“Hey, Dylan! The entrance to the arena is this way, not over there!”
“Oh, Jesse! Entering the arena right now isn’t a very reasonable thing to do. Don’t we have something else to do first?”
“What’s that?”
“It’s buying tacos and shakes.”
On the last day of the event, as the day grew darker, people began to gather around the arena.
Everyone was there to watch the main event, the International Evaluation Match.
“Hi-O Hi-O for Cleveland!”
With the participation of the US team, there were quite a number of foreign tourists. They were all celebrating by dancing or singing even before the start of the match.
“Entrance is…”
On the other hand, Choi Soo-eun was busy finding her way through the crowd. Since the arena was so large, each seat had its own separate gate.
“G-Gate is… Ah, it’s over there.”
After walking around the arena for a few minutes, she finally found the entrance. Having no intention of buying snacks, she entered the arena immediately.
“It’s huge…”
This was the first time Choi Soo-eun was entering the event arena. Until now, she had only been to the evaluation match-only arenas.
Choi Soo-eun began searching for her seat while checking the seat number written on the stands.
“G-12… G-12…”
The reserved seat was near the center ring. She might even be able to see the players’ faces. It’s a sort of premium seating.
Of course, with “premium” comes a higher price. The tickets were roughly seven times more expensive than regular seats.
“But…”
For Choi Soo-eun, the price was not very important. How could money be important when Shin Yoon-seong was participating in the match?
No matter how much the ticket cost, she would gladly open her wallet to see Shin Yoon-seong up close.
“Found it…”
“Waaang—”
While moving from G-9, G-10, G-11, Choi Soo-eun finally reached her seat G-12 and noticed a familiar face at G-13 beside her.
“Ah!”
The girl had stuffed a hot dog into her mouth with her mouth wide open. She chewed happily, looking as if she had never been happier.
Choi Soo-eun knew very well who that girl was. Not just her, but every student in the school knew the girl.
With her striking blonde hair that captured everyone’s attention, she was the one and only S-grade Awakened One, a pride of the Han-yul Military Academy — Arna Kristin Dotir.
“Mmm… Next is nachos…”
What could this mean? Of all things, why did Soo-eun’s reserved seat happen to be right next to Arna? Soo-eun couldn’t help but feel troubled by this turn of events.
But she wouldn’t back down, nor run away. She would face the challenge head-on.
Even though Arna was Arna, her dedication and feelings for Shin Yoon-seong would surely outshine Arna’s.
Tuck!
With that belief, Choi Soo-eun sat down confidently, a little rougher than usual.
“Mmm…?”
Did her determination reach her opponent? Arna finally turned her head, her mouth stuffed full of food.
“…”
Arna blinked several times.
And…
“Cough…!”
Suddenly, she started pounding her chest as if something had caught in her throat. She quickly drank soda to relieve it.
“Gurgle…!”
Arna, in distress, shed tears and snot. Watching this, Choi Soo-eun took a small amount of victory in the situation.
Anything related to Shin Yoon-seong, she wouldn’t lose. This was something she wouldn’t give up to anyone.
*
“Gulp…”
Suddenly, a current of electricity started running through my body.
This sensation is not ordinary. It feels like someone is staring at me. The back of my neck felt prickly and numb.
Is someone cursing at me?
“Why. Just ’cause the evaluation match is coming up, are you gonna wet your pants or something? Should I bring you a diaper?”
This was the waiting room for the competitors. Kang Tae-hoon threw out words, lying back on the sofa scrolling through a smartphone game.
To Kang Tae-hoon, I retorted:
“Does it look like I’d wet myself because of some little thing?”
“Hmph. That kid who creates a fuss in front of Arna, what could those Yankee bastards do to scare you?”
“Let me just go to the restroom quickly.”
“Yah-mah! That’s different from what you just said!”
Leaving Kang Tae-hoon behind, I stepped out of the waiting room for the competitors.
After walking down the corridor and reaching the restroom, as I was standing by the urinal—wham!
Suddenly, a stall door opened. Someone was coming out. It was a tall foreigner with russet hair.
“Hmm…”
Upon closer inspection, it was a familiar face. It was Lloyd Hintz, one of the participating competitors of the International Evaluation Match and previously someone who had started trouble with Kang Tae-hoon.
“Ugh…”
Lloyd stumbled to the sink and washed his face a few times.
“Huff… Huff…”
Is he sick or something? He groaned a lot and his gait was unsteady.
The last time I saw him at the bar, he seemed so healthy. Why is he acting like a dying man today?
“Ugh…”
Did he have an upset stomach? I should check.
Whoosh…
I covertly took out a spoon and launched it towards Lloyd, observing him through the Blind Side skill.
“!”
It wasn’t a stomachache. I could see dark red spots all over his skin.
Moreover, there were clear needle marks on his arm. Given that they hadn’t stopped bleeding yet, it seemed like they were recent.
“This time, I’m going to… kill that bastard Kang Tae-hoon…”
Lloyd dried his face and left the restroom.
Soon after, I exited the restroom and hurried back into the competitor waiting room.
“…”
“!”
Despite the imminent match, Kang Tae-hoon was still leisurely playing games. I informed him about what had happened in the restroom.
“I just met that guy.”
“Who?”
“Lloyd Hintz.”
Kang Tae-hoon kept gazing at his smartphone screen, as if he wasn’t interested at all. I continued.
“He looked strange.”
“That guy’s always like that. Ignore him.”
“Hmm. It felt like he’d consumed some kind of drug. His skin had multiple dark red spots and the veins were severely contracted.”
“…”
Only then did Kang Tae-hoon lift his eyes from his smartphone to look at my face.
“Dark red spots?”
“That’s right.”
Did something click with him? Kang Tae-hoon’s eyebrows twitched slightly.
I roughly knew what was running through his mind. He was recalling the incident at the bar.
The unknown man who approached Kang Tae-hoon and offered a suspicious dark red powder…
That man probably suggested the same thing to Lloyd. Lloyd must have accepted it.
“Shit… That bastard ate it without knowing what the drug was, right? Who’s saying he doesn’t look like a fool…”
Kang Tae-hoon shoved his smartphone aside and started scratching his own head roughly.
If it’s a simple drug, it wouldn’t matter, but if it’s an awakening agent affecting magical power, the situation changes.
Not only could it result in losing control of one’s strength, but it might even lead to being dominated by it. Not only would it harm Lloyd, but it would also endanger the people gathered at the stadium.
In short, Lloyd was like a walking nuclear bomb.
“So, what are we gonna do? Cancel the evaluation match because that guy took drugs? Are you sure that’ll work?”
Exactly. There’s not enough reason to immediately cancel the match now. Lloyd hasn’t caused any accidents yet.
We lack concrete evidence right now, so we need to find another way.
“First, we need to find out what effects the drug has. If we investigate and report it to the situation room, cancellation should be possible.”
“And how do you plan on figuring that out?”
“Just ask directly.”
“Who?”
“The drug dealer.”
At my response, Kang Tae-hoon squinted his eyes and tilted his head. His reaction was, “What the heck?”
“The drug dealer… That guy must be hiding somewhere around here. He’s likely watching Lloyd Hintz closely to see how he changes.”
“That’s not like some kind of human experiment… Is it?”
“Nonetheless, I’m going to catch that guy.”
I raised my spoon. In terms of finding people, I’m far more advantageous than Kang Tae-hoon because I have this spoon.
Moreover, as my last match is the third round, I have plenty of time.
“While I find that guy, I’d like you, Kang Tae-hoon, to buy us some time. All you have to do is pretend to fight Lloyd Hintz without letting him go berserk.”
For Kang Tae-hoon, marking Lloyd Hintz shouldn’t be too difficult. It’s not even much of a task to just buy some time.
Moreover, Lloyd’s thoughts right now are only consumed by Kang Tae-hoon. Didn’t he say so himself in the restroom? He declared that he’s going to beat Kang Tae-hoon this time. He’s the perfect bait.
“Are you fooling around with me?”
However, Kang Tae-hoon didn’t like my strategy. His expression crumpled.
“You’re telling me to waste time playing around with that idiot Lloyd? Screw off. Why don’t you tell that black dude? Even he can handle a task like wasting time.”
“Kang Tae-hun is already in the ring.”
Wheeeeee!
At that moment, a signal rang throughout the stadium—it was the buzzer signaling the start of the first round.
We focused our gaze on the screen in the waiting room. We could see the first-round competitors, Rashid and Mason Panning.
And…
BAM!
“The Han-yul Military Academy’s Kim Dae-sik competitor has knocked out Mason Panning within just 3 seconds of the match beginning! What a surprising start!”
“Victory in the first round goes to Han-yul Military Academy!”
“…”
“…”
Though our team won, there was nothing celebratory about the situation, as it was followed by Kang Tae-hoon’s second round.
Before long, Kang Tae-hoon shouted at the screen:
“That bastard Kim Dae-sik! What’s the deal with ending the match so soon? Seriously, no help at all!”
