episode_0065

*****

Lower your weight and extend your left arm forward. Place your right fist on your waist. It occurred to me that it had been a long time since I had taken a stance that could be described as such.

The posture itself had no meaning. It is common for awakened people of the student age group to attach meaning to these forms. It feels like a fake to fool the level.

Junseok still had his eyes closed. Of course, if there is a difference between him and me now, it would be embarrassing to even call closing one’s eyes a penalty.

Now, how do we get that guy off the chair?

The easiest thing is to completely destroy it. However, this is not an option as the training ground has barriers to absorb shock.

The second is dealing with concepts. Manipulating the concept of destruction can make Jun-seok, who is relaxing like that, turn blue.

Of course, there is no way this method could be chosen. Although manipulating the concept of destruction is not my unique skill, it is a big clue since there are only a few people who can use it. There was also a fundamental problem that concept manipulation was not used well after that day.

In the end, the only choice is the third method. It’s simple, which is also my preference. The third method is,

Hit it first and see!

bang!

He takes the first step with a leap that shakes the gym. The target is to turn to the side and hit the side while pretending to have a leisurely stretched leg.

It is a surprise attack through rapid maneuvering, as if ignoring inertia.

Swish.

But Junseok followed my movements very easily. As if he already knew, the outstretched hand punches outward.

What was hit was the outer part of the fist, but the entire body was shaken. Some of the onlookers expressed their admiration at the advanced operation of the flower mirror that deals with the direction of force.

I also have no intention of being pushed away from such a theory of nothingness. Originally, he would have thrown a kick with the force that Jun-seok had thrown away, but here, according to Jun-seok’s intention, he deliberately chose to let his body be dragged.

Blame, blame.

Change your stance and jump from the wall you were thrown from. The place I landed was the ceiling of the gym. From a height of about 10 meters, I kicked the ceiling with even more magical power.

Fixing the position means that evasion is half-sealed. In other words, what I need to prioritize is the power of technology. The downward kick struck downward like a shooting star, shedding magical light.

It’s called Rider Kick! It was an attack that went up a notch in power and accuracy compared to when it slaughtered the old doctor’s chimeras.

thud!

“That’s it!”

“I went into the Orthodox Church.”

“No matter how much the Emperor is, he won’t be able to withstand this!”

Who is the guy who put up the flag there?

It is natural, but the attack that would have wiped out a decent monster by the dozens fell far short of the Emperor. Junseok had his arms outstretched and was catching my kicks with only two fingers.

No, it wasn’t just that he hit me, he even grabbed my leg and threw me. Anyway, this is inside the training barrier. Perhaps because he knew he wouldn’t die, there was no mercy in his hands.

“You’re going to catch me there!?”

“If there is no barrier, it will fall to pieces.”

“But Fafnir also──”

Although they are being caught and thrown away, in a sense, they are that close. I folded my legs and threw them away, clinging to Junseok’s arm at the same speed.

I can’t break Jun-seok’s arm with my own strength. The physical specifications between them are overwhelmingly different. However, if Jun-seok’s downward strike is combined with the rider’s kick, it is at least powerful enough!

“… Hmm.”

For the first time, Junseok opened his eyes and looked at me. On the outside, he looks like he’s not interested, but if you have the potential to detect gaze, you can tell. question. interest. And the slightly surprised look showed that my strategy was effective enough.

If I continue like this, my defeat is certain, but Jun-seok’s arm will also be broken. That would not be a scene that a hero close to the strongest would want to see.

Of course, the direction of the arm changes from striking down to shaking me off. I also changed my movements while sensitively sensing the signs through my gaze and muscle movements.

“What is that? Was there any martial arts like that?”

“It’s not martial arts. Martial arts, that’s a type of joint technique like grappling.”

The martial art of the awakened is called martial arts and is different from the general martial arts. There is a difference in the basic premise as they have inhuman physical abilities through magical power.

So what about martial arts in general, especially grappling?

In fact, grappling is not a particularly preferred method of attack for awakened people. First of all, it is absurd to use it against monsters. It may work against humans, but for awakened people, damage to joints or skeleton is often meaningless.

Above all, attacks that release magical energy from the body itself are fatal in grappling, which requires holding onto the opponent’s body. Of course, I hardly ever wrote anything during my active duty years.

Yeah, I barely wrote anything. That part is important. Even if I compete with my skills in a close-quarters situation, if it’s grappling, there’s no way my identity will be discovered by Jun-seok.

Moreover, the difference between me and Junseok is overwhelming. In other words, an attack on a joint that would not originally have much meaning is enough to scratch Jun-seok’s pride.

“… … .”

Junseok’s expression frowned. Maybe it’s because it’s not as easy as you think to shake me off your arms. A small body can be a great weapon in this situation if it can make up for its lack of strength with magical power.

You can’t hit it down or shake it off. In that case, the next action that the captured awakened person can take is obvious.

Attack by releasing magical energy.

And this is the action I was waiting for.

“Eurachacha!”

“… !”

Gathering magical power means that a lot of magical power is tied up. In particular, it is difficult to cancel this type of magic power release attack once the magic power has been converted to attack.

On the other hand, I invested all my magical energy into strengthening my body for that moment. Falling from the arm and quickly returning to the back of the chair. It doesn’t give you any time to catch up!

“30 second cut!”

Pow!

A roundhouse kick with all your might. As expected, it felt strangely solid for an iron chair. To prevent it from being destroyed by wide-area attacks, etc., Jun-seok strengthened it with his own magical power.

Of course, all of that has already been calculated. The striking blow is a hammer-like attack that emphasizes suppression rather than penetration. It is an attack that focuses on blowing away the opponent rather than destroying it.

Now Junseok will fly off the chair and become a star in the sky—huh?

Well, what’s so heavy?

“It was a good attempt. The first lesson is this.”

Pajik, pajijik. An ominous sound came from above. Gym ceiling and iron chairs. In the meantime, several power lines were passing between them.

aha. The chair itself is held in place by magnetic force. So, to win this bet, you have to break through the Emperor’s reinforcements and destroy the chair, or move the chair that is fixed with the Emperor’s magic, right?

… It’s impossible, it’s such a power game!

A blinding amount of magic light gathers on the ceiling. Even at a glance, I could sense that something enormous was about to fall.

“Be aware of the difference in level between yourself and your opponent.”

hey! That’s what I taught you!

All you have to do is set a condition where you can’t win at all and then say something plausible! In my time, eh! When I taught you!

‘Ugh… ‘You can win this, right?’

‘Disciple, that statement itself means that you do not realize the difference between yourself and your enemy.’

… Wow, you grew up great!

Immediately after, with a pillar of light coming down from the sky.

My consciousness was completely cut off.

***

“Hey, kid. Try that, that.”

“Noisy.”

“‘Let’s make it 30 seconds.’ Wow~, cool, cool~. But wouldn’t you be embarrassed if you said that and then got ripped off? Phew.”

“Shut up… .”

Where I am now is the student guidance room at Cheonmyeong High School. The formal crime was ‘requiring compulsory education for teachers’. It’s funny that it’s wrong to ask a teacher to teach, but it’s a necessary rule in Cheonmyeong High School’s environment, which focuses on individual lessons.

Fortunately, the only punishment was a brief stay in this reflection room. It appears that Jun-seok’s attitude over the past few days was not seen as very desirable by other teachers.

So, I was planning to spend a short time here today and then leave… . Why is this gangster here!?

“Ah, I don’t feel it when I do this. Of course, you will feel better if you do it yourself. right? Huh?”

“Seriously, don’t do it… .”

“Hzmlg~.”

Horribly, it looks like Yangachi watched the previous battle from beginning to end. Thanks to this, I was being subjected to the one-sided assault of verbal violence.

You really just have to wait and see. This debt will definitely be repaid.

“So, why are you here?”

“Me? That’s me all the time. Smoking, poor attire, unhealthy dating, things like that.”

“He’s a bully himself.”

“It’s embarrassing to hear from a problem child who rebelled against the teacher.”

… It won’t work. Perhaps because something was committed, the deal exchange itself did not take place. At least for today, you should just keep your mouth shut.

When I changed my strategy to not dealing with the opponent, fortunately the bully also calmed down a bit. Although he sometimes got on my nerves with his giggling.

“Hey.”

However, this call had a slightly different tone. Hearing a tone of seriousness rather than ridicule, I lifted my face from between my arms and looked at the gangster.

“Wouldn’t it be uncomfortable if you were in that position?”

“… … .”

“It’s a joke, a joke. Don’t stare at me like that. I have something to ask.”

“What is it again?”

“What do you really have with that teacher?”

… This is another random question.

There is something there. The relationship between teacher and disciple. And that too, in the direction where I am the teacher. Of course, I can’t tell you that.

Originally, I would have explained here that it was just a misunderstanding. There is no relationship between me and Teacher Jun-seok. It’s just that I introduced some of your videos to the kids and things went wrong.

Isn’t it common for kids to like this kind of gossip? Dealing calmly is the adult response.

But maybe it’s because I was constantly being teased just a moment ago. Or is it because I felt bad because I lost to Jun-seok?

When I came to my senses, I found myself speaking in a sharper tone than I expected.

“What are you going to do with that?”

After speaking, I thought, Oops. The tone in the old man’s previous question was closer to half teasing and half concern. Considering his personality, he probably expressed his own concerns.

But do I really need to apologize here? Anyway, wasn’t the gangster teasing me to his heart’s content just a moment ago? I don’t feel very good about losing to a guy I thought was my student.

… No, no, what are you talking about? Although he lost to Jun-seok, he achieved his primary goal. Winning and losing are secondary issues, and it’s not the bully’s fault that I lost to Jun-seok in the first place.

I’m not a kid and there’s no need to be stubborn. Here, I turned my head to apologize obediently.

“!?”

I was a little surprised to see the gangster who was far away come up to the seat next to me. The reaction was stronger than I expected, so I quickly opened my mouth before I could say anything else.

“Nothing much. I just thought it had a different meaning because it was so different from the impression I got from Sia. According to common sense, would a hero who is as good as the world be doing something like that for no reason?”

“Is it true?”

“Yes, yes, it’s true. Why did I lie to you──”

Sigh.

My boyfriend and I turned our heads towards the door at the same time.

It would have been better if the teacher had come out. Beyond the door was Kang Seo-yoon, a classmate and presumed to be the culprit who caused this commotion.

Half-instinctively, I checked my current situation. If Kang Seo-yoon maliciously spread rumors about me, I don’t know how she would inflate the current situation.

Fortunately, the bully approached me, but it wasn’t close enough to make physical contact. A distance that would be sufficient for friends, with the upper body slightly tilted from the seat next to you.

Of course, if you force yourself to create words, there’s nothing you can’t do.

“The teacher said that probation time is over. They told me to go home or do self-training.”

“Uh. Thanks for letting me know──”

“Shin-ah, why don’t you go home together?”

Wow, I was completely ignored.

The facial expression is a normal smiling face. The gaze was only directed at Yangachi. But somehow I could tell that they were trying to ignore my very existence. With a feeling.

… What did I do to him?

From the rumors and my current attitude, I know very well that Kang Seo-yoon hates me immensely. But I couldn’t figure out the reason. It doesn’t seem like he has a soul poem, and even if it’s a corporate problem, the timing isn’t right… .

As I was thinking about it like that, I suddenly felt a tingling sensation in my horn. Finding the cause wasn’t difficult. Because the demon energy extending from the sheep was directly touching my horn.

[Agree with what I say.]

A gangster’s voice that seems to be speaking directly to one’s head. It must have been applied like a real telephone. I quickly learned what ‘my words’ meant.

“Ah, sorry. I decided to go play with Fafnir now. Let’s go next time, next time.”

Accept it? In these words?

Are you still worried that useless rumors will spread?

“Going out to have fun? With him? … Two of us?”

See, he thinks it’s strange too. Kang Seo-yoon’s raised eyes became sharper. But why is he glaring at me and not at the bully who suggested it?

In any case, there is no need to give unnecessary excuses. I was about to pretend that I remembered some random promise, but I heard the gangster’s signal on the actual phone again.

[This is a debt.]

… Shamefully! I quickly did some math on the calculator in my head.

In fact, there was no option to refuse. Yangachi helped me a lot in one way or another. On the contrary, if the debt accumulated through this amount of work is eliminated, it is a situation that I should welcome.

Of course, I feel a little depressed when I think about hearing all kinds of bullshit after this.

“That’s right. what is it. game! We decided to go play a game together.”

“Game? What game are you playing?”

“Huh? That’s right… .”

I just picked up random words and served, but I was taken aback when a question was asked in return. What games are the kids playing these days? That fighting game from last time wasn’t a game played in PC rooms. Was there a Star or LoL in this era?

“No way, that game──”

“Why are you trying to answer so stupidly? Anyway, see you next time.”

As I was shaking my head, the gangster grabbed me and dragged me outside. I can feel a huge amount of attention coming from behind. The potential is activated.

I turned my head slightly and, as expected, Kang Seo-yoon was glaring at me as if I were some kind of enemy. Honestly, I was a little scared.

Of course, I still don’t know what I did wrong. I sigh as I think about the nonsense I will hear at school tomorrow.

“I escaped successfully, but why?”

“How can I get out of it? What do you think you will hear when you go to school tomorrow?”

“Are you worried about that? don’t worry. Because rumors about you and me won’t spread. That’s not a very good trend for him either.”

A tone filled with strange confidence. When asked for an explanation, Yangachi shrugged his shoulders and avoided answering.

“So how long do we have to go on like this? If it’s a PC room, I could go with you.”

“That’s done. I have a prior agreement.”

Bang bang—! As soon as the gangster finished speaking, a flashy sports car honked its horn in front of the building. In the driver’s seat, a woman wearing a costume as flashy as the car was waving her hand in the direction.

After seeing that, the bully raised two fingers in my direction and ran away. It was immediately apparent that that was the number of remaining debts.

… I was wondering why he was alone in the guidance room even though he was in a relationship with the opposite sex, and this was the reason.

I can’t say it’s wholesome, but if it’s not a crime, there’s no reason to say anything about a person’s private life. I shrugged my shoulders and walked towards the gym, hoping there were still other kids left in the gym.

***

The Hero Association’s headquarters, located in the center of Seoul, is one of the most important buildings in Korea. Of course, a corresponding security system was also in place.

“Excuse me. Could it be—Oh, I’m sorry. Thank you for your hard work.”

Therefore, it was natural for the security guard to approach the man wearing sweats that did not fit the location.

Park Jun-seok forced himself to believe that by inserting the highest grade pass. It might have been enough once or twice, but after going through it five times, I even felt the urge to put a badge on my forehead. In fact, I even wondered why I didn’t do that a long time ago.

“… Why are you putting that on your head?”

“Why don’t you train your employees better?”

“I thought I would wear a suit at that point, even if it would be embarrassing.”

under. Park Jun-seok snorted at the absurd remark. Of course, the other party—Lee Changhyuk—didn’t show any reaction to those words. At least on the outside.

Park Jun-seok, chief officer of the Yalu River Front. Lee Chang-hyuk, head of the Information Department. The two have the highest real power over the association’s yang and yin, military force and politics, respectively.

In general, it would not be strange for a power struggle to occur. However, the two rarely clashed in the first place.

It wasn’t because the two people got along well. It was a simple coincidence of interests because Park Jun-seok wanted to concentrate on his work, and Lee Chang-hyuk just left him alone.

That unity was broken by this incident.

“Why is it so difficult to see faces? Isn’t it too much to call someone over?”

“It was not the association that called you here, but a request from the government. Even if you argue with me, it doesn’t mean much.”

“You could have prevented it, but you left it alone.”

Lee Chang-hyuk just laughed and let go of the reprimand contained in those words. A euphemistic refusal.

Park Jun-seok, who realized that there was no point in spinning around, spoke directly.

“Please send me back.”

Yalu River Front. The absence of the hero named Emperor Noe from it does not have a light meaning. His presence makes a difference in the number of deaths in blocking the monster waves pouring out of the Great Rift in Manchuria and Mongolia.

“There is no time to be a teacher. I have no intention or confidence in teaching well. If you keep me here like this, you will only lose money.”

“I was receiving reports. I roughly guessed that was the reason.”

I knew why. I made that decision knowingly. Park Jun-seok’s expression frowned at the expected but incomprehensible words.

The appearance of Yongin? Government request? It’s all nonsense. If there is anyone in this world who can understand the history of the association as well as Lee Chang-hyuk, it would be Park Jun-seok himself. Yongin was clearly powerful, but it was not necessary to bring him to the capital.

The most understandable reason is to kill all three birds with one stone: a treaty with the government, a check on acceptance, and fostering the future. Even if you combine all three, the balance is not right, but it is enough to compare them. So, didn’t they intentionally set up a fishing pole in the rear formation to destroy the scale?

But Lee Chang-hyuk’s reaction was very clean.

It’s as if that wasn’t even put on the scale in the first place.

“What do you know?”

A man named Lee Chang-hyuk has accumulated numerous feats since the period of great turmoil. There is no one inside or outside the association who does not know that the foundation of its success is its incredible information power.

The power of information is such that you can literally see the future. If he takes the lead in something like that, most people will automatically cringe. Oh, does this person hold some information that I don’t know? I wonder if they are acting like this because they have that information.

Is there actually such information? Park Jun-seok predicted that the probability was about 50%. In other words, about half of the people are deceived by information that does not exist and are played according to Lee Chang-hyuk’s intentions.

Is there any way to avoid being half-deceived? That was Park Jun-seok’s idea.

“Well. But let me be clear. There is no need for you to return north anytime soon. Whether you do your job properly or not, this is your only decision.”

“… You sound like you know everything.”

If you know so well, why not try to prevent the death of a close friend?

Although he didn’t say it in words, Park Jun-seok’s words contained that meaning. This is a sarcastic comment that has been made several times since that day seven years ago.

When I heard those words until now, the anger and regret that could not be completely erased appeared on Lee Chang-hyuk’s face. What did Park Jun-seok himself think as he looked at the bare face beneath the mask?

But today the reaction was quite different. Anger and regret appeared on his face, but it felt like another mask underneath the mask, not a bare face.

“If you have time to complain for nothing, try doing your job well as a teacher instead of bothering the strict kids. I heard you took a shot this time?”

However, before he could think deeply about it, Lee Chang-hyuk struck the vital point first. Park Jun-seok, whose pride was scratched, frowned.

“I heard you took a herbal medicine. Rather, I was the one who knocked him out with one blow.”

“Eolssi-gu. Are you trying to brag about using a lightning strike against a student?”

“That’s… .”

Park Jun-seok had nothing to say, so he hesitated. I never thought that I would use that strike on a simple example.

Naturally, he thought of the blonde girl who challenged him today. A dragon-horned girl with truly abnormal skills. If it weren’t for the overwhelming difference in horsepower, I might have really fallen off my chair.

Do you remember the girl’s fighting skills? It wasn’t. In the first place, Park Jun-seok had never heard of an awakened person using grappling. If she hadn’t been afraid of breaking her arm, the girl would have been finished by the time she caught the downward strike.

What Park Jun-seok was concerned about was the girl’s cheering.

A loud cheering sound that did not match the girl’s thin voice. Because that tone, that feeling, reminded him of the cheering sound of someone he knew. At that moment, he was unable to react to the girl’s movements, and ended up resorting to a foul that made the game itself meaningless.

It was a humiliating experience for Park Jun-seok. The fact that it reacted not even to body movements but to the simple sound of fighting spirit. Because that meant he was still possessed by Asura.

Even though there is nothing as meaningless as the feelings one has for the dead.

“… … .”

Park Jun-seok shook his head to shake off the emotions that came to mind. It’s all over anyway. Even if there are any remaining ashes, they will also be blown away by the winds of time.

That’s right, didn’t I just happen to find a sprout that could sprout?

It might be a good opportunity to wash away old nightmares.

“… Yes. It would be nice to try working as a teacher at least once.”

“Right? Let’s enjoy what we’re doing.”

“This is only when I have a reason to be here.”

“We will have a chance to talk about that again later.”

Kuuk. The day’s conversation ended with the two people holding hands.

*****