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Chapter 152

“Yes. We should each stake something we want from the other,” Se-Hoon confirmed, nodding.

“I guess there’s something you want from me?”

Although his facial expression didn\'t show it, Se-Hoon could see the considerable wariness filing Seon-Woo\'s eyes.

“No, I haven\'t thought of something yet. As I said before, this will just be a small wager, meaning we can determine the stakes as the situation unfolds.”

“So... if I think what you ask for isn\'t trivial, I can refuse at any time?”

“That\'s correct.”

Se-Hoon was well aware that no one would accept a bet with heavy conditions right off the bat in such a situation. And that was especially true for someone from the Special Operations Division, who always had to be cautious with every word they said.

In fact, it would be foolish to try and forcibly trap him with a bet.

The goal for now is to pique his interest.

Having often done such a thing, Se-Hoon patiently waited for an answer. And as he expected, after contemplating it, Seon-Woo asked, “How do you plan to proceed with the bet?”

“Well, I\'ll first watch the kite-flying training you mentioned and will decide after that.”

“Alright. Please wait a moment, then,” Seon-Woo said, heading up to the training ground.

Seeing Se-Hoon watching Seon-Woo’s back, Kwang-Soo apprehensively asked, “What are you thinking?”

“You heard it all. It\'s just a small bet.”

“Don’t say such nonsense.”

At Kwang-Soo’s glare, Se-Hoon glanced at him.

“It’s really as it sounds. Well, to be honest, it’s also to get closer to him.”

“With that guy?” Kwang-Soo asked, raising an eyebrow in surprise.

Se-Hoon calmly nodded.

“He\'s an investigator from the Special Operations Division. Being close to him could be beneficial in many ways for me in the future.”

“Hmm. But since that guy\'s mindset is so rigid, getting close might be a headache...”

“The difficulty will just depend on how I want to use him anyway.”

Before the regression, Se-Hoon had avoided Seon-Woo like the plague as he hadn’t had a proper backer, but now, with Ludwig as his supporter, things were different.

Taken aback by Se-Hoon’s confident words, Kwang-Soo only recovered a second later. He shrugged his shoulders.

“Do what you want then, I guess. Just don’t underestimate him too much.”

Glancing toward Seon-Woo, who was examining his bow on the training ground, Kwang-Soo warned, “He’ll definitely reach S-rank within five years.”

It wasn’t just he had a good chance, but that he definitely would.

However, Se-Hoon already knew that.

“I’m already aware of that.”

How could he not know, having been tormented for months by the very man himself after he became an S-rank?

If it\'s now, it should be possible to get close to him.

Compared to his tormentor, Seon-Woo was still just a novice. At this level, there were still several gaps that even his current self could exploit.

“I’m ready. Both of you, please come up.”

While Kwang-Soo had been thinking Se-Hoon’s unwavering confidence was odd, Seon-Woo had finally finished preparing.

Heading over, Se-Hoon naturally noticed the fist-sized green cubes scattered at intervals around the edges of the training ground. Initially, he didn’t understand their purpose, but it didn’t take long for him to figure it out.

Ah ha, so that’s what kite-flying means.

Having roughly grasped the training method, Se-Hoon smirked.

When they arrived in front of Seon-Woo, he wasted no time. Holding a bow in one hand, he began, “Before I start explaining, let me give you a brief demonstration.”

Snap! Whirr-

When he lightly snapped, the green cubes placed at the edge of the training ground promptly flickered and opened, releasing green winds that scattered in all directions. Soon, they all came together and merged into a massive wind barrier that surrounded the training ground.

Whoosh!

The howling winds around them formed a mystical sight; it felt like they were standing at the center of a whirlpool. Turning back to Seon-Woo, Se-Hoon watched as he picked up an arrow from the quiver on the ground and nocked it on his bowstring.

“Hmm

...”

Observing their surroundings, Seon-Woo drew the bow and aimed the arrow at the wind barrier surrounding them.

Twang!

Releasing the string, the arrow shot straight toward the wind barrier.

Normally, one would expect the arrow to either pierce through or be deflected. However, the arrow suddenly turned.

Whoosh!

Circling the training ground, the arrow maneuvered freely, riding the current of the wind barrier. It resembled a kite flying in the wind.

“Kite-flying is a training method to hone your ability to observe the movements of the winds and control arrows by linking them with your mana,” Seon-Woo explained.

Demonstrating further, Seon-Woo subtly flicked his fingers and the arrow changed direction sharply.

Whoosh!

Like a fish swimming in water, the arrow navigated the wind barrier erratically.

“Normally, we practice with regular arrows, but since you don’t have any prior experience in archery, I\'ve prepared special arrows for you. These arrows will move as you desire once you connect them with your mana.”

Whoosh-

Heading Seon-Woo\'s call, the arrow escaped the wind barrier and landed back in the quiver.

Ruminating over the quick demonstration, which seemed more like a performance than training, Se-Hoon asked, “So, the scoring criteria is how well one can observe the movement of the winds, am I right?”

“That\'s correct.”

Hearing Seon-Woo’s confirmation, Se-Hoon surveyed the wind barrier surrounding them along with the dozens of cubes maintaining the chaotic and irregular winds.

There are a lot of areas where the movement of the wind is unpredictable. I can’t handle it with mere technique then.

Understanding what Seon-Woo and Baek-Yeon wanted to see from him, Se-Hoon nodded.

“May I practice a bit first?”

“Of course. You can use this bow.”

Receiving the bow from Seon-Woo, Se-Hoon instinctively examined it first.

It’s a decent bow. It\'s been specialized to work in tandem with those special arrows.

When the special arrows were shot from the bow, they would connect and respond more sensitively to the wielder’s mana.

Let’s see. The stance should be...

Done examining the bow, Se-Hoon adjusted his grip and nocked an arrow. Adjusting his body slightly, he drew the bowstring, aiming at the barrier.

Twang!

Let loose, the arrow flew smoothly into the wind barrier, turning to move along with the current.

Whoosh!

Feeling a sudden weight at his fingertips, Se-Hoon quickly figured out it was the mana connected to the arrow. Testing it, he lightly moved his fingers while observing the wind barrier’s flow.

Hmm... like this?

Instead of controlling it like a part of his body, it felt more like a game, since he needed to tap to adjust its direction moment by moment. Getting used to the sensation, he continued adjusting accordingly.

Thunk!

However, he made a mistake and the arrow abruptly veered off and was launched out of the barrier.

“Oh, wow.”

Since he had only focused on the arrow’s movements, he had failed to respond to a sudden shift in the winds’ flow and was thus bounced out.

Looking embarrassed, Se-Hoon picked up the arrow that had rolled in front of him. “Wow, archery is pretty tough, as expected. If it’s this hard even with special arrows, I can’t imagine how hard it would be with regular ones.”

While he talked, Seon-Woo, who had watched the entire process, just stared at him in a daze.

What did I just see?

When people first heard about kite-flying, they usually pondered over how they should control the arrows. However, before that, the first challenge most encountered was finding the entrance to the wind barrier. After all, with it constantly swirling, the entrance irregularly appeared, yet they had to find it to insert the arrow and ride the current.

Befitting its difficulty, it typically took talented students about six months to grasp, and that was only if they had some prior training in archery.

He succeeded on the first try?

According to his prior research, Se-Hoon had never shown any proficiency with a bow inside Babel. Yet, not only had he found the entrance immediately, but he had also managed to control the arrow within the wind barrier for a while.

To Seon-Woo, such a thing was utterly unbelievable, so he drew his own conclusions.

Has he been practicing in secret?

Although he was known for his skills with a sword and hammer, perhaps Se-Hoon’s true specialty was archery.

Yes, that would explain why my great-aunt suddenly took an interest in his talent and why he suggested the bet.

In the meantime, as Seon-Woo drew his own conclusions, Se-Hoon had shot a few more arrows. And although each following arrow managed to stay within the current for a bit longer than the last, none of them were able to do a full lap around the training ground before being bounced out.

“Hmm...”

Reviewing what he had learned, Se-Hoon looked at Seon-Woo a few minutes later.

“Well, shall we move on to the bet?”

“What do you have in mind?”

“Since the training is called ‘kite-flying,’ how about a kite fight?”

He went on to propose that they would shoot arrows in opposite directions, and the first one whose arrow was bounced out would lose. They could either dodge and endure or strike the opponent\'s arrow to force it out.

“If it’s a single-round game, I’m sure to lose, so let’s make it five rounds. If I win even once, I win the bet. What do you think of it?”

On paper, the conditions seemed to overwhelmingly favor Se-Hoon. However... Seon-Woo’s eyes twitched at the proposal. He had expected Se-Hoon to propose a game that was based on staying in the wind barrier, but he hadn’t expected Se-Hoon to have the audacity to talk about win conditions himself.

“Do you think you have a real chance to win at least once out of five rounds?” asked Seon-Woo incredulously.

“Well... it shouldn’t be impossible, should it?”

At Se-Hoon’s seemingly innocent response, Seon-Woo just quietly observed him before nodding.

“Fine. But let’s add one more condition.”

Seon-Woo calmly drew an arrow from his quiver.

“I’ll use my hands instead of a bow to make it fair.”

Meeting provocation with provocation, Seon-Woo’s calm yet competitive stance made Se-Hoon’s expression harden.

“Do as you please. We will handle the aftermath independently anyway.”

“Correct.”

Their gazes clashed in midair.

Taking their positions, Se-Hoon looked at Kwang-Soo, who was awkwardly standing by

“Professor, can you count us down?”

“Sure, sure. I’ll count from three, then. Three...”

As Kwang-Soo slowly counted down, Se-Hoon and Seon-Woo took their stances and aimed at the wind barrier.

“Two...”

Surrounded by the ever-swirling winds, Seon-Woo momentarily reflected on his initial plan for how he was going to handle the duel.

I was planning to go easy on him... but it seems I need to teach him a proper lesson.

Confidence in one’s abilities was fine, but when it turned into arrogance, it could choke oneself. As an active-duty hero, Seon-Woo decided to give his junior a hard-learned lesson and began infusing his arrow with mana.

Whirr-

Seeing the swirling wind lightly enveloped his arrow, Seon-Woo drew his arm back and focused on the wind barrier.

“One...”

With only the final signal left, the two reached the peak of their concentration.

“Start!”

Twang!

The two arrows shot into the wind barrier. Then, without hesitation, both arrows raced towards each other.

Seon-Woo’s eyes narrowed at the sight.

He’s trying to knock me out immediately.

This was no longer just overconfidence; it was suspicious. Wondering if Se-Hoon had some hidden strategy, Seon-Woo immediately activated his skill.

Swallow’s Zephyr

Boom-!

A burst of wind erupted from his arrow. The faint yet distinct wind permeated various parts of the barrier, causing it to shake violently in all directions.

Swallow’s Zephyr was a skill that altered the surrounding atmosphere with a small amount of wind. Thus, when injected into the wind barrier, the wind barrier surged with much greater intensity, causing the movement of its winds to become highly erratic.

As a result, Se-Hoon\'s arrow, which had been moving relatively straight, began to wobble precariously; it looked like it would be bounced out at any second.

“Ugh...”

The previously predicted flow of the wind had completely changed, and the new gust was no joke.

Whoosh!

While Se-Hoon’s arrow was trying to hold on amidst the sudden surge, Seon-Woo’s arrow, encased in a fierce wind, shot closer at high speed. Simultaneously, the wind surge arrived, destabilizing Se-Hoon’s arrow even more. The way it looked, it felt like his arrow would bounce out without even facing Seon-Woo’s.

Confident in his victory, Seon-Woo added a final acceleration to put Se-Hoon out of his misery.

Here it comes...!

Having been observing the situation intently, Se-Hoon flicked his fingers, causing his arrow to twist like a pretzel.

Whirr!

Seeing the barely stable arrow suddenly twist, Seon-Woo’s eyebrows shot up in shock.

Is that...

At first glance, it looked like a desperate attempt to hold on, but his instinct told him it wasn’t something to be taken lightly. Listening to it, Seon-Woo, forgetting he was facing a much younger student, activated his unique skill, Enhanced Vision.

Woong-!

Blue ripples spread through his dark blue eyes, expanding his vision to encompass the entire training ground. Now, he could clearly see the changes occurring in Se-Hoon’s body and his arrow.

I see. He’s trying to twist the flow of the winds like I did...!

Anticipating his move, it seemed Se-Hoon had prepared a counter. And Seon-Woo couldn’t help but be impressed by how the earlier arrogance was probably a tactic to provoke such a situation.

For a second, he even considered just letting it slide, but it was just for a second.

The tougher the challenges he faces, the stronger he becomes.

In the end, there were still four rounds left. Deciding to show Se-Hoon a new level, he applied a slight variation to his arrow.

Swallow’s Piercing Zephyr

Sprang!

Seon-Woo’s arrow accelerated forward like a swallow piercing through the wind. He had decided to crush Se-Hoon’s counter head-on with overwhelming speed and power.

With the new burst of speed, the two arrows collided before Se-Hoon could even react... supposedly.

Got him!!!

Se-Hoon’s eyes gleamed and he released his hold on the twisted arrow.

Mortal Combat Techniques: Swallow Hunt

Clang!

A metallic sound echoed throughout the training ground, and an arrow was helplessly bounced out.

Thunk-

Seon-Woo stared at the broken arrow on the floor, his eyes wide in disbelief.

What... how...?

The moment Seon-Woo’s arrow had come closer, Se-Hoon’s arrow, twisted to its limit, unfurled and struck Seon-Woo’s to send it out. The intuitiveness of the bizarre, battle-impractical maneuver not typical of an ordinary arrow was shocking to Seon-Woo.

He was aiming for the moment of contact from the start...

He was certain Se-Hoon had aimed to reduce the variables and had already prepared to counter accordingly since the beginning. Finding his ability to read the winds’ flow and anticipate his opponent’s response beyond impressive, Seon-Woo turned to Se-Hoon.

“It seems... we didn’t need five rounds after all,” commented Se-Hoon with a smirk upon meeting his eyes.

“...”

Grit-