Park Cheol-Ho, one of the Association's S-rank players, was called the Iron Wall for two reasons. First, his main ability, Reinforcement, transformed either a part or his entire body into a substance that was at least as hard as iron. The second was because of his cold and indifferent personality which resembled an iron wall.

Therefore, he could objectively watch the eighth duel of the combat exam between Choi Yu-Seong and Lee Jin-Wook—a fight that was highly anticipated by everyone in the arena. Although both of them had displayed quite outstanding results in their measurement exam, that didn’t mean those results could play a factor in evaluating the combat exam. After all, Cheol-Ho was an instructor who judged unbiasedly based on a person’s performance.

There were geniuses in every profession of the world; it was no different for the players. However, one didn't need to admire or be jealous of those genius players. After all, this world was unfair as it favored some over others.

However, that did not mean genius players had to be given special treatment.

In the end, the important thing was how effectively they used their talent. Quite frequently, there were cases where those geniuses failed because they didn’t know what their talent was and didn’t use it to their full potential.

However, beneath his sunglasses, Cheol-Ho's usually indifferent eyes widened soon after the duel started.

'Choi Yu-Seong. 0.8 physical type measurement score.'

A player could achieve a maximum score of 1 on the punching machine for the hunter exam. And among all-rounder type players, it was extremely rare for one to score over 0.7, maybe about one in a thousand players?

However, Yu-Seong had even scored 0.8 on the psychic type measurement exam as well. Obviously, it was extremely rare for an all-rounder player to score this high for both types of measurement exams. As a matter of fact, it had happened only three times globally and was the first time for Korea.

That result was so shocking that even someone like Cheol-Ho, who was used to encountering talented players, couldn’t help but be surprised. In the end, he came to the conclusion that although Yu-Seong was an all-rounder who specialized in psychic abilities, he had probably honed his physical abilities on his own. Of course, that didn’t change the fact that his score was astonishing.

But as Cheol-Ho watched the duel, he realized that Yu-Seong hadn’t simply 'trained' his physical abilities.

'He learned martial arts.'

Yu-Seong's posture when holding the spear, the look in his eyes as he stared at his opponent, and his calculated and elegant movements easily surpassed that of an ordinary person. His skills were particularly noticeable in comparison to Jin-Wook who was haphazardly swinging his sword.

'He’s had at least three years of training, maybe even five years. And all this time, I thought Choi Yu-Seong was just a fool that acted recklessly…'

Since Yu-Seong was on the news once or twice a month for causing trouble, or sometimes causing trouble while he was drunk, Cheol-Ho considered him to be a fool that lived a sheltered life. However, with this fight, his perception of Yu-Seong changed.

By Cheol-Ho’s standards, Yu-Seong was definitely a genius, but he wasn’t simply a genius.

‘He’s not a natural born genius but one born from hard work. He’s like a dragon who’s hiding underwater,[1] honing his skills while waiting for the right moment to strike.’ 

Why wouldn't Yu-Seong display his skills even as he trained his martial arts skill? Although the Comet Group’s children seemed to live happily without any worries on the outside, all of them actually shouldered grave danger. Since he could be stabbed in the back at any time, Yu-Seong had kept his potential a secret until the very moment he became capable of protecting himself: the moment of his Awakening.

'He's extraordinarily calm and rational for his young age.'

The Iron Wall Park Cheol-Ho was considered to be the most objective and detached when evaluating others, however, he couldn’t help but be astonished by Yu-Seong. He was so impressed that if he found out that Yu-Seong hadn't actually trained for years but only a month, he would be filled with embarrassment. After all, even though Yu-Seong was a hard worker, he was extremely talented at martial arts. But since Cheol-Ho didn't know that, he could only judge based on what was happening in front of him.

'Physical combat would only lead Lee Jin-Wook to his death.'

From what Cheol-Ho observed until now, Jin-Wook's performance was a disgrace to his title of Irregular. Not recognizing his inferiority in close combat against his opponent, Jin-Wook attacked Yu-Seong foolishly and failed to take advantage of the full potential of a psychic-type player. Jin-Wook's various wind skills were certainly effective in close combat, but he, unfortunately, met an opponent that outperformed him.

'If he fails to recognize that, he's just a strong idiot.' Cheol-Ho thought as he looked at Jin-Wook.

Even if he gave him a license, Jin-Wook would die in vain in a dungeon. In the end, Cheol-Ho sighed inwardly as he watched Jin-Wook being stabbed by the spear and electrified by the Spark. It was exactly as he expected.

Nevertheless, Cheol-Ho didn't stop the duel nor did he feel the need to declare that Jin-Wook lost.

'Lee Jin-Wook. A wind-type psychic player who scored a perfect score on the psychic type measurement exam.'

In some ways, scoring one point in the measurement exam was more difficult than getting a perfect score in the written exam. In other words, scoring a 1 was a totally different level compared to a 0.8 as if there was an insuperable barrier between them.

As if proving this, Jin-Wook gritted his teeth through the pain as he activated his Wind Pressure ability with all his might and shoved Yu-Seong's spear away. Naturally, Yu-Seong couldn't withstand so much force and spun several times in the air.

"Choi Yuuu-Seoooong-!"

Although Jin-Wook’s anger was clear in his raised voice, he didn't immediately pursue Yu-Seong right away. Instead, he started forming his most powerful weapon, the Wind Blade, around him.

'It's going to become tougher.' 

Cheol-Ho thought to himself as he unfolded his arms to prepare for any outcome. His eyes were sparkling beneath his sunglasses.

* * *

Even Yu-Seong couldn’t help but be shocked the moment Jin-Wook’s Wind Pressure tossed him up into the air.

'Why is it so powerful?'

He had thought it was only fast, but it was also strong. The wind’s pressure was so powerful that it seemed like a massive giant had suddenly shot up from a crouched position.

'Did he hold back before?'

Yu-Seong thought that maybe Jin-Wook had looked down on him and hadn’t used his full powers. However, only one of those assumptions was correct.

‘I was going to pretend to do my best while waiting for a chance to cut off his head but…’'

Originally, Jin-Wook had planned on lowering Yu-Seong's guard by holding back and then striking a critical blow at once. However, he had been shocked by Yu-Seong's skills and had lost the initiative, leading him to almost lose the fight

'Let's give up on close combat. Although he's an all-rounder, he's closer to a physical type player.'

Unaware that both of Yu-Seong's measurement scores were 0.8, Jin-Wook made his decision and started to form his wind blade. Sensing this while still spinning in midair, Yu-Seong tried to brace himself as fast as he could. The most fearful aspect of the wind blade was that it was hard to recognize its shape.

'A green light flashes shortly, but it's hard to see unless I concentrate.'

There was a reason why Jin-Wook became such a powerful villain in the future that the head of the Special Police Force had to personally arrest him.

The wind blade flew through the air quicker than Yu-Seong thought it would. Sensing the incoming air blade, he activated his mana while still in the air.

'It's a shame to use this right now, but...'

It was better than losing a part of his body or getting his head cut off.

'Skill, Stepping Wind.'

The moment he activated this skill, Yu-Seong sensed something hard but soft that condensed beneath his feet as he spun in midair. Using that as his foothold, he instantly jumped to the side. Passing narrowly beneath Yu-Seong’s feet, the wind blade flew through the air and made a huge noise as it crashed into the Colosseum walls.

"You used the Stepping Wind?! How?!" Jin-Wook screamed.

"What? Have you never seen someone that has the same skill as you?"

Yu-Seong smiled as he braced himself. He had avoided the attack by using the skill he had copied when Jin-Wook had first approached him.

"Seeing how you've got a bunch of unrelated skills, guess you really are an all-rou…”

Before Jin-Wook could finish his sentence, Yu-Seong abruptly reared back and threw his spear.

'The Javelin Throw skill?!'

Surprised by a totally unexpected skill, Jin-Wook dodged using his own Stepping Wind. Yu-Seong instantly closed the distance, retrieved his spear, and pursued Jin-Wook. Same as Jin-Wook, he used Stepping Wind. It was an astonishingly elaborate plan.

'He's nothing like what my king told me! I only heard that he was a stupid and cowardly idiot!'

However, Yu-Seong was able to use his cunning mind to its fullest potential. With his arms wide open, Jin-Wook brought both his hands forwards and launched Wind Pressure once more.

Although the wind blade fit Jin-Wook's needs for striking lethal blows, it required time for preparation. On the other hand, he could change the time needed for Wind Pressure by altering its power.

Boom-!

Yu-Seong felt his heart racing as he spun his spear and channeled his mana to stop the Wind Pressure. Despite the long duel, he didn’t feel tired. Instead, he felt his movements becoming lighter and his head becoming clearer.

He realized that a portion of his mana was being consumed and another skill was being activated.

'It's Stylish!'

The last of his four initial skills he earned after the Awakening.

『General Skill, Stylish F

Cannot be used with Fusion.

Additional effects are applied once the user demonstrates acrobatic and cool actions.』

Similar to Star-Factor, this skill was quite fitting for the original Yu-Seong who was an attention seeker. That was why Yu-Seong had picked the spear from the variety of weapons. Since the spear had a long reach and made big, sweeping movements, it seemed stylish from the perspective of the audience. Compared to other weapons, it was easier to activate Stylish just by extending the fight.

He had felt the same thing several times when he sparred with Jin Do-Yoon using a staff. Once Stylish was activated, his in-battle concentration would increase as his body became light and agile as if it was relieved from all of its fatigue. Also, certain random effects were activated sometimes.

So as his movements became lighter, pursuing Jin-Wook became much easier. His mana consumption did increase a lot with Stylish also being activated, but he didn't worry too much about it.

‘This is why I’ve been flexing all that money for.’ 

While Yu-Seong ordered Chae Ye-Ryeong to drink the worth ten-million-won gray color manastone juice every day, he hadn’t stood around doing nothing.

Instead, he drank a thicker, dark gray color manastone juice that was worth 30-million-won every day. He literally spent money as if it grew on trees. As a result, he earned an extraordinary score in the second section of the psychic type measurement exam—mana capacity.

'Immeasurable within this rank.' 

It meant that he had to use a more sophisticated instrument that could measure at least E-rank players to get a specific score. In fact, the mana potion inside the bowl had overflowed because of him. Although his other scores would've been surprising on their own, it was his mana capacity that shocked the association staff and prompted her to ask him to re-do the exam. He had realized again just how useful money was.

This was how Yu-Seong was able to pursue Jin-Wook without draining his mana even after activating Stylish and using a variety of skills. However, the problem was that Jin-Wook wasn’t an easy opponent to hit as he nimbly dodged all of his attacks. He even counterattacked with another Wind Blade during their battle.

‘At this rate, the usage count for Stepping Wind’s going to run out.’

Yu-Seong realized that he had to end this soon. He was originally cautious because he didn’t know what other schemes Jin-Wook and Min-Seok prepared for him, but he realized he could just overpower Jin-Wook before he played a dirty trick on him. At that moment, Jin-Wook was thinking something similar to Yu-Seong.

‘At this rate, I’m going to lose because my mana is going to run out. I have to make my move.’

As if reaching his limit, Jin-Wook’s forehead dripped cold sweat as he consumed his mana to avoid Yu-Seong’s onslaught. Since he didn’t know Yu-Seong had a limit to using Stepping Wind, he became impatient. In the end, Jin-Wook imagined the worst scenario for him.

‘If I don’t succeed with my mission…’

It was obvious how furious Choi Min-Seok would be if he failed. Jin-Wook was terrified.

Recalling the abuse and mental torture that Min-Seok’s purple eyes did to him, he almost felt a chill running down his back.

As a result, Jin-Wook fished out the object inside his pocket that he received from Min-Seok. At the same time, he saw that Yu-Seong had taken advantage of the slight hesitation he showed while thinking and was quickly closing the distance between them with the spear aimed straight at his chest.

‘This is my last chance.’

Jin-Wook’s eyes were full of venomous determination.

1. Asian dragons aren’t like European dragons living in caves and breathing fire. They are usually associated with water and air, therefore said to reside at the bottom of lakes or oceans or high up in the sky ☜