The sight of Oh Haena entering the arena after briefly stepping into the waiting room was nothing short of shocking.
Her outfit covered her entire body, including her face, with heavy plate armor.
In her hands, she held a dagger, and a couple more of them hung from the leather belt around her waist.
It seemed they were intended for throwing.
‘Did she hear someone say that spears were weak against heavy armor?’
Lee Chan-hyuk had advised me earlier that spears were ineffective against heavy armor and that it would be better to learn how to use a longsword alongside.
It appeared she had overheard that conversation and decided to bulk up like this.
Ultimately, her cunning approach proved to be rather successful.
Currently, my weapon of choice was a spear, and for protection, I only wore light armor covering my chest and abdomen.
[How bold. Should I just dispel all her abilities? She wouldn’t be able to explain why her powers suddenly stopped working, would she?]
“No, thank you. I think I’ll manage. I did think it was about time I laid down some ground rules anyway.”
I politely declined Laura’s proposal.
Honestly, I knew I would eventually cross paths with Oh Haena. In fact, it was later than I had anticipated.
We stepped onto the dueling field.
“I hope for a good match.”
“Likewise.”
Both of us stood upright and exchanged formal pre-duel pleasantries.
[This duel features Shinnoda, who wields telekinesis, against Oh Haena, who manipulates air.]
[I’ve never seen telekinesis in action before. This is a first.]
[Indeed. According to his profile, Shinnoda is a B-rank. It seems like his stats are higher than his skills.]
A large number appeared on the display.
“10”
“9”
“Don’t you usually not wear armor like that? Aren’t you uncomfortable? Are you sure you’ll be okay?”
I asked purely out of curiosity. Maneuvering freely in such heavy armor wasn’t something that could be achieved overnight. It required a certain level of skill.
What I thought was an innocent question was, however, interpreted differently by Oh Haena, whose glare at me turned furious.
“8”
“7”
The timer continued counting down despite our conversation.
“Why don’t you worry about yourself? You’ll be regretting your cockiness once I crush you and rocket your ass with water.”
Smirking, Oh Haena mocked me. I, however, felt no need to respond.
By the time the count reached 3 seconds left, the anticipation was at its peak.
[Oh Haena is a promising student. Air manipulation is both rare and incredibly versatile. It also makes sense she wore heavy armor considering the stat gap.]
“3”
“2”
“1”
I initially planned to end the fight quickly, but after seeing Oh Haena’s attitude, I reconsidered. She seemed like someone who would always come back if I didn’t show her a clear gap in our skills.
I took a deep breath, inhaling as much oxygen as I possibly could.
“The match begins!”
“Hiss.”
At the very moment the match began, I noticed something was wrong with breathing. Oh Haena had used her ability to cut off the oxygen supply to my body, as expected.
“Ah, it seems Oh Haena has immediately blocked the oxygen supply!”
“Let me explain. Her power can prevent her opponents from breathing. In my active days, I faced a villain with that power called ‘No Mask.’”
“What was it like?”
“I nearly died. After about a minute without oxygen, my vision blurred, and my limbs started shaking.”
Oh Haena smirked and pulled down her helmet’s visor, hiding her face.
“Most regular Awakened Ones would panic and flail around under your power until they suffocate.”
Spear in hand, I calmly advanced toward Oh Haena.
On average, an ordinary person can survive for three minutes without oxygen, while Awakened Ones can last around five minutes. However, thanks to Laura’s enhancements, I had long surpassed the limits of humanity—half-man, half-dragon. I could endure for 30 minutes without oxygen and still maintain vigorous activity for at least 15 minutes.
“I’ll correct your behavior today.”
And 15 minutes would be more than enough time to break Oh Haena and reform her temperament.
I charged forward, laughing roughly as I swung my spear.
*
The commentator was internally musing about how strangely matches were progressing today.
“Uh… How much time has passed now?”
“It’s already been five minutes.”
“Shinnoda hasn’t taken a breath in five minutes and continues to attack fiercely.”
Oh Haena’s heavy armor did its job, stopping the spear’s penetration. However, the impact was significant.
She glanced at the display.
<Oh Haena>
Head: 104/150
Body: 120/150
Right Arm: 110/150
Left Arm: 98/150
Right Leg: 101/150
Left Leg: 141/150
Though her combat suit nullified the physical damage, the recorded injuries were accumulating steadily.
Oh Haena began biting her lips, growing anxious. This wasn’t the plan. Things weren’t following the strategy laid out by “Weapon Master.”
‘Against a spear-wielding opponent, heavy armor can effectively minimize damage while allowing you to close the distance and gain the upper hand. When the opponent attempts to thrust, don’t be afraid and grasp the spear shaft.’
Her initial strategy to rely on the heavy armor had worked to reduce the damage received. However, neither closing the distance nor grabbing the spear was possible. Of course, “Weapon Master,” who had been consulting with Yang Min-seo and Shinnoda regularly, had anticipated this and prepared countermeasures.
Oh Haena drew all the daggers from her belt, interspersing them between her fingers. She had long been wary of being labeled as a “suffocation one-trick pony” and therefore invested in other techniques.
“I do have an ace up my sleeve!”
She threw the daggers at Shinnoda. He didn’t even attempt to dodge, which turned out to be the correct decision. All the daggers that left her hands missed him completely.
Shinnoda nodded slightly with what seemed like a scoffing expression to her.
“Hmph. Do you think that’s the end?”
Oh Haena then maximized her skill usage, causing a headache to intensify in her mind.
The daggers that had already flown through the air were redirected toward Shinnoda by her manipulation of air currents.
“Oh, what’s this? Is this some form of aerodynamic knife jutsu?!”
“It feels like watching a wuxia novel unfold!”
This was Oh Haena’s secret weapon—manipulating air currents to freely control multiple daggers, which she then used to attack her opponent.
“Is this it?”
Shinnoda evaded the swarm of daggers with minimal movement, questioning her with calmness.
“Shinnoda is deflecting the daggers effortlessly!”
“B-rank? His skills are astonishing. He’s almost at the level of an A-ranker. It’s impressive how he’s been holding his breath for eight minutes and yet remains composed.”
Cold sweat trickled down Oh Haena’s spine. She felt fear looking at Shinnoda, who displayed not a single sign of discomfort.
‘Could he even handle this?’
Every strategy was blocked. Desperately managing to control the daggers despite her splitting headache, she knew using this technique was ambitious given her intelligence stat.
“Let’s end it here.”
Shinnoda spoke calmly as if everything before had been just a playful warm-up. Activating magic tattoos with a verbal trigger.
“AAAHHH!”
Oh Haena collapsed to her knees, overcome by excruciating pain in her brain, and the daggers hovering around Shinnoda fell to the ground.
This had been the result of Shinnoda’s telekinetic pressure.
“Oh! What’s happening? Red tattoos have appeared all over Shinnoda’s body.”
“That’s magic tattoos. I heard they’re still in development in the U.S., but this athlete somehow acquired them. They enhance the power of intelligence-based skills!”
“That’s correct! Seeing them in action for the first time explains a lot. They significantly boost the effectiveness of intelligence-based powers.”
Unable to maintain control over the daggers any longer, Oh Haena stood up.
Shinnoda closed the distance Oh Haena had always hoped for, then tripped her with his foot.
“Khhah!”
Struggling, she fell. She tried to get up quickly, but telekinetic pressure pinned her down.
“Oh Haena cannot get up.”
“Telekinesis has rendered her immobile.”
Shinnoda pressed his foot on her chest, lightening the telekinetic burden before gripping his spear with both hands and thrusting it toward her neck. Her thick armor could never be pierced by the blunt spearhead, but it started to dent.
He relentlessly continued pressing down with the spear.
“Chh… Hgh.”
The armor began to press on her throat. Breathing became increasingly difficult as the duel suit was defenseless against such external pressure.
Attempting to break free by flailing her arms was futile.
“How does it feel to suffocate directly?”
Watching Oh Haena choke, Shinnoda finally withdrew his spear.
“F—ing bastard, I’ll k-ill you.”
“You still haven’t learned your lesson.”
Lifting her helmet visor, Shinnoda revealed his golden cat-like eyes to a helpless Oh Haena.
Looking up, she was confronted by his inhuman vertical pupils, staring at her as if she was just a mere object.
Instantly, a chill ran down her spine.
“The game has been decided. Since Oh Haena’s suffocating technique failed, events have progressed strangely.”
“It seems Shinnoda is trying to remove her helmet. Will Oh Haena forfeit like this?”
Shinnoda swung the spear at her protective face-guard like in fencing.
“Huuughh.”
Each time the spearhead passed close to her face, Oh Haena’s heart raced and her muscles tensed.
“Hnnn.”
Despite her efforts to conceal her fear, her body trembled violently, and she couldn’t help but let out small whimpers.
Oh Haena had never bent to anyone during her life. Her parents proudly raised her, celebrating her awakening, and allowed her to become increasingly arrogant.
She would quietly suffocate those who didn’t follow her, just enough to leave them alive. Without evidence, reports on a middle school girl would never go through proper investigations.
A single tear rolled down Oh Haena’s cheek. She felt a mix of fear and resentment.
‘This… this is absurd. I’m the strongest in direct combat. No one could possibly survive without breathing!’
What was Shinnoda who was pressing his spear down, having held his breath for over 10 minutes?
The dented face guard touched her nose. The next blow would definitely reach her skin.
The displayed HP on the monitor read <Head: 14/150>. Carefully regulating the strikes to avoid eliminating her through the combat suit sensors, Shinnoda continued hitting her.
The referees outside, blinded by her helmet, had no awareness of this situation.
Oh Haena’s body shook like trembling sasa trees. Her eyes flooded like a mountain stream breaching its banks with tears streaming down her face.
“Next time, your face will be obliterated. Your skull will be crushed, leaving permanent aftereffects even after potion usage.”
Oh Haena’s face contorted as she clenched her eyes shut. Deep within, she had submitted entirely to the man before her.
“Surrender, surrender!”
At the sound of her surrender, the referee blew the whistle.
“Match ended! Shinnoda won the match with ease. What is happening here?!”
“Until now, Shinnoda has only used telekinesis. Defeating Oh Haena, he advances to the finals!”
“Huff…”
Shinnoda took a deep breath. The air manipulation was lifted, and he gratefully appreciated the intake of oxygen once again.
