What a Truly Cheating Ability
Seong Haneul had started living at the Jamryong Hideout. I still had my supporter duties and slept at home, so we didn't run into each other as much as one might think. But whenever I dropped by the hideout, he'd often come over and strike up a conversation.
"Hey, bro, you here? I was just about to grab lunch—wanna join?"
"Lunch? You're cooking?"
"Yeah. Eating delivery every damn day isn't good for you, so I figured I'd whip something up today."
Hwang Yerang, Seo Chaerim, and even Diana couldn't cook to save their lives, so we survived on delivery food. I wasn't completely hopeless in the kitchen, but it was such a hassle that I mostly stuck to takeout or the convenience store.
Seong Haneul seemed pretty confident in his skills and boldly volunteered. Figures—the protagonist could do a little bit of everything. I'd been craving a home-cooked meal for ages, so I said sure.
Soon enough, he called us all over once lunch was ready, and we dug in together. It wasn't anything fancy—just a stew and some meat side dish. But that homey vibe hit just right, whetting my appetite.
As we each took our first bites, Seong Haneul watched us with a big grin and asked, "So, how is it? Edible?"
"Mm... it's good."
It was actually pretty meh. What the hell was this? Not so bad I couldn't force it down, but overall, just... off. Like the kind of home cooking you get from parents who can't actually cook. I thought you were supposed to be good at this. Of course, I was grateful to have something besides delivery, but man, it was tricky to react to.
Everyone else seemed just as stumped, exchanging awkward glances, when Seo Chaerim, picking at her food beside me, finally spoke up.
"...Why bother cooking something annoying like this? Just order delivery."
"If you just lounge around the house eating delivery all day, you'll get fat, Chaerim."
"Mind your own business."
I'd noticed the others' subtle reactions when he called us over—they already knew about Seong Haneul's cooking "talents." Sorry, man, but delivery really did seem like the better option.
"What do you guys want for dinner? I'll make whatever—just say the word."
"Hold up. I'll handle dinner."
When he offered to cook dinner too, I blurted out that I'd do it without thinking. I regretted it a bit once the words were out—such a pain—but hey, we were always mooching, so pitching in once in a while couldn't hurt.
"Oh? You can cook too, bro?"
"Eh, sorta. Lived alone for years, so I know the basics."
"Ooh, looking forward to it then."
They all seemed surprised I could cook—Hwang Yerang and Seo Chaerim staring like it was some big revelation. What, it's just cooking. You're the weird ones for living independently for years and not knowing how.
After lunch, we scattered to kill time, and come evening, I headed to the kitchen to prep dinner. Since I was doing it anyway, I went all out to blow their minds. Once it was ready, I called everyone over.
"...It's kinda iffy."
"What a waste of ingredients. Should've just ordered something."
These assholes?
"...It's tasty."
"Whatever. I'm never cooking again."
Seong Haneul forced a smile and praised it, but it was so obvious he was faking. I didn't think I was a master chef or anything, but surely mine was better than his? ...Or not. It'd been so long since I'd cooked that even I found it meh. Too wasteful to toss, but I couldn't stomach much more. We choked it down in awkward silence, and I swore off cooking for good.
My arm—the one Princess had broken—was fully healed by now, so to help digest, I sparred with Diana afterward. Hwang Yerang and Seo Chaerim tagged along out of boredom, and then Seong Haneul showed up to watch, swelling the crowd.
His eager gaze made me self-conscious at first, but once we got into it, I tuned everything out and focused.
The spar unfolded as one-sided as ever. I'd thought I'd gotten stronger fighting Diana, but the more I improved, the clearer the gap became—the one I hadn't noticed before. How much further did I have to go to catch up? She was a monster.
"By the way, Diana—if you fought Princess, who would win?"
After one round, catching our breath, I asked the question to Diana sitting beside me. It might be touchy, but guys are always curious about who's stronger.
"Dunno. We've never really gone at it. But Princess is one of Korea's top heroes, so head-on? I'd probably lose."
"...That strong?"
Diana was the strongest ability user I knew. Hearing her admit she couldn't win was a shock. Made me realize how lucky I was to survive clashing with Princess. If not for Diana, I'd be dead.
"That said, my specialty's assassination. If it's kill or no kill? I could take her."
Diana stated it matter-of-factly, no boasting—just laying out the truth. Made sense. There was a gap between us, so we could trade blows like this, but assassins didn't fight upfront. She lurked in shadows for ambushes. If she went all-out stealth, it'd be a nightmare.
We cooled off a bit, then stood to resume. Just then, Seong Haneul approached from the sidelines.
"Bro, wanna go a round with me?"
"You?"
"Yeah. Watching you guys has me itching for a fight—been too long."
A spar with the protagonist. I was curious too—how would I stack up against Seong Haneul? He was strong, but not the world's strongest. He wasn't a White Knight yet, and this wasn't some overpowered story. The novel focused on him saving people and earning praise, but it mentioned stronger beings now and then. Still, he was top-tier among Senior heroes, so probably stronger than me. All the more reason to see his skills up close.
"Alright. Get ready."
We faced off, taking some distance. In human form, his height matched mine, but as a werewolf, I towered over 2 meters, making the size difference stark. Size didn't dominate ability user fights, but bigger was always better than smaller.
Fresh off sparring Diana, my blood was up just right. I launched first, kicking off with a light jab. "Light" for me—my fist was head-sized, enough to drop a hero if it landed clean.
Seong Haneul calmly eyed it, dodging with a head tilt. Before I recovered, he countered to my body.
He'd gauged me and held back; I'd done the same to test him, taking the hit on purpose. He noticed, letting out a small whistle of admiration at my unflinching stance.
We exchanged initial probes, then pulled back into standoff.
He moved well, but pure physicals weren't a real threat. What to watch was his ability. Judging he couldn't overpower me in close quarters, he activated it.
Suddenly, a massive weight crushed me like a slab of iron, forcing one knee to the ground.
Gravity manipulation—Seong Haneul's power.
"Nngh...!!"
I knew it from the novel, but experiencing it? Way worse than expected. I'd thought I could endure and counter, but the pressure crushed my bones, making even movement a struggle. Heavier than I'd imagined.
"What a truly cheating ability."
"Haha, tell me about it."
Seong Haneul gave a wry grin, scratching his cheek. Thinking I'd tapped out, he dropped his guard completely.
I hadn't jumped in expecting to win, but going down without landing a punch? Bad look. Gritting my teeth till they nearly cracked, I pushed up, slowly rising.
Just standing made my legs shake and muscles scream. Blood drain made my head spin, vision swirling dizzily.
Panting hard, I finally straightened. Seong Haneul's eyes widened in surprise.
Early novel villains and monsters crumpled under this gravity, crawling on the floor. But I wasn't quitting over this.
Spar or not, treat it like real combat for it to mean anything. Backing off when it got tough? That was as good as never wanting to get stronger.
"Whoa, werewolves really are tough. Didn't think you'd stand under that much gravity."
"Feels like sandbags on me. Good workout, though."
"I train with it on too—super effective."
"Hit me with it more often, then."
I took a heavy step forward. Youngest in the group or not, as the senior in life, time to show him some bitterness.