209 – My Victory of Survival #1
“This Inoi has gathered a ton of newspapers for the owner of the house who couldn’t wake up from sleep…!”
Flap-!
Inoi handed me a stack of newspapers collected over the past week.
The headlines of various newspapers instantly caught my eye.
“A Rank Survival Concludes Successfully! Major Rank Changes Occur—”
“A Rank Rankings: No Surprises at the Top.”
“Accident at Abandoned Power Plant! Was it a Forewarned Incident? Reassessing Past Accidents…!”
It was said that while I was knocked out by a powerful jolt, the survival competition determining the A Rank rankings had ended.
This meant only one thing.
It meant that I, who had boldly declared my participation in the survival competition, failed to reach the A Rank’s 1st place and was eliminated.
When I fainted while fighting the “Superconducting Dragon,” the number of survivors was 14.
Thanks to that, I became Haildo, ranked 14th in A Rank.
“I’m ranked 14th among about 30 A rankers.”
I stroked my somewhat rough jaw, which I hadn’t shaved in a while. Considering I had jumped from 29th to 14th, my performance was undoubtedly high.
But 14th place.
It felt a bit ambiguous, being in the middle ranks.
“Senpai! You’re awake! You’ve come to! I was so surprised when you got so blackened from the shock!”
Thud, thud-.
A strong presence burst into my hospital room. It was Yu Ara, wearing white clothes.
I soon heard the nurses in the hallway saying, “The patient needs to rest right now,” but Ara showed her name tag on her chest and shouted back.
“I’m the doctor!”
That was right.
Ara was a doctor.
I heard that once Ara learned I had fainted from electric shock, she hurriedly rushed over to assist with various surgeries and hospital formalities.
“Senpai, you almost died…! Grabbing onto the ‘Copper Snake’, which is more dangerous than a high-voltage wire…! That was way too reckless and dangerous…!”
Ara’s face was pale, yet relief was also evident. The idea that I had been reckless enough to nearly die and somehow managed to survive must have made her emotions complex.
I decided to correct one fact.
“What I fought was not the ‘Copper Snake,’ but the ‘Superconducting Dragon.’ It absorbed power wildly during the fight and evolved. It was a truly powerful demon.”
Superconducting Dragon.
In my opinion, it was a creature that could be rated as an S Rank demon. Ara muttered, “The ‘Superconducting Dragon’…,” but she seemed to not fully grasp it.
Soon, Morales spoke.
“That’s irrelevant…! Core Ara here took care of me with great devotion every day…! Changing my clothes and wiping my forehead with a wet towel…! Truly a model of care and affection from Core…!”
Thud-!
Morales proudly puffed out their flat chest.
Seeing that, Nymph Inoi shouted.
“First of all, let’s beat up that muddy Nymph in the mud…! Beating up that wicked muddy Nymph is our duty and right as Nymph sisters…!”
“I also think it’s a good idea…! Beating up the muddy one and making it as clear as a trench is something I understand…!”
“To taste the superconducting punch of that Illinois…! It’s looking at the mystery of Nymph with an impossible resistance infused with magical energy…!”
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-.
The Nymphs started to beat up the muddy Nymph Morales. It was an extremely surreal scene while being a familiar sight at the same time.
Morales, who had tried to escape to the corner, was getting hit relentlessly, crying out, “Heeek…!” and even shedding tears.
Eventually, unable to withstand it, they ran off, with the Nymphs chasing after them.
It was a chaotic sight.
Maybe that’s why I had been unconscious for a week and waking up felt like a gap in time that began to resonate within me like reality.
# # #
“The sensations in your fingertips and toes are all normal. You suffered burns on your skin, but they have all healed perfectly. To survive even with that much high-voltage current—”
It’s truly miraculous!
Ara kept making a fuss.
Honestly, it was indeed an incredible feat.
To have survived amidst that intense explosion of energy.
That my limbs, even down to my fingers, were intact was nothing short of a miracle.
How on earth…?
Of course, I vaguely thought I might know the reason. At that moment, when all the energy clashed and surged, Ahn Ahn flew towards me.
Ahn Ahn’s magic flowed into me, and I remembered my body becoming strong and solid as if I were wearing armor.
Hyper evolution—.
No, it felt like “Haildo evolution.”
Swoosh-.
I opened and closed my palm.
It felt like I had seen a new horizon of “power,” as if I had stepped back from a peak that no one had reached.
Though it was very temporary, at that moment, I was as if—.
Noticing that my expression was sublime, Ara placed her hand on my back.
“Don’t be too disheartened. A rank of 14 is still quite good…! The edited version will air starting next week, so people will surely know how amazing your achievements were…!”
It seemed the footage from the A Rank battle would be edited and properly processed for streaming on MyTube and terrestrial broadcasting starting next week.
I was already looking forward to it because, honestly, I felt like, ‘Hey, didn’t I perform pretty well?’
A rank of 14.
Though the result landed me in the middle ranks, I thought there were quite a few awesome moments.
Wouldn’t I end up shooting up in popularity once it airs, appearing on TV variety shows?
Like the interview programs with those great MCs.
Hehehe-.
While I was laughing at that thought, Ara noticed that the IV fluid in my arm had run out and left for somewhere.
Then, a few minutes later, someone entered, opening the door.
She was an impressive woman with an active, short hairstyle like a track athlete. She wore a gray trench coat, with a distinctly eye-catching orange shirt underneath.
Maybe because she was so flat in various aspects.
“You are….”
“Have you forgotten my face? It’s Kim Yu-Mi. A Rank 7…!”
Kim Yu-Mi is A Rank 7?
Is this real?
Just as I was thinking that, a man in a black turtleneck and stylishly parted hair walked into the hospital room.
He placed a basket of fruit next to me.
“You remember me, right? I’m Do Jun-Hwan. A Rank 18. It’s our first time meeting in a casual setting, huh? Haildo of the Squirrel Beast. They said you were really hurt, but you seem to be just fine.”
I see.
Though temporary, they came to visit me because we had formed a party together.
I, Haildo, was originally isolated among A rankers due to childish territorial disputes. Can it be that this survival had allowed for some connections and camaraderie to form?
Nothing brings people closer than overcoming challenges together.
They say comrades forge bonds.
“But still, Kim Yu-Mi, you’re A Rank 7, huh. That’s something.”
“What’s so surprising? Do you have any idea how much I had to struggle to survive after you guys got eliminated? It can’t all be explained in words. If you were that skilled, you should have survived longer too!”
That was right.
No matter how well I performed and showed off, it was ultimately the one who survived the longest, Kim Yu-Mi, who achieved a higher rank than me.
The strong do not survive; the survivors are strong.
That’s how the world of Awakened is.
In the end, being alive is the best thing.
Kim Yu-Mi soon looked around.
“So where’s Jin-A?”
Kim Yu-Mi and I were the same age.
Yet I was Haildo, and Lee Jin-A was Jin-A to her.
When I felt puzzled by that title, Kim Yu-Mi added.
“I heard she’s in this hospital. Is she busy due to her fame? After all, she was the last to join the game and finished 5th in A Rank! In some respects, that makes her more of a superstar than the 1st place….”
I had heard, too.
Lee Jin-A finished the match in 5th place in A Rank.
Honestly, I had no idea what had happened while I was out and eliminated.
And I was quite curious about what had gone on during that time, so I could only wait eagerly for the broadcast.
Watching the broadcast and doing a review would be fun.
Clip-clop-.
At that moment, the hospital room door opened.
Was another visitor coming?
She was a woman wearing a red knitted sweater under a thin padded vest. Her hair was slightly messy, and her eyes had a somewhat prickly vibe.
Do Jun-Hwan and Kim Yu-Mi both fell silent and subtly backed away.
They must have realized that the person entering the room was no ordinary opponent.
“Han Joo-Ryeon.”
I called out that name.
“You’re ranked 2nd, right? Should I congratulate you or express sympathy? I can’t decide.”
I casually started the conversation.
A Rank 2, Han Joo-Ryeon.
In the end, it seemed she finished in A Rank 2.
Whether before or after the competition, she held a similar ranking.
Of course, upon mentioning this, Han Joo-Ryeon shook her head and lightly corrected me.
“Now I’m A Rank 1. The A Rank 1, Gumihee, finally got promoted to S Rank. We now have Korea’s third S Ranker. Thanks to that, all A Rankers will be moved up one rank.”
Is this real?
I had heard rumors that becoming A Rank 1 in this survival could grant the opportunity to become an S ranker.
They said the government might increase the ranks using some mysterious “elixir” or something like that.
But it seems those statements turned out to be true.
Gumihee, who became A Rank 1, moved up to an S Rank.
Rank 1 Gumihee.
Though she had already been A Rank 1, not much was known about her.
Soon, Kim Yu-Mi, who had been listening to the conversation, chimed in.
“Joo-Ryeon, you fell off because you got exhausted fighting my team, right? There wasn’t really much difference in firepower between you and Gumihee, was there?”
“That’s… until recently, I thought so. But honestly, at this point, I don’t know. Gumihee, that girl….”
Han Joo-Ryeon seemed to hesitate to say something.
I noticed something wriggling on her wrist.
Was it a bracelet? No, it wasn’t.
Ssshh-!
“Oh, that girl—.”
“Ah, this is a ‘Mini Copper Snake.’ I found a nest at the power plant after defeating that S Rank demon. When I hatched the egg I found there, this little one came out. It feeds off my surplus electricity.”
Ssshh-!
I see.
There was a brief silence with that understanding.
“Haildo, about that— the broadcast….”
Han Joo-Ryeon looked at me with a reddened face.
“No, never mind….”
With those words, Han Joo-Ryeon swiftly left the room.
I had heard that people with electrical abilities have fluctuating personalities, but it seemed very much true.
