Chapter 10
I’ll translate the full chapter into polished English and format it as HTML, preserving the special in-universe content as styled blocks where needed. First I’m checking the structure and then I’ll render the chapter cleanly from start to finish.CHAPTER_TITLE: Chapter 10
From somewhere nearby, I heard the metallic clatter of gears turning.
A damp, dim space. Someone was walking through it.
It was a man with a massive frame. His face was hidden behind a mask, but even that couldn’t conceal a body of such monstrous proportions.
“Kekekekeke.”
Whatever he found so amusing, the hulking man let out a laugh that echoed through the entire space.
After walking for quite a while, he rapped on the door ahead of him.
Bang, bang, bang.
“Hey.”
Bang, bang, bang.
No answer, no matter how many times he knocked.
“Well, now.”
Just as it seemed the giant might turn back at the lack of response—
BOOM—!!!
He swung a fist and smashed the door to pieces. Dust billowed up, revealing the room inside. There was a single bed, and on it lay a figure.
“…Hah.”
The man in bed frowned the moment the door flew at him.
“Have you lost your mind?”
“You should’ve answered, then. What kind of person ignores someone calling for them?”
At that flippant tone, the young man pushed himself up. At the same time—
Fwoooosh—!! Fierce flames burst to life in his grasp. Seeing that, the hulking man’s lips curled upward.
“Should a patient really be using that much strength?”
“If you came here to joke around, get lost.”
“Ahahaha. Joke around? That’s harsh, coming from someone I came to see because I was worried.”
“Worried? You?”
“Of course I’m worried. I heard our great little torch got beaten up by a newly awakened rookie. How could I not be?”
“……”
Crunch.
The young man ground his teeth.
“You look awful. And where’d you lose one of your arms?”
One of the young man’s arms was gone, though both had once been intact.
“Even without one arm, I can still take care of a guy like you.”
“I’m sure you could. But what can I do?”
The giant smiled in a grotesque way.
“I have no intention of fighting a patient.”
“……So what do you want?”
The young man’s tone said he was done with pointless chatter. Only then did the giant reach into his coat and toss him a sheet of paper.
“The boss sent this.”
“……The boss?”
At those words, the young man’s face hardened.
“Our precious mage made a rather spectacular mess of things. The order is to lie low for three months.”
“……”
“I told you before not to go around making trouble.”
“Shut up.”
“Yessir, yessir.”
The giant made a mocking gesture, as if zipping his lips.
“I’ve delivered the message, so I’m out of here.”
He waved a huge hand and turned to leave the room again, but then—
“Ah, right.”
He stopped and looked back. His gaze landed on the young man as he asked, “That brat. Was he worth anything?”
Brat.
At that word, a dangerous light sparked in the young man’s eyes.
FWOAAAAH---!!!
Heat surged and wrapped around his body.
“You big bastard.”
His voice was thick with hostility.
“Don’t even think about laying a hand on him.”
“Oooh, scary. Why? Did you get attached to him in that short a time?”
“He’s my prey. I said don’t touch him.”
“Ahahaha.”
At that, the giant burst into rough laughter.
“Oh, dear. I almost feel sorry for the little punk.”
If that lunatic became obsessed, he’d never let it go. The kid really had become pitiful.
What was his name again?
Park Jinwoo? Lee Jinwoo?
The name didn’t matter much. It was worth keeping an eye on, since he’d interfered with their plan.
“Don’t worry. We have no interest in some brat like that.”
Not now.
God of War, was it?
Some monster who’d appeared out of nowhere. Right now, the organization was focused on that person.
“You handle the brat yourself. We’re not interested.”
Thunk.
Just like that, the hulking man vanished.
“……”
Left alone, the young man’s red eyes gleamed.
“……Worth anything, was he?”
At the giant’s words, the young man smiled faintly.
“He was interesting.”
Enough to make me want to burn him alive.
* * *
Several days had passed since I’d sent the message.
Under the pretext of treating my injuries, I was staying in the hospital.
Even now, the internet was still overflowing with talk about the God of War.
[The divine superhuman, the God of War. Is he really Korean?]
[A new S-class. Or perhaps the possibility of an SS-class superhuman.]
[If the God of War is Korean, then Korea may become the first nation in the world to possess two SS-classes……]
[The Superhuman Association says the God of War is an unregistered reincarnator, so he may be a dangerous figure……]
“People are really getting ahead of themselves.”
I closed the screen after skimming the articles. The first country in the world to have two SS-classes?
By now, the public was already treating the God of War as an SS-class reincarnator.
The Association had said he was someone unregistered, and therefore required caution.
……They said they’d started looking for him soon after, right?
The moment the God of War appeared on the network.
They were said to be identifying everyone who awakened within the five days before and after that point.
Some people, looking at the God of War’s power, even judged that he must have awakened some time ago.
He’d just been late to appear on the network. Judging by the power he displayed, he might have been active for years.
Judging by public opinion, I’m still probably safe for now.
Because they were still fumbling in the dark, the odds of anyone figuring out I was the God of War seemed low.
Not bad.
I let out a quiet breath of relief. Just then—
“Jinwoo.”
Someone called my name. I looked up to see my teacher.
“Ah, Teacher.”
“Are you feeling any better?”
“Yes. How about you, Teacher?”
“I’m fine too.”
Her smile looked forced, and her condition didn’t seem great. I’d heard she hadn’t awakened all that long ago.
“……Are you really all right?”
“Of course. More importantly, are you sure you’re okay? I heard it was dangerous.”
“I’m fine too, really.”
To prove it, I struck a pose and flexed my biceps.
“Hahaha.”
Apparently finding the sight ridiculous, my teacher laughed.
“Jinwoo.”
“Yes?”
“You worked hard. I heard you really gave it your all.”
“……”
At the sudden praise, I smiled awkwardly.
“It’s nothing. It was something I had to do.”
“Who would say that? It’s the kind of thing no one could do. It was only possible because it was you. I’m sure your parents would also…….”
My teacher trailed off for a moment.
At that reaction, I gave a faint smile.
“Yes. I think they would say that too.”
“……Yes. Right.”
“When are you getting discharged, Teacher?”
“Probably tomorrow?”
“……Tomorrow?”
Already? She’d been badly injured enough to lie in bed for three days straight.
“I’m healthier than I look.”
When she copied my pose from earlier, I laughed in disbelief.
……Right. I can’t forget that.
She looked delicate, but she was still a B-class superhuman. Her recovery would be nothing like an ordinary person’s.
“Then will you go straight back to work?”
“I suppose I have to. There’s no one to teach the students if I don’t.”
I nodded at her words.
There weren’t many people capable of educating superhumans. Someone once said that teachers and instructors at superhuman schools were basically volunteering.
They’d make more money if they worked as superhumans instead.
Yet they still chose to teach students. So calling it volunteer work wasn’t much of a stretch.
Just as I was thinking that—
“What about you, Jinwoo?”
my teacher asked.
“Me?”
For years, every time I heard that question, there was always one answer I gave.
The answer that never changed.
“I’m going to become a knight.”
“……”
My teacher looked at me as if she already knew that would be my answer.
It was the same answer I’d given her dozens of times already.
Even back when they told me it was impossible, I’d said the same thing.
“I see.”
Unlike before, there was no worry in my teacher’s eyes.
“You’ll definitely make it.”
“……”
Her words were full of faith. I swallowed hard at that.
“……Thank you. I will.”
I forced a smile. It felt as if, after enduring the thickest stretch of winter, I had finally taken one tentative step into the next season.
* * *
After my conversation with my teacher ended, I returned to my room.
When am I getting discharged?
Unlike my teacher, who was leaving tomorrow, it looked like I’d have to stay a few more days.
Even though I’m already fully healed.
It wasn’t as though I had any lingering pain. Even if I felt stiff, a bit of stretching loosened me right up.
……I wasn’t that badly injured in the first place.
I hadn’t been crushed under anything like my teacher had. I’d only fainted, so I should’ve been able to leave anytime.
Feels like they’re keeping me here.
It almost seemed like they were holding me here and refusing to discharge me.
“Hmm.”
It was a little suspicious, but I didn’t dwell on it too much.
When else would I get to use a private room like this?
I could barely afford rent, so when would I ever get to enjoy a luxury room like this all to myself?
I decided I might as well enjoy it.
“All right, then…….”
I plopped down on the bed. There was still an hour or two before dinner or any rounds.
“Should I try it now……?”
Lying back, I wiggled a finger.
Ping.
An alarm chimed, and something popped up in front of me.
It was the item I’d received recently as an achievement reward.
[■ The God of War’s Training 1 (EX)]
[■ Would you like to use it? Y/N]
“……Hmm.”
An EX-grade item. Just from the name alone, it clearly seemed connected to my past life.
Looks like it’s a consumable item.
It seemed like pressing it would activate it. Then—
What happens if I use it?
I was curious. The name said training, but it didn’t say what the effect would be.
Well.
Whatever it was, they’d given it to me because they expected me to use it, so I might as well try.
I carefully clicked the Y button with my hand.
At that moment—
[■ You have accepted the use of Training 1.]
[■ Ticket being used.]
[■ Gate releasing.]
“Huh?”
A gate?
[■ EX-grade gate. The God of War’s mental image has been released.]
[■ Entering the gate.]
Notifications flooded in, and like last time, my mind slowly began to lose its shape.
When I opened my eyes again—
“……Where is this now?”
I was standing in a place I could never have imagined.
* * *
While Lee Jinwoo was just entering the gate,
hissssss.
Someone was watching the screen from beyond the camera aimed at his room.
“……Zoom in a little more.”
It was Jeon Yuseon, the Green Lotus Sword of the Association.
At his words, the screen enlarged.
Lee Jinwoo, who had been lying on the bed, sat up—then lay back down again.
It was such an ordinary movement.
……No real gain again.
Jeon Yuseon narrowed his brow as he watched.
The same thing for days now.
He’d been observing Lee Jinwoo for several days, but nothing unusual had surfaced.
The Association President had told him to keep a close eye on Lee Jinwoo, but Jeon Yuseon couldn’t see the value in it.
No matter how I look at it, this seems pointless.
When the Association President used his clairvoyance to look at Lee Jinwoo, he’d said the other man’s rank was by no means high.
Which meant Lee Jinwoo really was a low-rank superhuman.
So there was no reason to keep watching him like this.
Of course……
The destructive power Lee Jinwoo had displayed on video was not something a lower-rank superhuman should have been able to produce. So Jeon Yuseon had noticed that something about him was strange.
Still, the explosion of the protective device was probably the bigger factor than the skill itself.
When the Association had investigated separately, they judged that the real cause was the explosion of the protective devices nearby, not the power of Lee Jinwoo’s skill.
That had to be it.
Those were the words of the Association President, not just anyone else. If it came from a man who had weathered every kind of storm, then it was different.
Could the President be—
Thinking Lee Jinwoo was the God of War?
The timing of his awakening and the fact that he was Korean certainly made the guess fit.
But that’s impossible.
He had seen the footage of the real God of War in action as well.
The scale was different.
Not only the magnitude of the power, but the very presence he exuded was on another level. How could Lee Jinwoo possibly be the God of War?
The President must be suspecting something else.
At most, he was probably viewing Lee Jinwoo as an irregular—some special superhuman not yet announced to the public.
Jeon Yuseon was trying to convince himself of that when—
Vrrrrr.
His phone rang in his pocket.
“This is Jeon Yuseon of the Association. What is it…….”
The words that came through the phone made his face twist at once.
“……What did you say?”
He thought he’d misheard.
He had every reason to.
“……Irene applied to enter Korea? What in the world……? Pardon?”
The current symbol of the United States, one of only three SS-classes in the world, and the strongest among them, was suddenly trying to enter Korea.
“She said that if permission isn’t granted…… she’ll just break through anyway? What the—”
And apparently, she meant to do it in a rather violent way.