Chapter 29
Click.
Yekaterina put down her coffee cup.
She looked directly at Mason and asked.
“How did Eun Yuri confess to Mason?”
“Why are you asking that?”
“Just… curious.”
“It’s a secret. It’s private.”
“Is that so? Really?”
Yekaterina’s eyes had a mischievous glint. It felt like she was expecting something.
Mason briefly thought about saying nothing, but then changed his mind.
He was the one who would regret it, not Yekaterina.
“She asked if she could like me.”
“I see.”
Yekaterina replied calmly.
Her composed face was unreadable. But perhaps it was just his imagination… but she seemed to have a certain brightness about her.
And for a while, silence reigned.
A silence that was incredibly burdensome for Mason.
“…It’s about time.”
“Wh-What time?”
When a nervous Mason asked, Yekaterina tapped her watch and said.
“Dinner time.”
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The place Yekaterina took Mason to was a nearby pub.
“…Is this place okay?”
“Why? I like chicken.”
Mason made a hesitant expression.
“It doesn’t suit your image.”
“Where does suit my image?”
“A hotel restaurant… or a Michelin-starred place…”
“I don’t hate those places. I just don’t like them.”
Yekaterina picked up a drumstick from the seasoned fried chicken and tore it apart.
“And I’ve spent a hundred times longer eating meat with my bare hands than with a fork and knife.”
“Really?”
Mason looked surprised.
“I thought Westerners had been using forks and knives since ancient times.”
“They’ve used knives for a long time. Forks are a bit more recent.”
Mason glanced at his glass of draft beer.
“There’s something I want to settle before this goes on too long…”
“Ah, right.”
Yekaterina smiled.
“This pleasant time made me forget about bothersome matters. Alright, how can I help you?”
“What can you do for me?”
“I can do anything you desire, Mason.”
“How do you know what I want?”
“Because I’m confident that my imagination is broader than yours, Mason.”
“…”
“So, tell me.”
Yekaterina wiped the condensation from her beer glass with her finger.
“How would you like me to deal with the one who offended you?”
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Mason said with a wry smile.
“Just cancel the report.”
Yekaterina asked.
“And?”
“That’s all.”
“…”
At Mason’s words, Yekaterina fell silent.
The comfortable smile vanished, replaced by the calm but dignified queen.
“That’s all you want?”
No, the offended queen.
“You’re saying you’ll just let it go, that someone dared to lay a hand on your woman and even tried to use someone else to harm you?”
“…Then what should I do?”
“Make him tremble in fear.”
Her eyes were cold, her words ruthless.
“Make him shudder at the mere mention of your name, make him cower at the sight of your shadow. Only then can you say that you’ve settled this grudge.”
“…”
Mason remained silent.
He was no stranger to violence and killing.
But his hatred and rage were reserved only for monsters.
The contemptuous authority that a human directed at another human made Mason shrink back.
“…Is it really necessary to go that far?”
“Yes.”
Yekaterina said in a cold voice.
“Because he’s trying to do the same.”
“…”
“He’s trying to break you with the law because violence isn’t enough. If even that doesn’t work, he’ll try to achieve his goal through even more insidious methods.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“When you deal with violence and power, you see that kind of person far too often. You can’t help but become familiar with them. With both those people and how to deal with them.”
Yekaterina looked at Mason.
“It’s fascinating to see someone like you, Mason.”
“You’re saying he’ll keep doing this if I don’t break him?”
“Yes.”
“Until when?”
“Until you break.”
Mason felt like he was standing in a desert.
Sand stretching to the horizon. Even the wind blowing carried no moisture, a desolate hill.
He wanted to shake off the sand that was heavily piled up and rustling in his mouth, his eyelids, and above all, deep in his stomach.
“I… I’ve never dealt with that kind of person before.”
“You’ll get used to it.”
“Yeah, maybe… I will.”
Mason closed his eyes tightly.
And when he opened them again, his eyes had a different light.
“I’ll change my request. Is that okay?”
Yekaterina looked at Mason.
“If it’s a request I like.”
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KPC.
The Korea Player Championship, also known as the ‘Arena,’ was a place for bare-handed combat between Players without equipment.
If martial arts were divided by weight class, Players were divided by level.
Low Level, below level 30.
Middle Level, between levels 30 and 40.
And High Level, above level 40.
There were these three weight classes.
Since they were fighting without equipment, class was more important than level, as were combat sense and fighting ability.
Tankers or melee dealers with defensive capabilities had an advantage over rear classes who should avoid taking any damage.
Eric Yoon, a level 39 tanker, was originally a mixed martial arts fighter.
He was close to the highest level in the Middle Level, and his fighting skills were on a different dimension from ordinary Players, most of whom were civilians.
He had no rivals in Korea and was preparing to enter the global stage.
“…A challenge has been issued?”
Eric Yoon chuckled as he looked at the challenge letter his manager brought him.
“Challenge? Throw it away.”
There was no point in fighting in Korea anymore. Seeing him like that, his manager shook his head.
“It’s a challenge you can’t throw away.”
Eric was startled and checked who brought the challenge.
“Andrei…”
He was Yekaterina’s right-hand man, the raid leader of the Guardian Attack Team.
He was a direct subordinate of someone he couldn’t afford to offend.
Eric carefully unfolded the challenge letter.
The content was simple.
“A non-title match?”
“Yes.”
“And the opponent is… Mason Park?”
Eric frowned.
As an Arena champion, he was familiar with most fighters.
“You mean the guy who beat me up?”
Mason was strong and tough, but he wasn’t a professional fighter.
He was confident he wouldn’t lose in the ring with rules and a referee, even if it was a different story in a no-rules fight.
He touched his barely healed broken jaw and said.
“What if I refuse?”
The manager said with a frightened expression.
“It would be an insult to the Heavenly King’s face.”
Eric looked at Andrei.
“What’s the point of me winning this?”
“She said she would grant you any wish you desire if you win.”
“My wish? My wish is to reach max level.”
“If you win.”
Eric was startled.
“…Really?”
Players had level limits, and exceeding them was impossible even with modern science.
But… if there was anyone who could break that limit, it would be the Heavenly King with her unknown abilities.
“Fine.”
Eric had a greedy look on his face.
“Tell him to come up. I’ll fight him.”
“You haven’t heard the conditions if you lose yet.”
“Is there any chance of me losing to a human in the ring?”
Andrei chuckled.
“Well, consider it heard.”
He turned and left the gym.
Eric clenched his fist.
Thud!
“I don’t lose in the ring.”
His heavy punch landed on the sandbag, making it sway.
“No matter who the opponent is…”
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A match date was set under the guise of an exhibition match.
Players were modern-day sports stars. Eric was a popular star with his excellent fighting skills.
The stadium was full, and it was even being broadcast, albeit through internet streaming.
‘The ring is mine.’
Eric glanced at the ring.
‘I don’t lose in the ring.’
He walked towards the square ring in his competition uniform.
“Red corner. Current KPC Middle Level Champion, Eric Yoon!”
Fireworks exploded and flames soared. Eric raised both arms and climbed into the ring.
At the same time, Eric’s stats started appearing on the screen.
━—–━
Level 39
HP: 420
MP: 0
Strength: 11
Agility: 17
Stamina: 13
Magic Power: 8
━—-━
10 was the average for an ordinary person, and 17 was considered almost the limit of human capability.
Eric’s main tactic was to utilize his agility to hit and run. His specialty was to tie up his opponent’s legs by accumulating low kicks while keeping his distance and then subdue them with a submission hold.
It was a simple but effective strategy.
Especially against Players who only trained for monster battles.
Eric stood confidently in the ring and looked at the opposite corner.
“Blue corner, Mason Park of the Holy Knights!”
And from across the ring, a man emerged from the passage.
His massive body was two heads taller than an average man, and his muscles were cleanly cut like a sculpture.
Giant. That word suited him perfectly.
‘The bigger they are, the weaker their lower body is.’
Eric scoffed.
‘Anyway, thanks to this, I’m set for life.’
That was until he saw Mason’s stats.
━———–━
Level 34
HP: 2590
MP: 0
Strength: 115
Agility: 90
Stamina: 150
Magic Power: 60
━———-━
The cheering crowd stopped cheering.
They couldn’t believe their eyes.
“What is this…”
“Did they write the numbers wrong?”
But the numbers remained unchanged.
Even after blinking several times and waiting for the referees to correct the error.
The numbers didn’t change.
So they had to realize.
Mason, that giant…
‘Superman…’
He was a being that transcended human limits.
Thump, thump…
Mason slowly walked over and stood in the ring.
It wasn’t just the audience who was buzzing. Eric and his manager, who was in his corner, were also flustered.
“What, what is that…”
The strongest Player in existence was America’s ‘Mr. America,’ Steve Queen.
But even Mr. America, the pride of America, had a limit of 23.
Mason was on a completely different scale.
Eric gritted his teeth.
‘Nothing has changed. He’s still human!’
Eric and Mason approached the center of the ring.
Mason looked down at Eric and growled.
“You were rude, and you were wrong. What grudge do you hold against me that you would try to drag me into this mud?”
“…Shut up, you musclehead.”
Eric kicked Mason’s groin in a surprise attack.
It was obviously a foul. But…
‘It’s not a title match anyway.’
Thud!
However, Mason’s hand was faster than his leg.
Mason grabbed Eric’s ankle and struck his abdomen with his other hand.
Boom!
It felt like his stomach was being pierced by a battering ram.
His core defense, his trained abdominal muscles, it all meant nothing.
