The Demon Goes to Work Today As Well

Chapter 7: Duel (2)

As I stepped into the dueling arena,

‘……Wow.’

The arena was structured similarly to the fighting rings I often saw on TV and the internet in my previous life.

The only difference was,

‘The scale is quite impressive.’

It was larger than any fighting ring I remembered, and stages were set up in the center of the arena.

“Where should we sit? Ribbit, ribbit.”

At the Frog Man’s question, Jung Minwoo pointed to the front row without hesitation.
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“Let’s sit in the front.”

“The front row? Ribbit, ribbit.”

“Yeah, we need to see up close how they fight to analyze and strategize, right?”

As the saying goes, “Know your enemy and know yourself, and in a hundred battles, you will never be defeated.” Knowing both the enemy and oneself increases the chances of winning a duel, so it was necessary to understand how the opponents fought.

“……Indeed, knowing their fighting style would make it easier to counter. Ribbit, ribbit.”

The Frog Man’s eyes gleamed with understanding at Jung Minwoo’s explanation.

As they waited, seated close to the stage,

Thump, thump, thump—

A moment later, the massive demon they saw at the entrance ceremony climbed onto the stage.

“Finally, you all seem a bit more lively.”

The massive demon looked around with a satisfied smile and said,

“Since everyone has arrived on time, I’ll go ahead and explain the duel.”

He began to explain the duel.

“The duel will be held between students of each class. Bonus points will be awarded to the cadets who achieve first place, and opponents will be randomly selected. As a reminder, a protective barrier will activate in case of life-threatening attacks, so everyone can relax and showcase their full abilities.”

After a brief explanation, the massive demon stepped down from the stage.

[The lottery will now begin.]

An announcement came from the speakers, and the giant screen on the ceiling lit up.

[The duel lottery will begin with the ‘Small Demon Spear’ class.]

Following the announcement, the numbers of the selected demons began to appear on the screen one by one.

[3 VS 10]

[23 VS 66]

[49 VS 33]

[34 VS 56]

:

As the last selection appeared,

[1 VS 44]

Jung Minwoo confirmed his number on the screen.

‘Fighting first isn’t bad.’ Jung Minwoo welcomed the situation as it allowed him to conserve energy after his fight.

‘Let’s see what this guy looks like.’

To see what number 44 looked like, Jung Minwoo shifted his gaze to the photo above the number.

‘So it was that guy?’

He had a bull’s head on a human body.

‘I was thinking about teaching him a lesson for picking on me, so this works out well.’

The bull-headed demon must have thought Jung Minwoo was easy prey because he had been quiet for a week, as he had been subtly provoking him.

‘I need to make him unable to meet my eyes after the duel.’

As Jung Minwoo was looking around to see the bull-headed demon in person,

Smirk—

He spotted the bull-headed demon staring at him with a sly smile from afar.

‘Huh…… Is he confident?’

Jung Minwoo chuckled and brushed off the pathetic provocation.

“……!”

The bull-headed demon, mistaking Jung Minwoo’s chuckle for mockery, frowned deeply.

‘Cute.’

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As Jung Minwoo turned his head away,

[Selected demons, please come up to the stage.]

The announcement for the selected demons to come up to the stage rang out.

‘Shall we go then?’ As Jung Minwoo stood up to move to the stage,

“Go get ’em! Ribbit, ribbit.”

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The Frog Man gave him a thumbs-up and cheered him on.

“Thanks.”

Jung Minwoo returned the thumbs-up and headed towards the stage.

“Heh heh, how lucky am I to fight you like this?”

Standing on the stage, the bull-headed demon looked at Jung Minwoo with predatory eyes.

“You seem very confident.”

At Jung Minwoo’s words, the bull-headed demon shrugged and said,

“I admit you handle demonic energy well, but that doesn’t mean you’re good at fighting.”

With those words, Jung Minwoo could define his assessment of the bull-headed demon.

‘Ugh, that stupid bullhead!’

A demon’s strength came from their demonic energy, so how could he exclude that from his assessment?

‘I had no idea there was such a dimwitted and ignorant guy among my classmates.’

It was a realization that just because someone was born using language and letters didn’t mean they had high intelligence.

‘Still, I shouldn’t underestimate him.’

Low intelligence didn’t necessarily translate to poor fighting skills, so it was unwise to look down on the opponent and let his guard down.

As Jung Minwoo finished his assessment of the bull-headed demon,

[The duel will begin in 5 minutes.]

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An announcement rang out, signaling the impending start of the duel.

‘5 minutes……’ Jung Minwoo decided to review the strategy he had devised during the remaining time.

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‘I should fight this duel conserving as much demonic energy as possible.’

They were going to have duels throughout the fourth period, so it would be non-stop.

‘It would be troublesome if I wasted my demonic energy from the start and ended up losing later due to lack of energy.’

Therefore, he planned to conserve his demonic energy and stamina to unleash everything in the final round.

‘And it would be best to save my hidden card as much as possible.’

A surprise attack with shadows would only work once, so he intended to fight this duel without using the ring.

‘Coating my fist with demonic energy should be enough to inflict sufficient damage, so there shouldn’t be a problem.’

Furthermore, fighting barehanded consumed less demonic energy than using the ring, making it more cost-effective.
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‘Okay, let’s stick to this plan.’

As Jung Minwoo finished reviewing his strategy and adjusted his stance,

[The duel begins.]

Beep—!

Just then, the buzzer signaling the start of the duel sounded.

“Moooooo!”

The bull-headed demon pounded his chest and charged towards Jung Minwoo.

‘He’s a real mad bull.’

Jung Minwoo chuckled and activated ‘Mind’s Eye.’

【I’ll split your face open with my axe!】

Letters appeared above the bull-headed demon, forming his thoughts into words.

‘Is that so?’

Reading his thoughts, Jung Minwoo gave a sly smile.

“Die!!!”
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Just as the bull-headed demon was about to swing his axe down,

Slide—

Crash—!

Jung Minwoo took a step to the left, effortlessly dodging the attack.

“Moo?”

The bull-headed demon seemed surprised that Jung Minwoo had dodged his attack.

“What’s with the surprised look? This is just the beginning.”

Jung Minwoo taunted and struck the bull-headed demon’s jaw with his demonic energy-clad fist.

Boom—!

“Quack?”

A sound that could never be produced by a slender fist echoed through the arena.

“Ugh—!”

The bull-headed demon groaned and staggered, seemingly greatly impacted by the blow.

‘Should I follow up with a combo?’

Jung Minwoo seized the opportunity and continued his assault.

Boom—!

Boom—!

Boom—!

Philtrum, solar plexus, dantian.

Jung Minwoo struck the bull-headed demon’s vital points with all his might, but

‘He’s tougher than I thought.’

Whether his vital points were different due to his bull-like nature, the bull-headed demon didn’t go down easily.

“Moooo!”

The bull-headed demon snorted and raised his axe, shouting,

“I’ll tear you to shreds!”

Meanwhile, Jung Minwoo calmly responded.

【Torso】

‘No matter how agitated he is, he’ll instinctively think about where to attack.’

As Jung Minwoo swiftly bent down,

Whoosh—!

A strong gust of wind passed over his head.

‘Should I focus on one spot?’

Jung Minwoo straightened back up and struck the bull-headed demon’s jaw.

Boom—!

“Ugh!”

As expected, the head seemed to be the most vulnerable spot, as the bull-headed demon reacted immediately.

‘Let’s finish this quickly!’
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Jung Minwoo decided to end the fight without wasting any more time and unleashed a barrage of attacks.

Thud, thud, thud, thud, boom—!

“……Isn’t this too one-sided?”

“That’s bordering on bullying.”

“He’s that good at fighting too?”

“……Can anyone even beat number 1?”

The demons from the same class watching the duel stared at Jung Minwoo with fearful eyes.

“Hmm, he’s completely toying with him.”

“As expected, a demon with Demon Eye is different.”

“He fights well even without using equipment.”

“Seeing him predict and dodge attacks, his combat sense is no joke.”

The instructors seated below the stage were evaluating Jung Minwoo’s duel with favorable gazes.

“Da―amn it!!”

The bull-headed demon, sensing his impending defeat, roared and raised his axe high.

“I’ll land at least one hit on you!”

A thick demonic energy began to surge around the axe.

‘Is this his last stand?’

Jung Minwoo, sensing something ominous, tried to read the bull-headed demon’s thoughts to see where he would attack, but

【I’ll blow you away with the stage in one minute!】

It seemed to be a wide-range attack, as there was no mention of a specific target.

The only silver lining was that it wouldn’t be an immediate attack due to the one-minute casting time.

‘Then now’s the perfect time to strike.’

Who could stand still and wait when the opponent was practically begging to be attacked?

‘In a one-on-one duel, using an attack with a long casting time is like begging to be taken down!’

Dash—!

Jung Minwoo swiftly dashed forward, closing the distance to the bull-headed demon.

“……Huh? W-wait!”

The bull-headed demon exclaimed urgently, seeing Jung Minwoo right in front of him, but

“Farewell.”

Jung Minwoo smirked and swung his demonic energy-clad fist.

Boom—!

“Gah!”

The bull-headed demon, struck squarely on the jaw, couldn’t withstand the impact and collapsed backward with his massive body.

Thud—!

After successfully finishing the duel, [Jung Minwoo] returned to the seat he had been sitting in before.

“Ribbit, ribbit. That was insane!”

The Frog Man congratulated him with an exclamation of admiration.

“This much is basic.”

[Jung Minwoo] smirked and shrugged his shoulders.

“I can fight well too, right? Ribbit, ribbit.”

“Of course. You’ve been dueling for a week.”

“I’m getting nervous for no reason. Ribbit, ribbit.”

“If you’re too nervous, try simulating how you’ll fight. That’ll make you feel a little better.”

The Frog Man replied that he would do so and closed his eyes.

‘Well then, should I watch the duels of the other guys?’

Perhaps because his duel had ended sooner than expected, the other demons were still in the middle of their duels.

[Jung Minwoo] took in the sight of the demons fighting with his own eyes.

‘They might be hiding their strength, but it doesn’t look like there’s anyone who can be called a worthy opponent yet.’

He looked around, but no noteworthy demon appeared.

However, the fighting styles, each with their own unique flair, were enough to provide [Jung Minwoo] with good data.

‘If they attack like that, I should deal with it like this……’
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As he watched the duels, projecting himself onto the fighting demons.

[All duels have ended.]

The duels had ended before he knew it.

[We will now proceed with the next lottery.]

Following the announcement, [Jung Minwoo] shifted his gaze toward the screen.

[77 vs 88]

[13 vs 14]

[50 vs 61]

[37 vs 47]

The numbers of the demons selected in the lottery started appearing one by one, and then.

[2 vs 99]

He confirmed that the Frog Man’s duel was scheduled for the fifth match.

“Hey, your duel’s been set.”

[Jung Minwoo] shook the Frog Man’s shoulder, waking him from his thoughts.

“It is? Ribbit, ribbit.”

After checking the lottery results, the Frog Man stretched his shoulders and warmed up.

“You’re confident you’ll do well, right?”

“Of course. I’ve been training for a week. Ribbit, ribbit.”

The Frog Man answered [Jung Minwoo]’s question with a smile.

[Demons selected in the lottery, please come up to the stage.]

Following the announcement, the Frog Man went up to the stage.

‘Is that 99?’ [Jung Minwoo] examined the demon standing on the opposite side.

Although he had a human form like himself, there was something a bit peculiar.

‘He’s quite short.’

He was short and had a small build, like a child who hadn’t finished growing.

It was unreasonable to judge a demon based on appearance alone since they fought using demonic energy, but.

‘Still, Number 2 will win, right?’

[Jung Minwoo] predicted a landslide victory for the Frog Man.

It was only natural because he knew how strong the Frog Man was, having dueled with him for a week.

‘It’s obvious that he’ll win, so it’d be better to watch the other demons’ duels.’

Since he had already figured out the Frog Man’s fighting style, it was strategically advantageous to watch the other demons’ duels.

Beep―――!

Just as the buzzer sounded and he was watching the other demons’ duels.

“……Ribbiiiiit!”

Crash――!

He heard the Frog Man’s agonized scream.

“……Hmm?”

When [Jung Minwoo] turned his gaze towards the stage where the Frog Man was, just in case.

‘……No way.’

He saw the Frog Man lying on the ground.

‘Number 2 lost?’

Feeling bewildered, [Jung Minwoo] looked at Number 99.

“……”

Number 99 was looking down at the Frog Man with an indifferent gaze.

‘How did he lose?’

As [Jung Minwoo] felt a chill run down his spine.

Swoosh―

Number 99 turned his head towards where [Jung Minwoo] was sitting.

“……”

As their eyes met, [Jung Minwoo] intuitively realized one thing.

‘……This won’t be easy.’

That he would be facing this guy in the finals.
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