Chapter 22: The Battle Begins
༺ The Battle Begins ༻
‘That damn bastard!’
From the beginning, I should’ve killed him no matter what risk I had to take.
My entire plan of having my son take care of him ended up backfiring.
Money may be important, but because it seemed he really would have cut my son’s arm off, I had no choice.
My son was truly pathetic, making me want to explode with frustration every time I gazed at him, but he was still my son.
‘There’s still a way.’
The damage was done, and I couldn’t change the past.
While he promised he would destroy the evidence if I won against him, there was no guarantee he wouldn’t change his mind.
Still, I couldn’t let my anger get the best of me, especially when there was still a way to get out of this situation.
‘Something like this can still be erased.’
Despite being caught red-handed, it wasn’t as though I had nothing prepared.
Just in case a situation like this were to occur, I had paid the chairman a substantial sum.
‘For now, I’ll have to be arrested.’
In order to satisfy the enraged public, he would inevitably be arrested following an extensive investigation.
That was something that even the chairman wouldn’t be able to stop.
However, such events were always forgotten, often overshadowed by a larger event occurring.
If something like that were to occur, the public’s attention would naturally be diverted toward it.
The chairman, a master of manipulating public opinion, could then pave the way for my return.
After all, that was what I had been giving him money for.
But there was a roadblock.
‘Park Si-woo is the roadblock.’
My instinct as a professor told me he was dangerous, and he would never let me go.
While the general public may forget, that bastard would hound me to the ends of the earth.
I couldn’t just ignore him because he was a student, meaning I had to find a way to take care of him.
‘This is dangerous.’
Nobody would believe that he was just a student.
I knew he was ridiculously talented from watching him break the magic orb, but his abilities couldn’t be explained by just talent.
‘It’s like he’s a veteran who has been on the battlefield for at least a few years.’
His level of skill made it difficult for me to believe he was a student at all.
His abilities were comparable to the hunters who fought bosses in dungeons on a daily basis, perhaps he was even more skilled.
From his ridiculous movement, it was clear he’d trained to the edge of death many times.
He didn’t even have high stats. Rather, his stats were so low that he couldn’t even compare to my own son.
But still, what on earth was this movement? From his point of view, it should have been difficult for him to even see my son’s attack, let alone react and counter them.
‘In addition, he’s crafty.’
I didn’t know what he was looking at, but I could sense that I wasn’t what he was after.
He was fighting me, but I could sense he thought I was just another obstacle.
Still, judging by the evidence he had prepared, I didn’t think he asked to fight me on a whim.
What was his goal, and how long had he been working toward it?
Since the first time he threw a skill at me?
Or since he first entered the academy?
If even that wasn’t the starting point, then how long had he been planning this?
“He’s too dangerous.”
This was a student who originally failed to even enter the academy. If he was this strong now, how much could he grow in the future?
Perhaps stopping my return was just the beginning of his plans.
Honestly, I didn’t have a clue what his endgame was, but I was sure he wouldn’t be satisfied with simply taking me down.
‘Still, he’s just a tiger’s cub.’
While he may have had a lot of combat experience, he was still just a cub.
Someone who didn’t know how dangerous the world could be, simply drunk on his own ability.
Admittedly, when he grew up, he would become a monster beyond anyone’s control.
But I too was someone who had fought countless battles to become a professor. I was not so weak that this little brat could beat me.
Of course, my anger played a role in my choice. I was mad at him because I would not have been caught if it were not for him.
But no matter how I thought about it, I came to the conclusion that I had to kill him.
My decision was not influenced by what he said about erasing evidence. Rather, I had a strong feeling that if I did not kill him now, I would be in danger for the rest of my life.
Since I was about to be arrested anyway, I had to kill him now, even if I had to add years to my sentence.
‘Whatever it takes.’
***
‘I’m finally getting the chance to fight this bastard.’
I would have to be very careful if I were to send him to hell. I needed to eliminate the possibility of him ever returning.
Naturally, I wanted this duel because I wanted to copy his skills.
I would gain much more than that from this fight, though.
‘I have to get stronger.’
The opportunity to fight a professor was unlikely to come along anytime soon, so this was a great chance.
‘Objectively speaking, he’s stronger than me.’
The professor was a 4th stage Awakener. Even though his character was dogshit, he was still stronger than me, who was only at the 2nd stage.
Before I regressed, most of my battles were about overcoming an impossible situation with constant preparation or by working alongside Ha-eun, Seo-ah, and Lee Hyun-a.
Especially because there was only so much I could do at Level 1.
That wasn’t enough anymore. I needed to be strong enough to take down powerful enemies, even if I wasn’t prepared.
My enemies wouldn’t wait for me to get stronger, and they wouldn’t attack only when I was prepared.
I needed to get strong enough to protect my comrades as quickly as possible.
I showed the photo to him and not the audience so I could make that bastard use his full power.
Let’s look at his status window.
[Status window]
Name: Park Ki-Yeol
Level: 94 (4th Stage Awakener)
Status: Expectant
[Strength: 43] [Stamina: 54] [Agility: 37] [Magic: 100] [Luck: 50]
(Remaining attribute points are 0.)
Skills:
Skills: Advanced Health Buff (A+), Advanced Strength Buff (A+), Advanced Agility Buff (A+), Advanced Mana Buff (A+), Mana Control (A)… [click to see more]
His skills were all of a high ranking. While I had highly ranked skills due to my ability to copy skills, I had to admit the professor’s skill pool was impressive.
“…All right. You wanted to fight me? An insect like you?”
He seemed enraged that I had discovered the corrupt empire he had built and managed up until now.
But what else could I do?
“That’s right, you asshole.”
The atmosphere had already shifted.
In the eyes of the public, the dignified professor Park Ki-yeol was no more. He was nothing more than a scumbag who had sold his soul for money.
I had always used honorifics until now, but I did not need to anymore.
“What’s wrong? Are you scared? I bet you are since you’ve been doing all that nonsense instead of teaching. Many of your victims couldn’t even get into the academy because of your bullshit.”
That is why I kept piling on the insults, driving him further and further into a fit of rage.
「Advanced Mana Buff」
It seemed to have worked, as Professor Park activated the buff skill on himself.
But…
His bloodthirst is too strong.
Because other people were watching, I thought that even if I lost, I would still be able to preserve my life.
It felt like he didn’t care about what happened next.
It seemed he was going to attempt to kill me no matter what.
He wasn’t holding back in the slightest.
All of a sudden…
He seemed to be completely ignoring his surroundings.
His mana began to be felt throughout the stadium, making it clear that he didn’t care who in the audience got hurt.
「Mana Control」
And along with the increase in mana, the professor activated his A-class skill, [Mana Control].
Just like its name, it was a fraudulent skill with endless possibilities, enabling the user to mold mana into whatever they desired.
-Thump!
As he spoke, a mass of mana in the shape of spears formed across the arena.
All of them were pointed toward me, appearing in all directions.
“Your arrogance will be the reason you die.”
“Well, we’ll see about that, won’t we?”
I said that, but my mind was churning at full speed. Was he able to do this because he had cast a mana buff on himself?
Not only were there at least 50 spears aimed at me, but the concentration of mana in each spear was absurd.
Still, he needed to be at least this strong to help me grow.
“No matter what happens today, I will kill you.”
With those words, Professor Park Ki-yeol activated his skill.
「Mana Control」
「Large Explosion」
As his skill and mine clashed, a huge noise echoed across the stadium.
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