novelraw Chapter 102
Chapter 102
Chapter 102
The rules for the tournament that decides who gets their name on the List of Hope are simple.
First, regional preliminary rounds are held in a tournament format. One winner from each regional tournament comes up to Seoul and takes part in the main tournament.
Based on the results in the main tournament, you can challenge the List of Hope in order. The winner of the main tournament has priority in choosing which ranker to challenge.
The ranker who receives a challenge has no right to refuse. If the challenger wins, the ranker’s name is replaced. If the challenger loses, nothing changes.
I flipped through the pamphlet and made a vague face.
“There are seventeen preliminaries just inside Korea?”
Han Sang-ah answered me.
“Every administrative region in Korea has its own preliminary.”
Seoul and the six metropolitan cities, plus Jeju Island and the eight provinces, all hold preliminaries.
“There are about three hundred million people crammed on this tiny piece of land, right?”
That is nearly six times the population compared to the time I used to live. Of those, about forty five percent are foreigners who fled to Korea to escape the threat of monsters.
Even Gyeryong, which used to be famous for having a small population, now has around one million six hundred eighty thousand residents.
“Anyway, that means there are at least seventeen Korean Hunters who go on to the main tournament.”
The preliminaries held in Korea are of course managed by the Korean Hunter Association. Hunters without Korean citizenship cannot register for the Korean preliminaries.
“Pretty much.”
Outside of Korea, the total number of preliminaries held across the whole Eurasian continent does not even reach thirty. That means the preliminaries held in this tiny country alone account for about half of all the preliminaries on the Eurasian continent.
“It is a relief we each have a different home region.”
Han Sang-ah is going to challenge the Seoul preliminary. I am going into the Gyeonggi Province preliminary. Lastly, Jung Oh-hoon is entering the Gangwon Province preliminary.
Jung Oh-hoon grinned and spoke.
“If all three of us went into the same preliminary round, you would be the only one who could actually challenge in the end.”
That was the problem. Only one Hunter from each regional tournament can earn the right to challenge the List of Hope.
“The main tournament does not mean all that much.”
It is basically a show. In practice, every Hunter who passes a preliminary can challenge the List of Hope anyway. The only difference is whether you have priority or not.
Han Sang-ah rubbed lotion into her hands as she spoke.
“The main tournament winner usually challenges someone they think is relatively easy.”
“Even if they are easy, they are still high-rankers.”
At my words, Jung Oh-hoon clicked his tongue.
“Challenging someone around rank one hundred is still a little more realistic. If you really want your name on the List of Hope, the best route is to win the main tournament and then challenge a Hunter who holds a lower rank.”
We kept talking as we packed our luggage. After about thirty minutes, we finished getting everything ready.
“Then I will see you in Seoul.”
Han Sang-ah did not need to pack. She was competing in the Seoul preliminary, and we were already in Seoul.
“I heard some Hunters in Gyeonggi Province gave up entering when they heard you are in that preliminary.”
I snorted after hearing that.
“Give up for what? It is not like I am going to kill them.”
It is still just a tournament. You might come away with a few broken bones, but there is almost no chance you die.
Fighting a strong opponent is a valuable experience all by itself. On top of that, the odds of dying are low. To skip the challenge because you fear defeat and not death?
“Normally about one hundred fifty people challenge each preliminary. For Gyeonggi Province, only about forty entered this time. Because of you.”
As she said that, Han Sang-ah handed me a newspaper. It really was a little painful to see.
“I have nothing to say to that. I’m done packing, so I am heading to the Gyeonggi preliminary. See you both later.”
With that, I headed for Suwon, where the Gyeonggi preliminary tournament was held. The venue was Suwon Sports Complex in Jangan District.
* * *
There were many ways to get a new name onto the List of Hope. Of those, the most reliable was to pass the annual tournament preliminaries.
For Hunters, it was the surest way to put their name on the board.
For ordinary citizens, it was also the most exciting event of the year, something that drew everyone’s attention.
Starting a few months before the tournament, broadcasters scheduled special programs about it.
Video sites filled up with clips that gossiped about the Hunters who would be participating that time. On air, a commentator spoke.
— The ones drawing the most attention this preliminary are the three members of Headhunter, who have been in the spotlight with their recent activity and interviews.
At that time, the names that showed up most often in conversation belonged to the three who operated under the team name Headhunter.
— For Hunter Yoo Chan-seok, his career has been unusual from the very start. Gyodong Island, Tsushima, the Refrigerator of Bratsk, and now Jaun Valley.
It was only natural that the spotlight was on him.
— He is practically the textbook example of a royal road rookie that you never see anywhere.
— On top of that, you have Hunter Han Sang-ah, granddaughter of the Geumyang Group, and Hunter Jung Oh-hoon, who has his share of controversy but whose skill no one can deny anymore.
— Just like last year, Korean Hunters are the focus of expectations again. People call Korea the homeland and stronghold of Hunters. In a way, it is only natural.
Once the program that analyzed the careers and key points of the Hunters in the preliminaries ended, commercials starring Hunters came on.
The overall period was not that long. The preliminaries ran for one week, the main tournament for three days. That made ten straight days of tournaments without a break, a huge event that came once a year.
— The tickets for the tournaments held in Korea sold out completely in ten minutes.
— Yes, and for the Gyeonggi preliminary that Hunter Yoo Chan-seok is entering, the number of competitors is only about one third of other regions, yet the tickets sold out in twelve seconds.
— That is incredible interest.
Watching the endless stream of coverage, Choi Yeoreum lifted her hand slightly. Immediately, a Hunter standing behind her turned off the television.
“So that is the situation. What do you think?”
When she turned her gaze, a man with enormous, rippling muscles came into view, doing biceps curls.
“What about it. Of course people pay attention to someone strong.”
They were not normal curls. He was holding a barbell in one hand and curling it. All together, the weight on it was six hundred kilograms.
He lifted a barbell heavy enough to bend the shaft in his hand as if it were nothing, sweat running down his body, looking every bit like a beast in human form.
“How brainless.”
Leaning back on the sofa, Choi Yeoreum watched him work out and gave that short verdict.
“I am not planning to just sit and watch.”
At her words, the man set the barbell down on the floor.
“So are you planning to do something stupid? When you are strong, it is only right that you receive a matching level of status and fame.”
“That brat’s ideals are dangerous. You dumb lump of protein. You do not know because you have never faced him yourself.”
Wiping off his sweat, the man took a swig from his shaker full of supplements.
“So then what are you trying to say.”
“It would be best if we can knock him out in the preliminaries, but that is probably not realistic.”
The man nodded after hearing her.
“He already seemed far above the level of an average Hunter. If you want him to lose in the preliminaries, you might as well drug him.”
That was not an option. Resting her chin on her hand, Choi Yeoreum watched him start his next set.
“So, what do you think of the item the government handed over this time?”
At that, the man glanced toward the black jewel sitting on the table.
“If it can make me stronger, I do not care.”
With a faintly conflicted expression, Choi Yeoreum turned the mouthguard in her hand over and over.
“I am against it. We have no idea what it really is, and there is no proper data yet.”
Choi Yeoreum did not make risky calls.
“It looks exactly like those worthless government types want to use me as a lab rat.”
“Overcoming trials makes you stronger.”
She watched him work out with a look of mild contempt.
“Lines that sound cool usually have no basis. People still fall for them though.”
“You talk big for someone who has never really pushed herself.”
When he set the barbell down again, she flicked a finger. The massive weight on the floor began to slide around according to her small hand movement.
“You are right. Look at me.”
One was supposed to push across one’s limits to understand them. That was how the saying went, but in truth there was no absolute need to do things that way. There were other paths to grow strong.
“So. What did Taebaek say?”
“I am meeting President Sung Sihoon today.”
The man’s gaze shifted to her.
“I am the one going out to meet him. Sung Sihoon is not coming into the club house.”
His eyes went back to the barbell. After checking the time, Choi Yeoreum stood up.
“Then I am off. Enjoy your workout.”
After a brief farewell, she headed to the place where she was supposed to meet Sung Sihoon, the head of Taebaek.
“What a shame. I don’t even like raw fish.”
The spot Sung Sihoon had reserved was a sashimi restaurant. In a red dress shirt and black tie, he greeted her with a friendly smile.
“I thought you liked food you can eat raw.”
She answered calmly.
“If you eat it wrong, it upsets your stomach.”
“If you eat it somewhere expensive, your stomach will be fine, right?”
“Given the same price, I prefer food that is safer.”
While they chatted and sat down, the bottle and glasses on the table slid by themselves and poured a drink in front of her.
“You said you wanted to talk about Yoo Chan-seok, right? I am really curious what this is about.”
Still smiling, Sung Sihoon watched her. It seemed the first meeting between the queen of Wonder Club and Yoo Chan-seok had gone badly off track.
“I heard Taebaek also does not get along with that fresh faced Hunter.”
“Ah yes, that arrogant brat.”
Grumbling, Sung Sihoon raised his glass, and she did the same. Their glasses met with a clear clink.
“Taebaek’s reputation took quite a hit, did it not?”
“Come on, it is not that bad.”
In truth, it was. With a smile at the corners of his mouth, he stared down at the sashimi on the plate with cold eyes.
Taebaek had openly set its sights on recruiting Yoo Chan-seok. Up to that point, Taebaek had never failed to secure someone they wanted. This time, they failed.
“There is a big difference between never failing and failing even once, yes? Let us not pretend otherwise.”
When she pointed it out directly, he muttered a curse and lazily waved his chopsticks.
“All right, that is enough unpleasant talk. So what exactly do you have in mind? Yoo Chan-seok has both popularity and attention.”
He was the guy who steamed two first class Erosion Zones in no time.
He had both the public’s interest and the results to back it up. If anyone wanted to make a move on him, they needed to approach with delicacy. That was Sung Sihoon’s judgment.
Which was why they had not made any move yet. Or rather, to be precise, they had been unable to.
“There is no need to hit Yoo Chan-seok. We just have to hit the other two.”
Looked at simply, it was not complicated. The results Yoo Chan-seok produced were not achieved alone. Without the two under him who acted as his support, he could not have done it.
“So we leave the head alone and take off the arms and legs?”
“Being crippled is the same either way.”
He clicked his tongue.
“One of those arms and legs is the granddaughter of Geumyang Group, and the other is a guy whose bones hardened while rolling around in the back alleys.”
It was not as if he had never considered it. Going after Han Sang-ah or Jung Oh-hoon was just as tricky as going after Yoo Chan-seok.
“But both of them entered the tournament to get on the List of Hope, you know? And that place is openly our turf.”
If they wanted to make a move on those two, now was the perfect time. The two of them talked for a long while. Before long, they parted ways with satisfied expressions.