Chapter 231. In the Club Room (3)
"Wow, you're blocking well? They said you were a genius mage, and I guess it's true."
Kang- Kang-
Isaac nodded as he hurled mana toward Lee Hoyeon.
"…."
'Crazy bastard.'
As expected, I need to ditch this damn guild and switch over to Lee Hoyeon.
Scarlett looked at Isaac's back, trying her best not to give herself away.
He looked like a boy getting revenge and saying, "This is what happens when you mess with what's mine!"
Of course, he probably didn't think of Elise as an object… but she's so precious to him, he's probably lost his mind.
"Scarlett. What are you thinking about?"
Then Isaac turned his head and smiled.
Scarlett flinched, but quickly transitioned to a sympathetic expression for Lee Hoyeon.
"... I think it's about time you revealed yourself. It's been quite a while."
This strange act had been going on for nearly 30 minutes, so Scarlett couldn't help but feel frustrated.
Strong people always have something weird about them.
For example, Lee Hoyeon is obsessed with girls, and Isaac is obsessed with Elise.
"That guy's not getting scared. And that barrier is so damn solid I can't even pressure him. I'm even holding back so it won't hurt."
Who just stands there when blades are flying at them?
Scarlett tried to reason with Isaac as rationally as possible.
"... But if we keep occupying a public road like this, it could cause problems."
"Really? Usually when a barrier is up like this, people just assume there's a fight and move on."
"Korea has good public safety, so that's unlikely."
If they were unlucky, a high-level hunter passing by might report them.
There are a lot of bad people, but weirdly, there are a lot of good ones too.
"Tsk. Fine. Let's wrap it up. I've played around enough."
He was also surprised that a mere cadet had managed to keep blocking his attacks.
Of course, he had been holding back a lot… but most people who call themselves hunters couldn't even block that much.
'Still, it'd be a shame to end it like this.'
[I'm Elise's father.]
[The father of the girl you have dirty thoughts about.]
[Think you can handle that?]
He wanted to intimidate Lee Hoyeon like that.
But appearing after failing to land any attacks from a distance felt too humiliating and went against his philosophy.
If that's how it had to be, he'd rather just run away.
Then Lee Hoyeon suddenly started doing something strange.
He directly deactivated the bizarrely sturdy unidentified barrier.
Then he began walking into the alley.
Because the space had been forcibly expanded by magic, there was a risk the spell might be exposed the closer he came.
"What the hell is that?"
"…."
As expected, Lee Hoyeon isn't normal either.
Scarlett gave up on understanding and decided to just watch the collaboration of two lunatics.
"He's provoking me, isn't he?"
"... I'm not sure."
Seriously, I have no idea.
Why is he doing that?
That'll just piss Isaac off more.
"Scarlett."
"Yes."
"I guess I really have dragged this out. A cadet provoking me, of all things."
"... He probably didn't know it was you. Please calm down and consider Cadet Lee Hoyeon…"
"I'll go myself. I'll have him on the ground in under a minute, so follow me."
"... Yes. Understood."
Haa.
Scarlett closed her eyes and followed behind Isaac.
'I'm done with this.'
He said he'd take him down in under a minute.
If Isaac said that, he meant he'd go all out.
Still, since his opponent was a cadet and a friend of Elise, he probably wouldn't kill him.
Hopefully, he wouldn't get too badly hurt.
Scarlett prepared a high-level shield spell on the spot as she walked into the alley.
*
'... Maybe this wasn't the way.'
The provocation definitely worked.
The opponent had come out directly.
Kang! Chwarajak!
The problem was—he was too strong.
Kagagagang!
I blocked the mana flying toward the rune barrier.
The concrete making up the alley crumbled just from the residual force of the magic I blocked.
Kang! Swish—
At the same time, I felt a strong impact.
Something was hitting my rune barrier repeatedly.
At an invisible speed.
'Clairvoyance.'
I tried to track him by focusing power in my eyes, but I couldn't catch him.
That's how immense the gap was.
But I was lucky I met Rebecca yesterday.
Thanks to that, my rune barrier had become tougher and upgraded, and it blocked the attacks.
Without that rune barrier, I wouldn't have even thought about counterattacking.
Fwoosh—
The flames flowed along my hand, formed a 10-meter-radius circle on the ground, then soared into the air.
My mana was connected to all the fire.
Sizzle—
I felt a faint, odd sensation.
No matter how well someone hides, unless they defy physics, they'll be touched by the flames if they exist in the space.
I quickly focused the fire in that direction.
Fwoooosh—!
Kagagagagang!
But something broke out from within the flames and struck my rune barrier again.
I withstood the impact as best as I could and stepped forward.
Mana extended from my toes, chasing the figure like vines to restrain him.
Of course, he pulled back—but that was part of my plan.
I drew a magic circle as if I were pursuing him.
Once again, flames spread throughout the space.
Since he escaped forcefully, his stance must've broken. This time, I planned to strike for real.
With a 10-meter radius again, there's no way he can dodge.
But.
"... Fuck, seriously."
The opponent vanished.
Literally.
The opponent disappeared from the 10-meter radius space I was controlling with fire.
He ran out instantly?
You could think that, but it felt totally different.
The mana that had been present just vanished.
Like Nam Daeun, who cuts through space, defying physics.
It felt like he'd disappeared from existence.
KABOOM!
Then suddenly, a blond pretty boy appeared before my eyes.
Gritting his teeth, a bit frustrated, but strangely enjoying himself.
He swung his arm directly at my rune barrier.
Crackle— Creak—
The already damaged rune barrier shattered like glass, and I had to retreat.
"Haa…."
In front of me stood the handsome blond man, with Scarlett following like a secretary behind him.
'Isaac, huh.'
I wasn't sure from just the blond hair, but with Scarlett there, it was confirmed.
Scarlett wasn't even making eye contact with me.
Probably trying to avoid any link being discovered.
Thankfully, it seemed Isaac didn't know about our relationship.
Huff— huff—
I was panting like I'd just run a marathon, but Isaac looked completely fine.
'Damn, he's strong as hell.'
I gave it everything I had.
There was no opening to use big spells like Spiral… but that was part of his strength too.
This was my limit.
I really can't beat him.
I mean, who do I think I am, trying to go toe-to-toe with the strongest in the world this early on?
Step— step—
Isaac approached, and I could finally feel it.
"How do you win against this?"
Isaac, no longer hiding his presence, made the difference in power crystal clear.
I had only barely held out thanks to the overpowered rune barrier Rebecca had taught me.
This wasn't a real fight.
Isaac hadn't tried to kill me. We'd just clashed briefly.
Thump— thump—
Isaac had no killing intent toward me.
But the overwhelming power gap was making my heart race from sheer battle tension.
If he got even slightly serious, I'd die instantly.
My instincts knew that.
Isaac stood before me.
He was definitely someone who could have killed me long ago if he wanted.
And yet, he'd spent over ten minutes grappling with me—he must have something to say.
What on earth was he trying to tell me by pushing me this far?
Only when Isaac stood directly before me could I finally notice it.
He was slightly out of breath.
It gave me a tiny bit of pride.
I nervously looked at Isaac.
Smack.
Isaac suddenly smacked his lips and spoke.
"... Passed."
"...?"