This is a Boss?! # 3
This is a Boss?! # 3
[Final Ranking Battle Leaderboard]
I checked the leaderboard.
[1st Woo Yu-ri]
[2nd Leona]
[3rd Lee Si-hoo]
[4th Ryu Cheon-hwi]
Yu-ri took first place this time?
Since these are all top-tier fighters, the lineup from first to fourth just shuffled a little—no new faces.
But.
[5th]
Right below that, there was a huge change.
[Kim Geun-cheol]
That would be me!
I had climbed all the way to fifth place!
"Heh! Kim Geun-cheol! You're amazing! You already hit fifth place! Congratulations! Clap clap!"
"Bwahahahahaha! That's me, baby! Hell yeah! Kim Geun-cheol, this goddamn hardcore badass! I am the strongest!"
*clap clap clap clap clap clap!!*
*clap clap clap clap clap clap!!*
Leona and I clapped like maniacs, congratulating each other.
"And Leona, you're second place too!"
"Ah! So close! I misread the count, that's all! But second place is still very good, right?"
"Hundreds of times better than fifth! Bwahahahaha!"
"I can't stop clapping!"
*clap clap clap clap clap clap!!*
*clap clap clap clap clap clap!!*
More applause!
"We really need to go eat something to celebrate!"
"And we'll treat Yu-ri since she got first."
"We should! Anyway, soon we have to go get a proper meal! Oh, vacation's coming up, right? Should we eat then?"
"Sounds good!"
Why am I so pumped about vacation? Obviously, now that I'm an Awakened, learning more at school is better. Still, the word "vacation" just hits different.
What should I do over break?
I'll probably have to train my ass off. The look in Mun Min's eyes told me he's dead set on grinding himself into the ground over break just to smash me. Can't lose to him—gotta work harder.
"Heh! Hell yeah! Still, this is what potential's all about. Hehehe, Leona. I told you, right? I'm the guy who gets it done."
"Of course! Our Kim Geun-cheol can do anything! Next time, aim for first place!"
"Yeah! A real man's gotta shoot for at least that!"
As we were yelling all pumped up,
"Ha...! The guy who got dropped in two hits sure likes to talk!"
Ryu stood with his arms crossed, looking seriously annoyed.
This bastard must still be plenty pissed about me threatening him with his sister.
But I do have a comeback.
"Well, well! If it isn't 'Mr. Ryu Cheon-hwi, a whole single rank above me'!"
"Cut the crap! The rank difference might be one, but between you and me there's a gap wider than the sky!"
"Bwahahahaha! Ryu, you're being that petty? Let's just talk results, not all that other stuff."
"I want to kill you!"
Watching Ryu's fist tremble made me laugh on its own.
"Hehehe."
But seriously, even if it's only one rank, when I fought Ryu, I felt an overwhelming wall.
Like a fortress right in front of my eyes.
I might be fifth, but the ranks above are the real Celestial Realm. I'm not even in the Celestial Realm yet—more like a Krillin type, you could say.
It was like being Krillin: Earth's Strongest, living quietly in the countryside while impossibly powerful Super Saiyans shattered the universe with trillion-power blasts.
"Hmm."
Those four are that transcendent.
They're so far above the class average it's not even funny. And they're not exactly ordinary folks, either. Noble scions, corporate heirs, the daughter of a martial-arts family. Not sure about Si-hoo—he's just from a well-off background, as far as I know—but anyway, they've all had professional training since they were kids.
Just how much stronger do I need to get to stand among them?
That's the kind of question the ranking match left me with.
* * *
Grilling pork belly on the hot plate.
*Hssss.*
The ranking match was fun today. To celebrate, we all came to eat meat. Regardless of that bet, I said I'd treat last time, so today's on me.
Anyway, I'm grilling the meat when—
"Ah, fuck. Can't wait."
Suddenly, Yu-ri got annoyed and reached her bare hand toward the grill!
"Whoa! Hey! What're you doing!"
"Wait."
Then—
*Whoosh!*
She ignited the mana from her palm into fire and started searing the top of the pork belly!
"What the—! Yu-ri, you can do stuff like that?"
"Anyone can manage a little trick like this if they practice."
"Honestly, Woo Yu-ri. Have some patience. If you grill it like that, it loses its authenticity."
"Does meat have authenticity?"
"Yes. Properly grilled is authentic. Who in the world grills like that? You got first place, so maintain some dignity."
As far as I can tell, if any Awakened elders saw what Yu-ri was doing, they'd tear into her on the spot.
"Yeah, Leona's right. Imagine doing that in front of Awakened elders. They might beat you to death. Quick. Take your hand off. I'll do the grilling. You won first place, so sit tight and eat."
"Ugh. You guys are so tiresome."
Yu-ri grudgingly pulled her hand back, and I grilled the meat with absolute seriousness.
"I feel kind of bad, Geun-cheol. Here, give it to me. I'll grill."
"Tch. Hold on. If it's not done right, it loses authenticity. Authenticity."
Today I'm treating them properly, so I'm the one grilling. As I grilled, the soybean stew came out, and around then I cut the meat with scissors.
Now let's eat.
"But honestly, if Kim Geun-cheol had awakened as a kid and trained professionally, he'd be incredible. Growing this much in one semester. Really remarkable."
"Right? This bastard, at the start of the semester, he flinched and chickened out just looking at a sword."
Hearing that made me a little embarrassed.
"I have no fear now."
"Yeah, keep telling yourself that."
We chatted like that while eating.
Oh, right.
"Wait, Yu-ri. Hold still."
"Huh? Why?"
"The student's gotta make a wrap for his teacher. Plus, you got first place."
"What'd you say? This bastard! He gets it! Hey, hurry up and give it!"
Yu-ri, incredibly pleased, opened her mouth.
I hastily made a lettuce wrap and popped it into Yu-ri's mouth.
"Ah fuck, that's damn tasty. Then this time, the teacher's gonna make a wrap for her student."
"Hurry! I'm starving! I'll open my mouth like a baby bird, so put it in!"
"Here you go!"
When I opened my mouth, Yu-ri neatly wrapped a piece and popped it right in!
Delicious!
"What the...!"
Right then.
"Kim Geun-cheol! You're not giving me any? That's completely devoid of authenticity!"
Leona yelled, raising her fist!
"Alright, alright! I'm giving you one! I'm giving you one!"
"Hurry up and show me some authenticity!"
"Here!"
"That's nice."
Once she received the wrap, Leona settled down, chewing quietly. But she has European blood; she's way too Korean.
Anyway, time passed like that.
"Oof, I'm full."
We finished eating and paid the bill. Since it was getting late, we parted right away, and I headed back to the dorms with Si-hoo.
"Geun-cheol, you worked hard today. I saw it—you were incredible when you took down Brian."
"Right? You saw it too?"
"Yeah. You definitely fight well. Whatever comes, let's just keep doing that. If we train hard like this for one more semester, even if those monsterkin attack again, we won't have to worry."
I'm not worried even now.
Anyway, we washed up, watched a movie, and went to sleep.
* * *
My consciousness sinks.
Digimon Adventure opening... I was falling somewhere. Is this a dream? Or reality? I couldn't tell. I was just swept along by my surroundings.
Mysterious, brilliant colors engulfed me. I couldn't do a thing, of course. Exposed like that... I kept passing through. Then in the distance—in a space like the far reaches of the cosmos—
"..."
I saw something rectangular staring at me.
*Shudder.*
A chill ran through me.
I wanted to run, but I couldn't escape on my own.
I could only drift farther away from it, carried by the current.
*Whoosh.*
Soon the world was swallowed by darkness. Before I knew it, I was on a concrete floor. I heard Si-hoo's voice. Was he going to help me up? But I couldn't lift my head...
*Clack.*
I saw a foot in high heels.
"Guh!"
* * *
"Ah, shit. What the hell kind of dream was that?"
When I opened my eyes, my body was drenched in cold sweat.
Si-hoo? He was fast asleep on the bed, wrapped up in his blanket like a caterpillar. That guy always makes himself a sleeping bag out of the covers.
Does his body run cold or something?
Anyway, I'd sweated like crazy, so I felt gross. The time was still 5 a.m. Early morning. I carefully went into the bathroom so I wouldn't wake Si-hoo and took off my clothes.
"Hoo."
*Shhhhh.*
Standing under the lukewarm water, my hazy head gradually returned to normal. This felt nice. Today's a holiday, too. Maybe I'll just take it easy until the afternoon and then go train.
That's what I was thinking, right at that moment.
*Vwoom.*
A gate opened in the mirror, and Kitty popped her head out—huh?
"Gah!! Y-You!!"
"Geun-cheol. Quiet."
I immediately dropped the showerhead and covered my mouth...! No, wait! Just covering my mouth isn't enough! I grabbed the towel hanging on the door hook and covered my lower body too!
"What the—! Why!"
"Mm-hmm, it's okay. I put up a barrier so sound won't leak. But Geun-cheol's friend is sensitive, so if there's a loud noise, he might notice."
"R-Right."
If she even set up a barrier,
she must have come for a reason. Once I'd thought that far, I relaxed. Right. Apart from the shower, I'm practically never alone. So she probably dropped in now for that reason.
"Anyway, Geun-cheol. It's been a while."
Kitty grinned.
"Haah, it's been a while for me too."
"Yeah."
Like someone leaning out a window, Kitty leaned out of the gate in the mirror, propping her chin on both hands with a smile.
"I've been lonely since I haven't seen you lately. What about you, Geun-cheol?"
"Yeah. I was lonely too. I missed you."
"Hehehe, thanks. Anyway, Geun-cheol. They didn't figure anything else out, did they?"
"I explained it well, so don't worry. They still just think of you as a hostile monsterkin. So they're only staying with me to protect me."
"That's a relief."
But why did she come?
"So, Kitty? What brings you today?"
"Mm-hmm."
The smile faded from Kitty's face.
"Geun-cheol."
"What?"
"Did you do something, by any chance?"
"Me? What?"
Me? Do something?
"..."
Kitty stared at me with a blank expression.
"...It's a message from my sister."
"A message?"
From Void Princess? For me?
"What is it?"
"Um... well..."
Kitty made a slightly troubled face.
"Maybe it's a little serious?"
