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Chapter 19: How to Get Stronger
Chapter 19: How to Get Stronger
< Chapter 19: How to Get Stronger (2) >
Monday afternoon.
I was on the phone with Yu Hwa.
“I saw your ranking match today.”
“Did the ranking match video come out already?”
That’s too fast.
-No, I saw it in person.
“…In person?”
-Yes.
“Weren’t you busy?”
You must have been busy dealing with the doppelganger, covering up the Kim Shin-woo incident, and so on.
-I’m busy.
“You’re busy and you have time to watch my ranking match?”
-I just had something to do nearby, so I stopped by and watched it.
It sounds like a lie.
Maybe she’s curious about my identity and made time to collect information.
-But how did you do it?
“What do you mean?”
-Don’t play dumb. How did you pierce the opponent’s durability in this ranking match?
Well, I used the beastman trait to reduce the opponent’s durability and pierced it.
…I can’t answer that.
“I just aimed for the vital spot and stabbed him.”
I dodged the question vaguely.
-No matter how you say that, how can you pierce C+ durability with F-rank strength…
“I just did it.”
It’s not a lie.
I just stabbed him.
I did something else before stabbing him.
-Tsk. Fine. If you don’t want to tell me, just say so. Don’t beat around the bush.
Yu Hwa’s voice became annoyed. She seemed angry.
-By the way, are you free tomorrow?
“Tomorrow?”
-Yes. You have to get your information fee.
“Oh, right. Yes, sure. What time do you want to meet?”
-How about dinner together… 6:30?
“Where?”
-Um. Do you know Okhwadang? It’s a Korean restaurant nearby.
Of course, I don’t know.
“Yes. I know. Then see you at Okhwadang at 6:30.”
Well, I can search it up.
* * *
Tuesday dawn, 5 a.m.
I woke up naturally.
I felt a surge of strength in my body.
My blood was boiling.
I felt like exercising fiercely.
“…Wow, shit.”
The blood of the beastmen flowing in my veins seemed to urge me to use my stamina right now.
This is the side effect of the boiling pure blood. I had to keep using my stamina.
“I took a day off and it’s already…”
I got out of bed.
It seemed impossible to take classes in this state, so I decided to do some morning training.
I washed up lightly, changed into my officer uniform, and left the dormitory room.
There were more people in the training room than I expected.
Maybe it’s because it’s a training facility that all grades use together.
“Huh? Seo-yul?”
As I was staring blankly at the equipment inside the training room.
I heard a familiar female voice.
“Ha Si-yeon?”
“Yeah. Good morning. It’s the first time I see you in the training room. Did our times always not match?”
Well, of course, it’s the first time.
It’s my first time coming to the training room.
“Do you train every day at this time?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s amazing.”
“Not really. I’m just used to doing it.”
Ha Si-yeon smiled kindly.
“By the way, I saw your ranking match yesterday. You were amazing.”
“It sounds like you’re mocking me when you say that, being the 4th ranker and all.”
“Hey. No way.”
Ha Si-yeon waved her hand.
“Oh. I rested too long. I have to start the next set. See you in class later, Seo-yul.”
“Okay. Good luck.”
“Yeah. You too, Seo-yul.”
With that, Ha Si-yeon headed to the corner of the training room where the equipment was.
I sneaked a peek at her while pretending to stretch.
It looked like a bench press, but the weight was not normal.
…820kg?
I doubted my eyes for a moment.
She lifted that barbell like it was cotton candy.
As I watched her with a dumbfounded expression, I suddenly saw an empty bench press next to me.
About 180kg or so.
I thought I could lift this much.
I glanced around and lay down on the bench.
And quickly grabbed the bar.
And tried to lift the barbell with force-
“Huuh!”
-I couldn’t lift it.
It didn’t budge at all.
“Hehe. How cute.”
I heard a woman’s laughter from next to me who looked like a senior.
“Are you the junior I saw in the ranking match yesterday? Should I hold the bar for you?”
“…No, no, I’m fine. Today I’m going to focus on stamina training rather than strength training and do some aerobic exercise.”
I desperately made an excuse and got up from my seat.
I don’t know why, but I’m so embarrassed.
“Ugh.”
The only way to shake off this embarrassment was to run like crazy.
I left the training room and ran like mad on the athletic field.
* * *
Tuesday, after all the classes were over.
I headed to Okhwadang, the place where I promised to meet Yu Hwa.
“Welcome. I’ll check your reservation.”
As soon as I entered the Korean-style house, a woman in a hanbok greeted me.
“My companion is already waiting inside. The name of the reservation is Yu Hwa.”
“Oh. You’re Yu Hwa’s friend. What’s your name?”
“Kang Seo-yul.”
“Thank you. I’ll guide you right away.”
I followed the woman inside the Korean-style house. The wooden and clay smells unique to Korean houses gently tickled my nose.
“They’re waiting for you in here.”
“Thank you.”
“Then have a good time.”
The woman bowed and left.
I knocked on the door.
“Come in.”
I went inside.
“You came right on time.”
A room that looked expensive at a glance.
Yu Hwa was sitting on the floor, drinking tea.
“I was a bit late because of class.”
“Oh. Was it Monsterology class?”
“Yes.”
“I see. That instructor is still the same. Sit down first.”
“Okay.”
I sat down opposite Yu Hwa.
“I didn’t know what menu you would like, so I asked for my favorite one. Is that okay?”
“Of course.”
Free food would taste good no matter what.
“First of all, I want to thank you again. I really owe you my life.”
“I just sold information for my own benefit. What’s there to thank me for?”
“Still. I’m grateful because I’m grateful.”
Yu Hwa’s serious eyes stared at me.
I felt embarrassed for some reason and turned my head.
She smiled faintly at me as she looked at me.
“You must be hungry. Let’s talk more after dinner.”
“Yes. Sounds good.”
Yu Hwa pressed the bell.
About 30 seconds later.
The food started to be served.
“Wow.”
I saw heaven.
* * *
“…Wow.”
I can’t help but admire it.
“I’m glad you enjoyed it.”
“Yes. It was the best.”
The food I had eaten before was all garbage compared to the food I ate today.
I don’t know what they made or how they made it, but anyway, it was a feast of beauty.
“When I see you like this, you’re really a normal 20-year-old cadet.”
Yu Hwa leaned her chin and looked at me from an oblique angle.
“What’s your real identity?”
“You said it yourself. A normal 20-year-old cadet.”
“Yes. Of course, you would say that~”
Yu Hwa snorted.
“I’ll see. I’ll definitely find out your identity.”
“Haha.”
Yu Hwa’s threat was rather cute.
“By the way. How much do you need?”
Yu Hwa asked bluntly.
“I’m scared, to be honest. What are you going to ask for as the price of this top-secret information?”
Yu Hwa’s eyes were trembling a little.
“Well, it’s not that big of a deal.”
I handed Yu Hwa the equipment catalog I had prepared in advance.
“What is this?”
“You just need to get me the equipment listed here.”
Yu Hwa swallowed her saliva and scanned the catalog with nervous eyes.
A moment later.
Yu Hwa’s eyes widened like lanterns.
She was surprised.
“Are you serious?”
That was the expected reaction.
If you add up the prices of all the items on that catalog, it would be over 2 billion won.
It’s understandable to be flustered.
To be honest, I don’t expect to get all those items either.
This is negotiation.
I deal with 2 billion won first, then gradually lower it to 1 billion won, which is my goal.
“Of course, if my request is too much-”
“Only… only. This is enough for you?”
“-then… what?”
Did you just say only?
* * *
After Kang Seo-yul left Okhwadang.
Yu Hwa stayed alone and was lost in thought.
She stared blankly at the equipment catalog that Kang Seo-yul had given her.
“Is this really enough for you?”
In the end, Kang Seo-yul’s proposal did not change.
2 billion won worth of items.
“What are you thinking?”
2 billion.
Of course, it’s a lot of money.
It’s not a small amount of money for Yu Hwa, who is a superhuman and a guild leader, let alone for an ordinary person.
But it was too meager compared to the price of the top-secret information that Kang Seo-yul threw out.
“Is money not your goal?”
It was strange.
His identity was still unknown, but.
Judging from the fact that he knew the information about the doppelganger and Kim Shin-woo.
It was clear that Kang Seo-yul was backed by a special group.
“There’s no way someone in that group would be short of money.”
She thought that there might be some trouble in that group and they needed urgent money.
But her mind changed after this incident. Kang Seo-yul’s demand was not the demand of someone who needed urgent money.
“If you look closely, the catalog is very sloppy.”
It looked like a list of equipment that was randomly picked from Made in China. No, it probably was.
If he really needed equipment, he would have asked for custom-made equipment.
“It’s like he doesn’t care about the price of the information at all…”
At that moment, a hypothesis flashed through Yu Hwa’s mind.
If the price was not his goal.
What if his goal was to share information with her?
Yu Hwa’s head spun like a top.
Come to think of it, both of Kang Seo-yul’s information was top-secret information about the “Saviors of truth”.
“What if Kang Seo-yul harbors a deep hatred for the ‘Saviors of truth’?”
For his own revenge.
He shared information with Yu Hwa just to spite the ‘Saviors of truth’.
“Everything fits perfectly.”
Yu Hwa felt goosebumps in her arms.
Of course, it was still a hypothesis close to delusion.
She needed new information to confirm her hypothesis.
“If Kang Seo-yul hates the ‘Saviors of truth’. There must be a clue in his past.”
Yu Hwa had already investigated Kang Seo-yul’s past twice.
But the one who investigated it was Kim Shin-woo, Pyo Il-chan, who belonged to the ‘Saviors of truth”.
He might have deliberately omitted some information about Kang Seo-yul’s past.
“I’ll have to investigate it myself.”
Yu Hwa’s eyes sparkled.
* * *
I didn’t expect Yu Hwa to accept the condition so easily.
I wondered if I should have asked for more, but I decided to be satisfied.
It’s not like we’re going to see each other for a day or two.
I didn’t want to do the stupid thing of giving up the distant future for momentary gain.
And 2 billion is nothing.
Greed always leads to trouble.
“Hum, hum~”
I hummed a tune and walked to the dormitory.
That’s when I arrived at the dormitory gate.
“You’re late.”
“Instructor?”
Instructor Pi Jin-ho was standing at the gate. He was wearing a neat uniform for the first time.
“Let’s talk for a moment.”
“Talk?”
“Yes.”
Instructor Pi Jin-ho’s eyes shone sharply.
“Kang Seo-yul. I know the secret of your ability.”
“….!”
My heart sank.
Motivate Me!!