Chapter 135: 135

Act 2

Hak-joon was sitting in the living room with his eyes closed, thinking over the fight he’d had during the Ranking Wars .

>

He knew that he wasn’t skilled enough to get to the finals . He’d only managed to pass the preliminaries because the team he was assigned to didn’t fight amongst themselves and got through their mission, that was all .

Then, his opponent during the first round just happened to be an awakener specializing in recovery-type skills . So far, he had been riding his luck . If he had to go through a similar path as Su-hyeun, then he’d have dropped out during the prelims, that’s for sure .

>

He had witnessed Thomas’s strange skill through the display screens . Although that particular skill’s name was unknown, Hak-joon knew that his abilities were inadequate to break out of that .

Su-hyeun’s methods always had been based on the overwhelming, absolute difference in power level between himself and his opponents . Such a method would only work for people like him and maybe Gordon Rohan and…just these two, really .

>

He imagined how he would fight the American in his mind . It wasn’t a pretty picture .

>

He couldn’t even picture that . Hak-joon had no clue of the true extent of Su-hyeun’s abilities, since he’d never seen him go all-out before .

Su-hyuen, Thomas, and Gordon Rohan .

Compared to those three, he was just too weak .

“Hah-ah-” Hak-joon sighed .

Lee Ju-ho, sitting next to him asked, “Is something wrong?”

“I was thinking that I’m still way behind, that’s all . ”

Lee Ju-ho’s expression soured as he heard Hak-joon’s reply, “Is that something you should say in front of me?”

He’d been an awakener for far longer than Hak-joon, after all .

“Oh, that, uh… . ” Hak-joon could only smile awkwardly and avoid meeting Lee Ju-ho’s piercing gaze .

He knew he should be resting, yet his body continued to itch for some reason . He stood up from the couch, wondering if he should go somewhere to loosen up, but then…

“I’m home . ” Su-hyeun’s voice drifted from the foyer .

Hak-joon was so engrossed in his thoughts that he failed to notice Su-hyeun’s return . He got up and walked over to the foyer to welcome back his bro, returning from almost a full day’s absence .

“Hey, bro . Welcome ba… . ?”

“Uh? Both of you are here?”

Su-hyeun was about to greet Hak-joon, as well as Lee Ju-ho, also coming to the entrance, but belatedly noticed that both men were frozen stiff, eyes wide .

All thanks to Thomas, cautiously following behind him .

“B-bro, behind you…”

“Oh, him . He said he had no place to go, so I told him to come with me . Why don’t you say hello, Thomas . ”

Thomas listened Su-hyeun and awkwardly greeted the others from behind his back . Since the greeting itself was in pretty simple English, understanding the dude wasn’t a problem . No, the real problem was something else .

“Will this be okay?” Hak-joon asked .

“Yeah, it’s fine . Let me explain what happened . ”

Su-hyeun went on to explain Thomas’s situation to Hak-joon and Lee Ju-ho . After hearing everything, they began to see Thomas in a slightly different light .

“Ah, that means from now on… . ”

“I should say that he really doesn’t have anywhere to go . Until the Ranking Wars are over and we’re ready to leave, he’s going to crash here with us . And then I’ll find him a house once we get back . He’ll probably go back to climbing the tower afterward . ”

“Meaning, he’ll be with us until then?”

“Yeah . So, please, do try to look after him . ”

“Even if you ask us that, I don’t speak a lick of English, so… . ”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be the interpreter,” said Lee Ju-ho .

“Bro? Since when do you know English?” Hak-joon asked, eyes wide .

Lee Ju-jo ignored Hak-joon and furrowed his brows ever so slightly . “Su-hyeun, someone was looking for you while you were out . ”

“Who was it?”

“It was the other Korean S-Rank awakener besides our little group . Name’s Bak Yun-gyu . Besides the name, I don’t know much about him . ”

“Bak Yun-gyu… . ?”

Su-hyeun’s brows rose at hearing that name .

Lee Ju-ho was puzzled and asked him a question . “What’s the matter? You know him?”

“No, not personally . But I do know what kind of a person he is . ”

Su-hyeun knew that he was in America as well, but since they weren’t acquainted at all, he didn’t expect the other side to seek him out first . Also, that man had never been too interested in other people’s business, anyway .

>

Bak Yun-gyu .

The awakener affiliated with the Korean Awakener Authority, and also the man who taught Su-hyeun how to fight in his previous life .

More importantly, South Korea’s strongest awakener, as far as Su-hyeun knew .

That was Bak Yun-gyu .

* * *

Inside a spacious cafe within the Gordon Tower:

Currently, the place was off-limits to everyone until the end of the Ranking Wars, yet one man was using it as if he had rented the whole place out .

He was a clean-cut man in his mid-thirties, his black hair cropped short like a soldier’s, his face angular like an actor’s .

With a cup of coffee bought from the convenience store in one hand, he was observing the countryside of California spreading outside the windows .

“… . You came faster than I thought,” the man said while turning around, as a familiar face walked into the cafe . “Mister Kim Su-hyeun . ”

“Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mister Bak Yun-gyu . ”

Bak Yun-gyu nodded his head at Su-hyeun’s greeting and stood up from his chair . He walked closer and pushed forward another cup of coffee he bought earlier from a convenience store .

“This place isn’t operating at the moment, so I had one ready beforehand . We’re meeting in a cafe, so I thought that at least coffee should be available . ”

“Thank you . I’ll enjoy it . ”

“I’m not sure if such a cheap cup of coffee will satisfy your palate . People’s taste buds seem to have become rather discerning lately . ”

“Tastes good in your mouth but is bad for your health . In that regard, this cup is better than okay, actually . ”

Su-hyeun received the cup, took the lid off, and emptied half of the coffee inside in one go, since Bak Yun-gyu had already finished his coffee a while ago, after growing weary from all the waiting .

The lukewarm cup of coffee had no aroma, just the bittersweet taste .

“You’re exactly as I expected . ”

Bak Yun-gyu was observing Su-hyeun as if he found the person before him quite interesting .

“In what regard?”

“You’re honest, informal, yet still courteous at the same time . ”

“Who did you hear that from?”

“From Kang Seung-hoon, a friend that’s working for me . I’m sure you don’t know who he is . But he told me that he received your help during the Anyang city outbreak incident . ”

Kang Seung-hoon .

Su-hyeun, of course, knew the name . They had worked together in his previous life, after all .

Right under Bak Yun-gyu’s wings, no less .

“May I ask why you wished to see me?”

“At first, I wasn’t interested in you . I believed that it wasn’t meant to be, since you rejected the offers from the awakener authority . ”

“I feel bad about how that business turned out . ”

“Of course . It’s quite rare for any S-Ranks to want to join the authority, after all . And it doesn’t take a genius to figure out what the director said in order to entice you . ”

Bak Yun-gyu didn’t try to hide what’s on his mind and spoke without holding back .

And he was just as ruthless while criticizing the director afterward . He was quite strict with the definition of right and wrong, and didn’t hesitate at all to speak up or to uphold that ideal .

He was a soldier, through and through . Not only that, the most ideal, perfect soldier that everyone would picture in their heads .

That was why he wished to join the authority, as well . A life lived for one’s country was the story of his life, after all .

“I’ll be going back to South Korea tomorrow,” said Bak Yun-gyu .

Indeed, this meeting happened back then, too . In the middle of his participation in the Ranking Wars, Bak Yun-gyu had to return to Korea .

Su-hyeun never learned what the real reason for that was—except that Bak Yun-gyu was assigned a special mission by the authority, and that was about it .

“But what about the finals?” Su-hyeun asked .

“It’s unfortunate, but it can’t be helped . ”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“I’m sure you can already guess from what I’ve said so far . ” Bak Yun-gyu’s eyes narrowed to slits as he stared at Su-hyeun . He then finally revealed the reason . “I want to fight you, at least once . ”

Thought so .

Su-hyeun sighed under his breath .

Personality-wise, Bak Yun-gyu was never a fan of fighting . There was only one reason why he wanted to fight despite his personal preferences .

>

No matter what anyone said, Su-hyeun was one of the top awakeners currently active . Not only that, before Hak-joon’s entrance, he had been the youngest ever S-Rank .

And that was precisely why Bak Yun-gyu believed that the future of Korea rested on Su-hyeun’s shoulders . He was probably curious about who ‘Su-hyeun’ the man was like, too .

If it was any other time, Su-hyeun would’ve flatly refused . There was nothing to gain by fighting Bak Yun-gyu .

But…

“Let’s head to the arena,” said Su-hyeun .

He wanted to confirm it himself—to see how wide the gap between himself and Bak Yun-gyu was .

* * *

With the Ranking Wars temporarily suspended, the underground arena was eerily empty . Su-hyeun and Bak Yun-gyu strode to the middle of this deserted arena .

On their way there, they spoke about this and that . Most of their conversation consisted of talking crap about the authority’s director, though .

“That man, he can be just a bit too much . I wonder if it should be labeled as ‘safety at all cost’… Put nicely, that’s the case . But, in all honesty, such a side can make him look very selfish, instead . There’s no denying that . ”

Bak Yun-gyu knew the director’s personality very well, just as much as Su-hyeun did . Since they had worked in the same organization, it seemed that they had no choice but to know a lot about each other .

“How does the ‘team’ look at the moment?” Su-hyeun asked .

“Team?”

“Yes . I heard from the director that the authority was currently ‘raising’ a team . From what I hear, they went active about a year ago?”

The authority’s awakener team built around Bak Yun-gyu consisted of people acknowledged as some of the very best in South Korea . Each and every one of those awakeners was skilled enough to occupy high-ranking directorial positions in most large-sized guilds .

The team’s existence hadn’t been announced publicly yet, but those in the know already knew all about it .

“Well… it’s not so bad . I’m the only S-Ranker in the team, but our average rank has risen quite high, so it’s alright . ”

“But, you can do the jobs of several average S-Rankers, can’t you?”

Su-hyeun was well aware of Bak Yun-gyu’s strength . Although his prowess wasn’t well known since he was affiliated with the authority, Su-hyeun believed him to be South Korea’s own Gordon Rohan .

Of course, he might be ways off from the real Gordon Rohan, but still .

Bak Yun-gyu replied, “Even if that’s the case, there’s a clear difference between one pair of hands and many . Even if I’m strong, I can’t raid several dungeons at once . There are definitely limitations to being just one person . ”

Su-hyeun agreed with Bak Yun-gyu’s line of thinking .

One pair of hands couldn’t win against multiple— admittedly, this saying had become something of a cliché by now . Right now, Su-hyeun possessed more than enough power to fight against dozens, hundreds, or even thousands all by himself, after all .

Even then, limits clearly existed .

That was why he was looking forward with bated breath to Hak-joon’s growth .

“I guess this far will be enough . ” Bak Yun-gyu, walking in the lead, stopped after reaching the center of the arena and turned to face Su-hyeun .

Su-hyeun raised his head and replied, “Looks like we have a few spectators . ”

“Spectators?”

Bak Yun-gyu belatedly picked up the presence of people he failed to notice earlier .

Above their heads, toward the arena’s ceiling—two people were currently watching them .

“We got busted . ”

“They found us . ”

They were Gordon Rohan and Johnny Brad . The two men muttered in a resigned fashion .

“What are you two doing up there? Are you planning to peep on us or something?” Su-hyeun asked .

“Technically speaking, this here is still part of my house . So, how will that be a problem?” Gordon Rohan replied .

He wasn’t wrong there .

Besides, Su-hyeun wasn’t unduly bothered by it . He shrugged his shoulders and replied, “I don’t mind either way . ”

“I was planning to throw both of you out if you said it’s a problem, but well, aren’t you a confident one . You’ll probably have to fight me tomorrow, though?”

Gordon Rohan’s question only made Su-hyeun smirk slightly .

“I can handle such a handicap . ”