This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 177

In a moment, everything I had worked so hard for crumbled, my tower of concentration collapsing as easily as a house of cards.

A careless comment flew through the air, embedding itself in my ears, and that’s what did it.

Of course, Lightning Lady would know.

Not just know—she had even met her.

It was an encounter I had never expected, but it had happened.

So, when I heard the news that she had gone missing after being caught up in a predator-type rift, I thought, “Even such a strong person can fall into a situation like that,” and it left a bitter taste in my mouth… but she’s back?

No, setting that aside, it’s also known that A, a student from Yeongang High School, returned alongside Lightning Lady.

Who could that possibly be?

To be honest, there was nothing to worry about if I just stated the facts.

Unless someone had gone and forcibly meddled with my memories, there was only one person who could fit that description.

There was only one.

Maybe that’s why my heart, which I had calmed down and slowed down to maintain composure, began to race at an alarming rate as if it had been doing so all along.

‘Is he alive…?’

Dogun… might still be alive.

Just the possibility alone made tears well up in my eyes.

After all, until now, there had been hardly any hope.

Because of that, I had felt there was nothing else to do but give up…

At that moment, two conflicting emotions took root in my heart.

Perhaps… the joy of knowing that Dogun might be alive, and the worry of what if it wasn’t him.

These feelings took root in my chest and quickly sprouted.

‘…I want to see him.’

I… wanted to see Dogun.

I wanted to find out where he was immediately and engrave the fact of his safety into my very eyes.

At the same time, I was infinitely afraid.

Just the thought that maybe Dogun was alive made my heart race like this, and what if it wasn’t him?

I had no idea what to do then.

…If I had known it would end up like this, I wouldn’t have submitted my mobile phone but kept it on me.

I thought it would only be a distraction while I was trying to concentrate, so I submitted it as soon as the test started, but that turned out to be a fatal mistake.

Should I borrow someone’s mobile phone now, even at this late hour?

But would they actually lend it to me if I asked?

Stuck between doing nothing and clenching my useless fists, I was like that.

The speakers placed throughout the exam room suddenly called my name.

Was it finally my turn after all that confusion?

Honestly, I just wanted to throw away the test and rush straight to Dogun.

But I couldn’t do that.

That wouldn’t be an action for Dogun.

If he ever found out later that I had done that, he would definitely feel horribly guilty.

Since I was the only one in this world who knew why I was so hung up on the name Hero, he would surely feel that way.

So—

‘…Let’s finish this quickly.’

With that, I stood up from my seat and headed toward the combat training room where the mock battle was in full swing.

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It was only natural that this test, held a bit earlier than usual, attracted many eyes.

Thus, there was no doubt the shoulders of the heroes playing the role of villains in the final stage of the test were tense.

There was no way around it; this was an opportunity for them.

To catch the eye of the high-ups in the Association and skyrocket into success.

Let alone, the circumstances were even better now.

Right after a large-scale rift had occurred, there were many gaps everywhere.

Given the situation, the participants in the test were struggling against the overly enthusiastic active-duty heroes.

And this trend was particularly pronounced in the Seoul regional test where Baeksulhwa participated, and truthfully, that was unavoidable.

That’s because it was well-known among heroes that the Association Chairman always visited the Seoul regional test site during qualification exams.

So, how could they not feel the pressure?

And the participants, filled with the thought ‘Maybe…?’ were pumped with enthusiasm just the same when faced with Baeksulhwa in the mic battle.

‘Let’s see, next up… Baeksulhwa? Is that her?’

And if the contestants had known this, they might have kicked up a fuss about it being unfair, but the heroes playing the villain roles had received basic information about the students they were assigned to.

For instance, they had the winning rate recorded from the monthly mock battles held during their student days.

Baeksulhwa’s winning rate, up until now, barely exceeded fifty percent.

In terms of win rate alone, it would be hard to place her in the upper echelon, and the best she could hope for was to scrape into the mid-tier.

‘If she is mid-tier… it should end quickly.’

So it was not strange that the hero, recalling the brief information on Baeksulhwa before entering the battle, would think that way.

After all, this wasn’t just any test.

Even those who had soared through their local districts as students struggled during qualification exams.

It was literally a test where only those in the upper echelon could hope to pass.

But if she had already been playing in the middle tier back then… well, the outcome of the test was hardly surprising.

No one, including the participant who had decided to take the test, could be oblivious to that fact, but for her to decide to take on the exam was something commendable.

‘Should I just let a few of them pass?’

So much so that such thoughts crossed my mind.

Perhaps this was what one would call the confidence of adults.

If she pretended to give up the spot as she casually dodged incoming attacks, her assessment might rise too.

While the hero assigned to face Baeksulhwa imagined such scenes in delight, she made her entrance on stage, following the Association staff waiting by the entrance.

Maybe it was because this was the last one; she seemed tense.

“I’ll be cheering for you, do your best!”

Seeing her face hardened with fear, I tried to say a few words, but there was no response.

‘What’s with that, I went out of my way to show I care…’

Feeling a bit embarrassed, I held back my emotions but decided to let her go through to the next stage.

At that moment, I was about to speak.

“Okay, I’ll just stand here, so go ahead and—”

No sooner had I opened my mouth than a deafening noise enveloped the arena.

‘…Huh?’

The moment I widened my eyes in reflex, everything around me began to blur.

‘This, this isn’t…’

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2.38 seconds.

That was the time it took for the once bustling arena, which had been as loud as a market, to go completely silent.

An overwhelming scene that no one had expected, and even the term “overwhelming” felt inadequate.

It was enough to send chills down people’s spines.

What on earth had happened?

How did a person who had been standing just fine a moment ago collapse like a puppet with its strings cut?

That was the common question swirling in everyone’s mind.

Thanks to that, the gazes that started pouring in should have made her worried, but Baeksulhwa appeared utterly uninterested in the stares aimed at her.

It was unavoidable.

Just a moment ago, her mind was filled only with thoughts of wanting to end the duel as quickly as possible, and now, with the duel finished, her thoughts were directed elsewhere—toward Dogun.

So her actions were entirely focused on that thought.

“Does that mean it’s over?”

After standing there for a time, witnessing an unexpected spectacle right before her eyes, she suddenly directed that question at the Association staff member who was so flustered he didn’t know what to do.

“Yes…? Uh… well, I guess… that’s right?”

“So, can I go now?”

“Uh…”

There was someone watching her with great interest—

“Hm, that was just now… sound? Interesting.”

“…C-Chairman.”

The observer turned out to be none other than the Chairman of the Association, the pinnacle of authority.

“…Hmm?”

“S-someone is…”

And the one who had approached the Chairman was—

“Hey, why are you shaking, Secretary? If someone saw me, they’d think I was about to fight.”

It was Chae-rim, who had said she would be stepping out to run an errand next to Dogun.