Chapter Title: The Chairman's Proposal
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Who the hell came? I was startled by the nurse's words. Who? Assuming I hadn't misheard.
"The Chairman...?"
Chairman. If I'd heard right, that was it.
'The Chairman I know...?'
But if it really was him, that made it even more of a problem. The Chairman had to be the head of the Superhuman Association.
'...Korea's premier S-rank Superhuman.'
The highest rank in Korea right now was SS, but that was beside the point.
The Superhuman Association Chairman was an S-rank who'd been active in Korea for ages.
He was powerful, and his standing was rock-solid.
He truly represented Korea's Superhumans.
For me, he was someone I'd only ever seen on TV.
And now he was here to see me...?
'No, he said he was coming.'
I'd heard that already, but I hadn't expected him this early in the morning.
I was flustered. Maybe even more than when I'd just grabbed that SS-rank treasure a moment ago.
Then.
"Superhuman Lee Jin-woo."
A heavy voice came from beyond the door. My body tensed up instinctively.
"Sorry to bother you at this hour. I heard you were awake... Could you spare me a moment?"
"...Ah, yes. Come... come in."
I fumbled out permission, and the door opened as if he'd been waiting.
And there he was.
'...Whoa.'
The legendary figure I'd only seen from afar had appeared.
A massive hulk of a man. He was over sixty, from what I knew.
Yet here was a silver-haired gentleman with muscles that looked ready to burst.
"I'm truly sorry for the late hour. I know it's rude, but I had to come urgently."
The Superhuman Association Chairman of Korea.
An S-rank Superhuman and former Knight—a monster.
'...Spear Master Baek Hyun-ho.'
S-rank Reincarnator, Spear Master Baek Hyun-ho. He stood right before my eyes.
"N-no, it's fine. What brings the Chairman to someone like me...?"
"How could I not come? You're the most famous Superhuman in Korea right now."
A kindly smile. Famous Superhuman...? I'd never heard that one before.
"The young hero who saved civilians from terrorists. My heart raced when I heard the story. I couldn't just sit still."
"Oh... no, really."
"...All the Association could offer right now was this room and treatment. I'm sorry it took a day longer because I rushed back from China."
"Wha—no, please don't!"
The Chairman bowed his head. I hurriedly tried to stop him.
Good lord. An S-rank Superhuman bowing to me...?
And on top of that.
'This room was provided by the Association too?'
No wonder it looked so upscale.
"Thank you. Thanks to you, Superhuman Lee Jin-woo, so many lives were saved."
"...No, it was just... just luck."
"Luck? That's not something you pull off with luck alone."
The Chairman spoke to me with a firm expression.
"It was your spirit and courage, Superhuman Lee Jin-woo. No one else there could have done it."
"..."
My ears were burning. This was some heavy praise.
"And from a Superhuman who'd only awakened a few days ago. Truly impressive."
"...No... really."
"I took the liberty of reviewing your file. Your rank hasn't been registered yet."
"...Ah, yes."
I paused.
"But rank aside, I know it's no small feat for a newbie less than a week in to show that courage. You were amazing."
The Chairman's massive hand enveloped mine.
"You did well."
"...Ah... no... really."
A warmth spread through me. It had been so long since anyone had acknowledged me like this. And from the Superhuman Association Chairman, no less. How could I not feel good?
I smiled awkwardly and stayed quiet, then the Chairman spoke up.
"...So, Jin-woo."
"Yes?"
"This is just my personal opinion, but I have a proposal."
"...A proposal?"
"Yes."
A proposal from the Chairman? My ears perked up.
"It's not been discussed in meetings or approved yet, but if you're open to it."
He paused briefly, then said,
"How about becoming a Knight?"
"Pardon?"
My eyes widened at his words.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The door clicked shut.
The silver-haired elder, Spear Master Baek Hyun-ho, closed the hospital room door and stepped out. He'd been smiling kindly as he left, but the moment he was outside, his expression vanished.
His face turned impassive in an instant.
Someone approached Baek Hyun-ho.
"Did the talk go well?"
The Association's A-rank Superhuman, Green Smoke Sword Jeon Yu-seon.
"Yeah."
"You must be exhausted. Straight from China."
It had been a grueling schedule: right from Korea to China and back. And not just any trip.
'Dealing with that mad dog on the way back.'
China's SS-rank Superhuman. He'd wrapped up talks with that lunatic and come straight back to Korea. Even an iron man like Baek Hyun-ho had to be tired.
"Work's work. And with all the incidents blowing up."
Baek Hyun-ho seemed unfazed. Outwardly, at least. But Jeon Yu-seon knew better. The Chairman wasn't in a good mood.
"Tch."
A short click of the tongue.
"Damn terrorists."
Emotion laced his voice.
"...They pulled off something pointless. This is a real headache."
The incident from just yesterday. The terrorists' attack had the Association—and the whole world—in an uproar.
Jeon Yu-seon replied,
"It looks like they were targeting us, no matter how you slice it."
"Yeah. Probably."
Their target wasn't just the building.
What the terrorists wanted...
"They want the Association shaken."
The Association. The Knights made of Superhumans.
They wanted that very system to crumble.
Proof of it:
"They must've rigged it so rescue teams couldn't move until the building blew."
Before the explosions around the building, traces remained of a treasure used to block sound in the area.
And signals jammed so rescue couldn't be contacted.
It all pointed to one thing.
"Pathetic bastards... They were scheming to manipulate the media."
A media play.
What was the Association doing while the building exploded?
Why didn't rescue teams act? Where were the Superhumans while citizens suffered?
That kind of narrative. Past terror incidents had played out the same.
"They want to destabilize the system."
This one especially—they'd even used treasures, so it seemed meticulously planned. Timed for when he, the Chairman, was in China.
It could've been the spark that lit the fire.
"If not for that kid, we'd have been in real trouble."
The Chairman let out a sigh of relief.
Yes, their plan had failed. An anomaly at the heart of the terror.
'Lee Jin-woo, was it.'
The young Superhuman who'd driven off the terrorists and saved the civilians in that building.
'On his first or second day awakened.'
A total rookie.
'How did someone like that...'
Block what had to be at least an A-rank terrorist and rescue people from the flames? Baek Hyun-ho was baffled.
'And moreover,'
The footage was blurry, but he'd seen the massive shockwave.
However.
'It was just nearby machines caught in the fire exploding.'
Not purely his power. The video showed as much.
'What is it, then.'
To the Chairman, he didn't seem that strong. Hiding his power? Unlikely. Not enough to fool his eyes.
It didn't add up.
Which meant.
'High chance it's...'
A word flashed in Baek Hyun-ho's mind.
'Irregular.'
Those with power beyond what the 'Box' measures.
Or.
'Those who could be.'
Especially among those with Murim reincarnations, it cropped up occasionally.
Irregulars stronger than the Box or System rated them.
'Is Lee Jin-woo one of them?'
It was ambiguous. Hard to be sure.
Maybe outside intervention? Possible.
"What about that terrorist?"
"...Judged to have escaped. No traces."
"Shame."
Would've been better to catch him clean. A real pity.
"Anyway. Secure public opinion. Flood the press with the young Superhuman angle."
"Understood."
The media and public were already buzzing with Lee Jin-woo's name—thanks to the Association's moves.
To bury incompetence talk, they'd focused on the young hero.
Citizens loved a new face anyway.
Especially.
'An underdog comeback.'
The Chairman's eyes gleamed.
"Perfect bait. Awakening at the last second when no one expected it. And then."
Rustle. The Chairman pulled a file from his coat.
"A tragic backstory would seal it."
Lee Jin-woo's profile. The Chairman's eyes lit up as he scanned it.
"...Not bad."
The son of those people. And.
"Top scorer in the written Superhuman Academy exams."
Lee Jin-woo's record was stellar.
Perfect written scores. Near-perfect in non-power areas too.
With awakening, he'd have been historic top graduate.
"A hero with passion burning bright, held back only by untapped talent... Perfect headline."
Prime media fodder.
Young age made it ideal for spin.
Jeon Yu-seon asked the Chairman,
"So, you proposed he become a Knight? But he's still..."
She chose her words carefully.
"I know. But it was necessary. That's why I proposed... but."
Recalling just now, Baek Hyun-ho's eyes narrowed.
'More than expected.'
-I'll think about it.
'Might be tricky to handle.'
The young man who'd looked at him with admiration.
Freshly awakened, naive about the world—or so he'd thought.
'Those eyes.'
He remembered how they'd cooled the instant he proposed Knighthood.
'Not some naive kid, huh.'
A sharp glint, brief but clear. He'd noticed something.
'Whatever.'
At his age, just precocious. He'd accept Knighthood eventually.
"Prepare the remaining interviews too. No slip-ups."
"Understood."
Jeon Yu-seon nodded to handle the next task.
Ring ring ring.
Her phone rang. She answered.
"Yes, this is Association member Jeon Yu-seon. What is it...? Pardon?"
Her brow twitched at the words.
"...Chairman."
"What?"
"You should check the internet."
"Hm?"
At her words, the Chairman pulled out his phone and opened the web.
That moment.
"...What the hell?"
His brow furrowed.
"...Martial God?"
The world was flooded with a name no one had heard before.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 📰 Breaking News [Asian time early morning: Variant Gate emerges.] [Historic first. Cleared with 100% contribution.] [New Superhuman shaking Reincarnator communities: Master of Pitch Black. Who is the Martial God?] [Reincarnator clears Gate with single strike. What is his rank?] [This D-rank Variant Gate...]
Articles spreading like wildfire.
A blonde woman flicked her golden locks as she stared at the screen crammed with news.
Rooooar!!!
Inside the Gate. Footage from 'informants.'
A massive destructive force and light obliterated the monsters and rift.
Grainy quality. It was just a D-rank Variant Gate—low interest. Only 100 invites max.
A small-scale Gate. Who'd expect this?
A black-masked figure wiping out monsters in one go.
The woman who saw that power suddenly switched to another video.
Secretly acquired footage.
The Yeouido terror incident.
The explosion there.
Boooom!!!
Energy bursting from the building, pitch-black aura shooting skyward. Noisy with static, but her eyes pierced through.
"..."
She compared it to the Gate footage.
The scale and power differed vastly—easy to dismiss as unrelated.
But not for her. She could tell.
"Hmm."
Her blue eyes scanned the videos.
"Looks like."
She decided.
"I'll have to head to Korea."
A small country with an SS-rank she barely cared about.
Now she had reason to go.
"...Martial God."
She had to find him.
No matter what it took.