Chapter 188

Amir's task during the college-wide exam was simple: get through the labyrinth and finish first. After that, the Dream Demon would handle everything else, and it would become a matter of responding as needed.

Of course, it wouldn’t be easy to surpass Se-Hoon, a genius recognized worldwide, but Amir was confident.

Crunch-

Using alchemy with ice mana and the enhanced vision provided by his unique skill, Amir utilized a secret technique known as Frost Alchemy. With it, he was able to instantly create the required items for the transportation devices, managing to reach the center of the labyrinth well ahead of others.

The versatility of Frost Alchemy had exceeded the expectations of the professors who designed the labyrinth.

“Wow. You’re incredibly fast.”

Yet, despite his efforts, he still couldn’t beat Se-Hoon.

“...”

Se-Hoon, unlike himself who had just reached the center, was already standing right in front of the finish line—the flag.

Even now, despite his arrival, Se-Hoon was still just standing there leisurely.

The flag is approximately 150 meters away. I can’t close it with one leap, and if I throw my daggers at him, he’ll likely block it just like before.

In the current situation, there was no way to pass Se-Hoon and reach the finish line first. And even if he somehow managed to pass him, Se-Hoon's arrival before him had already ruined the entire plan.

A revision to the plan is inevitable. But the problem is...

If he used the method he was envisioning right now, there would be no next time for him. Realizing he would basically become a disposable pawn by using it, Amir tightly gripped the ice daggers.

No. It’s not over yet.

Glancing at the untouched flag, Amir sharpened his senses.

“How did you get here so fast? I wouldn’t normally say this myself, but I didn’t think anyone could be faster than me.”

For a moment, Se-Hoon just looked at him in silence. Then, he smiled and answered him.

“I copied the labyrinth's control authority.”

“...What?”

“While I wasn’t able to replicate it perfectly, I was still able to use it to bypass the transportation device.”

Hearing the explanation, Amir doubted his ears before bursting into a laugh.

Thinking of tackling the fundamental logic of the labyrinth itself was incredible, and actually succeeding was even more so.

This guy really is out of his mind, just like she mentioned.

Accepting that he had been complacent, Amir’s thoughts raced to find a chance. Smiling, he relaxed his posture to appear as harmless as possible so as to not arouse Se-Hoon’s suspicion.

“That’s impressive. Normally, no one would dare try such a method,” Amir commended.

“I mean, this is just an exam, so why worry? If they deemed this method cheating, they would’ve stopped me immediately.”

Since it wasn’t real combat, Se-Hoon felt comfortable taking risks.

“Anyway, you also got here pretty quickly.... Did you craft all of the required items, using the same method you used to craft your ice daggers, to use the transportation devices?”

Amir nodded, slightly surprised that Se-Hoon saw through his method instantly,

“Yes. I cut some corners.”

“It doesn’t seem simple enough to call it that... but, I'll take it.”

“Thank you for your understanding. Also...” Concealing his tension, Amir looked directly at Se-Hoon. “...you seem to be waiting for something. May I ask what it is?”

It was evident from how Se-Hoon was conversing with him while staring at his ice dagger that he had something else in mind. Hoping that it was Se-Hoon’s hubris, perhaps originating from his overconfidence in winning, he decided to exploit this opening to reach the flag before Se-Hoon could.

There’s still an opportunity.

The outcome now hinged on how he handled the following events. He sharpened his senses, ready to react to any situation. And soon, Se-Hoon opened his mouth.

“I wouldn’t say I’m waiting for something... I just find all of this rather dull.

“Dull?”

“It ended too quickly, considering it was a college-wide exam. If I lose points in my evaluation, it would be frustrating.”

By the time the students reached the core, their evaluation had already factored in the speed at which they navigated the labyrinth. The remainder would be based on other abilities.

With his navigation speed being too fast, Se-Hoon entertained the idea that showing off a bit more wouldn’t hurt if the opportunity arose.

“So, you want to show more of your abilities to the professors before ending the exam?”

“Exactly. I might’ve just accepted it if the opponent I’m fighting is unimpressive, but...”

Se-Hoon slowly scanned Amir from the bottom up, smiling when their eyes met.

“You seem okay, so I think I can bear with it.”

“...”

Amir’s eyelids twitched. There was no hint of deceit in Se-Hoon's gaze, expressions, or gestures. There was no intent of provocation at all; it was just a genuine assessment.

“It’s an honor to be evaluated so highly by... someone like you,” Amir forced out, suppressing his emotions.

Not missing the slight tremor in Amir’s smile, Se-Hoon snickered.

“So, are you in?”

“There's really no reason for me to refuse. It’s an opportunity to showcase my abilities too, and... maybe even turn the tide in my favor.”

“You seem quite confident. Then let’s get started.”

Grasping the void pocket provided at the start of the exam, Se-Hoon looked at Amir.

“The rules of the duel are simple. We’ll both forge a weapon within ten seconds from where we each stand and then throw it at each other.”

“Ten seconds...?”

“I assume you made those daggers with your unique skill. Am I wrong?”

“That’s correct, but...”

Amir made a strange expression. Just like Se-Hoon assumed, Amir’s unique skill, Frost Alchemy, was specialized for crafting specific items in a short amount of time.

And Se-Hoon must have known that. Yet Se-Hoon had nonchalantly proposed a duel that favored him. Amir couldn’t understand why.

Why would he...? Wait, could it be...

When a certain possibility crossed his mind, Amir’s eyes widened.

That was also when Se-Hoon continued, confirming his thought, “It’s best to crush your opponent in their specialty so that they don’t complain later. I hate hearing people list out excuses, unable to accept their defeat.”

By overwhelming the opponent directly under conditions favorable to them, Se-Hoon left no room for argument. His boldness was so overwhelming that it induced tension in Amir.

“...Understood. Let’s proceed with that then.”

“We’ll repeat the process five times, keeping ten seconds for each round. Simple, right?”

“...Is dodging allowed?” Amir asked after a moment of hesitation.

“As long as you don’t move forward. But... dodging even once might significantly hinder your chances of winning.”

Taking a second to dodge would reduce the time to create their next weapon to nine seconds. It was a disadvantage that would compound exponentially, likely leading to a loss in subsequent rounds.

This is the window of opportunity I need.

Taking a deep breath, Amir dissipated the ice daggers he had been holding and confronted Se-Hoon.

“I’m ready.”

“Then...”

Reaching into his void pocket, Se-Hoon pulled out an iron ingot and a small piece of metal. He then gently flicked the metal into the air with his finger.

Clang-

The moment the metal fell to the floor, the duel began.

Crunch!

Amir immediately formed the frame of an ice nail in his grip, which solidified and sharpened instantly. Having crafted a throwable ice nail in a blink with Frost Alchemy, he immediately focused back on Se-Hoon.

Fwoosh!

Crimson flames erupted from Se-Hoon’s right hand. Within just five seconds, he had melted the iron ingot and made it flow in sync with the flames. Inside the swirling flames of Scorching Wheel, a rapidly rotating crimson ring formed. With no hesitation, Se-Hoon reached in with his left hand and grabbed a part of it.

Nine... ten.

Whoosh!

The two simultaneously flung their completed weapons at each other.

Crash!

On Se-Hoon’s side, the remains of an ice nail had scattered everywhere.

And on the other side, Amir stood in shock, looking at the ground in front of him. A finger-length dagger with red and black patterns had shattered his ice nail effortlessly, landing in front of his feet.

How?

How did Se-Hoon manage to craft such a formidable dagger in such a short time? Lost, Amir looked up at Se-Hoon to find an answer.

Wait, that’s...

Seeing the dark shadows swirling around Se-Hoon’s left hand, Amir instantly understood how Se-Hoon was able to beat him so easily.

Using his fire mana to melt the metal quickly, Se-Hoon then cooled it instantaneously with his darkness mana, altering its structure and form in the process.

Clang!

The second set of crafted weapons collided with each other, forcing Amir to step back twice. This time, Se-Hoon's daggers had increased in sharpness and speed compared to their previous ones. Amir couldn’t help but be impressed.

He’s improvising his daggers even under these conditions. Is he insane?

Se-Hoon's forging method didn't involve skipping steps; he just compressed them. Under normal circumstances, a small mistake might have minimal consequences, but right now, it could be catastrophic.

But despite the fact that his dagger could explode if anything went wrong, Se-Hoon continued to modify his forging technique confidently.

Crash!

The third dagger sent ice fragments scattering in front of Amir.

The increased speed and power of Se-Hoon’s dagger were now on another level. Flustered, Amir hurriedly constructed and threw the fourth ice nail, wasting two seconds in the process.

Swish!

The ice nail split in half and fell, with the incoming dagger narrowly missing Amir’s hair thanks to dodging to the side.

The ice nail’s quality had diminished, but it ironically allowed him to evade the attack. By now, both Amir and Se-Hoon knew how the final match would play out.

Convinced of his victory, Se-Hoon confidently forged his final dagger. And Amir seized that moment.

Right now...!

His silvery eyes bore into Se-Hoon.

He was using his unique skill, Winter Sky Eyes, which allowed him to glimpse into another’s inner thoughts. Although he mainly used it to glimpse into others' emotions, he took in the risk of aftereffects and looked into Se-Hoon’s synesthetic mindscape.

Woong!

Within the chaotic swirl of Se-Hoon’s synesthetic mindscape, Amir pinpointed a certain flow of thoughts and immediately integrated it into his ice nail.

Crunch-!

The ice nail in his hand compressed rapidly, frost coating its surface with unparalleled speed. Imbued with the optimal synesthetic mindscape to counter Se-Hoon's, the nail shot forward with full power.

Bang!

Destroying Se-Hoon's dagger, it continued straight for his forehead.

“Huh?!”

Caught by surprise, the unexpected flow of events made Se-Hoon take a step back, and Amir immediately dashed forward, his hands touching the ground.

Frost Alchemy: Chain Ice

Crash!

The scattered ice fragments from earlier collisions formed a vast icy path, propelling Amir forward like an arrow.

Crunch!

Dozens of ice daggers formed around him, shooting forward to buy more time for the distance between them to close to just ten meters.

Having to avoid the ice nails, Se-Hoon had retreated three steps, giving Amir the time to reach and intercept him before he recovered.

Got him...!

Intending to subdue Se-Hoon in close combat and seize the flag, Amir’s eyes sparkled with determination as he charged.

Accompanying him were more ice daggers, which Amir had formed during his charge, that all launched at Se-Hoon.

Crash!

Succeeding, the daggers pinned Se-Hoon in place, and Amir, having finally closed the distance, held two ice daggers in reverse against Se-Hoon’s neck. It was a situation where anyone would admit that Amir had won, but there was no celebration. Instead, he just stared blankly to the side.

“The flag...”

The flag that should have been planted in the ground was now in Se-Hoon’s left hand as if it belonged there. Unable to believe his eyes, Amir's gaze landed on the small metal piece that lay at Se-Hoon’s feet—the piece that Se-Hoon had flicked to start the challenge.

Amir had ignored it, sensing nothing from it, but now it was attached to the flag, probably bringing it to Se-Hoon’s hand.

What the...

Seeing that Amir was frozen, staring blankly, Se-Hoon gently pushed away the daggers at his neck with his finger.

“In a real battle, I’d have to worry about all the ice, but here, all I needed to focus on was the flag. That’s why I set up insurance at the start.”

When Se-Hoon flicked the metal piece at the start of their duel, he had secretly linked it with a thread of Shadow Thread, then immediately dissipated it to avoid detection. It was only just before stepping back to dodge the last ice nail that he reformed the thread and connected it to the flag, bringing it to him.

“If you had thrown the blades at the flag, it might have been risky... but in that case, I’d probably have just thrown something to break them. Either way, the result wouldn’t have changed much.”

“...”

Amir clenched his fist. Just like Se-Hoon had said, his defeat was inevitable the moment he failed to see through his first move. The opportunity he thought he had didn’t exist in the first place.

Frustrated by the realization, Amir’s eyes turned cold.

Fine. If it’s come to this...

While he still held some value to the Dream Demon, he had to minimize the damage to his family by using himself as a disposable pawn. But just as Amir had steeled himself and was prepared to act, Se-Hoon tapped his shoulder and whispered something into his ear.

“Oh, right. Bring the glass slipper to me, would you? Don’t bother with doing pointless actions.”

“...”

Saying nothing else, Se-Hoon turned and walked away, leaving behind Amir, whose resolve dissipated, turning into a blank stare at his retreating figure.

...Cinderella?

Immediately recalling the ridiculously corny code phrase he had heard months ago, it dawned on him that Se-Hoon was the man at the Black Arms.

“Wow.”

And that came with another realization: he had been playing a losing game from their first meeting.