episode_0154

154.

“Uh, ugh, ugh!”

The hero, Justice.

He was a young talent that made many clans drool with envy.

From a young age, he stood out. Awakening powerful supernatural abilities and excelling at everything he did.

Always ranking first in exams, whether in elementary, middle, or high school. All eyes were filled with jealousy and admiration as they looked at him. He naturally brushed off the envious gazes.

Because he was a genius.

It was natural for ordinary people to envy geniuses.

Therefore, Justice simply accepted the jealous glances with a broad mind and heart.

The hero Justice thought to himself.

This world is divided into two categories of people.

Geniuses and mediocrities.

Competent and incompetent individuals.

Those with talent and those without.

And Justice was always the former.

He was a genius, competent, and always exceptional.

His life was painted with victories and glory, filled with envy from everyone.

That was Justice for you, but…

“Ah, how boring.”

“Ugh, ugh, ugh.”

All the heroes, including Justice, fell.

To a girl named Yoo Da-hee.

Without even landing a single effective blow.

“Now that I think about it, they were all just full of hot air. That’s why rumors can’t be trusted, right?”

“Ugh, ugh, ugh.”

“Don’t you think the same? Justice, who was selected as one of the top promising heroes in their 20s?”

Mockingly laughing, they looked down at the weak and fallen Justice.

“Well, you weren’t too bad.”

Justice realized.

He had no choice but to realize.

“That’s not bad for your age, right? Isn’t it?”

That in front of that girl, Justice was nothing but a mere mediocrity.

Not only Justice but anyone else would aspire for that light in front of Yoo Da-hee.

That’s how overwhelming her talent was.

It could even be said to be an unprecedented talent in the history of South Korea.

“Y-Yoo Da-hee!”

“Ugh, really. Overflowing with energy.”

But Justice, as if refusing to admit defeat, gathered the remaining strength and lunged towards Yoo Da-hee.

Even evaluated as the next promising hero, Justice.

He couldn’t crumble without doing anything.

He wanted to land at least one effective blow.

But…

“Just lying down like that?”

“Ugh, ugh, ugh?!”

Yoo Da-hee, with a relaxed expression, dodged Justice’s attack as if it were bothersome, and struck his abdomen.

The small fist of the girl shyly pierced through. But its destructive power was abnormally restrained.

Boom!

The sound of the air being torn apart echoed loudly.

Justice bent his body in half, coughing up blood and bile as he floated into the air. Eventually, he fell to the ground. Trembling all over, blood and saliva dripping from his abdomen.

“Phew. Is this the end? Ah, really disappointing.”

Yoo Da-hee stretched her shoulders and arms, as if she was preparing for a fight with the old man in the back room.

She was disappointed that the situation was worse than she had expected.

To take on that old man, she needed to properly warm up her body.

“By the way, when are they coming? If we caused this much commotion, shouldn’t the security team or other heroes, or even that old man, have arrived by now?”

Yoo Da-hee grumbled.

She had already obtained information about the heroes who would be attending the event today.

And among the attendees, there was an old man chosen by Yoo Dahee as her prey.

A legend that led a generation.

The pride of South Korea.

Master of Bongsool.

That’s right…

“Yeo-ui (如意).”

“Huh?”

Suddenly, a deep voice tapped Yoo Dahee’s ear, and something unknown rushed towards her eyes at a very fast speed.

Intentionally, Yoo Dahee reached out her hand and grabbed the object that reached her eyes.

But what is this?

At a glance, she could realize that it was a bong.

A bong with an overall red color, adorned with intricate golden patterns here and there.

“Could this bong be…?”

She tightly held the bong, but it kept extending endlessly, pushing Yoo Dahee back.

She tried to stop it, but to no avail. The bong kept stretching out forcefully. Wow, this is amazing? Yoo Dahee marveled but didn’t let go of her grip.

And so, along with the bong, she forcefully slammed into a building dozens of meters behind.

Crash! Roar.

The high-rise building collapsed weakly.

Dust, dirt, and concrete fragments rose up in a chaotic manner.

Fortunately, there were no civilian casualties.

Since Yoo Dahee had been fighting heroes recklessly, everyone in the nearby buildings was prepared.

“Phew.”

Inside the collapsed building, Yoo Dahee sat down.

“A bong that can freely stretch its length, weight, and size.”

An individual nonchalantly walked out, brushing off the dirt, dust, and concrete-stained clothes. It was none other than Yoo Dahee.

“Is that the legendary Yeo-ui Geumgo Bong (如意金箍棒)? The Yeo-ui Bong?”

“You!”

A gruff middle-aged man’s voice.

Yoo Dahee smiled slyly and slowly turned her head.

In the distance, she could see dozens of heroes coming towards her. And at the forefront, there was a quite stern-looking old man. Ah, you finally came? I got tired of waiting.

“Yeo-ui Bong’s Han Inchul. Weren’t you rivals with Gu Hwanhyeong in the past?”

Han Inchul.

One of the legends that dominated the past generation.

Although he had aged significantly, and his skills had declined, it was undeniable that he was the best bong master.

“But did you really come? Honestly, I thought you wouldn’t show up, making excuses here and there.”

He was already old.

And he had retired a long time ago.

There were many other heroes who had come for the event, so there was no need for him to step forward.

Oh, of course, his reputation might take a hit, but he should be careful even with falling autumn leaves in his old age, right?

He wouldn’t want to be brutally killed by a villain in his old age, like Gu Hwanhyeong from Gyeongsando.

“Are you the one? Was it Hwanhyeong who killed him and disgraced the body?”

“Huh?”

Han Inchul struck the Yeo-ui Bong to the ground with a thud!

“Are you asking if it was you?”

“First of all, it was my idea, right? I cut off his head and sent it to the government office. It had quite an impact, didn’t it?”

“Ugh!”

Enraged by Yoo Dahee’s actions of not only killing a friend but also thoroughly disgracing the body, Han Inchul swung the Yeo-ui Bong at her again.

The bong, swung with force, aimed to pierce through Yoo Dahee’s abdomen.

“Hmm… What…?”

“!”

“If you’re prepared, you can’t be completely defenseless.”

“Who is this guy?”

Yoo Dahee slightly realized and grabbed the Yeo-ui Bong.

But this time, it didn’t fly away.

Pushed back a little, but blocking the expanding path of Yeuibong’s extension ability with strength, Yudahee let go of Yeuibong.

“Isn’t it weaker than what I saw in the video back in the day?”

Yudahee released Yeuibong.

Yeuibong returned to its original length.

Han Inchul, who shortened Yeuibong and retrieved it again, glared at Yudahee with a fierce expression and gaze.

Indeed, not an ordinary kid.

Blocking Yeuibong with strength?

The Yeuibong that even pierced through a monster tougher than steel?

How did that young one acquire such abilities?

Even excluding supernatural abilities, Yudahee was an unprecedented strong one.

“Why didn’t the other heroes and festival security team come? Oh, they were together? Well, that makes sense. It wouldn’t be good to come separately and get stripped for nothing.”

Yudahee glanced at the heroes who came with Han Inchul.

There were some fairly well-known heroes, but they weren’t worth paying much attention to. They were weaker than the fallen Justice over there.

Of course, there were a few individuals who could pose a threat.

Like Hong Daye, once mentioned as a top 10 candidate, or Baek Namil, who had been active as a swordsmaster of the Baek clan.

Hmm.

With the number of people including Han Inchul, it might be a bit challenging?

Should I call Ryan and Sung Baeksan now? With them, I can easily defeat them without much difficulty.

“You. You’re too arrogant!”

“Hmm?”

“What can you do against this many people alone?”

“Hehe.”

But if I provoke like this, it’s a bit awkward to call them already.

I want to try a bit harder on my own for now?

This is really troublesome, troublesome.

“Aren’t you too confident? Do you still think you’re the old Han Inchul? You’re already an old and sick man.”

Yudahee cracked his wrist.

“The good times are over, grandpa. Your era ended a long time ago. Now you’re not the main characters. Even Gu Hwanhyung isn’t much.”

He kicks and laughs.

“A new wind is blowing.”

Yudahee looks at the heroes silently.

“Except for the pyramids… an old man in the back room who has long passed his prime, a teacher who can’t fight for a long time due to aftereffects, and a swordsman evaluated as a substandard of the swordsmaster.”

Pointing at Han Inchul, Hong Daye, and Baek Namil alternately, he says.

“How do you think you can handle me with them? Really?”

Yudahee was confident.

He was confident that he could defeat them without calling his comrades.

If he dragged on too long, external reinforcements could come, and he could fail to retrieve the beads, so he had to be careful, but fighting strong opponents was always good.

Because fighting strong opponents would further enhance Yudahee’s growth.

To him, they were just prey.

Tempting and delicious prey.

Prey named experience points.

Let’s greedily devour them all.

The old legendary heroes.

The heroes with outstanding skills.

The insignificant weak heroes.

All of them. Let’s chew them up…

“Huh?”

Wait, hold on.

Yudahee shuddered and trembled.

Because he suddenly felt a presence behind him.

What? How did someone get behind Yudahee?

He didn’t notice until they came this close?

Surely, the invisibility cloak was torn off?

There couldn’t be another relic like that.

“Yudahee.”

Yudahee’s opponent worth giving his all.

A tiny gap that occurred because he was focused on the powerful enemy.

What was needed to dig into that gap was not luck, but innate senses and skills comparable to a single ranker.

And there was only one person here who met those conditions.

A person who had been holding their breath, waiting for an opportunity.

A growth-type Munchkin with unparalleled talent, equal to or even greater than Yoo Da-hee.

The protagonist of this world and Yoo Da-hee’s sole rival.

“Got careless, huh?”

“You?”

It was Jin So-yeon.

Using the effects of the artifact of the Black Society, the black trench coat hanging on her shoulders, Jin So-yeon stealthily and swiftly took control of Yoo Da-hee’s background.

With all her might, she brandished the cursed blood sword, Shisan Bloodshed, one of the ultimate items of the Romance Hero Academy.

And with a swoosh!

A drop of blood splattered.