Nude Verification Shot on the Gallery
Super-science Dungeon, Sublevel B2. Bio-Experiment Sector, Training Room.
A wooden sword came crashing down from the front. I met it with the exact same motion.
Clack!
Reflexes had never been anything to boast about, but I twisted at the waist and slipped back—
Clack!
Swordsmanship of this caliber was simply basic literacy for a scientist.
Heh-heh!
Hongryeon's maid skirt flared open like a flower bursting into full bloom as she spun, launching a strike from the flank.
Whoooooosh!
Not a chance!
The mechanical exoskeleton mounted over my entire body moved me on its own.
Whiiirrr—
Clank!
Clack!
A perfect defense, without a hair's breadth of error.
Hongryeon smiled, just faintly.
"In a mere fortnight, your skill has advanced by leaps and bounds."
I shoved hard against the locked wooden blades, forcing her back and opening the distance.
"Hiyohhohot! They say even a mutt at a village schoolhouse recites poetry after three years—but do you know who I am?!"
I dropped into a deep squat, knees bent like I was crouched over a squat toilet, and flung both arms wide.
"A super genius! Me. Sar. Thim!! A fortnight is more than enough time to build a space battleship and set the world ablaze! For a genius scientist such as I, martial arts of this level are nothing! Kishishishishishishit!!"
"Simple martial arts, you say…"
Hongryeon leveled her sword at my chest.
"If this humble maiden may confess… when you first expressed a desire to learn the martial arts, I… presumed it but a passing whim."
She drew one foot back and settled into her stance.
"However, at this rate… the day you surpass this humble maiden—the day the pupil outshines the master—may not be far off."
And with that, she kicked off her rear foot and charged.
Whoosh!
Charge pattern — learning complete.
Alpha's voice came through my earpiece at the same instant I charged to meet her.
Hongryeon had praised my skill, but the truth was that Alpha was tracing her martial arts in real time. This body of mine had spent a lifetime as far from swordsmanship—from any kind of exercise, really—as a person could get. How was someone like me supposed to go toe-to-toe with Hongryeon? I'd probably be carved into pieces the instant a real fight began.
Anyway… why was a scientist who made his living with his brain subjecting himself to this kind of hard labor?
Survival, obviously!
But don't get the wrong idea. I wasn't learning martial arts for self-defense. Was I insane? Me, swinging a blade on an actual battlefield?
This was all for Baekho's growth. Hongryeon had clashed with the SS-Class hero Sinnyeo and lived. If I taught her martial arts to Baekho, then Baekho would defeat Hongryeon and come rescue me. A beautiful ending, complete!
"Hiyohhohot! If one wishes to spend the day's hours efficiently, the distribution of energy is of the utmost importance!"
I wiped the sweat with the sleeve of my lab coat and planted the wooden sword against the floor.
"That will be all for today. Ksssss."
Hongryeon slid the wooden sword into her sash and bowed her head.
"This humble maiden has learned much as well. Dungeon cleaning duties await, and so I shall take my leave."
"Yes, yes! The extermination of microorganisms is itself a matter of dungeon defense! I leave it in your capable hands. Kihihihihit!"
I bounced lightly on my feet all the way to my private office.
"Loo-loo-loo!"
Only after the automatic door slid shut did I let my shoulders slump.
"Haaah… physical labor really is not my thing."
The Mesarthim act demanded I keep the tension cranked to maximum at all times. Sparring with Hongryeon for the past two weeks had left my brain feeling like it was shriveling up.
I'm so tired. Fuck.
I dropped into the chair in front of my desk, and the cushion swallowed my backside in a soft embrace. I twirled a finger. Several holographic monitors bloomed into the air.
"Now then. What news does today have for me?"
On one screen, an anchor was pointing at police tape.
"Hmmm…"
I'd heard a similar story just the day before yesterday.
"Aigoo. A serial killer, of all things. What a nasty world."
But thanks to this serial murder case, the news had finally stopped talking about Mesarthim.
"Kihihihihihit! I knew it would turn out this way! Time solves everything, as expected!"
Wait…
This was my private office. Why was I still performing?
This habit of mine was getting out of hand. At this rate I was genuinely going to develop a split personality. Terrifying.
Anyway.
I had been waiting for this moment.
Mesarthim: the high-risk S-Class Main who had launched missiles at Seoul. For well over two weeks, the news had broadcast me as a raving lunatic. And the part that really stung…
"Why the hell am I an S-Class Main? This is insane…"
Where else were they going to find a model citizen like me?
But the coverage had gone quiet. Now was my chance.
"Access the Hero Gallery."
A homepage unfolded across the holographic screen.
Time to do a little work on public opinion. If I wanted the heroes to rescue me someday and have the misunderstanding unravel smoothly, I needed to sand down some of that hostility in advance.
"Let's see here."
I typed Mesarthim into the search bar.
New posts were still going up as of one minute ago. Still a hot topic in the community, then. I skimmed a few threads and their comment sections.
Opening with a clean shot of fact. My heart hurt.
I squeezed my eyes shut and scrolled down a little, peeking through my lashes.
I ground my teeth.
"These little shits? They're painting me as a lunatic? Aigoo!!"
I clicked my tongue and opened a different thread.
Ohh. At last, someone with their head screwed on straight.
I smacked my lips.
Excellent people. Truly learned individuals.
I logged in and dropped a comment on the pro-Mesarthim thread.
I lifted my hands from the keyboard, glowing with satisfaction.
"Heh-heh. This is how you take over a community."
If public opinion stayed this ugly, clearing up the misunderstanding later would be a nightmare. I had to lay the groundwork now.
A reply landed almost immediately.
Ah, come on.
Dumping ash on a finished meal.
I hammered the keys with genuine rage.
WhiteTiger. You little shit. You just walked right into it.
You said it yourself, didn't you? You'll strip naked and dance in front of me!!
Victory.
No reply came for a while. Or so I thought…
Huh?
Would you look at that. I'd actually gotten an IRL challenge.
And just like that, I had somehow acquired an appointment I had never planned on making.
"Hmmm…"
But how was I supposed to get out?
Hongryeon would never allow it…