Chapter 18: Countermeasures

“I publicly challenge President Baek Juseok to a magic duel.”

As soon as I made that bombshell statement, a barrage of questions from the reporters started flooding in.

“Masked Instructor! Are you confident that you can beat President Baek Juseok in this duel?”

“Clearing a dungeon and facing a real opponent are clearly two different realms. Do you have a lot of experience in dueling?”

“Using external mana in a duel seems a bit unbalanced. Will you be using external mana during the duel?”

There were countless questions bombarding my ears. I answered their inquiries appropriately, of course, mixing in a few lies.

“I don’t have much experience with dueling. However, it’s hard to say I lack confidence. As you’ve seen, I’m a mage capable of solo clearing an A-rank dungeon. I don’t believe I will lose to President Baek Juseok.”

“Moreover, I won’t be using external mana during the duel. If I said I would, President Baek Juseok would undoubtedly come up with some excuse to avoid the fight. Don’t you think so as well? After showing off such incredible feats using external mana, he would obviously try to dodge the battle if I declared I’d use it again. That’s why, in this duel, I will only use internal mana.”

‘The most effective way to humiliate President Baek Juseok and demonstrate the undeniable gap between us is through a direct duel in front of everyone. Especially if I don’t even use external mana, the impact will be even more dramatic.’

With that in mind, I spoke to the reporters.

“That’s all for questions. You can check the rest in the Q&A session on my channel and Jang Hyena’s channel.”

Even as I turned my back and started walking away, the reporters continued shouting questions.

But I figured that leaving at this point would generate even more attention, so I didn’t answer any more.

‘Now, Baek Juseok has no way out.’

If I had said I would use [External Mana], Baek Juseok would surely have made excuses to avoid the duel.

And even if he lost a fight against a monster who had just cleared an A-rank dungeon, it wouldn’t have been too shocking.

But now, I had publicly declared that I wouldn’t use external mana.

The people didn’t know that I could use high-rank S-level magic.

So, as long as I don’t use the overpowered [External Mana], they might believe that Baek Juseok still has a chance.

And Baek Juseok himself would likely think the same.

‘I purposely stuck to using lower-tier spells.’

Except for one A-rank spell, the magic I used was mostly B to D-rank.

Without the ability to stack multiple spells through [External Mana], those spells wouldn’t have seemed very destructive.

Of course, in reality, I can cast high-tier magic anytime I want, even without using external mana.

‘I won’t be able to spam multiple spells at once without external mana, but…’

There’s no way I’ll lose to Baek Juseok. After all, he’s just an A-rank mage.

Thud

Thud

As I walked through the crowd of reporters, Seol Euna approached me.

“Congratulations, Masked Instructor. You cleared the dungeon beautifully. Honestly, I was surprised too, though I always believed in you.”

With a pleasant smile, Seol Euna approached me. As we exchanged personal conversation, the reporters grew even louder with their questions.

“Masked Instructor, do you know Seol Euna, the Guildmaster of Lustre Guild? How did you come to know her? Are you perhaps in a romantic relationship?”

Trying to dig up anything they could, the reporters began bombarding us with questions. Flustered, Seol Euna’s face turned red, and she shouted.

“W-What are you all talking about! I’m just close with the Masked Instructor, but w-we’re not… dating or anything…”

She glanced at me briefly and then mumbled under her breath with a quieter voice.

“I mean… I haven’t thought about… dating yet…”

Her reaction sent the surrounding reporters into a frenzy.

“I need someone to get a camera on Seol Euna right away. Some of the reporters should head over there as well. I’ve got a feeling about this,” a voice ordered, as the situation started to get out of hand.

I stepped in front of Seol Euna, blocking her from view, and addressed the reporters.

“There’s nothing between Seol Euna and me. We simply crossed paths before I became a content creator, and now she’s helping me with my videos. Please, stop making baseless assumptions. The real issue here is my duel with President Baek Juseok. I hope he doesn’t try to avoid the battle by making excuses and accepts my challenge. Especially since I’ve already offered him an advantage.”

Despite my words, the reporters didn’t cool down. I ignored their questions, leading Seol Euna to the floating artifact where Jang Hyena was waiting.

– Thump

“Ah!”

Jang Hyena let out a startled yelp as the floating artifact shook. I glanced at her and spoke.

“Let’s get out of here before things get more chaotic.”

She stared at me for a moment before flying upward.

– Whoooosh

Once we were high enough that the people below looked like specks, Jang Hyena turned to me.

“Masked Instructor, I just ended the broadcast! Do you know how many people watched this? Hundreds of thousands! No, millions! This is the first time so many people have watched a live broadcast. I was so excited and nervous! It’s all thanks to you. I really can’t thank you enough!”

Jang Hyena beamed, genuinely appreciative. I looked at her and replied.

“I should be the one thanking you. Thanks to you, my popularity is skyrocketing.”

“What? No way! I’m the one riding your coattails! Honestly, I’ve been losing views lately, and even my live streams have been struggling. It’s ridiculous, right? Having five million subscribers and still stressing about view counts.”

I understood her concerns.

NATUBE is a brutal platform, where even with a large following, you can quickly fade into obscurity if you don’t consistently deliver fresh content.

Growth is tough, and maintaining it is even tougher. I gave her a reassuring smile.

“I’m glad it worked out. I’m sure this video will do great once it’s edited and uploaded.”

“Yeah! It’ll probably hit at least a few million views, maybe even tens of millions!”

“Oh, right…”

Jang Hyena seemed hesitant, as if gathering her courage to ask something.

“What is it?”

“Um… should we upload the video to your channel first? I mean, that seems fair, right?”

The solo run of an A-rank dungeon by a mage—this video was going to be huge.

Who uploaded it first really mattered.

Before we had even started, I’d asked her to record from multiple cameras and magical devices so we could both use the footage for our respective channels.

‘But… it doesn’t really matter to me who gets the most views, as long as I gain recognition.’

Whether the video blew up on her channel or mine didn’t matter to me.

The media was also going to cover it extensively, so I shrugged and said:

“You can upload it first. Just make sure I get the footage you promised.”

She stared at me in disbelief.

“A-are you serious?”

“Yeah. After all, plenty of reporters were recording too.”

“No way. Their coverage won’t be nearly as good as our official videos. Are you sure you’re okay with this?”

She seemed nervous, like a puppy that had been scolded.

“I know what I’m doing. Just focus on making a great video. And make sure to highlight the part where I publicly challenged Baek Juseok to a duel.”

She smiled brightly and shouted, “Of course! I’ll edit it myself without using an editor, so you look as cool as possible! I’ll do my best to edit it quickly! Thank you so much!”

“If you do that, I’ll be the one who’s grateful.”

“Oh, by the way! Do you have a phone? Can you give me your number?”

“Ah, just give me your phone, and I’ll input it for you.”

I gave her a number I had set aside for contacts I made while working as the Masked Instructor.

As it was time to part ways, Jang Hyena smiled and said her goodbyes.

“Then! Be safe on your way back!”

Seol Euna, looking a bit awkward, also bid me farewell.

“Masked Instructor, take care….”

“You all did great today.”

After a brief exchange, I parted ways with Seol Euna and Jang Hyena.

‘Now… all I have left to do is wait.’

After returning home, I took a shower and rested for a bit before receiving a message from Jang Hyena.

– Masked Instructor! The editing is finished! I’ve uploaded the video, so check it out! It’s blowing up right now!

Upon seeing her message, I logged into NATUBE and saw a video with an eye-catching title.

[The First Solo Clear of an A-Rank Dungeon by a Mage!! A Public Challenge to President Baek Juseok!! Will Baek Juseok Run Away, or Will He Face the Challenge Head-On?!]

I couldn’t help but chuckle at the title.

‘Why does it feel like I can hear Jang Hyena’s voice in that title?’

I clicked on the video. It was beautifully edited, and my public challenge was prominently featured.

[Uploaded 5 minutes ago], [Views: 2.2 million]

‘If it’s already got over 2 million views in just 5 minutes, it’s going to skyrocket. Baek Juseok, let’s see how you handle this, you bastard.’

At that moment, in Baek Juseok’s office.

“Damn it! That son of a bitch!”

– Slam

Baek Juseok was watching the video of the Masked Instructor publicly challenging him.

“That cockroach is crawling up out of his place. Penalty? A penalty?”

“Fine, I’ll admit it. He’s impressive for mastering external mana use. But that pathetic idiot couldn’t even use a single S-rank spell in the dungeon, and now he thinks he can beat me without using external mana? Damn, he’s completely lost his mind.”

Fuming, proud of both being a mage and the dignified president of Helmunt Academy, he shouted at his secretary.

“Get the cameras ready. We’re recording a response video.”

Not long after, the official NATUBE channel for Helmunt Academy was created, and Baek Juseok’s video was uploaded.

[This is Baek Juseok, President of Helmunt Academy.]

To be continued…