novelraw Chapter 121 : HAUT Duel (2)
Chapter 121 : HAUT Duel (2)
I hurled bombs and status-inflicting items at Iris without pause while the thorned vines kept her bound.
Boom. Krak. Splatter. Clink.
Sound, light, liquids, and smoke wrapped around Iris in a furious storm.
This was no longer a duel.
It was a one-sided barrage.
You could call it bullying.
Even with the advantage, my nerves were tight.
The vines empowered by Swamp’s Curse could hold Iris for roughly ten seconds at most.
If I didn’t pile on enough status effects within that window, I’d be on the receiving end of her counterattack.
The reason I hadn’t opened with this combo—and instead stalled with frost mines and disposable shields—was to bait out Iris’s ability.
Sword of the Conqueror.
A balance-breaking skill that multiplies attack power by ten and turns every strike into piercing damage.
Even her normal swings could cripple me; if Sword of the Conqueror landed, it would be instant death.
Worse, when that ability activates, it wipes all status effects on the user—an absurd perk.
So I’d saved the Swamp’s Curse + Thorn Vines combo for the express purpose of burning away those ten seconds of uptime.
Crackle!
“Urk…!”
For the first time since she’d been bound, Iris’s face twisted from the items I’d been pelting her with.
It stuck!
I wanted to shout.
The golden spark meant it was Electrocution.
Even if she broke free now, her body wouldn’t move cleanly.
“Hff!”
Her eyes flew wide as she exhaled sharply.
Her skin tinged green—Poison.
The growing stack told me Swamp’s Curse was shaving a good chunk off her resistance.
Then came Burn, Frostbite, Silence, Null, even Blindness—
“That’s enough!”
Abel’s shout cut through as he stepped between us.
“Iris is unable to continue. Yein wins.”
The moment he declared it, my smartwatch chimed.
With a dull thump, Iris collapsed onto the ground.
Soot-blackened hair and gear, patches of skin turned mottled blue-black or sickly green, her body twitching in spasms where she lay.
Maybe I overdid it.
I glanced back.
The students on the steps had gone pale.
Yeah. Overdid it.
I’d been trying to maintain a certain image; now I worried this would sour people on me—and on Gwangcheon.
Though, admittedly, Iris’s current state was… satisfying.
Abel administered several potions, and Iris finally came to.
“How do you feel? Anything still wrong?” he asked.
“……”
Lips pressed tight, Iris gave a small shake of her head.
“Good. Go sit on the steps for now. If anything feels off, speak up immediately. There was a lot of stacked debuffing.”
She nodded and walked toward the stairs.
The hollow look and the limp in her gait almost made me laugh.
“Yein.”
Abel approached me.
“Dial it back next time. We’re making these as close to real combat as possible, yes—but even in a dungeon, you rarely see this many status effects stacked at once.”
“Understood. But I probably can’t join any more individual duels today.”
His eyes widened. “What do you mean?”
“I burned through almost everything I brought in that fight with Iris.”
I felt eyes on me and turned—only to find Iris staring.
“You’re skipping duels… because you’re out of items…?” Abel began, then closed his mouth.
He was likely remembering my abysmal aptitude scores.
“You won’t regret it?” he asked at last—meaning, was I fine giving up the duel rankings.
“Yes. I ran into too strong an opponent right out of the gate.”
“All right. I’ll schedule the remaining duels without you. You’ll still participate in the team matches, yes?”
I nodded.
“Good. Go take a seat.”
“Yes, sir.”
Iris still stood there, rigid, as I headed for the steps.
“Wait!”
“No.”
I kept walking, but in a blink she vaulted in front of me and blocked my way.
Watching that superhuman burst of speed, I couldn’t help wondering how I’d managed to fend her off earlier.
“Win and run, is that it?” she growled, teeth clenched, eyes boring into me.
“I’m not running. I literally can’t fight anymore. I used everything I had—on you.”
I beamed.
“So be proud of yourself. Truly worthy of the greatest talent Crystal has ever produced.”
I clapped for her. She ground her teeth so loudly I halfway expected a crown fitting after HAUT.
Well, she’s rich. She’ll cope.
I slipped past her and climbed to my squad.
“Yein!”
Lumina raised her arm and waved.
As I made my way up to the three sitting further back, the other academies’ eyes trailed after me.
Apparently beating Iris shocked them.
Or maybe it was contempt for the cruel guy who’d buried an opponent under a mountain of items.
“Next up: George Hong and Lee Yeonmun. Step forward.”
Only when the two names were called did the stares peel off me.
I’d barely sat beside Lumina when Rio walked over.
“Nam Yein.”
He used my full name and a serious tone.
“What is it, sir?” I played along.
“After watching that duel… would you consider coming to Ucheon?”
Lumina’s eyes flew wide; Meiling cut Rio a glare, and Yui simply watched me.
“With your skill set, our academy’s training would benefit you immensely. Ucheon can supply a variety of items and materials—and the knowledge to use them.”
From his expression earlier, it was already clear he wasn’t joking.
“Y-Yein…” Lumina tugged at my sleeve.
“What nonsense. Why would he transfer to Ucheon?” Meiling snapped, while Yui remained silent, gaze steady on me.
“Sorry. I’m not looking to transfer,” I said with a wry smile.
“Fair enough,” Rio replied, genuinely disappointed.
Then he smiled like usual. “You were incredible, Yein. The way you used your items—it was like watching a pro. Whether it’s talent or the result of relentless practice, I don’t know. That’s why I asked. But seriously, how did you get your hands on so many expensive consumables? And what was that item that turned the ground black? Those vines looked different from anything I’ve seen.”
Now came the questions.
“Think of what I used today as everything I’ve collected so far. That’s why I told Instructor Abel I can’t continue with the individual duels.”
“Ah, I see. Makes sense—the bombs and debuff items aren’t cheap. It’d be weird if you still had more.”
I nodded.
Right on cue.
In truth, I still had materials; I could craft more.
But this was why I bowed out of the duel schedule.
I have no combat aptitude. To win, I’d have to flood every duel with items.
Then people would wonder: how does he have that many?
Maybe others wouldn’t notice—but Ucheon’s item-savvy students would. So would the HAUT committee and the investors watching these duels.
They’d realize the number of consumables I used was abnormal.
And it isn’t just a matter money can solve.
With rare consumables, as with weapons, the question of who the craftsman is inevitably comes up.
If suspicion fell on me, and people connected the dots that the mysterious craftsman and I were one and the same, all my hard work would be for nothing.
Especially since Kim Hyeonseok is here.
Dueling Iris had been my personal indulgence. I couldn’t allow further trouble to spark from it.
After that, the duels between the melee specialists continued one after another.
“For the fourth match, Lumina versus Ha Yugun—step forward.”
“Y-yes, sir!”
Lumina shot to her feet, her loud answer betraying just how nervous she was.
“Lumina.”
“Y-yeah?” she stammered when I called to her.
“You can win this easily. Just do your best.”
My words of encouragement, meant to calm her nerves, made her eyes widen before she broke into a smile.
“Mm. Got it. Thanks, Yein.”
“Hurry back with the win.”
“Fighting.”
Meiling and Seo Yui each offered their own support.
“Now, if you have any items to use, bring them to me.”
Abel once again asked the two students standing before him.
Lumina shook her head. Ha Yugun handed over his inventory.
“Hm?” Abel blinked, then chuckled. “Ah, right. Here, take it back.”
Ha Yugun nodded and accepted the small pouch he was given.
“What’s in his inventory that made Abel react like that?” Meiling muttered, frowning in curiosity.
He must’ve been surprised to find only raw materials inside, I thought, watching Abel. And once he remembered Ha Yugun’s ability, it made sense.
“All right…” Abel confirmed that the two had taken their positions apart.
“Begin the duel!”
Ha Yugun moved first.
With his shield on his left arm, he reached into his inventory and scattered clumps of smoke onto the ground.
Moments later, the true forms of the items appeared, making several students cry out in surprise.
“Wait—aren’t those just crafting materials?”
“Looks like Firestones and Lightning Stones.”
Indeed, the ground now held eight pairs of Firestones and Lightning Stones.
“Why throw materials on the floor?”
While the students murmured in confusion, I couldn’t help but smile.
Ha Yugun’s ability was among the most unique of all companion characters.
“Arise.”
He slammed his shield against the ground.
The scattered materials quivered—
“What the—!?”
“They’re moving!?”
Gasps erupted.
The Firestones and Lightning Stones clumped together and shifted shape.
In only three seconds, the eight pairs had transformed into eight small golems.
Their bodies split into half orange, half yellow, they resembled something between a villain’s mascot and a toy robot.
“Damn… that’s awesome.”
George from Dai Academy muttered under his breath.
Even Abel’s eyes gleamed with interest as he studied them.
Ha Yugun’s ability was Puppet Creation.
By using specific materials, he could forge golems. And, as they now saw, combining certain materials allowed him to create hybrid golems.
Explosive Golems, I realized.
A sensible choice against Lumina.
Throughout HAUT, students had repeated cycles of cooperation and rivalry. Naturally, they had come to learn each other’s abilities.
Even if Ha Yugun hadn’t shown his power much, everyone knew our mid-range attacker’s ability was Stealth.
Principal Im Seongyeon even gave us a final assignment centered on that.
Lumina’s ability was like a master key—always effective against those unaware.
But for anyone who knew about Stealth, there were plenty of ways to counter it.
It was one of the lessons the principal had wanted us to understand.
Ha Yugun’s Explosive Golems detonate as soon as an enemy enters their radius.
In other words, he’d set up a defensive line.
Then Lumina vanished.
She had activated Stealth.
Ha Yugun scanned his surroundings, shield raised, waiting for one of his golems to trigger.
The problem is, Lumina’s ability is uniquely overwhelming.
I almost pitied him and looked away from the field.
Thud!
“Guh!”
Ha Yugun’s feet left the ground as Lumina reappeared right in front of him, slamming her dagger’s hilt into his stomach.
His level-30 protective gear dented inward.
It was the product of Stealth’s 777% critical strike bonus.
As he collapsed, the Explosive Golems rushed at Lumina.
She swiftly pressed a knee into his throat and aimed her dagger at his head.
“I—I surrender…!”
He tapped the ground frantically, like a wrestler submitting a hold.
At once, the golems crumbled into dust.
He had no choice. Stay down any longer and the explosions would’ve taken him with them.
I gave a wry smile.
“By Ha Yugun’s surrender, Lumina wins.”
Abel announced, and Lumina clutched her chest, letting out a long sigh.
“Why…?”
Meanwhile, Ha Yugun stared at the scattered remains of his golems with an expression of disbelief.
Because Lumina’s Stealth works even against summons.
If he had wanted to keep her away, he shouldn’t have chosen Explosive Golems. He should have summoned Fire, Ice, or Lightning Golems to constantly attack in all directions.
One hit would’ve broken Stealth, making it impossible for her to approach.
Of course, with the current Lumina, she probably could have handled even that head-on.
The truth was, Ha Yugun was simply outmatched.
After sending both back, Abel glanced at his tablet.
“For the fifth duel, Jin Cheongryong versus Seo Yui. Step forward.”
At her name, Seo Yui rose to her feet.
(End of Chapter)