The Next Day.

From the moment we met, Seo Ye-in couldn’t take her eyes off my shoulder.

“……”

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“…There’s something there.”

“What’s there?”

“There’s just something.”

Could the Bond crest be visible even through clothing?

Her eyesight really is unreal, like always.

I actually asked her about it once, and she shared a few unidentified traits that showed up as [???].

Her sharp vision probably comes from one of those.

“……”

Seo Ye-in kept her eyes fixed on the crest and started tugging lightly at the hem of my clothes.

She was practically about to undress me, so I decided to stop her there.

Not that I had any reason to hide the crest, so I gave a brief explanation.

“I learned a new skill. It’s called [Bond].”

“I want a Bond too.”

“There’s no slot left.”

There was only one, and it’s already taken.

Seo Ye-in looked up at me, her eyes silently asking, “Who is it?”

The answer came from elsewhere.

“Hey~ What are you two talking about?”

Dang Gyu-young walked over cheerfully, waving her hand.

Seo Ye-in’s gaze immediately darted to her, then back to my shoulder.

After a few back-and-forths, her gray eyes widened in realization.

“…….!”

Dang Gyu-young seemed to notice the meaning in her look as well, and a victorious smile crept across her lips.

Looking smug, she shared the secret like she was doing a favor.

“I reserved in advance. That’s how I snagged the number one spot.”

“Number one…!”

Seo Ye-in’s eyes grew even wider.

She grabbed my arm and tugged.

“…I want a reservation too.”

“You don’t need to rush. Once more slots open up, I’ll explain everything and we’ll decide carefully.”

“All of them. I’m reserving all of them.”

“What do you mean all of them?”

“All the others too.”

“That’s not happening.”

“I want to be number one.”

Seo Ye-in kept pestering me for quite a while.

***

The final day of the tournament featured the third-place match and the grand finals.

However, the energy in the arena felt more subdued than the day before.

Well, after what happened yesterday…

News of the Witch of Exhaustion’s defeat had spread across the entire Dungeon Island, and everyone must’ve celebrated all night long.

By now, they were probably running on empty.

And the outcome’s basically a given.

In truth, the winner had more or less been decided when Namgong Chang-cheon and Song Cheon-gi faced off in the semifinals.

Word was, Song Cheon-gi had won by a hair’s breadth.

Personally, I had placed more hope in Namgong Chang-cheon, but I guess he wasn’t quite ready to topple one of the third-year elites.

In comparison, Hong Ye-hwa and Kim Gap-doo’s skills were clearly a step below the top two.

Dang Gyu-young alone would be enough to handle them.

With such an obvious skill gap, not just me but most of the spectators already had a good idea how things would end and that predictability dulled the excitement.

And just as expected, Hong Ye-hwa lost to Namgong Chang-cheon in the third-place match.

Now, the final match was underway.

Fzzzzzzzzzzzzt!

Thunder roared relentlessly, and flashes of lightning split the air.

Kim Gap-doo and Song Cheon-gi exchanged blows at extremely close range.

At first glance, Kim Gap-doo seemed to have the upper hand, but his health was clearly draining fast.

The constant exposure to electric magic was taking its toll.

He lost the moment he fell behind in melee combat.

A martial artist can’t exactly turn a match into a long-range bombardment.

Especially not against a mage.

So Kim Gap-doo had no choice but to keep forcing close combat, and the health gap between them kept growing.

Some people might’ve been hoping for another miraculous appearance of the Great Healing Orb, but unfortunately, no such miracle occurred.

Kim Gap-doo’s movements grew slower and slower until at last he dropped to one knee—

And couldn’t get back up.

Seo Cheong-yong, fired up with excitement, shouted into the mic,

“Song Cheon-gi—! Has finally seized the championship trophy—!”

[Kim Gap-doo: Lose]

vs

[Song Cheon-gi: Win]

– Waaaaah!

Cheers from the crowd filled the entire arena.

***

The awards ceremony followed, along with the principal’s closing speech, marking the successful conclusion of this year’s Fixed Zone tournament.

Everyone flocked to the downtown district to celebrate, but ironically, the champion Song Cheon-gi remained seated in the stands.

He stared at the now-empty stage, then glanced at me and finally spoke.

“I’ll admit it. My judgment was lacking.”

“She improved a lot, didn’t she, Senior Dang Gyu-young?”

“Yeah. I didn’t expect her to defeat a Disciplinary Committee member.”

Before the tournament, Song Cheon-gi and I had made a bet.

If Song Cheon-gi won, I would cancel the [Wish Ticket (Medium)] promised by Song Cheon-hye.

Conversely, if I won, he would owe me a [Wish Ticket (Medium)].

– There’s a clear limit to how much someone can improve in a short period. At best, she might make it to the round of 16.

– I think she’ll go further than that. Maybe the quarterfinals or even the semifinals.

The result: she defeated Kang Dae-san, a third-year Disciplinary Committee member, and advanced to the quarterfinals.

She later faced Namgong Chang-cheon, which put an end to her run, but as far as the bet was concerned, I was the winner.

Song Cheon-gi said,

“As promised, I owe you one Wish Ticket. Tell me what you want.”

“I’ll have to think about it and let you know. There’s nothing I want right now.”

“…So this is what it feels like.”

With a bitter smile, Song Cheon-gi seemed to understand his younger sister’s mindset a little better.

Then he slowly stood up from his seat.

“If there’s nothing more to say, I’ll take my leave. Let me know anytime you want to use your Wish Ticket.”

“I still have something I’d like to propose.”

At those words, Song Cheon-gi stopped in his tracks and turned back to me.

“…What is it?”

“How about another bet?”

“Another Wish Ticket on the line?”

“Yes, but let’s raise the stakes this time.”

Song Cheon-gi’s eyes flashed.

“[Wish Ticket (Large)].”

“If I lose, I’ll forfeit it.”

“And if you win?”

“Rather than another Wish Ticket, I’d like to receive an item.”

“You’re bringing this up now… It must be the tournament prize.”

“Right again. I need it to rank up.”

The championship prize was two A-Rank Exchange Coupons and a Rank-Up B.

A Rank-Up item would be roughly equivalent in value to a [Wish Ticket (Large)].

After thinking it over for a moment, Song Cheon-gi spoke.

“Let’s hear more before I decide. What kind of bet are you proposing?”

“It’s not exactly a bet….more of a duel.”

“…A duel?”

I gave a small smile and nodded.

“As you know, I forfeited right after reaching the main bracket.”

“I assumed you had your reasons.”

“Yes. It’s hard to explain, but I was left with some regrets. I’d like to learn from you.”

“…….”

Song Cheon-gi stared at me in silence for a long while.

“If all you wanted was to learn, you could’ve just used your Wish Ticket. That means you think you have at least a shot against me.”

“You never know until you actually try.”

“Quite the confidence. What are the rules?”

“Let’s follow the tournament rules as they are.”

C-Rank [Fixed Zone] with [Slots].

As a third-year, Song Cheon-gi entered the duel with 8 slots. I, a first-year, had 10 slots.

Song Cheon-gi slowly tilted his chin upward.

“Fine, I accept.”

“Just one more thing.”

“What is it?”

“I’d like to keep the details of the duel private.”

“As you wish.”

With that final condition settled, the duel was officially agreed upon.

Soon, we each stepped onto our respective magic circles.

Looking across at Song Cheon-gi, I thought to myself,

I avoided the duel at first.

To be honest, I could’ve challenged him to a duel back when he first approached me about the Wish Ticket.

But at the time, I hadn’t even brought it up because while my odds of winning were better, they weren’t good enough to be confident.

Mostly because I didn’t have enough information.

The main issue was that I had no idea what skills, traits, or equipment Song Cheon-gi had slotted.

If I went in blind, I risked losing. Even if I won, it would’ve been a tough fight.

But now? Things were different.

Throughout the tournament and by rewatching the footage, I had analyzed his slot setup, noted how he operated, and studied his habits.

As a bonus, the copy slots that were previously empty had now been fully loaded.

With powerful skills and traits like [Vendetta] and [Chain Explosion].

So, what are my odds now?

100%.

***

About ten minutes after the match began—

The scoreboard displayed the results.

[Kim Ho Win]

vs

[Song Cheon-gi Lose]

Song Cheon-gi stared in disbelief with his eyes wide.

“This… can’t be…!”

“Well fought, Senior.”

I gave a respectful bow.

Song Cheon-gi opened his mouth as if to say something, then closed it… then opened it again.

And he kept repeating the motion.

Eventually, as if realizing it was all pointless, he let out a quiet sigh.

Then, from his inventory, he produced the [Rank-Up (B)].

“I accept the result.”

“Thank you. I’ll take it gratefully.”

“Looking back… mentioning Dang Gyu-young when you proposed the bet…that was intentional, wasn’t it? You were trying to draw me in.”

“I won’t deny it.”

One of the reasons Song Cheon-gi had entered the tournament in the first place was to increase the chances of Dang Gyu-young getting eliminated.

If he had faced her before she made the quarterfinals, he could’ve taken her out.

However, Dang Gyu-young never ended up facing him, and Song Cheon-gi, following the Thunder Lord’s philosophy of spirit, made it all the way to the finals, revealing all his cards in the process.

“You were planning to challenge me to a duel one way or another.”

“If you made it to the semifinals or higher.”

Rank-Up (B) was awarded as a prize starting from the semifinals.

In other words, if Song Cheon-gi made it to the top four, he would’ve definitely challenged me.

Given his skill, it was entirely possible, barring any major upsets.

Song Cheon-gi let out another long sigh.

“I was completely dancing in the palm of your hand. I’ve learned a lot.”

And just as he was brushing off his clothes and about to stand—

A strange voice came from somewhere.

“So, you lost.”

It was none other than the head of the Song family.

Wearing the same cold expression that seemed to run in the family.

I could guess he’d been watching us for quite some time.

Song Cheon-gi seemed to think the same. He immediately bowed his head and spoke.

“I lost. I apologize.”

“It’s all right.”

But while the head of the Song family wore a cold expression, he didn’t actually seem all that upset.

If anything, he gave off the impression that he’d expected this outcome.

He patted his son’s shoulder, then turned to face me.

“So we finally meet. Could you spare me a moment of your time?”

“Yes, of course.”

He didn’t seem like the kind of person who’d bite my head off just for following him.

Besides, I had a feeling this might be to my advantage.

I followed after the father and son.