Ch.64Chapter 64 – The Proposal

“Keuuugh…”

Kwak Tae-woo groaned as he poured healing potion generously over his abdomen. After emptying five bottles of top-grade potions—each worth tens of millions of won—his blackened abdomen, which had looked necrotic, finally regained its normal color.

With a pale face, Tae-woo groaned again.

“To get such a severe wound from just one hit…”

He gently touched his injured stomach. The impact from the greatsword had crushed and compressed his internal organs. Skyscraper’s terrifyingly powerful strike had left Tae-woo half-dead. If he hadn’t stored potions in his subspace as a precaution, he would have died on the spot.

While Skyscraper was chasing Shin Jae-hyuk, Tae-woo had barely managed to escape and was now taking refuge in the ruins of New York, half-destroyed by the Death Worm. Around him lay torn disposable teleport scrolls and empty potion bottles.

“Damn, it hurts like hell! And I’ve used almost all my scrolls too.”

His losses were severe. His damaged armor would take a long time to self-repair, and his limited supply of potions and teleport scrolls was running dangerously low. Even worse, his injuries made movement difficult. Despite treating himself with potions, his body still ached with needle-like pain.

In his agony, Tae-woo berated himself.

‘With all those artifacts and I still got beaten? Pathetic idiot! You’re still too weak. Too weak!’

An ordinary awakened would have been proud just to hold their own against an S-rank. But Tae-woo felt no pride whatsoever. Far from it—he felt utterly miserable.

“With all the mountains I still need to climb, I lost to a mere S-rank, and not just any S-rank, but Skyscraper, who’s considered the weakest among them. And I had to run away.”

Tae-woo’s gaze was set much higher. S-ranks were merely checkpoints along his path. He wanted to reach a level where he could face the Four Heavenly Kings and the Demon Lord. But this battle had vividly demonstrated that the gap was far from narrow.

Tae-woo burst out in frustration.

“Talent… what the hell is talent anyway! Damn it!”

He knew his own talent was insignificant. Before the protagonists called S-ranks who would drive the waves of destiny, he was merely a firefly standing before the sun. That’s why Tae-woo had pushed himself to the bone, trying to catch up to those geniuses.

Since the first gate opened, he had hunted monsters, leveled up, and collected artifacts without taking a single day off. He possessed information unknown to people of this era and had extensive combat experience. Tae-woo had essentially started hundreds of meters ahead of everyone else.

Yet today, despite that advantage, he had clearly been overtaken by latecomers, and the realization filled him with a terrible sense of emptiness and inferiority. What was the point of starting early? He was a slug, while the geniuses were soaring birds.

Feeling the stark difference in talent, Tae-woo clenched his fist. His nails dug into his palm, drawing blood. It must have been extremely painful, but he showed no sign of caring. The mental anguish was far greater than any physical pain.

Already feeling pressured by important events occurring faster than in the original timeline, Tae-woo unconsciously muttered the name of the person he relied on most.

“Cha Eun-kyung…”

In the past, he would have had the best companion who could comfort and support him. But now, Tae-woo was alone. In this bleached world, he had to bear all burdens by himself—the mental anguish, the fear of the future. In a loneliness that no one could understand, Tae-woo sank into depression.

“How am I supposed to stand by Eun-kyung’s side like this… After watching her die at the hands of the Dark Knight, I swore I would save her this time!”

His eyes reddened with self-reproach. The self-blame only stopped when his fingertips had dug through flesh and reached bone.

Damn, I wasn’t thinking… Pouring potion over his hand to heal it, Tae-woo gritted his teeth. After venting his depression, he finally had the composure to assess his situation.

‘What should I do now?’

It was the worst possible situation. He was injured, and police were swarming all over New York with the sole purpose of capturing him.

“And to think I lost the cause of all this trouble…”

Tae-woo took out his smartphone to check the news. The internet was buzzing about last night’s “terrorist” incident. However, there were only reports about loud explosions heard at dawn and police investigations—no news about someone fighting Skyscraper or Shin Jae-hyuk being captured.

“Looks like he also managed to escape from Skyscraper somehow.”

In Tae-woo’s mind, a momentary regret that Jae-hyuk hadn’t died at Skyscraper’s hands crossed with the joy that he might still get to avenge Eun-kyung personally.

Tae-woo tried to think where Shin Jae-hyuk might be hiding if he hadn’t been arrested by the police. No particular location came to mind. While Tae-woo himself couldn’t be found even if someone walked right past him thanks to his perception-inhibiting artifact, it was quite surprising that Jae-hyuk had also evaded capture.

Still, believing that Jae-hyuk couldn’t have left New York yet, Tae-woo was about to contact Mr. B to confirm Jae-hyuk’s whereabouts.

Just then, his smartphone chimed. A text message notification.

And there was only one person who would contact him. Tae-woo quickly checked the message.

===

Tomorrow at noon, come to the abandoned factory on the outskirts of New York at the address I’ve sent.

I’ll arrange for you to meet Shin Jae-hyuk one-on-one.

– Mr. B.

===

***

In a five-star hotel room specially arranged by the US State Department for distinguished guests, Kim Jae-min checked his attire. Casual sportswear—appropriate for heading to the meeting place.

“Teleport.”

As Jae-min’s lips moved, his surroundings instantly changed. From the cozy interior to the middle of a forest of evergreens and tombstones.

It was a park located in a corner of New York City. After the Death Worm incident, it had been repurposed as a cemetery to bury the overwhelming number of corpses.

Jae-min’s expansive ki-sense detected that there were only two people in this park: himself and the one who had called him. He walked toward where the person who had requested this meeting was waiting.

In one corner of the cemetery, a man was standing in silent prayer before someone’s tombstone. It wasn’t difficult to guess who this giant over two meters tall was.

“Henry Clark.”

Whether he heard the quiet call with his transcendent hearing or sensed his presence, Henry Clark slightly turned his head to acknowledge Jae-min, then returned his focus to the tombstone before him.

Jae-min also looked at the tombstone. The epitaph was engraved in English. Naturally, his gift of language comprehension activated—an ability bestowed upon him by the gods when he was summoned to Eden as a hero, allowing him to communicate with otherworldly beings. Thanks to this, Jae-min could perfectly understand and use any language.

The tombstone Jae-min looked at had a woman’s name roughly carved into it: Lana Clark.

‘Clark…’

As Jae-min guessed the identity of the tombstone’s owner, Henry Clark slowly began to speak.

“I never needed anything else. Not a grand mansion, not mountains of money, not fame reaching across oceans, not power beyond human limits. I only wanted one person’s happiness. Just her smile was enough.”

Jae-min couldn’t hear the quiet voice filled with deep regret. But from the irregular breathing, the pounding heartbeat, the tightly clenched fists, he could feel the intense emotions—sorrow, guilt, and anger.

Suddenly, Jae-min understood those emotions perfectly. The sorrow of losing a loved one, the guilt of recognizing that one’s own lack of ability was the cause, the anger toward those responsible.

How could he not understand? These were the same emotions he had experienced when he lost his lover, the 2nd Saint Aisha, to Mammon, one of the Four Heavenly Kings of Greed.

‘I see… So that’s why he’s so obsessed with the city of New York.’

As Jae-min was beginning to understand the superhuman’s thought process, Henry Clark abruptly changed the subject.

“Last night, there was a disturbance downtown. You must know about it. The welcome ceremony was canceled because of it…”

Though unsure of the context, Jae-min nodded affirmatively. Understanding the gesture, Henry Clark continued his explanation.

“The culprits playing cat and mouse were Koreans, and I fought both of them. I barely managed to defeat one, but was on the verge of losing to the other. Currently, due to my mistake and an unexpected coincidence, both have disappeared without a trace, but I… I think they’re both still alive.”

“So? Why did you call me here?”

In response to Jae-min’s question, Henry Clark made his request.

“I want to catch those two who threw New York into chaos. New York is everything to me. This city is the last connection and memory I have with her. I cannot stand by and watch those scoundrels ruin New York. But… as much as I hate to admit it, I lack the strength. I already nearly lost when I was at full capacity, and now that I’ve lost my weapon, I don’t have confidence in defeating them.”

Then Henry Clark turned to face Jae-min directly. He concentrated and expanded his ki-sense. He felt nothing from the person before him—no mana, no divine power. There was only one explanation for this phenomenon.

When the opponent’s capabilities vastly exceed those of the detector.

“As I thought. I wasn’t mistaken.”

Despite recognizing the clear difference in power, Skyscraper remained calm. This attempt was merely confirming what was already a near-certain suspicion.

“A few days ago, I happened to see you using teleportation, and I had my suspicions. Now I’m certain.”

“…About what?”

“You’re hiding your true abilities. Power that even those classified in the same rank as us cannot fathom. Your awakening skill isn’t just simple divine power emission, is it?”

Jae-min silently affirmed.

Jae-min doesn’t have an awakening skill. If pressed, one could say that the status window and language comprehension bestowed upon him simultaneously with his hero summoning are his skills. The status window Jae-min received was what one might call a prototype, differing in many ways from modern awakened ones, and he didn’t automatically awaken to mana during the process. The magic and divine spells Jae-min uses were all physically learned through his experiences in Eden.

‘Teleport… so he saw it.’

Jae-min wasn’t particularly surprised. He didn’t use it often because it was troublesome, but it wasn’t an ability he had deliberately hidden. So Jae-min quietly waited to hear what Henry Clark was getting at. What was his intention? Blackmail? Persuasion? It was neither.

Interpreting the silence as confusion, Henry Clark said:

“I won’t ask about the secret of your power. That’s not important to me. What matters to me now is only one thing.”

“…”

“Please help me. Catch them in my place. If you do, whenever you need help in the future, I promise to help you once, regardless of the reason.”

And then came a series of desperate confessions. They were so desperate they almost seemed servile. Jae-min understood Henry Clark’s feelings. It was the last hope of someone who knows their own inadequacy when backed into a corner.

This was the first time Jae-min had seen such a vulnerable side of Skyscraper. The Skyscraper he had seen at S-rank meetings always wore the mask of an angry yaksha, obsessed with hunting demons like an avenging spirit. Who would have thought such weakness existed beneath the mask…

Emotionally sympathetic, Jae-min felt himself leaning toward agreement.

‘And that energy from last night…’

For just a fleeting moment, he had sensed an eerily familiar and ominous energy. The flow of power was so subtle that even Jae-min couldn’t be certain whether it was an actual power fluctuation or just his imagination. But there was sufficient need to confirm.

‘If the owner of that energy is really who I think it is… No, that’s impossible. There’s no spell in this world that can resurrect the dead…’

Since this was a matter hundreds of times more important than catching two criminals, Jae-min’s deliberation continued for some time. Henry Clark waited anxiously as Jae-min considered.

And after several minutes, Jae-min finally reached a conclusion.

“Please inform the State Department that I will be staying for a few more days.”

At this concise but clear expression of intent, Henry Clark closed his eyes in satisfaction. A fresh scent of grass wafted by with the breeze.

When he took a deep breath and opened his eyes again, Jae-min was gone.