STC chapter 9

I’ve just realized that when something is utterly ridiculous, the words that should come out end up just swirling around on my tongue like unspoken secrets.

“Fight? Us? Me and him?”

What kind of nonsensical talk is this? Didn’t he just tell me not to get in his way a couple of days ago? Judging by him calling me a D-class, he mustn’t have forgotten the huge difference in our ranks.

I stood up from where I’d been crouched down, tying my shoelaces, and faced him. It was humiliating to have to tilt my head up because of our height difference.

His black hair with a tinge of blue and his bright, clear silver-gray eyes came into view. Despite his vile personality, his face was flawless, always handsome.

Without warning, I reached out and touched Ye Ilhu’s forehead. He jerked back at the sudden contact, but I persisted and followed him.

“Hold still for a moment. You seem to have a fever.”

“What?”

He frowned openly at my words. But I was dead serious.

Otherwise, why would an SS-class personally come to the training room to spar with a D-class?

“Did you eat something bad this morning?”

What was on the breakfast menu today?

Seeing no one else sick, it couldn’t be the cafeteria food. Or maybe he hit his head at the gate yesterday?

As I sincerely worried about his head, he slapped my hand away from his forehead sharply. My hand stung. I pouted.

“That hurts.”

“I don’t have a fever, and I didn’t eat breakfast.”

“What? Don’t you know Koreans need rice to function?”

“I don’t have time to listen to your nonsense.”

“As if I enjoy talking to you…”

He was the one who sought me out first, yet he was the one who seemed upset.

My retorts only made Ye Ilhu frown even more.

The hunters training nearby started to discreetly leave the area. Sparks were flaring around Ye Ilhu, making it clear he was in no mood to be trifled with.

I sighed deeply. I had been running late all day because of the report I had to write in the morning.

I was busy enough, so why was he lingering around me?

“Don’t bother me and go find someone else if you’re bored. I’m busy.”

I’ve met plenty of strange people who loved showing off their strength while majoring in physical education.

Even within the same field, there were always differences in muscle mass and body type due to genetics. These were blessings that couldn’t be overcome with effort alone.

There were plenty of arrogant guys who bullied weaker kids by flaunting the muscles and bodies they got from their parents.

If you think about it, SS-class didn’t awaken through effort either. He wasn’t much different from the guys I’d seen.

“Annoying jerk.”

I thought as I tried to walk past Ye Ilhu. He grabbed my wrist, nearly making me fall over. I barely regained my balance and looked up sharply.

“I almost got hurt! Why!”

“I told you I want to spar.”

“And am I supposed to bow and say ‘Yes, sir, it’s an honor’?”

I mocked him, but Ye Ilhu didn’t even blink. He just tightened his grip on my wrist, making me quickly pull away. For some reason, he didn’t hold on.

I rubbed my wrist, now red from his grip, and frowned.

“Why are you so eager to bother me? And does this make sense? Did you forget my rank? Are you trying to kill me?”

“You pushed me yesterday.”

“…”

“You, of all people, pushed me, and now you talk about ranks?”

His sharp response left me speechless.

Yeah, that’s right.

No matter how off guard he was, Ye Ilhu was still an SS-class. There’s no way he would have fallen to my half-baked strength.

Seeing me standing there without a response, he gestured towards the training room.

“Just follow me quietly. It’s only going to be worse for you if you make a fuss.”

Honestly, I could escape if I really wanted to, but my superpower of immense strength had a three-minute limit.

Besides, without using it, I was just an ordinary guy in his early twenties.

There was no guarantee I could outrun Ye Ilhu, whose legs were ten centimeters longer than mine.

And it’s against the rules to use superpowers on fellow hunters without reason.

‘I don’t know what he’s thinking. I’ll just humor him and get back to my work.’

After clashing with me a few times, Ye Ilhu would surely realize the difference in our strength and skill. With no other choice, I reluctantly followed him.

Ye Ilhu led me to a high-grade hologram training room typically used by A-class or higher-ranked hunters.

Higher-ranked hunters had a higher chance of destroying the training room, so usage was tiered by rank.

The hologram training room used a system that activated combat situations as holograms based on the registered hunter’s information, mimicking real attacks.

In other words, you could exchange attacks without anyone getting hurt. It proved Ye Ilhu remembered I was a D-class.

It wasn’t so much concern for my well-being as it was avoiding the hassle of public backlash if I got hurt.

Even if the fights were holograms, the fact that you had to move your body was unchanged. So, you had to wear special protective gear just in case.

As I meticulously put on the protective gear, it struck me that this could be a good opportunity. Being dragged here by Ye Ilhu might actually be beneficial; I could learn a lot about combat from an SS-class.

‘I want to keep entering gates in the future.’

I was tired of being treated like an invisible man in the guild.

Maybe in the past, I would have been okay living that way, but I wanted to live my second chance at life to the fullest. Even if it was inside a BL game.

Lastly, we had to put on thick hologram goggles that covered our eyes and nose.

Just as I was about to put on the goggles, Ye Ilhu suddenly spoke.

“Earlier, you told me to find someone else if I was bored.”

Ye Ilhu clearly remembered my half-hearted comment, made when I was annoyed with him.

“Huh? Oh, yeah, I did.”

“Ever since we left the gate yesterday, all I could think about was you, Kang Baram.”

As expected from a side character, his phrasing was odd. I figured he meant that I had gotten on his nerves and let it slide.

“I wasn’t skilled at using my abilities from the start either. There were days when I spent over ten hours in the training room just to get the feel for it.”

Surprised by his words, I stopped putting on my goggles and looked at Ye Ilhu.

He put in effort? Despite being SS-class?

Come to think of it, I too had practically lived in the training room for the past few weeks to properly use my SS-class super strength for just three minutes.

As a result, I was able to use my abilities freely when I went out to the gate for the first time yesterday without any discomfort.

Still, hearing that the strongest hunter in South Korea had struggled was a shock.

Suddenly, Ye Ilhu seemed more human. I had thought he was just a jerk who spat out mean words.

“Since then, no one has been able to match my combat sense or my performance in real battles.”

“What are you trying to say?”

He said he didn’t have time to listen to my nonsense, so he hadn’t brought me to the training room just to chat, nor was he here to brag.

“I was beaten for the first time yesterday since mastering my abilities, by you.”

“…”

“So, you’ve stuck in my mind.”

Ah, so the reason I was on his mind was because I scratched his pride?

That didn’t feel good. It felt like I was being tested.

I took a short breath and gripped my goggles tightly.

“Really? That’s good to know. Don’t expect any mercy today, so you’d better be prepared.”

Ye Ilhu smirked.

“Look who’s talking.”

He also put on his goggles.

But just before Ye Ilhu’s eyes disappeared under the goggles, I saw them gleam with intense resolve.

* * *

Meanwhile, the security team of Idea was in turmoil. They had caught sight of an SS-class and a D-class hunter entering the training room together on CCTV.

HOT! Ye Ilhu dragged a mere D-class into the training room!

This hot news quickly spread from the security team to the strategy team. Upon hearing the news, Heo Taekgyun immediately ran to Jeong Yeonji.

“Crazy Kang Baram is fighting that maniac Ye Ilhu in the training room right now!”

“What?! Ye Ilhu?! Out of nowhere?”

“I don’t know, isn’t it crazy?!”

They couldn’t just stand by and watch. Kang Baram was their precious friend.

As soon as Jeong Yeonji got up, the two of them rushed to the hologram training room.