S-Classes That I Raised to Devour - Chapter 14

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Episode 14. There’s Skill in Buffs (3)
Thirty minutes before the match began.
Chae Mujin explained to Kim Yeoul how she should fight.
“Cheon Ihwa is a Swift Blade Wielder. Her sword moves faster than thought itself. So listen, Yeoul—you can’t think during this fight.”
Mages have many natural predators, but the most troublesome are assassins and Swift Blade Wielders.
However, Chae Mujin had experience.
He’d trained both assassins and Swift Blade Wielders to the highest level.
Their psychology was as clear to him as the lines on his palm.
“The most important thing is that you trust me. If you can’t do that, your posture and breathing will collapse. It’s a mistake that takes less than a second to correct—but in our world, it’s time enough for a dozen lives to be snuffed out.”
“Ugh, I’m so nervous I think I’m going to be sick……”
“It’s natural to be afraid when facing a strong opponent. There’s no shame in it. But—”
Chae Mujin, gripping Yeoul’s shoulders, whispered to her.
“Have the courage to overcome that fear. To seize what you want, and to keep what’s precious to you from being taken away.”
Kim Yeoul reacted violently at the word “taken away” more than any other.
Veins stood out instantly on her neck and forehead, and her gaze grew heavy.
“Don’t waste strength tensing your eyes. Just hold the determination to do your best.”
“Yes.”
“Good. Let’s go. Win or lose, we come out ahead!”
Thump-thump!
Chae Mujin gave her an encouraging slap on the back and began his own preparations.
Preparations that amounted to nothing more than equipping two items.
[You have equipped the Basic-grade Mana Storage Bracelet.]
Equipment equipped: 1/6
Stored Mana: 10/10
[You have equipped the Basic-grade Mana Storage Necklace.]
Equipment equipped: 2/6
Stored Mana: 20/20
[Status Window]
Name: Chae Mujin (Lv.8)
Job: Supporter
Strength: 17 Stamina: 17
Agility: 17 Mana: 31
Traits: Savior (EX), Akashic Record (EX), Spirit of the Sword Demon (A), Shared Healing (D)
Skills: Buff (Unique), Collection (EX), Taishan Overwhelming Strike (C), Light of Healing (D)
In this match, all I can use is Buff and a total of 51 Mana.
No matter how you look at it, these aren’t the resources to defeat a 150-level hunter.
Chae Mujin knew the disadvantage was real. But nothing would change because of that knowledge.
“Whatever the situation, I’ll simply do my best.”
In this, at least, he differed not at all from his past life.
* * *
Cheon Ihwa was a prodigy in combat that transcended even the Cheonmu Sect. For that reason, the assumption that Chae Mujin could become a variable had immediately crossed her mind.
But she dismissed it for two reasons.
‘The Training Arena isn’t open-plan. Buffs count as projectiles, so he can’t pass them through walls to buff her.’
Even if, by some miracle, he managed to land a buff, it wouldn’t matter. His buff was only a ‘Physical Attack Power Buff,’ after all.
That’s how it should have been.
“……?”
Cheon Ihwa’s blade had clearly cut through Kim Yeoul’s chest.
Yet at that same instant, a Fireball Kim Yeoul had created hovered before her abdomen.
‘No matter how much I held back my power, how could she take my strike with no damage? And she even scattered my attention with her staff?’
It was common sense that magic emerged from the tip of a staff. But that was only a preconception. Magic could be conjured anywhere.
Creating it at the staff’s tip was simply easier to perceive.
Cheon Ihwa had unconsciously assumed the same—that magic would emerge from the staff’s end.
Yet what difference did it make? She’d landed the first strike.
With enough force to reduce Life Points to zero. So the Fireball should have vanished without ever being fired, by rights.
Boom!
The Fireball struck Cheon Ihwa’s abdomen instantly, erupting in a thunderous blast. The Training Arena shook, and the Spectator Seating chairs trembled with the force.
Cheon Ihwa was hurled backward. But she somersaulted in mid-air and landed with stable footing.
Her hair was disheveled, but she sustained no damage whatsoever. The Protective Qi Barrier—a wall of Inner Energy that defended her.
“…….”
Silence descended on the spectators, who had expected the match to end in a single second.
It was shocking enough that Kim Yeoul had fired a close-range Fireball, almost a self-destruct move.
But the power was utterly beyond what a mage in the Level 10 range should be capable of producing.
And that wasn’t all. Kim Yeoul’s own survival could no longer be guaranteed. Magic made no distinction between caster and foe.
If a Fireball detonated that close, it was common sense that the caster would be caught in the backlash.
Yet no one called to halt the match.
And for good reason—no red light had appeared in the arena. That meant both fighters still had Life Points remaining.
Before the smoke from the Fireball could clear, a second Fireball tore through and erupted.
“……!”
By appearance, Kim Yeoul seemed timid and fragile. Yet the sharp, successive attacks caught Cheon Ihwa off guard.
Emotion aside, her body was that of a battle-hardened warrior. Her limbs moved before her thoughts could.
She leaped clear and closed the distance in the same breath.
Whoosh!
The Fireball detonated in mid-air.
Another preconception shattered—that Fireballs only exploded on impact.
Naturally, an explosion at distance dealt less damage. But it was enough to destabilize someone suspended in the air.
At that moment, Cheon Ihwa felt a chill.
She thought a third Fireball would fly at her as she tumbled defenseless from the sky. The perfect opening.
Kim Yeoul was indeed preparing a third Fireball.
But she waited.
Eyes wide, until Cheon Ihwa hit the ground.
‘How is she calm in a moment like this?’
Cheon Ihwa had planned to dodge the incoming Fireball in mid-air and end it in a breath.
But because Kim Yeoul refrained from firing hastily and waited instead, she was forced to take a risk.
Crack!
She pushed off the ground and shot forward in a straight line.
Flying in a straight line made her an easy target for the Fireball—but that was her plan.
Her blade gleamed with a blue aura. Sword Qi.
A miracle of the present world, existing since before skills were ever conceived. It possessed the power to cleave all things, and the Mana that comprised skills were no exception.
Yet from start to finish, Kim Yeoul did not act as Cheon Ihwa predicted.
Even as Cheon Ihwa extended her blade and flew forward, Kim Yeoul remained perfectly still.
Her eyes trembled with fear, but never closed. Her legs shook, but she held her ground.
‘No. This won’t do.’
Cheon Ihwa was seized by panic.
The Sword Qi she’d infused into her blade was meant to cleave the Fireball apart.
If instead it cut through Kim Yeoul, she would be split in two along with her armor.
Changing the trajectory of an already-committed thrust required bone-breaking force.
Yet Cheon Ihwa was seasoned. Instead of pulling her extended arm back, she bent her torso inward.
Centrifugal force spun her body, reversing her orientation—hand and foot exchanged positions.
Crack!
Her kick connected with Kim Yeoul’s chest.
Simultaneously, the Fireball hovering above her head dropped down.
Thunderous boom!
The third Fireball was far more powerful than the first two.
The Training Arena’s reinforced glass cracked with a screech—the kind meant to withstand missiles.
The arena filled with smoke. Nothing was visible. The ventilation system, normally automatic, seemed to have been damaged by the last strike.
Yet one thing was beyond doubt.
“…It’s decided.”
The arena light had turned red.
Someone’s Life Points had reached zero. Yet no one dared to shout the victor’s name. Cheon Ihwa’s victory, which should have been certain, had become unknowable.
“Who won?”
No one had seen the final moment clearly. Depending on the viewing angle, the Fireball seemed to have struck Kim Yeoul herself, or to have caught Cheon Ihwa squarely.
Everyone held their breath, waiting.
“Cough, cough.”
The referee inside the arena emerged through the door. Only then did the crowd cry out loud.
“Who won?!”
“It’s, cough, cough…”
The referee coughed so hard he couldn’t speak. The crowd’s nerves were stretched to the breaking point.
But as the referee opened the door, smoke poured out, and silhouettes became faintly visible.
One person lay on the ground. The other stood leaning against the wall.
Once the smoke cleared completely, what appeared was…….
“It’s, it’s Cheon Ihwa!”
“Cheon Ihwa won!”
“But who is this mage that made Cheon Ihwa’s victory so close?!”
“According to her profile, she’s nothing special?”
They hadn’t simply guessed the victory because the standing figure was Cheon Ihwa.
The Mana Armor she wore was still active. It flickered as it died, but Life Points clearly remained.
Yet for some reason, the victor did not smile.
Instead, she simply gazed down at Kim Yeoul with a complex, unreadable expression.
* * *
Kim Yeoul was immediately taken to the Recovery Room.
Her injuries were not severe. She had simply exhausted all her strength and Mana, collapsing from fatigue.
The result was naturally Kim Yeoul’s defeat and Cheon Ihwa’s victory.
Slice, slice.
Chae Mujin peeled an apple beside the bed, shaping it into an adorable rabbit. He fed the peel to Kim Yeoul.
Flinch.
“I know you’re awake.”
“Sorry, ngh.”
He popped an apple slice into her open mouth.
“Eat quickly and recover. We need to get ready for Round Two.”
Crunch, crunch, crunch.
As Kim Yeoul hurried through her apple to speak, a second slice went in the moment her mouth cleared.
Only after she’d eaten the whole apple did Kim Yeoul finally manage to speak.
“I won’t accept the Wish Voucher.”
“Why? Because at the end you threw the Fireball at the ground so Cheon Ihwa wouldn’t die?”
Drip, drip.
Apple juice he hadn’t yet swallowed ran down the corner of his mouth.
“Uh, how did you, how did you know that?”
“I have eyes, so I watched.”
Contrary to what Chae Mujin said, only two people knew that fact.
Himself. And Cheon Ihwa, who had been there.
Others hadn’t realized Kim Yeoul deliberately drove the Fireball into the ground because of distance and angle.
Even if someone had seen the Fireball strike the ground, they wouldn’t have thought Kim Yeoul intended it.
Kim Yeoul’s expression suggested she was relieved.
“That’s why I won’t accept the Wish Voucher. Actually, I should be compensating you instead. If I’d done what you said, I would have won……”
Swish.
Seeing Chae Mujin’s arm rise, Kim Yeoul reflexively squeezed her eyes shut.
Under her father, she’d always been struck across the cheek whenever she made a mistake.
It was a reflexive flinch, but she didn’t open her eyes again. This time was different from back then.
She felt no resentment. Rather, it was expected. If she made a mistake, punishment followed.
But what came next wasn’t pain—it was warmth.
“Not accepting the Wish Voucher. You did well.”
Her mind went blank at the sensation of a hand gently stroking her head. She couldn’t understand what she’d possibly done right to merit such praise.
“Cheon Ihwa was preparing a counterattack. I predicted she’d rotate her body to avoid using Sword Qi, but I didn’t foresee that she could maintain it through the turn.”
“If you’d fired the Fireball as I instructed, the Sword Qi would have cut through it. At that point, having spent all your Mana, you’d be helpless—defeat would’ve been inevitable.”
“But you didn’t fire. With that choice—one neither Cheon Ihwa nor I predicted—she won but lost, and you lost but won. So—”
Unlike the gentle beginning, this time he ruffled her hair roughly.
“Your choice to change your mind at the last moment was right. You did well.”
“……!”
Kim Yeoul tried to protest, but no sound emerged from her tightened throat.
That she’d managed to reach this point at all was because Chae Mujin had built the entire stage for her.
He’d predicted her opponent’s every move as though he’d seen the future.
His miraculous Buff that ignored obstacles and granted miracles to the space itself.
With that overwhelming support—boosting her offense and defense to their absolute limits—she’d weathered Cheon Ihwa’s blade strikes and unleashed those tremendous Fireballs.
Yet despite such perfect backing, she’d still lost. And instead of blaming her, he soothed her, saying she’d done well.
Though it might be hollow comfort, faced with unconditional warmth for the first time in her life, Kim Yeoul held back the tears that threatened to spill, her mind unable to think of anything else.
Knock, knock.
The sound of the door being knocked helped her hold back her tears.
“I’m coming in.”
The voice belonged to someone whose name was now familiar to both Chae Mujin and Kim Yeoul.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————