CH.64 New Effect (4)
A massive wave engulfs the indoor training ground.
It began with a small amount of water from a water bottle…
But now, the quantity has grown to the extent that it can be described as immense.
At this point, is this not the arrival of a young Swirl Leviathan?
However, the accuracy of the wave wasn’t particularly high.
“…Difficult.”
[Swirling Tidal Wave] is an Epic Rune of level 4, but it’s not a rune I can handle skillfully.
Though the level is quite high, it’s a rune I’ve never used before.
That’s why utilizing the rune to control water and even maneuvering the derivative skill [New Wave] were both not as easy as I had thought.
Moreover, Park Jin-woo is a warrior focused on speed.
Rather than being heavily armored, he emphasizes agility and excels in evasion.
True to his nickname of Quick Frog that he’d earned, he adeptly avoids even unfamiliar magical skills without panic.
And intermittently, he shouts in anger.
“You cowardly brat! Using magical attacks in a warriors’ battle!”
“But I’m an assassin-type?”
“Damn it! What’s an assassin doing conjuring waves? This lineage is just damn ridiculous.”
His outburst seems to carry a significant sense of injustice.
Even as Park Jin-woo delivers these lines, he evades my attacks.
Without a doubt, if the attack were to hit, considering his lack of water resistance, it would deal substantial damage. However, since he possesses exceptional speed and wields many agile runes, capturing him wasn’t an easy task.
‘I’ll save this for later.’
I made up my mind to stop using [Swirling Tidal Wave].
Currently, using this rune was not yielding significant efficiency, despite my efforts.
In terms of magical attack runes, [Fiery Flame] is still more familiar to me.
It seemed more practical to improve proficiency with water element runes in dungeons and utilize them in duels.
Adjusting my mindset, I draw the dagger from my waist.
Then, I swiftly threw four daggers directly at Park Jin-woo.
[Quarter Knives].
Even amidst his seemingly casual demeanor, Park Jin-woo manages to evade all the daggers.
“You’re sending daggers again from over there?”
“It’s impressive that you dodged them.”
Thanks to the Art of Weapon Exchange, I now hold a dual-handed sword in my hands once again.
I dive into Park Jin-woo’s guard and utilize the intricacies of [Wave Sword Technique] to pierce his body with the sword.
Clang! Clang!
Another clash.
Our swords collide once more.
At this point, I sense it.
Practically, it’s the end.
Though Park Jin-woo used [Rotating Combo Attack] as his final strike from the start, it was blocked by my [Iron Wall Defense], leaving him unable to land an effective blow.
Even though [Unstoppable Swift Swordplay] boasts an astonishing speed, without [Rotating Combo Attack], he can’t deal any significant damage to me in my current state.
With solid defenses and skills in place, and numerous counterattacks to unleash.
Furthermore, since Park Jin-woo, who pursues speed, blocked my sword with his sword, the disadvantageous situation I’m in becomes all the more apparent.
‘A burning flame’.
In order to conclude the duel, I gather my magical energy.
Flames rise along the sword.
This is the manifestation of [Fiery Flame].
In this close proximity, a fire-element magical attack is truly a trump card against a warrior-type.
Even Shin Yuna, who was quite self-assured, couldn’t withstand it.
Flames traverse both swords.
Just as the fiery flame is about to engulf Park Jin-woo.
Unbelievable words escape his lips.
“Chase it.”
“What?”
No way, seriously?
Oration?
Curses almost involuntarily come to mind.
I know about this oration.
‘Chase it’ is the oration of [Rainbow Clash], the ultimate skill of [Moonlit Thrust].
And that realization makes me feel like a fool.
Seriously, is this for real?
How long has it been since he acquired [Rotating Combo Attack]? And he’s already using an ultimate skill?
I couldn’t even find a moment to be surprised.
Park Jin-woo’s sword instantly vanishes from my field of vision and, in the blink of an eye, it’s right in front of my thigh.
‘Crazy… Hardening!’
Beyond the limit of speed.
I had no answer in my mind for how to handle this situation.
I could only resort to [Lizard’s Scale], a derivative skill of [Hardening], to increase my toughness and rely on [Physical Barrier] to withstand as much as I could.
But is the ultimate skill really the ultimate skill for no reason?
[Moonlit Thrust] utilizes extreme speed to slash the target a total of 17 times.
The highly concentrated speed surpasses even my toughness, piercing through my skin.
“Ouch…!!”
Damn it…
It hurts like hell.
Fortunately, thanks to [Hardening] being used as quickly as possible, I managed to prevent a catastrophic amount of damage. However, I couldn’t avoid a deep cut on my thigh.
At this rate, further dueling is impossible.
Understanding this, Park Jin-woo utters words with a bewildered expression.
“Hey… are you okay…? I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to… Quickly, let’s get you to the healing station…”
“It’s alright, kid.”
I reassured Park Jin-woo with words that sounded harsher than I intended.
Although Park Jin-woo ended up launching an attack beyond the level of a duel due to his momentary immersion, my abilities were sufficient to compensate for that kind of mistake.
Swoosh-
A touch imbued with emerald green energy reaches my thigh.
Soon, the healing of the deep wound on my thigh begins.
The spurting blood gradually subsides.
After defeating Shin Yuna in our duel, the manifestation of [Combat Healing] that I acquired appeared.
Even though I found it annoying when I saw it happen to others, it feels different when I’m the one using it.
As Park Jin-woo watched this absurd scene, his expression froze.
“What… what’s that again…?”
“This?”
<Rune Information>
◎ Name: Combat Healing
◎ Grade: Rare
◎ Level: 5
◎ Engraved Location: Right palm
◎ Special Effects:
: Enables the ability to heal targets during battle. Performance is lower compared to standard healing, but the casting time is significantly reduced for quick use.
: Recovery +4
◎ Derived Skill:
: [Emergency Treatment]
◎ Detailed Informations:
: Basic healing using recovery magic that can be used during battle.
It’s this kind of rune.
He probably can’t see it.
Although its performance is inferior to regular [Healing], its effect is enhanced by allowing quick healing of urgent injuries during battle…
The deep wound on my thigh healed rapidly to the point where it was hardly noticeable.
Furthermore, the effect of the derived skill [Emergency Treatment] is even better.
When the skill is used and healing is applied to an injury that occurred within the last 10 seconds… the healing effect doubles.
The cooldown is quite long at one hour, but if I only needed to heal this wound, the game would be over for me.
Before I knew it, the wound on my thigh had completely healed, and there was no hindrance to my movements, just like before.
The ultimate skill Park Jin-woo had used, which was even a mistake…
It was the moment when it was countered by the combination of [Hardening] and [Emergency Treatment].
With a grin, I said to him, “Can’t use your ultimate skill anymore? You’re done for. Come at me again.”
“……”
Life drained from Park Jin-woo’s face, which had previously shown apology and uncertainty.
He looks quite aggrieved.
But what can you do?
If you feel unfairly treated, then become a healer too…
***
ippotranslations
***
“Darn it, I lost again.”
Park Jin-woo, lying flat in the training ground, said.
Next to him, I was also lying exhausted, sprawled out.
“Now it’s 31 wins and 11 losses.”
“Why do you feel stronger every time you fight? When it gets close, you should step back, you know.”
“Are you the one to talk? Who suddenly learns an ultimate skill and starts using it…”
“Oh… it’s painfully weak to see. Blocked by just one of your defense skills. It’s difficult to use due to lack of proficiency.”
It’s true.
Even though my [Hardening] and [Emergency Treatment] showed good efficiency, it’s hard to easily accept that an ultimate skill of a single Holder could be blocked like that.
Perhaps Park Jin-woo hadn’t learned [Moonlit Thrust] for long, and his lack of proficiency led to this situation.
It’s probably a similar case to when I acquired [Sky-Shattering Heavenly Sword] and [Water Sword Dance] with my limited ultimate skill usage.
“But seriously, are you even human?”
Park Jin-woo, lying next to me, asked.
It was a serious question without any hint of humor in his voice.
“What nonsense are you talking about?”
“No, really. A guy from the warrior-type…”
“Assassin-type.”
“Yeah. A guy from the assassin-type, using fire, water, and even healing. Does that make any sense?”
“Well, I’m a Multi-Holder.”
“That’s true.”
He’s a straightforward guy, indeed.
Park Jin-woo readily accepts the concept of being a Multi-Holder in one go.
With a wry smile, I added, “But don’t go telling everyone. You’re the only one who knows that I’m this diverse in being a Multi-Holder.”
“Is Kim Chae-eun not aware?”
“Why are you suddenly bringing up Kim Chae-eun?”
I asked at the sudden mention of a name.
Park Jin-woo, lying down, looked at me for a moment before saying, “Weren’t you dating Kim Chae-eun?”
“What?”
I was aware that rumors were circulating, but…
I never expected it to come out of Park Jin-woo’s mouth.
Perhaps he’s the source of the malicious rumors circulating around the academy.
“Never mind then.”
Seeing him bring the conversation to a perfect conclusion like this.
I shifted the topic with an incredulous laugh.
“Stop talking nonsense and just get promoted to C-grade.”
“Ugh… it’s bothersome.”
“Come on, really. Just do it. It’s not like you have anything to do during the vacation.”
“… I guess you’re right.”
Park Jin-woo scratched his embarrassed face.
Unlike me, who became an intern at <Judgement of Fire>, Park Jin-woo was a freeloader during the vacation.
Probably the reason he’s not promoting to C-grade is just because he finds it really troublesome.
“If you get promoted, I’ll immediately take you to a dungeon. Something on the level of the Academy’s underground dungeon. Deal?”
I got up from where I was lying down and made a proposition that he couldn’t resist.
Training, growth, dueling…
And conquering dungeons.
Among his favorite things, this is one of Park Jin-woo’s favorites.
It was an offer he couldn’t refuse.
Then, as I expected, he responded promptly.
“Deal.”
As I thought, he’s simple-minded.
