Chapter 41
I’m translating the chapter into natural English and formatting all system/dialogue UI correctly as HTML blocks. Next I’m preserving the scene breaks and making sure the glossary terms stay consistent throughout.CHAPTER_TITLE: Chapter 41
Snap-crackle.
The barrier tore apart, and the shockwave burst out beyond it. The force that scraped across the wall left rubble in its wake.
As debris trickled down to the floor and everyone stood in silence, staring at it—
“……What the—”
The eyes of Jeon Yuseon, the Association’s superhuman, shook violently as if they had gone mad.
His gaze was fixed on the center of the sparring arena, where Lee Jinwoo stood panting with a dazed expression.
In front of him stood a blue-eyed woman with a sharp frown: Jin Yeonhui.
“……Jin Yeonhui lost?”
Lee Jinwoo had won a sparring match against Jin Yeonhui. The moment that fact sank in, Jeon Yuseon’s mind seemed to float clean out of his skull.
“How?”
It was impossible.
For superhumans, rank—the absolute measure carried over from one’s past life—was an immutable law. A C-class couldn’t beat a B-class, and a B-class couldn’t beat an A-class. The higher the rank, the more severe that gulf became.
“An A-class superhuman beat an S-class superhuman.”
And not just any S-class superhuman, but the Lightning Empress Jin Yeonhui, who had spent years on the front lines, beaten by some brat who had awakened less than a year ago?
“What kind of nonsense is this?”
It defied common sense. Worse still—
The gold barrier Irene had erected around the air, the one she’d said no one below SS-class should be able to tear? It had been ripped apart in plain view.
That meant—
“……Lee Jinwoo’s attack…”
Was on par with SS-class, wasn’t it? If that was true, then—
“Was the rank measurement wrong?”
Could he really be A-class? As Jeon Yuseon was beginning to suspect the Association’s assessment might have been wrong—
“……Um.”
Irene called to Jin Yeonhui. At that, Jin Yeonhui looked over at Irene.
“Why didn’t you use your Authority?”
Authority.
Hearing that, Jeon Yuseon finally caught on.
Ah.
The power said to belong solely to S-class superhumans. A transcendental force that lower ranks could never possess, a trump card only those of S-class and above could wield to directly affect the natural order.
Jin Yeonhui hadn’t used it.
To that, Jin Yeonhui answered,
“Because my opponent didn’t have an Authority.”
“……So you mean you lost because of that? You didn’t really even… fight properly, did you?”
“…….”
Jin Yeonhui fell silent. Apparently, “you didn’t really even fight properly” had hit the mark.
She didn’t really fight properly?
Was he saying Jin Yeonhui had been holding back against Lee Jinwoo? Well, even so—
S-class losing would be the strange part.
Once he considered the reasons, it seemed Jin Yeonhui’s restraint had played a part, but it was still hard to believe that was all there was to it.
……The barrier.
The torn barrier bothered him. With that level of power, no matter how he looked at it—
“Ghk….”
While Jeon Yuseon was lost in thought, Lee Jinwoo suddenly let out a strained groan. Then his body gave way altogether, collapsing forward.
At that moment—
“Tch.”
Irene moved at once and caught him. More precisely, she kept him suspended in the air so he wouldn’t fall.
It seemed she didn’t want to touch him directly. Irene was, after all, known for her obsession with cleanliness.
Irene doesn’t touch other people’s bodies.
She supposedly hated physical contact to an extreme degree. No one had ever been allowed to so much as brush against her.
“He fainted again….”
“……Again? So he did this last time too?”
“……It looks like he can’t withstand the skill…….”
“…….”
A condenser? Or a single-strike technique? If that was the case, then for an instant, it might have produced that kind of destructive force.
“……Take him to the infirmary.”
Irene casually handed Lee Jinwoo, still floating in the air, to someone nearby.
The one who fumbled the catch and took him hurriedly rushed out, and—
“Next.”
Irene moved on to the next sparring match. At the same time, the torn barrier naturally repaired itself.
“…….”
Jin Yeonhui, who had moved as though to support Lee Jinwoo when he collapsed, had to hide the hand she’d lifted ever so slightly.
* * *
Darkness.
As my consciousness slowly returned, I lifted my heavy eyelids.
An unfamiliar ceiling came into view. White, too.
“……Ugh.”
I groaned and sat up. A dull ache spread through every muscle in my body.
“Ahh….”
Why did everything hurt so much? It felt like every joint in my body was screaming.
Only then did my head start to clear.
“An infirmary…?”
Looking around, it seemed I was in the medical room. What was this? Why was I here?
Ah.
Right.
I sparred with Jin Yeonhui.
Had I used the power of the Heavenly Demon Divine Sword at the end and then collapsed like that?
……Wait. Then what about the result?
What had happened to the match? My memory was hazy, so I was still trying to think it through when—
[■ Quest successful.]
[■ You won the sparring match against the Lightning Empress.]
[■ Reward granted for quest completion.]
[■ Resolve Mask(S) acquired.]
[■ Labyrinth strategy guide acquired.]
“……Huh?”
If the quest was successful, then that meant I’d beaten Jin Yeonhui?
Well, that was a relief. I’d been bracing myself for some cursed penalty if I failed, so—
It’s weird that I won, though.
How had I won…? I still couldn’t remember that part either.
More importantly—
The things I got as rewards…
Resolve Mask.
And it was an S-grade reward, at that. But—
Why isn’t it here?
It said it had been granted, but I couldn’t see anything. Normally, it should have popped into existence out of thin air.
As I was looking at that strangely—
[■ Entering Reincarnation Net.]
Huh?
Reincarnation Net opened all by itself, even though I hadn’t turned it on.
And then—
Resolve Mask is being used.
A new frame is layered over God of War (EX).
You can set the rank and name used on the network.
“……Oh.”
So that’s what Resolve Mask was.
It means I can operate under a different name on the network?
I could set a rank and name and use them?
Then this means…
I could bury the name God of War under a fake identity.
Carefully, I moved my hand.
I made up a nickname on the fly and adjusted the rank too.
[■ Rank can only be set to EX-class or lower.]
The moment I pressed the rank button, a warning popped up. It didn’t matter. I was planning to set it far below EX-class anyway.
My Association-registered rank is A-class.
So I set it to A-class, just to match that.
[■ IncheonHoneyPunch(A) has been set.]
My alt account had been created.
[■ IncheonHoneyPunch(A) overlays God of War (EX).]
[■ Settings can be changed at any time.]
The nameplate and color displayed at the top of the network changed. The black name disappeared, and a distinctive red hue showed through.
“……Oh.”
This was pretty interesting. Maybe I should try posting something?
I cautiously put up a post.
The instant I posted it, a few comments appeared.
└
Oh. So that’s how this works. I’d thought I wouldn’t even be able to write under God of War.
Not bad.
It was a surprisingly useful reward.
Someone did notice something off in the middle, but even that was brushed aside lightly.
It didn’t seem like there was any real problem.
Just as I was thinking I might browse the network a little more—
Ah, right.
I realized this wasn’t the time for that.
No, there’s another reward.
I’d received one more reward. I’d momentarily forgotten because of the mask.
What was it again?
Something about a labyrinth?
[■ Labyrinth strategy guide.]
Ah, right.
What is this supposed to be?
A labyrinth? What does that even refer to?
[■ Labyrinth strategy guide (10F-9F)]
[■ Contains the strategy for Floor 10 and Floor 9 of the labyrinth.]
[■ Activated upon entering the labyrinth.]
“…….”
It activates when I enter the labyrinth?
What labyrinth?
For a reward, it was a little… oddly specific. There was no explanation of what the labyrinth even was. And they were calling this a reward…
Hmm.
Still, I didn’t think badly of it.
How should I put this.
As I’d felt while clearing the quest—
It keeps giving me exactly what I need.
The rewards were always things I wanted. Or rather—
The things I’d need later.
It was as if it could predict what I would need and handed it over in advance.
Maybe this was the same thing.
Just as I was thinking that—
“You’re awake?”
Someone spoke to me. I hadn’t sensed any presence. Startled, I looked up—and saw someone unexpected.
It was the Black Night Witch, Ye Jiram.
Why was she here?
“You’ve got this look on your face like you’re wondering why I’m here.”
“……Oh……. How did you know?”
“……You think that counts as hiding it? You really can’t lie, huh?”
“I don’t really go around lying much.”
“So you’ve lived a good life, then?”
“You could say I was raised right.”
“Hmm.”
With a soft breath through her nose, she approached.
“I’ve felt this since the last time, but, baby, you’re kind of weird.”
“I’m a little big to be called baby….”
“Do you find me easy to deal with? Hardly anyone does.”
Had she been bothered by how casually I treated her? Ye Jiram came closer, frowning slightly.
“I don’t hate it, though. It’s interesting.”
“……Ah, yes. Thank you. But what brings you here?”
“Oh, nothing much. I’m deputy leader now, so I came to check on a collapsed member, that’s all?”
“Deputy leader?”
“That’s right. I’m the deputy leader.”
“……How?”
“What?”
“Ah, no, I mean….”
Before I knew it, I’d blurted out my confusion, and Ye Jiram’s expression hardened.
No, seriously.
The opponent had been O Jimin. He should have been an S-class superhuman—
Ye Jiram beat him?
Was that even possible?
“Ha. What, is it because I didn’t fight you?”
Reading my thoughts, Ye Jiram suddenly spoke up.
“Some bastard fainted on us, so it was a forfeit win. If you’ve got a problem with that, then how about we throw down?”
“Huh? Ah, no. I’ll pass.”
Her eyes were burning with fighting spirit.
Thankfully, her misunderstanding had taken a different direction.
“Why? If you want to, we can.”
“……No, really, I’m good. I don’t have any complaints, so you can keep being deputy leader as much as you want—”
Just as we were exchanging words for a moment—
Ring-a-ring-a-ring—!!!
“Ghk!?”
“Ugh?”
A piercing sound stabbed into my ears.
[■ Gate occurrence.]
“What?”
A gate appeared?
Variant?
The timing didn’t fit. So this was another anomalous gate?
“Why are they showing up so often…!”
I was about to say that when—
Oh.
At the strangely familiar name, my eyes widened.
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