Excuse us.”
“It’s alright.”
Bald Head, or Baek Sung-Woong, cut me off without even listening to my reason. He must have been upset. I gazed at Yong-Yong, who was watching a colourful bird flying between the dense trees, still sitting in my arms. He looked so happy that I didn’t have the heart to nag, so I decided to do it later.
Rather, how do I make Bald Head happy? Should I make a hair-growth serum for him? If I asked Ho-Jae for advice, he wouldn’t make Bald Head’s hair grow back, but he would make his baldness extend to other areas. However, I was not sure if it was right to approach the already sulky Bald Head and ask, “Do you want me to help you grow your hair?” Wouldn’t it hurt him more, thinking that I was teasing him?
[Just make a hair-growth serum and send it to Park Jung-ah. You were going to the Order of Vigilance anyways.] Ho-Jae’s voice rang in my head through the ring I had kept in my inner pocket, and I couldn’t help but be astonished.
Eh, we could talk comfortably with this ring’s help?
[Of course. That’s part of the reason why I asked you to take it.] Ho-Jae said in a deep voice.
How was this possible? Rather than being happy to be able to communicate with him so easily, surprise arose in my mind first. It had ignored all the barriers the gods had built over different dimensions, and even let us talk in real-time without proper coordinates.
If I asked Ho-Jae, he would explain it, but I didn’t bother to ask him because he would probably nag me about it, asking why I hadn’t studied about this before. Another reason was that I didn’t want to take another theoretical class, which would simply be a headache.
[Yong-yong, get back on Bald Head’s back. It was fun seeing you play with his Bald Head earlier.]
You crazy bastard. How could you find it interesting to see Yong-Yong slap the bald man on the back? I couldn’t feel anything but embarrassment and regret at the sight.
[Wasn’t it funny?] Ho-Jae’s words made me think that I shouldn’t let him around people if we ever got out of the Tutorial and made it back to Earth. It would be hard, but at least one leash was needed to restrain him. Now, I partially understood the mindset of the gods who locked him up on the 60th floor.
[Very mean words.]
Was that my fault? I was just being honest.
[I’ll take care of you when you get back.] Ho-Jae warned, but I tried to stay calm.
Of course, that guy would never forget this and surely seek revenge one day, but I would not give in to him.
[Watch your words.]
What? I can’t hear you from the 60th floor.
The good news about my provocation was that it made him cut the connection. I chuckled to myself at the small victory. Perhaps because of my sudden laughter, the bald man looked back at me.
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
“Sure,” The Bald Head said huskily and turned around to walk again.
Did he think that I was laughing and making fun of him?
Well, Ho-Jae, Yong-Yong, and I had lived together for so long that I grew accustomed to being indifferent about the emotions of others. I should be more considerate of others around me, and I felt sorry for the bald man.
“Ahaha. Cute.”
I felt even worse for Bald Head when I heard Yong-Yong’s bright laughter.
* * * * * *
I peered at the faint bonfire. The situation was somewhat atrocious. Now, even the initial fear I felt from Bald Head’s face was beginning. The current circumstance was all due to Yong-Yong, who was fast asleep in my arms. Yong-Yong had coiled up like a worm and sobbed in my arms, falling asleep in the process. As I caressed Yong-Yong’s back, I recalled what just happened.
The origin of the problem was the appearance of a massive bear residing on the hillside. I wasn’t astonished by the bear’s presence since I had heard from Ho-Jae that the road to the tournament would have obstacles. And most importantly, I had been aware of that big bear. But Bald Head wasn’t.
As soon as he noticed the bear, Bald Head changed his posture and bent his body, taking a fighting stance. It was an immediate response and happened only a few seconds before the bear charged, growling, so I wanted to give him a high score for his reaction speed. I wondered if this bald man could hunt a bear like that by himself. The problem was that he had overlooked Yong-Yong and the education that he had received from Ho-Jae. Yong-Yong stood on his hind legs and shouted loudly as soon as he saw the growling bear. “Cute!”
I wanted to ask what exactly he found cute, but Yong-Yong exerted his strength without waiting. In the next moment, Yong-Yong’s power pierced the bear, who got swept away in the dense trees and collided with the rocky terrain behind it. There hadn’t been any sound from Yong-Yong’s attack, but the attack caused the bear to release an ear-splitting roar throughout the mountain. The air around vibrated and countless mountain rocks were destroyed. Of course, the bear died instantly, leaving nothing left except for its hind legs.
Because the bear had died in one blow, Yong-Yong began to cry in my arms. Bald Head felt an intense fear of Yong-Yong. Perhaps it was because of the word ‘cute’ he had uttered while mutilating the bear.
While we walked down the mountain path in silence, the bald man advised me to go camping, as the sun was setting. That was what we were doing right now—sitting quietly, with a warm bonfire between us.
I thought about how I could reassure the bald man a little bit. First, I thought about the reason why Bald Head would be anxious and afraid.
He was probably scared by what Yong-Yong said when he killed the bear. Before meeting the bear, Yong-Yong had looked at Bald Head and said he was cute. That would explain Bald Head’s fear since Yong-Yong hadn’t been gentle with the bear. The bear knew Ho-Jae had contacted us, so he did not hold back and attacked freely. Of course, it would have some impact.
But Yong-Yong didn’t kill a bear because he thought it was cute. Yong-Yong clearly recognized the bear as an enemy and attacked immediately. However, Yong-Yong’s perception of the enemy was a little strange.
For Yong-Yong, the enemy was like a game’s villain. It was someone he had to defeat, and the battle against the enemy was almost like a game for Yong-Yong. Of course, it didn’t mean that he treated the enemy lightly for fun.
Ho-Jae had taught him how to deal with enemies very well. A little too well. He showed him just how cruel and vicious one had to treat them, how to be thorough in attacking, and in what manner to fight. Yong-Yong actually treated the bear like that. All because Ho-Jae taught Yong-Yong like that.
What a madman.
Yong-Yong successfully controlled his strength while attacking the bear. If he couldn’t do that, Ho-Jae wouldn’t have thought of bringing him out in the first place.
Yong-Yong could fully control his power, but he was just excited about going out for the first time without Ho-Jae. And Ho-Jae had not taught Yong-Yong how to deal with a relatively weak enemy which was the problem.
Yong-Yong had never experienced such a weak enemy. His enemy was typically strong in any kind of attack, and in the end, he had to overcome them to be satisfied, so his attacks held a lot of power. He did so for a sure victory, even if the power felt from the bear was relatively weak.
Yong-Yong launched an attack that could never be stopped because that was the right thing to do. But when the bear died in vain, he was shocked. As a result, Yong-Yong burst into tears as any child would when an unexpected situation occurred.
After organizing my thoughts, I began to worry about Yong-Yong more than reassuring Bald Head. I called out to Ho-Jae in a hurry. I didn’t know if he had really cut the link completely, or if I would be able to hear his answer.
[What?]
I explained to Ho-Jae, who had answered insensitively, about what had just happened and asked for his opinion.
“Hey, will Yong-Yong be okay? What if he does this to other people too?”
[He’ll be fine.]
Yong-Yong didn’t look fine. If anyone died in an accident, things could get really serious.
[It’s not too bad.]
This lunatic’s personality is really…
I couldn’t figure out his thoughts.
[It’s just that Yong-Yong got a little worked up, but he’s not going to do that against people. I told him to use something else if possible.]
“Use what?”
[I’ve taught him to use techniques to deal with enemies without causing them a lot of damage.]
That meant killing them off in one blow. It was clear that Yong-Yong, who listened to Ho-Jae, would kill the person who angered him without any qualms. No, even if Ho-Jae didn’t tell him to do so, it was unlikely that Yong-Yong would properly admonish and forgive his opponent if he were angry.
Perhaps I should not let Yong-Yong get angry at anyone at the tournament.
“Damn it. I can’t do this alone.”
[You brought this upon yourself.] Ho-Jae giggled.
* * * * * *
Fortunately, Bald Head became quite close with Yong-Yong. He still seemed to be afraid, but as he spent more time with Yong-Yong, who was constantly hanging on to him, he became increasingly comfortable. During the three-day walk, Yong-Yong didn’t use his strength carelessly, and without using it, he was just like a cute kid.
[Our Yong-Yong needs to continue being pretty. The bald man thinks of his child when he sees Yong-Yong, but our Yong-Yong is much cuter than his child.]
Though it was a rude remark, I agreed with Ho-Jae. It was obvious that anyone would agree if they saw Yong-Yong, who was struggling to make a flower crown, hanging on to the bald man’s back.
On the third day of the tournament, we were able to reach the destination after a half-day walk. Numerous tall buildings caught my attention. Since the tournament was being held, it was easy to understand that the buildings were accommodations for people to stay. While walking along the mountainous path, we had passed countless numbers of people. Somehow, I felt dizzy. There were too many people.
Unlike me, Yong-Yong kept saying that the bald man was cute. He seemed to want to roam around, but the bald man secretly tightened his arm so that Yong-Yong wouldn’t run away, which was a good idea. If Yong-Yong ran away, it would be hard to find him. Fortunately, Yong-Yong was so distracted that he did not intend to come down from the bald man’s back.
The bald man walked faster than he had before. At the same time, Yong-Yong tried not to slip off his back with all the shaking. The bald man soon led us somewhere.
We entered a building and were soon able to reach a large room where several people were seated. It was like a conference room. There, I caught sight of a person who remained in my memory. It was Park Jung-ah.
Somehow, I was pleased. Even though a long time had passed, Park Jung-ah’s appearance was exactly how I remembered it.
Park Jung-ah also raised her hand as she saw our group. I thought she was waving to us, but she wasn’t. As soon as Park Jung-ah raised her hand, everyone who was talking in the room closed their mouths.
Somehow I felt overwhelmed in such a quiet conference room. It was impressive to me, who had lived with Yong-Yong and Ho-Jae, practically my entire life, to see so many people act in unison.
Park Jung-ah beckoned us to come closer. Then, she turned around, opened a door at the corner of the room, and went in.
Was she beckoning me to follow her?
I silently followed her into the room. I had things to say and things to ask. I looked back after entering the room. The bald man, who was carrying Yong-Yong, remained in the conference room. As soon as I was about to ask what they were doing, Park Jung-ah slammed the door shut.
What? What was going on?
I was about to ask Park Jung-ah when she opened her mouth first. “It’s all right. I made sure that the room was soundproof.”
Soundproof. Why soundproof the room?
Before I could express my doubts, Park Jung-ah strode toward me. Her strong approach made me walk back subconsciously. After taking a few steps, my back hit the wall, and Park Jung-ah, who had come closer to me, slammed her hand beside me on the wall and stood there.
At the sight of Park Jung-ah staring at me silently, I swallowed saliva collecting in my mouth. Trying to look as calm as possible, I opened my mouth.
< Tournament Chapter (2) > End
