Chapter 781 Kim Ho Press Conference

I counted down in my head.

5, 4, 3…….

And the moment the count hit zero—

Kwaaaaaang!

An invisible force dropped down and turned my opponent into a flat pancake.

After Kwon Uram and Sagong Dam, yet another third-year had fallen victim to [Pulverize Zone].

With that, I had won all three matches.

My matchup luck wasn’t too bad.

They had been third-years three times in a row, but their skill levels were all about the same.

None of the truly strong ones had been matched against me.

If it had been Namgung Changcheon, a certain senior from the dark-blade faction, or the White Magic Club captain, I probably would have struggled quite a bit too.

[Kim Ho Win]

As the match result appeared on the scoreboard, a notification message also popped up in one corner of my vision.

Sub Quest: Week 12–13 PvP

▷Objective: Win 3 PvP matches (3/3)

▷Condition 1: No handicap applied against upperclassmen

▷Condition 2: Strengthened handicap against lowerclassmen

▷Condition 3: Win with 85% or more health remaining

▷Skill/Trait Deactivated: [Amplification], [Distortion], [Retrocovery]

▷Reward: Shared Trait Slot +1, [Rank Up(B)]

▷Shared Traits [4/5]

This time, I’d better register [Time Resistance].

After bringing back Grand General Earth Eater, the need for it had grown sharply.

However, I did not have a [Fixed Pin] right now, so I would have to wait until one came out from another sub quest.

So I decided to leave one slot empty like that.

And I should use the [Rank Up] right away too.

[Using ‘Rank Up(B)’.]

[‘Diamond Freeze’ has increased in rank. (B→A)]

▷The next freezing effect you apply becomes ‘cannot be dispelled’ for 40→50 seconds.

▷Cooldown: 5 minutes

With that, PvP was settled for the moment.

I took the teleportation magic circle out of the arena.

Then I fell briefly into thought.

This week’s probably going to be pretty busy.

It was a week where all sorts of events, large and small, overlapped.

Observing Go Hyeonwoo’s inheritance, consulting Shin Byeongcheol about [T.E.B - 002], the temporary storage facility defense battle with the Discipline Committee, going out to play in the entertainment district, and so on.

So while I was deciding the order of what would be best to do first—

I felt an intense gaze from the spectator stands.

When I turned my head, Dang Gyu-ri, Seo Ye-in, and mirror-image Seo Ye-in were sitting side by side.

What’s the occasion? Why are they together?

They got along well enough, but not to the point where they stuck together at all times.

The instant I thought that, I remembered that this week’s PvP was [Lowerclassmen’s Revolt].

It seemed they had been matched, had a little scrap, taken a short break, and then spotted me.

But Gyu-gyu’s condition is……

For some reason, a negative-dimensional aura was whirling around them.

Their teeth looked unusually sharp too.

If I went near them, I might get a huge bite taken out of me, or my cheeks stretched out, or both.

Go? Don’t go?

As I fell into that brief dilemma, a shadow butterfly flew over as if it had read my thoughts.

Then it scribbled letters in midair.

[Kim Ho Explanation Session]

[Kim Ho Press Conference]

[Attendance strongly requested]

[Will sulk if you do not attend]

[Already sulking, but will sulk harder]

We can’t have them sulk harder.

I had no other choice.

Even if I had to risk the danger of cheek-stretching-biting, I had no option but to attend the Kim Ho Explanation Session.

When I climbed into the spectator stands and approached the spot where the two people plus mirror image were sitting, sure enough, Dang Gyu-ri’s lips were sticking out as far as they could possibly go.

Even while sending me a pouty look, they patted the seat beside them.

So I sat there and opened the conversation.

“Has something happened?”

“I went and heard something shocking, that’s what.”

“How shocking are we talking?”

“Kissing. You did it. With her.”

Only then did I think I understood why Dang Gyu-ri was sulking.

Somehow, the conversation must have drifted into smooches and kisses.

And they had absolutely never expected that human sloth Seo Ye-in would have made the first move.

I nodded as if it were no big deal.

“We did. Kiss, I mean.”

“Why haven’t you done it with me?”

“I’m going to.”

“……You’re going to?”

“Of course I am. With the relationship we have.”

“……?”

Dang Gyu-ri, intrigued, raised their eyebrows.

But only for a moment. They put strength back into their eyes and glared at me.

“No. I’m still mad. You villain!”

“Let’s calm down and resolve this through conversation. What are you angry about?”

“You kissed her when you went to Hyeseong.”

“That we did.”

“Then why am I only finding out now? Almost a month has passed.”

Dang Gyu-ri emphasized that they felt betrayed!

Of course, I had thought this point through sufficiently.

I had my answer prepared as well.

“It’s not that we were trying to exclude you or hide it from you, but I also didn’t think it was something to share.”

Even if this was the Kim Ho bus, I could not openly broadcast it.

For example,

—Ah, ah, mic test. Greetings, passengers.

—I would like to inform you that at around seven this morning, immediately after waking up, I shared an intense kiss with a certain Miss Seo.

—I would also like to inform you that on the way to the student cafeteria for breakfast, we stopped briefly and did it again.

—Goodbye.

It was not as if I could do that.

At this argument of mine, Dang Gyu-ri’s eyebrows rose, then furrowed, then rose again, repeating the cycle.

They opened their mouth as if about to say something, then closed it again.

“……Damn it, that actually kind of makes sense.”

“There should be at least a minimum of privacy between us.”

And that did not apply only to Seo Ye-in. It applied to everyone.

Dang Gyu-ri jutted their lips out again and grumbled.

“Still, a month feels too long.”

“I thought it would only be a matter of time until you found out, but somehow, it ended up taking longer. We also missed the timing to bring it up. I am sorry about that.”

It was understandable that they would feel hurt, so apologizing was the right thing to do.

Perhaps because of that, Dang Gyu-ri’s anger seemed to have softened considerably compared to the beginning.

On top of that, I asked again,

“Any other points you’re angry about?”

“This is the most important one. Now that I think about it, I’m getting mad again.”

“I’m listening.”

Dang Gyu-ri paused briefly and clenched their fists.

They were trembling, as if revealing their frustration.

“I should have been first.”

“…….”

“And not just with anything, but the first kiss!”

It was completely stolen!

At that, Seo Ye-in and mirror-image Seo Ye-in, who had been quiet until then, each threw in a word.

“First place retaken.”

∴ Critical hit.

“Very successful.”

A vein popped on Dang Gyu-ri’s forehead.

They seemed about to say something, but I beat them to it first.

In a calm, gentle, admonishing voice.

“As I’ve said repeatedly, who comes first and who comes later isn’t what matters. It’s not as if treatment changes depending on the number either.”

“…….”

“I’d like you to remember that this is not a race.”

“……That’s true. It’s not a race.”

For once, Dang Gyu-ri nodded obediently.

However, the next moment, their eyes snapped wide open, and they thundered,

“Love is……. war!”

“Please do not go to extremes.”

“Hand over your lips. If you do, I shall specially hold back from bite-biting.”

Dang Gyu-ri grabbed the hem of my clothing, saying that while we were at it, they might as well finish checking the seal too.

Seo Ye-in’s gray eyes also flashed with competitiveness.

“……The [Bond] seal.”

∴ Declaration of war.

“Should we too?”

∴ Defend first place.

As if to show hers as well, she began fumbling with the buttons of her shirt.

I immediately stepped in to mediate.

“Let’s all calm down. Don’t declare war, and you stop provoking them too.”

“I was half-joking about the war part too, but I do need to catch up.”

Dang Gyu-ri crossed their arms, saying this much could not be yielded.

To that, I once again spoke in a calm, coaxing tone.

“As I said earlier, I do think it’s only natural that we can do that, considering our relationship.”

“……But?”

“But the method of forcing it through like, ‘She did it, so I’m doing it too!’ isn’t healthy.”

There would be plenty of room for trouble in the long term too.

Dang Gyu-ri seemed to agree with that point as well.

“Then what do you want to do?”

“Wouldn’t it be best for anything like that to happen naturally? To go with the mood at the time.”

“Kissing too, and more than that?”

“Depending on the mood.”

Meaning it was fully possible.

Only then did the corners of Dang Gyu-ri’s mouth lift slightly.

“No going back on that later?”

“I won’t go back on it.”

“Good. I shall look forward to next time.”

While the Kim Ho Press Conference, Kim Ho Hearing, came to a fairly amicable close—

Seo Ye-in tilted her head and asked,

“……More than kissing?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“What is that?”

A mischievous smile appeared at Dang Gyu-ri’s mouth.

It seemed they had realized Seo Ye-in was asking because she genuinely did not know.

Smiling brightly, they answered as if talking to themself.

“You too will learn one day. When the mood is right…….”

“Tongue?”

For a moment, Dang Gyu-ri blinked with a blank face.

Then they grabbed my shoulder firmly and said,

“Hey, reopen the Kim Ho Press Conference. What tongue? Why is tongue coming up?”

*****

I explained that I had not used tongue yet, and that Seo Ye-in had simply acquired incorrect knowledge from somewhere.

Dang Gyu-ri seemed to accept it well enough, but they still looked at me with eyes that held a little suspicion.

In any case, I thought that was enough of what we needed to talk about for now, so I left the two of them with some encouragement to do well in PvP, then exited the arena.

My next destination was the training center.

It was to observe Go Hyeonwoo’s inheritance of [Wind God], as originally planned.

I wondered if he might need more time, so I sent him a message, but a reply came back saying that I could come anytime.

When I arrived at the training room, Go Hyeonwoo and Han Somi welcomed me warmly.

“Welcome, Brother Kim.”

“Hellooo, hellooo!”

As I stepped inside, I asked,

“When did you two get here?”

“Immediately after class ended.”

“You didn’t do PvP?”

“At this moment, inheritance takes priority over all else.”

“It truly is right before my eyes,” Go Hyeonwoo added.

Then again, if he slipped away for PvP now, it would only scatter his focus.

Finishing things one at a time with certainty was a much better choice.

So I nodded and asked him,

“Are you ready?”

“Until a few days ago, I did harbor some anxiety.”

“And now it’s different?”

At that, Go Hyeonwoo smiled confidently.

“I am one hundred and twenty percent certain.”

He, too, had grown rapidly through the inner-world package tour.

He had not learned anything new the way Dang Gyu-ri or Seo Ye-in had, but by watching spars between supreme masters, he had gained realizations both large and small.

And through the challenge [Austerity], he had even absorbed those realizations.

I smiled back at him and said,

“Good. Then let’s get ready.”

“I shall begin at once.”

Soon, Go Hyeonwoo took [Wind God] out of his inventory.

After releasing the simple seals, he carried it to the opposite side of the training room and carefully laid it down.

Then he returned and stood where we were.

While he calmed his mind one last time—

Whooooosh—

A faint breeze circled through the training room where there should not have been even a single breath of wind.

It was as if [Wind God] were saying this:

Come and try.

Come prove that you are worthy to wield me.

Perhaps stirred by that, Han Somi also offered a word of encouragement.

“You can do it!! This time you’ll really, really succeed!”