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by Little Merger

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2. I woke up as a villain 1-30

Working overtime as usual, I fell asleep for a moment only to wake up as the villain of a novel. "Well, it's a common cliche. Even the fact that I'll meet my fate and die. Dammit." I needed to find a way. How to survive after possessing the villain of a novel. Number one: "Make as many allies as possible." Number two: "Get strong enough to protect myself." Lastly, number three: "Never, ever get close to that prideful, crazy, insane dog of a reincarnate." But what's this? The original owner of the body's already caused an accident. "Why don't I just use money to kill the reincarnate before he regains his power? Are you crazy? Then who's going to stop the demon king?" Survival of Choi Yoo-Sung, the villain who craves to live a leisurely life rather than becoming the strongest. This is the start of his possession survival, raid fantasy(?)!

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Chapter 1

Prologue

In the middle of a quiet pub, Choi Yu-Seong sat across from the man drinking from a beer mug, staring. When he had first seen the man, he had no words to say other than the fact that the man was dang handsome.

Even though he was a man, his jawline was fine to the extent that it could be described as 'elegant,' and his black eyes were so deep and mesmerizing they could easily draw women in.

And his physique?

Aside from his broad wide shoulders, his tight leather jacket couldn't hide his solid chest and abs.

Why such interest in the same gender, you ask?

It couldn't be helped.

'Kim Do-Jin.'

This guy—even his name was handsome—was the main character of [The Modern Master Returns] a web novel that Yu-Seong had enjoyed reading until a few nights ago.

And now, the main character in the novel was in front of him as an actual living, breathing person. It was impossible to be unfazed.

What was Yu-Seong talking about? He was talking about a story that some would call a cliché.

'It means I awoke inside the novel.'

As a character, his role was to be manipulated by the handsome returner, Kim Do-Jin, to help murder his own father, be neglected by Do-Jin, then be cast out of his family, and end up as a snack for the monsters inside a 'Rift'. He was a villain whose life was doomed to be a tragedy.

Again, cliché, but now that he was the villain in this cliched story, he was about to go insane.

'How the hell am I going to solve this…'

After sighing heavily a couple of times, Yu-Seong recalled when he had woken up as the villain a few days ago.

Chapter 1

Choi Yu-Seong was an orphan. However, he had never felt awkward about being an orphan, because his parents had died when he was four, which was as far back as he could remember.

But that didn't mean he was ignorant about reality. Rather, he knew it all too well.

Perhaps some would say that he was an ingenious kid. That was why he had escaped from his rotten orphanage when he was twelve. After that, he had successfully paved his way forward as he paid for his own college tuition and even got accepted to the country's best game firm, NX Soft, at the age of 28.

He had been?able to achieve all of this because he had?never let his disadvantages as an orphan bog him down. People who knew him well often described him as a tenacious man, which wasn't wrong.

At the age of thirteen, when he should have been living a normal life with his parents, he had already devised his plan to fight against society and carried it out. It hadn't been easy at a young age. But this was how he was able to lead a decent life despite being an orphan. He was proud of his life.

"But…"

The mirror showed a handsome man that looked ten years younger than his actual age. Yu-Seong stroked his cheek as an awkward smile hung on his lips. Please visit fr𝐞𝐞wn.𝒸o𝔪 website to read fastest update

Awkward, but familiar. Although he wanted to deny it, the man looking back in the mirror was definitely Yu-Seong himself.

"...But why the sudden change?"

That was his first doubt.

'Let's slowly piece this together.'

Yu-Seong recalled what happened last night.

He had been pulling an all-nighter for the grand reveal of a new game when he had decided to have a cup of coffee while enjoying the latest chapter of his favorite novel, [The Modern Master Returns, in an effort to stay up.?Without realizing it, he had probably fallen asleep.

But the scene he encountered when he woke up wasn't the familiar lounge, nor was it the small ten pyeong studio he lived in.

As Yu-Seong looked away from the mirror and checked his room, his lips curiously twitched. 'It seems to be as large as a medium-sized apartment.'?And this was only a single bedroom. He felt strange at first but soon realized that it wasn't a big deal.

'Choi Yu-Seong. A 20-year-old young man, and the heir to the Comet Group, one of the largest conglomerates of Korea.'

It wasn't that hard to figure out who he was by going through his memories. Of course, he did experience horrible pain when he woke up, but that was better than not being able to remember who he was. It would've been difficult if he didn't know his own identity.

Yu-Seong, had the same name as the novel character, Choi Yu-Seong. And he had just transformed from yesterday's orphan into the immensely wealthy heir to a conglomerate.

"Hmm... Rags to riches, in just one night."

Groaning slightly, he shook his head with a faint smile. His actual emotions were different from what his response would lead someone to believe.

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He had lived a lonely life with no family to depend on. No economic freedom, continuous nagging from his boss, and spontaneous all-nighters that were certainly tough to deal with. However, he also gained confidence from his hard work and was satisfied that he managed to achieve his life goals.

But all of a sudden, everything had disappeared. Although his economic status had gotten better, it wasn't something to be completely happy about. Also, a critical problem remained.

'Let's see. Today is October 21, 2029. It's ten years after the year 2019 that I remember.'

Unlike Yu-Seong's original Earth, this Earth contained beings that only existed in movies or novels, such as monsters, the Rifts, and players. Even though the two worlds could be deemed as completely different, the overall setting was familiar to Yu-Seong.

'...It's the background of [The Modern Master Returns.]'

It was something he could easily tell just by digging through his memories about the novel.

The only reason he had gone over it, again and again, was that he wanted to confirm this seemingly impossible reality. What had happened was literally something straight out of a novel or a movie. And the main character of the script was Yu-Seong himself.

He spent two hours on his chair trying to accept this new reality.

"Haha…!" Then he burst into laughter and nodded. After accepting everything that happened, his conclusion was simple.

"I'm in big trouble!"

Yu-Seong's role in the novel was a villain who tormented the weak and someone who would be abandoned after being used by the main character.

What a terrific role to wake up in. The easiest way to avoid all that catastrophe was already in front of him.

'Not befriending the returner Kim Do-Jin.'

But what could he do? By the time he had woken up as Choi Yu-Seong, this rascal had already become so close to Kim Do-Jin that one could mistake them as brothers.

'This would be around chapter 15 of book 1 in the novel…'

If only he had started 10 chapters earlier… then he would've been able to avoid their relationship somehow. But it was too late to cry over spilled milk.

The returner Kim Do-Jin wanted to murder Choi Yu-Seong's father, Choi Woo-Jae, the head of the Comet group and the sworn enemy who had killed his father when he was a child. And Do-Jin had chosen Yu-Seong to be a stepping stone to that goal. Yu-Seong, a fool who knew nothing, had fallen for Kim Do-Jin's flattery.

'I must keep my distance from Do-Jin by any means.'The closer he got, the more dangerous Do-Jin would become. But this wasn't something to decide easily. After all, it was a matter of life or death.

He had felt satisfied when Choi Yu-Seong had been made a fool of and abandoned in the novel, but now, he wanted to hit himself for thinking that back then. 'If I get swayed, I'm dead meat.'

So he had to cut ties with Kim Do-Jin somehow. But how?

Several options immediately came to mind. The first one, which was to kill the returner before he gained strength using the money and power of his wealthy family, was quickly erased.

'This world will one day have to face the Demon King's arrival.'

And if it followed the original novel's plot, Do-Jin would be given the heroic role to stop the Demon King and save the world. So if he wasn't there, then who on earth would be able to stop the Demon King?

'I'd prefer to keep this world alive.'

Therefore, the best, and the most realistic, solution for Yu-Seong was already determined.

'Turn away from him'

Whether Do-Jin contacted or visited him, Yu-Seong would ignore him. At the very least, he would start keeping his distance from Do-Jin as much as possible from now on.

"Whew..."

He sighed in relief after sorting things out. Although Yu-Seong was said to be cool-headed and shrewd since his orphanhood, comprehending and accepting his own death was a hard task even for himself.

'I hope the situation turns favorably but...'

If not, he needed to have backup plans ready. Choi Yu-Seong had never been this grateful for his innate ability to keep calm under pressure.

"If I panic and get careless, I won't survive."

Do-Jin, despite his young looks, was actually a cunning 50-year-old snake with over 30 years of accumulated experience.

Even the tiniest mistake would result in the snake biting him in the back.

'Let's drift away calmly, one step at a time.'

Actually, Kim Do-Jin wasn't the only problem. Choi Yu-Seong was the ninth child of the Comet group. This meant that regardless of Do-Jin's existence, his status couldn't be considered perfectly secure.

Hence, there were various problems lying ahead. While his life had completely changed from when he went to work for a paycheck, the larger framework hasn't altered much.

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As an attempt to brighten the situation, Yu-Seong realized he remembered [Modern Master Returns] quite well. It was almost as if he was reading the novel right now. 'This might be temporary. I should record this in my cell phone as much as possible.'

After all, the greatest weapon Yu-Seong had now was the future he read in the original novel. If he didn't write down what he knew because he was afraid someone would somehow read his notes, it would be the same as avoiding the streets because he was afraid of getting into a car accident.

'I must write down as much information while I can still remember.'

Why?

'I have to survive.'

Although his environment, appearance, and everything else he knew in his life had vanished, he didn't want to die.

Even though everything had completely changed, his desire remained the same as it had when he entered society at a young age in his original life—he wanted to live.

After pondering for over an hour for a way to survive, Yu-Seong called in the two siblings that served him as his direct secretaries.

"Jin Do-Yoon."

"Yes, young master." The young man nodded sternly. Jin Do-Yoon was barely over twenty and had dark, distinct body lines that gave a masculine impression despite his skinny physique.

'22 years old. A level 70 player with B-rank physique. Estimated maximum potential to be S-rank. The only person to side with the troublemaker Choi Yu-Seong.'

Do-Yoon could be categorized as a faithful and straightforward man. A talented man who failed to blossom as he died protecting the rascal Choi Yu-Seong even to his death. On the other hand, Choi Yu-Seong had never acknowledged his loyalty, and even disliked Do-Yoon for being a disturbing annoyance.

Of course, the present Yu-Seong held him in high regard and thought he was reliable. Having positive emotions toward Do-Yoon couldn't be helped. Then he glanced at the short woman about 160cm tall standing next to Do-Yoon.

'Jin Yu-Ri. 20 years old. A level 20 player with A-rank sorcery ability. Estimated maximum potential to be S-rank. Sister of Jin Do-Yoon.'

Her eyes were twinkling with curiosity and she was wondering why Yu-Seong had suddenly called them. When he saw her eyes, he felt a similar but slightly different emotion from when he looked at her brother.

'She's just as loyal as her brother in standing by Choi Yu-Seong's side till the end, but… she's different.'?

Possessing greater potential than Do-Yoon, she was absolutely different from her rigid older brother. She was flexible in her thinking and was adept in leading people. Perhaps that's why the villain Choi Yu-Seong followed her words even without realizing it.

"Yu-Ri."

"Why are you being so serious right now?" Tilting her head slightly, she asked back with her glittering eyes. An action that was possible only because she knew he had a weak spot for her. In fact, the other women inside this house generally didn't want to have eye contact with Choi Yu-Seong.

Despite Do-Yoon and Yu-Ri having entirely conflicting personalities, Yu-Seong believed that their response to his following words would be the same.

'They won't believe it.'

That was why Yu-Seong decided to tell them slowly but clearly, pausing every breath.

"I'm planning to meet my father."

"What?" Jin Do-Yoon exclaimed as he thought he misheard what Yu-Seong said. It was surprising considering his usual reticence.

"I will be preparing to leave, so get in touch with the main house. It's 10 a.m. now, so getting there around 6 p.m. would be perfect, don't you think?"

"Yu-Seong oppa, are you serious?" Yu-Ri asked.

"Yes. Why would I be joking?"

At first glance, it would seem like an ordinary scene in which a son was going to meet his father. But no, the parent-child relationship in this family was far from normal. Perhaps that was why Choi Woo-Jae as a father was both revered and feared by his children.

Naturally, the troublemaker Choi Yu-Seong never attempted to go and visit him. After all, his misdeeds would get him scolded as soon as they met. But now, Choi Yu-Seong was suddenly planning to see his father, of his own will.

"What's gotten into you?"

"I have a favor to ask."

Choi Yu-Seong's placid answer to Yu-Ri's question only caused their faces to stiffen.

He had a favor to ask of Choi Woo-Jae. As mentioned before, the parent-child relationship in this family was abnormal in many ways. Asking for a favor from the master of the house who wielded wealth and fame in each hand and gave out a small portion only to those he preferred was insane, particularly so since Choi Yu-Seong had never done anything pleasing. It was like walking into a lion's den.

The confused siblings exchanged looks as they tried to comprehend Yu-Seong's intention but they couldn't figure anything out. After all, the Choi Yu-Seong they knew was a loose cannon.

"What are you doing? Start preparing."

"...Understood."

"I'll make the call to the master's mansion."

The siblings reluctantly nodded and left. As Yu-Seong was left alone in his room, he took out his phone that he had been writing his notes on for the last hour.

How to survive in a novel with myself as the foolish villain:

Step one.

"Start by gathering a number of supporters."

1. Pyeong is a Korean unit of measurement for area and floor space. 1 pyeong is about 3.31 square meters or 35.58 square feet.

2. Not actually a snake, but metaphorically. Someone who's sly and crafty

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Chapter 2

Choi Yu-Seong had hoped for dinner, but the appointment with his father was made for lunch. Naturally, the atmosphere in the house was bound to be busy .

'Even so, it would only be me and the Jin siblings that are busy...'

Since Yu-Seong said he would skip breakfast and eat lunch outside, the two ladies who managed the house had less work.

Although there were only two hours left until he had to be at the Yeonhui-dong luxury mansion where his parents lived, it was fortunately not that far from the Hannam village luxury villa complex where he lived.

'30 minutes seem to be enough, since it's not rush hour.'

But arriving at the exact appointment time didn't seem appropriate either.

"We shall head out right away, young master."

"Thanks."

"...No problem."

Leaving the house around 11 o'clock, Yu-Seong sat in the back seat of the car Jin Do-Yoon had readied. He was in a strange mood as he stared at the back of Jin Yu-Ri's head as she sat in the passenger seat.

'Even if Choi Yu-Seong is a little neglected among his family, he lives in a luxury villa worth more than 5 billion won, rides in the same car brand as the Italian president, has a B-rank player as his driver, and as a precaution, an A-rank player for escort.' Please visit fr𝐞𝐞wn.𝒸o𝔪 website to read fastest update

In addition, there were about five more extravagant cars owned by Choi Yu-Seong in his villa's garage. This was a luxury like no other.

Besides the fact he could die if he made the slightest mistake, his life was perfect.

'That's the problem, though.'

What was the point of having everything? They were futile objects that would become useless when one passed away.

'I don't need any of this, so let's just focus on living a long life.'

He decided to forget about his previous life. What was the point of mulling over it when he couldn't go back?

Instead, Choi Yu-Seong decided to devote himself to his present life and aim for his primary goal: survival. In terms of property alone, he, as an orphan, would have been greatly satisfied even with only a quarter of what Choi Yu-Seong had.

"Um... May I ask what you will be requesting?"

Perhaps she felt Choi Yu-Seong's gaze? Yu-Ri looked straight ahead from the front seat as she carefully questioned Choi Yu-Seong.

"Oh, it's nothing special. I just wanted to say that I want to be on good terms with them from now on."

"...Sir?"

Yu-Ri was bewildered, while Do-Yoon broke character in surprise and accidentally stepped on the pedal a bit too hard.

"I'm his son and he's my father. Is it strange to ask such a thing?"

"Generally…."

"Understood, young master."

Do-Yoon cut Yu-Ri off. If Choi Yu-Seong did not want to reveal what his intentions were, the siblings did not have the right to ask further.

Jin Yu-Ri repeatedly frowned and smoothed her forehead as she stared straight ahead, but she couldn't press the issue after Jin Do-Yoon had shut her up.

"That's it. It's really nothing. I was just thinking, and it occurred to me that I was living too carelessly, and I couldn't help but wonder what my father would think of me living my life like this… and I felt apologetic."

Vrrooom-!

"Oppa!"

Yu-Ri raised her voice as the engine's rotation speed abruptly increased. Do Yoon hurriedly took his foot off the pedal and turned red with embarrassment.

"I, I'm sorry, young master."

"Whoa... Please be a little more careful," Yu-Seong said after a brief moment of surprise.

"As you wish."

Yu-Seong patted his chest as he calmed himself before replying with a nonchalant shrug. "Thank you."

The siblings briefly exchanged looks.

'Thank you?'

'I heard that correctly, right, oppa?'

That wasn't something that the infamous rascal would say.

The Jin siblings carefully glanced at Choi Yu-Seong with doubt in their eyes. Today, Choi Yu-Seong was acting extremely different from the rascal they knew.

Yu-Seong and his group entered the luxury mansion with high walls decorated with leaves and a ground floor area of more than seventeen thousand square feet.

"It's been a while, young master."

The person greeting them was the nanny Choi Yu-Seong had treated like his own mother when he had been younger. Despite being over sixty years old and having gray hair and curly wrinkles, she was as elegant as ever.

'Come to think of it, this rascal also didn't have a mother since childhood.'

Unlike his other brothers' mothers, Choi Yu-Seong's had passed away rather early. He remembered it to be an accident, and considering that there weren't any peculiarities throughout the first part of the novel, his memory was probably correct.

Perhaps that was why Choi Yu-Seong's emotions towards his nanny were rather odd.

"How have you been? I'm sorry I couldn't see you often."

These were not empty words.

Even in the rascal's memories, his nanny had always been warm towards him and was someone whom he wanted to protect, but the rascal Choi Yu-Seong simply did not have the courage to visit his family and carry out his desire to protect her.

"There is nothing to be sorry for. I'm just grateful that you've grown up so well, young master. But what should we do? I'm sure you would like to dine... However, the master ordered me to skip lunch and bring you to his office right away..."

"If that's his order, I should obey it."

"You must be starving... Since food is already prepared, come to the kitchen after your meeting. You can't leave with an empty stomach now that you finally visited home."

"I will."

Choi Yu-Seong smiled brightly as he entered the spacious mansion and walked down the long hallway.

Almost like an attic, Choi Woo-Jae's office was located in the quietest and deepest part of the first floor. In a way, it seemed humble for the chairman of a conglomerate.

Of course, the majority of those who were summoned to his study did not have such impression. In fact, the doorway located in a dim corner almost felt like the entrance to a demon's lair.

Gulp

Even though he had come of his own volition, Yu-Seong was no different.

'I thought it would be okay...'

Now that he had to open the dark and gloomy wooden door, he felt his body stiffening up. The original Choi Yu-Seong's fear was deeply engraved in him.

'Let's do this.'

He had already come this far. There would be no point if he backed out now just because he was scared.

'Think rationally. After all, I ... probably understand Woo-Jae better than the original Choi Yu-Seong did.'?

Recalling what Woo-Jae was like in the novel, Yu-Seong slowed his breathing before softly knocking on the thick wooden door.

"Come in alone."

As if Woo-Jae had been waiting for him, a baritone voice spoke tersely.

'There's nothing to be nervous about.'

There were few people in this family—no, in this entire world that would be as reliable to have at his side as Woo-Jae would be.

Eyes sparkling with passion, Yu-Seong turned the doorknob and entered.

Simply put, Woo Jae, the chairman of the Comet Group, was a self-made man.

Some would question what kind of difficulties someone born into a wealthy family like him would've had to overcome, but Choi Woo-Jae was special. When the group was shaken due to the economic crisis, he forcefully removed his maternal uncle from power and took over as the head of the group at the young age of 35.

Since then, he suppressed resistance and rumors and elevated the Comet Group with his strong leadership and charisma. Everyone clearly knew that without Woo-Jae, Comet wouldn't have been able to achieve its reputation as a conglomerate.

And now, Comet had become a hyper-conglomerate with annual sales of over 350 trillion won and an operating profit of over 30 trillion won.

That was why a rascal like Choi Yu-Seong could pour money down the drain.

Although this happened in the novel, the fact that he had carried out such legendary achievements remained unchanged. And most importantly, Woo-Jae was no longer a fictional character.

'He's real.'

The moment Yu-Seong stepped through the doorway and entered Woo-Jae's office, he felt like he was completely isolated from the outside world.

'Even the smell itself is different.'

Was it because of the plethora of books that made the office look like a library?

The scent of old paper tingled his nose. The next thing that caught his eye was a long window that reflected the sun and Woo-Jae that sat in front of it.

He had a really small figure. Nevertheless, his presence did not match his physique.

From the moment Yu-Seong saw Woo-Jae, he felt as if the latter's presence was in every corner of his office. It was as if a huge beast was curled up inside a small den called 'office'.

'Calm down. There's nothing to be worried about.'

Without even feeling the cold sweat dripping down his back, Yu-Seong regained his breath.

"It's been three years."

The first person to break the ice was Woo-Jae.

Choi Yu-Seong had been nineteen when Choi Woo-Jae had ordered him to become independent. He hadn't returned home even once until now, at the age of twenty-one. Yet now, he had suddenly come to visit Woo-Jae.

He wondered whether he should be thankful that Woo-Jae had spoken first despite the history between them.

Yu-Seong shook his head and peered into Woo-Jae's eyes. As he has been quick-witted ever since childhood, with some difficulty, he was able to interpret the emotions hidden inside Woo-Jae's eyes.

'Curiosity... and rage.'

Luckily, the situation wasn't as terrible as he had expected.

Curiosity meant that Woo-Jae was somewhat interested, while the rage could be interpreted in two ways. One was disappointment towards his son, a rascal, that created trouble after becoming independent.

'Or, maybe, sadness towards his son that hasn't shown his face for a long time.'

Either way was okay.

Come to think of it, Woo-Jae had never stopped his support for his son, even though the latter had caused countless problems up until the end of the novel.

'It seemed unnatural considering the plot.'

In fact, the novel [Modern Master Returns] that he had woken up in contained many holes within the plot settings. Nevertheless, he had been able to finish the first part of the novel because it had been amusing, despite the flaws within the setting and storyline.

'Thank god.'

Facing the novel's character Choi Woo-Jae right in front of him, Yu-Seong was glad that he had been able to finish the novel. He just needed to choose his words carefully based on that information.

While Yu-Seong was carefully thinking, Woo-Jae continued to speak.

"Seeing how you're spending money liberally, I doubt money's the problem. You won't need any talented personnel since you don't do anything that would require them. Then, perhaps, have you visited to gain honor?"

Was he asking, or just speaking to himself?

Listening to Woo-Jae's cryptic words, Yu-Seong decided to cut to the chase—they were playing baseball, and he was about to throw a fastball.

"I came here to ask you a favor."

"Figured so."

Woo-Jae shortly clicked his tongue and nodded plainly. He knew better than anyone else that his children wouldn't visit him in the first place unless they needed a favor.

"I'm thinking of helping you with the company."

The second pitch was a curve. If he honestly told his father that he had come to improve their relationship, wouldn't Woo-Jae's reaction be similar to that of the Jin siblings?

Meeting him through work would undoubtedly improve their connection.

'After all, they haven't met for three years even though they're only thirty minutes apart.'

The idiom 'out of sight, out of mind' was certainly true, and the reversed version of it also was.

"Nonsense. What do you really want?"

"...This really is everything."

Of the two emotions in Woo-Jae's eyes, curiosity slowly began to fade. Instead, anger filled the remaining space.

Was it possible to somehow make Woo-Jae feel some kind of fondness toward him?

'I better choose my next pitch carefully.'

Feeling the chill in his backbone from the icy atmosphere, Yu-Seong gulped and chose his best pitch among the options he had prepared.

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Chapter 3

Choi Woo-Jae was different from ordinary people in many ways.

Apart from simply being the chairman of a conglomerate, he was not bound by what people usually considered common sense. For example, he had more than five wives.

Of course, not all of them were married to him at the same time. Five was the sum of his previous and current relationships. Including Choi Yu-Seong's mother, Woo-Jae had a total of six wives and had children with every one of them. He officially had ten children.

Many rumors speculated the possibility of him hiding more children. For this reason, the media sometimes criticized his morality, but his attitude toward it was always consistent.

I can't help my innate superiority.

Regardless of what the media said, or how they insulted him, Woo-Jae's expression remained the same and there was no change in his behavior whatsoever.

That was why, in the distant future, Woo-Jae would say this while laughing as he died because of Kim Do-Jin.

Even if I die, the Comet Group will continue on and you will have to live the rest of your life trembling in fear.

Kim Do-Jin would dismiss Choi Woo-Jae's words as those of a third-rate villain and kill him instantly. However, in the first part of the novel that Choi Yu-Seong had read, the Comet group really did turn out to be one of Kim Do-Jin's arch enemies that disturbed his work.

'After all, of the ten children, every one except for Choi Yu-Seong was quite talented…''

Later, Kim Do-Jin would understand Woo-Jae's last words and grit his teeth in anger, but he would nevertheless fail to tear down the Comet Group that solidified its defense after Choi Woo-Jae's death. The biggest reason, in fact, was that he couldn't destroy the company that served as the largest pillar of the country's economy.

Anyhow, the scenario featuring the Comet Group had become the biggest frustration for the [Modern Master Returns] readers and had evoked a lot of complaints.

'In the end, the important thing was that the Comet Group was an organization capable of interfering with someone who had gone back in time.'

And Choi Woo-Jae was the one who had laid the foundation for the Comet Group. It would have been impossible for Kim Do-Jin to assassinate him if Choi Yu-Seong had not been manipulated like a fool and led him directly to Choi Woo-Jae.

Choi Woo-Jae's children, who would torment Kim Do-Jin in the future, feared and respected their father.

Choi Woo-Jae prioritized neither money, nor influence. What he valued most was talented people.

He once said that only outstanding individuals were irreplaceable assets, and that was why he had produced ten children.

'Ten wasn't enough. He said he would give birth to a hundred if he could.'

He wanted his company to be inherited by his most outstanding child.

Woo-Jae's thoughts were somewhat based on his narcissistic personality, as he believed that his lineage symbolized the most talented human beings.

In a way, he wasn't completely wrong. Choi Yu-Seong's nine siblings were all talented enough to irritate Kim Do-Jin.

'Even a misfit like this guy had clever people by his side, like Jin Do-Yoon and Jin Yu-Ri.

Faced with such rage, Yu-Seong tried to ignore his pounding heart and establish Woo-Jae's character in his head.

Choi Woo-Jae loved talented and ambitious people; not to mention, he had a narcissistic side that believed his offspring had to be like himself.

Therefore, it was not that difficult for Yu-Seong to choose his third pitch.

"After I adapt to the company, I want to become your successor."

In a way, it was a curveball, but it wasn't a pitch where the ball would fly out of the strike zone. Rather, it was a pitch that accurately hit the center of the zone.

Choi Woo-Jae's thick, gray eyebrows twitched, confirming Yu-Seong's thoughts.

"Ha…!"

Woo-Jae clicked his tongue, and his mouth suddenly twisted. At first glance, his distorted expression seemed to display greater rage, but there was a flicker of a new emotion.

'Rage and…'

It was incomprehensible.

Yu-Seong gulped and clenched his fist. He hadn't expected that he would be able to read Choi Woo-Jae in the first place. Choi Woo-Jae was about sixty, a leader of his time, and a level 80 S-rank player who was considered to be one of the top five in South Korea. From the start, he was in a totally different league compared to Choi Yu-Seong.

"My successor? Do you know what you're even talking about?"

"Yes. I'm willing to risk my life."

Choi Woo-Jae wouldn't be able to take his words lightly.

'After all, I'm actually risking my life.'

Choi Yu-Seong was the only person considered to be incompetent and was hated or ignored by the majority of his siblings for being a failure.

Yu-Seong had more problems stacked in front of him than just the returner Kim Do-Jin.

In fact, Choi Yu-Seong's defection was due to the bullying of his siblings in the [Modern Master Returns] novel. So if he didn't do anything now, he would end up going through the same things as the original character.

Of course, Yu-Seong had no intention of becoming a pitiful fool like Choi Yu-Seong in the novel. That was why he had come to see Choi Woo-Jae, the father whom even his other siblings feared, of his own volition—he had come to show his desperate ambition.

"Why?"

Knowing what Choi Yu-Seong was like, Woo-Jae asked for the reason. His eyes were unreadable, but Yu-Seong felt the air becoming heavier and more somber as it pressed down heavily upon him. A pressure that was not only pushing his shoulders down, but also his knees. Even now, he was filled with the desire to run out of this room and claim that it was a joke. But it was clear that this was the last thing he should do.

"Because I want to survive."

The fourth pitch was a fastball once more. Choi Woo-Jae raised his eyebrows.

"Do you mean that someone's trying to kill you?"

"If I stay the same, won't I suffocate to death? My brothers and sisters won't just sit there and leave me alone."

"Hmm…"

Choi Woo-Jae stroked his chin.

"And an incompetent like me would be crushed without even being able to challenge them. I've considered running away… But in the end, ants can't avoid human fingers, can they?"

That was how the original Choi Yu-Seong felt and the reason why he wandered around acting like a rascal. It was also the reason why he relied on Kim Do-Jin, since the latter was the only one that appreciated him—although that too turned out to be a lie.

That was the nature of Choi Yu-Seong. He hadn't been appreciated by his family and he hadn't been able withstand the increasing suffocation. There was no way Choi Woo-Jae was unaware of this, but he was still had some doubts. As if he knew that the rascal and incompetent Choi Yu-Seong could not easily change, he stared at his son with deep eyes as he tried to read the latter's thoughts.

"You've always lived as you pleased, but now you're suddenly trying to change?"

Snorting, Woo-Jae, shook his head.

"People do not change easily. If you are born to be an ant, it is only right to be an ant."

Yu-Seong's body stiffened like a mouse in front of a snake after hearing Choi Woo-Jae's declaration that resembled a judge's ruling. The sharpness of his words was as sharp as a serpent's fang while his eyes gleamed like that of a predator who spotted prey.

Yu-Seong couldn't help but be afraid.

'This is a test.'

However, now he could see that Woo-Jae didn't mean it. In contrast to his surprisingly cool-headed attitude to others, he had a kind of religious-like devotion towards his own blood. He wasn't really?telling Choi Yu-Seong to live as an ant.

Yu-Seong decided to throw his fifth pitch, considering it to be his last. He had to change his opponent's mind with this.

If Choi Woo-Jae's suspicion is the batter, then he needs to drag the batter out of the batter's box.

"Who decided that my destiny was an ant?"

Woo-Jae's thick eyebrows twitched once again.

"What if I did?"

"I'll change your decision."

"How dare you…"

Unlike his intimidating response that was spoken as a reflex, his tone didn't seem that serious. Rather, it contained a stronger scent of amusement.

"How are you going to do that? You are incompetent."

"I am right now, but there is no reason to be that way my entire life. As a chairman—no, as a father, you lent me many things. There were soldiers, weapons, and supplies. If life was a war, then the only thing I lacked was myself. I can change it. I won't live as an ant. And if possible…"

Before uttering his next words, Yu-Seong unintentionally sighed.

"I want to live as a giant rather than an ordinary person."

Ambition.

Throwing his fifth pitch, Yu-Seong's eyes unconsciously gleamed with passionate fire.

He had been born an orphan and lived with a bit of satisfaction, but that wasn't all there was to Yu-Seong. As he faced Choi Woo-Jae and expressed his thoughts one by one, he felt like he was realizing parts of himself that he himself had not known existed. If possible, he desired to live fully satisfied rather than just a bit.

Come to think of it, he had not once entertained that level of obsession. He simply hadn't gotten the chance.

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Choi Woo-Jae laughed. It was very low and short, but he clearly laughed.

At that moment, the pressure in the office disappeared in an instant. Yu-Seong's stifled breath and dizzy head stabilized quickly.

"Phew…"

He sighed long and deeply. He hadn't realized it, but his whole body was soaked with cold sweat as if he had taken a bath in it. His hair was wet and his clothes were stuck to his body. Surprised by his own state, Yu-Seong quickly tried to smoothen out his expression, but Choi Woo-Jae didn't seem to care much.

"I don't plan on counting on an empty bluff. Get out."

Was it a success or failure?

Before he could get the answer to his question, Choi Yu-Seong had no choice but to bow and leave the room as he was ordered.

After washing his sweat-soaked body and eating the meal his nanny prepared, Choi Yu-Seong was about to leave the main house when a middle-aged man in a suit approached him.

Of course, Choi Yu-Seong knew who he was.

'Kim Pil-Doo.'

He was the chief secretary at the Comet Group's chairman's office and Choi Woo-Jae's right-hand man. Excluding Woo-Jae's children, he was considered to be the most similar to Choi Woo-Jae.

He held out a wooden box the size of an adult man's palm, offering it to Yu-Seong without any greetings.

"A gift from the president."

That was it.

Kim Pil-Doo went into the house, while Yu-Seong, Ji Do-Yoon, and Jin Yu-Ri were shown their way out by the nanny.

But all throughout the ride back to his house, Yu-Seong's heart continued to pound.

'Father gave me a present.'

Choi Woo-Jae's praise was extremely rare, and gifts were even more difficult to earn.

He was a greedy person and he did not share his property easily, even with his own children. However, Choi Woo-Jae had now given him a present.

This was a new experience for Yu-Seong.

'As a matter of fact, everything I've ever had is something my father can take away whenever he pleases.'

That was why Yu-Seong had phrased what he owned as 'borrowed' in his conversation with Woo-Jae. But a gift was different. The item Woo-Jae gave as a gift strictly belonged to Yu-Seong. Even in the possible worst-case scenario, Choi Woo-Jae would not take away his gift.

In other words, the wooden box was now Yu-Seong's only property.

Woo-Jae's attitude was still cold, considering that he didn't show his face even when Yu-Seong left his house. But that didn't mean that he didn't have any expectations. The present he had just received was proof of that.

'Then… I better not let him down.'

Was he?confident?

'It goes without saying.'

Yu-Seong smiled as he stroked the wooden box he was given.

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Chapter 4

Choi Yu-Seong was left wondering as he left Choi Woo-Jae's study. Had he succeeded, or had he failed?

But as he was in the car, heading home, he knew the answer.

'I guess it's half a success.'

At the very least, it was clear that he had succeeded in making Choi Woo-Jae look forward to what he would do next. But it was Woo-Jae's last words that were important.

'Prove that it's not just empty words.'

Perhaps that was the real intention behind his gift.

'No, I'm certain that was it.'

The intent was for him to show how he would change through what he was given and the present he had just received.

If he only got excited and relieved by Choi Woo-Jae's gift, then the expectations he'd worked hard to build up in Choi Woo-Jae would have disappeared like candlelight snuffed out by the wind. In other words, the gift was a test by Choi Woo-Jae.

'I'm not going to make this first gift my last.'

Of course, Yu-Seong wasn't the slightest bit unhappy with Woo-Jae's attitude. This was his first step in restoring his relationship with Woo-Jae.

Like the saying 'well begun is half done,' the fact that he was moving forward was important.

'But I shouldn't get careless. Considering Choi Woo-Jae's personality, he wouldn't test me himself. Kim Pil-Doo… It's highly likely that he'll be the one to test me.'

Frowning, Yu-Seong was organizing his thoughts when he heard the siblings calling him.

"I'm really surprised, young master."

"A gift from the chairman! That's amazing!"

As if proving that they were siblings, their eyes and expressions displayed the same emotion. The only difference was that Yu-Ri's cheeks were red with excitement, while Do-Yoon expressed the same emotion to a greater degree as his shoulders slightly trembled. The way he was tightly gripping the handle seemed a bit adorable as well.

'Happy… No, more like... amazed?'

The fact that Do-Yoon was amazed as if an infant had spoken their first words seemed overly dramatic, but Yu-Seong's hard expression melted away at that sight. Although he had a lot to think about, such as the fact he was being tested or that he had to do better now, it was an undeniable truth that Choi Woo-Jae had just given him a present.

"If I'm being honest, young master, my heart skipped a beat when you came out of the study. I thought you got in big trouble…"

Soaking with sweat, pale, and stumbling, Yu-Seong had been in such bad shape when he had left the study that it had been difficult to talk to him. That was why Do-Yoon and Yu-Ri had chosen to support him from behind without saying a word.

Fortunately, Yu-Seong's breathing had stabilized quickly and although he still had a hard expression, his face had regained more color half an hour later. By the time they were leaving the main house, Kim Pil-Doo had given him the present from Choi Woo-Jae.

At that point, the siblings felt like what they had been worrying about actually turned into something rewarding.

"If you don't mind, may I ask what you discussed with the chairman?" Jin Yu-Ri asked with sparkling eyes full of curiosity and excitement.

'She is definitely different from her brother.'

She was inquisitive and tried to identify her current situation. Considering her keen insight, it was highly likely that Jin Yu-Ri would become Yu-Seong's most reliable ally in everything he would do in the future.

"...I said I didn't want to die."

Yu-Seong responded to her honestly.

The siblings were undoubtedly excited, but for a split second, a sad look flashed across their faces. They knew better than anyone else how meaningful Choi Yu-Seong's short words were. Although he seemed like a lucky and blessed rascal, his life wasn't as sweet as it appeared.

"I'm serious. So that's why I'm going to ask you two to continue helping me as you have done until now."

Yu-Seong smiled softly as he read the sincerity in their eyes. If Choi Woo-Jae was a distant ally, the Jin siblings were already his close allies.

That was why Yu-Seong believed that he should tell them his true feelings.

"...Of course."

"I'll risk my life to follow you."

The two looked at Yu-Seong trustingly, with no intention of resisting.

'That's a relief.'

He had woken up in a remote world, but he wasn't alone. He didn't have to carry all the burden alone.

Although Yu-Seong had a firm personality and knew the original novel's plot, he wasn't a perfect human being.

'It won't be a problem to rest a little.'

As all the tension left his body, Yu-Seong gradually fell asleep as he finally relaxed.

"I'm…going to sleep just a bit. Wake me up when we arrive."

He drifted into sleep right after his words, tightly holding onto the wooden box he had received from Woo-Jae.

"Get some rest, young master. You worked hard."

Yu-Ri smiled softly and covered Yu-Seong with the blanket she had.

"I can't comprehend the situation, since it's so sudden, but…"

"It seems the young master has changed."

Yu-Ri looked toward Do-Yoon and smiled with her eyes.

"You feel great, don't you?"

"...It goes without saying."

"Shall we have a celebration party later?"

"All right. My treat."

"Not gonna happen! I feel just as delighted as you."

'I wish Choi Yu-Seong keeps being just like today.'?

The Jin siblings had the same thought with a deep smile on their lips. Even now, these two had no idea that Yu-Seong's change had merely begun to take root.

In the main house of the Choi family that Choi Yu-Seong had just left, Choi Woo-Jae was still in his office, surrounded by complete silence. Sitting on the edge of his desk, he held the tea cup Kim Pil-Doo gave him and brought his nose close to the steam.

"The scent is quite good."

"It's brewed with alteine tea leaves acquired from a sixth-class dungeon, sir. It should taste and smell great, but with how much it costs, it's actually rather subpar."

"It doesn't have to have a good fragrance. The value of alteine tea lies in its rarity. It's obvious why people buy this kind of thing."

Woo-Jae frowned slightly as he took a sip to moisten his throat.

"It's bitter. I'd rather have some citron tea."

"The older you get sir, the more you seem to be wanting sweets."

"30 years ago, I believed that I had to enjoy the bitterness to be mature, but now I disagree. Why taste something bitter when you could taste something sweet?"

Choi Woo-Jae smiled faintly and, after tossing the tea away, placed the teacup down.

"You are being contradictory, sir. Didn't you give a gift to Yu-Seong?"

Woo-Jae's lips and eyes rose peculiarly at Kim Pil-Doo's question. He seemed angry at first glance, but in a way, he also looked like he was smiling.

"Isn't he my son?"

"You have ten of them, sir."

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"You'll only taste bitterness in the end, sir."

Having brewed for himself the same alteine tea as Woo-Jae, Pil-Doo brought the teacup to his mouth before tilting his head, seemingly confused.

"Are you trying the bitterness once again, sir?"

"As I said, I like sweet things."

Woo-Jae shook his head firmly as he responded.

Pil-doo's eyes faintly gleamed through the steam from his tea. He had been crossing the line and retreating multiple times in their previous conversation. After all, most of his questions were nothing short of an interrogation.

However, Choi Woo-Jae wasn't angry in the slightest. Instead, he seemed rather pleased.

Pil-Doo was confident that he had been by Choi Woo-Jae's side the longest.

"...Sir, you must think that the kid is going to exceed my expectations."

"Haha…," Woo-Jae laughed and evaded his question. "From the beginning, it was impossible for him to be entirely incompetent. He's born between me and 'her.' If you only evaluated lineage among my children, his descent is as good as Ji-Ho's. Rather than his behavior just now, it was his actions until now that were incomprehensible."

He spoke of two people that hadn't been spoken of in a long time—Yu-Seong's mother, and Woo-Jae's eldest son, Choi Ji-Ho.

Pil-Doo's eyes became cold.

He knew very little about Choi Yu-Seong's mother, who had already passed away.

On the other hand, he knew quite a lot about Choi Ji-Ho. Although Ji-Ho was now in the hospital due to a tragic accident, he would definitely have succeeded Choi Woo-Jae if he had grown up normally. Even though he was no longer part of the competition to become Woo-Jae's successor, there were still quite a few supporters of Jin-Ho within the company, thanks to his outstanding charisma and character.

Honestly, Pil-Doo thought it was absurd that Woo-Jae was comparing such a person as Ji-Ho to the rascal Yu-Seong. Even if Yu-Seong surpassed his expectations, Pil-Doo didn't think the kid would win against Ji-Ho. The only thing Yu-Seong would be able to compete in was…

'Once again, lineage comes out.'

It might be what Woo-Jae wanted, since he was so weirdly obsessed with blood.

"Be cautious. I can see what you're thinking."

"...My apologies, sir."

"Well, I keep you by my side because that's one of the things I like about you. You still believe you can beat my children and become my successor, don't you?"

"Sir, I don't think it'd be impossible if you gave me a chance."

"There's nothing to give or not. If my children can't even handle you, they don't deserve to succeed me in the first place."

Pil-Doo smiled in response to the ambiguous words that could be interpreted as either a compliment or an insult. He understood the meaning behind those ambiguous words that others wouldn't easily understand.

"I'm flattered."

"Anyway, keep an eye on Yu-Seong."

"Should I observe him or protect him?"

Woo-Jae had given Yu-Seong a present. This wasn't something to be taken lightly. Choi Yu-Seong's brothers and sisters, who paid attention to Woo-Jae's actions, would hear the news right away. There was no way they would stay still.

The Choi Yu-Seong they ridiculed and belittled had received a present. Considering that some of his siblings haven't yet received a gift from Choi Woo-Jae, it was a shocking situation. Naturally, not all of them would just let Choi Yu-Seong be.

"Protection? That's nonsense. He should take care of himself with his own strength. He should taste the bitterness of life, unlike an aged person like me, don't you think?"

Woo-Jae stood up from his seat and shook his head with a smirk.

Choi Yu-Seong didn't want to taste the bitterness.

After he returned home, he headed to his room and vowed thus while staring at the gift from Woo-Jae.

'Since I have a chance to achieve a real-life rags-to-riches story, I want to live only tasting sweetness.'

If someone told him that one had to experience hardships to truly understand life, he would have proudly raised his middle finger and shouted, 'You do the hard work if you want! I want to live an easy and comfortable life.'

He already suffered hardships as an orphan. Even after waking up as Choi Yu-Seong, who was born to a rich family, his life still wasn't a bed of roses. What was the point of trying to push through every obstacle?

"I want to go easy. Come on."

Yu-Seong breathed out lightly and opened the lid of the wooden box he had received from Woo-Jae. As he checked its contents, a smile appeared on his face.

"As expected."

The gift inside the box was something that he had expected and wanted. It was a purple stone the size of a child's palm.

Choi Yu-Seong already knew what this stone was. It was unique and easily recognizable.

"The Awakening Stone."

There were Rifts in this world that were also known as 'dungeons'. The creatures that lived inside those dungeons were called monsters, monsters that brought both danger and opportunity to Earth.

There was one simple reason why a dungeon that had dangerous monsters could be an opportunity for humans.

'It contributes to the development of the Earth.'

Sadly, nothing brought progress quite like war did. The dungeons within the Rifts, the battle for survival against monsters, and its resulting by-products had completely changed the paradigm of human civilization.

Those who stood at the center of that battlefield were commonly known as players.

'Normally, most people Awaken their powers naturally.'

Five years before the beginning of the [Modern Master Returns] novel, the Awakening Stone had first been discovered as a dungeon by-product. This stone, as its name suggested, had the ability to Awaken supernatural powers in a human being.

It was simply a revolution.

Originally, the Awakening occurred randomly, due to an inexplicable phenomenon, after the Rifts had appeared.

However, in this world where players were already highly valued, an object that could artificially initiate the Awakening now appeared. Many research institutes over the globe immediately began studying the Awakening Stone.

Their main objective was clear—mass production of the Awakening Stone that could produce players.

If they succeeded, it meant that they would be able to acquire an army of players that no other military force could stand against. This was viewed as a top priority by nations, as it could decide national power.

However, five years later, the research had seen no progress.

'In about five years, a genius scientist will eventually discover the mechanism of the Awakening Stone in a U.S. research institute.'

And three years later, the U.S. would solidify its position as the world's superpower by mass-producing the Awakening Stone for the first time. Of course, this was quite literally a story of the distant future.

'I'd be a fool just to sit around and watch.'

Crisis and opportunity came together. There was nothing more appropriate than this expression in Yu-Seong's current situation.

'Although I may seem like I'm in a bad position, it's not that bad as long as I can do something about it.'

Choi Yu-Seong was an heir to a conglomerate. And again, he knew the future.

'Just wait, you American genius scientist.'

He was ready to outrun the scientist as soon as he was prepared.

Yu-Seong's tongue peeked out as he licked his lips.

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Chapter 5

That was the end of Choi Yu-Seong recalling the genius scientist that would extraordinarily change this world's history. It was a distant future that had left at least five years, no, eight years until practical use.

'I must survive until then.'

The original Choi Yu-Seong had died before even one year had passed, let alone eight years. He had to be able to reach the future first.

'I hope I'm lucky.'

A strange tension filled Choi Yu-Seong's eyes as he picked up the Awakening Stone in front of him.

The Awakening Stone could transform an ordinary person into a player. But it didn't necessarily mean that person would become an 'outstanding' player.

'It doesn't matter what rank I start with.'

It would be nice if he was talented enough to get a head start as an E-rank, but that would be too much to expect considering the original Choi Yu-Seong had been abandoned as a villain in the novel. So it was okay if he started at the lowest rank, F.

'After all, once I max out my level, I can raise my rank.'

This was one of the somewhat unique settings of [Modern Master Returns]. If one reached the maximum level within a rank, they were qualified to move on to the next rank. Of course, it wasn't free.

'I have to go through the rank-up quest.'

Nobody knew beforehand what the rank-up quest, commonly known as the 'promotion evaluation,' would involve. It was a unique setting of the system that gave different missions to each player.

But that was a matter for later.

'The skill is key.'

The main skill that a player could receive came from an incredibly vast range. There were even a variety of skills usable in daily life, such as cooking and cleaning. Of course, it all depended on how the skill was used, and one could become a truly great player even with such a skill, but that wasn't the kind Choi Yu-Seong wanted.

'An extraordinary skill would be nice, but…'

He would be satisfied if the Awakening Stone at least gave him a skill he could use for protection.

As if stroking a magic lamp, Yu-Seong stroked the Awakening Stone about three times and desperately said, "I beg you."

That was enough for a prayer.

He couldn't waste any more time. If he hesitated to use the precious Awakening Stone, his greedy siblings would notice and steal it from him.

Therefore, he immediately swallowed the stone, big as it was, with the water he had prepared. Then, his eyes opened widely as his body exploded with unexpected pain.

"ARGHH!!!"

He couldn't help but scream. It was as if his whole body was being poked by needles, but somehow, he still felt like laughing at the same time.

Although probably a superstition, there was a saying regarding the Awakening in the [Modern Master Returns] novel—the greater the pain, the better the reward. All the characters who played a big role in the novel also experienced terrible pain during their Awakening.

'Just like now.'

This was why Yu-Seong was able to smile through the intolerable pain when the Jin siblings rushed into his room and were shocked by him rolling around.

'Don't worry, guys.'

After all, he felt as if he had won the lottery.

With that last thought, he passed out.

It had been half a day since Yu-Seong suddenly rolled around screaming and eventually passed out. It was a dumbfounding situation for a normal person, but it looked different from the perspective of the Jin siblings, who had already experienced the Awakening. Yu-Seong had lost his consciousness in a contradictory state of pain and happiness, but right before that, a bright blue light had flashed from within his body.

It was a clear sign of the Awakening. Therefore, they could only wait for Yu-Seong to complete the process and wake up from his Awakening.

The Jin siblings waited in front of Yu-Seong's room. Do-Yoon repeatedly stroked his lips, glanced at the tightly closed door, reached out with his hand, and then put it down with a restless look.

"What are you doing oppa?"

Jin Yu-Ri sat by the window in front of Choi Yu-Seong's room and spoke as she gave Jin Do-Yoon a somewhat pathetic look.

"The young master is sleeping too long."

Half a day was surely too long.

Generally, people blacked out for about an hour after the Awakening, so it wasn't strange to be worried since Yu-Seong had been sleeping for much longer than that.

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Do-Yoon had experienced the Awakening before his sister and like Yu-Seong, he had also passed out after screaming and slept for exactly three hours.

"You were the same, but 15 hours is different," her brother responded.

Yu-Ri also knew that. "It sure is different. It's not common, but there are always special cases."

It wasn't strange to say that the duration of unconsciousness proportionally reflected the ability earned from the Awakening.

"Are you saying that the young master is an Irregular?"

Surprised, Jin Do-Yoon asked Jin Yu-Ri who spoke indifferently.

Irregular.

This term usually referred to a somewhat abnormal being, but in this hierarchic world where special people gathered, it only meant one thing—awe and respect toward those that were exceptional even among the players who possessed extraordinary abilities.

Every one of those who turned out to be an Irregular gained enormous fame due to their abilities.

"It's quite possible that the young master is an Irregular, considering how long he's been sleeping." Yu-Ri was the voice of reason.

Do-Yoon strongly bit his lower lip.

Irregulars definitely became powerful if they survived, but surviving was difficult. This current situation, for example, showed the first obstacle an Irregular had to overcome.

"...80 percent of Irregulars never wake up after their Awakening."

"I know." Yu-Ri was not stupid. She was actually much smarter than her brother Do-Yoon.

Because he knew that fact as well, he clenched his fist as he asked, "Objectively speaking, how much of a chance does our young master have to wake up?"

"In a probability game with only two options, the answer is always set: five to five. Why're you even asking?"

"You're being so cold-hearted..."

Do-Yoon wanted to argue but then shut his mouth. He also knew that it was a silly question. Yu-Ri spoke coldly, but she couldn't hide the fact she was also shaken as her eyes wavered. She felt the same as Do-Yoon.

How could she possibly leave Choi Yu-Seong? They had stayed by Choi Yu-Seong's side even though he was the family troublemaker and was called "human trash". But for him to die futilely like this when he had just started to change? She didn't want to imagine that.

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay, oppa. It's not like I can't understand how you feel."

Yu-Ri shook her head briefly at her brother's apology. Then suddenly, she stopped moving. At the same time, Do-Jin turned his head; his expression hardened. They sensed two people that had suddenly appeared across the long corridor. They were extremely familiar and equally unpleasant guests to this house. Even more so now, since this was a time when Choi Yu-Seong's stability was the top priority.

"Shit."

Yu-Ri cursed from the bottom of her heart. Do-Yoon didn't say anything but he also clenched his fist with a determined expression on his face.

Glancing at the siblings, a relaxed-looking young man smiled arrogantly.

"Young master Choi Min-Seok."

Do-Yoon slightly bowed as he stepped forward and addressed the man.

The twenty-one-year-old man, just recently turned adult, slightly raised his left hand and spoke as if he was Choi Woo-Jae.

"No greetings necessary. Where's Yu-Seong?"

In fact, Min-Seok visited Yu-Seong more frequently than anyone else in the Choi family. Of course, it wasn't with good intentions.

He had the typical characteristic of acting weak in front of the powerful and mighty when facing the weak. He often got on Choi Woo-Jae's nerves as he bullied other students during middle and high school.

He didn't cause any big trouble since he was scared of his other siblings and his father, but he still had that wicked root inside of him. He enjoyed picking on Yu-Seong, the only person in his family that was weaker than him.

There was no particular reason. Excluding Yu-Seong, everyone agreed that Min-Seok was the family's worst troublemaker. He suffered from an inferiority complex and wanted to ensure that he wasn't at the bottom of his family.

Choi Min-Seok was the person the Jin siblings hated the most.

He always targeted Yu-Seong because he failed to overcome his inferiority complex. Viciously tormenting Yu-Seong, his inferior, left him with satisfaction, since Yu-Seong couldn't say anything because he was abandoned by the family.

That very Choi Min-Seok had suddenly come to visit Yu-Seong. He hadn't shown up for a while, since he was in college, yet now he had shown up, right at the worst time possible.

As mentioned before, Yu-Seong needed to be as stabilized as possible.

'Is this a coincidence?'

Yu-Ri glanced at Choi Min-Seok who was blatantly staring at Yu-Seong's room. Min-Seok pretended to be relaxed but his eyes reflected his ambition and greed.

'I'm positive.'

Min-Seok knew that Yu-Seong had received the Awakening Stone.

Again, almost everything of the Choi family belonged to the chairman Choi Woo-Jae. That was why Yu-Seong's siblings didn't try to take what he borrowed from Choi Woo-Jae.

It was obvious. After all, wanting Choi Woo-Jae's property amounted to nothing more than wishing for an early death.

What about a gift from Choi Woo-Jae, then?

That solely belonged to Yu-Seong. Anyone could take it away if they so wished.

Choi Woo-Jae wouldn't say a word even if the person who stole Choi Yu-Seong's Awakening Stone brought it in front of him and bragged about it. Rather, Yu-Seong would be lucky if Choi Woo-Jae didn't mock him for losing a precious gift.

Min-Seok knew this as well which was why he would come to Choi Yu-Seong's home without hesitation. Someone told him about the stone.

Not Choi Woo-Jae. He didn't like to be involved in these kinds of childish pranks.

'Kim Pil-Doo.'

Yu-Ri grit her teeth and then spoke. "It's been a while, young master Choi Min-Seok. Can I speak to you for a moment if it's okay?"

"Jin Yu-Ri."

Min-Seok had been frowning at Do-Yoon who was subtly blocking the doorway to Yu-Seong's room, but then he turned his gaze towards her. "Considering your polite attitude, it seems what I heard is really true, huh? Yu-Seong did actually get an Awakening Stone."

"An Awakening Stone? I've never heard about such a thing…How would I, as a worker, know what my superiors are doing?"

"Don't play dumb. I heard the news. What did you do with the Awakening Stone?"

He was talking confidently as if he wasn't guessing, but was full of certainty. Yu-Ri was quite displeased about this, but nevertheless she continued on calmly.

As Choi Min-Seok said, deception no longer worked, but it did buy them a little more time.

"It's already gone."

"You're telling me that the coward Choi Yu-Seong already swallowed the Awakening Stone?"

Whether in large or small amounts, pain always followed in the process of the Awakening. That was why Min-Seok thought that the coward, Yu-Seong, wouldn't be able to decide what to do with the stone and would only keep it.

Min-Seok's expression changed right away.

"I wanted to go the easy way but that's not the case."

"You can't undo what's already been absorbed."

"We'll know for sure once we cut Choi Yu-Seong's stomach."

"What the…"

Yu-Ri's mouth dropped at Min-Seok's cold words before she quickly closed it.

What did she expect? Since the two were brothers only in name, did she expect some kind of brotherly bond, even if it's tiny like a speck of dust?

Nonsense.

Min-Seok was only worried that Yu-Seong, his only inferior in the family, would change through the Awakening. That was why he tried to take away the Awakening Stone, and if that was impossible, he was willing to murder Choi Yu-Seong.

'No.'

Yu-Ri started thinking rapidly. She had to figure out a way to stop Choi Min-Seok while keeping Yu-Seong out of trouble.

Looking at Yu-Ri coldly, Min-Seok smirked and approached the door to Yu-Seong's room. Do-Yoon stood in front of the doorway and shook his head.

"You cannot enter." Do-Yoon denied Min-Seok entry.

"A pet dog shouldn't bark at its owner. Move."

"..."

"You know this won't change anything, do you?"

"It would be best if you returned for today."

"Phew… Park Jin-Hyo."

After a long sigh from Min-Seok, the bulky Park Jin-Hyo came forward. He was Choi Min-Seok's right-hand man and also a Physical-Reinforcement type player who was roughly two meters tall and was extremely muscular like Do-Yoon was..

"Move."

"..."

"This is the young master's order."

"..."

Park Jin-Hyo threatened Do-Yoon as he glared ferociously.

"How foolish."

Right after Min-Seok's remarks, Jin-Hyo swung his fist that was the size of a man's head.

Thwap-!

Jin Do-Yoon's body swayed as his face jerked sideways. However, his feet stayed where they were without moving a single millimeter.

Wiping off the blood flowing from his lips, Do-Yoon glanced at Min-Seok, who stood behind Park Jin-Hyo.

"The young master needs to be stabilized right now."

"That's not up to you to decide, dog."

"..."

"You're really not going to back off, huh? I guess we'll be cleaning up another body today. Park Jin-Hyo, you don't have to pull your punches worrying you might kill that."

"Understood."

A golden aura flared out from Jin-Hyo's body as Min-Seok laughed coldly. It was a phenomenon that occurred when a player used their skill.

He started to throw punches at Jin Do-Yoon that were much harder and rougher-sounding.

Do-Yoon didn't even try to avoid a single punch. Even though he too was a player, he didn't use any skills and just let himself be beaten up. If he evaded one of them, then it could affect Yu-Seong who was unconscious inside the room. It could also be used as an excuse for Min-Seok to attack Yu-Seong once he woke up.

Watching the situation, Yu-Ri's eyes gleamed as she bit her lower lip.

'If I kill Choi Min-Seok right now…'

There would be a big problem. Choi Yu-Seong would probably be okay, but it would become difficult for the Jin siblings to set foot in this society ever again. Choi Woo-Jae would never sit on his hands if one of his family pets killed one of his children.

But she couldn't just sit there and watch. It was better than everyone dying here.

Having come to a decision, Jin Yu-Ri was just about to act when she heard something—the sound of someone rushing in. Yu-Ri and Min-Seok looked at Choi Yu-Seong's locked room at the same time.

On the other side of the door, a loud voice echoed.

"Take cover, you idiot!"

Whoosh-!

That moment, the continuous punching ceased. Do-Yoon smiled as he ducked falteringly to avoid the attack.

"Young master…" he spoke in a voice so small that no one but himself could have heard it.

The door burst open. It wasChoi Yu-Seong.

With clothes in disarray, he stood in front of the door and looked at Do-Yoon, who was smiling with bloody teeth.

Then, he glared fiercely to Park Jin-Hyo who looked perplexed.

"You gorilla punk, how dare you put your hands on my man?"

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Chapter 6

Nobody had expected Choi Yu-Seong to just lash out like that, but it wasn't something out of the ordinary either. Although it seemed that he had changed in a single day, he was, after all, Yu-Seong—the rascal of the family, a scoundrel, and an authoritative boss. Wasn't it Yu-Seong's specialty to say what he wanted, regardless if it was appropriate or not?

This time, the only difference was that those on the receiving end of the verbal assault had never experienced that from Yu-Seong.

Choi Min-Seok's face stiffened rapidly. Having been mocked, Park Jin-Hyo's face was no different. He turned flaming red, as if he were an active volcano that could erupt at any moment.

But Yu-Seong's aggressive speech didn't stop there.

"Hey, gorilla. Get down on your knees and apologize right now."

"...?!"

Astonished, everyone in the hallway focused on Yu-Seong.

"Are you deaf? Get down on your knees."

Although small, his voice contained inexplicable dignity.

'Things seem to turn out weird…'

Jin-Hyo tried to ignore the fact that the atmosphere suddenly changed. After all, his opponent was nothing but the rascal Yu-Seong.

Even so, since Yu-Seong is part of the Choi family, Jin-Hyo didn't want to engage with Yu-Seong directly. Jin-Hyo's eyes naturally turned to Min-Seok.

"Yu-Seong, don't be cocky and come here."

As if responding to Jin-Hyo's dilemma, Min-Seok gestured at Yu-Seong with an arrogant expression. Purple energy flowing out from Min-Seok's palm surrounded Yu-Seong like water vapor.

"Oh..."

Unable to respond to the dumbfounding situation Jin Yu-Ri could only groan as she stared at Yu-Seong. Yu-Seong's eyes were already dull as the purple energy surrounded him as if it were paint being spread on a canvas.

Yu-Seong was trapped in hypnotism, Min-Seok's best skill. There was no way Yu-Seong could resist the hypnotism cast by a D-rank, level 60 player like Min-Seok.

Rather, it had an even greater impact on Choi Yu-Seong than on other people, as he had a weak mentality.

In the end, as always, Yu-Seong would kneel in front of Min-Seok, sobbing with his snot coming out, as he begged for mercy and fell into despair because of the nightmare he was hypnotized into. But the moment Min-Seok smiled creepily as he imagined the near future, the purple energy that had taken over Yu-Seong's eyes vanished.

Yu-Seong stared at Min-Seok, eyes now sparkling.

"Hmm...?"

Min-Seok looked bewildered.

"Min-Seok."

Yu-Seong called him calmly.

"What did you just call me?"

Yu-Seong always called Min-Seok in a flattering way to create a good impression of himself.

But now, Yu-Seong was confidently calling him by his full name. The whole situation left Min-Seok confused.

"Are you sure you can handle the consequences of barging into someone else's house and causing a fuss?"

Yu-Seong continued with a low and deep tone. Eyes wide with surprise, Min-Seok tried to hypnotize Yu-Seong again. The illusions appeared in front of Yu-Seong again, but he pretended he didn't see them.

"If you think I got the Awakening Stone by pure luck, that would be extremely foolish of you..."

Smiling with clear hostility, Yu-Seong glared at Min-Seok. Doubt flashed across Min-Seok's face for a moment.

'Yeah, he couldn't be this cocky without any support.'

But the problem was that Min-Seok couldn't guess who had Yu-Seong's back and also knew that Yu-Seong wouldn't tell him if he asked.

'You're caught in a trap before you even knew it...'

Although Yu-Seong was glaring coldly at Min-Seok, Yu-Seong was smiling inside as he could see Min-Seok eagerly trying to come up with an answer.

Refusing to back down from Yu-Seong, Min-Seok glared back at Yu-Seong.

"I really don't understand where all your confidence is coming from. You dare rebel against your older brother?"

Min-Seok couldn't understand why Yu-Seong was suddenly so confident, but Min-Seok had an ace up his sleeve. Which was why he didn't back down when they were going face to face.

Although Yu-Seong was definitely under the influence of the skill, his eyes didn't show it. He wasn't scared or confused; it was as if he didn't know fear itself.

Yu-Seong's face was calm, even as he gritted his teeth fighting against the dizzying hypnotism that caused his heart to pound from the pain.

'From the very beginning...'

Min-Seok had no chance of winning this fight. Why? Because even though Min-Seok was a part of the talented Choi family and had great potential, he was only a twenty-one-year-old college student. On top of that, as if he was a delicate flower in a greenhouse, Min-Seok was carefully protected in dungeons because of his Mind Control ability.

Then how about Yu-Seong? Yu-Seong had grown up in a different world as an orphan, and he had to overcome countless obstacles in order to adapt to society. In other words, this was like a fight between an amateur and a professional boxer.

In addition, Yu-Seong had already experienced something similar to Min-Seok's hypnotism.

'Choi Woo-Jae.'

It was just yesterday that he had experienced it. Min-Seok's hypnotism felt cute compared to Woo-Jae's aura, which pressured Yu-Seong like he was drowning in a swamp.

In the end, Min-Seok stopped staring and slightly turned away from Yu-Seong. That was the turning point. Yu-Seong decided to use the trump card that popped inside his head.

"You seem to be running a business under the radar... What would father and our second sister say if they found out?"

"...!!"

Bewildered, Min-Seok and Jin Yu-Ri looked at Yu-Seong with widened eyes.

'How did he find out?'

Although the two thought of the same thing, Min-Seok was much more surprised. Only a few people knew that he was dealing drugs throughout Gangnam clubs.

'Who told Yu-Seong?'

Min-Seok started to think rapidly. Naturally, he was too focused on his other things as he didn't notice his hypnosis was beginning to fade.

"Think carefully. Who in the world would tell me this besides our family?"

Unconsciously being swayed by Yu-Seong, Min-Seok bit his lower lip as he almost tried to refute Yu-Seong's words. Only one person in his family knew that he was involved in drug dealing.

'Did the sixth brother...? No, it can't be.'

Choi Byung-Chan, the sixth of the Choi siblings, was the person Min-Seok relied on the most. That Byung-Chan had betrayed Min-Seok to partner up with a mere Yu-Seong?

Min-Seok thought that it was impossible, but he couldn't help the idea clouding his brain. Yu-Seong grinned wickedly as he looked at Min-Seok.

'Originally, Choi Min-Seok would be arrested for drug dealing and promoting prostitution one year from now.'

This information was revealed by Kim Do-Jin, a regressor in [The Modern Master Returns] when he took care of the gangsters working for Min-Seok. Because of this, the Comet Group was also hit hard. Besides his behavior as a rascal, this was actually one of the biggest incidents that weakened Woo-Jae's power.

'He wouldn't be running any prostitution rings now, though.' Yu-Seong thought inwardly.

But Min-Seok already had a lot of trouble with drug dealing alone. Since his trust towards Byung-Chan had also been weakened, he couldn't hide his emotions even if he tried.

'The hypnosis stopped.'

The horrible illusions in front of Yu-Seong vanished. Then, Min-Seok looked at Yu-Seong as if he was trying to confirm one last thing to resolve his confusion. Without hesitation, Yu-Seong responded by staring right at him.

None of them were backing off, but Min-Seok had no way to stand against Yu-Seong as the hypnosis was over. Min-Seok was tense. It was as if he was in front of a beast.

'What the hell is going on right now?!'

Min-Seok wanted to scream, but considering his opponent was merely Yu-Seong, his pride didn't let him.

"Who... Who the hell are you?"

Even as his heart was pounding ferociously and his forehead was covered in sweat, he tried to deny reality as he questioned Yu-Seong.

'You can't be the stupid Choi Yu-Seong I know!'

The Yu-Seong standing in front of him was entirely different from the Yu-Seong he knew.

"Can't you see? If I'm not Choi Yu-Seong, who am I?"

Fully regaining a state of relaxation, Yu-Seong shrugged and asked back.

"You're lying."

Although Min-Seok tried to deny the situation, nothing changed. This was like a dream to Min-Seok.

It was taking his all to suppress his incomprehensible emotions. But there was no doubt that it was Yu-Seong himself standing in front of Min-Seok.

'How would he know?'

There was no way Min-Seok would have guessed that Choi Yu-Seong, a reader of the novel from another world, had woken up as the Yu-Seong of this world. Yu-Seong wouldn't have believed it if he didn't experience it himself.

"Ahem..."

Just when Min-Seok dry coughed and turned his gaze downward, unable to continue to meet his eyes, Yu-Seong stepped forward and stomped.

Thump-!

Surprised by the sound, Min-Seok stumbled backward.

"Pfft..."

Yu-Ri laughed. Jin-Hyo glanced at Min-Seok with bewilderment.

But the highlight of this scene was the message box that clearly floated above the hallway.

- The Oldest Hunter is watching player Choi Yu-Seong with interest. Five Karma points have been sponsored.

- The Oldest Hunter laughs at player Choi Min-Seok.

The appearance of a god.

A message from a god, known to be a player's greatest sponsor, was something that every player in this world wished for desperately. Considering that gods only paid attention to the extremely talented few, it was astonishing that one of those gods was interested in and even sponsored Yu-Seong. Please visit fr𝐞𝐞wn.𝒸o𝔪 website to read fastest update

Although the number of points wasn't that large, that itself carried extraordinary significance. Something like this was extremely, extremely rare. This would only happen in one in a million—no, one in ten million cases.

The god laughed at Min-Seok at the same time, which was broadcasted to everyone in the scene. This meant that Min-Seok had also been noticed by a god, but in a different way.

Putting these two situations together, what they had just experienced was something that had never happened before.

Min-Seok's face reddened as he had never been this embarrassed in his entire life; he could no longer keep his composure. Possessed with rage, Min-Seok screamed.

"Park Jin-Hyo! Kill that bastard!"

"I beg your pardon...?"

"I'll take full responsibility, kill Yu-Seong right now!"

Hesitation was reflected in Park Jin-Hyo's eyes. If he killed Yu-Seong, Min-Seok would take responsibility for him?

Easier said than done.

Since Min-Seok was part of the Choi family, he wouldn't die even in the worst-case scenario, but Park Jin-Hyo and his relatives may actually disappear from the face of the Earth.

Min-Seok's eyes turned bloodshot with rage as he noticed Jin-Hyo's hesitation.

"Jin-Hyo! Who was it that let your sister get a job in the Comet Group!"

Jin-Hyo bit his lower lip as Min-Seok shouted at him.

'Either way, I'm going to die.'

Since Jin-Hyo hadn't experienced Woo-Jae yet, the person he currently feared the most was Min-Seok. Min-Seok knew everything about him—his misconduct, his crimes, his family, everything. Thinking about it differently, Jin-Hyo also knew various weaknesses of Min-Seok, but that wasn't enough to go against a member of the Choi family.

If he was going to die either way, then he would rather die later. Coming to a decision, Jin-Hyo no longer hesitated.

He swung his fist directly at Yu-Seong.

Even though Jin-Hyo's attack was about to reach him, Yu-Seong didn't even blink. Instead, Yu-Seong spoke quietly as he confidently faced the attack.

"Do you really think that'll work? Try me."

Thump-!

With a heavy sound, Jin-Hyo's fist was blocked. In front of Yu-Seong, who was speaking with his hands in his pockets, Jin Do-Yoon had transformed into a werewolf and blocked Jin-Hyo with one arm.

"If you touch the young master, you die."

His voice resembled the growling of a wolf. Although Do-Yoon was full of scars and bleeding, Jin-Hyo trembled at the threatening aura of Jin Do-Yoon.

'Their gaze...it's just...'

It wasn't just Jin Do-Yoon that stared at Jin-Hyo sharply. From the back of Do-Yoon, Yu-Seong was staring indifferently with hard eyes, his mouth was the only part that was smiling.

Jin-Hyo was terrified. He now knew why Min-Seok stumbled backward after going face-to-face with Yu-Seong. Naturally, Jin-Hyo could feel the cold sweat running down his back.

'Th, This is what it means to be a member of the Choi family...'

Although the Comet Group was currently competing for second place among Korean companies, the Choi family was powerful enough to eventually put the Comet Group on top.

Jin-Hyo was now trembling in fear. Yu-Seong clearly wasn't the rascal and coward that Jin-Hyo knew. He wanted to retrieve his hand immediately; in fact, he wanted to run away.

"Park Jin-Hyoooo-!"

Jin-Hyo regained consciousness through Min-Seok's scream. Jin-Hyo was scared, but he realized he would die all the same if he ran away.

"Aghhhhhh-!"

With a reddish aura radiating from his body, Jin-Hyo invoked his full power.

However, even though Jin-Hyo poured in more strength, as displayed by his bulging muscles and popped veins, Jin Do-Yoon didn't budge.

'After all, they're in a totally different league.'

Yu-Seong thought that it was obvious.

"You can't do anything, huh? Mr. Gorilla."

Jin-Hyo was a C-rank, level 50 player. Considering his young age, he possessed great potential. His powers were suitable to serve as the right-hand man of a member of the Choi family. Unfortunately, he was no match for Jin Do-Yoon. According to the novel, the latter could even equally fight with Kim Do-Jin, who would become the greatest player in the future.

'Jin Do-Yoon is already level 70.'

They were literally on a different level.

Yu-Seong grinned wickedly as he stood behind Jin Do-Yoon, one of his few partners in this world.

"Jin Do-Yoon, don't you think you need to repay him for what you received? I'll take full responsibility so don't worry."

"...Yes, sir."

His voice sounded like the growl of a beast. Do-Yoon struck Jin-Hyo's chin with his palm.

Boom-!

Jin-Hyo flew into the air and crashed down as his eyes turned white. One-hit KO.

'A totally different level for sure.'

Smiling comfortably, Yu-Seong turned towards Min-Seok.

"Choi Yu-Seong, do you think you'll be okay after what you've done? If you think you can bear the consequences of..."

Min-Seok suddenly felt a chill around his neck. Shivering, he noticed that Yu-Ri was holding something cold and hard right at his throat.

"It seems the person who has to bear the consequences is you, young master Min-Seok."

"You...You dare try to kill me?"

Gulp.

At the same time that Min-Seok swallowed hard, a clicking sound resonated.

"Nah, why would I kill you, sir?"

Yu-Ri smiled with her eyes as a familiar voice echoed in the hallway.

[Park Jin-Hyo! Kill that bastard!]

[I beg your pardon...?]

[I'll take full responsibility, so kill Yu-Seong right now!]

Min-Seok and Jin-Hyo's conversation had been recorded.

"But since the chairman dislikes his children trying to kill each other like this... I'm not sure how he'll react when he hears the recording."

"Ur...Urgh..."

Min-Seok groaned as he realized he hadn't been mistaken—that sound recorder really was a steel blade pressing against his throat.

"You can keep quiet about what happened today, right, sir?

Min-Seok nodded slightly as he bit his lower lip.

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Chapter 7

After the rather abrupt incident with Choi Min-Seok was over, Jin Do-Yoon soon returned to his daily routine, as he only took a day to recover from his wounds. It was thanks to the outstanding recovery that physical-reinforcement type players had.

Meanwhile, Jin Yu-Ri went to Yu-Seong, asking what she should do with the voice recording.

"Just keep it for now. It won't be of any help if I brought it to my father. He'd probably mock me saying I'm just a useless kid whining to an adult for help because I can't handle it myself." Choi Yu-Seong responded.

If he was going to attack, then he had to do it perfectly, like thrusting a knife squarely into a chest.

"Plus, with just that, the punishment Choi Min-Seok would receive would only be a severe scolding. Although he isn't a beast, he'll become wild if he's cornered. So we'll save the recording and collect more intelligence. The data we accumulate will become a sharp knife that will cut Choi Min-Seok's heart out when the time comes. Oh, and lastly, you don't have to ask these kinds of questions. Haven't you already reached the same conclusion?"

Yu-Ri's eyes sparkled at Yu-Seong's last remarks and nodded silently.

'He has definitely changed. He's become extremely clever.'

In this current situation, Yu-Seong in the past would follow one of these two options. He either would have been delighted that he had Min-Seok's weakness in his hand, in which case he would've run off to boast while tattling at the same time to Choi Woo-Jae, or he would've been too scared to do anything.

Recently, he seemed to have changed, and now he was even demonstrating keen insight. This was no simple coincidence.

'How much more are you planning on surprising me, young master... ?'

Except for resetting Yu-Ri's expectations of himself through these short conversations, Yu-Seong normally spent the majority of his day sleeping. Nevertheless, he didn't make the Jin siblings too nervous, as he occasionally woke up and ate.

But that was it. Yu-Seong didn't try to push himself. He also tried to forget all his concerns due to the fact that he woke up inside the novel.

'Adequate rest is important.'

A lot had happened after he had first woken up as Yu-Seong. He had to relieve the stress that accumulated from his recent busy days. If he only moved forward, it would be exhausting even for the stubborn Yu-Seong.

Three days passed like that.

After Yu-Seong finished the break he set for himself, he smiled peculiarly at the half-transparent window that floated in front of him.

『Name: Yu-Seong

Age: 20

Type: All-Rounder

Rank: E

Level: 1

Special Skills: Star Factor E, Fusion E

General Skills: Stylish F, Eye of Replication E

Current Inactivated Skill Slots: 5』

"Interesting."

To begin with, he became an all-rounder, one of the three types: Physical, Psychic, and All-rounder. The [Modern Master Returns] novel explained the All-rounder as a 'jack of all trades, master of none.'

After all, only one All-rounder was included in the world's top ten players. And even that player was ranked tenth.

Nevertheless, Yu-Seong wasn't disappointed. Hadn't he originally considered it to be a success if he could even become an ordinary player? Setting his type aside, there actually were more positive aspects.

'Two special skills and two general skills.'

Super rookies that shocked the world usually had a minimum of seven initial skills. Yu-Seong seemed somewhat lacking compared to them, considering that he only had four. However, Yu-Seong clearly recognized the advantages of his status.

'First off, I have two special skills.'

Even the greatest player in the world had only one special skill. It was natural considering that special skills were a literal representation of the uniqueness of a person. As such, although the special skill could develop or change, there was no player in the original novel that possessed two of them. Yu-Seong was the only one who had two special skills.

'Star Factor and Fusion.'

This was extremely peculiar, as even the main character of the novel, Kim Do-Jin, only had one special skill. Please visit fr𝐞𝐞wn.𝒸o𝔪 website to read fastest update

Using his experience in his original world as an employee in a game company that designed the level system, Yu-Seong easily came up with a reason to comprehend the current situation.

'This is a unique phenomenon that triggered because I woke up in Yu-Seong's body.'

As a result, the system of the Awakening identified two souls inside Yu-Seong. It was a bug, or to put it positively, a hidden piece. Perhaps that was why his pain during the Awakening was exceptionally terrible.

What had happened wasn't entirely strange.

'As expected, the [Modern Master Returns] has a lot of holes in its setting.'

Ever since Yu-Seong met Choi Woo-Jae, he acknowledged that there were a lot of settings in the [Modern Master Returns] novel, a mass-produced fantasy novel suggested by its cliche title, that misses important settings except for those surrounding its main character Kim Do-Jin.

Considering Yu-Seong woke up inside a world based on that novel, what he was going through wasn't that strange.

"Haha…"

He couldn't help but laugh. Although he was dumbfounded by the lack of plot consistency when he read the novel, that flaw ironically benefited him now.

The first benefit was that he had two special skills. There was a saying that one special skill was better than a hundred general ones. Special skills were that powerful. In addition, Yu-Seong clearly realized that this world had various 'plot holes'.

'I can obtain a lot of unexpected benefits if I use my skills well.'

Yu-Seong had earned both realistic assets and useful intelligence at the same time. He couldn't help smiling in this evidently favorable condition.

Of course, he had to learn about the skills in detail in order to use that intelligence to its full potential. Fortunately, this was a field that the previous game designer Yu-Seong was most confident in.

'Let's start with Star Factor.'

『Special Skill: Star Factor E

The more people pay attention to the holder, the faster his growth level accelerates. Additional ability unlocked once the level of attention exceeds a certain number (0/100).

Current acceleration rate 0%』

Yu-Seong had confidently checked the explanation, but then a look of bewilderment flashed across his face.

'Does… it wants me to be an attention seeker?'

Star Factor was a skill that could only grow if he cultivated attention-seeking behavior.

But why bother getting attention from someone? Considering that Yu-Seong had been rather busy just trying to survive in his original world, he had never thought of something like this. He was a bit dumbfounded, but besides that, the effect itself was terrific enough for it to be deemed as a special skill.

'Since the original setting said that more experience points are required to level up as a player's rank increases, this skill would be extraordinarily effective.'

Yu-Seong's starting rank was E. Compared to normal players who started from rank F, he had an extremely good starting point. However, as mentioned before, rank wasn't that important.

'After all, I can always rank up once I reach the max level for the E rank.'

Of course, those who start with a higher rank tend to have better skill sets, but it wasn't an uncrossable gap, and the Star Factor skill completely covered the shortcomings of a low starting rank and even provided additional potential for development.

'As long as I can get a lot of attention.'

Yu-Seong's eyes glistened. Didn't he have a ton of ways to do that? In fact, he was in the perfect position for it. The ninth son of the Comet Group, the rascal child of a wealthy family. How could anyone dislike a topic like him?

Therefore, Yu-Seong received attention all the time anyway. There was no one better than him for journalists who hunted for gossip. In a way, Yu-Seong was practically already a celebrity. Now that he had the Star Factor skill, he could make very good use of it.

'Although it's a little embarrassing, it's totally bearable for efficiency's sake. Come to think of it, this special skill, Star Factor, really does fit Choi Yu-Seong.'

Was it because Yu-Seong had been shunned and berated at home since childhood?

Yu-Seong was exactly the type of person who longed for the attention of others like a child. He couldn't remember ever wanting it before, since there were so many things going on, but now he realized that this was the reason why Yu-Seong had become such a rascal.

'I'll fulfill your dream of getting attention.'

He then moved on to the second special skill, Fusion. Yu-Seong's eyes sparkled much more than when he read the Star Factor skill.

『Special Skill, Fusion E

Except for the user's initial skills, it can fuse any two general skills into a new one. The features of the newly-created skill will change depending on the user's luck. The skills used for fusion cannot be reused.

This skill provides five additional inactivated skill slots. Once this skill levels up to a higher rank, more slots become available. The user can freely delete or overwrite the skills listed in the inactivated skill slots that can be used for fusion.』

'So this means I have to manipulate what I've got to its fullest, huh?'

This skill possessed endless potential. For Yu-Seong, who designed the level system when he worked at the game company, this skill was perfectly suitable.

The downside, of course, was that this skill was useless by itself. But after he read all the details for the skills Stylish and Eye of Replication, the two general skills, Yu-Seong couldn't hide his excitement.

'My skill set is so solid!'

According to his plan, he could start right away.

How to survive in a novel with myself as the foolish villain:

Step two.

'Become strong enough to endure this dangerous world.'

Yu-Seong jumped out of his seat and immediately headed out.

After Yu-Seong left his room, he posted a job recruitment notice.

[The first hundred players to demonstrate a skill below E rank will be paid one million won]

With this somewhat provocative phrase, Yu-Seong's face was printed in the background of the notice. And this was advertised on the most popular forum site in Korea. Less than an hour later, provocative articles poured out from every media outlet about Yu-Seong's job posting.

Why did the ninth kid of the Choi family, Choi Yu-Seong, post such an absurd job ad?

Yu-Seong, what are you up to this time?

Yu-Seong—Full of money, mine to use.

Now I'm a player! An Interview with Choi Yu-Seong?

It didn't matter whether the articles were true or not.

What mattered was that Yu-Seong would pay the first hundred applicants one million won for simply demonstrating a skill below E rank, and that this provocative statement was posted in the main banner of the largest portal site.

As mentioned, Yu-Seong was as famous as a celebrity. It was just that his fame mostly came from hate, so he basically had more haters than fans. People couldn't understand why Yu-Seong did this. Of course, the response wasn't good.

- The fool that always drank and wreaked havoc is now putting on a show.

- An abrupt job recruitment? And the Comet Group let him do that?

- Isn't that practically embezzlement, since that money would be coming out of the Comet Group accounts?

- But this really is a damn good opportunity. We don't need to demonstrate combat skills, do we? It's an easy one million won by simply showing any kind of skill.

I already submitted the application form lol.

Completely agreed.

Nah, I don't buy it. It's probably a scam Yu-Seong doing stupid stuff.

I can't believe someone's actually buying this.

- But is it real that Choi Yu-Seong became a player?

As Yu-Seong sat down and read the comments below the Internet articles, complicated emotions flashed across his face.

'They say 'where there's smoke, there's fire,' but that doesn't seem to be true these days.'

Although he did post the job recruitment and paid a lot of money for advertisement, he had never met anyone or given any interviews. In other words, the articles that stated that he had become a player or embezzled company money were made up by reporters. But even though many people repeated the rumors about him, Yu-Seong didn't care.

'Well, I knew that I had a bad reputation anyway.'

He could change that little by little. Since Yu-Seong was born as an orphan and adapted to the rough modern society, his mentality was strong enough that he wasn't affected by some hateful comments.

Instead, he focused on the half-transparent window in front of him.

『Special Skill, Star Factor E

The more people pay attention to the holder, the faster his growth level accelerates. Additional ability unlocked once the level of attention exceeds a certain number (20/100).

Current acceleration rate 30%』

The figure changed drastically in just one day.

'The level of attention for the additional ability increased by 20 percent while the acceleration rate also increased by 30 percent. Sweet.'

Wasn't this proof that he was the center of attention? Thus, to Yu-Seong it didn't matter if others cursed or disparaged him. After all, the numbers in front of him were making him very happy.

'I'm okay as long as the people aren't ignoring me.'

There was a reason why celebrities said that anti-fans were also fans. On the other hand, the Jin siblings looked incredibly mad as they read the comments by his side.

"Young master, I can't take it anymore. I'll call the forum headquarters for the information of the users who commented, and sue them all."

"Oppa, I'll do it myself since you take too long with these kinds of things. I'm pissed off."

"I'm alright so leave it as it is. You guys said you would trust me and leave everything to me.

Yu-Seong waved them off; he had his plans. Of course, since he was also human, he did prefer hearing compliments rather than curses.

'It would be fun to gradually change the public's perception of me.'

For that, he had to endure it for a while, even if he felt bad.

"I understand. Anyways, we already have over two hundred applicants. Should I only accept the first one hundred as the recruit stated?"

"No, just call in all two hundred."

The more skills he saw, the better leveling graph he could create. There was no need to save money.

'I already have a lot of money.'

Although the comments on the Internet speculated embezzlement or that he used his family's money, the expenditures for this advertisement were funded solely from Yu-Seong's own assets.

'I never imagined Yu-Seong to be this rich.'

As he was checking his personal bank account to figure out how he should move forward with his plan, he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

He had much more money than he thought he would have. It was unlikely that Choi Woo-Jae gave Yu-Seong this much allowance. There were so many zeros that he gave up counting them.

Yu-Seong must have gotten this money from somewhere. It was just that the original novel never explained where it came from.

'I'll have an answer soon since I told Jin Yu-Ri to figure it out.'

When he had asked why he had so much money, even the Jin siblings, who were his closest allies, had said that they didn't know about the money. Yu-Seong realized once again how much the original novel omitted important details.

Anyway, Yu-Seong was using the money well, and there was no reason for him to refrain from doing so.

"When should I tell them to come?"

At Yu-Ri's question, Yu-Seong stood up and responded calmly.

"Tell them to come tomorrow."

Why bother dragging this out? Those who couldn't come because of their schedule would unfortunately be eliminated.

1. The Korean sentence used was '??? ??, ??? ??' which could be directly translated as 'Up to par at best, if not, a player with a ragbag of skills.'

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Chapter 8

Choi Yu-Seong had a large house with many empty rooms. In one of those rooms, there was a long desk and three chairs, and he sat in the middle chair. Naturally, Jin Yu-Ri sat on his left while Jin Do-Yoon stood on his right with his arms crossed.

"You're not going to sit?"

"If I sit down, I'm afraid I can't quickly respond to unexpected situations, sir."

Do-Yoon said this with a determined look that seemed like he was even willing to take a bullet for Yu-Seong if an applicant tried to shoot him. Yu-Seong wanted to respond but kept his mouth shut. He knew that Do-Yoon wasn't going to listen even if he told him to calm down.

"Anyways, Yu-Seong oppa, how's your condition?"

"Perfect."

Yu-Seong answered as he raised his thumb.

"A skill can be activated an unlimited number of times, but it definitely consumes your mana. Since you don't know how it feels yet, then even if it's the middle of the test, you should stop if you feel you're overdoing yourself, okay?" She cautioned him.

Every skill consumed mana by default, but the total amount of mana one possessed was unknown, unless the player measured it themself.

'And the result of that measurement isn't perfectly accurate either.'

Yu-Ri's concern for Yu-Seong was quite understandable. Before he posted the job ad, Yu-Seong had told the Jin siblings about his skill set and how he was planning to use it.

There was no reason not to tell them. The Jin siblings were the only people that Yu-Seong could trust to have his back. Why doubt them when he already knew that, in the original novel, they had stood by his side until his death? It was better to share things with them honestly and let them help.

That was why the siblings passively followed Yu-Seong's lead even as he organized this sudden and weird event. Even if Yu-Seong had a lot of money, the fastidious Yu-Ri wouldn't have allowed him to do something like that if he hadn't explained his motives.

'It's not like I have an oilfield that endlessly produces money.'

The more money, the better, because once it was spent, it was gone.

He could and would spend two hundred million in one day without batting an eyelid if needed, but that did not mean he could just spend it indiscriminately. He had to use it efficiently. In that sense, Yu-Seong and the Jin siblings didn't consider this event to be a waste of money.

'Instead, the benefits greatly outweigh the cost.'

The half-transparent window that displayed the player profile floated in front of the pleased Yu-Seong. Although Star Factor was certainly an attractive skill, he was more focused on his second special skill, Fusion, and his general skill, Eye of Replication. He was confident that he could use them more skillfully than Star Factor.

'Let's check it again.'

Yu-Seong quickly scanned through the skill descriptions of Fusion and the Eye of Replication.

『General Skill, Eye of Replication E

Cannot be used for Fusion.

The user can copy a skill of a lower rank. The usage count and effectiveness of the copied skill varies according to its rank.

After copying a skill, this skill cannot be used on the same person or to copy the same skill for three months.』

Truthfully, when Yu-Seong had first seen his skill set, the Eye of Replication was the only skill that he hadn't been that curious about.

'After all, I already knew about this skill.'

The Eye of Replication appeared early in the original novel as the villain Jack the Clown possessed it. The readers thought it to be an unfortunate skill, as it couldn't blossom to its full potential because of its excessive penalties.

'It certainly is extraordinary in that it copies others' skills right away.'

This was especially effective when the skill was used against powerful players like Kim Do-Jin. The problem, however, was that excessive penalties were attached to it to balance out its ridiculous effect. It had many disadvantages as the usage count and capacity of that copied skill was limited, not to mention, it was also hard to reuse it against the same person.

'Jack the Clown's Eye of Replication was B-rank.'

Jack the Clown was able to copy the same B-rank skill to seventy percent of its fullest capacity and could use the copied skill ten times. Yu-Seong wouldn't be that different, although his skill was now E-rank.

'Fusion and Eye of Replication.'

Both skills had something in common—they possessed great potential but had penalties to balance it out. In a way, they could be considered fool's gold.

However, after confirming the two skills, Yu-Seong had devised a plan.

'Fusion is useless on its own. It has to be fueled by other skills. Fortunately, I have the Eye of Replication.'

The skills copied by the Eye of Replication had penalties limiting usage, capacity, and recharge time to recopy. On the bright side, the fundamental disadvantage of Fusion could be solved by the Eye of Replication. As for the disadvantages the Eye of Replication had? The solution was simple.

'I can combine the copied, limited skills with Fusion.'

What if he could eliminate all the weaknesses and limitations of the copied skills by fusing them? In that case, nothing more needed to be said.

'Jackpot.'

He could even create an ultimate skill fusion that would shock even the blessed main character, Do-Jin. That was why Yu-Seong had immediately called in the Jin siblings the day before to confirm his hypothesis. He had asked them to demonstrate two E-rank skills that hadn't ranked up due to lack of usage. And as a result…

Yu-Seong glanced at his 'fifth' skill that hadn't existed until the previous morning.

『Skill, Fancy Disco E

Can be used for Fusion.

Once used, flashes of light are added to every action of the user for five minutes』

'Jackpot!'

This was more than enough compensation for the terrible pain that he had endured during the Awakening.

'There's no usage count limitation.'

It also didn't say anywhere that the capacity of the skill had decreased. Moreover, this skill could be used for another Fusion. In other words, the setbacks for both Fusion and Eye of Replication were gone.

With this, Yu-Seong had infinite potential. That was why, yesterday, he had clenched his fist and cheered even though the Jin siblings were in front of him.

"Yesterday was really shocking. I never knew there would be such easy ways to circumvent the problems with these skills."

When Jin Yu-Ri saw Yu-Seong smiling at the walls, she smiled somewhat dejectedly as she realized his plans. Her eyes were full of awe at the sight of Yu-Seong.

"I got lucky."

"This isn't luck, sir. If I was in your situation, I would never have thought of what you had in mind."

It was when Yu-Seong was shrugging his shoulders and trying to be modest at Jin Do-Yoon's compliments when a middle-aged woman, the housekeeper responsible for Yu-Seong's food, carefully knocked on the door and spoke.

"The applicants have all arrived."

"Ah, tell them to come in."

Her role today was escorting the applicants.

The interview—no, the job of copying low-rank skills started at ten in the morning.

"Welcome. It's a pleasure to have you here."

Yu-Seong charmingly greeted the players entering the room. Although the majority of the players that were entering had somewhat nervous and tense expressions and were a little disconcerted by his greetings, they soon smiled back at him.

Their attitude was natural. After all, the Choi Yu-Seong they knew was a snob. They didn't know why he had announced this peculiar event, but warm greetings aside, they had thought they would be lucky if Yu-Seong didn't mock them.

Everybody who came here had the same thought: they could earn a million won without putting in any effort. It was worth it, even if Yu-Seong mocked them. That was why players with pride or powerful abilities didn't come to the event.

However, that didn't matter much to Yu-Seong, as he only needed skills under E-rank. The players who chose money instead of pride would realize that he wasn't what the news or magazines described him to be.

"Thank you for demonstrating your precious skills."

It wasn't anything difficult, they had simply demonstrated their E-rank skill, but he thanked each person after they were done. Even if the applicant considered the skill to be useless, Yu-Seong's attitude was the same.

Everyone reacted differently to his attitude.

"You're welcome."

"It's all for money, so no need to thank me."

"Call me whenever you want to watch it again."

However, their response was always on the grateful side, whether they were enthusiastic about it or not. By the end of the morning session, Yu-Seong had met a good number of applicants and only a few of them still doubted him or grumbled as they left.

"Let's continue after lunch," Yu-Seong announced.

Since his house had a large front yard, it wasn't that hard to call some hotel chefs to set up a buffet. The players were suspicious about the chefs showing up this early, but they hadn't put much thought into it. The majority of them thought that Yu-Seong was just showing off his money.

They weren't entirely wrong.

"You can have lunch in the yard. There won't be any fees, so the young master would like everyone to enjoy a meal."

As the housekeeper that served as their guide today gave this announcement, the players, who had been waiting bored out of their minds, smiled brightly.

"So he was flexing for us, huh?"

"It's been so long since I ate this well."

.

Since the meal was prepared to suit everybody, even considering the large number of people, nobody was dissatisfied: barbeque, various skewers including shrimp and clams, and a sweet yet intensely flavored kimchi stew with neatly trimmed seafood by its side.

Among them were players who had already demonstrated their skills and were waiting for their friends. After some beer, they began to talk loudly.

"Hey hey, isn't it true that Choi Yu-Seong has suddenly become a new person?"

"New person my ass. It's just weird that he's behaving like a pushover."

The second young man snickered at the words of the first young man, who seemed to be around twenty.

"No, it's like the aura of Choi Yu-Seong changed all of a sudden. I went in earlier, right? He's got a different atmosphere compared to what he was like previously. What do you call it, charisma?"

"Charisma…ha."

"Come on, I'm serious."

"Stop making a fuss. He's not going to pay you more because you flattered him for his free lunch. Well, I do like the buffet, though. It's nice how I could eat delicious food and get paid just by demonstrating an insignificant skill. Ha ha…"

"You're driving me nuts."

This was the type of conversation that could be heard everywhere throughout lunch. The people like the first young man were mostly those who had met Yu-Seong in the morning and those who were still waiting for their turn were like the second young man. Of course, those who still hadn't met Yu-Seong also started to doubt their thoughts as everyone was talking about the same thing.

'Choi Yu-Seong is really a changed man?'

Nonsense.

The second young man smirked and finished his beer.

Right after lunch was over, the second young man was the first person to meet Yu-Seong among the players who waited for the afternoon session. His emotions were conflicting as he entered.

'Did Choi Yu-Seong really change?'

He was half expectant and half concerned.

'It doesn't matter if I'm overreacting.'

After all, he was here to earn a million won by getting mocked by Yu-Seong. But after he entered and demonstrated his skill, his expression looked somewhat blank as he left the room.

"Hey hey, how was it? I'm correct, right? Wasn't Choi Yu-Seong kind of different?"

Moving forward, the second young man nodded as if he was possessed by something.

"Was it because he's handsome? Some female players got a crush on him just by seeing his face. Perhaps that's why he feels different."

The first young man tried to explain how Yu-Seong was different from the rascal broadcasted by the media. But the second young man had already summarized the atmosphere Yu-Seong gave off in one word. Please visit fr𝐞𝐞wn.𝒸o𝔪 website to read fastest update

"...Dignity."

"Huh?"

"I don't know why, but that's how I felt. For some reason, he seems to be dignified…"

"What are you talking about?"

"To put it simply…"

The young men, looking at each other, smiled mysteriously and spoke at the same time.

"He's cool, even from a guy's point of view."

"He's dope."

They had slight goosebumps as they recalled their meeting with Yu-Seong.

After the afternoon session started, Do-Yoon's lips twitched as he crossed his arms and overheard the conversations outside the room.

'You feel that good?'

Glancing at Do-Yoon, who was smiling somewhat foolishly, Yu-Ri also grinned. Although the E-rank Yu-Seong couldn't hear anything, the Jin siblings could clearly hear the applicants' conversations outside the room thanks to their high rank. They couldn't help it.

What was happening seemed rather trivial, but sadly, the Jin siblings had never heard anything resembling a compliment about Yu-Seong. Until today—no, until this event, everyone had the same opinion about Yu-Seong: rascal, outrageous scumbag, incompetent snob who relied on family for support.

And this was understandable considering the number of alcohol bottles that Yu-Seong had shattered was uncountable. The same went for the number of wrecked bars and clubs, and even quarrels with the police.

When anti-Japanese sentiments had peaked throughout Korea, he had even smashed a Japanese car with a baseball bat just because he didn't like it.

'It's not clear if he was being patriotic or just wanted to vent his anger.'

Although some praised Yu-Seong for what they considered was his first good deed, this was also hard to be considered rational. So naturally, the Jin siblings had faced a lot of hardship due to Yu-Seong.

But now, Yu-Seong was showing actual change. The Jin siblings felt that transition more than ever, and now others were sensing the same thing as well. His image and reputation were changing.

This was a huge event not only for Yu-Seong, but also for Yu-Ri.

'If things turn out like this… It seems to be okay to make some changes to the plan.'

Yu-Ri smiled faintly, as the plans she had devised for Yu-Seong always put his survival as the top priority.

Everything seemed peaceful then.

Why did the saying 'the calm before the storm' always prove to be correct? An incident broke out while everyone was enjoying the peaceful and joyful atmosphere.

In a large room similar to the reception room, a man came inside who had an unparalleled aura compared to other players who came as groups.

His eyebrows were thick and black, and his indifferent eyes scanned his surroundings. The corner of his red lips, which even men found attractive, twitched.

"Choi Yu-Seong," he spoke.

Although Yu-Seong had never seen him in person or heard his voice, he couldn't possibly be unaware of that man.

"...Kim Do-Jin."

The main character of the original novel [Modern Master Returns] and also a handsome regressor with an even more handsome name.

"Why aren't you responding to any of my messages?"

Do-Jin asked sharply as he looked at Yu-Seong.

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Chapter 9

Why wasn't Choi Yu-Seong taking Kim Do-Jin's calls? Forget about answering such a question, it was Yu-Seong who wanted to question Do-Jin instead.

'Why the hell would I contact you when I already know you're going to use me to kill Choi Woo-Jae and then abandon me?'

Of course, he didn't actually say this out loud.

"I've been busy."

Although he answered with a smile, he thought it was a pathetic excuse, even for him.

"You've been busy?"

Do-Jin's red lips twitched as he looked outside. He didn't say anything, but it was obvious what he thought.

'He probably wants to ask me why I would have time to leisurely watch others' skills if I'm that busy.'

Nevertheless, Do-Jin couldn't say that out loud.

'Well, whatever the situation, Do-Jin came all the way here to see me. It means I'm just that important to him.'

Yu-Seong thought calmly. Do-Jin needed him in order to murder Woo-Jae and take revenge. Considering this fact, Yu-Seong could afford to act somewhat boldly. After all, Do-Jin's eyebrows were twitching, but he wasn't showing any violent emotions.

"Understandable."

Do-Jin's response was rather soft.

"Although… As I've repeatedly said to you, Choi Yu-Seong, I am quite fond of you. So much so, that if you dodge my contacts for a long time like this, I would be very much… disappointed."

Yu-Seong sighed with relief as the conversation was proceeding as he expected.

'As I thought… He isn't pushing me on it.'

In a way, this was one of the more terrifying aspects of the original novel's main character. Although Do-Jin was a prideful man with sharp eyes and an overwhelming aura, he wasn't just an aggressive figure like his appearance suggested. He was capable of cutting out any emotions, including his pride, to achieve his goal. And now, said goal was 'become closer to Yu-Seong by any means necessary'.

'Even if he's a returner, he's going to need some time to regain his strength.'

Even if he regained his strength, it wouldn't be easy to reach Woo-Jae. It was the same as trying to break into a castle fortified with high walls and iron barricades.

He didn't know all the details, but Yu-Seong was sure that Woo-Jae didn't reveal everything he had. It was clear that Do-Jin also recognized that somewhat instinctively. Deciding to use the foolish and prideful Yu-Seong first was Do-Jin's instinct of identifying an easy path to reach his goal.

'Of course, if that doesn't seem to work out, he's going to reset everything and start over.'

This was another scary aspect of Do-Jin. If his initial plan failed, he was decisive and skillful enough to reset everything and create an entirely new situation.

That was why Yu-Seong still had to lay low. He had somehow managed to deal with the awkward encounter today, but there was no way this conversation would end easily.

Do-Jin's obsession with Yu-Seong was clear, in that he even visited Yu-Seong's house. It was evident that Do-Jin wouldn't leave until he had a satisfactory answer from him.

'This isn't good. I should've naturally drifted away from Kim Do-Jin…'

However, difficulties weren't usually solved as easily as one wished. Smiling bitterly, Yu-Seong avoided the silent returner's black eyes that displayed none of Do-Jin's current thoughts.

'Would he just leave if I ask? Probably not, huh?'

Strangely enough, even though Yu-Seong apparently had the upper hand, it felt like he was a rat cornered by a cat. He didn't know how to escape this situation.

As Kim Do-Jin stared at Yu-Seong with probing eyes, Jin Do-Yoon stepped forward to block his gaze. Although Do-Jin frowned at the interruption, he soon softened his expression.

"Kim Do-Jin, there shouldn't be any reason for you to be here, right?" Highly wary of Do-Jin, Jin Yu-Ri didn't miss the opportunity provided by her brother.

To some, it was unclear why Yu-Ri was questioning Do-Jin. It hadn't been long since he had returned to Earth after being a hero in another universe, but Do-Jin was famous in a different way from Yu-Seong. Everyone talked about how handsome he was, his gentlemanly manners—which he kept only for the sake of appearance—, how he had Awakened at the E rank, and how he had ten initial skills.

He was even recognized by the Sword Master, one of the world's top rankers. The media already paid attention to Do-Jin on both a national and international scale. The Korean government also expressed their stance, namely that they absolutely supported his growth. In other words, he was a super rookie and?a celebrity. He had the respect and love of not only ordinary citizens, but also players.

That was why the foolish Yu-Seong had been blown away when Do-Jin had complimented him without scorn. As an attention seeker, how could Yu-Seong not like the idea of becoming friends with the great Do-Jin? For Yu-Seong, this was another thing to brag about.

Of course, the Jin siblings repeatedly warned Yu-Seong of Do-Jin's unexpected flattery, but the Yu-Seong in the past had simply ignored their warnings. But the current Yu-Seong was different. Therefore, he was very grateful for the Jin siblings standing up for him.

'Buy me a little more time.'

Considering Do-Jin's various aspects, he wasn't an easy opponent to beat. He was a professional that had overcome all sorts of hardships while spending thirty years in another universe.

'With his plot armor as the main character, he's much more dangerous.'

While Yu-Seong was catching his breath, Do-Jin remained silent, as if he was pondering over something. Yu-Ri continued.

"If there's nothing to say, it would be appreciated if you'd leave. There are many people waiting."

"So I can only visit when I have something to say?" Please visit fr𝐞𝐞wn.𝒸o𝔪 website to read fastest update

"Why are you being stubborn? It's like you are a little kid. I don't understand why you are acting this way."

"I just want to speak with Choi Yu-Seong."

"You've been trying to contact him a lot lately."

It seemed the confrontation was going to go on for a while until Do-Jin spoke.

"...Choi Yu-Seong, you really did become a player, huh?"

Do-Jin's question was direct. Although Jin Yu-Ri could've been shocked by his knowledge, her expression didn't change.

Instead, it was Jin Do-Yoon, who wasn't taking part in the conversation, that shortly showed agitation. And even though Do-Jin was looking at Yu-Ri, he took that as confirmation

"I guess I'm correct."

"..."

The brief silence that followed was deafening.

Do-Jin was different from Choi Min-Seok. Nobody had a reason to provide Yu-Seong's information to Do-Jin. Do-Jin only had several clues to confirm Yu-Seong's Awakening.

'He's a monster.'

Yu-Ri was barely able to calm down her pounding heart.

"Didn't your other siblings come and visit you? For example...yes, Choi Min-Seok."

Do-Jin's follow-up question was just as sharp as before. It was as if he had a hidden surveillance camera that followed Yu-Seong. Yu-Ri thought they'd give too much away to Do-Jin if the conversation continued this way.

"...But why have you been talking down to us since you arrived?"

She frowned as she criticized his manner of speaking, showing that offense had been taken.

"Because I wasn't talking to you. Weren't you listening until now, Choi Yu-Seong?"

"...I sure am listening."

Yu-Seong entered the conversation. "Both of you, please step aside. I'll talk with him."

"But, sir..."

Do-Yoon glanced at Yu-Seong with concern, but he eventually nodded slowly and stepped back. On the other hand, Yu-Ri looked at Yu-Seong apologetically, but her eyes showed the trust she had in him.

'Did she realize that I wanted her to buy me some time?"

Yu-Seong smiled with amazement at Yu-Ri's quick thinking. While Do-Yoon looked at Yu-Seong with a guilty expression over his mistake, it wasn't that big of a problem.

"After all, everyone will soon realize that I became a player..."

Yu-Seong stroked his chin as he intentionally spoke out loud to make sure the Jin siblings and Do-Jin heard him clearly.

As the hindrance in front of him was dismissed by Yu-Seong, Do-Jin openly started to observe him. It didn't feel that bad.

'Kim Do-Jin scanning me this openly means that he still regards me as insignificant.'

Do-Jin's appearance today was certainly unexpected. But did that mean he was more fearsome of an opponent compared to Choi Woo-Jae?

Do-Jin was a hero that saved an alternate universe and would one day kill not only Woo-Jae but also countless villains and monsters that threatened this world. He sure was an extraordinary figure, if one read the stories about him.

'Of course. He's the main character.'

But that was precisely why Yu-Seong thought it would be easier to handle Do-Jin than Woo-Jae.

'I know Do-Jin very well.'

Yu-Seong had watched over Do-Jin longer than anyone in this world, based on the novel [Modern Master Returns].

Yu-Seong's initial disconcertment had all but disappeared. Indeed, the Do-Jin in the future would have overcome hardships even more perilous and cruel than when he was a hero in an alternate universe and, ultimately, would have become incomparably strong and far more indifferent. But the Do-Jin now?was not remotely that perfect being. Rather, perhaps due to the aftermath of exploring a different world, he had developed some weaknesses. Although he was a difficult person to handle, it wasn't entirely impossible.

"I'm going to ask again. Why didn't you respond to my messages? Also...if you've become a player, it would've been nice if you had told me about it."

"I told you. I was busy."

"But a simple message would've been..."

"It's been only two days since I went through the Awakening."

It was actually four days since the Awakening, but there was no way Do-Jin would know since he couldn't read minds and see if a person was lying.

"I had to learn about my abilities and plan how I'm going to handle them. Isn't it normal for a person to be busy when dealing with that?"

"You…planned?" Do-Jin asked—and unknowingly made a mistake.

Although Yu-Seong was laughing inwardly, he responded with a serious face.

"Hey, what do you mean by that? Do you mean I'm not the type of person that's capable of making a plan?"

Some could say he was being childish, but what were they going to do about it? The man in front of Yu-Seong was the returner, Do-Jin, and the only weapon Yu-Seong could use against him was their peculiar relationship, which Yu-Seong knew everything about.

"Did you think so poorly of me?"

Yu-Seong didn't raise his voice, but he spoke as if he was highly offended. Do-Jin's expression stiffened even more. His cold eyes now didn't reflect any emotion at all. He was dry and indifferent.

Staring into Do-Jin's black eyes, Yu-Seong prayed inside.

'Please don't get mad right now, I beg you.'

If Do-Jin went on a rampage, then Yu-Seong could lose his life. Of course, Do-Jin would probably be risking his life as well. After all, he was still in the middle of regaining his full powers that were lost when he returned from another universe.

But aren't all main characters like this?

'He would find a way somehow.'

Luck and fate always took the side of the main character. However, since it would be hard to kill Yu-Seong when the Jin siblings were guarding him right now, the shrewd Do-Jin would rather wait until Yu-Seong was alone.

Anyways, it would have been bad if Do-Jin left angrily. So although he preferred not to, Yu-Seong thought that he had to maintain a certain distance from Do-Jin.

'I don't have enough strength yet.'

That was why he had to continue to speak. His eyes didn't betray the fear he felt inside. He desperately calmed his pounding heart, the same way he had done when he was facing Woo-Jae.

He knew one thing. Considering that Do-Jin approached Yu-Seong intentionally, Do-Jin wasn't able to turn his back on him.

'But is that always true?'

As mentioned, Do-Jin was capable of resetting everything and generating a situation more favorable to him. Groaning inwardly, Yu-Seong used his trump card.

"My father complimented me recently. I told him it might be thanks to you…"

Yu-Seong lied through his teeth. It wasn't a total lie—he had gotten the present from Choi Woo-Jae because he actually did receive some recognition from Woo-Jae.

Do-Jin pondered over what Yu-Seong said. Was it a simple coincidence that Yu-Seong suddenly became a player?

It was highly possible that Woo-Jae was involved in this. Therefore, Do-Jin didn't take long to think of the Awakening Stone. Nowadays, the Awakening Stone wasn't something one could acquire just because they had the money, but….

Trying to figure out what was true and what was not, Do-Jin formed the most plausible scenario in his head. The name of that scenario was undoubtedly 'hope.'

There was only one thing left for Yu-Seong to do—to act like the rascal Yu-Seong would do. Instead of appearing rational and calculated, as Do-Jin expected, he had to speak as if he was the king of the world and better than Do-Jin.

"It was my mistake. You were just a liar that considered me trash, just like everyone else. Get out of my face. You're no different from all the other losers that are only interested in my money and family."

His voice trembled as he spoke. Truthfully, it was because he was scared as he said it out loud, but the message was delivered clearly to Do-Jin and the Jin siblings.

'The young master's really angry.'

Do-Yoon and Yu-Ri looked at Yu-Seong wide-eyed. At the same time, Do-Jin, who had been staring at Yu-Seong indifferently the whole time, turned silently and walked out of the room. Yu-Seong's mind raced in an instant.

'What? He's just leaving? Should I chase after him?'

That wasn't possible. For his safety, it was better to drift away from Do-Jin like this and stay close to the Jin siblings. While he was greatly confused by Do-Jin's actions, Yu-Seong sighed.

"Ugh…"

Suddenly, Do-Jin let go of the doorknob and ran back to face Yu-Seong, his expression still indifferent.

"I apologize. I didn't understand what you were going through."

The returner had just said something that no one had expected to hear from him. Hearing that, Yu-Seong almost screamed from joy. Of course, he didn't express it either.

'I have to pretend like I'm not afraid of anything. Yes, just like Kim Do-Jin.'

Yu-Seong mimicked Do-Jin's indifferent expression and tilted his head arrogantly. Do-Jin frowned as he looked at Yu-Seong.

"Yeah dude, I'm the rascal Choi Yu-Seong.'

Although he wasn't a rascal himself, the body of the previous Yu-Seong remembered perfectly how to do things. It was natural that he was confident in his ability to go wild.

"I'll reach out to you later. And when I do, I hope you respond. If not…"

Do-Jin didn't finish his sentence. Instead, he turned to Yu-Seong, his eyes glinting dangerously. Although Yu-Seong didn't say anything back, he stiffened as if he were prey in front of a hungry snake.

'That asshole's really pissed off.'

In the [Modern Master Returns] novel Yu-Seong woke up in, the author described Do-Jin the same way repeatedly.

[Enraged as he was, Kim Do-Jin smiled, his eyes glinting with danger.]

When Do-Jin was really angry, he didn't frown or display his emotions, he didn't even seem interested.

"I would be extremely disappointed, Choi Yu-Seong."

Imagining what Do-Jin would say if he got disappointed, Yu-Seong gulped unconsciously.

"It depends on what you do."

Fortunately, Yu-Seong's words still came out smoothly. Do-Jin snorted and turned away.

'Damn it. I didn't want to look nervous.'

Had Kim Do-Jin noticed?

Although Yu-Seong was worried, his concern only lasted briefly. Instead, he stopped Do-Jin from heading out.

"Just a second."

"...What is it?" Still frowning, Do-Jin turned to Yu-Seong.

"I said, it depends on what you do," Yu-Seong repeated himself.

"I honestly don't understand what you're talking about."

"Why are you acting like you don't know anything? Didn't you come here at least knowing what we're doing right now?"

"...?"

Do-Jin looked confused. But then, his eyes narrowed, as if he had realized something. Yu-Seong beamed and shouted inwardly.

'Give me the amazing skills a main character would have.'

He was the rascal Yu-Seong and also a reader that had finished the original novel. Moreover, he never held back from pulling various tricks or stunts.

And that was how Choi Yu-Seong won this round against the returner who had saved another universe.

1. Korea speaks differently according to the person one is talking to. If one is talking to an elderly or a respected person, they have to talk differently compared to when the interlocutor is a kid

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Chapter 10

After Kim Do-Jin left, Choi Yu-Seong smiled goofily for the remainder of the time.

He'd only watched roughly 60 applicants demonstrate their abilities, until the time Do-Jin visited, and only copied the skills that he thought were useful and didn't overlap with others.

He used Fusion cautiously. Although he was in a good condition, he could face the consequences of mana shortage, as Jin Yu-Ri warned him.

It would be nice if he could see how much mana he had, like in a game, but reality didn't work that way. There were many cases where players actually passed out or even died because they used too much mana, without knowing how much they had. So it couldn't hurt to be careful.

In the end, Yu-Seong learned one skill from the morning's demonstrations.

『General Skill, Spark E

Can be used with Fusion.

Spark attacks targets within two meters with a strong electric attack. Its strength increases the closer the target is to the user.』

Fused from two F-rank skills, Friction and Flash, Spark was worth taking up one of Yu-Seong's five additional skill slots. It was extremely efficient because of its long range of two meters and befitting its electric nature, it could temporarily paralyze the target even if it failed to damage the target.

In the end, however, it failed to overcome the innate limitations an attack skill had. Yu-Seong required skills that were useful for surviving rather than attacking, like skills that enabled users to dodge instantly or protected the mind. Even if they were low-ranked, simply possessing these kinds of skills were highly valued by players.

That was why nobody showed skills like these in the showcase that Yu-Seong opened. After all, Yu-Seong lived in a world where it was normal for a player to always have a trump card hidden up their sleeve just in case.

But the skill that Do-Jin demonstrated in annoyance, as if it was nothing special, was exactly the type of skill.

『General Skill, Insight E

Can be used with Fusion.

Once activated, the player is no longer affected by illusions cast by a skill of a lower rank.

Once activated, the player's tension is resolved.

Once activated, the player's concentration is enhanced.

Once activated, the player can use this skill to see a fraction of the target player's information if the target is of a lower rank than the player. The range of information varies according to skill rank. However, it may be blocked by other types of mind barrier skills the target possesses.

A penalty is imposed as it is a copied skill.

Usage count: 8

This skill can only resist illusions cast by a skill lower than E-rank.

The effect of tension resolution and concentration enhancement decreases to 70 percent.

There will be limitations to viewing the target's player information.』

What was there to say? This skill was more superb than any other E-rank skill as it was a skill the main character had. Although the penalties lessened its effects, it was still too good on its own that Yu-Seong didn't want to fuse it with another skill.

'It's pointless to hide that I'm a player when Kim Do-Jin already has this skill.'

Insight was the skill Do-Jin often used in the original novel [Modern Master Returns]. Using this, Do-Jin could determine if his opponent was a player. If he wasn't able to see player information, then it meant that the opponent had a mind barrier skill, which would make him a player.

If Do-Jin wanted to figure out if Yu-Seong actually became a player, then he could've done it whenever he wanted. Players who used this skill stood out, as they would appear to have a fire inside their eyes once it was activated.

Do-Jin was able to notice that Yu-Seong was a player without using Insight. He probably didn't want Yu-Seong to become hostile toward him for using it.

When Yu-Seong asked him to demonstrate a skill, he activated Insight as it was a chance for Do-Jin to confirm Yu-Seong's player information.

'It was Kim Do-Jin's way of figuring out what types of abilities I had.'

He was the shrewd returner who was determined to not leave empty-handed. In other words, Do-Jin eventually learned a fraction of Yu-Seong's abilities as a player.

'How much did he see? He wouldn't have seen everything since the skill rank is low, but...'

Anyways, it wasn't great that a dangerous figure like Do-Jin was able to learn information about him.

'I wouldn't have been able to copy Insight if it wasn't for him using it. I guess I did what I had to do in order to get the skill from Kim Do-Jin.'

It was a shame that Insight was an active skill and not an inactive, passive skill, as Yu-Seong could only copy active skills using the Eye-of-Replication. In addition, Insight was very useful despite the penalties.

'I can fuse Insight when I acquire a skill that's equally valuable to it.'

Rather than having it lose value by fusing it with a skill not as valuable, he would wait until the right time.

'If the effects of Insight develop by fusing it advantageously...'

Yu-Seong couldn't imagine how great the skill would possibly become. Imagining it changing into something better was a lot to expect.

After all, considering Insight was copied from the main character of the novel, it already was an astounding ability. People always say to dream big though.

After an hour passed since Do-Jin's abrupt visit and Yu-Seong obtaining an incredible skill packed with amazing abilities like the mind barrier, Yu-Seong decided what to fill for his third skill slot. That was why he couldn't help smiling the entire time.

'At this rate, I might fill all five slots with extremely satisfying skills.'

He was on the verge of acquiring the five necessary skills for his leveling plan in just a day.

He didn't even expect anything like this to happen, but as he was making more progress throughout the afternoon, Yu-Seong naturally started becoming hopeful.

However, as always, the world was more than ready to remind those who wanted too much how cruel it could be. It was five in the evening, with only three applicants left, when Yu-Seong looked downcast compared to his hopeful behavior at the beginning of the afternoon session. He no longer smiled as his expectations were dashed.

'It was too much to ask from the start.'

After all, he considered it to be successful today if he attained three skills, and since he even obtained Do-Jin's Insight skill, it was definitely a success. Yu-Seong decided to take it easy and called in all three applicants together.

The three were from different groups: a man in his fifties with a belly so big that it was hard to believe he was a player, a young girl whose glasses and hair covered roughly half of her face, and a young man that wore a shirt and a tie as if he was applying for some company interview.

He had the slightest hope, but nothing caught his eye.

The man in his fifties demonstrated an F-rank skill called Gluttony that made it somewhat harder to become full from eating, the girl who he couldn't even recall her face properly also showed an F-rank skill called Sweat Gland-Contraction, and the business-like young man boasted his E-rank skill Sanitation-Maintenance.

'That man could become a legendary food fighter if he upgrades his Gluttony skill. Sweat Gland-Contraction and Sanitation-Maintenance seem similar but they are slightly different... They are not the kind of skill I'd use.'

Although the end was quite disappointing, Yu-Seong still thanked the applicants with a smile and spread his notes out where he recorded the skills and names of the applicants that came today.

He might have missed something now, but think of a great skill combination later. Since it didn't matter whether he visited the person or paid them more to come to him, Yu-Seong had written down all the skills and names just in case.

"You did great today, oppa."

"You really did, young master."

Looking at Yu-Seong scanning through his notebook, Jin Yu-Ri and Jin Do-Yoon spoke.

"You two also did great, starting from early this morning."

Turning away from the notebook to brightly respond to the Jin siblings, Yu-Seong spotted something unbelievable that flashed across his eyes.

"Chae Ye-Ryeong?"

"I beg your pardon?"

Having no time to answer Do-Yoon's question, Yu-Seong quickly scanned his notebook. After rapidly going through the name in his notebook, Yu-Seong's index finger stopped at the last line.

'E-rank skill Sweat Gland-Contraction, possessed by Chae Ye-Ryeong.'

He hadn't mistaken what he had seen. She was the player that had an ordinary skill, covered half of her face as if she was shy, and wasn't particularly noteworthy.

"Oh my god."

Because of the tiring interview, his concentration dropped and Yu-Seong overlooked her, but he shouldn't have done that.

'The Sorceress of the Flood, Chae Ye-Ryeong!'

It was a peculiar name that he had only seen once in the original novel, but her episode was not insignificant. Chae Ye-Ryeong, a somewhat incompetent player, experienced a second Awakening for some reason and became a powerful calamity that threatened the world a few years later.

The rest of the story was simple. Do-Jin and his party fought the Sorceress of the Flood to save the world and eventually killed her. As always, even the strongest villain couldn't beat the main character's mighty party.

Since Ye-Ryeong was described to be one of the strongest villains in the novel, she appeared towards the end of the novel. The original novel hadn't mentioned what Ye-Ryeong was doing in this current period of time in the novel, but now, she appeared in front of Yu-Seong.

Of course, since the world was large and there were various people, she could just have the same name as Chae Ye-Ryeong, but what if she was the real Ye-Ryeong?

'I would be a fool to let her go.'

Ye-Ryeong, in the novel, was described as a character that was corrupted. Despite difficult circumstances, she raised her siblings on her own with a kind heart. The original novel only explained briefly why she became that way.

'I can stop it.'

The incident that corrupted her might not happen if Yu-Seong interfered. Therefore, there was only one thing that mattered to Yu-Seong right now.

'It's that Chae Ye-Ryeong is still a good person.'

She was a precious treasure that couldn't be compared to a simple skill that was right before him. Should he just simply watch while Kim Do-Jin got rid of her since she'll turn out to be a threat in the future? Nonsense.

'I can convince her to join me.'

The Choi Yu-Seong now wasn't the original Choi Yu-Seong in the novel. This meant he could alter the story.

"How long ago did the last three applicants leave?"

Wearing his jacket, Yu-Seong stood up and asked the Jin siblings.

"About five minutes ago. Why do you ask, sir?"

"I need to find them."

"What? You mean right now?"

"Understood."

Although Yu-Ri asked again as she was surprised, Do-Yoon immediately headed out to fulfill Yu-Seong's orders.

'They couldn't have gotten far away.'

Yu-Seong shouted at the bewildered Yu-Ri as he headed out.

"If you find them, call me right away!"

Before Yu-Ri could respond to him, Yu-Seong hurriedly left the room.

'I mean… you could just call them.'

Alone in the room, Yu-Ri calmed down and picked up the phone.

Yu-Seong ran through the streets; He only thought about Ye-Ryeong and meeting her.

'I should've known immediately when I saw her name…'

Of the three paths diverging from the streets under the hill-side road leading to his house, he picked the road on his right. Fortunately, he soon encountered a young girl walking in his direction with half her face covered.

'Chae Ye-Ryeong!'

Almost shouting out her name, Yu-Seong suppressed his emotions and approached her.

"Oh…!"

Eyes widened with surprise, Ye-Ryeong spoke out loud as she noticed Yu-Seong.

"I received your call. I was on my way to heading back."

Yu-Seong looked like he couldn't understand what she said.

It was true he was searching for her, but he never recalled calling her. As if Ye-Ryeong read his mind, she smiled and explained the situation.

"I received a call. That you, sir, were looking for me. The voice seemed to be the unnie that sat next to you."

"I always make things more difficult."

Although Yu-Seong always considered himself to be thoroughly prepared and strategic before he woke up in the novel, he sometimes made these sorts of mistakes. It was a sloppy part of himself that he admitted to having.

Reaching out to Ye-Ryeong would have been extremely easy. She was a player that came to Yu-Seong's house to demonstrate her skill. Yu-Seong had her contact information just in case. If he just thought about it for a second, he would've done the same thing as Yu-Ri.

"Anyways, what is it that you wanted to see me for?" She tilted her head as she asked in a clear voice.

She was very short, maybe about 160cm tall? Although he initially thought that she wasn't confident because she covered half her face, that seemed to be a mistake. Please visit fr𝐞𝐞wn.𝒸o𝔪 website to read fastest update

Yu-Seong paused shortly to find the right answer to Ye-Ryeong's question.

'Should I tell her that I came to ask her to join me?'

No. There was something that had to be done before that. He needed to first confirm whether she was actually the Sorceress of the Flood in the novel. But how?

"Um… Well…"

Flustered, Yu-Seong rapidly thought. Then, an idea to use a skill he acquired today flashed across his mind.

'Insight!'

He activated the skill right away, originally possessed by Do-Jin, the main character of [Modern Master Returns].

A blue flame shimmered inside his eyes. Quivering shortly, Ye-Ryeong stepped back as if she was scared by his sudden change, but Yu-Seong didn't have the time to deal with that.

『Name: ???

Age: ??

Personality: ??

Condition: ??

Skills: ??

This player possesses an unidentifiable powerful potential skill.

Information is limited due to skill rank.』

A powerful potential skill that is unidentifiable.

That was the only sentence that Yu-Seong could actually confirm, but it was more than enough. Considering Insight had the ability to see through the essence of the world, it almost never used descriptions like 'powerful' in the player information it displayed, more so for a player that was only an F-rank.

'I'm positive. This girl…is the Sorceress of the Flood.'

1. Unnie is a term used in Korea for calling an older sister in a friendly way

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I Woke Up as the Villain #Chapter 11 - Read I Woke Up as the Villain Chapter 11 Online - All Page - NOVEL NEXT

Chapter 11

The majority of Koreans thought poorly of Choi Yu-Seong. He was regarded as an unlikeable rascal, someone who abused their power and wealth, and a disgrace to their country.

Although most thought poorly of him, there was one good thing about him that no one could deny: his looks. With long arms and legs, a small face, and a tall height of 183cm, he resembled a supermodel. Because Yu-Seong's pale skin was soft and unblemished, despite drinking every night, Yu-Seong even received offers from cosmetic companies to star in advertisements.

Although he wasn't muscular, he had a nice body that wasn't too fat or too skinny. Some would say he held a rude and hostile demeanor because he was always frowning, but that he also gave the impression of an elegant young noble.

The public referred to such Yu-Seong as a thorny rose or the devil. After all, the devil's temptations appeal to us in a more attractive way than God's.

For Chae Ye-Ryeong, this was the first time she saw Yu-Seong smiling brightly. The Yu-Seong she originally knew was always frowning in the news or on TV. The Yu-Seong that smiled in the interview room today seemed to be standing on formalities and looked rather tired.

Was that why? Yu-Seong looked different than before.

'...He really is handsome.'

Without realizing it, her hair-covered cheeks slightly reddened. She was surprised when Yu-Seong's eyes shimmered with a blue flame, but forgot about the surprise soon after.

'So it was true that Yu-Seong-nim became a player.'

She easily accepted this fact after she saw Yu-Seong in person. While Ye-Ryeong was thinking through her encounter with him, he was coming up with a plan to persuade her to join him.

"Ms. Ye-Ryeong, don't you need a job?"

Yu-Seong felt strange as he said this out loud. His voice was somewhat tense as this was the first time he proposed anything like this.

But he didn't think she would refuse. She wasn't the head of the family for nothing. Although she was 19 years old, she had three younger siblings to take care of. Naturally, she couldn't attend school. Considering her circumstances, he didn't think she would decline a job offer. Her visit to his interview today was also perhaps because she saw a way to easily earn a large sum of money.

"...I already have a part-time job."

"Oh, is that so?"

Yu-Seong tried to respond airily when she broke his confidence without trying.

'Oh, is that so? What the hell are you doing, idiot.'

While Yu-Seong was thinking that and wanting to hit himself in the head at the same time, Ye-Ryeong put her hands together and bowed and bowed to him.

"Yes. Thank you for the offer. If I quit my part-time job, I'll let you know."

Even though the character details of the original novel stated that her parents disappeared when she was ten, she was still very polite.

"Is that all, sir?"

"Not quite. Um… So what I'm asking is, are you inclined to actually have a regular job instead of a part-time job."

"I beg your pardon?"

"I mean, a part-time job isn't a regular job. If you accept my offer, you will be hired as a permanent worker, with benefits that also cover your insurance."

"..."

Although Yu-Seong considered it to be a decent offer, Ye-Ryeong still didn't seem that interested. Nevertheless, he wasn't discouraged.

'She… seems to be wanting something.'

Her eyes covered under her hair reflected her curiosity. She wasn't simply the polite girl he thought her to be.

"You will be paid sufficiently."

"How much?"

As expected, this was what she was really curious about.

"For a year…would 80 million won be enough?" Please visit fr𝐞𝐞wn.𝒸o𝔪 website to read fastest update

80 million won was more than enough to live off of in this world. In fact, people who are at least a deputy manager in a large firm could only earn this kind of money.

"It's not the normal amount of money a drop-out 19-year-old F-ranked non-combat player like me would receive. You're not going to make me do anything illegal, are you?"

Tilting her head with doubt, Ye-Ryeong's hair slid down. Looking at her curious but suspicion-laced big eyes beneath her curtain of hair, he thought she was quite cute.

"I assure you there will be nothing illegal."

He might ask her to undergo the Awakening again, but there was no need to say anything questionable right now. He decided to first build her trust.

"It seems suspicious."

"We will sign an official employment document that is legally binding. If you want, you can hire a lawyer to go through it. I will provide you with the expenses."

"No way."

Listening to Ye-Ryeong speak bluntly with surprise, Yu-Seong didn't respond. He didn't display any change in his expression. This is because he also knew the conditions he offered were difficult to believe. In such circumstances, he thought that showing a somewhat formal and trustworthy face was much better than talking eloquently.

"It won't work even if you put up that kind of face."

"Well, that's a bummer," Yu-Seong responded.

"Why are you being so nice to me?"

As expected, she wouldn't be convinced he was just giving her a decent job offer. Yu-Seong decided to tell her the truth.

"You probably won't believe me … But Ms. Ye-Ryeong, you have an extremely special ability that you, yourself, don't even know."

"I'm sorry?"

Ye-Ryeong's eyes narrowed beneath her hair.

"Don't give me that look. I'm telling the truth. Actually, as you may know, I have become a player. You saw the blue flames in my eyes, didn't you?"

"Oh…so was the flame some sort of foreseeing ability", Ye-Ryeong asked with wide eyes.

"It's not exactly like that, but it is very similar."

As always, a lie has to have a kernel of truth inside it.

"From what I see, You are very special. No one noticed it right now, but you're like a diamond in the rough. So investing 80 million won a year to recruit you would never be a waste of money."

Recalling that the original novel showed Ye-Ryeong was equally matched with Kim Do-Jin in single combat, Yu-Seong wouldn't regret making an offer worth a hundred times more than the 80 million.

His voice became more sincere as he started to tell the truth. And this time, Ye-Ryeong sensed the honesty.

'I have that kind of potential?'

She still didn't trust him completely. Although she was lucky enough to become a player, she was an F-rank and had weird skills like Sweat Gland-Contraction that would harm only herself if misused. But she wasn't sad about it.

After all, she never actually had any good luck come her way before.

She was satisfied with her F-rank status, as her stamina and strength increased and chronic illnesses disappeared. Even though she couldn't become an amazing player and do extraordinary things, she was thankful, as she was able to sleep less and work more.

But now, Yu-Seong told her that she had hidden potential. This time, he didn't urge Ye-Ryeong, who was still contemplating his offer. She still showed doubt in her face, but the reason was different this time.

'It's not me that she can't trust; it's herself.'

If someone like Yu-Seong, who didn't know her personally, kept on about it more, wouldn't it be obvious that she would think he was trying to scam her? It was up to Ye-Ryeong to choose.

And truthfully, he wasn't in a hurry. He had enough time to watch over her and seek another opportunity. And after pondering for five minutes without moving from the place she was standing, she bent her head downwards.

"I'm sorry."

She rejected his offer? Thinking that it couldn't be helped, Yu-Seong tried to nod.

But Ye-Ryeong continued her words more quickly than he could respond.

"I was taking a while to answer because I had a lot on my mind."

"Ah…"

'So this was what her apology was for?'

Yu-Seong naturally smiled as he once again realized she was a really polite girl.

"Then do you mean…?"

"Honestly, I can't give you a definitive answer right now. But I am really considering it. Although you said I possessed potential, I never recognized that and…"

She was clearly a clever girl, but she was also a minor that was facing an unexpected situation. Even if she was considering taking the offer, she would obviously be confused to think of the right words to say and would find it difficult to calm her racing mind.

But Yu-Seong didn't press her.

'It's understandable she's taken aback.'

He was simply thankful that she said she was considering it positively.

"You don't need to give me an answer right now. I'll give you my number, so call me later after you think it over. If you will give me your email, I'll send you the contract first. You can take a look at it and call me whenever you're ready."

"Oh, would that be okay?"

Answering brightly, Ye-Ryeong's long bangs slid to the side and revealed her entire face as she raised her head. Her passionate eyes sparkled like gems. Thinking that she was quite cute, Yu-Seong smiled, this time without any intentions, and nodded.

"Of course."

"Thank you. Then I'll check your email and reply to you as soon as I can!"

Ye-Ryeong thanked him by repeatedly bowing her head. Looking at her, Yu-Seong smiled inwardly.

'Bingo.'

Weren't there always some cases when one knew something would be successful before even knowing how things would end?

Ye-Ryeong would probably accept his offer. In fact, two days after he sent the contract, he was able to confirm his assumption when Ye-Ryeong visited him in person. That was the moment when Yu-Seong hired the future EX-rank player, the Sorceress of the Flood.

Shrieking horribly, a huge monster that was taller than a man by at least three heads swung his iron club toward the ground. A part of the ground caved in with a large noise.

Although it moved quickly despite its massive size, the monster swinging the club didn't achieve its goal. It tried to eagerly crush an annoying human but failed as the human vanished into thin air. If the human had been hit by the club, a bloody, horrific corpse should be lying in the crater. It was confused by the lack of the corpse.

"What are you looking at?"

An indifferent voice that resembled a blade spoke. After identifying its target, the huge monster frowned and looked up. Standing upside down on the dungeon's ceiling was Do-Jin, pointing his sword like an arrow.

"Orc Warchief, Krutak"

Krrrraa-!

Incomparably more powerful than ordinary orks, the orc warchief howled at the ceiling.

Although the orc warchief was believed to be only able to be knocked down by an attack team of at least ten D-rank players that are over level 80, Do-Jin wasn't fazed as he faced it alone. There were two reasons why.

First, Do-Jin had complete faith in his skills. He had no doubt that he could match ten players with the same rank and level as himself.

Whereas the first reason was enough, he also had a second one. He had already experienced the named monster, Orc Warchief Krutak, in another universe, where he was even weaker than he was now.

'It's weird how monsters that died in the other universe are appearing here on Earth as dungeon monsters…'

For Do-Jin, who had already beaten them and returned to Earth, it wasn't anything problematic. They simply became a delicious source of experience points for him to level up.

The moment Kurtak threw his club at Do-Jin, he moved away and dashed forward.

Swoooosh-!

After stepping into an extremely small gap that almost burned him due to its friction, the club crashed into the hard ceiling. The ceiling crashed down with a thundering noise of the rocks raining like hail. Frowning at the falling stones, Krutak covered his face with his outstretched hand. Although the rocks continuously fell, it barely had any effect on Krutak's solid palm.

During the split second Krutak removed the hand that was blocking the falling stones, a silver flash sparked. Sensing the chill and then erupting into flaming pain, Krutak's world went black as he could not see.

Kuuaaaa-!

Do-Jin licked his lips with the tip of his tongue as he jumped down to avoid Krutak, who was struggling with a bloody wound to both of his eyes. A blue flame shimmered within Do-Jin's eyes.

'It's over.'

To Do-Jin who could read his opponent's movements by Insight, Krutak was just a large target as it leaped around blindly with no eyesight. First, Do-Jin severed the Achilles tendon that wasn't covered by muscles and then broke all of Kurtak's bones as he kneeled. When Krutak fell down with nothing to rely on to help him stand, he started squirming desperately. Do-Jin struck a blow on the back of Kutak's neck, close to his brain. After that, Do-Jin sat on the dead Krutak's head as he wiped the blue blood that splattered on his face with his left hand. It was when he was catching his breath that a message appeared:

- The Lord of Seocho is amazed at player Do-Jin's battle. 35 Karma points have been sponsored.

- The Friend of Thunder and Hammer laughs with joy at player Do-Jin's battle with Kurtak. 700 Karma points have been sponsored.

- The Crying Witch of Grief watches player Do-Jin. 200 Karma points have been sponsored.

- The Green Spring of the East eye's sparkle. 380 Karma points have been sponsored.

- The Cold Wind of the West puffs its smoking pipe while looking at player Do-Jin. 350 Karma points have been sponsored.

The messages from the gods flooded in incessantly. Everyone paid attention to Do-Jin—from gods that were cautious to declare themselves because of their high-class to low-class gods that weren't able to express themselves.

'Hmm… A god.'

Do-Jin shortly thought of those somewhat disparate existences and snorted.

'There were also gods in the continent of Aliode.'

Although they had many skills, they were extremely useless, weak, and unable to solve their problem themselves. That was why Do-Jin was summoned to those worlds. And as he was forced to travel across dimensions to defeat the Devil Lord, he could finally triumph only after suffering terrible wounds and being left covered with scars.

Of course, the gods back then and the ones that sent him messages now were entirely different. But that didn't mean Do-Jin's opinion toward gods changed drastically.

'Gods weren't mighty as we thought them to be.'

Also, they were extremely indifferent to people's wishes and valued their own safety more than anything. For example, the fact that they weren't helpful right now when Do-Jin wanted to rip Woo-Jae apart to pieces was proof.

'Even Choi Yu-Seong is more useful than them.'

Then, Do-Jin's lips twitched as he recalled meeting Yu-Seong at his house a few days ago.

'He sure took a swipe at me.'

It was unbelievable that he was made a fool by a brat that was barely 20 years old, but Do-Jin didn't mind it at all. He could undergo any kind of humiliation if he could use Yu-Seong to exact revenge for his family. This persistence itself was how Do-Jin was able to survive in an alternate universe and return home safely.

One of the gods that helped him return to Earth had told him that revenge was only a futile act that would only lead to more revenge, and wished Do-Jin would live peacefully once he returned to Earth. Unfortunately, that was impossible.

'I can't stand it.'

Every time he saw Woo-Jae appearing on the front page of the newspaper or magazine, his heart ached. The face of his dead father would appear in his head, whispering to him as a vengeful ghost would do.

'Kill him.'

Do-Jin wanted to do just that. He hoped he could soon lead a peaceful life after he saw Woo-Jae's blood dripping from his hand. He wanted that badly.

A month has passed since Yu-Seong hired Ye-Ryeong.

Although she was nervous and excited for her first day at work—and determined to leave if she was ordered to do something she felt uncomfortable doing—her job was basically the same as the other housekeepers for Yu-Seong's house. She was shocked at first, but she did it anyway.

In the original novel, Ye-Ryeong earned the strength to be named as the Sorceress of the Flood through the re-Awakening. And it was common knowledge that one could experience the Awakening again only in extremely special cases.

But of course, Yu-Seong had no reason to give up on Ye-Ryeong's re-Awakening just because the present public consensus was that it was impossible. Although not much was known about the re-Awakening at the present time, many secrets were revealed in the future. Yu-Seong, the reader of the original novel, clearly remembered those secrets.

However, enforced re-Awakening was problematic and a gamble because of the ridiculously high risks associated with it. In fact, the conditions for the re-Awakening were simple. One just had to receive a large shock and take in a massive amount of mana similar to the amount a dungeon break would produce.

But it was clear that this method could harm the player unless they were mentally and physically stable. Although Ye-Ryeong possessed the talent to one day overcome all those hardships and become the Sorceress of the Flood, he didn't want to take the risks.

If he hurt or killed someone just because he was greedy, then wouldn't he be fulfilling his role as a villain too well? He definitely didn't want that to happen. Therefore, he initially gave Ye-Ryeong simple chores so she to get used to everything and relax.

The only thing that he somewhat forced her to do was, after two weeks she started working for him, to drink a juice brewed by diluting a gray-colored mana stone that was worth over ten million won. Even though Ye-Ryeong was overwhelmed by the price, Yu-Seong first drank it in front of her and then threatened that he wouldn't pay her if she didn't drink it. He was actually a little nervous that she might quit instead, but fortunately, that didn't happen.

A considerable amount of salary, a stable environment, and the healthy mana stone juice was an investment from him that greatly enhanced her quality of life. Naturally, Ye-Ryeong's doubt towards Yu-Seong dwindled while gratitude and fondness took its place.

Nevertheless, it was Yu-Seong's life that changed the most dramatically in the first month Ye-Ryeong started to work.

1. -nim is a Korean suffix that is added at the end of an elder or respected person's name

2. Secho is a kingdom of ancient China that existed from BC 206 to BC 278

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Chapter 12

The first perception shift towards Choi Yu-Seong happened close to home. In the beginning, when he first seemed to change, his housekeepers had been half afraid that he would start lashing out again, but now, they were much more calm and relaxed. Whereas before they had forced a smile and dealt with the outbursts in order to keep their high salary, they now smiled genuinely at him.

If that was the change close to home, then externally, the players who visited Yu-Seong's house spread rumors saying he was a changed man. There were various stories: that he changed from his rascal-like ways, that he was a fool who wanted to show off and waste his money, that even with the rumors he was still very handsome, and that since he seemed to be a changed man, it was fine how he spent his money.

Among the gossip, there was even talk about Kim Do-Jin, the super-rookie—at least for now—visiting Yu-Seong's house. Yu-Seong's reputation benefited from the stories that painted him and Do-Jin being as close as brothers. After all, Do-Jin was the most popular rookie in Korea.

Like killing two birds with one stone, Yu-Seong used the new articles implying that he became a player as an opportunity to both upgrade his reputation and Star-Factor skill. As a result, the level acceleration rate attained by Star-Factor increased from 30 to 50 percent in one month. In other words, the efficiency of the skill increased. Considering skills usually became more difficult to upgrade as their ability increased, Star-Factor's development was extremely rapid.

However, apart from these kinds of external changes, Yu-Seong also underwent personal changes. This was because his goal wasn't to merely become a wealthy player.

'My goal is to have the ability to stay safe and survive in the future.'

He could only find happiness once he was sure of his survival. Therefore, it wasn't a difficult decision for him to somewhat sacrifice his time now to ensure he had time later on. After all, the concept of 'working to survive' was quite familiar to him.

'But last month was really a pain in the butt.'

He slept even less than he had when he was on Earth pulling countless all-nighters while working at the game company. Instead of sleeping, his entire attention and focus were on training.

Yes, he did go through the Awakening and got powers, but if that was enough to determine a player's strength, then every player in the same skill rank would be equally powerful.

However, differences in power clearly existed within the same rank. This was because a player's strength was decided not only by their basic profile like skill numbers or the synchronization between skills but was also influenced by countless variables like but not limited to proficiency and experience.

This difference grew larger as the player rank increased andYu-Seong believed that fundamentals were one of the biggest factors in determining that difference.

'The skill that a player uses and upgrades the most from when he was a lower rank becomes the symbol that represents that player in the future.'

His thoughts weren't based on a wild guess; a player would be foolish to ignore a skill just because it was new, low-ranked, or weak.

Skills were bound to grow as the player ranked up and a player's proficiency increased. Therefore, it was crucial for a player to completely understand his skill and train himself to be able to easily use that skill at the drop of a hat.

That was why Yu-Seong had rented an entire player training center for the past month and trained with Jin Do-Yoon to master his skills. He was quite satisfied with his results. Even though Yu-Seong threw his sweat-covered shirt aside and gasped ferociously as he lay down, he couldn't stop smiling.

"How was it? Not bad, huh?"

"It was far from being bad, young master."

Standing in front of Yu-Seong without a drop of sweat, Do-Yoon had a weird look on his face. He glanced at the tip of his sleeves. Surprisingly, the ends were burning so much that they turned to ash and dispersed into the air.

This wasn't something Do-Yoon took lightly. After all, he was a B-rank level 70 physical-reinforcement type player, and normally, an E-rank all-rounder player shouldn't be able to even touch him. But on the last day of the month that Yu-Seong decided to train, he broke the status quo.

'His talent is on a different level.'

Yu-Seong had the blood of the Choi family that Woo-Jae always talked about. Perhaps his blood's special powers had been activated?

Although Yu-Seong only recently became a player, Do-Yoon could easily imagine Yu-Seong standing shoulder to shoulder with him in the near future.

'I should train harder.'

For Do-Yoon who swore to protect Yu-Seong to his death, he was extremely excited for his master's potential while also being greatly inspired to work on his own growth. But his training could wait for another day. Right now, he wanted to express his excitement for Yu-Seong's development by any means.

"You are the best E-rank player that I know of, sir."

"Aren't I the only E-rank player?"

"For now, yes but..."

"Don't worry about it. You don't have to lie just to flatter me."

Yu-Seong had read the original novel to its end, so he would've known if Do-Yoon had any other relationships or friendships. Suddenly, he sprang up and checked the calendar on his phone.

Finally, he only had to wait one more day.

His rapid breathing showed that he couldn't hide his anticipation. After all, from Yu-Seong's point of view, the training he went through for a month was all for tomorrow.

"Everyone is going to be amazed."

"I'm going to make sure of that." Yu-Seong wished this from the bottom of his heart.

What were the ways one could grow as a player? Although there were many ways, the majority of players considered leveling up as the main method of increasing their skill rank.

While a skill's level would rise if the player continuously used it, it was too slow. For example, the Eye-of-Replication didn't level up when Yu-Seong used it all day. It only rose eight levels after a month of intensive training. If he didn't have the Star-Factor skill to boost the growth, the Eye-of-Replication would currently only have grown five to six levels.

Leveling up a skill was difficult even when he was at a low level and the skill was low-ranked. In the end, the most efficient way to level up was undoubtedly hunting monsters in the dungeon.

But exploring dungeons wasn't open to just any player. Since there were many non-combatant players, the country set a standard to prevent them from recklessly risking their lives. To go inside a dungeon, a player had to be a dungeon explorer who possessed a special license; in other words, a hunter. The exam to become a hunter was officially held three times a month, which were the 10th, 20th, and the last day of the month.

Yu-Seong picked November 20th for his exam. Since the last month had been filled with painstaking training all for this day, Yu-Seong headed to the Korea Player Association filled with both eagerness and nervousness. Jin Do-Yoon and Jin Yu-Ri also felt the same as they sat in front of the car.

Do-Yoon wanted to stop Yu-Seong more than anyone else when he declared that he would become a hunter. It was because while hunters received a lot of benefits, they also bore many risks.

Death.

A dungeon hunter knew that they might die as a result of always fighting monsters. Do-Yoon was someone who wanted his young master to stay safely in the house, so Yu-Seong's sudden announcement made him anxious. However, he couldn't refute Yu-Seong's argument that it was better than being crushed to death by the cruel treatment of his family as he was pushed around.

Similar to Choi Min-Seok, members of the Choi family didn't hesitate to murder others, even if their target was their own family. Yu-Ri, unlike Do-Yoon, didn't oppose Yu-Seong's idea as she guessed what Yu-Seong was going to say before he said it out loud. Since Yu-Seong needed to plan how to deal with both his family and Do-Jin for his survival, he had no choice but to work hard and today was the day that he would test the fruits of his labor.

As everyone had complicated emotions, the car was unusually quiet as it drove across Seoul Gangbyeon Expressway, reached Yeouido, and entered the Korea Player Association. The entrance of the institution was already very crowded when Yu-Seong arrived.

Hunters received the most attention and respect from the public because their job was accompanied by great danger. Therefore, it was only natural that people were interested in the exam that selected such hunters.

Various people filled the entrance for different purposes: aspiring players that had prepared for today like Yu-Seong, scouts from guilds that tried to recruit talented players, and journalists that were crazy for new stories or rumors.

"We also called some journalists, right?"

Yu-Ri nodded at Yu-Seong's question.

"Yes. We did as much as we could using our connections, but it won't be that many."

Recently, Yu-Seong was craving attention. He always had been like that, but nowadays he has become more outright with it. Since Yu-Ri knew that it was due to the development of the Star-Factor skill, she gathered several journalists working for influential media.

"Is this them? This is more than a few. There's a lot more than I thought would show up."

Yu-Seong's eyes were wide as he looked out the car window at the group of journalists who were in front of the main entrance that led to the examination hall.

"No. The journalists I called said that they were waiting in the entrance of the parking lot."

"Then who are those people here for?

Yu-Seong's question was answered by a familiar, smiling face that appeared among the group of journalists.

"Choi Min-Seok...?"

The faces of Yu-Seong and the Jin siblings simultaneously contorted when they saw someone completely unexpected.

Park Jin-Hwan, a reporter from Minguk Broadcast called by Yu-Ri, was annoyed as he waited in the cold weather with the press corps that came for Yu-Seong.

"What the hell is Choi Min-Seok doing here?"

His fellow reporter had the same question as him.

"I don't know."

If he knew Min-Seok was coming, he wouldn't have easily accepted Yu-Ri's request.

'I was certain there wouldn't be a bigger story than Choi Yu-Seong...'

Today's main issue was Yu-Seong. Although he thought that way and accepted Yu-Ri's call, Min-Seok appeared with more journalists attached to him.

'I hope he's here simply for the attention...'

But Park Jin-Hwan eventually realized that Min-Seok wasn't here for fun when he overheard others talking about him.

"They say a new Irregular is born."

"Lee Jin-Wook?"

This was new information and a new name. Bewilderment and confusion flashed across the eyes of the press corps that had been gathered by Jin-Hwan.

If an Irregular survived, they grew rapidly. There were only 12 Irregular players among the entirety of the players in Korea, and eight of them were hunters that explored dungeons. Of course, every one of them possessed great power and influence. In other words, the appearance of a new Irregular was extraordinary as, no, perhaps much more interesting than the ninth child of the Comet Group, Yu-Seong, applying for the hunters exam.

"Reporter Park, it doesn't seem like Choi Yu-Seong is the biggest story today?"

"So what? Turn our cameras to the new guy?" Jin-Hwan replied, extremely annoyed, as he glanced at the man next to Min-Seok who seemed to be in his mid-20s.

'That guy is Lee Jin-Wook? He's young.'

He was an Irregular, on top of that, he was young.

As the situation just worsened, the fellow reporter who had spoken to him before asked again.

"No, what I'm saying is, how about we film both of them?"

It was obvious he was going to film both, but the problem was on whom to focus the article on. Some of the reporters among the press corps even began sneaking out. Jin-Hwan thought that they were foolish.

"It's already too late to go there."

Before they jumped ship to follow a better story, there were other reporters who had already taken pictures using their cell phones, emailed them to headquarters, and made a phone call right away. So even if the deserters eagerly photographed and wrote an amazing story, they were already too late.

Jin-Hwan thought it was better to film Yu-Seong instead, who often became a headline just by breathing. Of course, filming Yu-Seong would get fewer views than the Irregular that appeared with Min-Seok, the member of the Choi family most similar to Yu-Seong, but what was he going to do?

"No use crying over spilled milk."

As Jin-Hwan sighed and looked away, the elevator that came up from the underground parking lot opened.

"It's Choi Yu-Seong!"

Somebody shouted.

"Did he really come here for the hunters exam?"

Between the intentional scream and doubt, Yu-Seong slightly smiled while he bathed in the pouring sunlight as if it was his spotlight. Instinctively taking pictures as he looked at Yu-Seong, Jin-Hwan thought:

'Damn. He really is freaking handsome. He beats most actors in the looks department.'

Meanwhile, the reporter that stood next to Jin-Hwan marveled as he couldn't keep his mouth closed.

"Wow. Reporter Park, don't you think this story will blow up if we just take decent photos? The pictures alone look at least ten times better than those guys." Please visit fr𝐞𝐞wn.𝒸o𝔪 website to read fastest update

"Reporter Kim, you're kidding, right? Ten times seems too small a number..."

Jin-Hwan chuckled and shook his head as he spoke, "He's a thousand times better."

"Damn right. Haha."

As always, being handsome had its uses.

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Chapter 13

After exiting the elevator, Yu-Seong walked slowly; it wasn't just to show composure. Since there were a lot of journalists present, this meant he could gain a lot of information. As he walked slowly, he listened carefully and was able to realize what happened without encountering Choi Min-Seok.

'The Irregular, Lee Jin-Wook.'

He glanced at the young man next to Min-Seok. Unlike Yu-Seong, this guy disclosed that he was an Irregular from the start.

He was plain looking. But oddly enough, he seemed to resemble Min-Seok, who was objectively ugly.

Yu-Seong couldn't help but wonder why. As he looked away from Jin-Wook, he made eye contact with Min-Seok.

'Ah, they both have annoying eyes.'

For some reason, Yu-Seong also felt the same arrogance from Jin-Wook—a condescending stare that looked down on people.

"Ah, there's my brother, Yu-Seong!"

Shouting, Min-Seok took advantage of the small opportunity their eyes met and waved.

"He's being so childish; it's so clear what he wants to do," Jin-Yuri muttered to herself as she pouted, slightly annoyed.

"Well, I can't ignore him now. Let's go."

Between the encounter of the Choi brothers and the Irregular between them, the journalists' eyes sparkled as a juicy story was happening in front of them.

'I have an idea of what he's up to…'

Yu-Seong walked towards Min-Seok and Jin-Wook. Naturally, the journalists made way for him like the Red Sea parting in the story of Moses. Min-Seok was waiting for him in the middle with his arms spread open. If there was a red carpet leading him to Min-Seok, then one could mistake this as some sort of film award show.

'Is this staged or something?'

If that's what Min-Seok wanted, then that's what he would get.

"My brother, Choi Yu-Seong," Min-Seok spoke loudly as soon as Yu-Seong got to the middle of the crowd, and hugged Yu-Seong as if he was waiting for him.

"What the hell are you up to?" Yu-Seong whispered, as opposed to Min-Seok's yelling, in Min-Seok's ears.

Although Min-Seok's face stiffened as his composure broke, he soon regained it and smiled while patting Yu-Seong's back.

"Good luck."

Leaving Yu-Seong with those ambiguous words, Min-Seok stepped away from Yu-Seong and beamed at the press corps as he continued to speak.

"Today is truly an exciting day. Today is the day when my cherished friend and my beloved brother are applying for the hunter exam together."

"You must be really looking forward to seeing how Lee Jin-Wook does since he's an Irregular!" A reporter asked Min-Seok.

"It's only been two weeks since I've gotten to know Jin-Wook, but I am confident that this guy will achieve a high score and meet everybody's expectations," Min-Seok responded to the reporter.

"Do you have anything to say about your brother?" Another reporter asked Min-Seok.

"Why would I not? Yu-Seong is also a member of the Choi family. Many of my siblings took the hunter exam, and no one has failed."

"So are you saying that Mr. Choi Yu-Seong will pass the exam?" a reporter questioned.

"..."

Without answering, Min-Seok showed the brightest smile he could. For someone who didn't know about Min-Seok and Yu-Seong's relationship, it seemed like Min-Seok thought positively about his brother.

Yu-Seong was dumbfounded as he looked at Min-Seok and the press corps' interaction.

'It's so obvious they're speaking from a script.'

He wasn't surprised Min-Seok knew that he applied for today's exam. After all, Min-Seok was capable of many highly illegal things.

After Min-Seok's short speech, the reporters continued asking questions. Interestingly, no one asked Yu-Seong any questions. The focus was on Min-Seok and Jin-Wook.

Although some people occasionally asked Yu-Seong questions, the reporters who asked were soon overshadowed by follow-up questions that took the attention away from him. During the QA session, neither Min-Seok nor Jin-Wook looked at Yu-Seong. Even though Yu-Seong was brought into this situation whether he wanted to be or not, Jin-Wook and Min-Seok treated Yu-Seong as if he was only to be seen and not heard.

Of course, Yu-Seong didn't plan on being humiliated like this. For his Star-Factor skill to work, he had to be the main focus today. The easiest way would be to reveal that he was also an Irregular. If he announced that he, the rascal of the Choi family, was also an Irregular, then he would certainly receive all the attention.

'But I should keep this secret until the end.'

Technically, Min-Seok was like a speed bump on his way to achieving the goals that he had to overcome. He had a lot more to take care of than just Min-Seok: the other Choi siblings, Kim Do-Jin, and Choi Woo-Jae. Moreover, although it took some time, he remembered who Jin-Wook was.

.

"For today's exam, Mr. Lee Jin-Wook has…"

"But the victim's families would be heartbroken to hear about Mr. Lee Jin-Wook."

As the questions continued to focus on Jin-Wook, Yu-Seong intentionally spoke loudly. Although Yu-Seong's comment might not reach the press corps, it certainly caught Jin-Wook's attention, who was standing close to him. Jin-Wook, who had been smiling calmly until now, quickly turned to Yu-Seong. Jin-Wook's small eyes were wide as his brown eyes fluttered.

'So easy.'

Jin-Wook was pretty simple. He was easier to handle than Min-Seok. Naturally, the press corps that was looking at Jin-Wook also turned to look at Yu-Seong.

"Mr. Choi Yu-Seong, we couldn't hear properly what you just said. Could you please repeat that?!"

Jin-Hwan shouted at Yu-Seung at the top of his lungs. He had been waiting all day for this opportunity as his previous questions had all been ignored by the other press corps members.

"I was really touched today. I never imagined that Min-Seok hyung-nim would set up an event like this. I want to thank him from the bottom of my heart."

Min-Seok stared at Yu-Seong, baffled.

'When did I ever say this event was for you?'

The star of today's exam was Jin-Wook. But the moment Min-Seok licked his lips with bewilderment, Yu-Seong continued.

"You asked me to repeat what I said just before, correct?"

"I think I heard something about the families of the victims." Remembering Yu-Seong's previous comments, a reporter who had good hearing asked.

Although some reporters who were bribed by Min-Seok were flustered and tried to divert their attention by throwing different questions, the majority of the reporters were starving for a scoop and stared at Yu-Seong, waiting for an answer.

"I'm somewhat reluctant to talk about a friend of my brother, but…" Please visit fr𝐞𝐞wn.𝒸o𝔪 website to read fastest update

"Wait, I don't think this is something to discuss here." Jin-Wook hurriedly cut Yu-Seong's response.

'He really is a noob. A guilty conscience needs no accusation.'

Looking like a pack of starved hyenas, the journalists' eyes became more fierce.

"What do you mean by victims' families?!"

"Mr. Lee Jin-Wook, the public has the right to know the truth."

"Mr. Choi Yu-Seong, how did you know about that ?!"

"Please! We need your answer, Mr. Choi Yu-Seong!"

Jin-Wook's forehead and back began dripping in sweat as he was bombarded with questions. Even if Yu-Seong didn't say anything more, the reporters would be relentless and find out what Jin-Wook wanted to keep quiet.

"He seems to need time to think since he also has my hyung-nim's position to consider."

Instead of answering the reporters' questions, Yu-Seong looked at Min-Seok with eyes full of concern. Min-Seok awkwardly smiled and nodded slightly.

"I hope it's nothing serious."

Beaming, Yu-Seong turned to the reporters that were peppering him with questions.

"Oh, and regarding today's exam, I don't have much confidence."

It was an odd answer but it still aroused curiosity in the reporters. Shutters clicked as they shoved recorders at him with confused eyes. "I don't have any confidence in failing. Of course, a high grade is as good as mine."

Quoting a famous Go player in his original Earth, Yu-Seong turned his back. The reporters couldn't help but comment on Yu-Seong's overflowing confidence.

"Wow…"

"What did I just hear?"

Hearing admiration behind him, Yu-Seong walked past Min-Seok slowly.

"You should've made better friends, hyung-nim."

Min-Seok trembled after hearing Yu-Seong's whisper. While walking past Min-Seok with Yu-Seong, Jin Yu-Ri snickered, which was meant for only Min-Seok to hear.

The snapping sound of rapidly clicking shutters was directed at Yu-Seong's back, as he walked to the main entrance of the association building that held the exam. Some even commented that Yu-Seong's neat black suit enhanced his good looks.

On the other hand, Min-Seok felt a surge of anger reddening his face. His cowardly little brother was now belittling him.

"Choi Yu-Seong seemed a little arrogant, but he's cool."

"Is it true that he's a changed man?"

"He also speaks quite well."

"He still says the same cheeky things, but it's kinda different."

"But what was that with Lee Jin-Wook? Anyone heard of what he was talking about?"

"It didn't seem like Choi Yu-Seong and Lee Jin-Wook were that close…"

The reporters were even talking about Yu-Seong with fondness.

"Mr. Choi Min-Seok, do you know anything about this?!"

"Please give us an answer, Mr. Lee Jin-Wook!"

"What did he mean about victims' families?"

"Do you have a criminal record?!"

"I wouldn't recommend trying to fool the public."

In contrast, the reporters sharply closed in around Min-Seok and Jin-Wook.

'Choi Yu-Seong, Choi Yu-Seong!'

Gritting his teeth, Min-Seok controlled his emotions as best as possible and turned away.

"Let's go, Lee Jin-Wook."

Barely restraining his urge to curse which would only harm his reputation, Min-Seok took Jin-Wook into the facility that Yu-Seong had just entered.

Jin-Hwan was not frowning deeply and wrinkling his nose as before. Instead, he had a crooked grin on his face now.

"Reporter Park, don't you think Choi Yu-Seong was outstanding?"

Excited, a fellow reporter spoke to Jin-Hwan after he finished calling his headquarters.

"Huh? That was nothing."

"What? Didn't you see the crowd change their attitude toward Choi Yu-Seong in an instant?"

"Yes, I saw that."

"He's also damn photogenic. Did you see the pictures? There's nothing to throw away: the press corps parting like the Red Sea when Choi Yu-Seong walked in and when he left to enter the examination office. He's better-looking than most actors. Look at everybody admiring their pictures. How about you be honest and show some more excitement?'

It was a good outcome in many ways. Yu-Seong stole the spotlight Min-Seok was basking in with Jin-Wook. Also, Jin-Wook's reputation wasn't positive after Yu-Seong's bombshell.

'He seems to have committed some sort of crime.'

Although the reporter's headquarters were looking into it, the information wasn't readily available. It meant that someone intentionally hid the information before this event.

'It has to be Choi Min-Seok.'

It was obvious. Revealing the truth would take several days. So in the end, Yu-Seong had just overcome his speed bump.

'If he doesn't perform well on the test, everything he did just now will have been for nothing.'

From Jin-Hwan's point of view, it was clear that Min-Seok prepared today's event to mess with Yu-Seong.

Was Jin-Wook the only thing Min-Seok prepared to achieve his goal? And what if Yu-Seong, unfortunately, failed the exam?

'He would be called the pretentious rascal again.'

People's opinions towards Yu-Seong were changing. Every single word Yu-Seong spoke swayed people; it was as if his words were exerting a certain influence on them.

In the end, Yu-Seong would have to answer for everything he did to draw attention to himself.

'It's none of my business. Why would I be concerned for Choi Yu-Seong?'

Jin-Hwan cleared his head of all distracting thoughts. After all, he and Yu-Seong were complete strangers to each other. It didn't matter if Yu-Seong got mocked, fell down, or even got injured.

'I am a reporter.'

He would be satisfied if Yu-Seong simply provided him with stories that would get a lot of views. After getting back to his job, Jin-Hwan took his equipment and headed to the examination office.

'I should be moving to secure a good spot.'

Unlike the entrance, only a few of the reporters were allowed to go inside the examination office. Jin-Hwan was one of those lucky few that could enter.

"While you're in, text me if you get a scoop!"

Giving a small wave to his fellow reporter, Jin-Hwan entered the facility. But after he entered….

Vrooom-!

An expensive-looking sports car made a loud noise as it entered the main gate of the Korea Player Association and then headed towards the underground parking lot. Stopping to see what was causing the noise, the reporters that were in the middle of packing up stopped as their eyes widened at the person driving the car. The reporter who asked for information about what happened in the examination office picked up his phone quickly and sent a message. He couldn't help it.

'Hey, Kim Do-Jin's here!'

Korea's rising star was at the hunter exam.

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Chapter 14

Unlike the crowded entrance, the Korea Player Association was quiet inside. It became even quieter as Choi Yu-Seong moved to the inner part and eventually, he couldn't even hear the small talk between the association staff.

Just as he passed through the first security checkpoint, Jin Yu-Ri asked him, "How did you know about Lee Jin-Wook? I thought this was your first time meeting him."

"Would you believe me if I said it was my intuition?"

"If that's the way you want it to be, then that's what I'll think," Yu-Ri responded looking slightly bewildered.

"I have my ways of figuring things out. Just think of it that way."

Yu-Seong smiled as he shrugged his shoulders. Yu-Ri didn't continue asking. Like she said, she would trust him since that was what he wanted.

'I don't want to lie, but how could I tell her I knew that by reading a novel?'

Although the people in this world were vividly alive and breathing, speaking, and showing real emotions right in front of his very eyes, they were originally just characters inside a novel to him.

Would they believe him if he told them the truth? And even if they did, how much of a shock would that be? He didn't want to imagine it.

'What's important is that the world in front of me is my reality.'

There was no reason for him to act awkwardly or break down just because he was trapped inside an alternate reality based on a novel. For him, this world was now his undeniable reality. Therefore, similar to predicting the future, Yu-Seong recalled the novel's story.

In the original novel, [Modern Master Returns, it described Irregulars to be extremely rare. If narrowed down to a small country like Korea, the chance of being an Irregular decreased even more. That was why it was highly possible that Jin-Wook was also a main character in the original novel. However, there was one reason why Yu-Seong took so long to figure him out.

'He's the villain, Storm.'

Jin-Wook was a character that was referred to by his infamous villain name more often than his actual name. That was why Yu-Seong couldn't remember him just by hearing his name.

'He was arrested by the Special Police Force for selling drugs, gang violence, illegal prostitution, and being the head of a villain organization and eventually died.'

The Special Police Force was a police organization that exclusively took care of villains. Naturally, its members were made up of players whose identities were classified. Since this organization dealt with villains, it was natural for them to be more cautious about securing the safety of its members and their relatives.

Anyways, if he just thought about it a little bit, Jin-Wook was similar to Choi Min-Seok. After all, weren't the illegal businesses Jin-Wook would promote later on similar to the ones Min-Seok was currently doing? In other words, the relationship between them would continue in the novel. However, the novel resolved the incidents regarding Jin-Wook without revealing any kind of connection between those two.

Nevertheless, Yu-Seong now witnessed differences from the novel: Jin-Wook was originally a villain that covered his face with a mask, but now he appeared much earlier than expected through a fancy, showy event that was accompanied by a squad of reporters.

'The future changed.'

It was a butterfly effect. Yu-Seong's changes led to unexpected conflicts with Min-Seok, resulting in an unanticipated appearance by Jin-Wook.

After remembering about Jin-Wook being Storm, Yu-Seong was unable to think of a plan right away. In the novel, the Storm was a villain who committed countless evil deeds since he was a student. In other words, it wouldn't be unexpected if he actually committed any crimes.

'The novel didn't say what incident there was because of its lack of details, but…'

Considering Jin-Wook's reactions today, it was certain that his crimes were somewhat severe. To be more accurate, he hadn't answered the press corps' questions not because he didn't want to, but because he couldn't.

'How could I say something when I know nothing.'

Since a guilty conscience needs no accuser, Jin-Wook voluntarily provided easy prey for the hyena-like reporters. He was probably in the middle of desperately trying to figure out how Yu-Seong knew about his past. Or, maybe he was being reproached by Min-Seok.

'Anyways, it was clear that Jin-Wook was a powerful player considering the chief of the Special Police Force, a potential S-rank player, had to personally arrest Jin-Wook in the future.'

Even if Jin-Wook had a terrible personality, he was still an Irregular.

Despite the initial shock, the event Min-Seok set up to humiliate Yu-Seong benefited him in many ways. Yu-Seong had started rumors about Jin-Wook while also mentally attacking a potential rival for today's exam. For both his Star-Factor skill and his own desires, he was determined to nail the exam.

After he and the Jin siblings reached the second security checkpoint, the association's staff stopped them and spoke in a businesslike tone.

"From now on, only the applicants can enter."

Although he was speaking to Yu-Seong, a member of the Choi family, the staff spoke confidently. He almost seemed to be proud of working for the Player Association.

'After all, the Player Association in this country is quite strong.'

Apart from organizations that dealt with public affairs, the Player Association had private classified groups, like the Special Police Force. Even though the nation acknowledged that, it still approved of the association while the public also had faith in it. Even though the higher-ups of the Player Association might be somewhat corrupted, it was indisputable that its existence deterred the activities of villains.

"Understood." Yu-Seong nodded and answered.

"Good luck with the exam," Yu-Ri spoke as she stepped back and waved.

"You'll do great, sir," Jin Do-Yoon encouraged Yu-Seong.

Smiling at them, Yu-Seong passed the second security checkpoint.

Beyond the second security checkpoint, the site for the written test that held a chalkboard in the center was noisier than the outside where the association's staff was guarding with a serious expression.

"Hey, did you see the news?"

"Choi Yu-Seong said that he couldn't fail even if he wanted to."

"He also said that a high score is already as good as his."

"He's crazy."

"I'm also not confident in failing, Haha."

"Why don't you go say that outside in front of the reporters? With confidence."

"Are you crazy? I'm gonna get cursed out."

After the security door opened, Yu-Seong, who was tall, had coal-black hair, and a neat suit, walked through the boisterous crowd.

"Hey, Choi Yu-Seong's here."

"Damn, he's hot."

"Wow, he looks like a work of art."

About thirty applicants who were waiting for their turn couldn't take their eyes off Yu-Seong.

'Now this is a little embarrassing.'

Smiling awkwardly, Yu-Seong sat in an empty seat. Even then, everyone continued looking at Yu-Seong.

"Look at him smiling. He seems so innocent. Is it because his skin looks like porcelain?"

"He looks more handsome than our Timus oppas. I should just be a fan of Choi Yu-Seong."

"Just keep loving Timus or Thanos or whatever idol you did until now. Choi Yu-Seong may look like an angel, but he's a devil inside. Don't forget that, guys."

"They say he's a changed man."

"People don't change."

Yu-Seong could especially hear the voices of female applicants talking about him.

'This really is embarrassing.'

After he woke up as Choi Yu-Seong, his looks were actually the biggest reminders that he was now a different person. Since everyone passing by looked and even screamed at him, it was impossible to forget how different he looked. Fortunately, that attention shifted to Jin-Wook as he entered the exam site after Yu-Seong.

"It's Lee Jin-Wook."

"The Irregular."

"I heard he's some sort of criminal."

"I wonder how good he'll be."

Listening to people talking about him being a criminal, Jin-Wook's face reddened as he glared at Yu-Seong.

"What, do you have a problem?" Yu-Seong snorted and replied to Jin-Wook's glare.

Although Yu-Seong's words seemed to anger Jin-Wook, he didn't act foolishly as he had outside.

'I guess he learned from his actions or the fact that I'm from the Choi family might have given him some pause.'

Jin-Wook drew attention from Yu-Seong and sat in the furthest seat from him. As he did, the security door opened once again and a man wearing black sunglasses and a black suit entered the room carrying a briefcase. After glancing at Yu-Seong and Jin-Wook, he treated them no differently from the other applicants.

'It's the exam proctor. Who is he?'

Standing in front of the chalkboard, the man satisfied Yu-Seong's curiosity.

"Park Cheol-Ho. I am in charge of today's exam."

"Oh…"

"Wow…"

Officially, there were three S-rank players inside the Player Association. Considering a popular guild in Korea had up to two S-rank players, the Player Association had more S-rank players. Being one of those three S-rank players, Park Cheol-Ho was more famous for his nickname, the Iron Wall.

'The Iron Wall, huh… It's gonna be hard to play tricks.'

This was better for Yu-Seong because even if Min-Seok tampered with the exam in other ways, it would be difficult for him to avoid the detection of the strict and obstinate Iron Wall.

'Let's just do like we did in practice.'

As Yu-Seong calmed his mind, Cheol-Ho pulled out a pile of exam papers and spoke indifferently.

"Let's begin the exam."

The hunter exam generally had three parts.

The first part was the written exam. Besides fundamental fighting power, a hunter must have various experiences, the know-how, and intelligence since he would actually be entering a dungeon. The written exam was to evaluate whether the applicants had more than basic knowledge about these. Since the pass criterion was over 70, everyone could easily pass as long as they studied.

Yu-Seong finished the exam in 15 minutes and stood up.

"Are you done already?"

"Yes."

Yu-Seong nodded calmly at Cheol-Ho's question and submitted his paper that had answers marked on it. Cheol-Ho then passed it to the grading instructor next to him. After checking the paper for less than a minute, the grading instructor looked at Yu-Seong somewhat surprised, and smiled slightly.

"Pass, perfect score."

Hearing the news, the applicants that were still taking the exam all looked at Yu-Seong. Although many passed the written exam because an applicant only needed to score a 70, a perfect score was a totally different story. The difficulty of the last five essay questions was so especially difficult that sometimes only a dungeon researcher could solve them. After all, there was even a saying that the true perfect score on the written exam is a 90.

"Nice. I hope your big talk wasn't all talk, and you actually have these skills. Pass."

As Cheol-Ho nodded and complimented Yu-Seong, Yu-Seong slightly bowed and moved on to the next test site by leaving through the door beside the chalkboard.

'I got lucky. I didn't expect a full score.'

Acting calm, Yu-Seong exhaled after he went to the second test site. Although he was also quite nervous from the rumors of how difficult the essay questions were, the questions were luckily about the near future that he had read in the original novel.

Nevertheless, the perfect score was also due to his skills. For one month, he painstakingly trained to master not only actual combat but also theory. Furthermore, for Yu-Seong who grew up in Korea on another Earth, subjects that required memorization was his specialty.

"Welcome. This is the test site to measure the capacity of your ability," A female staff member, wearing a neat white shirt and formal pants, said to him in a stiff tone. She thought that Yu-Seong was nervous as he sighed and moved slowly.

Compared to the written exam site, this place was a narrow space with only one staff member holding a pen in front of a desk. Next to her was a punching machine that was usually used in arcades and a bowl of purple water that he hadn't seen before. Surprisingly, this was the equipment that would measure the power of a player.

'The first is the written exam, the second is measurement, and the third is the actual combat.'

Recalling the sequence of the hunter exam, Yu-Seong took his suit off and warmed up.

"Now you seem more relaxed. Since you wrote in your resume that you are an all-rounder, would you prefer the physical strike? Or would you prefer the psychic manifestation?"

The physical strike used the score of the punching machine while the psychic manifestation used the shape and inflation of the mana solution inside the bowl. And since this was a test for a hunter license, a high score would obviously be useless if the player's ability was unrelated to combat or combat assistance.

"I'll do both."

"...I guess it would be possible since you're an all-rounder."

However, of the all-rounders that spoke like Yu-Seong, there wasn't anyone who got a good score.

"Normally, we advise all-rounders to specialize in one aspect."

"What if that player didn't want to?" Yu-Seong asked, rotating his arm in front of the punching machine.

"...We only advise, not enforce."

"Then I'll do both."

"Understood."

The association staff nodded slightly. Since her questions were all based on a formal manual, she wasn't responsible if he overdid it.

"You may begin whenever you're ready."

Exactly one minute had passed after that. The association staff's eyes widened upon looking at the numbers from the punching machine and the mana solution's transformation.

"Is this enough?"

As Yu-Seong asked somewhat breathlessly, the staff gulped and shook her head.

"The equipment may be malfunctioning…Would you be okay to redo it?"

"Yeah, well, it's not that hard."

After Yu-Seong smiled and stood in front of the punching machine, a number that was even slightly higher than his first was marked beside his name.

"It's unbelievable…."

She couldn't even write the figure properly as her hand that was holding the pen trembled. Although she was known to be calm and poised among the association staff members, her composure was long gone. If she didn't catch her breath and used her other hand to steady her writing hand, she would've made a mistake when writing down his unbelievable results for this important test.

"Um, can I move on?" Yu-Seong asked, looking at her. What was there to say?

"Pass, you have passed."

Although she stammered a little, thankfully, her voice didn't tremble much.

Every applicant completed the written exam.

"Good work. I will see you in the next exam."

Entering the measurement site with the last applicant, Cheol-Ho patted the man's back that failed the test - he had fallen short of the score requirements. Cheol-Ho tilted his head as he looked at the record book the staff kept. He thought Yu-Seong's score for the physical and psychic exam was strange.

"This…"

"It's not a mistake. I was also surprised at first and requested that he re-do the test."

Listening to the somewhat aroused tone of the female staff that pretended to be calm, Cheol-Ho's lips twitched oddly. Please visit fr𝐞𝐞wn.𝒸o𝔪 website to read fastest update

'This guy…?'

Cheol-Ho was one of the people who hated the rascal Yu-Seong the most. But today, it seemed that his opinion would completely shift.

Cheol-Ho breathed loudly through his nostrils, a habit of his whenever he was in a good mood or excited.

1. In Korea, a female idol fan usually refers to her favorite male idol group members as oppa. Here, 'Timus' is an idol group

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Chapter 15

After finishing the measurement exam, Lee Jin-Wook moved to his personal waiting room to wait for the combat exam. Clenching his fist, he sat down and glared ferociously at the name that appeared above the monitor.

"Choi Yu-Seong."

He called out the name in a deep voice. Jin-Wook was a problem child when he was young. This could be blamed on his family's background, as his father was a third-rate gangster while his mother was a prostitute.

Considering that, he was proud of himself for getting through elementary school through high school. However, he caused a lot of trouble throughout his school days. Elementary school was relatively okay. He'd just hit kids that he didn't like or go wild if someone annoyed him. If he needed money, he took it from the kids weaker than himself.

But things changed completely when he was in middle school. His mother left home while his father abused him after getting drunk. That was when Jin-Wook decided to leave home. Obviously, he needed money, much more than what he had previously. Lunch money taken from kids was no longer the solution.

That was why he ordered a kid that he bullied since elementary school to steal from his parents' wallets. The kid refused, but it was fine. After all, the defiance of a weak and scared bullied kid was a good outlet to take his suppressed violence out on. When violence didn't work, he threatened the kid's parents and little sister.

How could he explain the pleasure of watching someone his own age desperately begging him, hands clasped together as if he were praying? Jin-Wook felt as if he had become the king of a small world.

In the end, he had accumulated quite a lot of money. By the time he realized what it meant to be wealthy in a capitalistic society, he did favors for the kids who were rich and didn't want to get their hands dirty in exchange for money.

Then, around his third year in middle school, one of the kids he beat up died. Jin-Wook had been ecstatic to be the king of his small world, but now, he was terrified. He went to the rich kid who requested that he beat up the kid who was now dead. Annoyed, the rich kid made a call and made sure the incident was swept under the rug, but from that day on, Jin-Wook became a servant instead of a king.

Then, when he entered high school and left to live alone, the kid who had basically been Jin-Wook's piggy bank since elementary school committed suicide. His suicide note was full of accounts of Jin-Wook's abuse, his own sorrow, and rage. That note was the spark. After that, students that suffered from Jin-Wook's bullying started speaking up about his abuse.

Although it was a scary situation, Jin-Wook thought it was better than when he had actually killed a kid. But this time his king didn't help him. The king was simply irritated and told him to take care of his problems himself. Jin-Wook eventually went to the juvenile reformatory that he hadn't gone to even when he killed a person and wasn't discharged until he was almost an adult.

It snowed that day. He wondered what he should do, after all, his school life was over.

After thinking about it, he naturally settled in the back streets and became quite famous. Then, a few years later, he became a player. During the time he was still excited about becoming a player, his king visited him.

'Hey, you have work to do.'

King? Now that Jin-Wook was a player, he no longer thought of himself as a servant. He launched himself at his king; it was time he turned the tables.

But then, powerful players rushed out from beside his king and brought him to his knees. His head was forced to the rocky ground. It didn't take long for Jin-Wook to realize how wrong he was.

'It seems the dog forgot his owner just because it grew a little.'

Jin-Wook wasn't even worthy of being his king's servant. He was merely a hunting dog that followed its owner. After being psychologically tortured for several days, he understood his position perfectly and found out what he had to do—he had to destroy his king's little brother.

"Choi Yu-Seong."

He had to kill Yu-Seong or at least beat him up beyond recovery. Since the combat test of the hunter exam was the last test before actually entering the dungeon, it was so intense that serious injuries were commonplace. Broken legs and arms were normal, and the instructors didn't interfere until they had to. This was because they thought it was better to be injured now than to be an unprepared player dying inside the dungeon.

Of course, it became a different story if one tried to intentionally harm another player or tried to take his life. Then, the instructors watching the situation would intervene immediately. So before the instructors intervened, Jin-Wook had to fatally injure Yu-Seong while pretending to attack him up to the unclear point that was allowed.

As Jin-Wook was pulling himself together and simulating the battle inside his head, the waiting room's automatic door opened.

"Hey, Jin-Wook," Swaggering, his owner Choi Min-Seok called him as if he was calling a neighborhood dog.

"Yes, sir."

"As scheduled, you're going to face Choi Yu-Seong. You know that, right?"

If his owner said so, then that was the truth. His owner had clearly demonstrated that there was nothing in this world that couldn't be solved with money.

"It's ok if you fail this petty hunter exam. You know what you must do, right?"

"I will not fail you, sir."

"I don't believe that you're going to lose to that pathetic Choi Yu-Seong but…" Smacking his lips, Min-Seok pulled out something shiny from his pocket.

"Is that…?" Jin-Wook doubted what he saw.

"If you think you're going to fail, use this."

"Um…" Jin-Wook was hesitant.

"What? You have a problem?"

"Would that be okay?" Jin-Wook mumbled as if speaking to himself, then he shook his head. "It's nothing, sir."

In the past, Jin-Wook had been the king of a small world, but unlike his younger self, Min-Seok was different. As far as Jin-Wook knew, Min-Seok was a true king that was powerful enough for this large world called society.

"Stop worrying about useless things and just focus on what you have to do. What was your goal again?" Min-Seok scolded Jin-Wook

"Choi Yu-Seong's death or a permanent injury, sir."

"Don't act absent-mindedly as you did before and nail it, Jin-Wook."

After lightly patting Jin-Wook's back, Min-Seok headed out through the automatic door.

'What a fool.'

To Min-Seok, Jin-Wook was like an open book. Jin-Wook believed that he would bail him out regardless of how the incident turned out. That was what he hypnotized Jin-Wook to believe. As a result, Jin-Wook didn't know how foolish he was.

'Irregular or not, how could he possibly think that he would be safe after attacking a member of the Choi family? Tsk tsk.'?Min-Seok clicked his tongue.

Jin-Wook was still a child that didn't know how society worked. If Yu-Seong was disabled, it was highly likely that Choi Woo-Jae himself would get involved. Then, Min-Seok would act as if he had never imagined that Jin-Wook would do such a thing.

A player that wandered around being a gangster in the backstreets? Getting rid of someone like him was child's play. Although Min-Seok would be scolded lightly, if he pretended to be sorry by bursting into tears, Woo-Jae would just lightly punish him and consider the matter closed.

After making sure Yu-Seong was either dead or disabled, his next target was Jin Yu-Ri.

'How dare she threaten me with my weakness? I'm going to make her never rise against me.'

After finishing Yu-Seong, a member of his own same family, he thought that getting rid of Yu-Ri would be easy if he just asked his sixth brother, Choi Byeong-Chan, for help. Since Yu-Ri seemed to know a lot of his weaknesses, there were too many risks. Min-Seok could actually get hurt if he tried to get rid of her.

'But it's a hundred times better than being humiliated by someone like Yu-Seong for the rest of my life!'

There was one thing Min-Seok was banking on. It was that by the time Yu-Seong was destroyed, he would clearly be more valuable to Woo-Jae since he would still be useful. Although it would be true that he had threatened Yu-Seong, it could be argued that it had been Yu-Seong's fault for not being able to defend himself. Not only that but he would never be humiliated by Yu-Seong again.

Of course, if it ever came to light that he used Jin-Wook to kill Yu-Seong, he would be in even more trouble. But he was certain that it would never happen. As said before, killing an imprisoned Jin-Wook in the Player Prison?

'Easier than a piece of cake. Ha ha.'

Having no clue about Min-Seok's plans, who was walking out slowly, Jin-Wook was left alone in the waiting room as he glared at the monitor in front of him.

'Choi Yu-Seong.'

The name was deeply printed on his brain.

Of the more than 30 applicants, only 22 remained until the end, the combat exam. Please visit fr𝐞𝐞wn.𝒸o𝔪 website to read fastest update

'An even number. There won't be any difficulties because of the number of applicants.'

Applicants that have passed both the written and measurement exams were told to wait in their personal waiting rooms before participating in the combat exam. Yu-Seong sat inside and nodded after looking at the monitor attached to the ceiling that displayed the name and number of the qualified applicants.

The combat exam, which was referred to as the main event of the hunter exam, was a sparring match between applicants. But since there were cases where one's matchup could be an instructor if the number of applicants was an odd number, losing the sparring match didn't necessarily mean failing the test.

'After all, it's to confirm whether an applicant is strong enough to survive inside a dungeon.'

Even if an applicant lost, he would receive a hunter license if he was considered to be capable of working as a hunter. Then why was the combat exam the main event of the hunter exam?

The applicants and the instructor were the only people in the room during the written and measurement exams. An outsider wouldn't know about the results until the exam was finished.

However, the combat exam was different. The large stadium-like circular arena where the one-on-one combat exam took place had a high glass wall coated with mana that allowed people to watch the match. Outside that glass wall were many spectators: executives of the association, guild scouters, a select few reporters, and some renowned hunters that visited out of curiosity or for some other personal reasons.

Although the applicants fought on display as if they were caged monkeys inside a zoo, it wasn't necessarily bad for them.

'From an applicant's point of view, they have no reason to refuse a recruitment from the Association or a renowned guild that could help him grow as a player.'

Players wished to be in a similar situation like Kim Do-Jin and be noticed by a top ranker in the audience. After all, once he had been recognized by the Sword master, his fame skyrocketed overnight. Everyone in Korea knew that Do-Jin only played solo and wasn't affiliated with any guild, but his potential salary easily exceeded the level of a simple super-rookie.

'China would give anything and everything to Do-Jin if he just immigrated to China.'

Knowing this, any applicant would naturally want to be recognized during the combat exam and increase their value. After all, one normally risked their life to become a player for money and fame.

In the end, this combat exam was beneficial to all parties: guilds were given the opportunity to spot talented players and scout them right away, the Association was paid by various organizations and individuals who were willing to watch the event, and the reporters who were always looking for a scoop were able to get a new headline.

Since this was the most popular event and everyone wanted a ticket to attend, the combat exam became the main event of the hunter exam. The combat exam applicants were given individual waiting rooms so that the guilds could easily contact a player that they were interested in before the combat exam started. Everyone was well aware that the guild that reached out to the player before and after the sparring matches had a higher possibility of recruiting them than those who didn't.

Nevertheless, nobody attempted to speak to Yu-Seong. Was it because they thought he was lacking? Of course not.

'Of course they want me. Once I join a guild, that guild would be supported by the massive wealth of the Comet Group.'

The Comet Group was one of the corporations that didn't add a hunter guild to its affiliates even though it had quite many powerful players. So acquiring Yu-Seong, the ninth of the Choi family, in this situation meant a lot. Although he might be extremely lacking as a hunter, a guild, especially a guild hungry for money, would want him badly.

However, they also knew that beautiful flowers with a delicate scent were actually more dangerous.

'It'll hurt badly if they get themselves pricked by a thorn when they recklessly try to pick it.'

Also, if Woo-Jae got involved directly, the degree of risk would be much higher than being pricked by a thorn. Since a massive monster, like Woo-Jae, could swallow the guild entirely, nobody would bother to reach out to him. That was why nobody visited Yu-Seong's waiting room.

'I even told Jin Do-Yoon and Jin Yu-Ri not to come here.'

He thought that it was unnecessary to meet them here when they were going to meet after the exam. But while he was feeling slightly anxious, the door of his waiting room opened.

"Huh?"

Yu-Seong reacted strangely when he turned to face the door.

"Kim Do-Jin?"

"Why are you so shocked? Am I not allowed to be here?" Do-Jin responded somewhat curtly.

"No, it's just… You have no reason to be here."

Listening to Yu-Seong's blunt words, the usually indifferent Do-Jin frowned deeply.

"I came to see if I could help, but I wasted my time."

The moment Do-Jin turned away without hesitation, Yu-Seong called him.

"Oh, could you show me another skill?"

"...It seems you think of me as some sort of fool."

"That's not true."

Although Do-Jin might've been offended since he didn't know Yu-Seong's skills, that wasn't the case.

"Or do you have some skill that copies abilities?" Do-Jin questioned Yu-Seong.

"No."

"You do."

"No, I really don't."

"It seems like you do."

"I said, no."

"You d… No, whatever. I can just believe what I want to believe." As if he thought arguing like this was somewhat embarrassing, Do-Jin sighed and drew a conclusion.

'You keen asshole.'?Yu-Seong thought to himself.

What just happened was frightening for Yu-Seong. Do-Jin deduced that just by a few of Yu-Seong's words.

'He gives me goosebumps to the extent that it's terrifying. You damn main character.'

Complaining inwardly about how Do-Jin could figure out everything without a foreseeing skill despite being a main character, Yu-Seong pouted.

"We decided to meet after this exam is over. Why are you here?"

Yu-Seong didn't completely ghost Do-Jin after their previous encounter.

Not only did Yu-Seong promise to respond to Do-Jin's messages, but he also realized that he couldn't break away from Do-Jin just by not seeing him. Do-Jin was a stubborn returner that survived in another universe and didn't give up on his prey easily. So it was impossible to break ties just by staying away from him.

Looking somewhat curt, Do-Jin pursed his lips as if he was thinking deeply and then spoke.

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Chapter 16

"...Someone tampered with the duel matchups."

"What?"

"It seems to be your brother's work."

Choi Yu-Seong started to think quickly. Kim Do-Jin was a man of few words, but Yu-Seong knew what it meant.

'Choi Min-Seok wants me to go against Lee Jin-Wook.'

A chill ran down his spine. Actually, this wasn't something totally unexpected.

'Yep, Choi Min-Seok wouldn't rig something like this just to humiliate me.'

Yu-Seong thought it was too naive to believe that Min-Seok wanted to simply humiliate him because of a grudge he was holding from their last encounter. Min-Seok wasn't the type of person to just end things at humiliation.

'After all, he tried to murder me.'

There was no reason not to do the same this time. At the very least, Min-Seok would order Jin-Wook to permanently injure him. Considering how fierce the combat exam was, it was completely possible for Yu-Seong to be injured. Even if someone prepared perfectly, there was still a death or a fatally injured applicant every two to three years.

At that moment, the monitor attached to the ceiling changed color and revealed the matchups.

"Eighth."

Choi Yu-Seong, Lee Jin-Wook.

Yu-Seong's lips twitched as he confirmed his turn. A crisis was also an opportunity. Although a duel with Jin-Wook was dangerous, it would also attract a lot of attention. Yu-Seong's proficiency level for his Star-Factor skill could increase or he could even get the attention of a God as he had before.

'High risk, high return. Low risk, low return.'

The majority of things in the world were like this. The question was whether someone had the confidence to follow through.

'I should believe in myself.'

He trusted the time, sweat, and effort he put into this. After all, there wasn't any way to avoid this. Just as a slight smile was appearing on Yu-Seong's face, Do-Jin asked.

"So what are you going to do?"

"What?"

"It'll be easier for you if you just told the Iron Wall all of this."

Do-Jin's eyes observed Yu-Seong sharply. He was like a snake observing its prey.

'Ah, Now I know for sure.'

Obviously, Do-Jin didn't come just to help Yu-Seong by telling him the information he had acquired. He had sensed a change in Yu-Seong and had come because he wanted to confirm what happened to Yu-Seong.

It was only natural. After all, Yu-Seong was a member of the Choi family. He was the son of the man Do-Jin wanted to murder—Choi Woo-Jae.

'They say if you know your enemy and yourself, you can win every battle…'

This meant that if someone had a clear understanding of oneself and their enemy, no battle would be dangerous. There was no way Do-Jin wouldn't know General Lee Sun-Shin's famous sayings. Although his confidence was borderline arrogant, he didn't fight recklessly. If he was one to fight recklessly, then he would never have used Yu-Seong to get to Woo-Jae.

Maybe it was Yu-Seong who lowered his guard. Just because he had beaten Do-Jin before, he underestimated Do-Jin.

'What should I do?'

Yu-Seong thought he should do something to lower Do-Jin's guard while also gaining something.

Seeing him hesitating, Do-Jin snorted, "You've changed a lot, Choi Yu-Seong."

"..."

"It's almost surprising. Did another soul possess your body?"

Yu-Seong almost screamed at Do-Jin's words.

'He's not the main character; he's psychic!'

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"Stop saying such crazy things. I don't have time to get riled up from such little things. Do you think that I'm not aware of what he's doing?"

"..."

"Regardless of whether someone tampered with the matchups or not, I'm not going to do anything about it. I'm Choi Yu-Seong. Isn't it clear that there is only so much my hyung-nim can do to me, since we're both a part of the Choi family?"

Do-Jin glared at him like a ferocious viper. Yu-Seong glared right back. Although he was scared of Do-Jin's glistening eyes that seemed deep enough to be able to swallow him up, he didn't back off.

"If you're here to pull some stunts, get out. I don't like how you've been acting recently."

He firmly ordered Do-Jin to back off. Of course, he could feel his heart pounding with fear. There wasn't Jin Do-Yoon or Jin Yu-Ri here. What if Do-Yoon lost his mind and decided to kill him?

'I don't even want to imagine it.'

He begged inwardly for Do-Jin to not get mad at him. Desperate emotion was visible in his eyes. Silently looking at Yu-Seong, Do-Jin's expression changed oddly. It was hard to read; he seemed to be both laughing and frowning.

Perhaps Yu-Seong's wishes came true? Do-Jin stopped glaring daggers at Yu-Seong.

"Interesting. Not bad." After that, Do-Jin turned around. "Don't die."

His last words before leaving were 'very' encouraging.

After leaving Yu-Seong's waiting room, Do-Jin's eyes became cold and calculating as he walked down the hallway.

'He became quite clever.'

Although Do-Jin casually slipped a piece of information, it took less than three minutes for Yu-Seong to rationally come to a conclusion. Even though Yu-Seong pretended to be clueless, it was clear that he knew Min-Seok was going after him. Nevertheless, he didn't back off.

'He always had a death wish.'

On the day he promised to become brothers with Do-Jin, he had become very drunk and burst into tears, crying that he wanted to die. Despising the world, he thought that dying would be easier for him. He had also screamed that he hated his family for making him this way.

Was he still like that? No, there were clear differences.

'Now, he wants to live.'

Yu-Seong was even passionate and energetic now. It was a mysterious phenomenon. Was it possible for a person to change this drastically in a short amount of time? Although it was unbelievable, it sure was interesting.

'Choi Yu-Seong.'

Originally, Yu-Seong was a trump card that he would later discard as part of his plan. But was it necessary? Do-Jin didn't care if Yu-Seong wanted to live or not, but if he still resented his family, then the fact that he became more clever wasn't bad for Do-Jin.

Actually, Yu-Seong's acting was quite good. Him acting arrogantly without knowing his place was similar to the Yu-Seong that Do-Jin knew of.

'Even his eyes that wished for my attention were exactly the same as before.'

The loneliness hidden inside Yu-Seong's eyes when he ordered him to get out was especially similar. That loneliness was evident even though Yu-Seong was being aggressive. After all, when Yu-Seong first met Do-Jin, Yu-Seong yelled at him but couldn't completely push him away as he penetrated Yu-Seong's loneliness.

"It wouldn't be bad to make him my subordinate."

If Yu-Seong knew what Do-Jin was thinking, he'd be frightened.

It took a while for Yu-Seong to catch his breath after Do-Jin left the waiting room. Do-Jin saw through him whenever he let his guard down, so playing mind games with him was stressful.

'Choi Yu-Seong, don't forget that Kim Do-Jin is the main character—the most dangerous person in this whole world.'

And he was a pitiful villain who would get abandoned by Do-Jin. Based on everything from their relationship in the original novel, he could never beat Do-Jin.

Catching his breath, Yu-Seong watched the duel between the applicants going before him. Fortunately, his battle was eighth in line, which provided him with a lot of extra time.

'As expected, I would've won easily if my matchup wasn't Lee Jin-Wook.'

He was certain after watching five duels. His ability was so amazing that it was almost a cheat. The saying that Irregulars became powerful as long as they survived wasn't a lie.

Yu-Seong watched the duels for three hours, but even as he watched the 7th duel taking place, that thought didn't change. However, there was one player that he took notice of.

'Was it applicant number 12?'

Considering that applicant number 12 was a psychic type player that could transform the ground into metal shapes, Yu-Seong thought that he could've passed the exam if he had used his ability more creatively. Unfortunately, that applicant lacked the creativity and failed.

Yu-Seong's turn finally came.

'Let's go.'

His mindset was more than ready.

The moment he stood up, one side of the waiting room wall opened and displayed various weapons as if he was inside a movie. Striding ahead, he firmly grabbed a weapon that he had decided on using before. Although it was made for practice, the grip wasn't that bad.

Unconsciously licking his lips with the tip of his tongue, Yu-Seong walked through the automatic door of the waiting room.

The combat exam site was located at the end of the hallway. Yu-Seong was overwhelmed by the unexpected amount of attention he was receiving as he entered the site that looked similar to the Colosseum in Rome.

'It's totally different from watching it on the monitor.'

As always, knowing and experiencing something were two different things. But since he had mentally prepared before arriving, he soon adapted to it. Entering from the opposite side, Jin-Wook seemed no different from him. The two sized each other up quickly.

Standing on the edge of the arena, the instructor, the Iron Wall Park Cheol-Ho, spoke as he crossed his arms.

"Choi Yu-Seong, Lee Jin-Wook. You both seem ready."

Although small, his voice echoed through the entire Colosseum.

'This is an S-rank player.'

Yu-Seong felt this when he met Woo-Jae, but it was normal to think that players that are S-rank and above were basically not human.

"Even if this is a practice duel, fight as if your lives are at stake, fight as if you're in actual combat. Monsters do not have mercy. Any questions?"

"No."

"No, sir."

The former was Yu-Seong while the latter was Jin-Wook. Even though Yu-Seong spoke in a small voice, it seemed that Cheol-Ho heard that clearly. As proof, Cheol-Ho twitched one side of his eyebrows and looked at Yu-Seong.

'What? I can't talk down to you, but you can talk down to me?'

Regardless of whether Cheol-Ho was an S-rank or an instructor for the exam, Yu-Seong didn't actually like Cheol-Ho for talking down to him from the start.

'We're all grownups here; it's not like we're in the army.'

He was the rascal anyway. There was nothing special for him to do what he wanted to do like this.

"Hmm…"

After briefly snorting, Cheol-Ho nodded.

"Begin."

Waiting for this moment, Jin-Wook made the first move. He had chosen a sword for his weapon. Since it was made for practice, it wasn't sharp, but it would certainly hurt if it hit Yu-Seong.

Jin-Wook's deadliest weapon wasn't a sword. Although he was far away from Yu-Seong, he kicked off from the ground and used the wind currents to close the distance.

'He's fast!'

Unconsciously admiring Jin-Wook's skill, Yu-Seong spun and lifted his weapon, a long spear. The weapon he used most during his training with Do-Yoon was a pole. The pole he mastered was as if to prepare him to be able to use this spear.

'Block.'?

Yu-Seong's smooth, familiar movements flowed like water as they blocked and pushed aside Jin-Wook's sword that crashed down on him. Although Jin-Wook's strokes were heavier than Yu-Seong's defense, Yu-Seong used skills to balance them off.

Remaining calm, Jin-Wook landed on the ground and stretched out his hand. A strong wind that could easily throw a man gushed out from his hand. Yu-Seong didn't try to brace himself against the wind but let himself be pushed away, rotated a full circle, and stretched out his spear.

The sharp wind coming from the other side of the field was caught by the tip of his spear, causing it to vibrate. It would only be possible for Yu-Seong to get rid of this by force if he were a strong physical type player. Yu-Seong loaded mana in the tip of his spear. Although it was hard to channel mana into a weapon, Yu-Seong was able to do it for a short time on a small part of the weapon. The center of the Wind Blade Jin-Wook produced was eventually ripped apart and crashed in all directions into the arena walls.

Boom-!

Dust clouds appeared from explosions resulting from the wind's impact on the walls.

'If I were caught in that, my neck would break from the whiplash.'

Recalling the sharpness of the Wind Blade that passed by him, Yu-Seong gulped. On the other hand, Jin-Wook frowned when things didn't go his way.

Him holding a sword was a decoy from the start. This was to hide the fact that he was a psychic, wind-type player. But without even looking at him, Yu-Seong stretched out his spear and loaded mana on it as if Yu-Seong already knew that he would use the Wind Blade.

'He's going to be the villain, Storm.'

If Yu-Seong didn't know this, it would've been quite dangerous. However, despite his anxiety, he smiled and provoked Jin-Wook.

"Min-Seok's going to be disappointed if this is all you got."

"...!!"

Heated up, Jin-Wook charged toward Yu-Seong. The Wind Blade required a lot of time. He was charging like this to buy time until he could use it again.

Yu-Seong smiled as he looked at Jin-Wook. Then, a blue flame blazed inside his eyes as he activated Insight. As he concentrated Insight for combat, part of Jin-Wook's movements appeared like afterimages in front of him. His composure was strengthened while his anxiety was relieved adequately.

Although he was surprised by Jin-Wook's first strike, there was no reason for him to be surprised the second time. He thrust the spear using its long reach to strike Jin-Wook before he could get close.

'Grab.'

Jin-Wook spread the wind behind him and easily avoided Yu-Seong's attack like it was a walk in the park. Although his swordsmanship itself was so poor that it was a joke to even call it swordsmanship, the rest of his senses were certainly refined. It seemed that he also had a lot of skills. He was an Irregular for a reason.

However, Yu-Seong's Insight was reading even those movements. That was why he twisted his body and continued his next attack without shock slowing him down.

'Stab.'?

As the tip of his spear bent like a snake, the long spear handle struck Jin-Wook's shoulders.

Bang-!

A sound, pleasing to Yu-Seong, resonated while Jin-Wook's body stiffened with pain.

"This attack is going to hurt much more."

Since it was Jin-Wook that was going to receive this attack, Yu-Seong spoke lightly without conscience and activated the skill.

'Spark.'

The electricity produced from his spear handle wracked Jin-Wook's entire body.

"Grrrraaah-!"

His scream echoed throughout the entire duel stadium.

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Chapter 17

Park Cheol-Ho, one of the Association's S-rank players, was called the Iron Wall for two reasons. First, his main ability, Reinforcement, transformed either a part or his entire body into a substance that was at least as hard as iron. The second was because of his cold and indifferent personality which resembled an iron wall.

Therefore, he could objectively watch the eighth duel of the combat exam between Choi Yu-Seong and Lee Jin-Wook—a fight that was highly anticipated by everyone in the arena. Although both of them had displayed quite outstanding results in their measurement exam, that didn't mean those results could play a factor in evaluating the combat exam. After all, Cheol-Ho was an instructor who judged unbiasedly based on a person's performance.

There were geniuses in every profession of the world; it was no different for the players. However, one didn't need to admire or be jealous of those genius players. After all, this world was unfair as it favored some over others.

However, that did not mean genius players had to be given special treatment.

In the end, the important thing was how effectively they used their talent. Quite frequently, there were cases where those geniuses failed because they didn't know what their talent was and didn't use it to their full potential.

However, beneath his sunglasses, Cheol-Ho's usually indifferent eyes widened soon after the duel started.

'Choi Yu-Seong. 0.8 physical type measurement score.'

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However, Yu-Seong had even scored 0.8 on the psychic type measurement exam as well. Obviously, it was extremely rare for an all-rounder player to score this high for both types of measurement exams. As a matter of fact, it had happened only three times globally and was the first time for Korea.

That result was so shocking that even someone like Cheol-Ho, who was used to encountering talented players, couldn't help but be surprised. In the end, he came to the conclusion that although Yu-Seong was an all-rounder who specialized in psychic abilities, he had probably honed his physical abilities on his own. Of course, that didn't change the fact that his score was astonishing.

But as Cheol-Ho watched the duel, he realized that Yu-Seong hadn't simply 'trained' his physical abilities.

'He learned martial arts.'

Yu-Seong's posture when holding the spear, the look in his eyes as he stared at his opponent, and his calculated and elegant movements easily surpassed that of an ordinary person. His skills were particularly noticeable in comparison to Jin-Wook who was haphazardly swinging his sword.

'He's had at least three years of training, maybe even five years. And all this time, I thought Choi Yu-Seong was just a fool that acted recklessly…'

Since Yu-Seong was on the news once or twice a month for causing trouble, or sometimes causing trouble while he was drunk, Cheol-Ho considered him to be a fool that lived a sheltered life. However, with this fight, his perception of Yu-Seong changed.

By Cheol-Ho's standards, Yu-Seong was definitely a genius, but he wasn't simply a genius.

'He's not a natural born genius but one born from hard work. He's like a dragon who's hiding underwater,?honing his skills while waiting for the right moment to strike.'?

Why wouldn't Yu-Seong display his skills even as he trained his martial arts skill? Although the Comet Group's children seemed to live happily without any worries on the outside, all of them actually shouldered grave danger. Since he could be stabbed in the back at any time, Yu-Seong had kept his potential a secret until the very moment he became capable of protecting himself: the moment of his Awakening.

'He's extraordinarily calm and rational for his young age.'

The Iron Wall Park Cheol-Ho was considered to be the most objective and detached when evaluating others, however, he couldn't help but be astonished by Yu-Seong. He was so impressed that if he found out that Yu-Seong hadn't actually trained for years but only a month, he would be filled with embarrassment. After all, even though Yu-Seong was a hard worker, he was extremely talented at martial arts. But since Cheol-Ho didn't know that, he could only judge based on what was happening in front of him.

'Physical combat would only lead Lee Jin-Wook to his death.'

From what Cheol-Ho observed until now, Jin-Wook's performance was a disgrace to his title of Irregular. Not recognizing his inferiority in close combat against his opponent, Jin-Wook attacked Yu-Seong foolishly and failed to take advantage of the full potential of a psychic-type player. Jin-Wook's various wind skills were certainly effective in close combat, but he, unfortunately, met an opponent that outperformed him.

'If he fails to recognize that, he's just a strong idiot.' Cheol-Ho thought as he looked at Jin-Wook.

Even if he gave him a license, Jin-Wook would die in vain in a dungeon. In the end, Cheol-Ho sighed inwardly as he watched Jin-Wook being stabbed by the spear and electrified by the Spark. It was exactly as he expected.

Nevertheless, Cheol-Ho didn't stop the duel nor did he feel the need to declare that Jin-Wook lost.

'Lee Jin-Wook. A wind-type psychic player who scored a perfect score on the psychic type measurement exam.'

In some ways, scoring one point in the measurement exam was more difficult than getting a perfect score in the written exam. In other words, scoring a 1 was a totally different level compared to a 0.8 as if there was an insuperable barrier between them.

As if proving this, Jin-Wook gritted his teeth through the pain as he activated his Wind Pressure ability with all his might and shoved Yu-Seong's spear away. Naturally, Yu-Seong couldn't withstand so much force and spun several times in the air.

"Choi Yuuu-Seoooong-!"

Although Jin-Wook's anger was clear in his raised voice, he didn't immediately pursue Yu-Seong right away. Instead, he started forming his most powerful weapon, the Wind Blade, around him.

'It's going to become tougher.'?

Cheol-Ho thought to himself as he unfolded his arms to prepare for any outcome. His eyes were sparkling beneath his sunglasses.

Even Yu-Seong couldn't help but be shocked the moment Jin-Wook's Wind Pressure tossed him up into the air.

'Why is it so powerful?'

He had thought it was only fast, but it was also strong. The wind's pressure was so powerful that it seemed like a massive giant had suddenly shot up from a crouched position.

'Did he hold back before?'

Yu-Seong thought that maybe Jin-Wook had looked down on him and hadn't used his full powers. However, only one of those assumptions was correct.

'I was going to pretend to do my best while waiting for a chance to cut off his head but…''

Originally, Jin-Wook had planned on lowering Yu-Seong's guard by holding back and then striking a critical blow at once. However, he had been shocked by Yu-Seong's skills and had lost the initiative, leading him to almost lose the fight

'Let's give up on close combat. Although he's an all-rounder, he's closer to a physical type player.'

Unaware that both of Yu-Seong's measurement scores were 0.8, Jin-Wook made his decision and started to form his wind blade. Sensing this while still spinning in midair, Yu-Seong tried to brace himself as fast as he could. The most fearful aspect of the wind blade was that it was hard to recognize its shape.

'A green light flashes shortly, but it's hard to see unless I concentrate.'

There was a reason why Jin-Wook became such a powerful villain in the future that the head of the Special Police Force had to personally arrest him.

The wind blade flew through the air quicker than Yu-Seong thought it would. Sensing the incoming air blade, he activated his mana while still in the air.

'It's a shame to use this right now, but...'

It was better than losing a part of his body or getting his head cut off.

'Skill, Stepping Wind.'

The moment he activated this skill, Yu-Seong sensed something hard but soft that condensed beneath his feet as he spun in midair. Using that as his foothold, he instantly jumped to the side. Passing narrowly beneath Yu-Seong's feet, the wind blade flew through the air and made a huge noise as it crashed into the Colosseum walls.

"You used the Stepping Wind?! How?!" Jin-Wook screamed.

"What? Have you never seen someone that has the same skill as you?"

Yu-Seong smiled as he braced himself. He had avoided the attack by using the skill he had copied when Jin-Wook had first approached him.

"Seeing how you've got a bunch of unrelated skills, guess you really are an all-rou…"

Before Jin-Wook could finish his sentence, Yu-Seong abruptly reared back and threw his spear.

'The Javelin Throw skill?!'

Surprised by a totally unexpected skill, Jin-Wook dodged using his own Stepping Wind. Yu-Seong instantly closed the distance, retrieved his spear, and pursued Jin-Wook. Same as Jin-Wook, he used Stepping Wind. It was an astonishingly elaborate plan.

'He's nothing like what my king told me! I only heard that he was a stupid and cowardly idiot!'

However, Yu-Seong was able to use his cunning mind to its fullest potential. With his arms wide open, Jin-Wook brought both his hands forwards and launched Wind Pressure once more.

Although the wind blade fit Jin-Wook's needs for striking lethal blows, it required time for preparation. On the other hand, he could change the time needed for Wind Pressure by altering its power.

Boom-!

Yu-Seong felt his heart racing as he spun his spear and channeled his mana to stop the Wind Pressure. Despite the long duel, he didn't feel tired. Instead, he felt his movements becoming lighter and his head becoming clearer.

He realized that a portion of his mana was being consumed and another skill was being activated.

'It's Stylish!'

The last of his four initial skills he earned after the Awakening.

『General Skill, Stylish F

Cannot be used with Fusion.

Additional effects are applied once the user demonstrates acrobatic and cool actions.』

Similar to Star-Factor, this skill was quite fitting for the original Yu-Seong who was an attention seeker. That was why Yu-Seong had picked the spear from the variety of weapons. Since the spear had a long reach and made big, sweeping movements, it seemed stylish from the perspective of the audience. Compared to other weapons, it was easier to activate Stylish just by extending the fight.

He had felt the same thing several times when he sparred with Jin Do-Yoon using a staff. Once Stylish was activated, his in-battle concentration would increase as his body became light and agile as if it was relieved from all of its fatigue. Also, certain random effects were activated sometimes.

So as his movements became lighter, pursuing Jin-Wook became much easier. His mana consumption did increase a lot with Stylish also being activated, but he didn't worry too much about it.

'This is why I've been flexing all that money for.'?

While Yu-Seong ordered Chae Ye-Ryeong to drink the worth ten-million-won gray color manastone juice every day, he hadn't stood around doing nothing.

Instead, he drank a thicker, dark gray color manastone juice that was worth 30-million-won every day. He literally spent money as if it grew on trees. As a result, he earned an extraordinary score in the second section of the psychic type measurement exam—mana capacity.

'Immeasurable within this rank.'?

It meant that he had to use a more sophisticated instrument that could measure at least E-rank players to get a specific score. In fact, the mana potion inside the bowl had overflowed because of him. Although his other scores would've been surprising on their own, it was his mana capacity that shocked the association staff and prompted her to ask him to re-do the exam. He had realized again just how useful money was.

This was how Yu-Seong was able to pursue Jin-Wook without draining his mana even after activating Stylish and using a variety of skills. However, the problem was that Jin-Wook wasn't an easy opponent to hit as he nimbly dodged all of his attacks. He even counterattacked with another Wind Blade during their battle.

'At this rate, the usage count for Stepping Wind's going to run out.'

Yu-Seong realized that he had to end this soon. He was originally cautious because he didn't know what other schemes Jin-Wook and Min-Seok prepared for him, but he realized he could just overpower Jin-Wook before he played a dirty trick on him. At that moment, Jin-Wook was thinking something similar to Yu-Seong.

'At this rate, I'm going to lose because my mana is going to run out. I have to make my move.'

As if reaching his limit, Jin-Wook's forehead dripped cold sweat as he consumed his mana to avoid Yu-Seong's onslaught. Since he didn't know Yu-Seong had a limit to using Stepping Wind, he became impatient. In the end, Jin-Wook imagined the worst scenario for him.

'If I don't succeed with my mission…'

It was obvious how furious Choi Min-Seok would be if he failed. Jin-Wook was terrified.

Recalling the abuse and mental torture that Min-Seok's purple eyes did to him, he almost felt a chill running down his back.

As a result, Jin-Wook fished out the object inside his pocket that he received from Min-Seok. At the same time, he saw that Yu-Seong had taken advantage of the slight hesitation he showed while thinking and was quickly closing the distance between them with the spear aimed straight at his chest.

'This is my last chance.'

Jin-Wook's eyes were full of venomous determination.

1. Asian dragons aren't like European dragons living in caves and breathing fire. They are usually associated with water and air, therefore said to reside at the bottom of lakes or oceans or high up in the sky

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Chapter 18

Lee Jin-Wook had started keeping his distance after he realized he couldn't beat Choi Yu-Seong in close combat. But suddenly, he lunged forward.

'Something's coming.'

At that moment, Yu-Seong intuitively realized that it was something dangerous that would surely prove lethal. His back was soaked with cold sweat and he felt the chills down his spine. Nervous, Yu-Seong was Jin-Wook holding an orange-colored, diamond-shaped mana bomb he had fished from his pocket.

Yu-Seong's mind started racing as he looked at Jin-Wook.

'God, an orange-colored mana bomb!'

A mana bomb was literally a bomb made from manastones. Not only were mana bombs above red-color convenient to carry and powerful like the grenades used by the military, but they were also pure mana condensed and were difficult to identify with x-rays if Players carried them. As a result, international law banned players from creating them. Korea was a safe country that it was difficult to get one's hands on even a gray mana bomb, the lowest in terms of power. But somehow, Jin-Wook—no, Min-Seok had been able to secure an orange mana bomb to kill Yu-Seong.

Jin-Wook pulled out the safety pin of the mana bomb in front of Yu-Seong and used Stepping Wind to get himself out of the way while using Wind Pressure to stop Yu-Seong from following him.

Yu-Seong didn't resist Jin-Wook's Wind Pressure and was pushed backward, but as he was, he used Stepping Wind one last time. However, despite his best attempts, he couldn't avoid the explosion completely.

Nevertheless, he was also prepared for this. Yu-Seong's Spark instantly spread out like spiderwebs as it covered his surroundings, including himself and his spear. Then, his spear started to spin like a windmill, flicking out sparks.

'It's unbelievable how he has so much mana left! Thank god I didn't waste more time.'?

Jin-Wook couldn't believe the sparks bursting out from Yu-Seong. Even as he was amazed, he noticed the Iron Wall Cheol-Ho running toward Yu-Seong as if he had sensed something was wrong.

Cheol-Ho's moves were extraordinary, as befitting of an S-rank player. In a blink, he instantly arrived behind Yu-Seong and stretched out his hand. Although he had sensed something strange was about to happen and acted swiftly, Jin-Wook didn't worry much.

'It's too late.'

That moment, an orange explosion erupted, the shockwave filling the arena and swallowing the sparring ground. As light surged, followed by a loud boom, gusts of wind also lashed out, and sand and rocks flew everywhere. But after Jin-Wook barely avoided the explosion and looked down from midair, his jaw dropped at the unbelievable situation.

'What the…?!'

At the epicenter of the explosion, what remained of the explosion was twisting upwards and slowly dying down, as Yu-Seong's still-spinning spear coated with sparks was splitting the outburst into two. As if he was Moses standing in the Red Sea, the orange-colored explosion was split in two and scattered away with him in the middle.

'That's an E-rank player?'?Jin-Wook couldn't believe his eyes.

He wanted to ask Choi Min-Seok, who was standing with his face glued to the Colosseum window, glaring at Yu-Seong like a ferocious beast.

'Didn't you say your brother was cowardly and incompetent?'

He had realized after the duel started that Min-Seok was wrong, but what was happening right now was way beyond being simply wrong. However, Min-Seok and Jin-Wook weren't the only ones who were shocked by what they were seeing.

"Shit…!" Park Jin-Hwan's jaw dropped as he cursed at the shocking events happening in the arena below.

Was this because the Irregular and potential criminal Jin-Wook had activated an orange-colored mana bomb? That was surprising in and of itself, but that wasn't it. He couldn't help but curse because of Yu-Seong's performance.

'An E-rank player is stopping an orange-colored mana bomb?'

Of course, this wasn't completely impossible based on his calculations.

'Even though Choi Yu-Seong is an E-rank player, this could make sense if he has trained persistently until now. After all, he's also an Irregular and has extraordinary skills.'

However, it would've been impossible if Yu-Seong didn't have instantaneous reflexes and Cheol-Ho didn't help out. So this was a combination of an unlikely event, a slim chance, a miracle, and luck. In any case, Jin-Hwan had to ask himself again,

'How many times would I have the chance to get something like this on film?'?

It was highly unlikely that he would see anything like this ever again. Naturally, his hand clicked the shutters more rapidly.

'I can't afford to miss a single thing.'?

He was looking at a miracle right now.

"What the hell is his ability…"

Not only Jin-Hwan, but also everyone in the auditorium was in awe.

Those with cameras were busy taking photos or videos. The sudden fall of the new Korean Irregular rookie was already an established fact. Then, how should Jin-Hwan think of Yu-Seong who stopped the lethal attack of the Irregular Jin-Wook?

As Jin-Hwan was trying to come up with a headline for his news page, reporter Hwang from his rival media company asked him. "Reporter Park, Choi Yu-Seong's that incompetent rascal from the Comet Group, right?"

"Yes," Jin-Hwan replied indifferently.

"Then perhaps I'm confusing the meaning of 'incompetent' and 'rascal'?"

"No way. It's either that Yu-Seong's been fooling us until now or the hunter exam is just a real variety show," Jin-Hwan answered and smiled at Hwang's question.

"Bullshit."

"Don't preach to me when you can't come up with anything better. What happened was weird enough to talk nonsense like this." After Jin-Hwan responded, an idea flashed across both of their minds.

'The rascal who fooled the world.'

It wasn't bad. But just as Jin-Hwan thought it wasn't catchy enough, he noticed a handsome man leaning against the wall.

'Kim Do-Jin.'

Although Do-Jin could've used a private space, he had entered the same auditorium as the press corps. Looking at the scene, he pursed his lips.

"Not bad, Yu-Seong." With this short comment, Do-Jin snorted and turned back. Please visit fr𝐞𝐞wn.𝒸o𝔪 website to read fastest update

Looking at Do-Jin, who was acting like he saw everything he needed to see, Jin-Hwan smiled brightly.

'The rascal who fooled the world fires up the super rookie Kim Do-Jin!'

After coming up with his final headline, Jin-Hwan felt great.

As the audience was making a fuss, Yu-Seong shivered. He felt his mana draining out after dealing with the colored explosion.

'That was close.'

Because on the conversation he had with Do-Jin before the duel, Yu-Seong expected there to be some kind of trap. He had also thought about the safest way to overcome that trap. First, he had to raise his combat readiness to the maximum. After all, if he couldn't use his power when he needed it, it would be useless. Therefore, he activated Stylish.

However, he still didn't use everything he had. Since his opponent had a trump card up his sleeve, Yu-Seong also couldn't use his mana to its limit. They were both looking for the right timing, with their own trump cards ready.

Nevertheless, Yu-Seong was bewildered when an orange-color bomb, a rank higher than a red-color bomb, exploded. However, he didn't forget what he had to do.

First, he used up all of the mana he had in reserve as he brought Stylish to its maximum level by brandishing his spear in large sweeping, eye-catching maneuvers. Second, he remembered Cheol-Ho's position, which he had been checking on during the battle, and flew toward him using Jin-Wook's Wind Pressure attack.

As such, the moment the mana bomb exploded in front of him, Yu-Seong felt a touch on his back and mana being transferred to his body.

'I'm saved.' His safety was now confirmed.

After that, he was filled with joy upon seeing the golden letters that shone inside the orange-colored explosion.

『General Skill, Stylish F - E

Cannot be used with Fusion.

Additional effects are applied once the user demonstrates acrobatic and cool actions.

Various additional effects are being applied.

Mana increase, concentration increase, patience increase, stamina increase, restoration increase, eyesight increase, intuition increase, poison resistance increase, mind control resistance increase, fire resistance increase, cold resistance increase, defense increase.

Once the effects of Stylish have ceased, one of the additional effects is permanently applied to the Player as a result of the skill rank-up.』

Although Yu-Seong could feel the astonishing additional effects and enormous mana consumption of Stylish, he didn't worry. His otherwise large mana capacity wouldn't have lasted three seconds if he was alone, but now, Cheol-Ho had placed his palm on Yu-Seong's back and was providing him with silver-glowing mana.

'This is the mana of an S-rank.' Yu-Seong was amazed.

Since Cheol-Ho was a physical-type player and not a psychic support-type one, his mana transfer wasn't that smooth. The flow was somewhat stiff, and the mana received from Cheol-Ho was a mere fraction of what Yu-Seong was using up. Nevertheless, the mana of an S-rank had a completely different density. Even this small amount was nearly equal to Yu-Seong's total mana.

'This makes me want to rank up faster.'?

While Yu-Seong was admiring an S-rank player's pure mana and enjoying his own ranked-up skill, ten seconds passed.

As the explosion didn't have a specific target, it roughly swept the ground and died after crashing into the mana-coated walls. Of course, Yu-Seong wasn't in great shape after the explosion. Rough gusts of wind and splintered rocks blasted away by the explosion ripped his shirt and made it into a rag, while open wounds dripped blood through the rips. Blood ran down from the wounds on the cheeks of his handsome face and reddened his lips. However, that was it. No fatal injuries, only minor scratches.

"Phew…Yu-Seong, are you okay?" Pulling back the silver energy from his hand, Cheol-Ho sighed and asked.

"Just a little dizzy. Nice support."

"..."

After nodding at Yu-Seong's words, Cheol-Ho's facial expression changed strangely.

'Did this E-rank player just say what I think he said?'

It was true that Cheol-Ho had indeed backed Yu-Seong up since there was no time and he was somewhat close to him, but there was no E-rank player in the world that would compliment an S-rank player as if they were the superior. What dumbfounded Cheol-Ho even more was that Yu-Seong's mannerisms felt so natural that he was almost convinced.

"I think we should save the talking for later and take care of this first."

As if Yu-Seong felt Cheol-Ho's gaze, he smiled and pointed his spear at Jin-Wook, who was still midair and bewildered by the situation.

Bzzzz-!

The Spark—no, more like lightning created by Yu-Seong and the remainder of the mana provided by Cheol-Ho coiled around Yu-Seong's right arm and spear.

'Jin-Wook is already considered fai…'?

Although Cheol-Ho wanted to say that this was just a test, he couldn't stop Yu-Seong.

'After all, I can't stop him from getting his revenge.'

Eyes gleaming with rage, Yu-Seong reared his arm and threw the spear. The spear released lightning as it soared through the air and tore through Jin-Wook's shoulder, who was trying to run.

"Gaaah-!"

A scream echoed in the arena. However, Yu-Seong's target wasn't even Jin-Wook, it was Min-Seok, who wore an unpleasant expression on his face that was stuck to the glass. The spear, wrapped in lightning, flew toward his forehead

Boooom-!

The crash impacted the mana-coated glass wall so hard it almost shook. Frightened by the sound, Min-Seok squealed and bounced backward like a frog.

After he realized how much he was embarrassing himself, he pointed his finger and protested. Of course, Yu-Seong couldn't hear a word, since he was on the other side of the glass wall. Instead, he smiled at Min-Seok and waved his hand.

"Sorry, hyung. My bad."

Of course, what he was thinking was completely different.

'You son of a bitch. You decided to play it like this, huh?'?

Yu-Seong had no intention of just letting Min-Seok's actions slide. Baring his teeth, he turned back as he thought of how to deal with Min-Seol.

Meanwhile, Cheol-Ho announced the result of the duel as he easily suppressed Jin-Wook who had fallen to the ground unable to tolerate the pain of the Spark in his shoulder.

"Choi Yu-Seong, pass."

But this wasn't the end. Messages clearly seen by every player appeared above Yu-Seong's head.

- The Red Fang of the Dark Night is looking forward to player Choi Yu-Seong's future endeavors. 15 Karma points have been sponsored.

- The Emperor of Great China is fond of player Choi Yu-Seong. 18 Karma points have been sponsored.

- The Silky Beard is clapping for player Choi Yu-Seong while sitting in her seat. 20 Karma points have been sponsored.

- The Oldest Hunter is giving player Choi Yu-Seong a thumbs up. 35 Karma points have been sponsored.

- [private] The Father of Magical Hymns is shining its one eye at you. He wishes to give you a skill. Y/N

- You have attracted the attention of many gods in an instant. 'Draw Attention' is created in player Choi Yu-Seong's history.

This was the attention from the gods any player would wish for. Yu-Seong's performance shocked not only Cheol-Ho but everyone else as well. The audience jumped in amazement. They had been leisurely watching the show and had not expected to see such a spectacular ending.

But the one most surprised and excited about this situation was Yu-Seong himself. Of course, finishing his debut by earning the recognition of extremely renowned gods was certainly meaningful. After all, Yu-Seong's Star-Factor would increase.

However, among the attention of various gods, Yu-Seong could only focus on the private message that only he could see.

'The Father of Magical Hymns…'

Although it was hard to identify the figure who used this moniker, since it had many descriptions, Yu-Seong knew who it was as he had finished reading the first part of the original novel.

'The Germanic Cardinal god, Odin!'

He was now stating that he would give a skill to Yu-Seong. Even though Yu-Seong only started standing out recently, he had never expected the appearance of the cardinal-class god who didn't reveal his full strength and form until the end of the novel's first part. To be exact, he wouldn't presume to even think it would be a possibility.

But now, the name in front of him was certainly Odin's, and he was willing to give Yu-Seong a skill and not just fund some Karma points. Since this skill was from Odin, a Cardinal-class god, it was guaranteed to be powerful.

However, although the reward was extremely tempting, Yu-Seong had to think rationally. Odin in Germanic mythology was not exactly a good-hearted god. To put it nicely, he was wise, but to put it realistically, he was sly. After all, one of his nicknames was the 'masked one.' Yu-Seong wanted to ponder on this more, but Odin's consecutive messages pressed him.

- [private] The Father of Magical Hymns states that chances like this don't come often. He urges you to make your decision. Y/N

'This certainly an attractive chalice…'

But it might be a poisoned one.

Conflicted by excitement, bewilderment, and uncertainty, Yu-Seong bit his lower lip and replied to Odin's repeated request.

1. The original description used was ???? (凶神惡殺) which means 'like an evil spirit'

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Chapter 19

Choi Min-Seok spent a lot of money, so he was assigned to a private room. He needed a private room because he did not want anyone to see his joy after Choi Yu-Seong was killed or disabled. Although he had not gotten the desired result, Min-Seok was still grateful for staying in the private room.

'Damn it, that was embarrassing.'

The lightning spear thrown at him by Choi Yu-Seong had looked so threatening that it had scared him. It had made him worry that the mana field, which even an A-class player couldn't easily break through, could possibly be destroyed.

He couldn't begin to imagine how embarrassed he would have felt if others had been around him at that moment.

No, thinking over it again, the people who were there would have already seen him acting awkward anyways.

People, aside from the reporters, in a far-off room were able to see him through the window of the room he was in.

'Yeah, at least the gossipy reporters didn't see me.'

He was angry, but he knew that it was no use letting himself be swayed by emotion.

Min-Seok calmed himself down as much as possible and tried to leave the association building quickly.

'Lee Jin-Wook failed, so I should leave before someone catches me here.'

In any case, the followers under his command would take care of the troublesome clean-up.

Just because he was running away as quickly as possible didn't mean he was trying to avoid Yu-Seong.

However, Min-Seok subconsciously felt trepidation that he did not want to admit.

He couldn't help but shiver whenever he recalled the gaze that Yu-Seong had when he threw the spear.

'Did I really get scared by Choi Yu-Seong?'

That was ridiculous.

Min-Seok snorted disdainfully and strode out, where he bumped into someone.

"Watch where you're going!"

Min-Seok got angry and raised his voice as he stared at the person.

"Jin Yu-Ri?"

Choi Min-Seok frowned after unexpectedly running into her in the quiet hallway.

But what she said next was something that he never would have imagined.

"Hey," said Jin Yu-Ri.

"...What?" answered Min-Seok.

"Do you wanna die?" She asked.

"..."

Min-Seok's movement stiffened. It wasn't simply because he was scared by the ferocious spirit of the A-rank player in front of him.

It was something beyond that. It was something fundamental.

'Did I hear her wrong?'

He couldn't believe what was happening. It was so absurd that he became speechless and had a momentary lapse in thought.

The following emotion was, of course, anger.

"Are you crazy? You ungrateful mutt, after all I've done for you!?"

"Why don't you answer the question? I asked you if you wanna die."

"How dare you?! Jin Yu-Ri, who do you think you are, a member of the Choi family?!"

Choi Min-Seok raged, unable to process what was happening.

He felt the back of his head being pulled forward suddenly, and the sight of her knee approaching his face was followed by the feeling of something breaking inside his mouth.

"Ugh!"

Choi Min-Seok lay on the floor coughing. He felt his mouth swell and he could taste blood.

"Answer me, Choi Min-Seok. Do you want to die?"

Yu-Ri stood in front of Min-Seok as she spoke to him. His entire face was swollen like a toad's. Min-Seok gritted his teeth while looking at her with swollen and red eyes.

"You, you... you think you're gonna be okay after this?"

"Oh, well. I'll just kill you."

Jin Yu-Ri spoke coldly as she raised her fingers. Dark energy rose above them, forming into the shape of a sharp sword.

"Uh, what are you going to do?"

"It seems you haven't figured out the situation yet. Just die, you piece of trash."

The moment Yu-Ri's hand flew toward Min-Seok's forehead, Min-Seok closed his eyes tightly and reached out with both of his hands.

"St…stop-!"

Yu-Ri stopped her blade right in front of Min-Seok and tilted her head.

"I…I am sorry! I am sorry!"

Min-Seok exclaimed loudly, as he didn't want to lose his opportunity.

"For what?"

"First things first, calm down, Jin Yu-Ri. If you act recklessly like this, you're going to make things hard for Yu-Seong too."

"That's not the answer I want to hear. Did you forget my question?"

Choi Min-Seok didn't understand her right away.

As it clicked, he shouted in a louder voice, "I don't want to die! Of course, I don't want to die!"

A cold smile appeared on Yu-Ri's face as she slowly put away her black sword.

"...So why'd you do it?"

"I-I'm… I'm not responsible for what happened with Yu-Seong."

"How shameless."

Yu-Ri narrowed her eyes.

Min-Seok shrugged and looked down. Perhaps he was fearful of Yu-Ri's cold eyes, so he continued to choose his words carefully.

"I'm telling you, I didn't expect Lee Jin-Wook to be that excessive. I was so surprised that my heart sank."

Yu-Ri could clearly tell that he was lying. She continued looking at him with a cold smile, then slowly nodded.

"Do…do you believe me?"

Honestly, Min-Seok's question made her want to tear his mouth apart.

Yu-Ri knew exactly where the line was to avoid any trouble for Yu-Seong.

Any more than this would be stepping out of line.

'I have to let it slide.'

Both Yu-Ri and Min-Seok knew that she was just going to let it slide. There was only one thing she wanted to tell him for now.

"This is the last warning. If you threaten Yu-Seong oppa once again…."

Jin Yu-Ri ground her teeth and stepped on Choi Min-Seok's legs with her high heels.

"Argh!"

"I will kill you, no matter the cost… Do you understand?"

"Arghhhhh-"

"Answer me clearly, if you intend to live."

Yu-Ri let Min-Seok go with a slight sigh after he madly nodded. She turned around and walked out of the dark hallway.

Tip-tap, tip-tap.

As the sound of her footsteps gradually disappeared, Choi Min-Seok's eyes burned fiercely with anger.

'Jin Yu-Ri, you crazy bitch. Did you think you'll be safe after treating me like this?'

When he got up from the ground with a rough cough, he received a text notification.

Choi Min-Seok opened his phone and checked the sender and the message. Then he turned stiff.

From. Jin Yu-Ri

Oh, by the way, this is a gift. _

Attachment(1)

Min-Seok's face turned pale as he checked the attachment with trembling hands.

He simply couldn't understand…

'How…How does that bitch have this…?'

The attachment was a short video of him shaking hands with a white man with a beard. To those who did not know the man, nothing would appear out of the ordinary. The problem was that the white man in the video was an American broker who had sold Min-Seok the orange-colored mana bomb.

Would Jin Yu-Ri, who sent this video, be oblivious to this? No, she knew for sure.

It was obvious what would happen if Yu-Ri took this video to Choi Woo-Jae and told him about the broker.

This was also a threat, warning him not to mess with Choi Yu-Seong and not to jump the gun.

"Uhhhhhhhhhh…"

Min-Seok raised his head and looked at the dark hallway where Yu-Ri had left. He staggered and laughed like he was crazy.

He tried to regain his balance, but even standing properly was difficult as his legs suddenly gave out.

No matter how many times he thought about it, he couldn't believe the situation.

'How did I end up like this?'

It was painful and anguishing.

Choi Min-Seok stumbled along the hallway, feeling the most miserable he had ever been in his life.

The test results were announced the day after Choi Yu-Seong passed the hunter test and got his license. As was certain, he had passed with the highest score. Of course, the media went bananas.

※ The troublemaker of the Comet Group has become the top hunter

※ Is Choi Yu-Seong an Irregular?

※ The scandal of Lee Jin-Wook is under cooperative investigation by the Korea Player Association and the prosecution

※ Lee Jin-Wook, the Irregular, is not the hope of the nation, but a criminal

※ News flash! S-Rank Park Cheol-Ho, the Iron Wall, once a hater, now a fan!

※ The rascal who fooled the world, raised Kim Do-Jin's fighting spirit!

※ Comet Group's stocks rise after Choi Yu-Seong scores the highest on the hunter test

Sitting in his own office at home, Choi Woo-Jae's mouth twisted as he slowly looked through the newspaper articles that his secretary Kim Pil-Doo had gathered.

His expression was mysterious, and it was hard to distinguish whether he was laughing or huffing. He threw the newspaper.

"Everyone is fussing as if it's a big deal."

"Like you said, it's a big deal. You look the happiest you have been in the past year, master."

Woo-Jae stroked his chin while listening to Pil-Doo, who was standing in front of him.

"There's nothing to be unhappy about. It's about my son after all. After all that bragging, he finally proved his worth. Besides, the company's stock price has risen substantially."

"You are the one who taught me not to bother feeling happy or miserable whenever the stock prices change. It is like a wild beast and is always going to fluctuate."

"So now you're trying to lecture me?"

"...No, of course not, sir. How would I dare?"

Woo-Jae shook his head while watching Pil-Doo trying to avoid eye contact.

"Your sly behavior isn't going to fool me anymore. Let's see, you've been working for me for more than 30 years now? When I first met you, you were like an open book. I could tell exactly what you were thinking all the time."

"There's a saying—'The teacher's habits rub off on the students.'."

"Isn't it better now that you're that much more clever? Anyway, I should give Yu-Seong a present."

"You are giving him another present?"

"It's time to give him carrots now. Hasn't he been whipped a lot already? Min-Seok was pretty much struggling. Ho ho ho." Choi Woo-Jae chortled like a generous old man.

Suddenly, his smile faded away.

"By the way, Lee Jin-Wook, was it?"

"Yes, master."

"It's been a while since Director Geum has had work to do."

"...I'll deliver him your order, sir."

If Kim Pil-Doo was Choi Woo-Jae's right-hand man, then Director Geum was his shadow in the underworld. He could not show himself due to the nature of his duties, but he never went far away from Woo-Jae. There was no objective reason to see him as a competitor, but strangely, he was weighing on Pil-Doo's mind.

"Tell him to tear Lee Jin-Wook apart and throw the pieces to the dungeon monsters. Let him know who he dared to touch."

"Yes, sir."

Woo-Jae seemed like he still couldn't let go of his anger. Kim Pil-Doo nodded lightly taking his orders.

This short conversation decided the end of a person's life.

"You told me that Min-Seok is the one who brought him, right? Then who gave him the mana bomb?"

"..." Please visit fr𝐞𝐞wn.𝒸o𝔪 website to read fastest update

Pil-Doo did not answer him, even though he knew the answer.

One of the reasons was that he didn't think Woo-Jae was asking because he didn't know, and the other reason was that he thought it wasn't his business to intervene.

Woo-Jae looked at Pil-Doo with a cold expression.

"Tell him to be careful for a while. This was out of line. Oh, and let Min-Seok know about how foolish men end up after Director Geum is done with his job. "

"Yes, sir."

There was silence for a moment. It was clear now to Pil-Doo that Lee Jin-Wook's brutal death was not just so that Woo-Jae could let off some steam. 'Scary old man.'

When Kim Pil-Doo thought about how Choi Woo-Jae was using the death of a person as a warning to his children, he got goosebumps.

"No one would have noticed, right?"

"Yes, it seems so."

"At least this should be done. Secretary Kim, if anything comes up, you should take care of it."

"Yes, sir."

By the time Pil-Doo lowered his head lightly and raised it up again, the scary eyes of the Comet Group's chairman were gone. Instead, he was once again a generous old man with a warm smile.

The tension in the air disappeared.

"Yes, yes. It is indeed true that fighting can be a driving force for growth, but it's still better to toe the line, since they're brothers."

Looking at Woo-Jae speaking calmly, Pil-Doo did not know what face he was supposed to make. Wasn't Woo-Jae the one who had achieved his current position by eliminating all of his brothers and other relatives?

Fortunately, Woo-Jae did not appear to have seen Pil-Doo's rather mysterious change of expression.

That was because Woo-Jae's eyes were on Yu-Seong, who was in the newspaper lying on the floor.

"Gift…What should I give him? By the way, he must resemble me a lot, since he is very handsome and outstanding.."

Choi Woo-Jae's lips curled up as he murmured to himself.

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Chapter 20

Choi Yu-Seong returned to his daily life after taking a day off to rest his tired body and mind. He woke up early in the morning and drank coffee made by Jin Do-Yoon while thinking about the day before yesterday. He still had many things to take care of even after the exam.

First, he needed to think through his response to Odin's proposal. Choi Yu-Seong still did not regret his response.

'Sorry, but it's not time yet.'

There was only one reason why gods gave players skills, which was like giving away a portion of their own power.

'The only reason why they would do such a thing would be to increase their shares in a player they like.'

One might wonder why it was important for a god to invest in a player. This was the only part in the original novel, [Modern Master Returns, that was explained in great detail. Because of that, Choi Yu-Seong could clearly remember this detail. For the record, there was one ultimate thing that all gods wanted.

That is, building up karma points for themselves, which was why they invested in players. Then why did they spend their own karma points if they wanted to increase them? It appeared unclear why at first glance, but there was a reason for this.

'Just like anyone else, gods also want to grow.'?

Karma was the resource they needed to grow. However, once they became gods, it was not an easy thing to build Karma. This was because the rate of accumulated karma was lowered to a ridiculous degree due to the penalties they received as gods. The power and the authority they gained as gods worked against them in this aspect.

For instance, Thor—the god of thunder—was known for his battlefield prowess, his mighty hammer, and his resounding victories. If he hunted a dragon, he would gain about a thousand karma. What if an ordinary human such as Choi Yu-Seong hunted the same dragon? Since hunting a dragon would be counted as a legendary feat, the Karma he would get would be about a million—a thousand times higher than Thor, maybe even more.

Gods who invested in a player would receive a portion of the karma points, according to the percentage of sponsorship, every time that player performed an outstanding achievement. This was similar to a relationship between an investor and a corporation.

That said, there was one thing that was very different from the original concept of stock investment. It was safe to say that the corporation—in this case, the player—(had almost nothing to lose in their trade with the investor, the god.

'It's because according to the setting of the original novel, karma points apply equally to?gods and humans.'

In other words, the transaction did not work by splitting the karma points between humans and god. Rather, the god received a 'duplicate' of the karma points earned by the player. All in all, it was what could be called a 'win-win situation.'

Therefore, when gods saw players with outstanding potential, they did not hesitate to support them with karma or by bequeathing a certain still. Sometimes, gods even gifted their unique skills to increase their return on investment as quickly as possible.

If that were the case, why were gods in a hurry to earn more karma? This could be explained as well by comparing it with stocks: if the entry price was too high, it would be difficult to receive decent returns on the investment. In other words, there was considerably less chance for a new god to make a karma profit from a player who had already received considerable investment from other gods. Naturally, such a thing wouldn't be a problem for a god with sufficient capital, who would have many strong skills or a large amount of Karma points.

In the concept of modern stock investment, the sellers could only trade if they released goods for sale. In contrast, the competition between gods to acquire such 'stocks' could be overthrown if one god put forward enough capital.

However, as investors, they wanted to gain as much as possible with as little expenditure as possible. Therefore, it was natural for the gods to pay attention to the players with great potential—those known as super rookies, who could be compared to start-ups. Ultimately, discovering talented players as fast as possible and investing in them was one of the skills necessary to become an outstanding god.

Choi Yu-Seong had already committed to memory the details and explanations regarding the gods found in the [Modern Master Returns]. Although Odin's proposal was surprising and tempting, he did not want to hastily accept the offer, considering the possible risks.

'There are many gods in the world who have a better reputation than Odin or are more favorable toward humans.'

As a god, Odin couldn't help but covet the karma that could be earned from a human's achievements. He had no intention to suppress his greed either.

The investments that gods provided to the players were not little, considering that only a small part of their accumulated karma was spent.

In the first place, humans could only use Karma in special shops, unless they were gods or they received the sponsorship of gods.

Simply put, the player gave away some of the resources that they couldn't use right away and received something they could use in return. There was nothing to lose.

And that was why Yu-Seong thought that it was a foolish choice to accept the offer right away from someone like Odin, who was such a complicated, hard-to-understand god.

What if Odin gave him an S-rank skill that Yu-Seong couldn't even use right away? S-rank skills could be only used once a player reached the S rank. Yu-Seong had just gained the hunter license, and he needed at least a few years to climb up to S-rank from E-rank. In that case, Odin's S-rank skill would be useless to him at the moment.

'I'm sure it'll be nice the day I can actually use it.'

But in the meantime, would there be a possibility that another god appeared and provided support that could rival Odin's S-rank skill?

It was simply a matter of chance. If Yu-Seong was lucky enough, another principal god might appear to sponsor him, but he didn't know for sure.

It was likely that the majority of the gods would give up on early investment and back off when a principal god like Odin was to present a player with a skill.

In this situation, what would happen if Odin left Yu-Seong to fend for himself since Odin had already raised his own share by throwing him a skill? Yu-Seong would be no different than a duck egg left along in Nakdong river. He did not want to limit his growth potential like this.

Yu-Seong didn't know if it was a good thing or not, but Odin had not sent him another message after being rejected once. Instead, making the situation more interesting, another god sent a message to him.

-[Private] A Joke-loving Prankster said he likes you. He is willing to give you a skill.

Y/N

At first glance, it seems like a random nickname. However, Yu-Seong knew that this god was someone to never look down on.

'Loki?Laufeyarson.'

He was one of the most famous gods in Norse mythology along with Odin and Thor, one who could be seen as the key figure in Ragnar?k.

He wasn't a principal god like Odin, but no one could ever say he was below Odin. In fact, in the story of Ragnar?k, didn't Fenrir, the son of Loki, kill Odin by swallowing him? The interesting thing was that Loki's message was sent right after Yu-Seong had rejected Odin.

In a way, it could be considered a rather slow reaction, unbefitting of the character of Loki in Norse mythology. Yu-Seong thus formed two hypotheses about this situation.

First, Loki was happy that Yu-Seong had rejected the support of Loki's enemy, Odin.

'This is almost impossible.'

In the original novel, it was explained that even gods could not spy on private system messages. Of course, since it wasn't explained properly, it was possible that there were flaws in his understanding. The likelihood that there was a way to see private messages only increased if the person was Loki.

The second hypothesis was that the one who had sent the first message was actually not Odin.

'I did fight quite a lot, but I don't think that was enough to attract the attention of the principal god. '

There was a reason why principal gods were called principal gods. They were literally the gods who were the centerpiece of the mythical world.

They were already so powerful and at a level so high that climbing any higher was almost impossible, even if they received Karma points from humans!

It was not easy to stand out to such an existence, and it was even harder to be given their skills, rather than just sponsorship.

Unlike the lesser gods that fought to increase their profits through sponsorship, a principal god didn't have to hurry or rush to give a skill to a person who wasn't quite a super rookie they could actually use. Of course, if there was such a person worthy enough, Odin could have completely dominated the sponsorship and blocked other gods from sponsoring like Yu-Seong had hypothesized before, but something like this happening was very rare.

Even Kim Do-Jin, the main character of the original novel, received a proposal from a principal god only after he achieved B-rank. With that in mind, Odin's proposal for Choi Yu-Seong had come too early.

'Of course, there is no difference even if it was Loki who made the offer.'

In the first place, Loki was enterprising and fast-moving compared to other gods.

But why did Yu-Seong think that Odin could be fake even after the latter had revealed his nickname?

'It's because it's possible for Loki.'

Loki was good at disguising, no, transforming himself, and it was quite common for him to use another god's nickname as if it were his own.

In fact, Loki was the god who placed Kim Do-Jin in a difficult situation several times by impersonating someone else and playing tricks in the original novel. There was no reason for him not to do the same to Yu-Seong. Because of that, Yu-Seong did not reject Loki's proposal as fast as Odin's.

'If Odin's offer was also from Loki, it means that he's reaching out again after being rejected.

'

In other words, there was no urgency for Yu-Seong.

Considering the various situations he had thought through before, it was okay to take some time and carefully consider Loki's proposal, because it was proven that Loki was very interested in Yu-Seong. In fact, Loki was showing interest in Yu-Seong even at this moment.

-[Private] A Joke-loving Prankster is winking at you. He sponsored 20 Karma points.?

In many ways, Choi Yu-Seong had no choice but to lean toward his second hypothesis even more. So there was nothing wrong with putting this problem on the back burner for a bit longer.

Instead, he thought about how he couldn't catch Choi Min-Seok, even though he had decided to beat Min-Seok up.

"I really should have warned him this time."

When Yu-Seong visited his house, he couldn't even see a trace of Min-Seok. It was as if he had realized that Yu-Seong would come and had run away. If Yu-Seong had stubbornly waited by the front door, then he might have caught Min-Seok, but he didn't go that far.

'I'll let go of you this time. If you try to pull any other stunts, I?won't let you off the hook easily.'

There were two reasons for this decision.

First, the fact that Choi Min-Seok was trying to avoid Yu-Seong. If he chickened out like this, there was no reason for Yu-Seong to stress out or be bothered by him.

Secondly, and more importantly, Yu-Seong could finally relax for a while.

'I've finally got my hunter's license, and I'm starting to see the results of my training as well.'

Time was on Yu-Seong's side.

Choi Min-Seok possessed decent talent, but he was rather lazy and arrogant. On the other hand, Yu-Seong continued to grow by always pushing himself. In other words, Choi Yu-Seong would soon surpass Min-Seok. The two of them would be in different leagues.

'I need to aim higher.'

If he wanted to stabilize his current life and settle down, he didn't have the leisure to bother about obstacles on the level of Choi Min-Seok.

However, he didn't want to become arrogant after only taking his first step.

'Come to think of it, I finally have over 100 karma.'

Choi Yu-Seong had only received 93 karma points until yesterday. However, with the 20 points he had gained from Loki, he was now sitting at 113. Players could use karma points in various ways, but most of the time, they spent them in a single place.

Choi Yu-Seong muttered while recalling how it was used, "Summon Dimensional Merchant. Set Lion Bear Clan as the condition."

Y/N

The friendly system was asking for the player's consent, as usual.

"Yes, please," Yu-Seong said. Although the system was a machine without emotions, Yu-Seong spoke in a respectful way, with a smile. He wanted to respond in kind to the system's hospitality.

Among the many settings described in the original novel, he remembered that there was someone who had obtained a hidden piece by speaking in a polite tone to the system. Unfortunately, the novel only mentioned it very briefly and did not reveal the identity of the lucky figure until the end of the first chapter. As such, he wasn't sure which hidden piece he could obtain.

However, he had nothing to lose from being polite, right?

The system responded mechanically, unaware of his true thoughts. Choi Yu-Seong slowly stood up from his seat and headed to the kitchen. He rummaged through a box of lollipops he had bought from a convenience store the night before, then pulled out several before heading back to his room.

.

He came across Do-Yoon and Yu-Ri on his way back. The two attempted to start a conversation, but he waved them off and went back to his room.

Once he returned and closed the door, a system message suddenly popped up.

"Great timing," Choi Yu-Seong responded to the system message with a smile, then took a seat in front of a tea table and nonchalantly placed the lollipops on the table.

Exactly ten seconds passed, and a cute little pink door appeared in front of his eyes with a glazing light and a distortion of space. The pink door was similar in appearance to a door made for toy dolls that children would play with.

The handle of the door rotated with a small sound.

A pink bear proudly waddled in from behind the door. He then folded his thick, adorable arms and stared up at Choi Yu-Seong before speaking. Please visit fr𝐞𝐞wn.𝒸o𝔪 website to read fastest update

"Nice to meet you, human. I am Ping Pong of the great Lion Bear Clan. You should be honored to make a contract with my great self."

He was truly charismatic.

1. It's a Korean idiom describing a situation in which someone is left to fend for themselves without any help

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I Woke Up as the Villain #Chapter 21 - Read I Woke Up as the Villain Chapter 21 Online - All Page - NOVEL NEXT

Chapter 21

The Lion Bear Clan, the dimensional merchants. It was hard to tell whether these creatures were bears or lions. However, they were definitely merchants. But, why were they so cute yet arrogant?

'I'll say it's just this guy who's uniquely arrogant.'

The cute appearance of the Lion Bear clan was also reflected in the original novel. Although each of them had different colors of fur, many aspects of them resembled common teddy bears on Earth. The book explained that some female players treated these cute creatures as pets.

There was only one thing to watch out for. They hated to be called either a bear or a lion. Because of their pride in their clan, the most important thing to them was to be recognized as a 'Lion-Bear,' like the name of their clan. Anyway, as long as players paid attention to that point, members of the Lion Bear Clan were cute, chatty, and provided high-quality service.

That was why Yu-Seong chose the Lion Bear Clan as his dimensional merchant.

"Why are you just staring at me after summoning a great being such as myself?"

The story never mentioned them being arrogant, as was shown by Ping Pong.

'He's so cute that I can't be angry with him.'

Ping Pong's short limbs, soft-looking pink fur, and glossy black eyes were cute enough for Yu-Seong to forgive some of his rather arrogant behavior.

"Well, first of all, nice to meet you, Ping Pong," Yu-Seong said as a warm smile appeared on his face without him knowing.

Ping Pong shook his head as he extended his little front paw toward Yu-Seong.

"Call me Mr. Ping Pong."

It was weird. It seemed that the cuddly bear did not care for formalities in speech, but still wanted to be addressed as mister. Didn't it matter whether he was formal or not? With a slightly confused expression, Yu-Seong corrected himself.

"Sure, Mr. Ping Pong."

"Good. Human, your name is?"

As expected, he didn't really care for formalities.

"I'm Choi Yu-Seong, Mr. Ping Pong," said Yu-Seong with a smile. He was getting a rough understanding of Ping Pong's character.

"Choi Yu-Seong, that's a great name!" exclaimed Ping Pong with a sniff.

There was a cotton candy-shaped tail sticking out from behind Ping Pong. For some reason, it appeared quite puffed up.

'Oh yeah, there was a detail saying that the ones from the Lion Bear Clan puff their?tails?when they feel happy.?'

It was unexpected that Ping Pong felt so happy that his tail puffed up just from Yu-Seong introducing himself. It was a good thing for Yu-Seong.

Once they signed the contract, they would be together no matter how good or bad their relationship was, unless things went terribly awful. It was better for Yu-Seong to build a good relationship with the Dimensional Merchant from the beginning.

"Oh, this is a gift for the first contract," said Yu-Seong while peeling off the cover and handing over the lollipop from the table.

"This is…"

"I heard that members of the Lion Bear Clan like these kinds of sweets. I thought it would be nice to get these for you. First impressions matter, right?"

Perhaps he didn't hear what Yoo-Seong said because Ping Pong had his arms crossed and looked as if he were somewhat in a trance by the sweet smell from the candy. Without giving an answer, Ping Pong uncrossed his arms solemnly and took them before hugging the candy, as if he were hugging a stick.

Subsequently, the fur around his nose and snout—the only part of his body with white fur—fluttered, as a pink tongue popped out and licked the strawberry-flavored lollipop. Immediately after, his round black pupils sparkled like the stars in the night sky.

" I-it's delicious-"

A huge wave of admiration exploded from Ping Pong and filled Yu-Seong's room.

"It's extremely delicious! It's just like the rumors say. You were thoroughly prepared human. You have managed to greatly impress someone like myself."

"You're gonna drool. Slow down."

Disregarding Yu-Seong's words, Ping Pong started licking the lollipop in a frenzy. After a short period, he looked at the empty white stick with awe in his eyes.

"Amazing. This is the treasure of the Earth made by humans."

It sounded strange when one from the Lion Bear Clan, who sold countless items, treasures, and even the goods of gods from various dimensions from distant parts of the universe, called a single lollipop a treasure.

'Is there no candy in the other dimensions?'

Perhaps it was another error in the original novel or something else. Yu-Seong raised five more lollipops he prepared in advance with a shrug.

"Ohh!!!"

"You already got one for free, but from now on, I'll need to charge you. You know what I mean, right?"

He spent a whopping 100 Karma points for the contract alone.

In order to buy the item that Yu-Seong currently wanted, he needed at least twenty more Karma points.

"What a good sense for business, human. But I heard that lollipops are not worth much in this world. Let's make it one point for each of them..."

Yu-Seong made a gesture to put the lollipops back on the table with a disappointed expression.

"Two points. No more bargaining."

"All right then."

While Yu-Seong smiled and handed the lollipop to Ping Pong, a system message popped in front of his eyes.

"I gave you the price of the lollipop along with a gift to commemorate our first contract."

This was why the Lion Bear clan was known for its high-quality service. Yu-Seong smiled as he immediately received his needed points. As a result, he got thirty points back after spending one-hundred points from the summon.

'I got ten more points than I expected.'

According to the original book, the refund point—the points given back as a commemoration— for the contract was about ten percent. However, Ping Pong gave Yu-Seong twenty points, excluding the price of the lollipop, which was double the price of the original refund point.

Ping Pong did not say anything, but it looked like he was showing gratitude for the lollipops.

'Anyway, what does it mean by the name, Ping?Pong?of Golden Mane?'

Yu-Seong was questioning Ping Pong's title. He was a member of the Lion Bear clan, who had the appearance of a bear, but no mane. Whilst, Ping Pong looked dissatisfied with the deal and once again opened his mouth.

"Take the wrappers off, Choi Yu-Seong. What kind of hospitality is this?."

"Oops, sorry."

Yu-Seong turned his attention to Ping Pong again and peeled the wrapper off of all five lollipops for him. He absent-mindedly handed over the lollipops. It took less than ten minutes for Ping Pong to finish the lollipops. After that, he looked at the empty table with longing.

'He sure has a good appetite.'

Yu-Seong briefly thought about bringing more lollipops from the kitchen, but he shook his head. He almost fell for Ping Pong's cuteness but he needed to remember to not be charmed.

'I shouldn't bring these out too often…'

It was a clever move for him to use the lollipops as leverage for future transactions between them.

"What a shame. I wish I could bring this treasure back to my dimension but for some reason, it completely breaks apart if I try to cross the dimensional wall carrying this."

This was new information Yu-Seong hadn't read in the original novel. However, there was a mention in the book saying that members of the Lion Bear Clan were crazy about the Earth's lollipops and devoured them on the spot. Yu-Seong could now understand why.

'But why would the lollipop be the only thing that breaks down when crossing over to their dimension?'

It seemed like it was treated as a special, limited commodity of Earth. Yu-Seong let go of his thoughts about the plothole in the original book. Instead, he called Ping Pong.

"Mr. Ping Pong."

"Yes, Choi Yu-Seong?" answered Ping Pong.

"We better get started. Why don't you open the dimensional bundle? I have a few things I'd like to buy right away."

"Oh, I almost forgot about my job. I was pretty distracted by the treasure. Let's see. As you may know, the current dimension bundle you can use is level one. To level up..." explained Ping Pong.

"First of all, the purchase price must exceed one thousand Karma points." Yu-Seong interrupted Ping Pong.

"Human, you must have done a lot of studying. Well, if you're a contractor of great being such as myself, you should definitely be at least this knowledgeable."

Yu-Seong had simply taken his time reading and enjoyed the novel.

Yu-Seong stopped himself from blurting this out. Ping Ping suddenly shoved his hand into his stomach.

'What are you, a kangaroo?'

Members of the Lion Bear Clan even had a pouch in their stomachs.

Ping Pong truly was a mysterious aspect in this story. He reached into his pouch and pulled out a pink bundle that was the same color as his fur.

"Here you go. I have everything here. Now pick a set you'd like, human!"

Ping Pong threw the bundle to Yu-Seong. By the time the bundle reached Yu-Seong, the pink bundle had grown as big as him.

'Oh, this is pretty interesting to see for yourself.'

He couldn't hide his amazement when the scene from the novel was actually happening. Inside the bundle, the name, effect, and price of the items were written in dark letters. There were even scroll bars and search engines to organize numerous items.

It was a bundle carrying not just a bunch of items but showed item information as well.

'That's just like what I read. The dimensional merchant shows the 'good' products only if they are about level five.?'

Ping Pong's bundle was only level one, so most of the items inside it were miscellaneous and useless. But still, there were definitely some useful items such as the lowest-level recovery potion.

Yu-Seong already knew what he wanted to buy, so he quickly picked the item and finished his shopping.

'Five bottles of alchemist's empty flasks, half a bundle of cloudy trolls' blood, two bundles of Kalash's body fluids, a bundle of Halenew's petals…'

Using the search engine, he quickly finished his purchase using forty points from his initial forty-three points.

Yu-Seong bit his fingernails as he tried to think about what to buy with his three remaining points. Finally, he just decided to save it.

"I am done purchasing. This is all that I want."

At Yu-Seong's confirmation, Ping Pong reached out with both paws to take back the big dimensional bundle and squeezed it before shrinking it again. Then he placed it back in the pouch in his stomach, folded his arms again, and gave Yu-Seong an arrogant look.

'Those eyes look like the ones of Kim Do-Jin. No wonder they looked familiar.'

Yu-Seong breathed a deep sigh and wondered why he was surrounded by such egotistical characters.

"Your selections were quite interesting, human. Empty flasks and the Kalash's body fluid. "What are you going to use them for?"

"It's a secret."

"Hehe, you, human, are a good businessman. All right, if you tell me that secret, I'll let you know my secret."

"Didn't ask, don't care!" Yu-Seong replied with a smirk as he wanted to tease Ping Pong somehow.

"...What?"

"I didn't ask about your secret, and I don't really want to know."

"..."

Yu-Seong almost burst into laughter from seeing a shocked expression on a teddy bear.

"What are you still doing here? It's time to go back if you're done with your business here. I'll see you later, Ping Pong, you cutie-pie."

"You-you, rude human! You must call a being this great, Mr. Ping Pong!"

"Don't be so upset. I'll give you two lollipops on the house next time."

"I do not need appeasements like that. Bad Choi Yu-Seong!"

However, contrary to his words, Ping Pong's tail puffed up pretty big, though he answered with an angry snort.

Ping Pong opened the small pink door and stomped as he returned. After he left, Yoo-Song spread out his purchases. Looking at everything, they could certainly be called miscellaneous. Most of the items were described in the following way.

[The Kalash's body fluid]

The body fluid of a Kalash, a bipedal animal inhabiting the Altar dimension.

[The cloudy trolls' blood]

It is troll blood. It is so cloudy that it is hard to use as a potion material.

[Halenew's petal]

It is pretty.

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Not only were there no effects written, but in the case of Halenew's petal, even the explanation was basic.

Naturally, no player would buy these goods from the Dimension Merchant. They would think that their Karma points were too precious to spend on such useless items.

'But if you use this, it is an entirely different story.'

These seemingly useless items had a pretty interesting effect when combined with the rarely chosen items often purchased by the players on Earth.

[The alchemist's empty flask]

If the correct ingredients are added, a potion will be created through alchemy.

All the materials will disappear if it fails.

The price of an alchemist's empty flask was 5 Karma points per flask, just like the lowest-class healing potion.

Obviously, most people would choose the healing potion rather than buying the flask. But still, there were some crazy folks who attempted to challenge themselves by making the potions after reading how the flask works. It tempered their adventurous thoughts.

However, nine out of ten, no, ninety-nine out of a hundred ended up failing—and their flask simply disappeared. In those cases, they never took so much as another glance at the alchemist's empty flask ever again. On the other hand, among the lucky people who discovered the right combination, a majority of them had to give up as they couldn't find how to make a profit that covered the amount they spent purchasing the raw materials.

In other words, the alchemist's empty flask could be considered the riskiest item unless one possessed the proper knowledge. On the contrary, the flask was a very worthwhile item if one possessed the right recipe.

'And I have the knowledge and information from the original novel. Whoo-hoo.'

With a crafty smile, Yu-Seong opened the lid of an alchemist's empty flask.

1. In the Korean raws, Yu-Seong spoke to Ping Pong in ?? banmal, which is to speak informally or familiarly, but instead of wanting to be spoken to formally, Ping Pong just wants to be addressed as ? which is why Yu-Seong finds it odd.

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Chapter 22

Early the next morning, Yu-Seong headed outside and stopped by the player's shop in Yeouido to buy some equipment. He purchased a spear to be used as his main weapon as well as a hunter-only suit and a pair of walking shoes for players.

Of course, he picked out the best among mass-produced products. One might consider the equipment too extravagant for him since he was just a beginner player, however, that wasn't actually the case for Yu-Seong. He was the ninth child of the leader of the Comet Group and he was able to afford the extravagance.

Thus, Yu-Sung paid 3.5 billion won altogether for the equipment which was considered to be some of the best made by Earth standards as well as the Setup Box to contain them. The equipment was designed by French and Italian craftsmen, made with German and American machines, and used the research of the magic engineers. It cost the same as one of the best apartments available in the Gangnam area of Seoul , but Yu-Seong did not find it a waste.

'After all, all that money is meaningless if I die.'

The price didn't matter to him. What mattered to him the most was the quality and the efficiency. So why did he need to purchase something expensive simply because it was designed by French and Italian craftsmen, which only served to increase the price? His answer was simple.

'It's because of the effects of Stylish and Star Factor.'

It was better to fight in a flashy way to be more recognizable to others. Dungeon hunting was sometimes carried out by individuals, but hunting in a party was often necessary as well.

There were many stories about the players who wore cameras to film the actions of famous hunters. Paparazzi also followed them using special drones made by Hextech. The fancy and cool designs of his equipment could seem somewhat unnecessary, but it was important to Yu-Seong.

Yu-Seong quickly finished his morning schedule and headed to a dungeon close to him. The dungeon was found in Seoul Gwanak-gu Sillim-dong, located right in the middle of the city, and naturally, its entrance wasn't exactly conspicuous. A large, square, one-story building was built around the dungeon. Inside the building, soldiers and players from the Association were on standby at all times. Only those with hunter licenses were allowed in the building. The only exceptions were granted to the odd reporter or two who had filming permits.

Yu-Seong glanced at the hunters from the association guarding the entrance of the dungeon. He turned around and said, "I'm heading out" to Jin Yu-Ri.

"Ugh..." Jin Yuri responded with a sigh. In fact, she wanted nothing more than to follow Yu-Seong's first hunt. She couldn't stop worrying about Yu-Seong, since he had to explore his first dungeon solo.

However, neither Jin Yu-Ri nor Jin Do-Yoon could go with Yu-Seong because a law had been passed about twenty years ago prohibiting high-ranked players from entering low-ranked dungeons.

Monsters and traps weren't the only threats in dungeons. Because it was an isolated, enclosed space, it was the perfect place to avoid being watched. It was essentially the perfect place for incidents to occur between humans.

In such places, fights between hunters of the same or similar rank and a fight between a high-rank player with overwhelming power and a weaker player would be completely different. At least, there would be enough time to run away if it was a fight between similarly-ranked players. They could escape the situation before suffering any fatal wounds. What if the opponent was an overwhelmingly higher rank? A low-rank player would be no different than a sitting duck just waiting for death.

Before the law was proposed, many villains took advantage of the dungeons. Such incidents were caused by those who entered dungeons significantly below their ranks and attempted to dominate the area. They attempted to control the dungeon by rampaging with their overwhelming power. As a consequence, the law was created to limit which ranks could enter the dungeon.

The law was essential to guarantee a minimum level of safety for everyone.

"I feel like I should go and get a fake license somewhere," said Jin Yu-Ri.

"Then we'll all get caught," Yu-Seong joked with a smile.

There were three players from the Association at the entrance of the dungeon looking at them sternly. They were in full combat gear which even included the combat suits they had on, which were usually worn when entering the dungeon. They would check and verify the hunter's license of the entrant as soon as they approached the entrance. In fact, if they detected anything suspicious, they would suppress and attempt to arrest the entrant right away.

Even if it was possible for the two to enter with him, Yu-Seong would reject their help. Those who lived inside a bubble eventually stopped making progress. Yu-Seong was certain that he could not survive by taking the easy way. He knew he had certain dangers awaiting him in the future.

Therefore, he rejected Jin Yu-Ri and Jin Do-Yoon's proposal of hiring a number of similar-ranked players as well.

'If they are of a similar rank to me, they could end up being a burden instead.'

Yu-Seong had his own plan to level up, and he did not want to be distracted by unnecessary people.

"I believe you will do well, young master," said Jin Do-Yoon with a look of trust.

"Your hands are trembling. Try saying that again once you get a grip on yourself."

When Yu-Seong pointed at Do-Yoon's trembling hands, he quickly shoved his hands behind his back. His entire face and his ears turned red.

"Don't worry, both of you. I'll be right back. You two need to worry about getting stronger and stop worrying about me."

Truly, both Jin siblings were talented enough to be considered S-rank or higher just from their potential to grow. It was obvious that their growth would be explosive once they had more time to spend on proper hunting and training instead of having to look after Yu-Seong.

"Ugh… I don't know why, but I can't stop worrying about you. Maybe because it's my first time seeing you off to the dungeon. "

Jin Yu-Ri spoke like a mother sending her son off to the army. Her words were laced with anxiety.

"Don't worry, it's only a level one dungeon. Even if I come across any unforeseen circumstances, it wouldn't be any more dangerous than Choi Min-Seok?"

The two siblings frowned deeply.

"I shouldn't have held back my anger then…"

Jin Do-Yoon recalled the hunters test with a red face and rage-induced trembling. This time the trembling wasn't due to worry; just thinking about that day greatly agitated him. Although Yu-Ri did have a chance to exact revenge on Choi Min-Seok in her own way, she was no different from Do-Yoon.

'He won't even dare to think of doing anything else for a while.'

Nevertheless, Yu-Seong smiled while looking at Do-Yoon and Yu-Ri, who was clenching her teeth and trembling.

"That is why I am trying to become stronger so that I won't have to worry when I come across any more dangerous situations. You two can relax and just cheer for me, okay?"

"We'll wait here and won't go far today."

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If Yu-Seong didn't come out of the dungeon after a long period, or if something unusual happens, they would mobilize. It wasn't bad to have something prepared for unexpected circumstances.

"I'll be back."

"You'll be careful, right?" said Yu-Ri.

"Don't let your guard down, young master. If anything happens, I will follow you in."

"Be careful not to get arrested!," responded Yu-Seong with a laugh to the fussing Jin siblings and silently headed into the building.

When Yu-Seong entered the building after successfully verifying his hunter certificate, there were several people inside the building who recognized him. However, he ignored the whispers and conversations as he passed, and turned his eyes to the high-reaching tunnel located not far from the entrance.

'That should be the entrance to the dungeon,'?thought Yu-Seong with a gulp.

The dungeon entrance was covered with dirt and was wide enough for four or five people to go through with their arms spread out. It looked somewhat bizarre to be located in the middle of the downtown of a city. In order to hide the strange object, they would have had to build a building to match the round shape of the dungeon, even if it meant interrupting traffic.

In the original novel, there was an explanation about when the first dungeon was created on Earth. The ground rose up with an earthquake, creating a large and dangerous-looking black cave that surprised the people in the area. There were people who curiously went inside the dungeon, though the majority never returned.

People now knew that the real dungeon appeared after passing through the huge cave. Everyone was shocked after they figured the dungeon was actually completely different in appearance from the dirty cave they imagined it to be.

'Everyone would have gone crazy if it appeared on the Earth I used to live on.'

Currently, most of the dungeons in the city center were already conquered. The word 'conquered' was used depending on whether the final monster, the boss monster, was killed or not.

If the dungeon was created and the boss monster was not eliminated within a month, the large cave would grow and swell up as if it were going to explode, sending countless monsters above ground.

This was the so-called dungeon break.

The most annoying part of it was that, like most of the other monsters inside the dungeon, the boss monster regenerates once a month. In other words, all the boss monsters in the dungeons needed to be hunted once a month. The areas failing to do so every month were already abandoned or devastated and were considered the monsters' territory now.

Choi Yu-Seong looked at the entrance of the dungeon with rather blank eyes and stretched his shoulders and neck.

'It's the real thing inside there.'

Even the reporters who were given special permission to enter the building could not enter the actual dungeon. In some rare cases, players with hunter licenses doubled as paparazzi and followed other players inside, but this was very rare.

Then why was it special for normal journalists to follow players to the inner part of the building? It was special for them because few journalists could handle special drones equipped with mana stones. It was more common compared to when they followed players into the dungeon but was still considered rare.

The special drones were expensive to produce, and they were difficult to create as well. In addition, the power source of the drones was mana stones, so the cost to fuel them was enormously expensive.

Moreover, the environment of the dungeon was very unstable, and the drones were often destroyed inside the dungeon. It was clearly no different from throwing money into a burning fire.

'That's why only an extremely few reporters who are trained to control drones can use them...'

Since it was quite arduous and there were many things to pay special attention to, the drone-controlling reporters usually refrained from sending their drones after players unless it was a special event, such as a boss raid. As such, it was safe to say that the world inside the dungeon belonged entirely to the hunters.

'Once you go inside there, you can't expect things like law, order, and morality like on Earth.'

People could also be as dangerous as monsters. There were many threats he had to face, but it was the direction he had to go in order to grow.

'Here I go.'

Yu-Seong clenched his fist and took a step. Obviously, he didn't come all the way here to just look at the entrance. However, it was only natural that he couldn't help being nervous when he looked at the black cave, which looked like the mouth of a beast.

If it was the original Choi Yu-Seong from the novel, he would be nothing but monster food.

'I can't be the same as him.'

He was actually looking forward to it as much as he was nervous about it.

'This is the real beginning.'

Dungeons were full of as many rewards as risks. Players could increase their level, collect mana stones, and even obtain hidden treasures that could not be found on Earth. Yu-Seong also knew information about the treasures that were not yet gathered by others yet. If he could find the treasure, his chance of survival would increase even more. If he wants to survive, getting more power is necessary for him.

'I'll keep going forward and forward.?'

To be honest, he didn't even need to become the chairman of the Comet Group. He just wanted to enjoy his life as a rich loafer.

The path he chose was difficult, but he needed to encourage himself and move forward. After taking a deep breath, Yu-Seong stepped out into the darkness of the dungeon. His whole body disappeared inside the cave, and the darkness swallowed everything. His whole body felt heavy as if he were submerged in deep water. It was at this moment that Yu-Seong took a big step from being an ordinary game company employee to a hunter fighting for his life.

Dungeon.

This word -dungeon- was a word that referred to an unknown world where there were many unspeakable threats, such as violent monsters, hidden traps, and dead ends that led to enclosed spaces.

However, almost all players wanted to enter dungeons, even though they needed to put in the effort to earn a hunter's license. The public admired and envied such hunters. Some would say that adventures and romance waited inside the dungeons. Of course, this was total nonsense. The reason why people paid attention to the dungeons was that they were full of sweet rewards.

Hunters with strong abilities could not only take up more of the rewards but also build their reputation and wealth on Earth, which many people would naturally envy. When they gained even more power, not even the government could disrespect them. Especially in the capitalist society of today, hunters had an opportunity to enjoy the life that everyone dreamed of. Thus, those who were not satisfied with their life, or those who were filled with a desire for money and honor, wanted to become hunters.

However, Yu-Seong's case was different. He didn't need or desire great wealth and honor. He just wanted to survive. Yu-Seong threw himself inside the dungeon with a single desire - survival.

A kobold, a small monster with a height reaching Yu-Seong's knees, attacked him. Kobolds were monsters that lived in dungeons and could be considered weak enough for an F-ranked, level-one player to hunt two or three by themself. There was only one thing difficult about hunting Kobolds.

'Like all the other monsters, they don't know fear.'?

When he saw a group of kobolds rushing in recklessly without a trace of fear of death, he felt nervous and could not help but gulp.

It could be seen as a threat in that case, but in the end, it was just a monster inside a level one dungeon. Yu-Seong did not have to invoke his insight skills to catch a monster like a kobold.

'Vision-reinforcement F.'

It was a common and low-grade skill, but this was the most helpful skill that Yu-Seong currently possessed.

Keeek-

Yu-Seong moved only three steps to avoid the attack of the jumping kobolds, stabbed, pushed, and struck five kobolds with his own sharpened spear. He swept them away in a blink of an eye, then cheered inwardly when he saw the silver light swirl up from his toes to his head before dissipating.

'Level up!'

It took only an hour after Yu-Seong entered the dungeon. He was enjoying leveling up more quickly than he imagined.

'What do you mean there's no romance in the dungeon? That's nonsense!'

His voice was filled with emotion, "The dungeon is full of romance."

In fact, the 'romance' here was because of the rewards it offered.

'Oh, my God. I did expect this, but the?efficiency?in leveling up is totally different!'

Yu-Seong had no choice but to open his mouth after he checked the system window.

『Name: Choi Yu-Seong

Age: 20

Type: All-Rounder

Rank: E

Level: 15

Retention History:1

Special Skills: Star Factor Quality E, Fusion E

General Skills: Stylish E, Eye of Replication E, Spark E, Insight E, Vision-reinforcement F, Physical-reinforcement F, Dodge Roll F

Current Disabled Skill Space: No space left. If necessary, you can delete and overwrite normal skills except for the initial skills.

※ Hunting experience boost potion is being applied. 200% increase in hunting experience acquisition. The remaining duration is 300 minutes.』

Yu-Seong was E-rank and level nine when he entered the dungeon. He felt a mixture of tension and expectation of becoming even stronger. When he trained intensely for a month to prepare for the hunter test, his level only rose by eight, but after hunting kobolds, the weakest monster, for only an hour, he leveled up six more times. As he grew in level rapidly, he felt his physical ability and mana gradually grow as well. This feeling was like a reward for him.

'If I keep leveling up at this rate, I might be able to reach the highest level of E rank. in a month.'

This was fast enough to beat even Kim Do-Jin, who had a fraudulent special skill called "Genius" that allowed him to grow several times faster than any other player. Naturally, leveling up at this rate wasn't something that could be achieved with hunting normally.

'I love my Star Factor skill, and I love this hunting experience boost potion.'

Yu-Seong thought to himself as he thought back to when he drank a yellow potion from a flask as he entered the dungeon.

This potion was a secret weapon he made from the things he purchased from Ping Pong, the dimensional merchant who appeared after he spent 100 Karma points yesterday.

Thanks to this, Yu-Seong's system window showed the effect of increasing the experience he gained from hunting. This portion was made with the cloudy blood of trolls, Kalash's body fluid, and Halenew's petal mixed all together with a bit of water in the alchemist's empty flasks. After that, he obtained the hunting experience boost potion after waiting twelve hours. This secret manufacturing method of creating the potion was originally first found by Oh Ji-Hoon, who was known as the 'Midas touch' in the field of Alchemy, and who would soon become a colleague of Kim Do-Jin.

1. Basically Beverly Hills of Korea.

2. the posture of standing with one's feet apart and hands behind the waist.

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Chapter 23

The main character, Kim Do-Jin, received the secret of how to create the hunting experience boost potion for free from Oh Ji-Hoon. Because of this, he experienced growth much faster than others using this potion. In other words, Yu-Seong used the author's plan for Kim Do-Jin to take advantage of the potion before Do-Jin had a chance to use it, but that didn't make him feel bad in the least.

'It's not like if I make the potion, no one else can, so why would it matter?'

The difference was that Yu-Seong had to spend his own Karma points to make the potion, but there was nothing that he could do about it. He didn't have anyone like Oh Ji-Hoon, passionate fans, or those who acted as stepping stones for him.

'Supporters, supporters…'

Yu-Seong was still thinking a lot about this fact. The first thing he had to do to survive was garner supporters, and there was a clear and easy way to do this.

'The most convenient way is to steal Kim Do-Jin's supporters.'

The way the main character, Do-Jin, acquired his supporters was quite simple. First, he overwhelmed and fascinated his future supporters with his power and charisma, then showed them a little compassion. This world was filled with people who would show Do-Jin love, loyalty, and affection in response. Naturally, Yu-Seong could imitate this method somewhat. However, he didn't intend to take the easy path like Do-Jin.

'If I take away Kim Do-Jin's supporters, then who's going to stop the dungeon break or the upcoming disaster?'

Do-Jin was a regressor and could easily deal with the events alone without any help from his supporters. By contrast, Yu-Seong needed to consider the 'what if' scenarios.

Nothing was for certain in this world. Just as Yu-Seong's actions had caused Lee Jin-Wook to show up faster in this story, Do-Jin's story could have changed as well. What if Do-Jin took action by himself and died in a fight against the oncoming disaster? It would mean the death of the hero who was destined to save the world.

In that case, Choi Yu-Seong might have to run around as if his feet were on fire to prevent the oncoming disasters and dungeon breaks that would threaten the Earth. Moreover, he would have to deal with the villains as well.

This did not fit with his desired lifestyle. He wanted to enjoy his life after ensuring his own survival. So even though he was afraid of Kim Do-Jin, he didn't want Do-Jin to die. He needed Do-Jin to survive, protect the world, and become a hero.

Yu-Seong wanted to change only one future event.

'My survival.'

What of the death of Choi Woo-Jae?

He contemplated this issue quite a bit. After all, in this world, Choi Woo-Jae was Yu-Seong's father. However, Yu-Seong had yet to feel any kind of affection for Choi Woo-Jae enough to care whether he died or not. That was where he currently stood on the matter.

However, what if the moment came when Do-Jin had the opportunity to kill Woo-Jae? Could Yu-Seong turn a blind eye to the situation if his own survival was guaranteed? He couldn't say for sure.

"Eh, whatever."

The more complex and difficult a problem was, the more time he needed to spend thinking about it.

He shook off his thoughts and thought back to his first supporters.

'The Jin siblings and Chae Ye-Ryeong.'

It wasn't a bad combination at all, considering the high growth potential of the two siblings and Chae Ye-Ryeong, who was originally destined to become a major threat. Then, there was Yu-Seong himself.

But he still felt as if that wasn't enough.

'It would be nice if I had just one more person….'

Who would be an appropriate supporter for him? Someone he could recruit without getting in the way of Kim Do-Jin's future? Yu-Seong recalled the list of the characters in the original novels as he continued walking through the endless field.

30 minutes passed.

There had been quite a few monsters visible at the entrance when he had first gone in, but after some time had passed, their numbers had dropped. Yu-Seong realized that he had been quite lucky for the first hour after he had entered.

'There are many hunters around here.'

There were more F to D-rank hunters than he had expected in South Korea. Thus, it was more likely that there would be others who hunted monsters in low-level dungeons.

It was only natural, not only for him but for other hunters as well, to be entering dungeons. That was how they gathered experience points, monsters' by-products, and even mana stones if they were lucky.

'Come to think of it, more people are here because it's past lunchtime.'

Unlike the boss monsters, which took a month to regenerate, the monsters here regenerated every day at the same time. However, this field dungeon was quite wide, so the monsters were distributed over a large area. As such, it was quite difficult to hunt in an efficient manner.

Some of the hunters passing by Yu-Seong recognized him, and they looked at him with questioning eyes.

"Choi Yu-Seong?"

"Did he come here alone?"

"That's crazy, look at his equipment."

"Well, that's Choi Yu-Seong. He should have lots of money."

Yu-Seong could hear whispers behind him, but there were no hunters who approached him directly.

This dungeon was merely level one, but no matter how low its level was, a dungeon was still a dungeon, and it was dangerous.

If the hunters were careless, they could suffer fatal injuries from a monster's attacks. Unless they were fools, they couldn't afford to get distracted just because they saw someone famous.

Choi Yu-Seong walked through the dungeon for another ten minutes, but he only found one more kobold. After defeating the kobold, he thought everything over.

'This is ridiculous. This just won't do.'

The current situation wouldn't allow him to make the best use of the hunting experience boost potion.

'I must think of a way… But how?'

While he stood in place, he contemplated for a while before turning his eyes to the Retention History in the system information window.

'Come to think of it...!'

He was looking for an answer that was staring right at him. He hurriedly turned his gaze to the History tab.

History referred to past events, and it was a kind of reward given to the player by the system. Concretely, the system performed an analysis of the player's history and rewarded them with a suitable title. Usually, the title bestowed was a simple phrase rather than a complete sentence, and it was accompanied by some special boosts for the player. It was a reward, after all.

And the title Choi Yu-Seong obtained from the practical evaluation of the hunter test was…

?Crowd Puller

Player Choi Yu-Seong secured the attention of many humans and gods in a short period of time at the battle held in Yeouido, South Korea, on November 20, 2029.

When in effect, "Crowd Puller" attracts hostile beings toward the user.

Duration – 60 minutes

In gaming terms, "Crowd Puller was a provocation skill that taunted the opponents into attacking the user." When Yu-Seong first checked his history, he had dismissed this title as something unnecessary. He wasn't a defensive player whose role was to draw in the enemy's attention in the field anyways, so he had never thought such an ability would come in handy.

Thus, he had forgotten about the title, but now, he had to admit that he'd been mistaken.

'It's perfect for a situation like this, isn't it?'

Without hesitation, he applied the title 'Crowd Puller'.

Instantly, red letters appeared above his head. The letters were only visible to him.

'Crowd Puller'

After Yu-Seong confirmed that the title was in effect, he no longer walked leisurely but rather started to run through the field. He wasn't scared of anything—he knew from his previous battles that he could handle the monsters of this dungeon.

'I can take on ten kobolds without any problem.'

It wouldn't do for him to just fight one or two and then take a break.

Soon afterward, he had gathered a large group of kobolds. He shouted inwardly.

'Yes, the dungeon is everything I expected!'

Leveling up quickly by herding the monsters and then defeating them, the so-called grinding, was a great feeling known to anyone who played RPG games.

About a half year ago, Park Hyuk-Jin had found a new dream after awakening.

'After I become a hunter, I'll make a name for myself and become a superstar.'

He had liked to be the center of attention since childhood, and he had liked to receive attention ever since he was in school. As an adult, he became a so-called 'keyboard warrior', as commonly known in the internet world, to attract the attention of people around him.

His parents and younger siblings used to sigh and click their tongues as if he was wasting his time whenever they saw him sitting in front of the computer every day in his room. However, it wasn't like there had been anything else to do. He didn't get the job he wanted at the company he wanted. So, he had tried to study, but studying wasn't something that he was suited for. How could something that he hadn't been good at as a kid suit him now that he was older? As such, he had been stuck in quite a dilemma.

Then, like a miracle, he had been notified of his awakening from a system message. The skills he had gained were Strong Physique E, Roar E, and Shield Proficiency E. It was obvious from the skills given to him that he was suitable for becoming a tank. Thus, there was no reason for him to not choose the path of a hunter. As reflected by his skill, he was assigned the E-rank.

After proudly showing off to his family, Park Hyuk-Jin received their financial support to attend an academy, and with his own effort, he had finally managed to obtain the hunter's license last month. After that, he had gone on a few hunts to confirm that he had the qualities of a tank. When hunting, he had stood at the front with a shield, to prevent monsters from attacking, and stood stalwartly with his strong body even if some attacks snuck past the shield. In addition, his voice—reinforced by years of arguing with his parents about his PC addiction—was perfect for drawing monsters' attention using the Roar skill.

During his first hunt, he had found a party with difficulty and some awkwardness, and they had decided to hire Park Hyuk-Jin as their tank and herder. That was the first time he had received others' recognition, after being treated as the third wheel in his own home.

In reality, while the tank could be considered the party's leader, they could also be called a meat shield.

He would always be at the front and get beaten up, he would run alone when herding the monsters, and he would throw himself in harm's way if the dealer was about to get hurt.

He had faced many hardships, and he had felt afraid of the pain he was experiencing for the first time. However, Park Hyuk-Jin had never neglected his position. He didn't want to go back to his helpless and stupid ways, where he was left alone in his room.

Now, when Hyuk-Jin returned home in the evening after hunting, both his parents warmly welcomed him. They asked him if he was okay, saying that safety was the most important thing for hunters. They even prepared a hearty meal for him.

'I can change. I can become a superstar, lead my family into prosperity, and become recognized by everyone.'

Imagining his changed future, Hyuk-Jin was firm and faithful to his role as his party's tank. At some point in time, he had become the center of the party and was no longer awkward or afraid of interacting with them.

"What are you doing? Can't you attack properly?! What's with the buff? It hurts like hell!"

Everyone in the party was an F-rank player except for Park Hyuk-Jin. There were many instances where they had acted somewhat clumsily with their hands and feet and failed to properly use their abilities. In addition, their hunting speed was somewhat slow.

Park Hyuk-Jin wanted to continue hunting longer and fight more monsters, but the party members wanted to take a long rest once they finished the herding hunt. Even so, the total hunting time they spent hunting was less than four hours This made Hyuk-Jin upset.

'I should level up as soon as possible by hunting by myself more.?'

He was grateful that the party members had hired him as a tank and were taking him out on hunts, but that was it.

'I can't stay tied up here forever. I need to work harder to be a superstar.'

Hyuk-Jin had started off as an E-rank, and he also took pride in being different from the other party members. It was because he had a great skill composition no matter who saw it.

And his pride was often heard clearly in his words.

"Hey, I've got two attackers here, and it doesn't make sense to take half an hour to beat five kobolds. There's even a cleric in our party. Why are you guys so bad at this? Get a hold of yourself. Is the dungeon a joke?"

Park Hyuk-Jin's verbal abuse toward his party members began immediately after the hunt had ended.

The members of the party were each other's teammates from the hunter exam—those who took the exam together usually formed such parties. They all frowned when Hyuk-Jin started his tirade near the end of the hunt.

'Oh, should we recruit a new tank?'

Such thoughts occurred to everyone from time to time, but Park Hyuk-Jin's abilities, including the power to draw the aggro of the monsters through his Roar was a special ability that other low-ranked tanks did not have.

And compared to how clumsy he had been the first time he had fought against monsters, his tanking skills had increased rapidly day by day. For one reason or another, they inwardly recognized Hyuk-Jin's skills, so they could not argue with him, even if they were dissatisfied.

"Wow! Who is that man over there?" One of them asked in a surprised tone.

The eyes of the five party members turned toward the middle of the field. A man dressed in a nice, expensive-looking combat suit was running across the field.

"Isn't that Choi Yu-Seong?" Someone else said, having recognized the man.

"Yes, that's right. It's him."

"Oh damn, he is so handsome."

Was it because of his luxurious-looking equipment, or was it because of his handsome looks?

He was running in the field, under the sunlight, and he looked like a prince out of a fairy tale.

"Damn…He is so attractive."

Hyuk-Jin's eyebrows rose as he heard the only woman in the party casually praising Yu-Seong.

'Why can't I look that handsome? I feel like I am good-looking too.'

He knew that wasn't true when he looked in a mirror though.

In any case, while his thoughts were wandering, Hyuk-jin himself could not take his eyes off of Yu-Seong. It wasn't only him—in fact, all party members paid close attention to Yu-Seong, as if they were in a trance.

Therefore, they were late to realize that the ones following after Prince Charming were vicious-looking monsters.

"T-that…!"

"Wow, how many are there?"

There were at least 8 of them.

Even if Park Hyuk-jin used his skill, Roar, it wouldn't be enough to draw in more than three monsters at once. However, Yu-Seong was leading at least twice as many monsters. The monsters chased after Yu-Seong while screaming, without even looking left or right, as if they were possessed by something. Moreover, the number of monsters continued to increase.

Watching Yoo-Sun's jaw-dropping herding ability, one of the party members asked Park Hyuk-jin about his ability.

"Part Hyuk-Jin, you are not at that level, are you?"

Hyuk-Jin frowned at that question. The question triggered his inferiority complex.

"Hey, who do you think I am? If there are monsters gathered, I can bring them all here."

"Oh, really?" asked the party member sarcastically. It was a rather disagreeable response. That response made Hyuk-Jin flip out.

"Hey, do you want to make a bet?" said Hyuk-Jin.

"What?"

"Wait right here."

Park Hyuk-Jin's face turned red. He inhaled deeply. The party members were shocked as they knew that his following posture meant it was right before he would use his Roar skill.

"Hey, Park Hyuk-Jin, are you crazy?" cried one of the party members.

"That guy is Choi Yu-Seong. If you steal his...!" yelled out another member.

They tried to prevent Hyuk-Jin from shouting, but it was already too late.

"Kwaaaa-"

Hyuk-Jin closed his eyes and pounded his chest with his fists as he raised his head to roar at the sky. His inferiority complex acted as encouragement, and he did his best to use his skill as best as he could. Had he ever shouted with this much energy before? At least until now, he hadn't. That was why he was confident in his own way. He was certain that all the monsters that were chasing Yu-Seong would look at him instead.

'Were there about eight monsters?'

It was a lot, but he would be able to withstand their attacks and fight them somehow.

"Did you guys see that? This is what you would call a real tank's skills. It's on an entirely different level."

Hyuk-Jin placed the shield in front of him thinking that the monsters would come from the front. However, as soon as he opened his eyes, he had no choice but to stop talking.

The field was empty, with only the grass dancing in the wind. Yu-Seong and the monsters chasing him went already far enough that they appeared blurry.

Not a single monster had been attracted by Hyuk-Jin.

Deafening silence ensued.

"Ha, ha. That was a little weird. What the…" Hyuk-jin laughed awkwardly. His face turned red.

"...Pffff."

Somebody sneered audibly from behind him.

"Who was that?!" yelled Hyuk-Jin. He looked at them with anger in his eyes, but all the party members looked away and began to talk among themselves.

"Wow, Choi Yu-Seong is basically on an entirely different level," said one.

"I heard that he passed with the highest grade in the hunter exam, even though Irregulars participated. That exam was no joke. Wow, I'm feeling a bit envious. He is handsome, rich, and even has a strong ability," said another.

"If he has the ability to herd so many monsters by himself and deal with them alone, he'll climb the ranks in the blink of an eye."

"That was awesome. Really awesome."

Hyuk-Jin clenched his fists and left, realizing that his party members had turned on him. His pride was hurt, truly hurt. He had been thinking of staying with them until he surpassed the E rank, but now, there was no reason to join them anymore.

"Good luck without me. As of today, I'm out of this party," said Hyuk-Jin.

He started walking away by himself. However, no one called for him, nor made any attempt to stop him from leaving.

'You bastards, aren't you going to stop me?'

Frankly, he had expected the party members to stop him, but no one made a move. He was dumbfounded, but his pride was hurt and he had no intention of going back.

'That's right. Let's take this as an opportunity and stand on my own two feet.'

He would hunt alone and find a new party once he reached a higher level. One of Park Hyuk-Jin's strengths was that he was quick to accept an inevitable situation. He quickly forgot his anger. He walked through the field by himself, and he saw Choi Yu-Seong fighting against a group of kobolds in the far distance.

He thought about stealing the kills for a moment but quickly felt ashamed of his own thoughts. Soon, his shame turned into admiration.

'Wow…'

Choi Yu-Seong's movements appeared rather simple, but he was optimizing his movements to neutralize the monsters as quickly as possible. In addition, his ability to use his skills at just the right moments to avoid danger was excellent as well. Park Hyuk-Jin could tell since he had always battled at the forefront after joining the party.

'He is fundamentally different.'

It wasn't just about his skills, nor about his equipment. Although Park Hyuk-Jin possessed Shield Proficiency E, he couldn't even begin to imitate Choi Yu-Seong's movement. It was truly amazing.

Park Hyuk-Jin's eyes burned with a new desire as he observed Yu-Seong.

'I've decided. From today on, my goal is Choi Yu-Seong.'

He clenched his fists with determination.

After another hour of herd hunting, Choi Yu-Seong went up another five levels thanks to the number of monsters attracted by Crowd Puller. He plopped down somewhere in the wide field and chuckled.

'The cooldown time of Crowd Puller is about twenty minutes. It's perfect for a break.'

In a way, it felt as if he was wasting the effect of the hunting experience boost potion in the meantime, but he wasn't worried. Unexpected situations could arise at any time during a dungeon crawl. Test-takers were tested on information from the dungeon manual for the written portion of the exam, and resting was described in the manual as an essential element within the manual. Moreover, it was quite useful to review the process of herd hunting from the previous hour while taking a break.

Choi Yu-Seong was a human, and he made mistakes as well. Although it seemed as if he had done a great job, there were still areas of improvement in his hunting process. As such, he identified his own mistakes, then corrected them during the breaks he took from hunting. In addition, he recalled the several parties he had encountered during the last hour.

'There are definitely quite a few parties in the dungeon.'

Perhaps it was only natural, since forming a party in a dungeon reduced the risk in many ways. Yu-Seong wasn't the only one who hunted solo in a dungeon, but such cases were quite rare. And although he considered a party to be a burden at the moment, he knew it would be impossible to keep hunting solo as the difficulty of the dungeons increased

'Even Kim Do-Jin gave up on hunting solo from the A rank onward.'

Even the fraudulent protagonist of the original novel had been helpless at a certain point. It wasn't as if he could do any better than that.

"Oh, that person…"

As he contemplated things, Yu-Seong saw a figure holding a shield, drawing in monsters and fighting them by himself.

It was Park Hyuk-Jin.

'I'm sure he was with his party members earlier.'

So why was he alone now?

Yu-Seong felt puzzled for a moment but quickly shrugged it off.

'It's none of my business.'

Park Hyuk-Jin was basically a stranger to him. However, Yu-Seong never imagined that this would be the beginning of his relationship with Park Hyuk-Jin.Please visit fr𝐞𝐞wn.𝒸o𝔪 website to read fastest update

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Chapter 24

In Jamsil, South Korea, there was a hotel suite located in a building called the Landmark of Korea. Min Young-Hoon sat alone inside the room on a wide sofa and drank strong whiskey straight from the bottle. A hideous scar on his left cheek twitched.

"Ha-!"

Thinking of the situation that transpired only a moment ago made him feel so ridiculous that he was about to go ballistic.

"It's ridiculous that the majority of the masters of the top ten guilds are such cowards…"

Min Young-Hoon clicked his tongue as he wrote them off as cowards without any hesitation. In fact, Young-Hoon was confident in himself because of his position and ability. He was the vice master of the Heaven Guild and an S-rank level thirty player. Heaven guild was considered the second strongest among Korea's top ten guilds.

A week ago, he had sent an email to all of the top ten guilds. The contents explained that lately, the Comet Group was preparing to enter the hunter guild market and that the guilds needed to work together to prevent this from happening.

Young-Hoon had rented a hotel suite worth more than ten million won a night for the meeting and even prepared his own plans. However, none of the masters from the guilds actually showed up to the meeting. Although Min Young-Hoon had contacted everyone and confirmed that the masters didn't have anything special planned—except Oh Hyun-Woo who was the master of Heaven Guild and was away—none of them showed.

Six guild masters sent agents instead, and all of them were at least directors of the guilds. The masters were conscious of Young-Hoon's nickname "Mad Dog" and his reputation. However, none of the agents looked happy about the meeting. To be more precise, they showed up to this meeting looking as if they wanted to escape from it as quickly as possible. They kept trying to avoid looking at Young-Hoon's face.

Actually, Young-Hoon knew why things turned out this way.

'They are scared of the Comet Group, I mean Choi Woo-Jae.'

Young-Hoon ground his teeth and clutched his bottle tighter.

"Why are they afraid of one dying old geezer..."

It was true that the old man was a legendary figure as head of the Comet Group and displayed extremely fast development after awakening at such a late age. However, wasn't he still an old man in the end?

Min Young-Hoon really couldn't understand this situation.

'If my hyung-nim were here at this time…'

No, the situation would be the same.

On the contrary, Young-Hoon started this all because it was easier for him to proceed without Oh Hyun-woo. After all, this was more of his personal problem. He at least wanted to prevent the Comet Group from entering the guild market somehow, but it didn't work out the way he imagined. Just as he put his head into his hands, which now was pounding with a headache, the hotel door opened quietly. A young woman with long wavy hair and high heels entered the room with elegant steps.

"Huh? Were you drinking? I guess things didn't go as you planned."

The woman clicked her tongue while speaking to Young-Hoon. She was speaking casually to him, even though he made even the top ten guild masters feel some pressure when speaking to him.

"...cking."

After hearing Young-Hoon mumble a curse under his breath, the woman frowned and sat opposite of him. She crossed her legs and asked.

"Do not curse. What happened?"

Young-Hoon slowly raised his head and looked at her. His eyes were filled with burning heat.

"Did you really just ask what happened? Everyone was scared and ran away," Young-Hoon spoke angrily. "Choi In-Young, it seemed like they would even bark if your father told them to. Woof woof, woof woof."

"That's enough. You're being pathetic." Choi In-Young, the fifth oldest member of the Choi family, scolded him as she rolled her eyes.

"I know," Young-Hoon responded.

He grabbed the whiskey bottle and placed it against his lips once more. When he tilted his head backward, In-Young jumped out of her seat and stole the bottle.

"Why-…!"

Before Young-Hoon could even say a word, In-Young lowered her head and kissed him. Her tongue slipped past his lips like a snake.

"Mmm…."

Young-Hoon groaned and gradually calmed down. In-Young slowly swept her hair behind her ears, then withdrew from the kiss. Her eyes shone fiercely.

"Calm down, Young-Hoon. Calm down and think about it. I know this is frustrating, but you must stop this somehow. You know that if my father makes a guild, it's obvious that he will allow my second sister to take over as the master. That would effectively wipe out any opportunity for me."

"..."

"You said you want to marry me, and said you are going to make me the chairman of the Comet Group as the wedding present. Aren't you going to keep your promise?"

"So here I am doing all this to keep my promise," said Young-Hoon with a sigh.

In-Young sat on Young-Hoon's lap and smiled with her eyes.

"So don't get too emotional and try to do things too quickly. Take your time. Got it?"

Her soft touch passed carefully over Min Young-Hoon's head. Young-Hoon's eyes were burning and his hand slowly headed toward her chest. In-Young lightly pushed his hand away and spoke with a shining gaze.

"I'm just saying this because you said it didn't go well, but I just thought of a good plan."

"What plan?" Young-Hoon asked.

He licked his lips as if he felt a bit regretful.

"My brother Yu-Seong, the ninth child of the Choi family," In-Young began to explain her plan.

"Choi Yu-Seong?"

"Yeah, I heard he's been out hunting alone lately."

"So what?"

"My father doesn't show it too directly but I know that he does value Yu-Seong quite a lot. And it seems like he's been favoring him more recently."

"It was quite controversial when your father protected him when he went around causing trouble," Young-Hoon remarked.

"You know, Yu-Seong doesn't know but my father isn't someone to do things like that."

"Yes, I know that very well."

Wasn't that why most of the top ten guild masters were so scared? That was why today's meeting ended up failing.

"Can't you think of anything you can do after hearing what I've said so far?" asked In-Young.

"About what?"

In response to Min Young-Hoon's rebuttal, In-Young smiled with her eyes. Then she sat opposite him again.

"Yu-Seong's awakening went to his head. He's been a bit arrogant, and he's been a bit annoying lately."

"Then what, kill Choi Yu-Seong?" asked Young-Hoon as his eyes widened in surprise.

"Hey, when did I ever say such a scary thing?"

"Or do you want me to kidnap him or something? Then threaten the old man to stay out of the guild market if he wants to save his son? You really think it's gonna work?" Young-Hoon seemed skeptical

No matter how much the father cared about Yu-Seong, their opponent was Choi Woo-Jae, known to be cold-blooded. He would snort and tell them to do whatever they wanted to do.

"Well, I bet it would work for at least a bit," In-Young disagreed. Her thoughts were different from Young-Hoon's.

"Even my oppas don't know how much that cunning old man cares about Yu-Seong," she continued. Please visit fr𝐞𝐞wn.𝒸o𝔪 website to read fastest update

"Then that makes it even more clear that we shouldn't. If we mess with Yu-Seong, I'll be dead too."

The fact that he cursed the other guilds didn't mean that he was not afraid of Choi Woo-Jae at all.

"Who told you to do it yourself? You have lots of followers under your command. And you also have me," In-Young said as she pointed to herself with her index finger. It seemd as if she was frustrated.

"Even if doesn't care about me as much as he cares about Yu-Seong, my father still cares about me quite a lot," she continued.

"..."

"And there's no need to kill or hurt him. You don't have to lock him up somewhere either. He's still my brother. Do you think I would want to do such horrible things to my younger brother? Just take him to a place that's hard to reach for a while. We just need to make my father focus on that."

"And if I do that, what happens?" questioned Young-Hoon.

"Do you think my oppas would act any differently than me? We're all working together and making the guild business collapse,"

"It would just be stalling for time."

In-Young sneered at Young-Hoon's words and placed the bottle she took away from him on the table. Then she stood up.

"I can take care of that. Meanwhile, there's no need to do something you don't want to do. It just means… that's all your feelings towards me amount too. At least, that's what I will be forced to think."

In-Young showed a sweet smile and left the suite as if she had no regrets. It looked like she really had expected nothing from him.

After she left, Min Young-Hoon looked casually at the closed door. He lifted up the bottle again and muttered.

"...Bitch."

Before he knew it, his hand found and picked up the phone that was thrown somewhere on the sofa.

"Hey, it's me. There's something you should do for me. The risk is quite high. The target is one of the Choi family members of the Comet group."

Min Young-Hoon tapped the back of his cell phone with his index finger in spite of himself. He looked nervous somehow.

Choi Yu-Seong's results from the last five days hunting were certainly not negligible, especially with the effects of the hunting experience boost potion and the Star Factor assisting him.

『Name: Choi Yu-Seong

Age: 20

Type: All-Rounder

Rank: E

Level: 38

Retention History:1

Special Skills: Star Factor Quality E, Fusion E

General Skills: Stylish F, Eye of Replication E, Spark E, Insight E, Vision-Reinforcement F, Physical-Reinforcement F, Dodge Roll F

Current Disabled Skill Space: No space left. If necessary, you can delete and overwrite normal skills except for the initial skills. 』

In the early evening, Yu-Seong returned home and sat at the table after taking a shower. He couldn't stop smiling the entire time.

'If it's like this, I'll be able to achieve a D rank within a month.'

It wasn't only his level either; as his skill experience increased, his skills' ranks had also risen. The pace of leveling had slowed down compared to the first day, but he didn't care much about that. The growth rate was naturally designed to slow as time passed by. Moreover, the most surprising thing about the results was that he had used the hunting experience boost potion on only two of the last five days.

In fact, that was the only decision he could make.

Yu-Seong currently had no Karma points left, and he had only five bottles of the hunting experience boost potion. However, he wasn't worried about it too much. He already sent a few people to obtain the materials needed to remake the potion. The materials he needed were items that players usually didn't purchase. Also, even though items that appeared insignificant were sometimes traded for high prices in the dimensional stores, he could still get his hands on them. As such, he was certain that he would be able to procure a sufficient amount in the near future.

'Using the Jin sibling's Karma points is not an option.'

The Jin siblings would lend him the Karma points if he asked, but this was something that he wouldn't consider as an option.

There were so many ways that Karma points could be used directly to strengthen the player.

And of course, he wasn't desperate to obtain the potions by hindering the Jin sibling's growth. They would grow stronger and continue to be great allies to him.

His current method of leveling up wasn't bad either. Actually, it was plenty fast enough. Realizing this, Yu-Seong's mood improved day by day.

'Now I just need to sort out about collecting supporters.'

Yu-Seong saw Chae Ye-Ryeong, who was getting ready to go home.

And just in time, Yu-Seong's eyes met her eyes, though she had already been staring at him. She had a tiny body. She smiled awkwardly and lowered her head with an anxious expression.

"I am heading home now," said Chae Ye-Ryeong.

"Good work today, see you tomorrow," Jin Yu-Ri called out to her.

"Goodbye." Jin Do-Yoon also said his farewell.

Ye-Ryeong smiled and waved at their goodbyes. Then she stopped her brisk pace and looked back.

"Oh, umm… sir," Ye-Ryeong trailed off.

"Yes?"

Ye-Ryeong didn't leave right away as usual. She looked at Yu-Seong.

"My younger siblings wanted me to give you their thanks."

"...Sorry?"

"The truth is that I don't have any parents, but I have three younger siblings."

The Jin siblings and Yu-Seong's eyes quivered after the unexpected admission from Ye-Ryeong. However, the three felt something different. First, Jin Do-Yoon couldn't stop his eyes from quivering after discovering the truth. He couldn't help but think of how young she was. Naturally, he felt sympathy for her.

On the other hand, Yu-Seong and Yu-Ri were already aware of Ye-Ryeong's situation through their own methods. However, the two had not predicted that Chae Ye-Ryeong would say it herself. They did not expect that she would have the courage to tell her story because she was too young and carried a lot of burdens on her shoulders.

"My life has improved a lot thanks to the two of you and you, sir. Recently, I was able to move out from the top of the shantytown and into a small apartment. I also heard from the real estate woman that unnicame and asked them to lower my new apartment's rent," said Ye-Ryeong.

This time, Yu-Seong looked surprised at Yu-Ri. He was wondering what Ye-Ryeong meant by saying thank you to 'the two of you' as well. Now he had an answer to one of his questions.

"And Jin Do-Yoon oppa asked the aunties to give me the leftover side dishes whenever I go home."

Suddenly, Do-Yoon's face turned red. He had not known the details of her situation before now.

He helped her because he figured that she was going through hard times if she had to work at her age.

"It was nothing. That woman didn't need to tell you that though," said Yu-Ri.

"Hem, hm." Do-Yoon cleared his throat.

Yu-Ri turned her eyes to the ceiling while fumbling her hands in the air while Do-Yoon kept looking at the ground.

"You both…." Yu-Seong began. He looked at the two with a big but pleasant smile.

"And sir?" Ye-Ryeong called out Yu-Seong.

"Yes?"

"To be honest, I thought you might be a bad guy like the rumors said."

"You said 'thought,' in the past tense, so that means that you don't think that way anymore. In fact, that's a good thing right?" asked Yu-Seong.

"Yes!" answered Ye-Ryeong in a proud and loud voice. She then bowed her head to Yu-Seong.

"Now, I'm really grateful. Thanks to you, my younger siblings' faces are brighter and their health has improved a lot. It's all because of you, master. My siblings said they are truly grateful to you. They said they wanted to thank you personally but I said that I would say it for them because I know you are busy." continued Ye-Ryeong.

Yu-Seong scratched his cheek.

"I'm rather grateful to hear that."

He knew it well because he was originally an orphan. It was not easy to have such a kind heart after experiencing hardships at such a young age without a parent. However, not only Chae Ye-Ryeong, but all her younger siblings were still warmhearted. He felt his own heart warming.

'All I did was to give her some money, and it wasn't even that much.'

Moreover, that was still something like a future investment strategy of his, but the returns he gained today made him feel quite strange.

"Thank you very, very much. It's not enough, but I'll do my best. Then I'll see you tomorrow as well!" Ye-Ryeong spoke with a laugh.

Her eyes seen through her hair were filled with joy. Such a pure, innocent appearance was refreshing.

Choi Yu-Seong and the Jin siblings also laughed with her. Ye-Ryeong bowed once again and ran outside. Her face had turned red, perhaps embarrassed.

Only the three of them were left.

"I actually... I didn't understand why you hired her," said Yu-Ri.

"Is that why you went all the way to her house and tried to help her?" replied Yu-Seong.

"Those are two separate matters. I just felt so bad for the kids."

Yu-Ri did not ask Yu-Seong how he knew about Chae Ye-Ryeong's family situation.

Since it was Yu-Seong that decided to hire her, Yu-Ri would try her best to thoroughly investigate her. It was just how she was. She always crossed the Ts and dotted the Is. And fortunately, Chae Ye-Ryun did not seem to be particularly displeased with this.

"Continue on, so?"

"I just thought it wouldn't be a bad thing to help her, even though it could end up meaningless."

"It turns out that the young master already knew all the facts," said Do-Yoon.

"Uh…Sort of?" responded Yu-Seong.

Do-Yoon looked at Yu-Seong after hearing Yu-Ri's explanation. His eyes were sparkling and likely to even start crying soon.

"I'm very... very proud of you, young master," said Do-Yoon.

"No way! Brother, are you crying?" asked Yu-Ri.

"No, I was just a little touched."

"That's what crying means. How old are you?" Yu-Ri picked on Do-Yoon.

Looking at the two, Yu-Seong couldn't explain that he hired her because he knew that she would develop outstanding abilities in the future. There was definitely something that Choi Yu-Seong felt from this incident.

"I've done a good deed."

It was something he had never thought about before since he never had the luxury of having something to give. For the first time, he learned what it was like to do something for others.

1. Hyung-nim is meant to be spoken from one male to an older male in a more respectful way

2. address towards an older brother in Korea

3. an address towards an older sister in Korea

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Chapter 25

The next day, Yu-Seong went hunting again as usual. He burned with the desire to achieve the max level of E-rank within a month. He had no need for a break.

The Jin siblings had been following him to his hunting spot for several days now, and they saw him off more calmly compared to the beginning. Perhaps they felt increasing relief from seeing Yu-Seong's safe returns after going hunting alone.

'Even so, they never forget to remind me not to let my guard down.'

Do-Yoon and Yu-Ri's eyes were always filled with sincere worry and goodwill. This was rather surprising since they weren't actually a part of Choi Yu-Seong's family. And before possessing this body, Yu-Seong had shown obvious signs of annoyance toward them even though he didn't outrightly ignore them.

Then, why did the two care so much about Yu-Seong when he had given them enough reason to dislike him? Due to the original novel's poor settings, there was no way for him to figure out the entire story of Yu-Seong, as he had always been a minor character since the beginning of the story; except for the scene where Choi Woo-Jae was murdered.

'If there was a backstory, it wouldn't be something ordinary…'

Choi Yu-Seong had also experienced social life, so he knew that relationships between humans were not so simple. Just because one showed favors to another did not necessarily mean that they would receive a proportionate response.

The company had a new employee who seemed to be having a hard time. Yu-Seong tried showing support by being kind to him, but that simply made him a pushover.

Of course, that might have happened because of the particular person's characteristics, considering that humans were complex. However, it was clear that the two siblings' enthusiastic support wasn't done thoughtlessly. This was especially true for Jin Yu-Ri, who had a lot of doubts and was rather cold-hearted.

'It would be easier to understand if it's a rational emotion.'

To put it bluntly, there was not an ounce of such emotion in the relationship between Jin Yu-Ri and Choi Yu-Seong. Rather, her feelings were somewhat closer to motherly love as he once recalled.

'Should I ask her directly later?'

Why in the world would the two of them cherish this character, Choi Yu-Seong, so much? If he tried to ask, his face might turn red with embarrassment and he might not be able to properly bring up the subject.

"...I may have to drink a glass of alcohol," Choi Yu-Seong mumbled to himself while entering the dungeon.

He was now used to entering it alone. He blinked.

A rather dizzy sensation passed by, and only a dark underground cave revealed itself to him. It was probably because he was near the entrance. If he proceeded a little further, he would find a lot of complicated, tangled tunnels.

From today, Choi Yu-Seong was heading to a level 2 dungeon located in Mokdong instead of the level 1 dungeon he had been in for the past few days. He gained confidence as he got used to hunting alone, and so he had come to a higher-level dungeon for the first time. The higher-level dungeon would give him more experience to accelerate his level up.

"I've heard of it, but it's really a dungeon. It is humid, damp, and a bit sticky…"

The feeling itself was not particularly pleasant compared to the plain field. Yu-Seong checked the portal to return to the earth, which emitted blue light behind his back. Then, he retrieved and opened the map from the deepest part of his battle suit. The map was prepared by Yu-Ri in advance.

'Since it might get ripped during the battle.'

Yu-Seong planned to memorize the shape of the road as much as possible before he started. There was nothing to lose by being thoroughly prepared.

Jin Yu-Ri was sitting in a chair, looking at her phone near the 'Dungeon Square' building by the Player Association. She raised her head from the cell phone. The Dungeon Square was not noticeable since there were many people passing by and it was located in a busy area, but she noticed that there were quite many hunters entering the Dungeon Square.

"Don't you think that there are more people than back in our day?" commented Yu-Ri.

"That's because the number of players increases by the year," answered Do-Yoon with a nod.

Even about eight years ago, when she had just awakened, the news often reported the increasing numbers of Players. Since eight years have passed since then, it was a given that there would be more players than before. However, the world still wanted more players and hoped that the number of hunters would keep increasing.

It was an obvious thing. A D-rank hunter was considered as a combatant who could fight a fully armed platoon unit. Also, only hunters could fight against the monsters that used bizarre magic. Modern firearms didn't work against such monsters.

In this era, the hunters who were outstanding in either attacking or defending were an important resource, and they were sufficient to enhance the position of their country.

"It has already been about 3 hours since he went in."

"I assume that he will take the whole half day," said Do-Yoon.

"It's fascinating to think about it. I didn't expect Yu-Seong oppa to change so quickly."

"Maybe that was his intention from the very beginning."

"You sound so positively naive," commented Yu-Ri.

"Well, as you may remember, the young master was originally a person of great caliber." Jin Do-Yoon refuted as Yu-Ri gave a cold smile. His wistful eyes traced the past as if he was recalling memories.

"It's true that Yu-Seong oppa stood out compared to his peers when he was young. But if he's really a person of great caliber, he wouldn't have become crooked like that."

"A sleeping dragon crouches low and bides for the right time. Young Master must have some big plan that we don't know about."

"Absolutely not. I'd rather say that there's some psychological change in him. Recently, there's someone who might have influenced Yu-Seong oppa..."

The Jin siblings simultaneously recalled the person with somewhat arrogant eyes, the person who was a rising star of this era.

"No way, did he change because of Kim Do-Jin?"

"...I don't want to admit it."

"Me neither."

The two felt curiously anxious ever since Do-Jin had first approached Yu-Seong. And even now, that feeling still remained. They just had too many doubts regarding Kim Do-Jin.

Kim Do-Jin was a genius of the era, suddenly appearing like a comet. He had beautiful swordsmanship that everyone truly admired. Although he could be seen as arrogant, his personality was highly regarded. He was a perfectionist who seemed perfect and blemish-free, yet he had taken the initiative to connect with Choi Yu-Seong.

In fact, it was strange for any sense of strong adoration toward someone like Yu-Seong to come about without any good reason. But what if Kim Do-Jin had caused a positive change in Yu-Seong?

'Did that stuck-up guy make some kind of miracle or something?'

To some extent, the Jin siblings knew what Kim Do-Jin was truly made of. They shook their heads at the same time.

"Jin Yu-Ri, Jin Do-Yoon." Two men in dark sunglasses and black suits approached the siblings.

"What's this? Are you pretending to be the Iron Wall?" Yu-Ri spoke leisurely but she was somehow anxious.

'Who sent these guys?'

They had a tempered body and their eyes glinted coldly beneath the sunglasses. The Jin siblings could tell from their appearance alone that they did not come with favorable intent. Jin Yu-Ri remained smiling as she subtly reached out to try and grab the man's collar.

Suddenly, the tip of Yu-Ri's jaw felt a cool and cold sensation. She quickly stopped her outstretched hand. Her mouth twisted up into a smile.

"You have a good sense, huh?"

"You too. You have such sticky fingers, little girl." The man looked at Jin Yu-Ri with his hands in his pocket. A blue haze rose from the man's eyes.

.

A very small blue light was shining sharply under her chin. The light was so small that it could be mistaken to be a harmless dot.

'This guy's skill is above average.'

Yu-Ri herself was an A-rank psychic type player. She was confident of her speed even within the same ranked players. However, the opponent's ability had been almost up to par with hers. The man wasn't just a decent amateur who simply looked like an expert.

'Who are they? What's their intention?'?

Her eyes were filled with doubts and she tensed up slightly.

"Do you want to save Yu-Seong?" asked the stranger.

As soon as Yu-Seong's name was mentioned, Jin Do-Yoon's shoulders twitched. Jin Yu-Ri stopped him by raising her hand. Her eyes were also cold. Gone were the curious questions and calculations, having been replaced by fury and anger.

"Think before you speak. From now on, anything you spit out is at your own peril," warned Yu-Ri.

However, the man did not make a single movement even after the harsh threat. He simply said, "We've secured Choi Yu-Seong by releasing our people in the dungeon. If you desire to save his life, follow me quietly."

"Did you say you messed with the Choi family? You seem to have multiple lives," sneered Yu-Ri.

When the man seemingly didn't care about her reaction and turned his back, she frowned at his receding back.

The men walked away without hesitation.

'It could be a trap.'

No, Yu-Ri was more than fifty percent sure that this was a trap. It would be foolish to believe and act according to these unknown men's words, but… Even if she would be branded a criminal by entering the dungeon, that was probably the right decision instead of chasing down the men right now.

However, there was too little information. She had to make a rational judgment in such circumstances. It would be much of a relief if the buff men's words were false.

'Then, Yu-Seong oppa will definitely be able to come out of the dungeon safely.'

If that happened, she had an appropriate measure prepared.

Yu-Ri pressed the emergency call button on the cell phone from inside her pocket. She made sure that it rang three times before ending the call. With this, a great portion of her anxiety was relieved.

In the case that Yu-Seong returned safely from the dungeon, she would have nothing to worry about. The men in suits may be speaking the truth, however… It was an extremely small possibility, but the Jin siblings could never turn a blind eye to any possibility.

"Let's go after them," said Do-Yoon.

"Fuck," cussed Yu-Ri. With a nod, she got up.

In fact, the two already knew what they had to do. As long as Choi Yu-Seong was involved, they would even walk into something that was bound to be a trap. They could not come up with any other conclusion, even if the men in suits were higher-ranking players than the Jin siblings. The siblings would risk their life if they needed to.

'If they touched a single strand of hair on Yu-Seong oppa's head…'

A-rank player? Or some kind of a big organization? It didn't matter.

'I'll chase them to the end of hell and kill them all.'

Jin Yu-Ri ground her teeth and chased after the men. Then, she suddenly turned her head. 'Did it just….'

Do-Yoon also turned and was surprised. They looked at each other and frowned. They seemed to be having the same thought.

"...I am not too keen on this, yet there is no way but to trust it," said Do-Yoon.

"Agreed." Yu-Ri nodded.

About three hours had passed since Yu-Seong first entered the dungeon. He spent that time adapting to the underground cave-type field, which he hadn't previously encountered. He was initially worried about the restrictions on movement in the field, but it wasn't as significant as he had thought. The cave was wide enough for four or five monsters to attack simultaneously. It was darker than the land-type field, but he adapted in less than ten minutes thanks to the effect of vision-reinforcement E.

However, he had two unsurprising problems – the moisture and discomfort of the underground environment, and the complicated geography. The difficulty regarding the directions could be solved through the map somehow, but the former was a little different.

'It's definitely more uncomfortable than spending time in the wide field.'

Choi Yu-Seong pulled out his spear from the head of the monster Noll and continued thinking. While walking through the cave, he thought that the spear was heavier than usual. He shook off the blue blood running down the blade of the spear and placed it in the back holder attached to the combat suit. Then, he opened the map and checked his location.

'There's an open space after a 20-minute walk from here.'

He looked at a blue star marked by Yu-Ri, which made it clear that it was a resting place where monsters usually did not appear.

Choi Yu-Seong made that resting place his first destination.

'Since I'm slowly getting used to the dungeon, let's take a short break and activate the History to herding hunt.'?

Still, it was a decision that could be drawn as it was not difficult to deal with the level two monster noll. Perhaps it was due to his hard work leveling up.

"Let's go."

Yu-Seong stepped forward and spoke up with a rather light and powerful voice to shake off the dampness of the dark cave. However, he had to stop walking forward after less than three minutes.

He could hear the sound of people's footsteps from the direction of the open space he was heading to.

Then, three hunters appeared. In terms of numbers, they appeared to be a regular party. However, they had silently walked down the cave only to halt upon bumping into Yu-Seong.

Yu-Seong felt a chill run down his back and an unknown feeling of anxiety. He stopped and looked at his opponents. The three seemed to murmur something among themselves. Then, suddenly, they started running toward him.

'What the heck are they?'?Suspicious, He turned around and ran without hesitation.

Sure enough, the silent men suddenly raised their voices, "Catch him-! He's Choi Yu-Seong!"

As he ran, Yu-Seong saw two men walking toward him from the front. They took out their respective weapons and ran forward as if they were responding to the shouts. Both his front and back were blocked in the narrow corridor.

'...It is a catch-22. Stuck between these two groups of men.?'

Yu-Seong had no place to escape. He clicked his tongue and reached behind his back, grabbing the spear. He was surprised but quickly recovered his composure. In fact, there were all sorts of people who would target him: the Villains who wanted money, his siblings who disliked him, and moreover, Kim Do-Jin.

'I have no idea what's going on, but I can't just let them beat me up.'

It was something that Yu-Seong had prepared for when he had first entered the dungeon. The world inside the dungeon was often devoid of the worldly laws. It was a place hidden from the rest of the world. There was only one rule that always stood true in the dungeons. Please visit fr𝐞𝐞wn.𝒸o𝔪 website to read fastest update

'Survival of the fittest.'

Thinking back, this was a familiar situation for him.

'Ever since my birth, when I became possessed by a novel….'

The guy named 'Life' had never ever let Yu-Seong live a smooth life.

'There is no difference.'

Nothing had changed. And so, he was not afraid.

"Caught him-!"

The men were already at a close distance from him.

Using his spear, Yu-Seong deflected the sword that his opponent had swung with a grin. Then he aimed his spear at the man running at him from the back.

The man freaked out and dodged the attack.

"Ho, how is that possible?!"

"I was told that he was E-rank!"

Choi Yu-Seong broke through the road with small movements, then leaped forward. 'Better a live coward than a dead hero,'?he thought.

Therefore, even if the current world was unfolding inside a fictional novel, or even if a terrible death worthy of a villain awaited him at the end… he would not choose an easy and comfortable path.

Even if he had to grit his teeth, clench his fists, and crawl on the floor, he would…

"I will survive. I am never giving up."

This was a way of life chosen by the human Choi Yu-Seong.

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Chapter 26

Yu-Seong was first aware of the three men behind him and the two in front of him. He thought that there were only five enemies in total, but there were actually more of them.

'It hasn't been long since I passed two of them but now, three suddenly showed up from the side path.'

The level two dungeon-–the cave of the nolls—was so complicated that it was inconvenient to navigate without a map. Thus it was not strange for new enemies to suddenly appear in Yu-Seong's path. However, it made the situation even more difficult, because of the unexpectedly high number of men. There was also a possibility that Yu-Seong could be facing even more than eight enemies.

'The highest rank capable of entering a level two dungeon is D.'

Yu-Seong's path was blocked by the men. He looked at his opponents and gulped. Unlike the two careless two men he had easily passed, these three men had quite a serious expression on their faces.

"Don't let your guard down!"

"If we lose him, we will all die!"

The pursuers shouted while chasing after Yu-Seong. It was highly likely that these three men were cautious because they could hear the pursuers shouting.

"It might be the cave. Don't you think their shouts are echoing a bit too much?" Yu-Seong asked his opponent. The more time passed, the more advantage he would have in this situation. It would be easier to deal with them if he knew the opponent's intention.

"Don't think about playing petty tricks…."

And speaking with them made it easier to get them to slip up and be careless. Yu-Seong cut off the man's words and attacked. He aimed at the opponent's throat using his spear.

The man standing to the left extended his arm forward. A transparent barrier appeared and deflected Yu-Seong's spear.

'He's a Psychic-type, a defensive barrier skill player.'

Psychic-type players were usually harder to deal with than physical types. One could battle Physical type players directly, but it was harder to determine what kind of abilities Psychic types possessed and how they utilized it unless battling them directly.

"How arrogant…!" The man who narrowly avoided getting stabbed by Yu-Seong's spear swung his fist while speaking. His face was red. Immediately, the man's arm hardened like a rock.

Yu-Seong kept his eyes on the man's arm as the man bent down. He caught sight of something wriggling below the ground. 'Something is coming.' He quickly swung his spear sideways and jumped slightly into the air.

Paat-!?

After a short delay, tree roots shot out from the ground and covered the spot where Yu-Seong had occupied a moment ago.

"Tsk." The man standing on the right clicked his tongue.

Yu-Seong felt a chill run down his spine. If he made a mistake, he would get caught right away.

'Only five are left. I wanted to save the rest for as long as possible, since only a limited number remains, but…'?

He didn't have a choice but to use the skill—Insight. There were simply too many people to deal with, and they were quite formidable as well. He knew it would be too difficult to fight them without using the skill.

In an instant, blue energy blazed in Yu-Seong's eyes. He could feel his field of vision was relatively broadening.

'This….'?

Was it because the rank of skill had increased from F to E? The radius he gained from Insight seemed wider than before.

Yu-Seong peeked at the opponent's system stats right away. His lips twisted into a sneer.

'All three of them are D-rank players?'?

If so, those chasing from behind were also likely to be D-rank players.

"This is quite funny, a bunch of D-Ranks chasing after an E-Rank player. Have you heard of the saying 'Use a Sledgehammer to Crack a Nut'?"

"..." The three men could not hide their surprise after Yu-Seong discovered their rank, but they still moved quickly. The man with the stone fist instantly arrived in front of Yu-Seong and punched him.

Yu-Seong tilted his head to the side and avoided the attack. Then, he quickly threw himself to the floor.

'Dodge Roll F!' Please visit fr𝐞𝐞wn.𝒸o𝔪 website to read fastest update

The skill was inelegant and did not quite match Yu-Seong's Stylish skill. However, it was currently the best skill that enabled him to roll to avoid the opponent's attack.

Because of that, Choi Yu-Seong was able to close the distance to the player with the shield skill. In a way, it was that skill that made the fight most difficult for him.

"Hmph!" The man snorted and expanded his shield.

Yu-Seong rolled on the floor after seeing the man and got up quickly. He then threw his spear without hesitation. The spear bounced off with a shockwave. Yu-Seong dashed forward and grabbed the spear.

At the same time, tree roots appeared from the ground. It rose from where Yu-Seong was positioned to land, and spread out like the arms of an evil sprite.

"Gotcha, you brat!"

"Hmph!" snorted Yu-Seong. A translucent shield instantly formed under his feet, blocking the soaring tree roots and permeating back into the ground.

"That guy, how can he use that shield skill?!"

"This wasn't in the profile we were given!"

Yu-Seong left behind the bewildered voices and struck the opponent's shield with his spear. He instantly struck the same spot more than five times and caused cracks to appear in the D-rank Player's shield.

"You bastard!"

The player with the stone fist came after Yu-Seong and swung his arm aggressively.

"Hey, you crazy bastard!"

"Huh?"

Yu-Seong used the Dodge Roll skill once again without hesitation, and as a result, the stone fist slammed hard onto another opponent's shield.

Boom!

"Kuac-!"

There was a sound of the shield breaking along with a bloody cough.

Yu-Seong quickly got up, using the spear as a cane. He dashed forward and landed a firm kick to the shield-skilled player's jaw.

"Kuah-!" The shield player's broken teeth clattered to the ground along with blood. His eyes rolled back as he fell. He wouldn't die, but the attack was definitely enough to knock him out.

"Got one guy. D-rank isn't anything much after all." Yu-Seong purposefully showed a relaxed smile and dashed forward. The more aggravated the opponent was, the better. The more they lost their cool, the more they would struggle to show their true skills. In addition, it would make it more inconvenient for them to work together.

Five more men finally arrived at the battlefield where Yu-Seong was fighting with the three men. The five raised their voices, which had a mixture of coldness and aggression.

"What are you waiting for?! Can't the three of you catch a single person?!"

"Did that bastard fall on his back?"

"Ignore him! Who cares if he gets eaten by monsters or not!"

"I am going to kill you, Choi Yu-Seong!"

After provoking the men and running away, Yu-Seong recalled the map that he previously memorized. He had a blurry image of the map but if he concentrated, he could remember his current location at least.

'The situation isn't looking too good, though.'

It was obvious that, even if it was Yu-Seong, there was no way he could win against seven D-rank players. He had to run for the exit, but his location wasn't good. In addition, there were three crossroads coming up ahead.

'But I can get closer to the exit if I change directions after choosing the first one.'

As long as he got out of the dungeon, the unidentified enemies could no longer attack Yu-Seong. If they attacked in front of where the players from the Player Association could stand witness, it meant they were obvious villains. But if that were the case, they wouldn't have targeted Yu-Seong inside the dungeon.

Yu-Seong arrived at the first crossroads that he was expecting to face. He quickly frowned at the two men running out from the path.

"Found him!"

"Choi Yu-Seong!"

Choi Yu-Seong had been hoping that they would be an ordinary party, but it appeared the situation wouldn't be resolved so easily.

'There's no end to them. Are they some kind of Chinese army?'?

He couldn't even predict how many people were sent to catch him. Right now, there were seven men yelling and chasing after him with weapons like bows and swords. Including those he had defeated, there were at least 10 people after him.

Yu-Seong gritted his teeth. He became wide-eyed when he saw one of his opponents releasing a bowstring aimed towards him.

'Damn it…!'?

He realized that he had let his guard down.

An arrow quickly flew through the air and hit his shoulder. But surprisingly, it was the arrow that bent and bounced into the air after the impact, not him. His shoulders trembled for a bit, but that was it. He could only feel a slight soreness in his neck. There was a slight groove on the shoulder steel plate of the thick combat suit. But there was no other major impact.

'Yes! As expected of a luxury item!'?

Yu-Seong yelled with delight on the inside. There was a reason why being overgeared was always a good thing.

"I can't believe that he is still fine even after blocking my arrow."

Yu-Seong looked at the surprised opponent before piercing his long spear toward the bowman. A sword-wielding opponent then stepped forward and tried to block Yu-Seong's attack. However, Yu-Seong—excluding his outstretched spear—floated into the air. He conjured a shield under his feet, then threw his body forward using the shield as a stepping stone.

'Though it's a downgraded version of the wind step…!'

Anyway, the plan was a success. The two men's jaws dropped open after their attacks missed Yu-Seong.

'Success. I can get out of here.'

Now all Yu-Seong had to do was run as fast as he could to the exit. Fortunately, his running speed was slightly faster than the D-rank pursuers due to the Stylish that was activated in the middle of the combat. That meant, he could safely escape from the dungeon if he kept running like this.

'I am almost there, just a little more.'

Yu-Seong was moving away, little by little.

The man with the sword—who was at the forefront of the chase—raised his arm.

'That's enough. Damn it. How can an E-rank player be that fast?'

"Heuk, heuk."

"Shit, my crotch is going to be torn apart from chasing him!"

The two Psychic type hunters were less physically capable than the Physical type players. They exhaled harsh breaths and shook their heads behind Yu-Seong. However, they didn't look disappointed despite having missed their target.

"This direction is clearly the way to the exit anyway. Yu-Seong will run as fast as he can to the exit without even knowing what was waiting for him there. Can't wait to see how he will lose all his strength after he finds out that he's nothing but a cornered rat in a trap. Hehe." At the words of the sword-wielding man, all other pursuers glared their eyes and smiled slyly.

Yu-Seong noticed that the distance between himself and his pursuers kept steadily increasing. And since beginning to run, he hadn't encountered any more enemies.

'I'm almost there.'?

However, Yu-Seong did not slow down his steps despite being out of breath. He could also afford to lower his guard now.

'But why? I still feel anxious for some reason.'

The incomprehensible sensation continued to hold Yu-Seong back. His heart pumped strongly, as if telling him not to stop running.

Close to the end of the path, he found a portal. It wasn't too far away. However, he soon hardened his expression and stopped moving forward.

"Hey, Choi Yu-Seong is here."

"Wow, that means that all of them failed. Otherwise, he wouldn't have come here."

"I guess he's the one who passed the hunter exam with the top score."

Yu-Seong was in front of the narrow passage to the escape portal. There were eight men blocking the road as if they had been waiting for him.

'So there are eighteen D-rank players sent to catch just me? What the…'

No matter who the opponent was, it seemed that they didn't expect an easy fight either. Yu-Seong felt like cussing. When he stopped running crazily, his breathing became harsher and the world seemed to be floating in white. His head was pounding, with a slight buzz in his ears.

"Haak…haak…." Yu-Seong couldn't help but breathe raggedly through his mouth instead of his nose.

"But that guy looks like he'll crash to the ground soon."

"You think he will fall down if I just poke him? Keke."

"Don't leave your position. If you accidentally let him go to the portal, it'll all be over."

Contrary to their ridicule, those who were blocking the exit stood still and stared at Yu-Seong with caution.

.

The nine pursuers chasing Yu-Seong arrived belatedly. They laughed out loud while cursing. Now that they had succeeded in cornering him, all they had to do was to catch the prey, Yu-Seong.

'Is there anyone I could ask for help…?'

It was clear that they had already taken over the dungeon and kicked everyone else out. The last thing Yu-Seong was hoping for was a miracle, that someone would come from beyond the portal to help him.

'That's nonsense.'

This was a situation where anyone who came in would rather pass him and pretend not to see him.

Yu-Seong gritted his teeth and wiped the sweat off of his face. At least he had time to catch his breath while the opponent remained standing still. He then asked, "Who sent you here? Is it the ones from the guild? Or my siblings?"

Those blocking the exit shrugged their shoulders after hearing his question.

Yu-Seong had asked such a question to see their reaction. After observing their reactions, he was convinced that they knew nothing. Otherwise, there was no way that all eight of them could keep such a blank face.

'These guys are just the tail. It doesn't matter if they're cut off.'?

The guy who had sent them seemed to be a more meticulous figure than Yu-Seong had expected.

The pursuers who chased Yu-Seong took out their weapons or activated their abilities. They had a sly smile on their faces.

Yu-Seong had the world against him now. There were enemies on all sides of him. However, he could not just give up even in such an extremely dangerous situation. Backing out was not an option for him. So, he ran forward and raised his mana as much as he could to wrap Spark all over his body and the spear.

The roots that secretly wrapped under his ankles were the first to burn. They wriggled like earthworms while burning. He could feel his body becoming lighter, as if the activated Stylish skill's effect was amplified.

'I have faith in you, Stylish.'

Yu-Seong had confidence in his endurance due to his excessive level of mana, which was overwhelmingly great compared to other E-rank players. However, his opponents were D-rank hunters, and there were so many of them too.

In other words, Yu-Seong wouldn't have multiple opportunities to break through. He needed to break through in one try. Yu-Seong quieted his mind as soon as he kicked off the ground. He knew that this was not a situation where he could get out by doing some calculations in his head anyway. He could only face it head-on with his instincts.

"He's coming!"

The opponents were eight D-Rank players. Yu-Seong swung his spear as if he was trying to strike upon spotting a gap. The Spark which jumped out after him immediately swallowed the man at the forefront.

1. Although the English spelling is gnolls, we went with 'nolls' as it was the spelling used in the raws

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Chapter 27

"Kraarh-!" The man screamed but did not back down. He reached out toward Yu-Seong with his eyes wide open.

Yu-Seong had no intention of fighting head-on for an extended period with this man, who was obviously a Physical defense type player. He lowered himself and rolled across the ground by using a Dodge Roll. Some of the enemies' weapons barely missed him; they stabbed into the ground.

"Everyone, aim your stabs carefully!"

"If he actually dies, we all die!"

Their colleague cried urgently. Those who unhesitantly wielded their weapons at Yu-Seong turned pale.

'Yeah, so they don't mean to kill me, is that it?'

Yu-Seong had this assumption tickling his mind, but now that he knew it for a fact, he began to react more aggressively. He jumped up from the floor and stuck out his neck in the direction of the opponent's knife.

"Waa-! Damn!" The man cursed and quickly turned around, but a long cut was left behind from Yu-Seong's neck to his face. Blood spurted into the air.

They were still just D-rank players. Yu-Seong never expected to completely avoid getting hurt, since his opponent's skills were somewhat lacking. Instead, he seized the opportunity and struck the man's neck with the shaft of his spear.

Crack-!?

Yu-Seong could hear the breaking sound of the bone. The opponent was perhaps, no, almost certainly likely to be dead. However, Yu-Seong couldn't afford to pay attention to the man's death.

'Just because they have no intention to kill me doesn't mean that their intention is any good.'

Yu-Seong couldn't afford to be considerate of his enemies' circumstances. He gritted his teeth and took a leap forward. He hit the ground and shot toward the portal not far away.

"No!" At that moment, a huge shadow stuck out in front of Yu-Seong. It opened its arms and blocked Yu-Seong's movement. It was the Psychic-type, defensive barrier skill player who first blocked him before.

'Spark, full power output.'

Yu-Seong couldn't go half-assed. He stretched out his spear with the intention of completely finishing the enemy this time. Thunderbolts shot out in all directions and dispelled all Psychic typed or distanced attacks that were approaching to restrain him.

At the same time, Yu-Seong's spear struck the opponent's shoulder. There was the gruesome sensation of steel piercing through flesh, a different feeling from stabbing a monster.

Choi Yu-Seong frowned. He had been desperately trying to avoid the reality of the situation—the sensation of crushing and piercing human bodies. This was his first time experiencing something like this.

"Kuaaah-!" In that short time, the man gave up his own shoulder. He was frozen up, desperately clutching onto Yu-Seong as if he didn't mind becoming entirely charred.

"Urgh!" Yu-Seong tilted his head with his eyes wide open. The sound of broken bone resounded as a sudden great pain struck him.

"Khaha-! Got you!" The Physical defense-type player cheered loudly while exhaling white steam

"Kkeuuu-!" Yu-Seong twisted his body to escape, but the more he tried, the more pain he had to endure from the broken arm.

"You nailed it, Kim Jae-Hyuk!"

"This is why we need a tanker."

"By the way, how can catching one single E-rank player cost this much damage…."

The men breathed a sigh of relief, thinking the mission was completed. They praised Kim Jae-Hyuk, the Physical defense type player, while clicking their tongues at Yu-Seong.

Eighteen D-rank players had been deployed to catch a single early-mid level E-rank player. Even though the goal had been to capture him alive and not kill him, there had been much more damage than they had expected.

"Park Sung-Hyung is dead."

"His neck was completely twisted."

Those who checked on the player who had been hit by the spear pole after swinging his sword at Yu-Seong shook their head. There was pity in their eyes, but no emotions such as anger and sadness. Generally, this was the fate of those who were called the dungeon hunters. It wasn't a big surprise regarding when and where they died, or what they experienced before their deaths. In the case of Yu-Seong's abduction, there had been more unexpected variables, but that was all.

"We won't kill you, but don't you dare think about resting comfortably. I'll also break your limbs one by one." Kim Jae-Hyuk threatened Yu-Seong in a low voice.

Yu-Seong loosened up and his head was down as if he had given up or fainted.

"Breaking one or two limbs is not enough. I can't stand the fact that I was mocked by that guy earlier."

"Isn't it enough to keep him alive? Let's pull out all of his nails."

"Torture is my specialty. I'll make him suffer just enough for him to not die."

It was clear from the men's horrible conversation that they were heinous criminals who thought nothing of a kidnapping.

"...bolt," muttered Yu-Seong to himself.

"What is he saying? This…" Kim Jae-Hyuk tilted his head as he heard Yu-Seong's voice. "Did you say thunderbolt? Did you?"

"What did…"

Suddenly, Spark swirled up from all over Yu-Seong as he raised his head and his eyes lit up.

In contrast, Kim Jae-Hyuk was overwhelmed by shock all over again. He tensed his both arms.

"My pain tolerance is D-rank, you know!" grinned Jae-Hyuk with his yellow teeth.

However, he tilted his head when he did not hear the anticipated scream from Yu-Seong. Soon, Jae-Hyuk's eyes widened after he saw Yu-Seong spreading a thin translucent shield in the gap between his arms.

'How could he make the shield this thin?'?

Jae-Hyuk had not detected it, nor had he gotten any indication. He was shocked by how Yu-Seong operated his shield. It seemed to be better than the original user. Immediately after, Yu-Seong threw his head back and hit Jae-Hyuk's chin.

"Kuck-!" Jae-Hyuk frowned and screamed while loosening up his arms. Yu-Seong did not miss his opportunity. He quickly pulled himself down to the ground and rolled to the side.

Dodge Roll F Dodge Roll E

As soon as the skill level-up message popped up, Yu-Seong stabbed straight down into the ground with his spear and jumped into the air as if he was doing a pole vault.

"Get him!" Jae-Hyuk—who was proud of his D-rank pain tolerance skill—ran out to catch Yu-Seong. Well, he tried to run after him, but something caught his ankle and blocked him. Therefore, his face smashed into the ground and he got a nosebleed.

"Kuck-!" Jae-Hyuk's eyes widened as he screamed. He found tree roots holding onto his ankles. When he turned his head toward Yu-Seong, he found him winking and raising his hand toward somewhere else.

'Is there a traitor?'?

In an instant, Kim Jae-Hyuk and all the other men had the same thought. The attention was naturally directed to Park Min, the player with the ability to summon tree roots and branches.

Park Min quickly shook his head and waved both hands. "No, I am not! Do you think I am crazy?"

In the meantime, Yu-Seong completely vaulted across the players blocking his way.

'Now, if I run about 500m straight…'

He could cross the finish line, the portal. With his quick wits and grit, he had overcome the mightiest barrier. Now he was running swiftly.

"There's no time to argue about this, stop him!"

"If we fail, we'll be humiliated."

A scream-like roar came from behind Yu-Seong. A relieved smile appeared on Yu-Seong's face as he ran like the wind.

'300m left.'?

The finish line was just around the corner. However, the moment he thought so, the ground of the dungeon suddenly shook violently.

"...?!" Yu-Seong staggered as he did not have much strength left in his legs. At the same time, part of the ground rose up like a wall in front of his eyes. It was a demonstration of the Psychic earth-type player's skills. The player had been gathering his strength during the long confrontation.

'If I fall down here…'

If the road was blocked again, Yu-Seong would not have enough stamina to escape.

"No."

Even as he spoke to himself, Yu-Seong flung himself into the air again, using the spear as a pole. The spear cost nearly 2 billion won in cash, but he didn't consider this as a waste; his life was more precious than money. This was it; this was the best choice Yu-Seong could make right now. As a result, Yu-Seong slammed his shoulder against the wall of soaring ground.

Bam-!

Along with a shock, Yu-Seong trembled with intense pain.

"Khack, khaack-!"

It felt as if Yu-Seong's body was breaking apart. He trembled and vomited blood. However, something else bothered Yu-Seong more than that.

'I couldn't get over it.'

He was stuck. He failed with only 300 meters left from his goal.

"..."

"Be careful, he isn't just a regular E-rank Player."

The group of players approached Yu-Seong. They had become less talkative than before, and they were looking at him differently.

Yu-Seong slowly raised his body while crawling on the floor with both hands, even while suffering and coughing up blood. His bloody eyes remained vigilant on the approaching players. His physical strength was also low and his body condition was a mess, but at least his mental strength was still hanging in there.

Yu-Seong was still looking for an escape opportunity and was staring at them. He glared at them as if he wanted to kill them. Perhaps that was the reason…

Despite it being obvious that Yu-Seong was captured, the kidnappers walked much slower than expected.

'Will it be okay to do this?'

'Maybe it will be better to kill him here…'

'If we release Choi Yu-Seong in the future…'

Gazes of awe and fear surrounded Yu-Seong, and he was capable of reading the atmosphere.

'If only I can use this vibe…'?

But how? There was no possible way he could think of. Unlike his unfaltering spirit, Yu-Seong was clearly aware that his body had reached its limit.

'If I was stronger…'?

No, he should have been a lot more thorough. He should have been aware that a dungeon was a place where anything could happen and should have prepared accordingly.

Did he think that it was impossible to develop himself if he couldn't get over such a crisis alone? He had to admit that he had been somewhat off guard. His enemies were more cunning and meticulous than he had imagined. They did not wait for him to become stronger and let him gain experiences like the villains in novels, comics, and movies.

'I shouldn't have thought of them the same as Choi Min-Seok, the greenhorn…'

Yu-Seong had been careless. After he had toyed with Choi Min-Seok, he thought everything else would come easy. His enemies here were monsters who did not mind using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. He exuded his powerful intention. The group of kidnappers gradually closed in even when they were swept by his emotions. They soon arrived in front of Yu-Seong.

"Sorry, but we did not have any other choice. This is our job. I hope you don't take it too personally." Kim Jae-Hyuk, unlike his initial attitude, reached out his hand and gave an apology to Yu-Seong. His wounded, thick hand was about to touch Yu-Seong's shoulder.

"Don't you dare to touch him." There was a voice from the air and a figure dropped from above like the silver streak of a thunderbolt. The figure was wearing a dark black combat suit and had short hair and a broad back. They emitted a chilling demeanor.

Yu-Seong undoubtedly recognized the person despite his blurry vision.

'Kim Do-Jin.'

"Choi Yu-Seong is mine." The figure gave a cheeky grin.

The two men, Gong Sung-Jin and Gong Woo-Jin, were also known as the Gong brothers and they were quite infamous in the Korean mercenary industry. Their main duties included kidnapping, murder, intimidation, robbery, and even escort missions. They were not designated as Villains since they worked together with the ones with authority, but they were practically brutal criminals. In addition, both brothers had outstanding skills as they were A-rank players.

Because of that, the brothers' rate of success in missions was 100 percent so far. They achieved such an outstanding rate because they did not even accept any tasks they thought they might fail. However, the Gong brothers were still recognized enough to rise to the Top 10 in the industry.

There were two reasons why the Gong brothers had received the task to kidnap Choi Yu-Seong. Firstly, the amount of commission was enormous from the risky venture.

Secondly, they could guess the client's identity to some extent. The task was dangerous, but their safety could be guaranteed if they succeeded. The worst consequences of failing the task were not even in their minds. As always, they wouldn't have accepted this task if they didn't plan to succeed in the first place.

The trickiest thing in this mission—kidnapping Choi Yu-Seong—was the two guards by their target's side, the Jin siblings. They were either a player of A-rank or B-rank and rarely left Choi Yu-Seong's side except during their sleep. That was why the Gong brothers waited for Yu-Seong to enter the dungeon. They were aware that people were most afraid of unpredictable situations. With Yu-Seong not in sight, even a little stimulus would force the Jin siblings to follow him.

So far, everything was going according to the plan and the Gong brothers weren't too concerned about the situation inside the dungeon either.

They hired eighteen D-rank players who were quite involved in this kind of work through five agencies they were familiar with. Even if Yu-Seong passed the hunter test as top honor, he was still an E-rank player. There was no reason to be concerned about failure.

While the Jin's siblings were away, those inside who succeeded in kidnapping Yu-Seong would leave Dungeon Square, hide him, then move to the meeting place.

The Gong brothers would receive Yu-Seong at the meeting place and then leave the country for a while. That was it. The mission would clearly end. However, there was an unexpected miscalculation.

The first miscalculation was Jin Do-Yoon. They had been given information about him beforehand. Jin Do-Yoon, the Lycanthrope. He was a hunter with more defensive power than most defensive ability users and had the ferocity of a beast.

It was a general theory within the industry that players of physical-type and transformation ability could be viewed a half level above their original rank. But even so, he was still only a B-rank player. There was no reason for Gong Sung-Jin, a curse-type Psychic play, to lose.

Originally, the biggest counters for simple and ignorant physical-type players were those with curse-type abilities.

The advantage of physical-type players was that both their attacking and defending abilities were superior to the average. The downside was that that was the extent of their specialty.

If Gong Sung-Jin prevented the opponent from attacking at close range and continued to beat them down from a moderate distance, the opponent would fall into exhaustion.

Everything seemed to be going according to the plan at the beginning of the battle in the abandoned construction site. But, how come?

"Ahwoooo-!"

Gong Woo-Jin could not understand why Jin Do-Yoon was howling on top of Gong Sung-Jin. Do-Yoon's entire body was dyed red and Sung-Jin's body and face were thoroughly ruined.

'Sung-Jin lost?'

This was obviously out of the calculation, and this was not even the only problem.

"My oppa is the type of person that doubles his combat power when he's angry. Rank isn't everything, you know," Yu-Ri commented.

Gong Woo-Jin's face was swollen all over and his eyes opened wide with surprise. Jin Yu-Ri trampled on his head with the shoe's heel, then struck the floor with a black whip she had formed on one hand.

"And for reference, I'm the type of person to be three times crueler," Yu-Ri continued.

"...Just kill me," Gong Woo-Jin said, biting his lips. Being in this line of work, he was always prepared to die. Although it had come at an unexpected time, it wasn't particularly unexpected either.

"What? Do you think I'll let you die in peace? You must have heard me wrong," Jin Yu-Ri snorted. Her whip slowly started to creep up Gong Woo-Jin's body starting from his ankle, just like a snake. "You'd better answer my questions as honestly as possible from now on."

"I won't let you do as you…!" Gong Woo-Jin flinched before attempting to bite his tongue.

However, Jin Yu-Ri waved her free hand, and a mass of black energy appeared in the air in the shape of a rolled-up snake then blocked Gong Woo-Jin's mouth.

"Hmm…?!" Gong Woo-Jin trembled when he felt a sticky, cold texture filling the insides of his mouth.

In the meantime, Jin Yu-Ri's whip continued creeping up Woo-Jin's thigh and slowly began digging into his crotch.

"Don't get any funny ideas. Blink once if I'm right, and twice if I'm wrong," Jin Yu-Ri said.

Gong Woo-Jin's eyes filled with fear and shock when he felt the whip tightening around the area between his legs. "Hmmph… Mmph…!"

"Should I rip it out or crush it? If you want to die a clean death… You'd better be honest. Understood?" She warned him. Please visit fr𝐞𝐞wn.𝒸o𝔪 website to read fastest update

"Mmpph…!" Gong Woo-Jin's head violently shook from left to right. His eyes were filled with absolute fear.

"Hoho, you poor thing. Why did you mess with someone you shouldn't have touched? Now, the first question. Is Yu-Seong oppa near here right now?"

"Mmmmpph…!"

"Hohoho…"

The cry of a wolf, the laughter of a snake, and the screams of a human resonated from inside the dark abandoned construction site.

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Chapter 28

Truthfully, Do-Jin could have helped Yu-Seong much earlier. He had entered the dungeon even before Yu-Seong had led the nine D-rank players to the portal's vicinity.

Do-Jin had been watching the fierce battle unfold between Yu-Seong and the kidnappers from a distance without making any sound or revealing his presence.

Nevertheless, there were two reasons why Do-Jin had not helped Yu-Seong earlier. His first reason was the same reason as why he had come to this place in the first place. It was because he had been bothered by Yu-Seong.

'I'm sure he checked my message, but he ignored it anyway.'

Kim Do-Jin had sent a message, but Yu-Seong had left him on read. It was different from the past, when he would still offer a half-hearted response in order to keep his promise.

There could be a reason. Choi Yu-Seong has definitely changed and become more active. Thus, Do-Jin waited for his response for over a week without complaining.

It might have been because he was actually busy, or because he could not be bothered with it, or because he felt burdened by the idea of meeting Do-Jin. Do-Jin could think of several possible scenarios, but in the end, it didn't matter.

What was important was that Do-Jin had no other way to reach Choi Woo-Jae as easily and quickly than through Yu-Seong.

'By using a different method, it'll take at least two more years.'

The resentment he had against Choi Woo-Jae was too deep. He could not afford to be patient, since he felt suffocated every day. However, apart from that, it was certainly true that the current situation was extraordinary for Kim Do-Jin.

'Choi Yu-Seong, he knows how to piss people off. It irks me.'

When Do-Jin was in a world other than Earth, after a certain point, he had never had an obsession to meet anyone. Regardless of their identity, whether they were male or female, old or young, others always struggled to make even the slightest contact with Kim Do-Jin. And most of the time, he also tried to endure the annoyance of unavoidable situations.

It had not been much different since he came back to Earth. From the perspective of players and hunters, he was still only at the starting point. However, he had gone through numerous experiences and polished his swordsmanship in another world, which astonished many people on Earth. In addition, his rapid improvement and progress caused others to be in awe.

That's why there were already quite a few big movers and shakers in the political world, and the entertainment industry, as well as several famous hunters who wanted to build a relationship with Do-Jin.

At the time when even the gods were courting him, only Choi Yu-Seong disregarded Do-Jin and didn't bother with him. However, Yu-Seong had been no different from the others during their first encounter. In truth, this was because Yu-Seong had known the truth and was scared, but Do-Jin had no way of knowing the truth. It had been a really long time since Do-Jin had been in a somewhat disadvantaged position in relation with others.

In the meantime, what interested him was how Choi Yu-Seong had changed.

At first, Do-Jin felt awkward and unpleasant about this, but honestly, after secretly watching today's battle, Do-Jin grew more fond of Yu-Seong. The wisdom and wit to search for ways in overwhelmingly unfavorable situations, the persistence and grit to never give up, and even the desperate desire for life… It was unlike the Yu-Seong that others and Do-Jin knew of before.

As a result, Kim Do-Jin was left with only one conclusion.

'He's a tiger hiding his claws.'?

It was something he had predicted to some extent after watching Yu-Seong's hunter exam. However, observing Yu-Seong fight in person reaffirmed that prediction.

'Choi Yu-Seong had to hide within his family for some reason.'

There had been such people among the ancient princes in history. They were scary people who admitted to being powerless, lowered themselves with lies, then crouched and waited for the right time while sharpening their claws.

It was certainly possible by viewing the Comet Group as a nation and Choi Woo-Jae as the king. Everyone in the Choi family was afraid of Choi Woo-Jae and the main causes of their fear were his wealth, power, and influence.

'There's one important thing. Fear is a feeling that…turns into anger under the right circumstance.'

There was nothing more to say about Yu-Seong since he was originally in a position of being despised and ignored in the family. It was somewhat unpleasant since he even deceived Kim Do-Jin, but it allowed Do-Jin to display enough generosity and empathy to understand Yu-Seong's current situation.

If Yu-Seong had been vaguely clever, Kim Do-Jin would have chosen another route to kill Choi Woo-Jae, even if he had to go the long way. There was a chance that his plan would be revealed and everything would be overturned if he moved poorly.

However, if Yu-Seong's stratagem of mind was enough to deceive Kim Do-Jin, then it could work for Choi Woo-Jae as well. On the contrary, it could have led to a more perfect situation if done well. Eventually, there was a little change, but it wasn't a significant deviation from Kim Do-Jin's original plan.

'Nothing has changed. Choi Yu-Seong is just a tool to kill Choi Woo-Jae.'

However, in the past, Do-Jin had planned to abandon Yu-Seong after achieving his revenge, but now he intended to completely make Yu-Seong one of his own.

To do that, several prerequisites were necessary. The first was to make Choi Yu-Seong trust Kim Do-Jin. Anyway, it was strange but Yu-Seong was trying to stay away from him. And so, even if it wasn't to the kind of awe that others displayed, Do-Jin had to at least create the impression he was trustworthy to Yu-Seong.

This was the second reason why Do-Jin did not help Yu-Seong much earlier. He had to wait until Yu-Seong was in an extreme crisis. Naturally, humans had no choice but to feel various favorable emotions when a savior appeared in their worst situation. Moreover, if it was a lifesaving benefactor, wasn't it needless to say more? If possible, it was not a bad idea to stir him up with plausible words. At times like this, every word he spat out would inevitably stir Yu-Seong's heart.

"Choi Yu-Seong is mine."

The more sincere it was, the more effective it was. Therefore, Kim Do-Jin was sure that his words would have stirred up Yu-Seong quite a lot.

Yu-Seong did feel his heart tremble as he heard Kim Do-Jin, who suddenly appeared like a savior.

'Persistent bastard! Does it mean that he is the one who will kill me? That's why he doesn't want anyone else to touch me? Is that what it means?'?Yu-Seong thought.

It was an inevitable chain of thought since Yu-Seong assumed Kim Do-Jin had a grudge against the entire Choi family.

"Kim Do-Jin…!"

"He still hasn't gone up to C-rank yet?"

The highest limit for entering the level two dungeon was D-Rank. In other words, Kim Do-Jin would have been prohibited from entering if he was a C-rank player. The kidnappers' response was natural since there were rumors spreading that Kim Do-Jin would soon rise to C-rank.

"Ugh… Are you planning on messing with us?" Kim Jae-Hyuk glared as he spoke like a third-rate villain while laying on the ground with the back of his hand skewed to the ground by Kim Do Jin's sword.

"You're asking a stupid question. I wouldn't have shown up if I didn't want to intervene." Kim Do-Jin sneered and spun the sword stuck in the back of Kim Jae-Hyuk's hand.

"Kkwackk-!" Kim Jae-Hyuk boasted the pain tolerance of D-Rank, but he still screamed and rolled on the ground. He tried to counterattack by swinging his opposite arm in the meantime. Unfortunately, Kim Jae-Hyuk's fingers were crushed by Kim Do-Jin's defense as Do-Jin slightly raised his knee.

"Kkwaack-!" It was silent inside the dungeon except for Kim Jae-Hyuk's scream. Jae-Hyuk was almost crying. Kim Do-Jin could feel the atmosphere quickly subside as he pulled out his sword from the back of Kim Jae-Hyuk's hand. Then, he cut Kim Jae-Hyuk's neck without hesitation. It was clean swordsmanship. Not even a single drop of blood was shed.

"How loud." The atmosphere quickly froze over at Do-Jin's cold comment. Some would call it fear, but Do-Jin was already used to it.

"You cra, crazy…"

"Murderer!"

"That's not something I want to hear from criminals. Is that a will?" said Do-Jin. After that, he ran forward without hesitation.

'I assume that Kim Do Jin is…currently D-rank Max Level.'?Yu-Seong thought.

Do-Jin's rank would temporarily be on hold before the C-rank promotion evaluation.

Even if it was Kim Do-Jin, it would still be burdensome to deal with more than fifteen equivalent D-rank players alone. Even in terms of the original novel setting, there were only about ten D-rank players that Kim Do-Jin could face alone in a full-scale war.

However, the battle turned out to be a one-sided slaughter. There was no such thing as a comparable confrontation or crisis. There was one reason for this.

'This is absolutely Kim Do-Jin's pace.'

The situation might have turned out a little different if the kidnappers had fought with as much composure as they did against Choi Yu-Seong. No matter how strong Kim Do-Jin was, he was alone and had to protect Yu-Seong.

However, Kim Do-Jin had pushed Kim Jae-Hyuk in an instant and showed his apathetic attitude by cutting off Jae-Hyuk's head at once, completely taking control of the atmosphere.

Kim Do-Jin's reputation, outstanding skills, and heavy vibe erased the idea of 'rebellion' from the kidnappers' minds. In an instant, more than three kidnappers' heads flew off and others rushed in ignorantly after losing their reason, all dying helplessly.

The remaining kidnappers ran away with tears and runny noses to survive. However, Kim Do-Jin didn't intend to spare any of them. He threw his sword as well as the weapons that were dropped by the deceased kidnappers. Nevertheless, there were still those who survived. Do-Jin pursued the ones he missed and shot them with a bow.

In an instant, the dungeon's entrance was filled with only blood and corpses. Yu-Seong, left alone inside the dungeon, trembled.

'The mad killer, that's who Kim Do-Jin is…'?

Yu-Seong had fought for his life in order not to be captured by the kidnappers. In the meantime, he killed a man and because of that, there were certain emotional ups and downs in his heart. However, there was no such trembling or hesitation found in Kim Do-Jin's hands.

It didn't matter to Do-Jin that the kidnappers didn't show hostility but feared him and had lost their will to fight. He killed them without showing any emotion. Kim Jae-Hyuk's death had only been a part of Do-Jin's process to turn the tides. Kim Do-Jin was such a person.

'He is a monster in the novel, a psychopath.'

Ethical consciousness, moral conscience? Kim Do-Jin had to abandon all such feelings after he fell into another world alone and had to survive a very long time ago.

Kim Do-Jin may one day try to kill Yu-Seong. Wasn't it creepy and scary just thinking of it? Therefore, Yu-Seong couldn't close his eyes even though his consciousness was hazy. His heart couldn't relax because the person who had come to help him was Kim Do-Jin Please visit fr𝐞𝐞wn.𝒸o𝔪 website to read fastest update

Tip-tap, tip-tap.?

Kim Do-Jin soon walked in slow steps beyond the cave in the dungeon while wiping blood off his cheek. He was approaching Yu-Seong. He soon stood right in front of Yu-Seong and sat with his knees bent.

Then he looked at Yu-Seong and said calmly. "Don't worry. They are all dead."

"..." Yu-Seong remained speechless.

Kim Do-Jin carried Yu-Seong on his shoulder and exited the dungeon. After that, he called the emergency services. Do-Jin confessed that they had confronted criminals who targeted them inside and had been forced to murder them as they had been outnumbered.

Yu-Seong smiled bitterly at those words. Without realizing it, Yu-Seong's sharp eyes stabbed Do-Jin in the cheek. Kim Do-Jin lightly patted Yu-Seong's shoulder even though Yu-Seong was certain he had felt that gaze.

'What a madman.'?Yu-Seong thought.

Yu-Seong could see Jin Yu-Ri running through the group. Finally, after seeing her, he was able to close his eyes comfortably. He did not open his eyes for three days after that. And by the time he opened his eyes again, his complex thoughts were organized quite clearly.

"It is true that Kim Do-Jin saved me."

Yu-Seong had been averse to some of Do-Jin's actions. However, after contemplating for a bit longer, he found that Kim Do-Jin's judgment was quite reasonable.

If any of the kidnappers had survived, they would have reported on Yu-Seong's combat capabilities they had gathered from the battle, and the opponent might have targeted him by preparing a more threatening weapon. Perhaps, with the current situation in mind, they might even prepare against Kim Do-Jin. In other words, Kim Do-Jin's decision to kill all enemies in order not to create a bigger crisis for Yu-Seong…

'It is actually a reasonable judgment.'

It could be said that Do-Jin had acted just as a main character in the novel would do. Perhaps the indolent thoughts of Yu-Seong could be rather poisonous in a world like this. If he disagreed with Kim Do-Jin's behavior, it was only right for him to prepare so that such a situation didn't happen again.

'Also, I've killed before too.'

Calling it an inevitable situation was just an excuse for himself. It did not change the results.

'Get it together, Yu-Seong. You already knew what this world is like.'

Yu-Seong looked at the mirror with his face, after he washed his face with cold water in the bathroom of the hospital room and clenched his fist tightly.

He would survive. Yu-Seong did not have enough time to think about anything else.

'Sympathy and mercy is a privilege of the strong.'

Yu-Seong had this realization once again from this incident. He believed that he had grown up well through hard work with a good leveling system and considered himself talented. He thought easily that if he walked on the solid road in this state, only a road filled with daisies and roses would be awaiting him,

'There is no way that whatever the world's prepared for me is easy and straightforward.'

In a sense, this incident definitely awakened Yu-Seong.

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Chapter 29

Yu-Seong needed a colleague.

'Let's not get conceited. I should not overestimate myself. There's a limit to what I can do alone.'

He had been thinking about it, and it was not something he could put off anymore. However, he did not want to take on the Jin siblings' suggestion of having mercenaries around. No matter how reliable they were, they were still mercenaries.

Mercenaries were controlled by money. No one ever knew when a traitor would arise among them. Yu-Seong needed someone much more faithful and reliable than that. For example, a person as reliable as the Jin siblings, but someone who could grow alongside him. However, it was impossible to bring the Jin siblings along, and it was not a simple matter of not being able to enter the dungeon because of their ranks.

'Jin Yu-Ri and Jin Do-Yoon should, rather, be given more time to hunt by themselves.'

He had heard that Jin Do-Yoon also suffered considerable injuries in this incident.

Do-Yoon's resilience was good as he was a physical-type player—a werewolf—but it would not do him any good to suffer such injuries every time.

'I'm not the only one who needs to grow stronger. All of us need to grow stronger together.'?

Kim Do-Jin would grow stronger as Choi Yu-Seong did. No, rather, Do-Jin would certainly grow faster. Other enemies would also grow stronger, and there were even those who were already at their peak, waiting for them…

'Do I know all about the future?'?

No.

Choi Yu-Seong had entered the world of this novel and had already changed many things. And as a result, he had altered the course from the original set of events. For example, Lee Jin-Wook had appeared quicker than he was supposed to, as well as the attack.

Of course, there would be more unexpected risks Yu-Seong would have to take in the future. It would be a mistake to think that Jin Do-Yoon and Jin Yu-Ri could continue to stay safe by his side because they would disappear after the first half of the novel. Yu-Seong had to look far beyond.

The Choi Yu-Seong he knew before was no longer here as well. The same was true for the others. Therefore, he organized a list of possible candidates to become his colleagues on his phone's notes. The notes were organized based on the summary of the original novel he had written on his phone while he was hospitalized.

'I just need one more person.'?

Having too many comrades would just be a burden. It might have been fine if he had already grown far stronger, but for now, having too many people could cause a problem since they all had to grow together. He could become neither too relaxed nor overestimate his own capabilities. If he failed to set clear standards for himself, he could easily be led astray too.

Moreover, he also needed to consider the Jin siblings, Chae Ye-Ryeong, and others. Of course, he would not take into account the humans who were fundamentally bad. After making such considerations, he was able to choose the most suitable person.

'Honestly, though it may be a bit dangerous to reach that person now…'

No matter how many times he thought about it, there wasn't anyone else who was better suited. Thinking so, he handed over the name and the characteristics of the person he had chosen to Yu-Ri.

He then said, "Please do a detailed investigation about him. Things like where he lives, what his occupation is, and what his current situation is like."

"Of course.Yoo Jin-Hyuk… You won't tell me about him even if I ask, would you?"

"I want him as my comrade."

Jin Yu-Ri narrowed her eyes. "What's your reason? Just intuition again?"

"To tell you the truth… There's something like future foresight among my abilities. Sorry I didn't tell you before."

"No way, like the first young master…?" Her mouth dropped.

"Not to that extent," Yu-Seong said.

Choi Ji-Ho—the first child of the Choi family—truly possessed the skill of future foresight. Since Choi Ji-Ho was excellent as a hunter with talent in martial arts and possessed the ability of future foresight, most people thought he would succeed Choi Woo-Jae and inherit the Comet Group. This was at least before he was injured.

However, even Choi Ji-Ho could not predict the future exactly. As a result, he suffered serious injuries and had to retire as a hunter. Also, it was rumored that he was now living quietly alone in a secluded area. No one in the family knew his location except Choi Woo-Jae.

In fact, Choi Yu-Seong could say that he had a similar ability as Ji-Ho, but he could not say so recklessly. After all, he did not know what the future would bring, especially with the butterfly effect.

"If that had been the case, this wouldn't have happened. Just think of it as something similar," Yu-Seong said.

"How could it just be similar? Everyone knows that the foresight skill doesn't allow you to see all the futures." Jin Yu-Ri was surprised, but then she soon nodded as if she understood. "Anyway, it would be better to keep this kind of ability a secret. I agree. But can I borrow your power when I need it?"

"As long as it is reasonable."

Jin Yu-Ri's eyes sparkled like jewels. It was because countless possibilities came to her mind. She could do so much through Choi Yu-Seong's undisclosed ability. Then, she nodded. "Ah, and I think I'll have something to report in a few days."

"Something to report?" Yu-Seong questioned.

"About the guys who attacked us recently." Jin Yu-Ri's eyes narrowed as she recalled the battle.

"It looks like you've been doing some investigation?"

"I think I've managed to climb up to the body, but not quite to the head. I'll let you know when I'm certain."

"I'll leave it to you. How much time do you need to find out about Yoo Jin-Hyuk…?"

"Two days will be more than enough."

"Please."

It may not be as easy as Yu-Ri thought, but he swallowed those words and nodded.

"No problem."

Quite recently, it seemed Jin Yu-Ri belonged to a certain private organization that was undisclosed to Yu-Seong. She would probably tell him if he asked directly, but he didn't do so. She was implicitly hinting to him that she would tell him when the time came.

"Then I'll go out for a while and make a call," said Yu-Ri.

"Sure." Yu-Seong nodded and looked out the window of the hospital room.

Since it was a VVIP room located on a fairly high floor, the panoramic view of Seoul was quite good. Perhaps because of this, while he stayed here, he made a habit of looking far beyond the window when he organized his thoughts.

'What I can do. What I can't do. What I have to do.'?

Yu-Ri kept her eyes on Yu-Seong's back for a moment, as if drawn by the image. Then she stood up and tried to head out of the hospital room. However, she suddenly stopped. It was because someone had opened the door to the hospital room before her.

'Kim Pil-Doo?'?

Kim Pil-Doo was the right arm of the chairman, Choi Woo-Jae. Kim Pil-Doo glanced at Jin Yu-Ri and then stepped aside without saying a word before she could even think deeply about his unexpected appearance.

At the same time, Jin Yu-Ri's eyes became incredibly wide. From behind Pil-Doo appeared Woo-Jae, who was dressed in a modernized hanbok. Woo-Jae fixed his gaze on Yu-Seong's back and put his index finger on his lips, and pointed out the door with a wink before Yu-Ri uttered anything in surprise.

Both of them were smart enough to know what that meant. Yu-Ri silently exited the room. Kim Pil-Doo closed the door of the hospital room without making any sound.

Choi Woo-Jae was left alone with Cho Yu-Seong in the hospital room. He hid his presence, put his hands on the back, and looked at Yu-Seong's back somewhat absentmindedly.

'Reminds me of his mother, just bigger.'?

A sadness flashed across Woo-Jae's eyes as he was reminded of Yu-Seong's mother who sadly passed away.

'If only there were more time…'?

Perhaps a lot would be changed? Choi Woo-Jae's heart was filled with sorrow but he shook his head as he bottled up his emotions. It had been too long to turn the wheel of time back now. Perhaps because of that, he was somewhat more generous in many ways to Yu-Seong than his other children.

The preferential treatment caused Yu-Seong to become a little crooked, but now Woo-Jae wanted him to get up on his own rather than being helped.

Choi Woo-Jae believed that if it was Yu-Seong he remembered, he would be able to do it. Also recently, Yu-Seong had recently achieved a bit of his expectations. Among many of his children, an exceptionally good child inevitably would be easier on the eye. Choi Woo-Jae looked satisfied for a moment.

"Ahem, ahem!" Please visit fr𝐞𝐞wn.𝒸o𝔪 website to read fastest update

"…chairman?" Choi Yu-Seong turned his head toward the deliberate cough and found Woo-Jae. He then opened his eyes wide.

Why did Woo-Jae come here now? Yu-Seong stiffened up at the sudden visit.

"Draw a line between our public and private lives. If I were just a chairman to you, a lot of the things you enjoy now would be things you would not have ..." Woo-Jae spoke sharply and walked with his hands behind his back. He then sat on the attendee's chair.

Yu-Seong was quite quick-witted. Thus, he could easily understand the true meaning of Woo-Jae's words.

'It's a reminder, telling me to be discerning about the time and place.'?

His words made sense. Choi Woo-Jae's visit to the hospital was certainly not a visit as the company's chairman. If Yu-Seong treated Woo-Jae as his superior all the time, the distance between them would only grow wider. Of course, that was not what Yu-Seong wanted.

"Yes, Father."

Choi Woo-Jae's expression remained unchanged. He nodded and pointed to the bed with his chin. "What are you looking at? Come sit here," said Woo-Jae.

At that moment, Choi Yu-Seong felt that Choi Woo-Jae's vibe was a little different from usual.

'Why so?'?

It was hard to understand.

It was a rather rough tone, but it was certainly less somber than usual. The vibe was somewhat awkward for Yu-Seong.

'Although I'm sure he had a similar look some time ago…'?

As Yu-Seong's confusion increased while searching through his memory, Woo-Jae fell into a sense of nostalgia as he watched Yu-Seong.

'The more I look at him, the more he resembles his mother.'

Choi Woo-Jae felt emotions that stimulated his humanity after a long time, but there was no reason to reveal his feelings to Choi Yu-Seong. He asked, "You're not going to listen to me?"

Yu-Seong was somewhat startled by the low voice and headed to his bed in surprise. Though obviously, he could not lie down comfortably. He just sat with his legs crossed on top of the bed.

"Lie down."

"I am comfortable like this, father."

"…You look better than I thought."

"Yes, I am fine. Maybe because I became a player, the recovery is faster than I thought."

"I heard you passed the hunter exam with top honors."

"…That is all thanks to you, father."

Yu-Seong brought up the word 'father', but it felt unfamiliar. He smiled awkwardly. In the meantime, he could not read any emotions on Woo-Jae's face.

'As expected, he's hard to deal with.'?

Even in the lighter atmosphere, it was hard to deal with Choi Woo-Jae. Yu-Seong remained stiff even as he tried to relieve the tension.

"Enough with trying to butter me up. Not everyone can do as well as you even if they were handed the Awakening Stone."

By 'everyone' Choi Woo-Jae would obviously be referring to some of Choi Yu-Seong's other relatives.

"You're the third one."

What would that mean? Yu-Seong was quick to think and immediately understood the meaning.

"Ji-Ho hyung-nim and Mi-Na noonim passed the exam with top honors too," Yu-Seong commented.

"Right. Ji-Ho from 16 years ago… And most recently, Mi-Na from 10 years ago."

Although Woo-Jae was beating around the bush, he was currently praising Yu-Seong. Yu-Seong had accomplished something that had not been done for 10 years after the two.

Yu-Seong easily realized what Woo-Jae was saying, "I'll work harder."

"I'll be watching over you. Ah, by the way, there were some very reprehensible guys. How dare they touch the Choi family?"

In a brief moment, Woo-Jae's eyes changed. He did not smile or frown, but Yu-Seong felt goosebumps rising behind his back as he made short eye contact with him.

'Perhaps neither I nor Jin Yu-Ri will have to step up…'?

Yu-Seong did not know what exactly Woo-Jae was thinking, but he could predict what terrible consequences the opponent would face.

"And… I heard that Kim Do-Jin helped you." Choi Woo-Jae mentioned that unexpected name as he stroked his beard.

Yu-Seong stiffened up even more, looking tense.

"You should arrange dinner sometime soon with him. It's good to have a man of talent. It was about 35 years ago, if I hadn't met that guy Kim Pil-Doo, I would still have had a lot of work to do with my own hands. You should hold on to people while you can. Do you understand what I mean?"

Choi Woo-Jae was offering his help to have Kim Do-Jin become one of Yu-Seong's people. If it were anyone else, Yu-Seong would cheer, but that wasn't quite the case.

'…that's really dangerous.'?

Choi Yu-Seong would be stuck between Kim Do-Jin and Choi Woo-Jae. It was the absolute worst combination and the outcome was obvious. Choi Woo-Jae would die, Choi Yu-Seong would also die, and it would end up being a catastrophe.

"Why are you making that face? It seems like you didn't like it when I said I'll take care of it," asked Woo-Jae. He was quick-witted and could read Yu-Seong's feelings.

Choi Yu-Seong gulped.

'What am I gonna do about this?'?

He couldn't afford to reject the idea without a good reason, because Choi Woo-Jae's stubbornness was tougher than iron. Thus, it was really hard to undo Woo-Jae's decision once it was made.

"It's no use even if you reject it. I'll decide by myself after seeing him, so make an appointment with him within the next week."

As his worries got bigger, Woo-Jae made a clear declaration.

'This is a situation that Kim Do-Jin was wishing for.'?

No way. Although Kim Do-Jin was not strong enough to reach Choi Woo-Jae yet, Choi Yu-Seong didn't want to give him an opportunity.

"Hmm, you brat. Why aren't you saying anything?" Choi Woo-Jae asked again.

Yu-Seong got the feeling that this question was his last chance, and there would be no next time. If he took more time, he would anger Woo-Jae and get scolded. Considering Choi Woo-Jae's personality, asking the same question thrice was already a great show of generosity.

The favorable vibe since the beginning was becoming heavier and more familiar. This was how relationships worked. The faster it was built, the easier it would collapse.

In this manner, it meant that the risk increased as Yu-Seong got the unexpected opportunity to get closer to Woo-Jae fast. A fast-established relationship was twice as difficult to reverse once it collapses. He couldn't be dragging it any longer and had to speak well.

The expectations and trust accumulated by risking life could be instantly destroyed with a single answer given here.

"Father. Do I have to make Kim Do-Jin my person?" Yu-Seong finished thinking and said with a glare.

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Chapter 30

"Yu-Seong, you brat. Are you possibly feeling envy and jealousy toward Kim Do-Jin?" Choi Woo-Jae frowned deeply and asked. Considering that Yu-Seong had shown inferiority complexes before, Choi Woo-Jae's guess was not strange.

"Not at all."

"…" When Yu-Seong shook his head, Woo-Jae quietly stroked his beard. He didn't try to hide the small anger in his eyes.

Before Woo-Jae became properly furious, Yu-Seong had to convince him. He spoke up. "Father, there are two problems with having Kim Do-Jin under me."

Choi Woo-Jae looked piercingly at Yu-Seong, who gulped unintentionally from the tension, before speaking. "Interesting. Fine, I'll listen, but if you can't convince me by the end…"

Woo-Jae tapped the end of Yu-Seong's bed with his index finger, as if he was deep in thought, then nodded. "Yes, yes if you can't convince me, I will take away one of those kids under you," said Woo-Jae.

Woo-Jae had tried to give him a person, but since Yu-Seong refused, he would take away one of his people as a penalty. There were only two of Yu-Seong's people Woo-Jae could think of.

'Jin Yu-Ri and Jin Do-Yoon.'?

The Jin siblings were the ones that Yu-Seong had the most faith in. Thus, as much as the two cared about Yu-Seong, there was a possibility that they would have to follow Woo-Jae's coercion and make inevitable choices.

"…" Choi Woo-Jae had a calm but heavy look. His eyes were like a tiger's as he leaned on the chair in silence.

Yu-Seong licked his dry lips with the tip of his tongue and stood more upright.

'If I can't give him a satisfactory answer, they'll be taken away.'?

It felt as if he were walking a tightrope above a ground full of sharp spears. Please visit fr𝐞𝐞wn.𝒸o𝔪 website to read fastest update

'Although it's scary to cross…'?

The way back was already blocked. Yu-Seong cleared his mind, then took the first step on the tightrope.

"First, the time isn't right yet. I have just become a hunter, finally standing on the starting line to chase after my brothers and sisters. It is too risky for me to embrace a talented person like Kim Do-Jin at this point."

"You can't get anything good without a fight. The more precious it is, the more people will want it. That's why you shouldn't have it if you don't have the power and wisdom to protect it. Apparently, you don't have the courage," Choi Woo-Jae responded

"Courage and temerity are different, sir. If I get in over my head and just take anything recklessly, I would be no different than a brute. I said I would risk my life, but that doesn't mean that I want to die meaningless by placing my neck in the path of an approaching knife. I am not capable of embracing Kim Do-Jin at the moment."

"You mean that you will stay quietly cooped up in your room? Because you know your place? Am I understanding it right?"

"That is not it. That leads me to my second reason—I do not know Kim Do-Jin's capabilities yet."

"That's another interesting thing to hear."

"Father, I investigated Kim Do-Jin. I know about his birth, his growth, his family relationships. I found something strange after investigating. He is an orphan born in Russia and naturalized in Korea, where he received a new identification card. But there are no acquaintances who knew him well in Korea, Russia, nor anywhere else in the world."

Truthfully, Yu-Seong had never investigated Kim Do-Jin after he was possessed. After all, why make an extra effort? He already knew of Kim Do-Jin's complete circumstances through the original novel.

Kim Do-Jin had been sent to another world as he stared blankly at the tide of monsters in the chaotic Dungeon Break, which had been caused by the failure to clear the Boss Monster. Thus, obviously, the first thing that Kim Do-Jin did after returning was to find out what time period he was in and to investigate his family's whereabouts.

Thirty-one years in another world was the same as eight years in the current reality. In addition, fortunately, or rather unfortunately, his family had survived during the Dungeon Break.

However, his mother fell ill with an unknown disease and now lived in a comatose state. His only younger brother had worked day and night to cover their mother's hospital bills and had died the day before Kim Do Jin returned from an unavoidable rebar that fell overhead at a construction site.

It was a desperate situation for Kim Do-Jin and it was impossible to dream of a hopeful future with his family. He despaired but did not give up. Instead, he thought of revenge.

When he was a child, the company owned by Kim Do-Jin's father had been destroyed by the Comet Group's rampage. Naturally, the family fell into despair. His father could not bear the disappointment and the sense of failure he felt as the head of the family, and had chosen to commit suicide. That would not have happened if there weren't the aggressive mergers and acquisitions of Comet Group that Choi Woo-Jae had led at the time. In Kim Do-Jin's memory, that was when everything had started to go wrong.

That was why, at the beginning of the novel, Kim Do-Jin had made a new identity by pouring out all the money earned from selling some of the treasures he had brought from another world. He also became an anonymous donor for his mother, who had no one to pay for her hospital bills due to his brother's absence. He then hid himself as much as possible to deal with the monster Choi Woo-Jae.

Choi Yu-Seong knew this situation and rooted for Kim Do-Jin's revenge when he had read the novel. Of course, it was different now. Now that his life was at stake, he could not root for Kim Do-Jin's revenge anymore.

Yu-Seong took a deep breath before continuing on, "So, going back to the first reason, I think it is not the right time. Yes, I agree that a talented person should be valued. It is a waste to give him to others, so I should make him my person. But I still know very little about Kim Do-Jin. I cannot let him in without knowing whether he is a coyote or a wolf, right?"

Suddenly, Choi Woo-Jae's calm but dull gaze changed. He pointed out, "I thought you had him by your side without knowing anything."

Choi Yu-Seong gulped.

'As expected, he knew it already.'?

Choi Woo-Jae was greedy for talented people, just as he always said. Wouldn't he already have paid great attention to Kim Do-Jin, who the entire world was paying attention to? Perhaps he had investigated Kim Do-Jin immediately after Kim Do-Jin had appeared as a super rookie, like a comet.

"Kim Do-Jin's records could be called clean. There's not even a speck of dust or a single blemish to be seen. That's why it's suspicious. That means there's definitely something he is hiding, and naturally, those who have a lot to hide are dark inside." Choi Woo-Jae's lips twisted scornfully.

At that moment, Choi Yu-Seong felt goosebumps all over his body.

'So that's why he wanted to keep Kim Do-Jin near me!'

It was hard to see what Kim Do-Jin was hiding if he was kept an arm's length away. By keeping him close, it would be possible to find a weak spot or two. That was why Woo-Jae was trying to keep Kim Do-Jin near Choi Yu-Seong and keep his eyes on him.

That could put Choi Yu-Seong in trouble, but it was obvious that Choi Woo-Jae would simply think that was Yu-Seong's limit if he couldn't handle the task.

Woo-Jae would have such thoughts because he did not know that Kim Do-Jin was a returnee from another world. If Choi Yu-Seong was sacrificed in this way, chances were high that he would end up in the same state as the original novel.

"It seemed like you were trying to get closer to him anyway, so I'm just trying to help you."

"…I am not disappointed by that."

If Choi Yu-Seong had not read the original novel, or if he was not quick-witted, he would have faced a terrible situation. But so what? As mentioned, the Comet Group was originally like this, and Choi Woo-Jae did have as many as ten children.

"If you know the situation, you must have your own thoughts." It was clear what Choi Woo-Jae's words meant. "I won't ask more since it already sounds interesting. I will leave the matter regarding Kim Do-Jin to you.."

"Phew… Thank you." Choi Yu-Seong felt he had barely come down from the tightrope. He let out a sigh of relief without realizing it.

Meanwhile, Choi Woo-Jae was in another dilemma.

'Shall I give a big gift or a small gift for my quick-witted Ninth child?'?

He had originally come to give a gift to Yu-Seong. However, the answer that his son had given was remarkably praiseworthy that he found it hard to make a decision. But, he also felt it was a bit excessive to give the big gift that just came to his mind.

'The small gift is not enough, but the big gift is too much… I'd better do this then.'?

Choi Woo-Jae made a choice after much consideration and spoke again. "Do you know where the guys who attacked you came from?"

Yu-Seong looked at Woo-Jae when he heard the sudden question.

'It's different from the sloppy novel with a lot of plot holes.'?

Choi Woo-Jae—the meticulous chairman of a large corporation—was alive and breathing in front of Yu-Seong's eyes. So why was someone like Woo-Jae suddenly asking such a question?

"Father, I guess you already know who they are."

"Indeed, I do know. If you want, I'll call that wicked guy to this place right now. And I'll make him bow and apologize to you. Think of it as a special gift for what you've done recently."

A gift. Choi Yu-Seong did not act rashly, although Choi Woo-Jae once again said something that he found difficult to hear. He felt a rather strange vibe in the conversation, but he was unsure as to why. Strictly speaking, it was a feeling. However, Choi Yu-Seong did not want to ignore his feelings.

Thus, he asked Woo-Jae a question. "Perhaps… Is it one of my older brothers or sisters?"

Choi Woo-Jae did not answer, offering a silent affirmation.

It was silent, but it was an affirmation after all.

'It's not Choi Min-Seok since it wasn't an unfledged attempt. If one of my older brothers or sisters apologizes to me…'?

It would be an apology right in front of Choi Woo-Jae. As a result, one of his siblings would lose their rights to Choi Yu-Seong.

Considering how important such rights would be in the upcoming succession fight, it would be no exaggeration to call it a gift as Woo-Jae had said.

Yu-Seong could feel his heart beating. Rights could be a debt. He could think of countless ways to use this. He was happy with the pleasant choices he could make for a while.

However, he shook his head. "It…it's okay."

"Why?"

"Because it is my problem. If I cannot get through it myself and just lean on you, then I will remain as a spoiled child in the family."

"Huh…?"

"I'll go find them myself and make them pay for what they have done to me. This is what a member of the Choi family should do."

In an instant, a scene from the distant past unfolded in front of Yu-Seong's eyes. There was a middle-aged man talking to a small child sitting on his lap.

'This is…?'?

It was not a memory from the original novel. More vivid than that, it felt like an old memory that he had experienced in person.

'Is this the real Choi Yu-Seong's memory?'?

As if it was a memory from a long time ago, it was as blurry as a channel on the wrong frequency of a black and white TV.

Having questions and feeling confused, Choi Woo-Jae suddenly stood up from his seat and turned his back. "If that's your intention, then I'll respect it."

"Are you leaving, Father?"

"I have to go. I'm busy, but this took more time than I thought." Although Choi Yu-Seong could not see it, Woo-Jae's lips were twisted into what seemed like a pleasant smile.

"Ah, then…"

"Don't get up and just sit down! It's cumbersome." Choi Woo-Jae shook his hands as if annoyed, and strode out of the hospital room before Yu-Seong could do anything.

"Father."

"As I said, I'll be watching you."

Yu-Seong urgently called out to him while trying to leave the bed. However, Choi Woo-Jae gave an answer and left the hospital room. Yu-Seong was left alone in the room once more.

'He really just left. I refused because I thought it would be a test.… Was it a mistake?'

Yu-Seong smacked his lips with a strange expression as he looked at the closed door.

Choi Woo-Jae couldn't stop his lips from twitching up into a smile while he leaned comfortably in the back seat of the Maybach sedan, often called one of the world's top three luxury cars. He left behind several officials from the prestigious university hospital rushing out and bowing their heads.

Kim Pil-Doo was sitting in the passenger seat right in front of him. He looked at Woo-Jae and asked, "The Ninth Young Master must have made you feel happy again, master."

"Can you tell?"

"The corners of your lips are constantly twisting up like this. How about just laughing aloud? There's no one watching."

"What do you mean there's no one? You're here, and the driver is here." Choi Woo-Jae spoke bluntly and leaned his arm against the window frame. He felt awkward, looking at his face reflected through the splendid cityscape of downtown Seoul, so he slightly pulled his cheek with his index finger. "It's awkward."

"…"

"I'm not used to smiling and it doesn't look good if I force myself to. Anyways, when will Yu-Seong be discharged?" asked Woo-Jae.

"December 13th…. I have confirmed that there's about a week left," answered Pil-Doo.

"Then around that time…" Choi Woo-Jae's voice became softer. To be exact, the voice was sent only to Kim Pil-Doo's ears by skipping the space inside the vehicle.

The driver was quite used to this. Choi Woo-Jae's voice always got softer like this when the two people spoke about secrets. As both of them were high-ranking hunters, the driver could tell by the fact that they were communicating in a special way.

'It's always amazing when I see it,' thought the driver.

And today, the driver had another mysterious experience.

"…Pardon?" Kim Pil-Doo was known for his cool-headedness as he resembled Choi Woo-Jae. However, he raised a rather foolish question.

"What do you mean 'pardon?' Did you not hear me?" said Woo-Jae.

"But…"

"Stop!" Choi Woo-Jae raised his voice.

Kim Pil-Doo quickly bowed his head with trembling eyes. "As you wish, sir."

Kim Pil-Doo thought it was a rather exaggerated gift, but what could he do? It was Choi Woo-Jae's order after all.

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