137 – 137. Ryu Tae-hyun vs Mid-winter (1)
Originally, most ranking matches don’t have that many spectators. No, very few
You may wonder what it means to say that it is the best academy ranking match in Korea and there is no audience. However, if you think about it, it’s understandable enough.
The Hunter Department of the Green House has about 1,000 students per grade. If all four grades are combined, the number approaches 4,000. The number of ranking games in a semester easily exceeds 10,000, so there is no way the audience will follow all of those games.
A ranking match is also a kind of sports event after all. Spectators want to see only exciting and fun games. In the so-called ‘uninteresting’ ranking match, in which students ranked below the middle rank competed, the only spectators were students of a similar rank who came to check the opponent’s strength, and occasionally scouts from lower-middle rank guilds.
However, on the other hand, it also meant that a lot of spectators flocked to “Fun” Matches. In fact, the matches of top-ranked students or popular students show a considerable number of spectators every time.
Among them, Ryu Tae-hyeon and mid-winter match were especially popular. Both of them are from the top male and female entrants, and neither of them has ever come down from the 1st or 2nd place in the rankings. The confrontational composition of the second place constantly challenging the undefeated first place was perfect for attracting the interest of many students.
So now.
The Green House 11th Outdoor Stadium, where the midterm settlement match between the two players was held, was crowded with a considerable crowd.
It was 6:30 in the afternoon, so not only students, but also many professors and staff were on their way home from work. Among them, there were several officials from large guilds who had obtained permission to enter in advance.
“Wait a minute! I will pass!”
Across the crowd, Ahn Su-ho and Kang Ha-neul sat down in moderately empty seats. Even though there was still time left before the game started, the stands were crowded with crowds. Thanks to this, the place where the two sat was a corner seat that was quite far from the stadium.
“Whoa. There are really a lot of people.”
“Sure. I didn’t even know there would be so many. It’s the first time I’ve seen those two in a ranking match.”
“There are usually a lot of them, but maybe not this much? It must have been a lot of people because it was a mid-term settlement game.”
“Yes. Because whoever wins today’s game determines the first or second place in the middle rankings.”
“Who do you think will win?”
At those words, Suho Ahn crossed his arms as if pondering for a moment, then spoke cautiously.
“In the original version, Ryu Tae-hyun won the match. But Midwinter is now much stronger than the original. So maybe…….”
“Maybe Midwinter can win?”
Ahn Suho did not answer. It was a question that was difficult to answer for sure.
Unlike Ryu Tae-hyun after winter vacation, whose strength and limits were clearly revealed, Ryu Tae-hyun’s skills at this time were shrouded in a veil not only to the characters but also to the readers. So he couldn’t easily gauge his current strength.
‘If Ryu Tae-hyun’s level is not much different from the time of winter vacation… …. There’s almost no chance that Midwyeol will beat Ryu Tae-hyeon.’
“Huh? Sky!”
At that time, a lively voice rang out from the stairs next to the audience.
“Seolgi?”
The female student who came up waving her hand at the river sky was Ryu Seol, who was in the same class as her and was sharing a room next to the river sky dormitory. After that, Ryu Jin, Ryu Seol’s twin brother and Kang Ha-neul’s first opponent in the ranking match, followed.
“I asked you to go somewhere in such a hurry instead of studying, did you come to watch Taehyun’s game too? If he had known it would be like this, he would have asked us to go see him in advance.”
“Eh. No. Originally, I had no intention of coming to see it, but I happened to stop by while passing by.”
“Right. You have an appointment, right? Uh? But what about the promise, what are you doing here?”
“That… ….”
When Kang Ha-neul secretly looked at Ahn Su-ho, Ryu Seol’s gaze naturally turned to him. Ahn Soo-ho lightly bowed his head and said hello.
“Nice to meet you. My name is Ahn Su-ho from the Special Countermeasures Division of the Guard.”
“Ah. Yes. It is said that it is the same as the sky. That hi…… Do?”
Ryu Seol greeted with an awkward expression. Embarrassed, she didn’t understand why the strange guard was sitting next to Sky and saying hello to her.
“Are you the member who was dispatched during the last dungeon practice?”
At that time, Ryu Jin stepped forward from behind Ryu Seol and said.
“Seol is my older brother, Ryujin. I thought it was long until I heard the words, but it seems to be right.”
“That’s right. You remembered that again.”
“Because I had run into him once before, so his face was familiar. Me and Haneul came to watch during the ranking match, right?”
At those words, Suho Ahn belatedly recalled the memory of that day. We just passed each other without saying a word, but he remembered it. Suho Ahn gave a small admiration, saying that he had an extraordinary memory.
“Ah, ah!!”
And then, belatedly, Ryu Seol also remembered An Su-ho. She nodded her head with an exaggerated expression.
“Are you the member Heaven saved in the dungeon at that time? No wonder. The kid who used to go alone all the time said he had an appointment today, so I wanted someone. Oh, this seat is empty, can I sit down?”
Before Ahn Soo-ho or Kang Ha-neul could nod, Ryu Seol sat down. Seats were in order from left to right: Jin Ryu, Seol Ryu, Haneul Kang, Suho An.
“Heaven. I have a question, can I ask?”
“Huh? Yes. What?”
As soon as he sat down, Ryu Seol pressed close to Kang Ha-neul and asked. The moment when Kang Ha-neul, who was slightly burdened by the lack of distance, leaned out a little.
“Could it be the two of you………… Are you dating?”
Without delay, Ryu Seol rushed in like that.
“Eh, huh?”
Kang Ha-neul was taken aback. He hadn’t even thought that he would run into someone he knew or that he would ask about his relationship with An Su-ho.
How should I answer? Kang Ha-neul looked back at Ahn Su-ho with a fearful face. OK.
“Yes. We are dating.”
Ahn Soo-ho replied by bending his body and sticking out his head. Kang Ha-neul, even more flustered, asks with only the shape of his mouth. Can it be made clear like that?
Actually, she thought of her relationship with Ahn Soo-ho as a kind of secret relationship. Because not only the two of them were involved in their relationship, but also Ji Ye-won. That’s why they have to keep the fact that they’re dating a secret from others. So she thought.
However.
‘It doesn’t matter if I tell these two. Since you are an academy student, you will meet often when you come and go. Because these two won’t ever run into Ji Ye-won.’
“Isn’t that right, Sky?”
Ahn Soo-ho thought so, and as if she had nothing to worry about, she calmly asked Kang Ha-neul. Caught between Ryu Seol and Ahn Su-ho, at a loss for what to do, she awkwardly nodded her head.
“…… Oh my god.”
Then Liu Xue opened his eyes wide, covering his mouth with both hands.
“Wow. Crazy crazy! Is this real You say you’re dating the agent who saved you? Oh my god! It’s like a complete drama, really!”
She let out her elongated exclamation and shook her body. As a 20-year-old college freshman in her prime, she was very excited about her friend’s love story that was completely unexpected.
Besides.
‘Then, is that the person who had s*x with Ha-neul in the next room at that time?’
The night the two overlapped. Ryu Seol, who was in the next room, was listening to all the sounds of their love affair. Ryu Seol’s cheeks turned red like a ripe apple when he recalled the excited shouts and groans that leaked from beyond the wall.
“Oh my God… ….”
“This, this is such an amazing thing…… ?”
Unaware of such a situation, Kang Ha-neul could not hide his shame when he saw Ryu Seol reacting violently.
Whether or not to do so, Ryu Seol repeatedly asked, not hiding his expression of interest.
“Can I ask you one more question? How long have you two been dating? How far can the two of you go-“
“Seola. Stop.”
Ryujin, who was worse than him, dissuaded his excited younger brother. He turns her attention by pointing to the arena.
“The game starts soon.”
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Like that said. Before I knew it, the two players and the referee were seated in the center of the field. The referee took the microphone and explained the brief history of the two players and the rules of the game to the audience before the match started.
“Who do you two think will win?”
Ahn Soo-ho asked in a hint, and the two twin siblings met each other’s eyes. Soon, the two of them answer without saying who comes first.
“I am Ryu Tae-hyeon.”
“I also think Ryu Tae-hyun will win.”
“Winter is all good, but getting excited too easily is the problem. That’s why I always pushed hard in the beginning, but after the middle, I was counterattacked by Taehyeon and lost.”
“Mid-winter has the upper hand in terms of psychic compatibility, but Ryu Tae-hyun is dominant in technique and sense. Sense doesn’t develop overnight, so Ryu Tae-hyun will probably win today as well.”
The two predicted Ryu Tae-hyun’s victory as if it were natural. And An Su-ho generally agreed with that opinion.
‘But what if?’
Although Ryu Tae-hyun’s strength is veiled, Midwinter also grew much faster than the original. Maybe, just maybe, she might get it right this time.
Thinking of that, Suho Ahn looked down at the stadium with an excited expression. Before they knew it, the two stood back as much as the prescribed distance and waited for the countdown.
-5.
The audience looks down at them with excited expressions.
-4.
Ryu Tae-hyeon stretches and relaxes his body.
-3.
A bright yellow flame rises in both hands in midwinter.
-2.
Pulling his left leg back, he lowered his stance as if Ryu Tae-hyun would jump out at any moment.
-1.
And the moment the countdown finally reached 1.
“Today will win.”
“I will win again today.”
The declarations of the two overlapped, and the next moment the referee waved his hand wide and shouted.
-Start the match!!
-Taang!
Ryu Tae-hyun’s body was shot like a bullet. The distance between the two is about 50 meters. If it was Ryu Tae-hyun, 2 seconds would be enough to narrow it.
-Taat!
The midwinter widened the distance as if running away. At the same time, small fireballs were continuously shot from her right hand.
-Bang! Taang! Bang Bang!
A meager size, at most the size of a baseball. However, Ryu Tae-hyun smiled at the momentum that flew much sharper than before. He slips almost to the ground and narrowly avoids the flying fireballs.
-Paat!
Immediately after, he jumped up again with only his waist strength. Even in the middle of winter, his rush was not delayed in the slightest.
‘This is what I expected!’
However, I did not mind the midwinter. She held out her left hand, which she had been gathering sparks all the way, instead of her right hand, which she stretched out in front of her. The roaring fireball was compressed in one moment, and then a huge explosion erupted the next moment.
-Perberberberberberbeobung!!!!
The explosion wasn’t just one. Dozens of explosions overlapped and hundreds of small pyrotechnic bullets hit Ryu Tae-hyun’s body. It was a bird shot, a new technique developed to block Ryu Tae-hyeon’s approach.
“Ugh?!”
However, the momentum was much stronger than during the sparring with An Su-ho. Ryu Tae-hyeon’s charge slowed down for a moment at the flame hitting his body like a shotgun.
‘Now!’
Without missing the moment, Midwinter gathered her hands together and shaped them into the shape of her pistol. The flames that burned from her shoulders gathered at the tips of her fingers in an instant, and then a brilliant white flash broke through the air and galloped.
-Spaang!!
The second new technology in midwinter. An AP (Armor Piercing) shot with maximum penetrability.
At that attack, Ryu Tae-hyeon crossed his arms and tried to take his defensive stance.
“!!”
However, the very next moment, he felt unusual momentum and changed his stance from defense to avoidance. Rarely for him, with a somewhat urgent expression.
-f*ck!!
A white flash of light exploded on Ryu Tae-hyeon’s left shoulder, who turned his body in a hurry. He kicked the ground and backed away from the burning pain. The spectators start to stir.
“…… Ryu Tae-Hyun stepped back? You’ve never been like that before?”
“What was that technique just now? Midwinter’s ability isn’t flame? But what I just did is like a laser…….”
“This, I guess Midwinter must have sharpened his sword over the midterm settlement?”
The atmosphere in the crowd, which had predicted Ryu Tae-hyeon’s victory for the most part, slowly began to reverse. Feeling the atmosphere with his whole body, Midgeoreum grinned at Ryu Tae-hyeon.
“How is it? Is it different this time?”
At those words, the laughter disappeared from Ryu Tae-hyeon’s mouth for the first time.