Ch.201Chapter 8. A Toast to Your Patriotism (2)

May 14th.

The day of the decisive battle had arrived.

The internet was buzzing with debates about whether the Goblin would appear or not, but the students were more concerned about themselves than the potential appearance of a Goblin they weren’t even sure existed.

-This time I’ll definitely raise my rank!

Each ability user has a designated rank.

This rank is evaluated by each national branch of the Hero Association, and an ability user’s value is determined by this rank.

In terms of soccer players, it would be equivalent to their salary, and beyond Sejong Academy, it’s the “spec” by which one is evaluated when deployed in the field.

To raise this rank, objective achievements are necessary, but how many opportunities are there to make such achievements within Sejong Island?

None.

Villains rarely appear on Sejong Island.

This year, many villains and demons had appeared because of a strange entity called Dueoksini, but such occurrences were originally quite rare.

Perhaps Dueoksini had been secretly active before as well, but such complicated matters weren’t for students to worry about.

For students, only one thing mattered.

Raising their rank to build their reputation.

And proving their existence as stronger than anyone else.

As such, they couldn’t miss today’s event.

Of course.

For Ymir, who had absolutely no interest in raising her ability rank—or rather, had interest but no immediate thoughts about it—this wasn’t particularly important.

What she was curious about was how large this athletic field would be.

In a space that seemed even larger than a Major League baseball stadium, dozens of square platforms had been set up, which clearly resembled “training grounds” where each team would battle.

They’re really serious about this athletic meet.

Ymir climbed onto the platform assigned to her team—E-rank Team 2—and soon gasped in amazement as gleaming white walls appeared between the training grounds.

[Ah, please refrain from touching the ice walls. They are magical barriers separating each preliminary arena, but please avoid touching them to prevent any injuries.]

Though human nature makes one want to do exactly what they’re told not to, no one dared touch the safety walls created by an S-rank.

It was just fascinating.

Ymir was simply amazed to witness this tremendous martial arts tournament disguised as an athletic meet in person.

That’s why she didn’t understand.

Why people were so enthusiastic about “Riders.”

And how that enthusiasm manifested.

“Wow.”

Ymir scanned all the E-rank students assigned to her team.

It was a battle royale preliminary where only two would survive out of ten people in each team.

As long as one didn’t kill others or intentionally cause harm, it was up to individuals to bring their usual weapons or wear costumes.

But what was this?

This overwhelming ratio of “Riders.”

Among the ten team members including Ymir, she was the only one wearing the regular academy uniform.

In other words, all nine others had shown up in their own Rider outfits.

Some were simply wearing motorcycle helmets with their academy uniforms, while others were dressed in full Rider gear from head to toe like Doji Rider.

Three of them were even wearing Rider suits emblazoned with the “Haeguneul” emblem, making Ymir wonder if she too should become such a Rider.

“Ha, haha….”

The situation was the same in other teams as well.

Not just the E-rank teams, but even the C-rank and B-rank teams had people dressed like Riders waiting for the athletic meet preliminaries to begin.

“How can there be so many Riders in one place?”

“It’s a trend.”

A female student wearing tactical clothes that looked more like armored military gear than what the other Riders wore approached Ymir.

“We call them Riders for convenience, but the official term is ‘Powered Suit.’ People in this country might be more familiar with the term Rider, but for us, this is more familiar.”

“…Master Chief?”

“Yes.”

The female student raised her gauntlet, her orange visor gleaming.

“Is that really made of iron?”

“Yes. Don’t worry. No one in E-rank will die from pain after being hit by a steel gauntlet.”

“Well, that’s not really the issue…”

“Let me give you some advice as a fellow American.”

The female student lifted her visor.

“Forfeit as soon as the bell rings. This place will soon become a battlefield.”

Though the voice was that of a female student, the face revealed behind the visor was that of a valiant warrior.

“The weak who don’t fight on the battlefield have no need to step into the ring. Knowing your place and stepping down would be a good choice.”

“…Is that so? Hmm, I wonder.”

If she dropped out now, she could just go down to the spectator seats and watch.

She might be teased for being eliminated in the first round, but that wasn’t really important.

“I’ll think about it.”

“Good. That’s fine. As expected of a woman who mingles with ordinary Koreans.”

“…Hmm? What did you say?”

“I’ve heard about you, Ymir. You barely attend classes, and every evening you go to the librarian’s house? Hmph, are you aiming for maternity leave? How sad. If you’re going to cling to someone, you should aim for an ability user with a higher rank, not an ordinary Korean man.”

“……”

“If it were me, I would have attached myself to a man with a higher ability rank. Well, I shouldn’t be saying this to a weak Canadian mosquito who won’t even fight on the battlefield.”

“Are you saying I’m a woman who sucks the blood of the man I’m currently involved with?”

“At least you catch on quickly.”

[Countdown begins. 10, 9, 8….]

The bell rings loudly.

Several people cling to a massive iron bell several meters in size, striking it to sound the toll.

“Hmm. What to do. I was planning to just back out casually.”

“What? Haha, interesting. You—”

“I wonder if D-rank would be okay.”

3.

“Transform.”

“What?”

2.

“Rider.”

“You, you can’t…!”

1.

“Kick.”

Diiiiing.

As the bell rang, “blue” magical power sparkled at the tip of Ymir’s foot.

“Patriotic Side Cutter!”

KWAAANG!!

Simultaneously with Ymir’s attack.

“Rider Punch!”

“Rider Splash!!”

“Damn it, everyone’s calling themselves Riders?! Kids, I’m not a Rider, I’m a Ranger!”

“Final Mask Riiiiiide!!”

“Stop making weird noises!!”

Everywhere, Rider Kicks began to fly.

* * *

“There are too many Riders.”

“You think so too?”

“This really seems problematic.”

Watching TV with the Tavern Owner, I felt embarrassed by the preliminary rounds of the athletic meet unfolding everywhere.

“A battle royale between Riders.”

“Riders? Call them ability users. Not all ability users are Riders.”

“But look at Ymir. She’s not wearing a Rider costume, but the techniques she’s using are those of a Rider.”

Ymir revealed a bit of her ability with the Patriotic Side Cutter.

Perhaps wanting to elevate her position to show she wasn’t just an E-rank, she continued her attacks, making her magical power shine with the same blue color as her eyes, at about a D-rank level.

[Rider Punch!]

She could just throw a punch, but why add “Rider” in front of it?

[Rider Kick!]

“Damn it, Rider Kick is supposed to be a finishing move. It’s not meant to be used in a combo like that.”

“Are you backseat gaming? Saying that’s not how you use a Rider Kick? Why don’t you go out there and show them yourself?”

“It’s not time yet.”

These are just the preliminaries.

“There’s still a long way to go. Until Hayabusa appears.”

According to the plan from the student council and the academy that Ymir had relayed, there was a special event prepared after all the A-rank finals were completed.

“Apparently they’re giving the winner of the A-rank finals a chance to fight Hayabusa.”

“What? Is that possible? There’s no reason for Hayabusa to fight in the first place.”

“Yi-seon persuaded her. Hayabusa.”

“How?”

“In a way no Korean could resist.”

I looked again at Hayabusa, the girl in a sailor uniform sitting demurely in the VIP section.

“If Hayabusa fights an A-rank once, she’ll obviously win, right? But what if the Goblin doesn’t show up then? In that case…”

“It ends with Japan winning, huh?”

“It’s a situation no Korean Goblin could tolerate. Hayabusa acknowledged this too. If the Goblin doesn’t appear, she can simply prove the dignity of S-rank by crushing the pride of the Korean A-rank.”

“Wow, if the Goblin doesn’t show up, it’ll be quite a blow to Korean pride.”

“Exactly. Things are starting to wrap up quickly now.”

The preliminaries progressed faster than expected.

Since everyone was fighting with all their might, there were no drawn-out battles of testing each other’s abilities; instead, everyone engaged in fierce exchanges, unleashing finishing moves left and right.

Occasionally, some dishonorable individuals would attack others who were already fighting, but if they lacked skill, others would team up to eliminate them.

And they were all doing this while wearing powered suits, making it look like a real Rider battle.

“What about Ymir?”

“Looks like she’s planning to defeat everyone and advance. She was debating whether to win or not, but in the end, she chose to win.”

Ymir’s preliminary round was quickly settled.

All others except Ymir were pushed out of bounds, and she stood alone on the training ground, her blue magical power sparkling.

[E-rank Team 2, ‘Ymir’ advances. D-rank evaluation match preparation.]

Confirming Ymir’s advancement displayed in the caption, I removed my Taegeuk Watch.

“Since Hayabusa seems to be waiting, shall I go and get ready in advance?”

“Is that necessary? You can just go when it’s time.”

“I can’t just teleport for my entrance, can I?”

“Of course not.”

Silently.

From the veranda, a white-haired woman, Taowu, entered.

“Let’s go, Taowu. From the beginning to the climax…[Unity].”

“Alright. So…what are we going with?”

“I need to show the world that Riders aren’t the only ones who ride bikes.”

Goblin.

‘Taowu’ form.

[Take flight.]

At a speed like starlight.