Chapter 89
Chapter 89
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 89
Chapter Title: The Apologetic Rampage
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The upper Pioneer Tournament held in the Imperba Dukedom.
"S-Sorry!"
Every time Hanok stepped into the arena after that,
"I-I'm s-s-sorry!"
he sent his opponents flying one after another.
"I have to win, so I'm really sorry!"
At first, some challengers went at him with everything they had.
But midway through, the participants were desperately dodging Hanok's attacks.
Yet Hanok showed no mercy.
He chased them down relentlessly and smashed them regardless.
And all the while, his face always looked terrified.
For those on the receiving end, it was pure horror.
But it was more than enough to generate buzz.
Finishing fights in one hit while acting all timid himself—what a spectacle.
Before long, Hanok had become incredibly popular with the dukedom's citizens.
In a corner of the arena,
Leyzon was munching on butter-grilled squid.
Just then, a hot dog vendor passed by in front of Leyzon.
Leyzon nudged Oberizel's side with his elbow.
"Oberizel, get me one of those too."
"...Got it."
Oberizel, who was sitting beside him, stood up and bought a hot dog.
Leyzon took it with satisfaction.
Bread shuttles sure are handy.
"What the hell did you do to that kid anyway?"
As Leyzon savored the hot dog, Oberizel asked the question.
The subject was Hanok.
Right then, Hanok launched another opponent clean out of the arena with a boom.
The crowd erupted in cheers.
Cheering at the sight of people getting hit—they were all practically barbarians.
Fitting for the medieval era.
In a dopamine-starved medieval world, this was probably the best entertainment around.
"Nothing much."
Oberizel wore an utterly baffled expression.
He had seen Hanok up close himself.
The guy seemed decently skilled,
but not that good.
And what was with that ridiculous bulk?
No clue what was powering that armor from the inside.
"Ahahahaha! Oberizel, look at that goat bastard's face!
He's got the look of a dead man walking. Krhahaha!"
Meanwhile, the guild master Buffalo was laughing his head off.
The Moon Goat Guild members in the opposite seats looked like they were at a funeral.
Four of their guildmates had already fallen to Hanok.
The atmosphere was inevitably wrecked.
Watching Buffalo gloat, Oberizel let out a quiet sigh.
Leyzon and Hanok were the ones he'd brought,
but seeing his own side get crushed so badly stirred some guilt.
It was like releasing a tiger into a fox hunting ground.
"What if this backfires and causes problems?"
"Don't worry. It'll be fine."
Leyzon sucked the sauce off his fingers from the hot dog as he replied.
To Leyzon, Oberizel seemed overly anxious.
Well, can't blame him for being uneasy.
Handing an entire major tournament over to an outsider—not even his own guildmate.
This was a big event that could impact the guild's future if things went south.
A screw-up here would hit Sun Bull Guild hard too.
Responsibility, huh.
Buffalo might suck at everything else, but he sure cared for his guildmates.
Leyzon turned his head toward Hanok.
"Huuuuh."
Far away, Hanok let out a deep sigh.
Leyzon could understand Hanok's reaction.
After all, right now,
Hanok wasn't doing a thing.
Outwardly, he looked like a massive armored figure,
but inside, it was all straw.
And that straw was none other than the Curse Demon King, Iden Ufera.
Iden, attached to Hanok, was filling the armor with straw and puppeteering it.
That was the secret behind Hanok's displayed strength.
Currently, the real Hanok sat idly inside the straw padding.
No wonder he kept apologizing nonstop.
Opponents expected to fight him,
but they were actually facing Iden.
Timid little Hanok felt mortified.
Such a soft-hearted kid.
Maybe buy him some candy later to cheer him up.
[He's probably just itching to fight himself but can't, so he's fidgety.]
Just then, Syria quietly sent a telepathic message.
Oh, could be.
Looking closer, it seemed less like fear and more like frustration.
That was when it happened.
"Leyzon."
Oberizel suddenly tapped Leyzon's shoulder with a stiff expression.
When Leyzon turned, he saw someone approaching Hanok.
It looked like a tournament official.
And beside that official,
stood another man.
The Moon Goat Guild master, Clibram.
"They raising an objection, huh."
Leyzon knew why Clibram was there and stood up.
"What're you gonna do?"
As Oberizel asked anxiously, Leyzon grabbed the hem of his pants.
"Gotta hit the bathroom."
"What?"
"Said I'm going to the bathroom."
Oberizel looked flustered at Leyzon's utter nonchalance.
But Leyzon casually headed off to the restroom for real.
Oberizel stared blankly after him.
Then he buried his face in his hands.
He could only pray desperately that Sun Bull Guild's future remained secure.
Tournament participant lounge.
There sat the massive figure of Hanok, sighing.
"Ughhh, this is mentally exhausting."
[Hang in there just a bit longer. The tournament's almost over.]
Iden tried to comfort him, but Hanok sighed again.
Being paralyzed by killing intent and unable to move was tough enough.
"Participant Hanok Wilbria, could you come over here for a moment?"
Just then, an official called out to Hanok.
"Huh?"
Hanok blinked in confusion.
He'd just finished a match, so his next one wasn't due yet.
No reason for management to summon him.
Puzzled, Hanok still stood up.
The others around him quietly backed away.
They'd all seen his opponents get one-shot.
Even in the lounge, no one wanted to get tangled with him.
A little hurt by that, Hanok followed the summons.
"Y-Yes, Hanok's here."
He announced himself as he approached.
Soon, he faced two men.
One was the official, the other a goateed fellow.
The man glared at Hanok with clear displeasure.
Hanok instantly sensed he was a powerhouse.
[Moon Goat Guild master.]
Iden quickly explained.
Moon Goat Guild master, Clibram.
Hanok flinched at his appearance.
D-Did he figure something out?
[Doubt it.]
Iden replied after roughly reading Hanok's thoughts.
[More like suspicion.]
He had Clibram's mindset pegged perfectly.
Meanwhile, the official approached Hanok.
"We got a report from outside that your armor looks suspicious. Mind showing the inside?"
Hanok's face involuntarily stiffened.
Inside the armor was nothing but straw.
Opening it up would spell trouble.
Clibram stared Hanok down intently.
Hanok shrank back.
His ears folded, confusion plain on his face.
Seeing that only convinced Clibram more.
[Hanok.]
Then Iden urged him on.
Any more flustering would be bad.
"A-Alright!"
Just take it off, no big deal.
Nothing to it.
Leyzon had already briefed him on handling exactly this scenario.
So now,
he just had to follow those instructions.
Moon Goat Guild master.
Clibram was frowning deeply right now.
Hanok's performance had been impressive.
But setting that aside,
the aura coming off Hanok was unmistakably that of a 10-Ascension Pioneer.
Which meant,
something's up inside that armor.
He'd come to call him out on it,
and surprisingly, Hanok agreed to remove the armor easily.
"J-Just take it off, right?"
The official glanced at Clibram as Hanok double-checked.
Clibram's overreach as Moon Goat's master was why he'd summoned Hanok.
If nothing was wrong, that would create problems.
Hanok belonged to Sun Bull Guild.
Who knew what complaints they'd file over this.
Still, he'd obliged Clibram's request.
At that moment.
"What business does the Moon Goat master have with one of our guildmates?"
A voice rang out.
Clibram whipped his head around, face twisting further.
There stood a burly man with a nose ring.
A brutishly built human.
Sun Bull Guild master Barcabarath.
He wore a sleazy grin.
And beside him was Leyzon from the large guild conference.
Clibram ground his teeth, lumping them together.
"Interrogating one of our guild members without a word—it's pissing me off."
"Buffalo, you got no pride or what?"
Clibram snapped at him.
Leyzon beside him was Steel Wolf affiliated.
The guy who'd crushed Oberizel and made Buffalo eat dirt.
His presence here meant,
this Hanok kid was his plant too.
Clibram called it out, and Buffalo shrugged.
"No idea what you're talking about."
"It wasn't long ago your guild got wrecked by that Leyzon punk.
And now you hire someone connected to him as a merc? Pathetic!"
"Told you, no clue."
Buffalo picked his ear, sticking to denial the whole time.
Clibram seethed even more.
"Do we really need to discuss this now?"
Then Leyzon spoke up.
Clibram's gaze shifted to him.
"You're here to check the armor's interior, right?"
Leyzon said it with a smirk.
Smiling in this situation.
Got some hidden card?
Or just guts?
Clibram couldn't judge hastily.
But he'd already played his hand by coming here.
"Hey, take off the armor."
Leyzon's smirk slowly widened.
"And if there's nothing wrong, then what?"
Clibram couldn't read the smile.
One thing was clear:
This was handing Sun Bull ammunition for later.
A pretext to come at Moon Goat.
But Clibram was confident.
That armor definitely had some trick!
It was stubborn conviction bordering on obsession.
"Fine. Whatever. It's not hard to take it off."
Leyzon replied casually and turned to Hanok.
Hanok began unfastening his armor piece by piece.
Gauntlets came off, then the chestplate.
Clibram's eyes gradually widened.
Inside the armor.
Hanok's real body emerged, clad in a simple T-shirt.
bulging arm muscles.
Massive pecs and broad lats.
A thick neck tying it to that frail-looking face.
It was genuinely Hanok's physique.
Clibram gaped.
That face with those lats?
Freakish to that degree.
Before long, gazes from other lounge participants gathered.
They'd doubted his strength,
but seeing those muscles, it oddly made sense.
"Uh, Mr. Moon Goat Guild Master, looks like nothing wrong."
The official who'd inspected Hanok spoke to Clibram.
"D-Don't stare too much, it's e-embarrassing."
As Clibram stared holes, Hanok huddled up.
Mockery flickered in the onlookers' eyes.
Snapping to, Clibram continued.
"Th-This ain't settled by peeking inside. You!"
He pointed at Hanok and thumped his own chest.
"Hit me once."
"H-Huh?"
Hanok looked bewildered.
Hit him out of nowhere?
What was this about?
"I'll test if that armor's rigged with my own body."
Leyzon grumbled watching this.
"Personal gear's all self-sourced anyway. No idea why you're nitpicking."
But Clibram wouldn't back down.
"Come on, hit me!"
Hanok's eyes darted to Leyzon.
Leyzon feigned worry.
"Give him a good solid hit."
Yet the smile on his lips didn't fade.
He'd asked for it in front of everyone.
No repercussions.
Hanok finally sighed.
"O-Okay, I'll hit you."
"Yeah!"
In the end, Hanok clenched his fist.
And that day,
Clibram flew through the sky for the first time in ages.