Chapter 88
Everyone inside was stunned.
That included the Japanese and Chinese sides who had looked down on Korea so openly.
And of course they were.
Every year, Korea had maintained a passive attitude.
No matter what the others did, Korea had never really fought back.
Yet what had just happened was completely different.
A mere instructor had humiliated their chief instructors to their faces.
CRACK!
"You bastard from some backwater country... How dare you!!"
The man's entire body began to swell.
A massive shadow fell over Suhyeok.
At the same time, his skin started turning black.
It hardened like steel.
Xin Xiaofeng of China.
His name was famous even in Korea.
Unlike Korea, China divided ability grades into seven Star Ranks.
His rank was Five-Star.
A rank given only to those with enough power to cause disasters across at least three major cities.
...He's stronger than Korea's chief instructor.
And this probably isn't even his full strength.
Should I draw out a little more?
Suhyeok casually let his tray fall to the floor.
Then he looked at Xin Xiaofeng with open ridicule.
Crack.
"Fine."
"If you want to die that badly..."
"I'll kill you myself...!!"
Xin Xiaofeng raised his fist.
The situation was one breath away from exploding.
Then someone stepped in.
"Wait."
"Why don't both of you calm down and hear me out first?"
Strangely enough, it was the Japanese chief instructor, the other man who had also been drenched in food, who stopped the fight.
Xin Xiaofeng snarled.
"Are you actually taking the side of that barbarian?!"
"If you don't let go of me right now, I'll tear both of you apart!!"
The Japanese chief instructor merely smiled and gently lowered Xin Xiaofeng's raised fist.
Slide.
"You know as well as I do that fighting here would be unwise."
"We aren't students."
"If we start brawling over something like this, it'll only damage relations between our countries."
"Hah!"
Xin Xiaofeng scoffed.
"And what does that matter?"
"You're telling me not to kill him over something like that?"
"Since we clearly have unresolved hostility between us..."
The Japanese instructor smiled.
"Wouldn't it be better to settle it properly before something worse happens?"
He sounded concerned.
But his real intention was obvious.
He wanted a justification that would let them kill Suhyeok without consequences.
Then he finally revealed the scheme he'd been hiding.
"The exchange event hasn't officially begun yet."
"And normally, it's meant for the students."
"But perhaps the instructors should participate as well."
"It could be a form of exchange between our countries."
"And beneficial to everyone involved."
In other words...
On the day of the exchange event, they intended to kill Suhyeok in front of everyone.
At that moment, Kang Hana tugged lightly at Suhyeok's sleeve and shook her head.
"...Instructor Lee Janghyeok."
"Don't take the bait."
Suhyeok knew the man's name well.
Kurokawa Hisato.
Far in the future, he would become one of the main causes of direct conflict between Korea and Japan.
He illegally entered Dokdo.
Stole resources.
Killed the forces stationed there to defend it.
Despite the warm smile on his face, he was actually a psychopathic murderer.
"Please."
Kang Hana lowered her voice.
"Stop here."
"If this goes any further, you could get hurt..."
She paused.
"No."
"You could die."
Until just a few years ago, she had been the No. 1 S-Rank Hero.
She knew exactly how strong those men were.
And she knew what kind of ugly intentions they were hiding.
But Suhyeok's answer didn't change.
"We'll do it on the day of the exchange event."
"The participants will be me..."
He looked at the two foreign instructors.
"And you two."
"That should be enough for an exhibition match."
Kurokawa Hisato smiled broadly.
"That sounds excellent."
"I'm sure Mr. Xin Xiaofeng will agree as well."
Xin Xiaofeng clearly disliked the fact that Japan had effectively taken control of the situation.
But in the end, he accepted.
"...Fine."
"I'll agree."
He glared at Suhyeok.
"Listen well, barbarian."
"When that day comes..."
"You'll understand how foolish it is for a small country to defy a great one."
Two days later.
The day of the exchange event.
The massive stadium was packed with enough spectators to fill all one hundred thousand seats.
People had gathered from everywhere to watch in person.
[Constellations look around the stadium with eyes full of anticipation.]
The moment they entered the waiting room, Leon threw himself onto the sofa and rolled around.
[ Whoa! This place is huge, nya! ]
[ The cushions are soft too. Perfect for watching, nya! ]
Suhyeok stood in front of the glass overlooking the arena.
His gaze quietly swept across the spectators.
No suspicious movements yet.
Some of the villains are probably hiding among them.
The president would most likely put her plan into motion just before all the matches ended.
That would give her the highest chance of success.
[ Lee Suhyeok, but why did you even accept those guys' provocation, nya? ]
[ You could've just ignored them. Because of that, the chief instructor or whatever has been losing his mind for the last two days, nya. ]
After what had happened in the cafeteria, the chief instructor had shouted at Suhyeok more than once.
It was understandable.
Both he and Kang Hana knew how vicious those foreign instructors were.
That was why they'd been furious and tried so hard to stop him.
But Suhyeok hadn't accepted the challenge simply because he'd been provoked.
[At the request of many Constellations, a ‘Bet’ has been established.]
[Bet: Korea VS Japan VS China]
[Constellations may wager Coins on the team they support.]
[Maximum wager per participant: 1,000,000 Coins.]
Just like before, the structure allowed Suhyeok, as the organizer, to take a commission.
The difference was that the maximum individual bet had increased.
Which meant he could earn far more Coins.
Leon will probably become a Mid-Level Administrator soon.
Once that happens, our Coin expenditure will increase too.
I need to prepare in advance.
Of course, that wasn't the only reason he'd accepted.
Even if this world wasn't the Earth he'd originally lived on...
Suhyeok was still Korean.
Naturally, their blatant contempt had pissed him off.
[ Anyway, are those kids really going to be okay, nya? ]
[ They looked pretty nervous. Shouldn't you go check on them? ]
Despite Leon's worried tone, Suhyeok kept looking out the window.
"No need."
"If they do what I taught them, they'll win."
Meanwhile, at the Korean team's waiting area...
"Hey..."
"You sure we can actually do this?"
"This got way bigger than I expected...."
"What, you want to back out now?"
"Forget it."
"Unless you want to get expelled."
"Haa..."
"Will everything we've been doing actually work?"
"I know we've gotten stronger, but all we've really done is spar with the instructor."
For the past two weeks, they'd repeatedly sparred with Suhyeok according to their individual strengths and Traits.
Every one of them had trained until they nearly collapsed.
They were all certain they'd grown much stronger.
The problem was their trauma.
They had already lost to these same opponents last year.
And the losses had been so humiliating that just remembering them was embarrassing.
"Did you see the stands earlier?"
