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Chapter 170

At the bottom of the gorge, Yeon-woo was looking up at the sky.

“This is manipulation.”

Out of five terrains, landing in a place like this was nothing short of manipulation. There were forests, plains, and plenty of comfortable terrains; how could a gorge possibly come up?

Of course, using the Cloud Step wouldn’t make climbing difficult.

The problem was the mana waves generated by that very technique. If mana waves were to be created in this match, it was obvious what would happen.

“Either no one comes, or they all rush in together and wreck the place.”

The victory conditions for the last one standing were either holding the trophy until time ran out or knocking out all the other participants.

Whichever it was, fewer competitors would mean more comfort, so participants would naturally focus their nerves on eliminating other competitors.

Thus, the moment mana waves were generated, other participants… especially Dang Sa-ryeon, who would want to challenge Yeon-woo, would surely come flying over. If that was the case, why not just crash into the Coliseum?

“Let’s go slowly, slowly.”

Seeing the horde of various undead approaching, Yeon-woo gripped his sword tightly.

Though a gorge didn’t seem to fit with the undead, the monsters appearing from this Gate were influenced by the image of hunters, so that must be related.

“Is this the ‘Graveyard War’…?”

The ‘Graveyard War’ was a conflict that erupted to eradicate the Cult of Oblivion. It was an event where fleeing necromancers, betrayers of Saturday, and revived corpses gathered in one place to wage war against humanity.

Thanks to that, Yeon-woo felt he had seen virtually every undead that existed. He even recalled that it was quite a horrifying sight.

“In comparison, this is much better.”

The grotesqueness remained, but weren’t there far fewer of them? The undead he saw back then had covered the horizon; this bunch couldn’t even reach a tenth of that.

Beyond the horde, he spotted an uphill path that indicated the end of the gorge. He didn’t know the exam setter’s intentions, but it seemed straightforward enough to just break through, and there was no reason not to do so.

A long streak of aura speared out from the tip of his black sword. Grasping the translucent Aura Blade that stretched out like a mirage, Yeon-woo charged forward.

What he couldn’t do before, he could now. Realizing that through the process of comparing with the past was truly a delightful experience.

“That said, if I were to say I’ve completely severed ties with my past, then that wouldn’t be true either.”

Thinking so, Yeon-woo pulled an object the size of a baseball from his bosom.

The most powerful bomb received from Sullivan. The mana waves wouldn’t spread out, but the loud noise would certainly echo around.

Still, it felt a bit heavy to not use it. Sullivan must be eagerly anticipating the use of his bomb in this competition…

Hoping the other participants would stay far away, Yeon-woo threw the bomb.

Like a cartoon character whose head was made of bread and needed a replacement, it hit squarely on the skull of a skeleton standing in the middle of the horde.

KWA-BOOM!!!

The chemical reaction triggered by the impact spread throughout the bomb, and a massive flower of flames bloomed in the gorge.

“No way, that’s insane.”

Despite having thrown it from a distance, the heat reached his face, and Yeon-woo muttered in shock.

*

In the end, blowing up the bomb wasn’t a bad decision. He succeeded in breaking through the gorge quickly and with ample energy left, reaching a dark coniferous forest where the trophy was located.

‘Should I at least pinpoint the location…?’

Of course, running off with the trophy and hiding until the end was an option, but he ruled that out.

That wasn’t something the spectators would want to see, and secondly, it was pretty clear he’d be targeted with concentrated attacks in that moment.

Even with various means, a 4:1 situation was excessive. All he could do was hope for some division among the others.

“And I don’t particularly want to be the first one to reach for the trophy…”

Why? Didn’t a certain famous novel feature someone touching a trophy only to be transported somewhere due to a trap?

The various circumstances or landscapes felt oddly reminiscent of that, and he hesitated without reason.

But anyway, that wouldn’t happen. If the Demon King could tear through dimensions, then intervention could be set, but as a Demon King, he wouldn’t want to engage in an uncertain gamble of not knowing who would come.

The trophy was structured in a way that mana flowed out regardless of who held it, allowing them to sense its position. Following the flow of blue mana emanating from the central direction of the coniferous forest, Yeon-woo moved forward.

After passing through dozens of dense bushes, the sight of the trophy releasing mana came into view.

It was perched atop a lavish pedestal that could only be described as outrageously random.

‘This is seriously random.’

Using the highest degree of randomness to evaluate the trophy, Yeon-woo swiftly turned his body without hesitation.

He couldn’t afford to attract aggro while being nearby. Concluding so, Yeon-woo rounded the coniferous forest and spotted a very tall tree.

After gazing at that tree for a moment, Yeon-woo placed one foot against the bark.

‘Since I have the leisure, I might as well check out the surrounding terrain.’

He thought that because the terrain he was in was rather peculiar.

The world’s edge, the point where the world inside the Gate ends, was a straight gorge behind him. While it wasn’t strange that there were gates like that, the scenery he observed after exiting the gorge was the issue.

As if the gorge represented the significance of the Gate’s existence, the world had been carved out along the edges of the gorge.

Like a skilled elementary school student cutting colored paper during craft time, it was an awkward yet intricate shape.

What that meant was that from the carved shape, he could tell where other participants had started. It was just a simple task of finding a beautifully cut terrain like the gorge.

Putting strength into the foot resting on the tree’s surface, he lifted his opposite foot. A light aura enhancement enveloped Yeon-woo’s body. Exhaling the breath he had taken, Yeon-woo solemnly declared.

Historically, walking on water had been noted as simply placing one foot on the water and extending the opposite foot before sinking. It was said one could repeat this infinitely.

“Secret Technique, Water Walking.”

He wasn’t sure why he was using that for climbing trees, but when one reached the level of an Aura Expert, a couple of outlandish fantasies could indeed come to fruition.

Climbing the tree at a monkey-like speed—though a monkey wouldn’t climb like this—Yeon-woo quickly got up and surveyed his surroundings.

A vast coniferous forest sprawled out, and upon connecting the vertices surrounding him formed a pentagonal shape.

Swamp, forest, cave, gorge, prairie.

Among them, even if the forest wasn’t as grand as what Delhain had shown before, there was a giant rising up and swinging its arms around.

“Crazy, the Spirit Master of the forest has fallen into the forest.”

But why did I fall into the gorge? Am I perhaps endowed with some talent for the gorge? If he thought about it, he hadn’t used Cloud Step on purpose, so it seemed he did have an affinity for climbing the gorge.

Impressive, this Gate. If need be, it might be useful for dorm assignments at the entrance ceremony.

[Hufflepuff! Hufflepuff!]

“This can’t be, a magical class dragon above my head!”

[What about the headmaster?]

“That’s not a dorm.”

Of course, if you could manage your lodging within the school, then one could consider that a dorm. Not too bad… perhaps?

Shaking off such foolish thoughts, Yeon-woo came down the tree. It was like he was brushing the back of the tree.

Thanks to that, the tree’s bark was sheared off in a straight line, like a pet’s fur being neatly shaved by a clipper.

“That’s hip.”

You’re the real trendsetter in forest fashion. Acknowledging the tree’s spirit, Yeon-woo thought about visiting each starting point once.

It would be nice if he could go there and eliminate them; if they were worn down a bit, the ones feeling the mana waves would come and take care of the rest.

Of course, if he was going around provoking them and there were no hyenas, all the aggro might end up on Yeon-woo, bringing upon their doom, but waiting around was also boring.

“I truly am quite shallow.”

While he didn’t want to get beaten up, that notion faded away. He might as well make an effort to eliminate them progressively.

*

“Hello~!”

While doing Hunter work, getting attacked by the same humans wasn’t uncommon. The Spirit Master and Almerin knew that fact well.

Both magicians and spirit masters had become hunters and stepped into the battlefield, and Almerin had experienced such encounters several times.

However, even Almerin had never met an assailant greeting him so cheerfully while attacking. What kind of fool greets you while launching a surprise attack?

But the familiar-faced man did just that. His demeanor suggested he didn’t care if the ambush worked or failed. What was he thinking? Almerin fled back along the forest trail, pondering this.

“…Good to see you, Choi Yeon-woo. I don’t know how you found me so quickly, but this seems to be our first conversation, and yet you swing your sword before exchanging pleasantries?”

“Oh, my! I must have forgotten my manners. Hi, Almerin! I’m Choi Yeon-woo. Would you mind getting eliminated for my sake!?”

“And what would I gain from that?”

“Perhaps a few years of being underestimated?”

“Coincidentally, I don’t quite mind being elevated by others.”

“Oh no, you have a princess complex! Well, if that’s the case, we have no choice but to fight!”

Choi Yeon-woo’s cheerful voice naturally scratched at Almerin’s nerves, making it incredibly effective.

(Continued in the next episode)

 

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