Chapter 95: The Hidden Card Still Remains

Episode 95

Hours before the pairings were announced on TV, Baek Jun contacted Tak Namgyu to request additional personnel. Tak Namgyu replied, suggesting they meet for dinner.

The two met at a quiet Korean restaurant that Tak Namgyu liked.

At that meeting, Baek Jun heard something shocking from Tak Namgyu.

“…What?”

Baek Jun asked, still looking incredulous.

“You mean… Kim Jinsung and Shin Woong?”

Tak Namgyu nodded, raising his water glass, as if Baek Jun was questioning whether he had heard correctly. He took a slow sip, moistened his throat, and spoke.

“Bin Nasir watched the preliminaries and kept praising how entertaining they were.”

“He gave me the same reaction.”

“That’s right. Then, out of the blue, he said he wanted to see Kim Jinsung and Shin Woong fight today.”

“…Minister.”

Tak Namgyu raised his hand, stopping Baek Jun, who had begun to speak in a lower voice.

“Look at this first.”

Tak Namgyu turned on his smartphone, tapped a few times, and handed it to Baek Jun.

Baek Jun’s eyes flickered as he looked at the smartphone screen.

“……!”

Tak Namgyu continued, seeing that Baek Jun couldn’t take his eyes off the screen.

“It’s Bin Nasir’s personal money, which he gave as a request for their fight.”

“This is his… personal money?”

“Yes. He said that astronomical amount was his personal money. I didn’t believe it at first.”

Tak Namgyu put his phone back in his pocket and stared at Baek Jun.

“I know what you’re going to say better than anyone. Who am I? I’m one of the top supporters of this program, someone who could have created it with you.”

“…”

“Do you think I don’t know how unreasonable this request is? But why would he make such a request, huh?”

Tak Namgyu continued to speak passionately, seeing that Baek Jun wasn’t responding.

“Don’t just think about the present. Think about the future. If we invest the bonus amount on top of the investment we received last time, we can upgrade the entire pathetic hunter training academy system in Korea to the world’s best level!”

“…”

“That way, we can produce many more promising hunters who have reached the ‘Union of Body and Qi’ realm, just like Kim Jinsung and Shin Woong!”

“…”

“What was our ultimate goal, you and I? To produce more talented individuals who can conquer the New Continent than any other country in the world. Did you change your mind? Huh?”

“…No.”

Baek Jun finally answered.

Tak Namgyu looked intently into his eyes and spoke in a pleading tone.

“This is a choice that will fulfill the future we’ve always desired. One sacrifice tomorrow will allow us to cultivate more talented individuals at the same level in the future.”

“…”

“Please, Baek, huh?”

Baek Jun looked at Tak Namgyu’s pleading eyes and couldn’t help but sigh, giving him the answer he wanted.

“…Understood, Minister.”

Baek Jun couldn’t refuse, especially when it was Tak Namgyu who was making the request. He knew, from their long acquaintance, that Tak Namgyu cared deeply about the nation.

“Thank you. Thank you.”

Tak Namgyu warmly clasped Baek Jun’s hand with both of his.

“You said you needed more security personnel? Just tell me! I’ll drag a general or whatever I need by the collar and put them under your command!”

Tak Namgyu boasted, but his words weren’t empty threats. He truly had the power and authority to drag a general-level hunter by the collar.

“…Thank you.”

Baek Jun could only chuckle wryly in response.

The truth was, security reinforcement was no longer necessary since they were going to make them fight tomorrow.

* * *

After the meal.

Baek Jun, getting into the car, immediately called Jang Seungwook with a stern expression.

– Yes.

“Make Kim Jinsung and Shin Woong fight in the last match tomorrow.”

There was no response from the other end of the phone for a while.

– …You were ordered to do this again?

Jang Seungwook’s low voice came after a long pause.

Baek Jun didn’t bother answering. He simply nodded silently.

– No, this is too much!

Jang Seungwook exploded.

– Everyone in the world knows the positions of Kim Jinsung and Shin Woong this season. Why are you making them fight in the preliminaries, not even the finals?!

“From now on!”

Baek Jun interrupted him, and Jang Seungwook shut his mouth.

After a brief silence, Baek Jun continued in a quieter voice.

“…Listen carefully and follow my instructions. Don’t tell anyone. You have to do it yourself. You know what I mean?”

Jang Seungwook’s tone changed at those ominous words.

– It’s a top secret that only we two should know.

“That’s right. Delete the recorded call file after we hang up. There can’t be any evidence left.”

As he said those words, Baek Jun thought to himself.

‘Even if I can’t stop Kim Jinsung and Shin Woong from fighting, I can’t just sit back and do nothing. I need to take the best possible action.’

The truth was, Kim Jinsung and Shin Woong were responsible for almost 90% of the popularity of Season 12.

Baek Jun couldn’t afford to lose one of them in the preliminaries, not even before the finals.

* * *

The next day.

The regular Colosseum broadcast began at noon.

The camera showed the caster and commentator bowing politely to the viewers as the live broadcast began.

[Greetings to all viewers who love the Colosseum Survival program!

The final day of the preliminaries for Season 12 has arrived! The winner of today’s matches will advance to the grand finals!]

The caster, after starting the broadcast, greeted the commentator and had a brief conversation before turning to face the camera again.

[Now, let’s check the pairings for the final third round of the third preliminary round.]

A table with numerous pairings appeared on the screen.

The caster continued the broadcast, looking at the pairings.

[Today, we’ll be watching 61 matches with you. But… there’s one pairing that stands out.]

[Yes… How did those two get matched up? And in the last match, no less.]

The caster and the commentator’s gaze was fixed on ‘Kim Jinsung vs. Shin Woong,’ written at the end of the pairings.

[It’s been reported that the internet communities, Itube, and news comments have exploded since the pairing of Kim Jinsung and Shin Woong was confirmed yesterday. And many scalpers were caught around the Colosseum Arena today!]

[It’s certainly caused a lot of buzz. It’s a match worth it. But you shouldn’t buy scalped tickets.]

[The match that everyone in the world is anticipating, Kim Jinsung vs. Shin Woong, will be the last match of the day… What?]

The caster, who was continuing the broadcast, widened his eyes at the changed screen.

[It seems like… we’re looking at the waiting rooms of the two players.]

[Could it be individual waiting rooms?]

Two screens were being broadcast simultaneously.

The right screen showed Kim Jinsung, and the left screen showed Shin Woong. They were both alone in what looked like solitary confinement cells.

The caster began reading the words that appeared on the prompt.

[Ah, it’s been reported that Kim Jinsung and Shin Woong have been given individual rooms due to security concerns.]

[In other words, they’re too strong, and there’s a risk of them escaping.]

[Hahaha…!]

[But I think the production team made the right decision. If those two decided to escape, it would be a serious threat. We have to be careful.]

[Let’s take a look at what the two players are doing.]

The caster began to examine the actions of Kim Jinsung and Shin Woong on the screen in more detail.

[Shin Woong is meditating with his eyes closed.]

[It’s been reported that Shin Woong enjoys meditating.]

[On the other hand, Kim Jinsung is lying on the couch, watching a video on his smartphone! He looks much more relaxed!]

[Hahaha… I wonder what video he’s watching?]

Unfortunately, the angle of the camera in the waiting room only showed the back of the smartphone, not the front.

* * *

Kim Jinsung was watching analytical videos about Shin Woong, his expression relaxed.

[…Based on these points, I believe that Shin Woong might not have any abilities…]

After watching the video’s conclusion, Kim Jinsung clicked on the next analytical video about Shin Woong that appeared in the algorithm.

‘…I’ve seen this one. I’ve seen the one next to it too…’

Kim Jinsung continued to scroll through new analytical videos about Shin Woong.

But most of them were the same ones he had watched on his computer yesterday.

‘No matter how much I search, I can’t find any video that analyzes Shin Woong’s abilities clearly.’

That’s why Kim Jinsung had been searching for videos about Shin Woong since yesterday. He had no information about Shin Woong’s abilities.

In fact, Shin Woong had never shown his abilities since the start of Season 12.

In other words, he had made it this far, from the first preliminary round to now, relying solely on his physical abilities and swordsmanship.

‘He didn’t show any abilities during the preliminaries, so even the analysts can only make guesses.’

None of the analytical videos about Shin Woong had reached a definitive conclusion.

Some said he had a swordsmanship-focused ability.

Some said he probably had a physical enhancement ability.

Some even said he might not have any abilities.

The countless other videos with different conclusions all ended with the assumption ‘He probably…’.

‘Even Park Jinwoong said he couldn’t find anything…’

Kim Jinsung opened his text messages.

They were recent messages he had exchanged with Park Jinwoong.

– I’ve been searching for information about Shin Woong’s abilities all night, but I haven’t found any clues.

– I’ve also investigated his past actions before entering the Colosseum, but he didn’t use any special abilities other than swordsmanship.

– I’ll let you know as soon as I find any clues. But seeing that I haven’t found any clues even after this much investigation, it’s best not to get your hopes up.

– I’m so sorry I couldn’t give you the answer you wanted. I’ll waive the fee for this request since I failed.

Seeing that even Park Jinwoong, the CEO of an information company, couldn’t find anything, it might be better to give up on finding out Shin Woong’s abilities before the fight.

‘But I need at least some clues. I’ll be at a huge disadvantage if I go in with no hints.’

Shin Woong knew almost everything about his opponent’s abilities, but Jinsung didn’t know anything about his opponent’s.

In a fight between masters like Kim Jinsung and Shin Woong, the winner and loser were determined by a hair’s breadth. And Shin Woong’s hidden ability could be a significant variable in their fight.

‘Let’s keep looking. There’s still plenty of time.’

Kim Jinsung turned on his smartphone again and started searching for analytical videos and articles.

* * *

Time flew by, and it was late at night.

Unlike the past few days, there were no empty seats in the VIP section, even this late.

Even for them, who had seen countless battles between masters, the match between Kim Jinsung and Shin Woong was an exciting one they couldn’t miss.

Even Oh Byeong-guk and Kang Gyeong-gwon, the masters of the four major clans, were still seated.

“I’m telling you again, he can’t have no abilities.”

The two had been discussing Shin Woong’s abilities since earlier.

“It’s difficult to reach the ‘Union of Body and Qi’ realm at the age of 20 without a good ability. Maybe if he were over 30, it would be different.”

“That’s true. Everyone thought Yoo Junho didn’t have any abilities, but he did.”

Yoo Junho, the greatest star in Colosseum history, had also initially defeated everyone using only swordsmanship, just like Shin Woong.

“I wonder what his ability is… It would be amazing if it was similar to Yoo Junho’s.”

“Hahaha… I don’t think God likes Korea that much.”

“Hahaha, what do you mean…”

As they looked at each other and chuckled knowingly, a loud voice echoed through the arena speakers.

[Welcome, everyone! We will now begin the final match of the day! The match between Kim Jinsung and Shin Woong!]

“Woooaaaah!!”

The audience, filling the entire arena, roared in response.

—