Chapter 515 - 515 (1/2)

At first, Hak-joon was puzzled.

Just why was Su-hyeun doing this? For what exactly?

The personality of the ”Su-hyeun” Hak-joon knew was definitely not like this. Indeed, he would keep quiet if it was not necessary to raise his voice. He would also prefer to stay quiet in some corner if it was possible to do so.

Wasn't it obvious when looking at things he liked?

He preferred coffee over booze. He chose deserted little streets over avenues teeming with people. He liked quiet stillness over a noisy environment.

On top of it all, he also didn't speak in a forceful tone. Even if his personality had changed somehow, he still wouldn't have started this event match without a good reason.

”Right, there must be a reason for it.”

That was the first thought that popped up in Hak-joon's head when Su-hyeun suggested making some changes to the tournament's format.

That was why he asked for a reason. Sure enough, Su-hyeun provided the answer to Hak-joon's question.

”You said war?” Hak-joon had to ask again, sounding just as confused as before.

However, it seemed that no one present had understood Su-hyeun's meaning. In fact, they were getting angrier at Su-hyeun's combative words. Their hostility toward Su-hyeun when he made confusing declarations seemed to have grown even more.

”What the hell are you even talking about?”

”You've been saying something about us being pathetic, and it's fake peace, but...”

”War? What war?”

One person raised their voice, prompting many others to speak up one after another.

Mob mentality was indeed a strange thing, as they demonstrated just now.

Even if someone else held the same view as you, you would normally hesitate to say something, but with a snap of a finger, you would all start saying similar things without holding back.

The overall issue was with their mindset.

”Today is also the Ranking Wars, isn't it?” Su-hyeun muttered quietly at their dissatisfied questioning.

Daian Gedeck, standing among the awakeners, heard that and flinched a little. He wasn't sure why, but what Su-hyeun said inexplicably made him recall something from the past.

Su-hyeun continued, ”Do you all remember the indigo dungeon that appeared during the first Ranking Wars?”

”The indigo dungeon?”

”Now that I think about it...”

That was a story they all had forgotten about after a number of years passed by.

During the first Ranking Wars, the indigo dungeon that showed up on that day caused so much chaos in America for a while. Thankfully, the incident didn't result in massive losses, but one wrong move could have resulted in the destruction of not just San Francisco but many other nearby cities, too.

”I was the one who stopped that.”

Was he suddenly trying to boast about his accomplishments?

While everyone started making puzzled faces, Su-hyeun continued, ”It was me who defeated the guild master of the Dump Guild in Guangzhou. And before that happened, I was the first one to raid the green dungeon. And also, I was the one who stopped the worldwide dungeon outbreak, too. Well, I have done much more than these, but by now, you surely get what I'm trying to say here.”

The contestants, who got triggered after their pride was hurt, hurriedly clamped their mouths shut after Su-hyeun said all those things.

In the blink of an eye, the whole arena became deathly silent. Not just the awakeners, but even the spectators maintained their silence.

”Let me ask all of you, what happens next?”

What happens next?

None of them had thought about it. No, wait, it would be a lie to say they had never thought about it.

They thought that they didn't need to worry about it.

”Did you all think that I'd do something to save you again? Is that what it is?” the corners of Su-hyeun's lips distorted.

Even without trying, anyone could read his expression. Su-hyeun was sneering at them.

To all those people who took him for granted and thought that he would take care of everything, as well as the whole world that should be watching the broadcast, Su-hyeun asked all of them, ”What makes you think that?”

”Isn't it obvious? This is the world we live in, after all. The world you live in, too.”

Now that answer sounded like someone took a peek at the answers sheet.

It certainly sounded a lot more pragmatic and ”realistic” than things like for the sake of justice or the preciousness of life and so on and so forth.

”Sure, that sounds about right. I also think that way. But what if something serious happens? Something that I can't stop for a reason beyond my control?”

”Are you trying to threaten us?!”

Someone asked that, only for Su-hyeun to make an even deeper sneer.

A threat?

He never thought that his words could be interpreted that way if it wasn't for that awakener's complaints.

”When you're drowning, I might not be there to save you right away. Does that sound like a threat to you?”

Everyone fell silent once more.

”You better discard the notion of me somehow taking care of everything when the 'next time' happens. You gave up climbing the tower just because the number of dungeons decreased. You felt content with what you already had, caught the celebrity bug, and decided to live easy lives. Yet you want someone to come and save your sorry butts? Aren't you ashamed?”

Sometimes, it wasn't what was being said that mattered but who said it.

Now was one of those times.

If someone else said what Su-hyeun said right now, then it would just come across as incessant nagging. However, Su-hyeun was responsible for stopping several world-ending catastrophes already. He was someone who worked harder than anyone else.

Anyone who knew that fact couldn't dare argue that he was wrong. They even began to realize that, indeed, they had been unconsciously believing that Su-hyeun would solve everything somehow.

”I think I get the gist of what you're saying,” Daian Gedeck took a step forward.

He was surrounded by his undead summoned creatures materialized through a dense blackish aura. Unlike the last time when he focused on the numbers game, he seemed to have focused on raising the quality of his summons this time.

He was known as the strongest necromancer before Su-hyeun showed up, and as if to prove that, he surrounded himself with summons that emitted even stronger aura than most average S-Ranks.

”That's why I want to ask you a question. This war you're talking about, is it inevitable?”

Su-hyeun nodded, ”Yes. Unfortunately so.”

There was not a speck of hesitation in his reply.

The thing was, his affirmation had never been wrong so far.

”I see.”

It could be that only Su-hyeun knew about something about the future. However, even if that wasn't true, one should never discount his gut feeling considering everything he had accomplished so far.

It was logical to consider the possibility of a situation where Su-hyeun was not around to lend his assistance. In reality, the period Su-hyeun actively worked as an awakener was far shorter than when he did not.

Simply put, it was unrealistic to rely on him for everything forever.

”In that case, let us continue from where we left off.”

Until now, Su-hyeun was technically in the same shoes as the rest of the contestants. There might have been differences in rankings, but well, everyone here was a participant of the tournament called the Ranking Wars.

But from this moment on, that would change.

Su-hyeun was no longer a simple contestant. He now occupied the role of an examiner, judging every awakener currently in this arena.