Chapter 39
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: Thunder Emperor (3)
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“Hoo...”
The Thunder Emperor wiped cold sweat from his brow as he surveyed the scene before him.
He had unleashed every ounce of his power.
'He should be okay, right?'
No one had ever endured his attacks like that before, let alone chased after him when he transformed into lightning. That kid was the first.
And maybe because of it, he was starting to feel a bit excited.
'He can't die on me...'
He had said he'd save him if he got hurt, but that only applied if there was still a body left and the guy was alive.
If he died instantly from the attack, not only would Korea lose a talented individual, but the Thunder Emperor himself would be devastated.
'...What the hell.'
As the thick smoke began to clear, revealing a shadow bit by bit, the Thunder Emperor's face registered shock.
Of course, he hadn't expected the kid to die from that.
He figured that body, which had shrugged off a bout with the Hero Association Chairman like it was nothing, could handle his attacks too.
But...
'Still, shouldn't there be at least some damage...?'
He was sure he'd landed a solid hit, but apparently, the kid didn't agree.
The smoke fully dissipated, revealing a man who was far too unscathed.
“Hah...”
It had been an all-out attack.
Most heroes or villains wouldn't even dream of tanking it—they could barely mitigate the impact.
And even then, he'd pulled his punches as much as possible, yet they still passed out without fully softening the blow.
But this kid was different.
Not only had he taken the hit head-on, but it was as if he had no way to mitigate it at all.
The Thunder Emperor rarely went all-out like this in direct combat.
Yet despite taking such an attack square on, the damage was just some scorch marks on his skin and his clothes burned away.
Seeing him still perfectly fine was downright astonishing.
The Thunder Emperor realized he had to call it quits.
His instincts told him.
'I can't beat that guy...'
There was no way he could win against this kid.
He was untouched even after a full-power strike.
Fighting longer would just lead to a pointless war of attrition.
He'd only sparred with the kid in the first place to find a way to counter that American hero—not to senselessly trade blows and injuries.
'If the guy's body itself is that tough, lightning won't mean shit...'
It felt like facing Overwhelming.
At least Overwhelming couldn't keep up when he turned into lightning, but this kid was different.
“Hey... I surrender. I can't win.”
The Thunder Emperor raised both hands in surrender.
Seeing this, Ha Do-yoon lowered the arm he'd been ready to swing and tilted his head.
“You're not fighting anymore?”
“Can't think of a way to beat you. I scraped together everything I had and unloaded it all, and you tanked it straight-up. How do you beat that?”
Do-yoon blinked in bewilderment at the Thunder Emperor's words.
And on top of that...
“Hmm... yeah, the clothes are definitely an issue.”
His current state wasn't even remotely presentable, if he was being honest.
His superhuman strength came from pure physical prowess, not some ability protecting him, so normal clothes couldn't withstand lightning like that.
A pedestrian struck by lightning might keep their clothes intact because the current flows through their body to the ground—but when it hits dead-on and heat spreads throughout, regular fabric doesn't stand a chance.
“I lose.”
“Uh... even if you say that so suddenly...”
“It's the truth. I lost. Sparring like this, anything could happen. If I don't admit defeat and keep going until one of us gets seriously hurt, what then?”
Only then did Do-yoon seem to get it a little, fully lowering his arms.
“More than that, don't fight looking like that. It's embarrassing.”
At the Thunder Emperor's words, Do-yoon looked down at himself and jolted in surprise.
His clothes were completely burned off, leaving him on the verge of indecent exposure.
“Your body seems fine, but just in case, let me check you out. Change your clothes too... And since you sparred with me, I'll hook you up with some gifts.”
The Thunder Emperor chuckled at Do-yoon and turned to walk away.
“Follow me for now.”
With that, he left it at that.
'He's ridiculously cool...'
Honestly, I'd thought he wouldn't admit defeat and would want to keep going.
S-rank heroes were usually full of pride... If some unheard-of A-rank showed up and steamrolled me, I'd be pissed too.
But the Thunder Emperor cleanly acknowledged his loss.
And so casually, too...
I hadn't expected that, so I was pretty shocked right now.
“Hmm...”
After changing clothes, I frowned at the odd sensation.
The fabric felt incredibly comfortable, but I'd never worn anything like it before, so it was weird.
“Oh, looks good on you. And your body... yeah, those muscles are impressive.”
The Thunder Emperor eyed me over and gestured to a seat.
I cautiously sat, glancing at him.
“No need to be so nervous. I lost, fair and square. I said it myself. I'm not the type to go back on my word.”
“...Really...?”
“Think about it. You gather everything you've got, unleash your strongest shot, and the other guy shrugs it off like nothing. You wanna keep fighting after that?”
“...”
Well, when he put it that way...
“...Was that your full power earlier?”
“Well... lightning has its limits. That attack on you was amped up to the max, focused on a single point. In game terms, it's my ultimate burst nuke.”
“Whoa...”
He'd planned to use that on a person...?
I barely survived it—any other hero would've vaporized on impact.
“I thought you were holding back since it felt weak for the Thunder Emperor.”
“...Hey, are you low-key mocking me? Bragging?”
I chuckled at his words.
He didn't seem too bothered either, smirking back.
“Call me bro. I don't care either way. And after beating me, calling me 'Mr. Thunder Emperor' just annoys me more.”
“Uh... I can really call you bro?”
“Do whatever. Casual speech is fine too.”
Who would've thought I'd end up on these terms with the Thunder Emperor of all people.
Pushing aside my slight daze, I tentatively called out.
“Uh... Jun-seok bro?”
“Oh, what? I never told you my name, and you already know it.”
“Your real name... a quick internet search pulls it right up.”
Thunder Emperor Byun Jun-seok.
Korea's top hero sat before me.
“Hah... I never knew there was a superhuman stronger than Overwhelming right here.”
“Overwhelming?”
“An American hero. The one tagged with 'strongest.' Not truly the strongest overall, but in pure physical ability.”
Pure strongest...
No special powers or anything.
Just raw physical prowess at the human peak.
Could you really call someone like that the strongest?
“If we're talking pure physical strength, even Chairman Grandpa would have to give him a few moves' respect.”
“Oh...”
That made him sound impressive again.
The old man I'd fought alongside was insanely strong, and even he had to yield a few techniques to this guy...?
'There are this many strong people in the world...'
It was definitely surprising.
“He's still active, and I've never beaten him once in all our fights. That's how strong he is.”
“You're pretty strong yourself, bro, but he's that much stronger?”
“Well, I'm at a massive disadvantage in every area except speed, where I'm just a tad faster.”
Jun-seok let out a deep sigh.
“No matter how much lightning I throw, he tanks it effortlessly. I can't ride lightning forever, so eventually I wear down, and he capitalizes...”
“Hmm...”
“Nothing gets through. Honestly, that attack I used on you? I developed it specifically for Overwhelming.”
“...You threw that at me?”
“Figured you could take it. Doing what even Overwhelming can't.”
“...Maybe I'm just fast.”
“I knew your physical stats were nuts from watching you fight that old man.”
Can't argue with that.
“Don't worry. It was risky either way... so I'll make it worth your while.”
Reward, huh.
Guess I'll see what it is first.
“You'll like it.”
Jun-seok said it with full confidence.
Truth is, I was still short on cash since becoming a hero recently—only bonus from that abandoned building incident—so anything material would be welcome.
'Looking forward to it.'
If I don't like it, I can always swap.
He'd allow that much, right?