Chapter 163
As the preliminaries began, the entire stadium became engulfed in white light.
First-time spectators of the Counter-Fight murmured with amazement.
People expected the match to unfold in the wide arena, but the participants had disappeared into the light as soon as the event commenced.
Un Hyang and Cheon Ryang, having seen Counter-Fights before, were not particularly surprised.
Cheon Ryang, excited to witness the event live after a long time, held a bunch of snacks in his hands.
“Watching live is the best. The screen is just stunning.”
The white light cluster acted as a colossal screen.
Once all preparations were finished, that place would display the scenes of the participants.
“What were they talking about?”
“Talking? What do you mean?”
“I mean the stream. You’ve been just eating since earlier and not monitoring properly.”
Cheon Ryang flinched at Un Hyang’s nagging. The excitement of being back at the stadium had caused him to neglect his monitoring duties.
With a small sigh, Un Hyang explained.
“We’ve been on mute for a while now. It seems like Cha Minwoo and him are having a conversation…”
“Yeah, the viewers are going crazy.”
“Is something happening?”
“What’s the big deal? They’re probably discussing their next collaboration.”
“Would they really mute it for that?”
It indeed seemed strange.
After all, they had only met for the first time today. What secret could they possibly have to discuss in private like this?
Pondering for a moment, Cheon Ryang muttered with a mouthful of snacks.
“Anything could happen if they end up meeting. Wouldn’t that be amazing content?”
“It won’t be easy. The preliminary map is too vast.”
“You never know, maybe they’ve arranged to meet somewhere.”
“If they have, it would indeed be interesting…”
As Un Hyang was speaking, her face turned increasingly white. Her expression caused the atmosphere to freeze instantly.
Only Cheon Ryang seemed to notice this change.
The surrounding spectators continued to cheer, completely focused on the stadium screen and oblivious to the shift in the atmosphere.
“Hey, what’s wrong with you?”
Cheon Ryang shook Un Hyang’s shoulder.
For a brief moment, she felt detached from the tens of thousands of spectators. No matter how he thought about it, something wasn’t right.
“Why….”
She asked with parched lips.
“Why did you come personally?”
‘Personally?’
Cheon Ryang’s eyes widened. His gaze shifted to the masked man sitting next to Un Hyang.
A man with his face half-covered by a bamboo hat.
The moment the man’s face became partly visible, Cheon Ryang froze.
“You…….”
Un Cheon-guk.
He was sitting right next to Un Hyang.
‘Does no one realize?’
Cheon Ryang glanced around at the surrounding spectators and then back at Un Cheon-guk.
Un Cheon-guk was the second most powerful figure in Murim. He was comparable to Kim Ilsoo, who had just given an opening speech over there.
If it got out that he was sitting in the middle of the audience, there would be chaos.
Yet curiously, no one seemed to notice his presence.
“Don’t make too much noise. You wouldn’t want to ruin a delightful festival just because of me.”
“Why did you come here?”
“It’s disheartening that you’re so hostile. Isn’t it permissible for a father to visit his daughter?”
Though he smiled kindly, Cheon Ryang felt that his demeanor was serpent-like. Each time Cheon Ryang faced him, he was reminded of a white snake disguised as a human.
Un Cheon-guk, with his arms folded, greeted Un Hyang who was seated right next to him.
“How have you been? My daughter?”
“Who are you calling your daughter?”
“You’re still saying that.”
“I’m not going back. Never.”
It was hard to tell if those words were directed at Un Cheon-guk or at herself.
One thing was clear—her determination was unwavering.
However, her resolve meant nothing to Un Cheon-guk.
“Going against one’s natural relationship is as hard as defying the heavens. If you intend to defy it, you should have the capability.”
“Leave me alone.”
“Have you been whining too long?”
Squeeze.
Blood trickled from her clenched fists. She gripped so hard her nails dug into her palms.
“It won’t be easy. Never.”
She slowly began to raise her combat aura. Even at that moment, the surrounding spectators were oblivious.
Immediately, Un Cheon-guk smiled faintly.
“Don’t worry. It’s not for now. I just wanted to see you for a moment today.”
Swoosh.
When he stood up, the suffocating tension vanished as if it had been a lie.
“It was nice to see you. Next time, I’ll see you at home.”
After saying that, he pressed his bamboo hat down deeply and disappeared, blending in as an ordinary spectator.
Cheon Ryang, feeling drained, sank into his seat in the stands. Within that brief moment, Un Hyang’s face had already gone pale.
“…Are you alright?”
“Better than I thought.”
Un Hyang didn’t simply say she was fine in response to Cheon Ryang’s question. Instead, Cheon Ryang felt relief at her honest reply.
Though her face was pale, Un Hyang looked surprisingly composed for someone who had just encountered Un Cheon-guk.
When she had been in the Divine Dragon Group, she couldn’t do anything in front of Un Cheon-guk, like a mouse facing a snake.
“Really? That’s a relief.”
“There’s something else.”
“What?”
“He didn’t come just to see me. There’s another reason.”
Un Cheon-guk truly had said that. But Cheon Ryang didn’t believe his words entirely.
Un Cheon-guk was someone who deceived people like a snake, playing with truth, lies, and silence alike. How could anyone believe his words?
It was surprising that Un Hyang, who knew him better than anyone, said such a thing.
“Why do you think so?”
“He wouldn’t have shown up like this if he came just to see me.”
That was true. If the purpose was to see Un Hyang, he would have chosen a more discreet and secluded place rather than a noisy tournament.
“So he really just came to see your face?”
“Are you an idiot?”
“Idiot? Of course, I know that’s not true. It doesn’t make sense for that stubborn man to come all the way here just to see your face.”
There was another reason for Un Cheon-guk’s presence here besides Un Hyang.
Their minds were clouded with complexities.
* * *
At that same moment.
“It has started.”
Lee Wonjae, who had been watching the opening ceremony, stood up from his seat.
Hwang Gyuseong was already standing.
“Is it our turn to start?”
“Yes. We have grasped the itinerary, we start right after the opening ceremony.”
“Then let’s go quickly.”
Hwang Gyuseong, unable to contain his eagerness, couldn’t stay still even for a moment.
Since the start of the opening ceremony, he had been restraining his anger with his arms tightly crossed.
“May I ask a presumptuous question?”
“Now?”
“Let’s ask while we move. This way.”
Lee Wonjae guided Hwang Gyuseong. Following closely behind, Hwang Gyuseong asked,
“What is your question?”
“Between the two of you, who was stronger?”
Kim Ilsoo and Hwang Gyuseong. Both had created legends in the old Blue Eyes.
However, due to the exceptional individual named Lee Suhyuk, there weren’t many stories about who was stronger between the two.
But certainly, there was a ranking between them as well.
“Are you afraid I might be the weaker one?”
“A little bit.”
“To answer your question, it was Kim Ilsoo in the past.”
Hwang Gyuseong’s unexpected answer came out. Given his strong pride, it was natural to expect him to say he was stronger.
“That guy was always second. The reason he left us was probably because of that. As long as Suhyuk was around, he could never be number one.”
“By saying ‘in the past’, do you mean the results are different now?”
“They would be different.”
It wasn’t groundless confidence. Though blinded by revenge, Hwang Gyuseong was not a foolish person.
Instead, because he had the need to exact revenge, he used all means, methods, and rationality to look at Kim Ilsoo with the clearest of eyes.
“Yes.”
In response to Hwang Gyuseong’s reply, Lee Wonjae hastened his steps to guide him.
“I hope that is the case.”
* * *
Shuaaah-!
The bright light that had continued for a while gradually faded.
Like someone blinking to adjust after being temporarily blinded by a strong light, colors returned to the surroundings and a new field appeared.
Cha Minwoo checked the field where the preliminaries would be held with his eyes.
‘A cloudy urban field.’
Patter, patter-.
Rumble-.
Raindrops fell from the sky. Even though it was midday, the weather was cloudy, and faint thunder and lightning rumbled from the thick dark clouds.
It was a terrain he had practiced on many times if it was an urban field. With the guild’s help, he had also learned how to utilize the terrain.
‘Finally, it has started.’
His heart beat quickly. He was finally standing on the stage of his first Counter-Fight, which he had been waiting for.
The weather was just right. A rainy city. Wasn’t it romantic?
Players who had fallen not too far away were visible.
Unlike him, seemingly indifferent to the Counter-Fight, they had already started moving cautiously.
『The Counter-Fight preliminaries are starting.』
『The rule of the first trial is ‘Deathmatch’.』
『Survive until the total number of participants reaches 100.』
『After time elapses, the 100 participants with the highest number of kills advance to the finals.』
『06 : 00 : 00』
The rules were simple.
Survive until the number of participants reaches 100. If time runs out, the one with the most kills wins.
Surviving was crucial. However, merely surviving was not enough to ensure advancement to the finals. To guarantee a place in the finals, one had to raise their score by killing opponents.
There were two choices: either hide or hunt down weaker opponents somewhere.
Step, step.
However, Cha Minwoo’s destination was already decided.
‘Lee Suhyuk.’
The designated meeting place with him was the center of the map.
The city center.
Identifying the exact location was not difficult.
In the distance, a lone, towering conical building reaching up to the sky stood out prominently.
That was precisely the center of this map.
Just as Cha Minwoo began heading toward the center of the map…
Whoosh-!
A spear flew past, narrowly missing Cha Minwoo’s head.
Bang-!
Rumble-.
The missed spear struck the wall of a random building. The impact caused the several-story building to collapse into rubble.
Cha Minwoo turned his gaze toward the direction from which the spear had come.
And at that moment.
Flash-.
Cha Minwoo’s figure vanished from his spot.
“Damn, you missed! Can’t you throw properly?”
“You insisted on forming a team first, but your skills are pathetic…”
“Ugh, be quiet. I couldn’t concentrate because of the noise.”
On the rooftop of a building.
Three participants gathered, quarreling loudly.
One held a spear, while the other two held an axe and a sword respectively. The participant who threw the spear stood closest to the edge.
“Next time, I’ll definitely hit…”
“Seeing you team up with just anyone shows your skills.”
“……!”
The three participants widened their eyes at the unexpected voice. Reflexively, the spear and sword moved. Quick and nimble. Participating in the preliminary round of the Counter-Fight meant, at the very least, they were players of semi-ranker caliber.
However, their opponent was a poor choice.
“Three of you, not bad.”
“… What?”
“My sword…”
The axe and sword were gone from their hands. Somehow, Cha Minwoo had them in his possession.
In the mere moment of realization from the three participants…
Slashed-.
Shatter-.
The rooftop of the opposing building and the waists of the three participants were sliced through.
Cha Minwoo.
He had been called the next Lee Suhyuk, before Lee Suhyuk even appeared.