Chapter 126: 126

Boom, boom—!

Fireworks exploded . Noises of people were heard from everywhere . Su-hyeun and Hak-joon shook their heads as they watched the crowds flock to the streets of San Francisco .

“It is like the 2002 World Cup,” Su-hyeun said .

“Were you on the street at that time?” Hak-joon asked .

“I was young, so I only remember vaguely . But I remember there were a lot of people instead of soccer games . ”

“Was it like this?”

“Well…maybe that time was less crowded than this… . ”

There was no place to put their feet on the street of San Francisco . They headed back to Gordon Tower . Lee Ju-ho was already waiting in front of Gordon Tower .

“Over here! Here!”

Lee Ju-ho’s voice came through the crowd . Since there were too many people, it was difficult to find each other even after contact .

“There are too many people! I thought I was choking to death,” Lee Ju-ho said .

“Sorry that you suffered,” Su-hyeun said .

“Meh . It’s alright . I didn’t come here to just watch the game, you know . I came here to look after you guys . ”

They turned around and entered Gordon Tower . The tallest building in the world, Gordon Tower, had been out of service for several days . The inside of the tower was so quiet . It made them felt like the crowd outside was a lie .

“The stadium is underground,” Lee Ju-ho said . “And we have about an hour before the game starts . I’ve finished the process, so you guys just can give your name and wait in there . ”

“Thank you,” Su-hyeun said .

“Don’t say that . I volunteered to do it . It was not like you guys asked me or something . Since I have such talented friends, this is the only thing I can do . ”

The elevator began to descend underground . The elevator continued to descend beyond the tenth and twentieth floors .

“Hak-joon . Please, keep your temper and don’t get injured . And Su-hyeun . ” Lee Ju-ho touched Su-hyeun’s shoulder and said as the elevator stopped . “You are going to win, right?”

“Of course . ”

Ding—

The elevator stopped . The display did not show what floor they were on . Soon, the elevator door opened . A harsh light came through .

“Wow…” Hak-joon exclaimed inadvertently at the sight in front of him .

Su-hyeun was also surprised, which was rare for him . The scene revealed in front of them was unbelievable .

“It is so…huge,” Su-hyeun murmured .

“I was amazed, too, when I came down before . I am still amazed . ”

It was a dome-shaped stadium . The ceiling was hundreds of meters high . It would have seated not only hundreds of thousands of but millions of people . It was bigger than the World Cup Stadium .

Su-hyeun and Hak-joon thought the same thing . What Lee Ju-ho said was the answer to their question .

“The entire area of San Francisco is about 147,037 acres . This underground is about 0 . 5 percent of that, so 735 acres . ”

“735 acres?” Hak-joon asked back as if he could not grasp that high number .

Lee Ju-ho replied, shrugging as if he knew Hak-joon would ask, “You don’t get it, do you? Think of it as 4 times bigger than Yeouido Hangang Park . ”

“Four times?”

“Yeouido Hangang Park is about 187 acres . So, it is a little bigger than that . I didn’t know either . I didn’t expect people could make such a big area so deep underground . ”

Su-hyeun could not help but feel surprised about the fact that this huge stadium was bigger than Yeouido Hangang Park .

“Gordon Rohan must have spent some money,” Su-hyeun said .

“About 10% of the Ether stones from the United States go to Gordon Rohan,” Lee Ju-ho said . ” He is involved in all fields, such as the processing and auctioning of Ether stones, and he also attacks the dungeons . ”

“He was an oil giant before . Now he is an Ether stone giant… . ” Hak-joon muttered .

“That is why he is called the world’s richest man . This huge space is a work made of Ether stones,” Lee Ju-ho said, smashing the wall with all his power .

Thump—

They could feel a small vibration through the wall . It looked like there was some sort of device that could absorb the shock .

“To make this huge space at this depth, shock dispersion technology using Ether stones is essential . I think this place was made with a lot of time and effort . ”

“Interesting . ” Hak-joon looked pretty excited about the fact that the stage was huge .

There were many cameras as well . It was broadcasting live all over the world . Even right at that moment, one camera was facing Su-hyeun and Hak-joon .

“If you are done to be surprised, hurry up . You guys are the last ones probably . ”

Lee Ju-ho guided them to under the stadium . Su-hyeun and Hak-joon looked around the people sitting in the stands . Among them, there were people who recognized Su-hyeun’s face and whispered his name .

There were spectators looking down the stadium through some safe walls . They were millionaires in this era . They brought A-Rank awakens with them . They were people who had spent a lot of money to watch the Ranking Wars up close .

He could sense how much money they had spent . At that time, one familiar face was seen .

When Su-hyeun found Song Hyeong-gi, he also found Su-hyeun and waved his hand . He said something to the old man next to him and then he came out of the stands made of a transparent glass wall .

“Hey! It’s good to see you!”

“…Wow . His voice is loud . ” Su-hyeun sighed and approached Song Hyeong-gi .

“I knew you were coming . I don’t know anybody here . I was so bored . ”

“We don’t have much time . Let’s talk on the way . ”

“Sure, sure . ” Song Hyeong-gi put his arm around Su-hyeun’s shoulder and kept smiling as if he was so happy to see him .

After Song Hyeong-gi joined them, Lee Ju-ho waved his hand and left for the stands . “I’m leaving . Be careful not to get hurt . Do well . ”

“Oh, yes . Thank you . ”

Su-hyeun and Hak-joon said good-bye . Lee Ju-ho bowed to Song Hyeong-gi and headed to the stands .

As they walked to the stadium, Su-hyeun asked, “So, who was he? Next to you, at the stands . ”

“Oh . My father . ”

“Your father?”

“F-father…?” Hak-joon who was listening to them widened his eyes . “You mean, the CEO of Song-il Group?”

Song-il Group was a well-known company not only in Korea, but also around the world . Song Hyeong-gi was the youngest son of the that family .

“Yeah . He came all the way to see the game . He usually has lead in his pants . It’s a rare thing . ”

“Did he come to see you?” Hak-joon asked .

“…No . He probably didn’t come here to see me . He didn’t say anything to encourage me . ” Song Hyung-gi made an awkward expression as if his relationship with father was not that great . “But what can I do? Since he came here, I had to say hello . It was so awkward! It was great timing that you guys came . I came out as an excuse . ”

“Was that why you looked so happy?” Su-hyeun asked .

“Of course . Why else would I be glad to see you guys?”

“Don’t you want to see Miru?”

“Miru is an exception . ”

Song Hyung-gi came down to the stadium with Su-hyeun and Hak-joon . But he still glanced at the stands area . It seemed like he was concerned . Soon, a number of S-Rank awakeners gathered under the stadium . The huge stadium seemed pretty full when hundreds of awakeners gathered together .

Even though it was an event held by Gordon Rohan, there were many people who would not participate . Considering that there would be one or two S-Rank awakeners per country, possibly three or four at most, about half of them had not participated in this competition .

Seeing S-Rank awakeners was not an easy thing . They were usually too busy, so most of them did not know each other . They were all awkward . The only group that had more than three people consisted of Su-hyeun, Hak-joon, and Song Hyung-gi .

“How long do we have to wait?” Song Hyung-gi sat down on the floor and complained as if he didn’t have too much patience .

It was about the time to start .

“It will start soon,” Su-hyeun said .

“When?”

Su-hyeun looked up the stadium and said, “Probably…now . ”

A whistle came from the ceiling above the stadium . The awakeners looked up . There was a familiar face looking down at them .

“Gordon Rohan . ”

“Why did the host come last?”

“Who’s next to him?”

Next to Gordon Rohan, there was another person who was covered in a robe . At the appearance of Gordon Rohan, the quiet stadium became disturbed .

Gordon Rohan opened his mouth to speak when everybody focused on him . “Thank you for coming, everybody . And also, I thank the viewers from all over the world for your interest in this event . ”

Gordon Rohan’s voice echoed clearly in the middle of the huge stadium . His words were immediately translated into many other languages, written in subtitles, and spread to the world . It seemed like Gordon Rohan had been preparing for this day from years ago .

“I don’t like to say things long . All of you don’t like boring speeches, right? I will just introduce the judge of this Ranking War . ” Gordon Rohan pointed to the man who wore the robe next to him . “I am sure you guys all know him . He is the one who invented the S-Rank awakener examination system . Johnny Brad!”

The awakeners buzzed at the unexpected name .

“Johnny Brad?”

“Really? He came here?”

His name was more known among the awakeners than the general public . The S-Rank awakener examination test was in use in all countries around the world . Johnny Brad was the awakener who had invented that system . He was the best awakener in hallucination skills .

Su-hyeun thought .

Two of the world’s leading awakeners stood side by side . This was a pretty remarkable scene to announce the beginning of the Ranking Wars .

Su-hyeun assumed Johnny Brad did not come just for judging .

His abilities were not simply divided into strengths and weaknesses . What made him special was his versatility . He was the awakener who had the most skills in the world .

“Now…”

Rumble—

Along with Gordon Rohan’s words, a huge glow came out from under the stadium .

Whoosh—

“Let’s start the Ranking Wars!”