Vol 4 Chapter 16

"Kill him! Kill him!"

However, Kran wasn't intimidated by the atmosphere at all. Instead, he politely raised his sword and spoke firmly to his opponent who was mocking him.

"Let's finish this in ten exchanges."

"Hahaha. What's with this bastard? Your concept is hilarious."

Kran's opponent wasn't holding a sword, but surprisingly, he was wearing gauntlets on his fists along with thick metal plates on both arms. Though not clearly visible, there seemed to be something like a fish's dorsal fin standing diagonally. It was undeniably a unique appearance in many ways.

Kran didn't get angry at his opponent's mocking laughter mixed with profanity. Rather, seeing him waiting calmly, Kapros felt as if his memory of when he first met Kran was coming back to life. At that time, when Kran had appeared suddenly like an apostle of justice and dealt with Hans and his friends, Kapros had been dumbfounded, but now looking at him again, he thought that Kran's courage was quite remarkable. Moreover, his skills had improved tremendously compared to back then.

As Kapros was observing leisurely, not even thinking that Kran might lose, a green light flickered above.

[ The battle will begin soon. Please get ready. ]

Beep, beep, beep, beep!

[ Start! ]

In an instant, Kran, with eyes that had turned cold, rushed forward like lightning before his opponent could stop laughing. The surprised opponent hurriedly raised his two arms in a defensive posture, and the sword hit the metal plate covering his forearm, bouncing off with a sharp sound.

'So that's how the arm plates are used...'

Despite bouncing off the metal plate, Kran didn't panic, only blinking his eyes a few times. Soon, a brilliant white light began to rise from the tip of the sword Kran was holding.

"Woah!"

As soon as they saw this, an enormous exclamation burst out. It was the cheers of the audience excited by the appearance of a user using aura. Kran's opponent lost his fighting spirit instantly, terrified by the sight, and taking advantage of this opening, Kran succeeded in cutting down his opponent with overwhelming power and speed, without even properly clashing a few times, just as he had said.

Slash!

"Argh!"

Surprised by the blood pouring from his chest to his stomach despite not feeling pain, the opponent staggered backward and fell. It was a KO victory obtained in one go. As soon as the outcome was clearly decided, a frenzied reaction erupted from the audience.

"Woah!"

"Amazing!"

Kran neatly sheathed his sword and turned to leave, giving a quiet bright smile towards the audience where they were sitting. In the end, Kran had perfectly kept his word. While the fallen man was being taken care of, a brief rest period was given.

"Kar! I finished it as promised, right?"

"That's incredible... I didn't know you were that skilled."

Rob opened his mouth with a slightly dazed expression towards Kran, who was running towards Kapros with his usual cheerful smile in the waiting room, but none of them showed any interest in his words.

"Just ten times..."

As Un-o muttered with a smirk, Kran flared up.

"What do you mean, ten times? It was six times! You think you'd be any different?"

"For me, it would be once."

"Huh?"

To Kran, who made a strange expression for a moment, Un-o calmly repeated.

"Once is enough."

Sparks flew from Kran and Un-o's eyes. As Kapros was inwardly clicking his tongue at these guys burning with competitiveness over such an odd thing, Un-o's alias was heard from the arena announcement.

***

The intercom was ringing loudly. As the middle-aged man's finger firmly pressed the button, a businesslike secretary's voice was heard.

"President. Mr. Jin Je-hwan has requested a visit."

"Let him in."

As soon as he answered in a voice that exuded a resolute spirit, the intercom cut off, and as if on cue, someone knocked on the door. The man sitting in the chair stared intently at the door for a moment as if he could see through it, then said, "Come in."

The door opened smoothly, and a tall man entered silently and stood inside. Under his hair that had a bluish tint reflecting the light, his inorganic eyes were looking at the middle-aged man with a fierceness that was hard to believe was a son's gaze towards his father. Nevertheless, the man, Jin Je-hwan, and the middle-aged man looked surprisingly alike, to the extent that no one would deny they were father and son if asked.

"Well. You must have come because there's been some progress?"

The silence between father and son, exploring each other in the tense atmosphere, was broken by the father's question. Je-hwan kept his mouth shut for a while, then answered in a low voice.

"It's about something else."

"Something else?"

Towards his father, who was showing an overtly sharp demeanor, Je-hwan spoke expressionlessly.

"I've found out a bit about the main quest implemented in THE MIST recently. It seems that quest is closely related to the 'core' of the entire game, so I'm planning to attempt contact with those involved in the quest."

The man slowly nodded at Je-hwan's words, then threw a sharp question.

"That's fine. But it's not something you need to come here for. Why are you telling me this in person for such a minor matter?"

"..."

At those words, Je-hwan's eyes flashed strangely for a moment, but it subsided in an instant, so quickly that even the battle-hardened man couldn't notice.

"Because it's annoying."

"What do you mean?"

"I know you're watching the inside of that game. But don't include my actions in it. It's unpleasant."

At the blunt tone, a precarious coldness instantly hung heavily between the two men. However, after a moment, the father laughed coldly and waved his hand.

"...That's something you should tell your brother. You may go."

"Then I'll take it that you'll stop."

"..."

"Keep your promise."

Long after the second son had disappeared, closing the door silently but with discipline, the man rubbed his wrinkled forehead and his eyes flashed sharply.