No Apologies
I'm not sorry. Kiiing! Up on the massive arena stage. There, alongside a massive blue Gate that filled every spectator with awe, the giant screen showed Park Jisu darting around, mowing down trash mobs left and right.
"Instructor, couldn't we just go in with her? Why do we have to wait like this?"
"Well, monsters get wary if a bunch of people rush in at once, so it makes sense for her to go in solo at the start, right?"
"Ah..."
Right now, we were waiting for Park Jisu to make her Gate entry. Gate raids worked like this: the main raider went in first, cleared out the trash mobs until only the boss was left, then the support team followed—handling byproduct collection from the mobs, resupplying consumables, and providing full backup. It was basically a performance contest where you warmed up on fodder mobs with support, then used your prepared strategies and tactics to take down the boss.
In Park Jisu's case, since her specialty was long-range sniping, the area around us—where we prepped for entry—was loaded with all sorts of structures and barricades.
'Like bunker turrets.'
The boss monster for this Gate was an ogre. A-rank by rating alone. Normally, Park Jisu couldn't handle it solo, but with a support team like this and solid strategy and tactics, it was totally doable.
'Just rough it up a bit and toss it to the lab coats for the finish.'
For support on an A-rank Gate, they mobilized multiple A-rank hunters. Two from the Association, plus Instructor Park Jongcheol as her escort. Three A-ranks? A wounded ogre wouldn't stand a chance.
In fact, the Chinese participant before Park Jisu had done just that in the broadcast. He'd used some cloning skill to wear it down but bailed due to lack of finishing power—still scored decent points from the analysis of his strategy and battle setup.
'Jisu could probably rip off an arm or leg.'
With her overwhelming first-strike advantage, she'd rack up serious points. I felt a swell of pride. Nothing beats watching your woman crush it.
While humming to myself and watching her blast away on the screen, I glanced around—and spotted a gloomy guy lurking in the corner of my vision.
'Didn't expect that asshole to show.'
Cha Eun-woo. His gnarled, twisted hands were wrapped in bandages infused with healing magic, and he was getting chewed out by the staff. The arrogant prick from before was gone, replaced by a total loser vibe, head bowed submissively. I couldn't help but click my tongue.
I'd done that to him, sure, but I hadn't expected it to go this far. I'd wrecked his hands, but his ability—the one that earned him the title of next-gen sword saint—was top-tier. Severance and sword talent. Severance had upper-class potential; with diligent development, it could literally cut anything. And the sword talent? Obvious.
So why the hell was he like this? 'Even without his old swordsmanship, he could find a decent technique or two if he looked.'
Another mystery: those bandages still on his hands. I'd gone hard, but with healers, a week of rest should've fixed him up. Months later, and he was still like that? Absurd.
I'd been glaring daggers at him for a while when Instructor Park Jongcheol, who'd been eyeing me, cracked a wry smile.
"Hanseong Group's investment pulled him in as support."
"Against a guy with busted hands?"
"What, you feeling sorry for him?"
What bullshit was that? "Nah. I just don't get why he's still like that. I didn't hit him hard enough to cripple him for life..."
"Tch. What else? Hanseong Group's behind it."
"Hanseong?"
"Yeah. Seems they cared more about the 'Number One Student' title than the student himself. I just heard it secondhand, but after that day, they worked him like a dog..."
"No way... A week's rest would've healed that injury."
"After he signed with Hanseong, they went full aggressive marketing. That backlash tanked their stock hard, so the Academy couldn't protect him."
"What about the principal?"
I gawked in disbelief, and Park Jongcheol rubbed his temples like it gave him a headache.
"Korea ain't short on S-rank hunters just 'cause one's at the Academy."
"Ha... So Hanseong's chairman got pissed and ground him down?"
"...Don't spread it around."
Hanseong's chairman was an S-rank hunter like the principal. Even for a money-grubbing bastard, treating a fellow student like that? Chilling.
"We didn't expect it'd go that far... Can't be helped against an S-rank."
"No... real answer for it."
The Academy couldn't push back against an equal, especially with a sponsorship contract binding it legally. Ironic as hell.
'What did I even know... Fuck.'
I'd figured he'd just get bitched at by his company. Now it felt all sour.
"Watch yourself. Hanseong's after that Number One title, so they're eyeing you too."
"Ugh, I'll just follow Jisu into the Association."
I shuddered and rubbed my arms.
"Huh? Association?"
At the mention of ditching the Academy for the Association, Park Jongcheol shot me a sharp look—but I was already an A-rank in secret. Laughable.
"Gotta follow the thread to the needle, right?"
I nodded at the screen, and his expression softened.
"Tch. Association's got all the luck. Sigh..."
"Why? Principal want you to peddle some pills?"
I grinned slyly and poked. He flinched and looked away, right on cue.
"Heh. It's a 1+1 deal, so convince Jisu good."
"...Got it."
Like hell. I could practically hear his brain scheming from here. I smirked and turned back to the screen.
The raid was wrapping up. She scattered her shots to avoid aggroing the ogre, shredding trash mobs with her submachine gun. Never letting any closer than 10 meters. Impressive.
Her ability shone at exactly 10 meters. Anything closer tanked her combat power—that was her built fighting style.
Seeing how much thought she'd put into it made me chuckle. She'd squirmed and fretted over her prep. Watching it all, I felt prouder than she probably did.
'Korea trip's gonna be flooded with ads. Heh.'
Massive giveaway. Time to show those companies contacting her what 1+1 really means.
Beep!
My daydream snapped back with the blaring buzzer.
"Looks like it's done. Head in after stabilization."
"Yes, sir."
Screen showed Park Jisu wiping sweat after firing a red flare—trash mobs cleared.
The support team lined up near the Gate entrance, hauling building materials like construction workers.
'Wild.'
More than them, my eyes went to the Gate stabilizers on either side, humming mechanically and glowing. Normally, Gates sealed on entry and reopened after boss clears with a cooldown. These devices kept the entrance open— a combo of tech and abilities that propelled modern humanity forward.
'Letting us study Gate ecosystems and travel back and forth freely.'
Watching the glowing device in fascination during the brief rest—befitting an international tourney—everyone double-checked checklists for any oversights. As a national team pick, I had zero assigned tasks; just help inside the Gate. So I spaced out.
'Honestly, they'd feel burdened if the star pitched in anyway.'
I'd offered to chat, but they waved me off hard. Looked like zoning out was the real help.
At least my girlfriend handed me her main weapon—the Shaitech gun case—so I wasn't bored. Stabilization took about 30 minutes. Might as well inspect it.
I popped the case, sat, and started maintenance per Academy training.
'Should I engrave our initials...?'
Impulse hit; I drew a mana blade and etched our initials on the body without hesitation. She'd play it cool but melt inside when she noticed. My lips curled involuntarily.
As I worked, time flew—the support team's vibe grew tense. Wanted to mess around more, but this was serious; I packed up the gun and stood.