Ch.222Chapter 9. S-Class Reader (7)

National power lies in the quantity and quality of S-rank heroes.

In an era where arms races have become meaningless, if special abilities continue to exist, increasing the number of ability users is the correct path to national power growth.

Therefore, it’s better to increase the number of universally acknowledged S-rank heroes.

Regardless of whether the rarity of S-rank decreases, having many powerful individuals is directly related to a nation’s status.

That’s why everyone has been waiting for this day.

May 28th.

Will it be the birth of a new S-rank, or will it be self-validation for the S-rank detector?

[Yoon Yi-seon! Yoon Yi-seon! Yoon Yi-seon!]

[Go Taejo! Pride of Busan! Show us the power of an S-rank!]

On this decisive day, Busan’s Sajik Stadium was packed with countless spectators, heating up the stands even before the match began.

“Welcome to Sajik Stadium, everyone. Ah! As I speak, Armored Taejo’s vehicle is entering the battlefield!!”

Regardless of it being a baseball stadium, a limousine drove straight into the field.

Unconcerned about tire marks on the grass, the limousine made a large circle and stopped in the center of the stadium.

Click.

As the limousine door opened automatically, a blonde young man in a white suit stepped out and raised his hand high.

“””WAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!”””

Even a rotten fish is still a fish—despite his many scandals, Armored Taejo had a thick fan base befitting an S-rank.

People went wild at Taejo’s appearance, cheering and wishing for his victory.

“Kyaaaah!”

“Taejo! Look over here!!”

“I want your genes!!!”

Particularly because he was an S-rank male with a fairly handsome face, he had an enormous female fan base.

There were recent rumors about an unsavory incident with the granddaughter of a major American corporation, but gossip always followed Taejo.

“Armored Taejo! Please tell us your thoughts on today’s match!”

A female reporter approached Armored Taejo with a microphone, and he shrugged his shoulders and lowered his head.

“Who do you think will win, noona?”

“””KYAAAAAAAH!!”””

The women screamed again at his use of “noona” toward the reporter.

It was as if a pterodactyl-like ability user had suddenly appeared in the stadium, while most men sitting in the “away team section” showed visible discomfort.

“That guy looks like a gigolo, tsk.”

“Such a cocky young punk… tsk tsk.”

“Please beat him up.”

“I heard he’s twenty minus three.”

“…Ptui! The world is so unfair.”

The men were simply annoyed by Armored Taejo’s appearance.

And for good reason—he was literally a “man who had everything.”

Except parents.

“Well, I’m a reporter… hoho…!”

“If I win, would you like to have a drink with me later?”

“…Really?”

Booooooooo!

Jeers erupted from the entire audience, but Armored Taejo casually kissed the reporter’s hand and winked.

“Let’s meet after the match, noona.”

“Ah, um, yes…! Indeed, ‘My victory is certain! It’s easier than asking for a date!’ Those were Armored Taejo’s words of determination!”

Fortunately, the reporter regained her composure and ended the conversation.

“The pride of S-rank! Armored Taejo! Who will be his challenger!”

At the reporter’s exclamation, another limousine entered the field.

Circling around Taejo as if to check him out, the limousine stopped opposite him, and a small girl opened the door and stepped out.

“Finally, the challenger enters!!”

“””WAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!”””

If the previous cheers were like pterodactyls screaming, this was truly the roar of beasts.

“””Yoon Yi-seon!! Yoon Yi-seon!! Yoon Yi-seon!!”””

The men sitting in the away section chanted Yoon Yi-seon’s name and even started doing the wave.

Pink clothing, cheering sticks, and fluttering placards all sparkled as they welcomed Yoon Yi-seon’s appearance.

“””Yoon Yi-seon, fighting!!”””

“Now, let’s have a conversation with Ms. Yoon Yi-seon.”

This time, another male reporter appeared and handed the microphone to Yoon Yi-seon.

With a height difference of over 30cm, it looked like he was giving a microphone to a child, but the camera cut off the reporter’s face and captured Yoon Yi-seon completely.

“Are you confident about this match?”

“Confident? I’m overflowing with it.”

Yoon Yi-seon straightened her shoulders and smiled brightly.

“Woah….”

The men marveled at her tremendous confidence that the camera couldn’t fully capture, while the women sitting in the home section silently hardened their expressions.

“I understand! Without further ado, let’s begin right now! The challenger, Sejong Academy’s student council president! A-rank champion of the Grand Sports Festival! The academy’s strongest student!! Yoon—Yi—seon!!”

“To reach S-rank, you must defeat me first! The pride of S-rank! Many have challenged me, but almost none have surpassed me! May the iron dragon soar, Armored Taejo!!”

“”Let the match begin!!””

* * *

“Those lines are really cheesy.”

In a penthouse at a Busan hotel, I shuddered at the lines coming from the 80-inch TV.

“Even wrestling wouldn’t introduce fighters like that.”

“If you want to complain, take it up with the writer. The reporters are just reading scripts they were given.”

“I like it though?”

The two who entered the penthouse with me, Qiongqi and Taowu, sat beside me, each holding their preferred drinks while watching the broadcast.

“I’m bored, want to make a bet? I vote that Yoon Yi-seon wins.”

“I also vote for Yi-seon.”

“…I’ll bet 1 billion on Yoon Yi-seon.”

The bet didn’t materialize.

All three of us—me, Qiongqi, and Taowu—bet on Yoon Yi-seon’s victory, and we had no choice.

Because Yoon Yi-seon is our comrade.

“What about other people?”

“Yoon Yi-seon at 14%. Armored Taejo at 86%. That’s the general public opinion, but existing S-ranks have… different opinions.”

Taowu displayed some data on his tablet.

“2:4. Two for Yoon Yi-seon, four for Armored Taejo.”

“…Tsk.”

“Oh my, why?”

“It’s problematic if two S+ ranks think Yoon Yi-seon will win.”

In the expert predictions from S-ranks, the two strongest ones predicted Yoon Yi-seon’s victory.

-Lord of Radiant Wings says Yoon Yi-seon will win?

-Snow White also thinks Yoon Yi-seon will win?

-What’s going on? Is there something special that only S+ ranks can see???

-Get on the Yi-seon coin train now lolololol

“Ugh, did I make a mistake by letting them know?”

“Are you worried the odds will drop?”

“I’m not worried. Right now, after that news broke, the odds are actually dropping.”

If all the existing S-ranks had predicted Armored Taejo’s victory, the odds might have been higher.

It seems my subtle hint to help Baek Seol-hee save face was the problem.

My suggestion that she could proudly say “Baek Seol-hee was not wrong” after Yoon Yi-seon’s victory ended up dropping Armored Taejo’s odds by 10%.

“But how did Lord of Radiant Wings know?”

“Well, maybe he heard about the Goblin taking care of Yoon Yi-seon on Ulleungdo and picked her?”

“Just because of that?”

“Just a guess.”

“……”

The winner predictions were finalized.

The Hero Toto collection being closed meant no one could participate or change their decision anymore.

Why?

Because the real match had begun.

Rumble rumble.

Something started descending from the sky.

Following Armored Taejo’s outstretched hand, something gleaming black came down and attached to his body.

“I thought it would be… a Rider?”

“Yeah. I fully expected him to appear as a Rider again.”

“…Oh.”

Perhaps to return to his roots?

Armored Taejo equipped an external armor similar to the steel suit created by a billionaire—the form in which I first saw him.

Whoosh.

In response, Yoon Yi-seon spread three tails behind her back.

“If Armored Taejo comes out like that, doesn’t it make our sparring meaningless?”

“No way. The sparring was meaningful. We anticipated that Armored Taejo would return to his roots like this.”

And Yoon Yi-seon handled it with ease.

“Aren’t you talking about her ‘nine-tailed fox’ state?”

“That’s right.”

“Then what about her current ‘three-tailed fox’ state? Isn’t she deliberately suppressing her magical power to A+ rank level right now?”

“That’s right.”

“So right now, Armored Taejo has the advantage?”

“That’s right.”

That’s how it should be.

Because that makes for a prettier picture.

“Yoon Yi-seon is the underdog. Regardless of how strong she actually is, on the surface, Yoon Yi-seon appears weaker.”

“…What are you plotting?”

“What? The perfect development that everyone wants to see.”

My consulting wasn’t simply about ‘winning the match.’

“People want overwhelming victory. But they also love a victory achieved through a miraculous counterattack after being at a disadvantage.”

“You, don’t tell me?”

“Yoon Yi-seon herself agreed and accepted it. To fight like that. Exactly like that.”

Whoosh!

Yoon Yi-seon created fox-fire around her and sent it toward Armored Taejo.

The flames flew toward Armored Taejo at a very fast speed, but they would soon be neutralized by his counterattack.

BANG!

As Armored Taejo stretched out his hand, a laser burst forth, intercepting the flames.

Not just intercepting them, but piercing through the flames and flying toward Yoon Yi-seon.

CLANG!

Yoon Yi-seon quickly threw herself sideways to avoid the attack.

It was extremely close, and the audience stirred greatly.

“Someone I know once said this.”

Someone who doesn’t exist in this world.

“By creating the illusion of being in danger, then cleanly counterattacking, you give the audience catharsis.”

But I taught that spirit, that burning will, to Yoon Yi-seon.

“That is the duel of an S-rank, entertainment.”

Indeed.

“The winning strategy I proposed to Yoon Yi-seon is.”

A reversal from a disadvantageous situation is the symbol of an upset.

“She plans to awaken at the moment Armored Taejo delivers his finishing blow.”

As if.

“As if she awakened to her true S-rank potential during the fight with Armored Taejo. Then she’ll deliver a counter ultimate skill and win in one shot.”

“…Isn’t that cheating?”

“It’s not cheating.”

It’s.

“‘The Kingly Way.’ The path of a king.”