World-Saving is a Skill

Chapter 106

Chapter 106

It was finally starting. We had been given the match list. When I checked the bracket in the waiting room, I could only give a bitter smile.

“Wow, they make it this obvious huh.”

At my words, Jung Oh-hoon nodded.

“Tell me about it.”

The bracket had been put together with quite some care. Han Sang-ah, Jung Oh-hoon, and I did not face each other from the beginning.

In truth, unless they were hiding some other trick, the obvious move was to set things up so that Han Sang-ah, Jung Oh-hoon, and I met as quickly as possible.

That way they could knock at least one of the three of us out early.

But they had not done that. Han Sang-ah, Jung Oh-hoon, and I all had to win at least one match before we could even possibly face each other.

Which meant they had matched Han Sang-ah and Jung Oh-hoon against Taebaek’s so called commando unit or special forces right from the start.

“Did you get any personal info?”

At my question, Jung Oh-hoon answered.

“I checked, and according to an expert I know the odds are very high that their identities are fake.”

Shoot, so that was a waste of time. I looked at Han Sang-ah and Jung Oh-hoon and spoke.

“Even if you win and move up, once you face me you are out.”

“Why do you have to say it like that?”

“It is the truth. There is no chance you can win.”

When Jung Oh-hoon complained with a sour face, Han Sang-ah answered right away.

“So get knocked out against me. I’m sure you also don't want people saying you get carried on my back. I will also fight at a level that people can at least accept as reasonable.”

If I faced either of them I would win, of course, but I planned to win only by a hair. Against the others, I intended to crush them as overwhelmingly as I could.

After a brief round of small talk, we split up and returned to our own waiting rooms.

Then I killed time in my room until my turn came, and through my smartphone I saw some incredible news.

Jung Oh-hoon had lost.

“What kind of bullshit situation is this?”

I stared blankly at the words, speechless. Eliminated? So uh, he lost? Without knowing what to say, I checked the match footage.

“Unbelievable.”

Jung Oh-hoon lost by disqualification.

“I honestly don't even know what to say.”

His opponent had moved in a very crafty way. Jung Oh-hoon had not launched any attacks that would inflict a critical wound.

But the opponent had deliberately turned those attacks into lethal blows.

To put it simply, it was like moving his own temple into an attack that had been aimed at the shoulder.

“Crazy bastard. Is that guy in the direct special forces supposed to be some kind of suicide commando?”

If you pulled that kind of stunt and misjudged it, you got carted off in a vegetative state. Yet his opponent had calmly shoved his vital spots into Jung Oh-hoon’s strikes as if nothing were wrong.

Of course, even with a disqualification loss, it only meant he could not continue to the next round. Jung Oh-hoon could still challenge the List of Hope.

I clicked my tongue and leaned against the wall, staring at my phone.

According to the bracket, if I won this next match I would be facing the guy who had forced that disqualification on Jung Oh-hoon.

“Whoever fought Jung Oh-hoon must have a wish to live as a cripple huh?”

Fine, then I’ll make sure that happens. The one saving grace was that Han Sang-ah had managed to win. This would probably hit Jung Oh-hoon pretty hard.

He would probably be very frustrated. Who in the world would ever expect their opponent to deliberately move a vital spot into an attack in the middle of a match?

“Hunter Yoo Chan-seok, it is your turn. Please get ready.”

The door opened and a staff member spoke to me. I left the waiting room and stepped onto the stage. My opponent stared at me with a tense expression.

“I did not want to do this.”

I said that, then gripped my spear and looked at him. The crowd roared, and the commentators chattered excitedly, rattling off information about me and my opponent.

At last the signal that marked the start rang out. My opponent took his stance for battle.

My spear struck his stomach, and in the same instant the tip stopped at his throat.

The match ended so fast that it felt wrong to even call it a match.

“Sorry.”

The stands fell silent, and even the commentators went quiet. The match ended in 0.73 seconds after it began.

There was nothing to commentate on, and the crowd did not even have time to cheer. I withdrew my spear and stepped down from the stage.

For the spectators who had been looking forward to this, it had to be a terribly boring fight. But it didn’t matter to me.

I wanted to finish this as quickly as possible so I could get ready for the next match. Once they reviewed this fight, Taebaek would probably be rattled.

They had most likely badly misjudged my level. They were probably assuming my skill was still at the level from before I had consumed the Banshee’s Tear.

I stepped down from the stage and returned to the waiting room.

“Excuse me… the committee has sent a message.”

At the staffer’s words, I answered,

“Tell them the next match will not be like this.”

You guys can look forward to the next one. I will show them what it means to toy with a person thoroughly.

If the guy really belonged to Taebaek’s elite direct unit, then he was an important asset. If I broke him so badly that he could never recover, that would mean a nice bit of damage to their fighting strength.

The special forces Hunter from that unit who had entered this tournament would be broken, and the rest of Taebaek’s special forces would grow at least somewhat afraid of me when they heard about it.

“Then, well… I will pass that on. This also affects ratings. We are counting on you.”

“Yes, you don't need to worry.”

I would use this chance to teach him the full meaning of getting crippled from the inside out.

I waited in the waiting room again until my turn came around. Then I stepped back onto the stage.

Because of the match that had just ended in an instant, the mood among the spectators watching me and my opponent had sunk considerably.

“…”

My opponent used a cutlass and a shield. He tightened his grip on the sword as he stared at me. I asked him a question.

“Are you scared?”

“No.”

I smiled and answered,

“Don't lie. You are scared out of your mind. I am stronger than you thought I would be.”

I said this as I spun my spear in lazy circles, then tapped it once against the floor. A clear metallic ring spread out.

“It’s fine. Something much worse than you imagined is waiting for you anyway.”

The introductions for me and my opponent finished once again, and the signal announcing the start of the match rang out.

I charged in with my spear and swung. I did not move that fast. It was the kind of speed my opponent could barely manage to block.

— Ah! This time it is different! He blocked it! This is not like that last match that ended in an instant.

— It looks like Hunter Yoo Chan-seok is taking a different approach this time.

My opponent’s face turned pale as he blocked the spear. I swung at a relaxed pace. As he blocked and dodged, the shaft of my spear brushed his shoulder.

There was a soft thud.

His eyes flew wide open at once. He probably wanted to call for the match to be stopped. But he wasn’t able to shout. The mana that flowed in through his shoulder wrapped tight around his throat.

Just as he tried to drop his sword to show his surrender, the shaft of my spear flicked across the back of both his hands. Once more, the mana that spread along that attack hardened his muscles.

He could not let go of the sword and shield in his hands. For at least thirty minutes he would not be able to drop his weapons or speak.

If this had been a real fight where we rushed at each other to kill, I would never have used this technique. It was far too inefficient.

In a real battle I would simply break both arms and crush his throat.

But this was not a battle, it was a match.

“We’re only getting started.”

Oh, although from here on it would stop being a match and become torture.

I would make him so terrified that he would never be able to grip a sword again.

— It looks like an even match!

— Ah… but it is far too one-sided isn’t it. All he can do is defend against Hunter Yoo Chan-seok’s attacks! He cannot even block them all. At this rate it looks grim. Very grim!

— Is this all right? He needs to do something!

— He is completely toying with him! Look at that. He is just poking at him! Is the gap really this big between you and your opponent, Hunter Yoo Chan-seok!

These were not blows that cut muscle or shattered bone. They only delivered pain worse than any injury.

“You cannot surrender. Every time the spear touches you it hurts.”

So he struggled desperately to block. I matched his frantic defense, going through the motions of trading a few blows, then thumped his body again with the spear shaft in some place that would not be fatal.

Every single time, mana burrowed into his body and delivered excruciating pain. The pain of seared nerves, of muscles being torn, of bones being gnawed. He opened and closed his mouth, trying to say something, but not a single word came out.

— Uh oh, his condition looks strange right now doesn’t it?!

After about fifteen minutes of that torment, there was no focus in his eyes. Drool hung from his mouth.

— Stop the match, wait. We are stopping the match!

Once he started to soil himself on the floor, they hurriedly halted the fight.

“What’s the matter?”

I looked at the referee who had signaled the stoppage with a baffled expression and spoke.

“Your opponent is not in good shape.”

“Yes, he does not look great, but he never declared surrender.”

The bastard could speak now. I had released every measure I had placed on him. Even so, all he could manage was a string of garbled sounds.

“What did you do to him?”

“This is a tournament. Were you not watching? What else would I do? I simply fought.”

At my words, the referee looked from me to my opponent with a serious expression.

“First, we will conduct a detailed examination. If we find any problems, we are sorry, but Hunter Yoo Chan-seok, you may be disqualified.”

I stared at the referee with a look of disbelief, then let out a long sigh.

“Understood.”

But of course, there was no way I would be disqualified. His body was perfectly fine after all.

“How is he?”

After some time passed, the referee came back and spoke.

“There is no physical problem with his body. But he is suffering from severe trauma. You pushed him this far.”

“What are you talking about? If there was a problem he should have said something. Or at least dropped his weapons.”

I spoke with an angry expression.

“My opponent did not say a word, and he actively blocked my attacks. He never showed any intent to surrender. What exactly was I supposed to do?”

“Well…”

You have nothing to say, right? He definitely didn’t. We had indeed kept fighting the entire time. If his body had started to fail or something had happened that he truly could not endure, he should have sent some kind of signal. But he had not.

Well to be more accurate, he had not been able to, but the referee had no way to know that.

This was not the internal energy amplification technique either. If his insides had been wrecked while the outside looked fine, they might have tried to argue. But he was completely uninjured.

“So in any case, he cannot keep fighting?”

At my question, the referee nodded.

“Then it is my win. I have no idea why he suddenly acted like that…”

After a brief discussion, they declared the match my victory in the end. For the others, it probably felt like a very uncomfortable result. For me, it was immensely satisfying.

For the next fights I did my best in a very honest way. I had already rubbed the committee the wrong way twice, so now I had to behave.

Of course, I still overwhelmed my opponents, but I kept things at a level that would let the crowd get excited and enjoy themselves.

And at the very end.

— Finally this match is starting. It is a Headhunter civil war!

“Is that so? I think it is a very meaningful encounter.”