Ch.9512 Million Won

# “I don’t know what it is, but one thing’s for sure—it’s absolutely impossible for a normal human to possess this kind of strength.”

“Isn’t this a rather unusual ability? You know, like those enhancement-types from the previous generation.”

“Ah, that makes sense. Maybe it’s some kind of limit breaker.”

The heroes of A City, unaware of the power of construction laborers, interpreted my ability in their own way.

A physical enhancement ability called limit breaker—one that allows you to exceed the physical limitations of the human body when muscle training.

“Since it’s an ability that directly affects the body and leaves results, it makes sense there wouldn’t be any ability wavelengths.”

“Looking at his height of over 2 meters, it fits the characteristics of the ability, right? They say the more you train, the bigger your body gets.”

“Could we perhaps check his regenerative abilities? Just a small wound on the body…”

“Hmm.”

Unlike Gu Seo-ryong, I couldn’t use other abilities while in human form, so I didn’t mind the situation where they were figuring out my ability for me. I extended my hand.

The Team Leader subtly drew upon his ability and shot out a sharp blade.

With a slight nick, the Team Leader’s wind blade grazed my body, leaving a small cut.

The other heroes and students thought the Team Leader had controlled his ability and only looked at my small wound, but the Team Leader stared at me with a hardened expression.

“It’s too hard…? Is he really A-rank?”

“Oh! As expected, the regeneration speed…”

“Wow, that’s incredible.”

“Amazing…”

“Limit breaker gradually enhances all physical abilities through training. Looking at this ridiculous regeneration ability, it seems certain.”

The heroes, who witnessed the wound healing instantly, all exclaimed in admiration and ran to the corner of the open space to retrieve something.

“Don’t worry. A City has various methods to measure abilities for superhumans with unusual powers who haven’t received proper rank assessment.”

“It’s a bit old-school, but let’s try this.”

“Hmm.”

“Wow, how many years has it been since we opened this?”

When the heroes opened a box soiled by rain and dust, various items emerged.

A steel cable twisted into a spiral, spheres about the size of a fist, and a small T-shaped object of unknown purpose.

“Here, bite down on this.”

“Why am I biting this?”

“It’s a cardiopulmonary endurance checker. Let’s see your physical sustainability.”

When I bit the protruding part and breathed, liquid moved inside the device with each exhale.

With normal breathing, it moved toward the red line at the very end, and red lights blinked at both ends.

It was a device checking if I was breathing properly while moving my body.

“Now, step on this… and hold the handle with all your might.”

The cable was a device that simultaneously measured the strength and endurance of the back, shoulders, arms, and legs.

As I pulled as instructed, the heroes measured the length of the pulled cable.

“Strength is… huh? Upper A-rank?”

“How long do I have to keep doing this?”

“What? You shouldn’t be talking.”

“Wait, you have the leisure to talk?”

After 30 seconds of measurement, already bored, I yawned and stretched.

As I twisted my waist from side to side, the cable spring creaked and groaned.

Then with a splintering sound followed by a ping, the wire broke strand by strand.

“W-wait! Stop!”

“It’s breaking, it’s breaking!”

“Is that it?”

As I put the cable back, the heroes and students stared in shock at the cable that had turned into something resembling a broom.

“This… physically speaking, isn’t this on par with Teacher Yeo Un-jae in his prime?”

“This cable probably broke because it hasn’t been maintained for a while, right?”

“That’s insane.”

The next item was various types of spheres.

The test was to grip these self-twisting objects and see how far they could be twisted by grip strength alone.

“Grip strength, upper A-rank.”

“Now, if you could throw this sphere over there…”

Hearing those words, I snatched the sphere and threw it toward a vehicle.

With a surprisingly small thud, a tiny hole appeared in the abandoned vehicle.

The heroes ran to the vehicle, examined the penetration mark that showed no signs of fracture, then dug into the ground behind the vehicle and returned with the results.

“Mid A-rank.”

“Wow, you’re consistently A-rank across the board… that’s quite rare.”

“The physical balance is unbelievably good.”

“And finally, for endurance… considering there hasn’t been a single alarm sound so far… S-rank.”

When I removed the T-shaped mouthpiece, a chorus of “Wow!” erupted.

The Team Leader, with a blank expression, looked me up and down and spoke with a deflated voice.

“If you were a villain, I’d be dead by now.”

“Is the test over?”

“Ah, yes, it’s over. In total, A-rank. Congratulations! You’re an A-rank superhuman!”

“Hmm…”

Amidst the applause from the heroes and students, I was disappointed that my human form was only A-rank.

I thought I could barely scrape into the early S-rank with this level.

Is this the limit of a pure human body without monsterizing beneath the skin?

“Good job. Now that the measurement is complete, please come this way.”

“Students, someday you too can exert such strength. Let’s work hard to hone our abilities.”

“Yes!”

After the measurement, the Team Leader took me to another place with documents in hand.

Entering the first-floor office where regular police officers were stationed, the officers stood up nervously and greeted us.

“Hello!”

“Hmm, everyone sit down.”

“Yes!”

The humans, sitting back down with visible anxiety, kept glancing at the Team Leader and me.

The Team Leader walked among them, reached a police officer, and dropped the documents on his desk.

“Here’s the superhuman registration card for this person. Look at the documents and issue it quickly.”

“Yes! Do you mean a hero registration card?”

“I said superhuman registration card.”

“I-I’m sorry!”

“Tsk…”

While the frightened officer frantically typed with trembling hands, the Team Leader clicked his tongue softly.

He pulled a card from a drawer and inserted it into a strange machine.

After a couple of clicks, a superhuman registration card with the same photo Gu Seo-ryong had taken was produced, and the officer politely handed it to the Team Leader with both hands.

“Here it is. I apologize for the delay.”

“I’m sorry. The registration card came out a bit late.”

“Was it late?”

Wasn’t it actually fast? It was much quicker than ordering a hot dog in W City.

“Well, we have citizens handling these administrative tasks. It can’t be helped—superhumans are always in short supply, and citizens need to work to earn their right to eat…”

“Hmm.”

“Understanding such shortcomings is also part of being a superhuman. Now, shall we go outside? It’s stuffy in here.”

Emotions of contempt and frustration so subtle that only a monster could detect them.

As I followed the Team Leader out of the office filled with this subtle atmosphere, my monster senses picked up the whispers of the humans.

“What’s slow about it? It would take him longer if he did it himself.”

“Damn superhuman supremacist…”

“That superhuman from earlier was A-rank.”

“Great, another high and mighty person we have to serve.”

“He didn’t seem like a bad person though.”

“That’s just temporary. He’ll be corrupted soon enough.”

“Only Cage is special. All other heroes know is violence.”

Though they appear to comply on the surface, there seems to be considerable resentment toward superhumans.

Out in the first-floor corridor, the Team Leader handed me a vending machine coffee and my superhuman registration card.

“You’re actually supposed to watch an educational video… but never mind. Park Deun-deun, you probably don’t need to watch it. Seeing how you complain about things being too long even when they’re barely lengthy, I doubt you’d watch it properly anyway.”

“Too long.”

“I’ll still give you a summary. Superhumans are superior. Superior superhumans have a responsibility to protect inferior citizens. Superhumans are equal. Superhumans help other superhumans. That’s it.”

“That’s long.”

“Congratulations, A-rank superhuman Park Deun-deun.”

Taking the superhuman registration card, I felt a strange sensation about receiving my first human ID and examined it from all angles.

There was nothing particularly special about the card; it only contained my name, Park Deun-deun, hero rank, issue date, and issue district.

“With this registration card, you’re granted immunity privileges in situations involving monsters, villains, damages, and disturbances within the city. If you ever have another confrontation with a hero, show your superhuman registration card first. As an A-rank superhuman, most situations will be resolved.”

“Sounds like might makes right.”

“Well, honestly, that’s not entirely wrong… but if you disrespect other superhumans too much, Cage, the strongest superhuman, won’t let it slide. All superhumans are equal, but S-ranks are special.”

Obeying the words of the strongest—that’s monster-like thinking.

It seems quite different from W City in many ways. Just then, the Team Leader explained what I could do with the superhuman registration card.

“Superhumans aren’t subject to the Hero Priority Law. You don’t have priority at various facilities and restaurants, but you also don’t need to yield to heroes. Additionally, though not as much as heroes, you’ll receive a superhuman allowance.”

“Allowance?”

“Money. Since you’re A-rank, you’ll receive 12 million won per month. It should already be in your account.”

“12 million won!”

For the first time today, I showed interest in the conversation and widened my eyes.

With 12 million won, I could buy 1,200 bowls of rice soup—enough to eat well for a week.

I planned to stay in A City for about a week, and with this card alone, I could eat that much rice soup.

“You give this much money just for being a superhuman?”

“Yes, most superhumans turn to villainy because of money. This is Cage’s welfare policy for superhumans… By the way, if you become a hero, it’s automatically doubled. If you ever want to become a hero, come register.”

“No thanks.”

W City didn’t have anything like this.

If Yoo Hye-na, who knows everything about welfare, didn’t tell me about it, it definitely doesn’t exist there.

I swallowed hard, thinking about all the food I could eat with this card.

This Cage person might be better than I thought.

“Additionally, if you want to become stronger, you have free access to various training facilities, superhuman educational facilities, analysis labs, and more. If you’d like, I can accompany you anytime… P-Park Deun-deun?”

Receiving the superhuman registration card meant I had no more business here.

Thinking I no longer needed to listen to the Team Leader, I turned toward the exit.

“Wait, um, where are you going?”

All I’d eaten today was a single hot dog.

And in my hand, I held the equivalent of about 24,000 hot dogs.

“Going to eat.”

I left the building, leaving the dazed Team Leader behind.

#

On my way back to the hideout, wondering what to eat, I caught a delicious smell.

The store had the words “Fried Chicken” written on it.

Curious about the food, I asked what it was and showed my superhuman registration card. The store owner, looking nervous but smiling, quickly fried a chicken for me.

The taste of the fried chicken was amazing.

It seemed like a distant memory, something I might have tasted in my childhood.

A taste that made every taste bud on my tongue bow down in worship.

W City has fried chicken too.

But there it’s called tongdak—crispy and chewy, but without the crunchiness of this batter.

This was a completely different food.

I bought 50 fried chickens on the spot, and the owner, surprised that I gave him my card, bowed his head as I took the food back to the hideout.

I wanted to buy more, but he said it would be really difficult to make more than 50.

“Nyam nyam nyam…!”

“Mmm… gulp, mmm…!”

When I returned to the hideout, Sa Gu-gu, who had arrived earlier, sniffed the air and pounced on the bags containing chicken.

Sa Gu-gu and I started eating chicken on the bed, tearing open the packaging.

Beside us, Gu Seo-ryong was frowning with irritation.

“Honey? Can you stop eating chicken and talk to me?”

“Oppa! This is so delicious!”

“How on earth do you get four or five government access records right after registering your ID?”

“Mmm, this is better than dakgalbi.”

“Mom, eat some too!”

“Sigh…”

When Sa Gu-gu offered a chicken leg, Gu Seo-ryong approached with a sigh.

And after taking one bite of the fried chicken, Gu Seo-ryong also fell silent.

“Oh my, what is this? This wasn’t around four years ago. Is this really the chicken I know?”

“They said it’s a dish that was recently restored.”

“Don’t tell me it’s actually fried in oil, not an air fryer?”

“It’s sooooo delicious!”