Ji-Hoon had never been able to forget about Seon-Hu as everyone had talked about him during their middle school alumni reunion. Since middle school, Seon-Hu had had the vibe of the boss monster in the last wave. Everyone was scared to make eye contact and have a conversation with him. He was in the same age group and in the same class, but he seemed to belong in a different world.
Whenever Ji-Hoon thought of that time, he got nostalgic. He had remained quiet throughout the three years in order not to bother Seon-Hu, but he had a lot of fun on the streets after school. It was a fun time without any worries. The only blip he had encountered was during that one time he got into a fight with other school boys as the case involved criminal matters, so he was scolded by his parents. But that was it.
“It’s so nice to see you here. You don’t remember me, do you? I remember you.”’
“Even my name?” Seon-Hu asked.
“Do you even know mine?” Ji-Hoon retorted.
Seon-Hu didn’t rise to his bait. “So you do? Or no?”
Umm… What was his name again? Ji-Hoon tried hard to recall Seon-Hu’s name, but couldn’t.
Their alumni reunions had occurred frequently until they reached their early twenties. Once people entered their thirties, they became busy, and Ji-Hoon stopped attending the meetings. At one point, the reunion had turned into a feast for those who succeeded in society.
His last name is Na, but what was his first name?
Ji-Hoon remembered his last name as it was a unique one at school.
Anyway, he still had the same intimidating vibe as before even though he didn’t have any items on him.
He smiled and changed the subject, “That’s not important. Hey, it’s really nice to see you. Let’s watch the competition and catch up. I really wanted to see you again.”
Seon-Hu raised an eyebrow. “Is that how you speak? You sound like a teenager.”
“Wow, you punk. You are such a ggondae[1]. I’m just speaking casually since you used to be my classmate. Ah, whatever. Aren’t you happy to see me?”
The battle arena was slowly forming, and Ji-Hoon’s fellow villager beckoned him to come. However, he ignored that person and looked at Seon-Hu instead. In middle school, Seon-Hu had been at the top of the hierarchy using only his physique and vibe, and there was a rumor that he had gone to the United States to study after graduation. Although he always slept in the back row during class, he was smart. Ji-Hoon assumed that Seon-Hu would have succeeded in society because his attitude was quite arrogant and rude. Despite that, he didn’t hesitate to put his arm around Seon-Hu’s shoulder.
“Isn’t it fun here?” he asked playfully.
“That girl must be your group’s leader,” Seon-Ho commented while looking at the girl who was walking into the group. She was special as she was a woman. Females sometimes became the leader in Act Two, but almost never in Act One.
“She is Chae-Yeong noona[2].”
Unlike Ji-Hoon, who had awakened after he started losing his hair, she looked to be in her mid-twenties. This was a world where people couldn’t hide their age with makeup.
Seon-Hu remarked with interest, “She seems much younger than you, but you call her noona?”
Ji-Hoon looked embarrassed for a second but then laughed it off.
“What’s the big deal? She is a noona since she is stronger than me. Haha. How are you going to survive here with that mindset?”
Seon-Hu removed Ji-Hoon’s arm from his shoulder without answering back.
Look at this guy. Is he offended? He must think that this is the society we used to live in, but he’s so wrong… Ha!
Ji-Hoon frowned, but he decided not to make a fuss. He couldn’t start another conflict when the villages had just settled down from the original dispute.
“Must be a melee dealer,” Seon-Hu said.
Her physique was decent as she was over one hundred seventy centimeters tall and had long arms and legs.
“Can’t you tell right away?” Ji-Hoon smiled.
Seon-Hu shook his head. “Not you. That girl.”
Ji-Hoon snapped, “You are getting on my nerves, man. Call her noona. Don’t speak of her like that.”
“Ah, I apologize. I don’t think she has been leading you guys since the first wave, right?” Seon-Hu continued.
Ji-Hoon shook his head. “Nah, our leader has changed several times. Don’t you think she is hot? I thought she was a celebrity when I first saw her.”
Seon-Hu snorted lightly. “You told me not to speak of her that way.”
“Well, that’s a different matter.”
Then, Ji-Hoon skimmed over Seon-Hu’s body. He had not changed from the past as if he hadn’t aged. His overall vibe, not just his appearance, was definitely to Chae-Yeong’s taste. As long as the person had a dangerous atmosphere, she didn’t care about gender, age, and ability. Whenever she won fierce battles or managed to defend her position from other challengers, she called that type of guy over and spent the night together.
Ji-Hoon tapped Seon-Hu’s arm with his elbow and said, “If Chae-Yeong noona chooses you… you know. Tell her good things about me, okay? We should help each other as friends. Haha.”
Ji-Hoon had mostly approached Seon-Hu for that reason. It was true that he was glad to see the legendary guy from middle school on the Stage of Advent, but he was also looking for someone who would be chosen by Chae-Yeong from the moment they entered the central village.
Although the central village had a large number of survivors, the individuals themselves didn’t seem to be special. It was ridiculous, but they even seemed peaceful. Other than the leaders of each group, there were two people who had grabbed Ji-Hoon’s attention, one from the central village and another from the northern village. They were a woman named Soo-Ah, who was at the forefront of the argument, and a man that he didn’t know the name of. Ji-Hoon had found Seon-Hu while he was keeping an eye on them.
It is difficult to approach Soo-Ah, and the man from the northern village is surrounded by his group members. So… you are my target!
“Chosen?”
Ji-Hoon grinned. “So, just do what you are good at. Keep that cold, blank, and detached look that you always have on your face. After the match, stand where Chae-Yeong noona can easily notice you and paste that face on.”
“Hah. You are a funny guy. What’s your name?” Seon-Hu asked.
Ji-Hoon snorted. “Is this funny?”
Fine, dude. Laugh as much as you can right now.
Ji-Hoon decided to teach him some lessons later and smirked.
***
“Let’s make this easy. I’ll just deal with you one by one, okay?”
Since the North and South had given up on the confrontation, there were only three people on the battlefield arena. They were Seong-Il from the central village, Chae-Yeong from the western village, and Hyun-Woo from the eastern village.
“I’m fine with that as long as you don’t blame us for it later. So, what’s the order?”
“We men will fight first. But why are you speaking casually to me? Ain’t I much older than you? Do you know me?”
“That’s why I’m asking you to sort out the hierarchy here. Anyway, hey you.”
Hyun-Woo turned to Chae-Yeong.
“You know you will only get benefits from this, right? I can’t allow that, so you and I should decide what to do.”
Chae-Yeong sneered. “Shouldn’t I get an advantage? I’m a girl. As he said, men should fight first.”
Hyun-Woo snorted. “Huh? Gender doesn’t matter here. Let’s flip a coin then. I go first if we get heads, but you go first if we get tails.”
Hyun-Woo took out a five hundred-won coin. The coin, which was covered with clotted blood, was a symbol of rulership in the northern village.
He continued, “I’ll flip it.”
“How can I trust you?” Chae-Yeong interrupted him.
Hyun-Woo huffed, “What do you mean? It’s just an ordinary five hundred-won coin.”
The tossed coin spun swiftly in the air, and Chae-Yeong snatched it before opening her hand. “Congratulations, you go first.”
Hyun-Woo added, “If the injury is severe, let’s give time to regenerate.”
Chae-Yeong rolled her eyes. “Isn’t that obvious? Are you trying to waste time? The guide will interrupt soon.”
Hyun-Woo raised his voice. “Don’t be ridiculous. Do you think we are doing this for your good?”
Chae-Yeong retorted, “Rules are rules. A leader of the group shouldn’t change his words.”
“Ah, fuck. I’ll just fight you two at the same time,” Seong-Il spat out in anger.
“That’s a good idea, but your group members won’t accept the results.”
Seong-Il grumbled, “You don’t even have the guts to take this opportunity when I offered it first? Bring it on.”
The moment Seong-Il said that, Chae-Yeong and Hyun-Woo quickly exchanged glances.
***
They agreed that Seong-Il’s appearance was overwhelming, but they couldn’t understand how such an ignorant guy had become the leader. He was shooting himself in the foot in this critical situation where the winner would gain the right to operate the quest zone. No matter how proud he was of his abilities, it was impossible to defeat the two of them at once with only a single arm. Everyone except the central villagers was looking with those questions in their eyes.
“What’s wrong with your guy? He doesn’t even have one arm. He will die,” Ji-Hoon said.
“Didn’t we decide to respect the leaders of different groups?” Seon-Hu asked back sharply.
This bastard… He’s no different than that guy on the battlefield.
“I’m just worried about him. Only Chae-Yeong noona would be able to handle two at the same time.”
Seon-Hu suddenly asked, “Do you know what she used to do outside?”
“Used to? Oooh. I heard she was the Il-sung Group’s secretary, but that doesn’t matter.”
“The CEO’s secretary?”
Ji-Hoon grinned. “You are interested in her now, huh? So make sure you stay close to her after she finishes the match. You owe me, man. Shhh. Here we go.”
Thud!
A loud noise echoed.
Chae-Yeong and Hyun-Woo exchanged looks quickly, then Hyun-Woo ran into Seong-Il while covering his entire body with a square shield. Chae-Yeong rushed into Seong-Il when Hyun-Woo collided with him. The two of them began fighting faster in a rhythmic manner, and their blood began circulating much faster than an ordinary person could tolerate. In addition, their blood vessels had dilated, and they were clearly visible on Hyun-Woo’s frowning forehead.
The moment Hyun-Woo bumped into Seong-il, he realized that he couldn’t deal with him solely by relying on his Strength. It even felt like he was bouncing off of the other man. Then, the vortex appeared in the air. Chae-Yeong had jumped up and was winding up. The sharp energy that stretched out from the whirlpool tried breaking Hyun-Woo’s protective barrier. If he hadn’t lowered his head in a hurry, the power would have struck his neck. Such a shock was bound to affect him regardless of whether he had an active shield or not.
This bitch!
Hyun-Woo stepped back and raised his shield. He had known that this battle would be 1vs1vs1 instead of 1vs2, but he didn’t expect the backstabbing to start this early.
“Thank you!”
Chae-Yeong was able to absorb Hyun-Woo’s power as he raised his shield, and she quickly found an opening. She had decided to furiously attack the side where Seong-Il didn’t have his arm, then slash at Hyun-Woo’s exposed neck.
What she had learned so far was that defense wasn’t the key factor in the victory. Weak and pressure points could act as critical spots and make opponents slow down. Instantaneous decisions like these determined victory or defeat. She had to shred the shield with a series of wind-like attacks, then stab her dagger into the man’s neck when the barrier had been peeled off! If that wasn’t possible, then she needed to stab at their weak points!
Sheeeeek-
The single-armed man from the central village was so large that he had laid himself open to attack multiple times. Chae-Yeong had managed to stab into Seong-Il’s side, and the speed at which she stretched her dagger under his armpit was as fast as the wind.
However, she suddenly felt a heavy wind blowing toward her head. She quickly turned around, but it was already too late. Then, she realized that Seong-Il had deliberately left himself open because he knew that he could move faster than her!
Slam!
Severe pain cracked into her head. All she could see was a thick club that had been retrieved after hitting the top of her head. It was a waste to use her insignia on something like this, but she couldn’t help it.
Shhht!
Chae-Yeong teleported behind Hyun-Woo.
“I believe you!”
She kicked him toward Seong-Il like she was throwing prey at a monster. Hyun-Woo had been thoroughly covering his whole body with the shield except for his eyes, and he held an iron mace that could smack into his opponent’s pressure point at any time.
“Euk.”
Hyun-Woo quickly regained his balance after colliding with Seong-Il. He had noticed Seong-Il had a high-class Strength when he had first bumped into him. He was planning to defend himself with the shield and his skills from the single-armed man’s blunt weapon, then smash him afterward.
Damn it!
“Oh, you have a skill, too. Although it’s not a blazing flame bat, it looks decent,” Seong-Il spoke casually.
Hyun-Woo’s knee touched the ground when he tried his best to protect himself with the large square shield. Then, he saw Chae-Yeong, who was targeting Seong-Il’s back.
Yes, bitch! We have to get rid of this guy first.
However, a hand that suddenly appeared from below the shield grabbed onto Hyun-Woo’s ankle. It rushed into him at unavoidable speed, and the force of the grasp was unbelievably strong. Chae-Yeong saw the leader of the eastern village flying toward her.
The central villagers shouted, “There it is!”
“Yakuza… No, no. The Human Calibur!!!”
1. Korean slang that means a person with a bossy, authoritarian attitude. Usually used to describe old guys, often found in a middle or upper management position in the workplace. ☜
2. How men call women who are older than them. ☜