok shifted his gaze to the Orc. If this guy weren’t after Lee Su-yeon, he would’ve watched the situation a little more. But, no one came forward before the grace period ended, and the option disappeared.

Yoon-seok erased all those worries from his head.

「Get ready. The duel will begin soon.」

Putting aside his worries about Lee Su-yeon, it was time to pay attention to this upcoming duel.

A vast arena and a stiff body that wouldn’t move. Plus, this rugged Orc is in front of him. Yoon-seok recalled the first duel he experienced when dragged to the Tower.

’At that time, I thought I should fight first without knowing anything.’

He thought it was a dream, but it wasn’t. His body moved on its own to survive, and that’s when Yoon-seok first experienced victory. He realized his talent and gained confidence. And as he continued to run forward, he came all the way here.

「START!」

When the countdown ended, the Orc glared at him.

“Human, I told you not to get in the way..”

It was incomparable from the Orc he’d met in the first duel, and every piece of equipment he wore was unusual. In addition, unusual magic exuded from his body. But unlike then, Yoon-seok wasn’t afraid.

“Says who?”

He was now a monster himself.

Whoooooosh-!

Yoon-seok’s well-hidden magic with the Extreme Demon attribute began to burst out from him.

“..Is that what a top ranker is like?”

“Calling him a monster is an understatement.”

While the challengers watching exclaimed, the Orc facing him head-on did nothing. He just stared vigilantly at Yoon-seok with his body tense. Although he was one level lower, the Orc was also an upper-rank SS+ challenger, which was the same as Yoon-seok not too long ago.

’Should I think of him like the angel I fought with before?’

Yoon-seok roughly predicted his enemy’s combat power. However, he didn’t leave out the possibility he might be more than that. He had defeated enemies with higher ratings than him. Ratings weren’t everything, but compatibility, reflex, psychological warfare, and a little luck. The moment when it all came together determined the winner and the loser.

“Titan’s Soul.”

The Orc recited a command. At that moment, magic surged through the ax he held and grew it in size.

“..”

About 15m long. The ax used by the Orc was much larger than the ray ax used by the space dwarf. It was the size of a house, and with it, the Orc’s own body had grown four times in size. But.. even considering that it looked like an ax sack was hanging off him rather than him holding an ax.

’Can he swing that properly?’

Yoon-seok couldn’t imagine it, so he watched quietly. But did he misunderstand? The Orc wore a fishy smile.

“Looks like you’re regretting it now.”

He must have heard that he was one rank lower, so how could he have such confidence? Had this Orc fought and won against those with higher ratings than him before?

”Don’t think about dying beautifully, Human.”

An ordinary person hit by that ax would become little more than a bloodstain.

Yoon-seok didn’t respond to the Orc’s threat.

’Then should I try it?’

Instead, Yoon-seok quietly raised his sword high. At the same time, a huge shadow covered the arena. Since he didn’t know the opponent’s combat force, he would start lightly..

—It’s the great explosion that we’ve been waiting for..!

“C-chik..?”

—Take this chance to warm up your heart. Orc!

Thirty nuclear rays seemed enough.