At the hostâs call, two players stepped forward. Mahara, who was a bit shorter than tall Chun Ha-jin, looked up at him. Chun Ha-jin was dressed in all black. Because of the cloth pulled above his nose, it was hard to see Chun Ha-jinâs face. But, through some part of his body that wasnât covered by clothes, his skin was revealed. It was as black as his clothing.
âWouldnât it be uncomfortable to fight in such clothes?â
Mahara, of course, thought Chun Ha-jin would take off his clothes before fighting. Unless those clothes had some special effects, it would be very uncomfortable to fight in them.
âItâs none of your business.â But, at Maharaâs advice, Chun Ha-jin narrowed his eyes and answered vacantly.
His reaction might upset him, but Mahara just calmly nodded and put his hands together.
âAll right, then. Iâll ask you for a good game,â Mahara said.
âA good gameâŠ,â Chun Ha-jin muttered.
âGet readyââ
The host called, stepping back.
âI donât know if I can have one with short-ass prick.â
Chun Ha-jin pointed out his weakness, and Mahara knit his brow for the first time.
ââStart!â
The host announced the battle.
Swishâ
Maharaâs body divided into dozens of people and began to rush toward Chun Ha-jin.
âThen, get ready to be beaten up by that short man!â
Dozens of voices came from the dozens of people at the same time. It was a sort of hallucination skill, using magic. They could be destroyed, but his level was quite high, so the hallucinations were hard to destroy in a short period of time. And that brief moment could be fatal to his opponent. Because, actually, Mahara wasnât a magician; he was a boxer who played close combat.
Swishâ
Maharaâs fists rushed in from many directions. Chun Ha-jin stood still and just looked at the fists reaching toward him. And it was at that momentâŠ
Swish, boomâ!
Craaackâ
Chun Ha-jin reached out to one side, grabbed Maharaâs fist, and broke it.
âArrrggg!â
âDonât be a crybaby.â
Grab, swishâ!
Whamâ!
Chun Ha-jin broke Maharaâs wrist and slammed his body to the ground. The illusions that had appeared around Mahara disappeared. In that short moment, Chun Ha-jin had quickly penetrated Maharaâs skill and the combat ended very quickly. Mahara, lying on the floor, realized that his opponentâs skills were far superior to his own.
âI lost⊠Youâre really goodâŠâ
âYou asked me for a good game, didnât you?â
Chun Ha-jinâs mask covering his mouth began to wriggle. He laughed big, opening his mouth widely.
âWell. Iâm the one who should have asked.â
âWhat are you talking aboutâŠAaaarrrggggâ!â
With an inhaling sound, Maharaâs body quickly began to dry. He became like a mummy who lost all of the moisture in his body. His body shrank and eyes blurred. The host didnât do anything, just watched. Meanwhile, Maharaâs body dried up all the way and hardened.
Crumbleâ
Maharaâs dead body became sand and fell from Chun Ha-jinâs hand.
Chun Ha-jin dropped the sand, scattering from his hand, and muttered, âHeâs really not tasty.â
Chun Ha-jin turned his gaze to the host. At that moment, the host announced, âHero Chun Ha-jin wins!â
***
Su-hyeun knit his brow.
<<Hero? Heâs a hero? Thatâs bullsh*t.>>
There was no way such a man could be called a hero. It was just a contest, but Chun Ha-jin took Maharaâs light. And he laughed while he did it.
<<That manâs just a murderer.>>
He had an excellent ability. Notably, the skill he used was unique and powerful.
âForce Absorption,â Luslec said. âThatâs a quite well-known skill where he came from.â It seemed like Luslec knew a lot about Chun Ha-jin.
âIs it a skill that absorbs other peopleâs magic power?â Su-hyeun asked.
âYes. But not just magic power. It also takes their Vitality. Heâs a monster that eats other people to get stronger.â
âDo you guys know each other?â
âNo, we donât. Why? Are you upset?â Luslec asked, grinning. Then he looked at the tournament tables on the wall afar, and said, âLetâs see. I guess heâll fight against you to the semifinals. Well. If both of you win the games before that.â
âSemifinalsâŠâ Su-hyeun muttered.
Chun Ha-jin was above the goal of the trial. That meant Chun Ha-jinâs level was higher than the trial of the 42nd floor.
âAnd youâll meet me in the final. Do you think you can make it?â
And this man, who probably would wait for Su-hyeun in the finals, had a higher level than Chun Ha-jin. Su-hyeun didnât like Chun Ha-jin quite much, but Luslec was the more concerning opponent.
âHow do you know about Chun Ha-jin?â
âMe? WellâŠâ
âEveryone here must be from different worlds. HonestlyâŠeven though itâs a world in the trial, I canât understand your background and your presence.â Su-hyeun stared at Luslec, narrowing his eyes. âAre you an awakener who climbs the tower, like me? OrâŠâ
âPlayer Siegfried. Please come up,â the host called for Su-hyeun.
But Su-hyeun didnât move. When the host called him three times, Luslec grinned and waved his hand.
âGo quickly. Heâs calling you.â
ââŠâ
Su-hyeun looked at Luslec for a moment and walked away. Luslec still waved his hand with a smiling face. All the way up to the stadium, Su-hyeun was thinking about two people.
<<Chun Ha-jin and Luslec.>>
They were the people that he would meet in the semifinals and the finals. Perhaps those two would be the strongest enemies in this trial.
Stompâ
Su-hyeun stepped onto the stage. His opponent was waiting for him. Su-hyeunâs gaze changed.
<<Iâll think about them later. I should focus on the game now.>>
He would meet them anyway if he kept fighting and winning.
âGet ready. Start!â
Whizâ
When the host announced the start of the game, Su-hyeun moved quicker than ever.
***
Because there were so many players, 128 players played the games for two days. The next round, of 64 people, also took a whole day. People didnât have to worry about injuries because there was a device in the stadium that could restore the playersâ bodies at once. This day was for the game of 32 people, and Su-hyeunâs match for today was the last one.
Swishâ
Boomâ!
Su-hyeun wielded his fist, but his opponent dodged. His opponent was fast and had hallucination skills. He could quickly avoid Su-hyeunâs attacks. But that was all he could do.
Swishâ
Puffâ
Su-hyeun wielded his sword with his right hand. This time the hallucinations around Su-hyeun disappeared.
Whooshâ
Boom, boom, boomâ!
And, when Su-hyeun covered half of the stadium with his Flame skill, the hallucinations burst. The real opponent was finally revealed.
âShitâŠâ he mumbled.
âYour dodging skill was quite good.â
ââŠ!â
The man was startled at the voice that came from right next to him. He quickly turned his face.
Whamâ!
As soon as he turned his face, he felt a shock on his temple. It was a force that could easily crush most peopleâs skulls, but he just fainted.
Thumpâ
As his opponent fell on the ground, Su-hyeun looked at the host.
âHero Siegfried. Wins!â
The host announced the last round of the day was over. Su-hyeun gave his arm to his opponent and took him to the other host. The host took him to a recovery room.
âWhy didnât you kill him?â that time, Chun Ha-jin talked to Su-hyeun. âYou totally could have killed him. You didnât have to subdue him using more energy.â
âThen let me ask you,â Su-hyeun stared at Chun Ha-jin. âWhy did you kill? You could totally just subdue any of your opponents.â
âWell. You âe different from me.â
Chun Ha-jin wiggled his fingers like snakes. The meaning was very clear. He was showing he could absorb other peopleâs energy through his hands. His Force Absorption skill could take the magic and even life force from other people when he touched them.
âIâm going to eat up all the people here.â Chun Ha-jinâs mouth, covered by his mask, grinned. His eyes sparkled with a murderous spirit. Chun Ha-jin looked around the spectators and other players that were going back to their rooms and went on. âThis place is a paradise for me. So much prey. And, especially you. Youâre the best meal here.â
âOh. Is that so?â
âBut seriously, why donât you kill the others? Nothing will be changed even though you let them live.â
âIs that why you came to me?â
âMaybe. I came here because youâre really a different person from me.â
âWell. Youâre wasting your time, then.â
Shhhhâ
Crackâ
Su-hyeun lifted his eyes. He even opened his third eye and revealed his murderous spirit to Chun Ha-jin.
âBecause when I meet you on the stage, Iâll definitely kill you,â Su-hyeun said.
âThat isâŠa very satisfying answer.â Chun Ha-jinâs eyes made a big smile as if he had heard what he wanted to hear.
âWell, then. Good luck. Iâm looking forward to eating you.â
âThatâs not my business.â Su-hyeun shook his head.
There was nothing more to talk with him about. They would fight in the semifinals anyway. Chun Ha-jin had made a very obvious provocation, but Su-hyeun ignored him and asked the question that he had been wondering.
âBut what are you going to do after eating all the people here?â
âWhat do you mean?â
âDo you just want to be stronger? Is that your goal? What do you want to do when you become strong?â
It wasnât just an idle question. Su-hyeun was wondering about the people here, not only Chun Ha-jin but all the others participating in the competition as well.
<<Are they human beings just like me, fighting in each world? Or are they awakeners that were climbing the Tower of Trials like Luslec?>>
When Su-hyeun asked to solve his curiosityâ âWhat I want to do?â âChun Ha-jinâs face became vacant. âWhatâŠIâŠwantâŠtoâŠhaveâŠtoâŠ?â
ââŠ?â
Chun Ha-jin was vacant for a moment butâŠ
âAnyway, I am leaving now. I hope to see you on the stage.â
All of a sudden, he acted like nothing had ever happened, turned his body with a smile, and walked away. It was as if he couldnât remember what Su-hyeun had asked.
âWhat was that?â Su-hyeun muttered.
Something was very strange. He didnât want to get involved too deeply in this world, but he couldnât help it. Su-hyeun moved to find other players and asked them the same question that he had asked Chun Ha-jin. He asked about their lives before the game and why they had come to this competition. ButâŠ
âIâŠwhyâŠâ
âUhâŠUmmâŠâ
âCompetitionâŠ? What?â
Everyone had the same reaction. They had a sense of purpose to win the competition, but they had no idea about the reason, which should have been simple. They even didnât know who exactly they were.
<<What the hell is this?>>
Su-hyeun had experienced so many trials, but this had never happened. Because of the reactions of the other players, Su-hyeun felt like this trial was something bizarre.
<<I have no idea about this trial.>>
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But there was only one person who had a different reaction from the other people.
âWhere I came from? Why do you ask that? You and I are just the same human beings.â