“Too many mistakes, Kim. Did you forget the 5-meter rule? You keep slackening the pressure and ended up allowing the Neodymium magic circle!”
“I thought it was enough to simply dispel Na-me’s self-transformation magic. I never imagined she would cast it on the magic circle itself…”
“That’s not all. Regardless of whether the opponent uses triple or quadruple casting, you should push back with your aura.”
“Yeah. Why didn’t I do that…?”
William Robinson meticulously pointed out Love’s shortcomings with the excellent coaching staff.
Even though they lost, it would have been better if it had been a classic battle; laid bare, it was full of holes.
The match was noticeably riddled with mistakes, and many incomprehensible judgments were revealed.
Love bit her nails anxiously, memorizing their advice without missing a beat.
Even if she wanted to rebut, all of it was sound reasoning, so her lips remained sealed.
“I’ll take a little break… Just sorting out my Aura Heart too.”
“Then let’s eat dinner and meet again at 8 PM. Is that enough rest?”
“See you then, Coach.”
“Cheer up, Kim. Magic battles aren’t games that geniuses win. Forget the results and just keep the feedback in mind as you prepare for the next match—”
BANG!
Love Kim exited the conference room after washing her face.
“I’m not a genius… I…”
The bitter taste of despair hit her mouth.
The fact that she had lost became clearer with each passing moment.
She walked over to the aura volume meter placed in the corner of the hallway and attempted a measurement.
Beep!
[Love Isabel Kim(KR): 1987cm^3]
A figure showing she was not only larger than the average adult but also exceeded that of adult wizards.
Physical talent was undoubtedly a talent, no doubt about that.
But suddenly the thought of being mediocre in everything else made her chest tighten with pain.
It’s not that she hadn’t tried. The problem was that she did.
‘I shouldn’t be feeling the wall this early…’
Right now, they discuss being the strongest in the world, but Love Kim feared she would end up just like those mediocre wizards.
She had, at one time, looked down on her sister who had been overflowing with talent for the same reason.
Love returned to her accommodation, took a shower, and began passionately reviewing the tournament.
The matches between Katsuhata and Cecilia, and Katsuhata and Mikhail, both deemed legendary battles.
‘No matter how I look at it, if I’m in good condition, I feel like I can win. Can I really fight so poorly?’
Thus, it would’ve been even harder for her to believe that the battle she just fought was a disaster.
Beep beep beep!
Suddenly, a sound blocked outsiders from entering outside her hotel room.
Did someone mistake their room?
Love flung the door open to check the identity of the intruder.
It was Na-me.
“Hey? Na-me! This is the room my sister uses. Want to come in?”
“Ah… I think I mistook the room. Could I possibly get a cold drink?”
“Sure! There are a few in the refrigerator. Feel free to grab one.”
“Thank you!”
Na-me grunted as she yanked open the fridge door.
‘Om chomp So cute…’
It had long been forgotten that she had thrown 60 punches in the past.
The sight of Na-me kneeling and peeking into the fridge stirred Love’s heart.
“Haah…”
Suddenly, Na-me let out a sigh.
“Why? Is there no water at all? That can’t be.”
“No, it’s there… I’ll drink it…”
Na-me’s expression was gloomy.
“Is it because it’s not the water you wanted?”
Love was reminded of an academy friend who wouldn’t drink anything but Evian.
Thinking Na-me might be like that, she asked, and Na-me nodded in agreement.
“Wait a moment. I’ll call the lobby staff for you. What kind of water do you want, Na-me?”
“I don’t know the name, but the label is gray.”
“Gray, and?”
“It had a spade ace design with a lot of text on it.”
“A spade ace design… with a lot of text… Na-me, anything else?”
“There was a crown at the top center.”
“Yeah, it has a crown too. They’ll bring it to your room? Thank you so much.”
“Wow, is this really happening…?”
Na-me dramatically covered her mouth with both hands in shock.
“Uh? Well, it’s a hotel, so this kind of service is expected.”
But Love was firmly misinterpreting something.
What the hotel staff eventually brought was not luxurious bottled water but a drink.
[Budweiser ZERO 0.0]
“This is alcohol, Na-me!”
“This is not alcohol…”
Love gasped while Na-me despaired.
Fssssss-!
The sound of a non-alcoholic beer cap popping echoed through the room.
*
The Korea National Team.
They truly were a thorough bunch.
To have removed all alcoholic beverages from the fridge in the room with Love Kim and me.
I had a glimmer of hope that the slightly silly hotel staff would actually bring us beer, but as expected, reality hit hard.
“Ugh, this tastes terrible. Ptui.”
I grimaced and placed the beer far from me on the table.
“Of course it tastes bad; it’s alcohol.”
Love chimed in from the side.
“This kind of non-alcoholic beer tastes bad, but the good stuff is tasty, you know.”
“Have you ever had alcohol?”
“… I just thought the good stuff must be good.”
“Hmm. Still, you shouldn’t touch it until you turn an adult, Na-me. It’s not good for your body either. Ugh this is such a hassle. I really don’t want to go to dinner.”
Love rolled around on the blanket.
[Japan! Katsuhata Emika! Defeats Russia and rises to the National Exchange Tournament Champion after 10 years! An incredible movie-like journey ends—]
“I was watching the finals from last year.”
She replied, slightly lowering the volume on the TV.
“Yeah. Isn’t it cool? I kind of regret not participating a year early, like Katsuhata. No one from our country was going to participate anyway. Na-me, have you finished your review?”
“Yeah.”
“We both made way too many mistakes.”
“I don’t really remember any specific mistakes I made. Did I have any?”
“Yeah! You made a ton! Want to see what the coaches pointed out?”
Love excitedly activated the hologram.
I pulled my knees up to wait for her to speak.
“First off, I made a mistake in this scene. I should have maintained more distance while attacking, but I pushed you too far away, Na-me.”
“Yeah. Keep going.”
“But you chose to use the crafting ritual and the casting ritual at the same time, right? If I hadn’t rushed forward to attack and focused on reinforcing my aura instead, you would have ended up injured instead.”
“Why is that?”
“Because a spear made from simple materials isn’t very threatening. With my 3-circle Rozeus Pantera and 3-circle Ignis Bloom, and your 2-circle self-transformation and 1-circle simple materials. It’s clear which side would win.”
Hee-hee- Love rubbed her nose with her finger, looking smug.
“So, are you saying this all originated from me not heating up my Aura Heart in advance?”
“Well, could be seen that way. If the heating had been sufficient, you might have had other options.”
“But you didn’t do that, Love.”
That would have made it easy to win, but she didn’t.
Love seemed at a loss for words, closing her lips tightly.
“Let’s think about this the other way around. If you’re bound to make a mistake, why should I hesitate to cast?”
“That’s… If I were to not make a mistake, you would be at a huge disadvantage.”
“I essentially placed a bet. That you would maintain a 5-meter gap and go on the offensive instead of defensive. Why? The presence of Black Aurora, the later appearance of the Demon King’s Horn, delayed heating up the Aura Heart, and your usual habits; all these factors signal you to attack right now. I recreated an opportunity to exploit that.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa! If you hadn’t pushed me away, none of this would have happened! How do you explain that?”
“True. Now that we’re far apart, it’s time to assess the situation.”
“In that short moment? It couldn’t have been more than a second…!”
I wondered if I was supposed to explain all of this, but since we had fought together, I figured I should at least share a review.
“The detailed reasons I added to the story, and I too rely on vague feels in a real fight. I think the opponent made a mistake at this point. They’re too aggressive. The opponent should be defending but will act on instinct and attack. If they attack, let’s induce a mistake. It’s that simple.”
“Ahhh…”
“Then, what do we need here?”
“An eye to assess the situation?”
“Exactly. First, you need to know whether you’re in a favorable or unfavorable position to make such judgments. This is something you only know from having fought a lot.”
“Wait, just tell me this one thing, Na-me. So, are you saying you knew it was a mistake yet still made a mistake?”
“I don’t know why you’re so fixated on mistakes… But I’m not fighting against an AI, I’m fighting against you, Love. Keep this in mind: to turn the situation to your advantage, first, you must exhibit bold actions that are close to mistakes. Second, the opponent must not notice it. If you keep those two points, it’s easy to take the initiative.”
She seemed to awaken, her eyes lighting up.
“Wow!”
She grabbed my hand and shook it vigorously up and down.
“Wow! Na-me! What are you? The last tip you gave was amazing!”
“What, what do you mean?”
“When the opponent makes a mistake, you absolutely have to maximize that mistake.”
“Yeah, that aligns with the concept. In the latter half of the fight, everyone fights frantically, and everyone makes mistakes, so at that time, you should take down the barrier.”
“And since they are human, their recognition of mistakes will be delayed.”
“That’s why Emika is so strong in actual combat. Katsuhata-style swordsmanship is optimized for assessing the situation, so even if mistakes occur in chaotic situations, she can correct them quickly.”
“Oooh.”
“And that sister has to perform ‘Slicing the Liver’ without hesitation, right? She might have acted a bit strange in the finals, but she usually did great.”
“They even trained together last year, right?”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“Na-me really is different… To be honest, I was really annoyed at losing to you today. I thought, ‘Is this really all I can do?’ But don’t misunderstand; it doesn’t mean I’m looking down on you.”
“I know my worth, so I’m fine.”
“Anyway, hmpf hmpf… The battle content today was weird, and the Rozeus Pantera didn’t work well either. It just felt strange from start to finish. It was like I was swinging my fists around with my eyes closed.”
“It wasn’t just a feeling, you actually fought like that.”
“Ugh! But I didn’t do it mindlessly…! I feel like I was underestimating the National Exchange Tournament. If I mess this up, I could be out from the 64th round.”
“That’s how England finished in the 64th and 32nd rounds last year. If I remember correctly, both had 8th-round potential.”
“Right, right.”
If you slip up, you fall in the National Exchange Tournament.
Particularly on a day like today, if your condition is bad, if you can’t sleep, or if the opponent’s magic isn’t visible, the tournament just ends there.
Even last year, when upsets were said to occur the least, many ended up being casualties of giant killing.
The friend from Egypt, who wrote the myth of four consecutive upsets, was eventually stopped by Emika, but who knows?
In some parallel universe, they might have won and become a national hero.
“So, how should I train?”
“I don’t really know about that either.”
“Really?”
“The coaches won’t teach you anything incorrect. However, they might nudge you into a tunnel of right answers, so you can be a little too cautious. I think it’s better to be bold, bumping into walls here and there and shoving your way in.”
“And if bad habits form from that?”
“You’ll think about that when the time comes. From what I see, you have plenty of talent. I think you could increase your pace from now on.”
That could be a bad indication of slow development, of course.
But I didn’t want to be too harsh on a kid like that.
“I’ll go eat dinner now. I’m starving since I haven’t eaten at all…”
With that, I stood up lazily.
Seriously, is there no alcohol here?
In frustration, I opened the fridge once more.
There’s no way something that wasn’t there would suddenly appear.
The freezer door opened as a reaction.
“Hmm?”
A glimmering can of beer caught my eye.
Why is this in the freezer?
But why it was there didn’t matter.
I immediately grabbed the beer and stashed it in my hoodie pocket.
“Wait a second, Na-me! What was that you grabbed earlier?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“Wasn’t that a beer? Want to show it to your sister?”
“…”
A spark of understanding flew between us.
Quick decisions were made.
I immediately took out the beer and popped the can open.
PSSSSSH!
The crisp sound of carbonation spread throughout the room.
Please, let it not be frozen solid.
Just one sip is all I need.
“Na-me, stop! STTOOOP!”
“Ah, no, this is a mistake! Earlier, I was talking about those intentional mistakes…!”
“You can’t let a kid drink, even if it’s a mistake! Stop it!”
Hack cough…!
Love choked me and snatched the can away.
In the end, the beer was frozen solid, with not a drop coming out.
Life.
*
[The results of the Na-me and Kim Love duel should be out by now…]
I wonder who won… I’m so nervous I can’t focus on anything else.
[Comments]
-Still a day left. Go to sleep.
-But I don’t think it’ll be a 2:1.
-I agree. Na-me either wins 2:0 or Kim Love wins.
-A new post just went up on Kim Love’s Instagram?
-Why is it Kim Love and not Na-me… I’m so anxious 😭😭😭
-Please tell me it’s not true… It can’t be.
Saturday evening, a cryptic post appeared on Love Kim’s Instagram.
[LoveKim]
(A picture of her and Na-me with their arms around each other at a buffet.jpg)
😝😝😝😝😝
[Comments]
-What’s with that smirk, Na-me? 😂
-Please tell me Na-me didn’t lose…?
-So who won then?
-Na-me, no! 😭😭😭
-Na-me ultimately lost…
-Teacher, you were defeated. I won’t forget this humiliation.
-Love, you look really pretty!!! Na-me looks cute too, hehe.
-Na-me, please tell me it’s not true…! You can’t lose!
