NOVPUBThe sunlight-like Inungpa of Ju Su-hyeok and the flames released by Yeom Jun-yeol’s Hongryong intertwined, fighting for dominance.
Both paused for a moment, focusing all their energy on absorbing each other’s flames.
“So, that’s what Inung Eating is?”
“Yeah, it’s something that can only be done between natural abilities of the same attribute.”
“Su-hyeok can probably do this with all attributes... wow...”
“Isn’t Hongryong at an advantage here? Su-hyeok awakened Gwangrim last year, and Hongryong has been handling fire since birth.”
Everyone was amazed by Ju Su-hyeok’s ability and ingenuity, but most still predicted Yeom Jun-yeol would win.
Among the students who had bet on dinner, those who bet on Su-hyeok were starting to sigh.
Hwang Ji-ho, who had been watching the exciting duel, commented.
“From a conventional standpoint, Yeom Jun-yeol should win. Plus, he has a good master.”
When Hwang Ji-ho emphasized the "good master," he glanced my way.
The kind disciple always calls me his master, but Yeom Jun-yeol’s real masters are Yeom Bang-yeol and Chok-ryong.
The skills of commanding Hongryong, handling fire, and mastering body techniques all came from those two masters.
‘I didn’t teach Yeom Jun-yeol much.’
The few things I taught him were based on knowledge from the game.
Inung Eating was one of those things I taught him.
In a particular scenario, I saw a playable character using that power and decided it was something Yeom Jun-yeol would need, so I taught it to him.
Eunho and Hwang Ji-ho continued their conversation beside me.
“Dragons hold their descendants in high regard. I doubt they would teach Inung Eating to an unseasoned descendant.”
“Doesn’t seem like it, though. Hmm, if a certain master taught it to him, then it’s a different story.”
“If I’m right, and he learned Inung Eating from the person I think he did, it would be tough for a descendant of the dragon race to win.”
“You’ve always held that teacher in high regard, so to say something like this is unexpected.”
It seemed both Eunho and Hwang Ji-ho were convinced I had taught Yeom Jun-yeol Inung Eating.
From their conversation, it seemed Eunho knew I had taught Yeom Jun-yeol because I had seen Ju Su-hyeok’s playstyle.
If I had played Plmago, it would’ve been obvious.
“I think Hyung would agree with me.”
Eunho’s gaze fell on Ju Su-hyeok.
As expected, I had taught Yeom Jun-yeol Inung Eating after watching Ju Su-hyeok’s play.
In Plmago, Ju Su-hyeok used Perfect Winged Strokes and Inung Eating to seize control of the power and made significant moves in important scenarios.
The tips I taught Yeom Jun-yeol for Inung Eating were all things I had learned from watching Ju Su-hyeok, so using what I taught him to defeat Ju Su-hyeok would be difficult.
‘Ju Su-hyeok succeeded in Inung Eating the year he acquired Gwangrim. There’s a reason Ju Su-hyeok is called The Unrivaled Genius, alongside Anda-in, surpassing all the other geniuses at Yeonggwang High.’
Unrivaled or Unmatched Talent are terms that refer to someone whose existence is extremely rare, and they are too heavy to be used just because someone aced a school exam.
If any senior of a similar age had the same genius as Ju Su-hyeok, those kinds of titles wouldn’t be attached.
Among my playable characters, many are close in age to Ju Su-hyeok and have the potential to be geniuses, like Do Won-woo, Yoo Sang-hee, Cheon Dong-ha, Yeom Jun-yeol, Cha Seok-won... all excellent, born with outstanding abilities and called geniuses, and they would have had enough skill to take on the role of protagonist.
Yet, even those who criticize Plmago as a bad game agree that Ju Su-hyeok and Anda-in should be the protagonists in such a world.
Ju Su-hyeok and Anda-in are the ones who give hope and possess the strength and talent to survive in a world like Plmago.
Wow!
The sunlight-like flame of Ju Su-hyeok rose along the flame pillar summoned by Hongryong.
Ju Su-hyeok’s flames finally consumed all the fire spread across the ground and reached Hongryong, hovering high in the sky.
It was a scene as if the light from the sun was rising from the earth.
“Though still young, they are descendants of dragons... impressive.”
Hwang Ji-ho expressed pure admiration.
There are few humans who surpass dragons or their descendants, like Im Yeon-hwa or Ham Geun-hyeong, but they do exist.
Having seen this a few times in his life, Hwang Ji-ho would still be amazed by the power of Ju Su-hyeok.
Right now, all Yeom Jun-yeol could control were Hongryong and the surrounding flames.
At this rate, control of the flames would completely shift to Ju Su-hyeok.
‘But Yeom Jun-yeol isn’t the type to give up easily. He still has a move left.’
I could tell from Yeom Jun-yeol’s face that he hadn’t given up.
The moment Ju Su-hyeok’s flames tried to consume Hongryong, Yeom Jun-yeol closed his eyes briefly and opened them wide.
His eyes were now tinged red, and his pupils were vertically elongated.
It was a sign that Yeom Jun-yeol was about to use the power of a dragon’s descendant.
Fwaah!
Yeom Jun-yeol’s hair turned the color of blazing flames, and Hongryong’s output suddenly surged.
Every time Hongryong exhaled fire, the ground trembled with the roar of explosions.
The new flames Hongryong breathed out covered the power that Ju Su-hyeok had absorbed.
With each blink of an eye, the color of the flames changed dramatically.
‘He’s using the power unleashed when opening his abilities as a descendant to try to reverse the situation. If the fight drags on, he’ll be at a disadvantage, but if he rides this momentum, he can finish it quickly.’
The cheers grew louder as the heat and power spread beyond the barrier.
Both Yeom Jun-yeol and Ju Su-hyeok had many fans, and many had placed bets, so the crowd’s cheers were almost like screams of support.
The tide of battle had completely turned, and now Ju Su-hyeok was engulfed by the pillar of fire.
Then...
Whoooosh!
A beam of light shot toward Yeom Jun-yeol through the flames.
It looked like light cutting through the fire, but it wasn’t.
It was Ju Su-hyeok’s sword.
As Ju Su-hyeok was engulfed by the pillar of fire and Yeom Jun-yeol couldn’t see him, he launched his sword at Yeom Jun-yeol.
Just as Yeom Jun-yeol couldn’t see Ju Su-hyeok, the sword Dubi Narae flew accurately toward him, despite the blocked sight.
“Did he really hit Yeom Jun-yeol, who was floating in the air, while using Inung Eating? Both sides must have had a hard time.”
“Such a protagonist move.”
Amid the praise from the tigers and the astonishment of the audience, Yong Je-geon, who had been hovering in the air, quickly moved.
With his usual playful expression gone, he focused and looked beyond the barrier, checking Yeom Jun-yeol’s safety.
He kept watching the smoky barrier until his expression softened.
‘Yong Je-geon didn’t cross the barrier, and the student council adviser didn’t stop him. Yeom Jun-yeol is safe.’
Thankfully, Yeom Jun-yeol was safe, so Yong Je-geon didn’t have to intervene.
Once the smoke cleared a little, the audience below could see Yeom Jun-yeol.
Although his school uniform sleeves were completely torn, dragon scales could be seen beneath.
He had succeeded in defending just before the attack hit.
‘He successfully blocked Ju Su-hyeok’s perfect ambush. But...’
To defend, Yeom Jun-yeol had to stop using Inung Eating, and Ju Su-hyeok didn’t miss the opportunity.
The flames spreading across the ground once again belonged to Ju Su-hyeok.
Flame!
Ju Su-hyeok used his derived skill Double Sword, One Body (雙劍一身) to grab Dubi Narae again and soared toward the sky.
With the flames now infused into his dual swords, he climbed up, stepping on the flames as if he had wings made of fire.
When Yeom Jun-yeol, who had just managed to block the last strike, took his stance again, he had already lost control of all the flames, and Ju Su-hyeok was riding Hongryong.
Despite losing control of the flames, Yeom Jun-yeol hadn’t been defeated yet, thanks to the protection of the Dragon King’s Blessing “My fire shall never burn you.”
The flames controlled by Ju Su-hyeok swirled around Yeom Jun-yeol, but none could burn him.
“Jun-yeol hyung, do you surrender?”
Ju Su-hyeok pointed his sword at Yeom Jun-yeol.
Yeom Jun-yeol had said the same thing to Ju Su-hyeok earlier.
Yeom Jun-yeol smiled and answered.
“Haha, you know what I’ll say.”
“Yes, I asked knowing that.”
With their brief exchange done, Ju Su-hyeok charged toward Yeom Jun-yeol.
This time, Yeom Jun-yeol responded with body techniques instead of fire magic.
The dragon race teaches body techniques to fight opponents for whom fire magic doesn’t work.
These were mainly taught by Chok-ryong, using dragon scales for fighting.
Kahh!
Yeom Jun-yeol, covered in red scales, collided with Ju Su-hyeok’s Dubi Narae.
As the fight resumed, everyone watched in tense silence.
All that could be heard was the sound of scales and sword blades clashing throughout the arena.
It looked like an even match at first, but the outcome was already clear.
‘Yeom Jun-yeol’s body techniques aren’t bad. He could conquer most otherworlds with just body techniques. But even at that level, he can’t beat Ju Su-hyeok’s dual swords.’
Jin Jeong-muk, the swordmaster of the Black Wind faction, had also lost to Ju Su-hyeok’s swords.
Yeom Jun-yeol, famous for his fire magic using Hongryong, had no chance against Ju Su-hyeok’s dual swords.
The balance had briefly been maintained because Yeom Jun-yeol used Hongryong to disrupt Ju Su-hyeok’s balance and then launched a counterattack.
But soon, Ju Su-hyeok adapted to Hongryong’s movements, countered, and quickly suppressed Yeom Jun-yeol.
Kahh!
Ju Su-hyeok’s dual swords pushed Yeom Jun-yeol’s elbow, covered in scales, and stopped just before his neck.
Though scales covered his neck as well, both the audience and the student council adviser watching as the referee had already decided the fight’s outcome.
The student council adviser shouted.
“Stop!”
Yeom Jun-yeol’s expression clouded.
It seemed like he was swallowing the words “I can still fight.”
He must have known that he didn’t have any more moves left to make.
“Ju Su-hyeok wins!”
Even after Ju Su-hyeok’s victory was announced, there was a moment of silence around them.
After I started clapping, followed by the tigers, the others, who had been overwhelmed by the duel, finally joined in applause and cheer.
Once Yeom Jun-yeol dispelled Hongryong and Ju Su-hyeok sheathed Dubi Narae, applause continued.
Whispers filled the air.
Most were astonished by Ju Su-hyeok’s power rather than regretting Yeom Jun-yeol’s loss.
“I’ve never seen Su-hyeok fight with Gwangrim. He’s really strong...”
“What about Anda-in, who beat Su-hyeok? Is he using Gwangrim too?”
“Did Anda-in really beat Su-hyeok? With Gwangrim too?”
“Ah, I heard that. Wasn’t it a coaching session? His parents? He’s sparred using Gwangrim before in front of others.”
As it’s said now, Anda-in, also recognized as an Unrivaled Talent alongside Ju Su-hyeok, continues to extend his winning streak.
Names of both Ju Su-hyeok and Anda-in were being mentioned here and there.
Yeom Jun-yeol’s expression momentarily clouded upon hearing their names, but he soon smiled and thanked those who had cheered for him.
After confirming Yeom Jun-yeol had finished thanking the crowd, Yong Je-geon approached him and checked his condition.
As he moved out toward the field with Yeom Jun-yeol, Yong Je-geon glanced my way.
He wore the same expression he had this morning.
