Chapter 22

Episode 22 4th Floor (3)

Yoon-seok filtered the conversations so he could only see Kalopa and Grape Jam’s messages.

‘He is from Earth, too.’

The possibility had increased. Of course, he didn’t think it was Kang Hyung-woo. He couldn’t be on the fourth floor at this time. Still..

-Predator: Are you Kang Hyung-woo?

So far, he had never participated in the chat. He only kept his eyes open for information. He didn’t have anything to say, after all, and he was reluctant to reveal anything, but he couldn’t stand it when he saw Kalopa’s name. He stared at the tablet for a few minutes, but no response came.

‘Is he ignoring it on purpose? Or did he leave the chat room?’

Yoon-seok couldn’t figure it out, but he thought of something else.

*Nomination Rights (Rank F): Designate opponents. The combined AP must be the same and cannot be used again on the same target.

Selling price: 2,000 AP

‘My money is just enough.’

If it was just a terrible coincidence, he was wasting his AP, but..

「Your purchase has arrived. 」

Kalopa. He had to figure out who was using that nickname. Even if it wasn’t Hyung-woo, it must be someone who was associated with him.

“I use the nomination right!”

「Please enter the subject’s nickname. 」

「Kalopa – matchable opponent. 」

‘Does that mean that it worked?’

The nomination right in his hand began to crumble.

「Time until the next duel 23:11:04. 」

Yoon-seok stood and began to continue training his new body. Time seemed to pass very slowly.

* * *

“The Predator has nominated you for a duel.”

“It is possible to reject a nomination using the Right of Defense.”

Fourth-floor waiting room.

Lee Chang-hoon tilted his head at the message that just popped up before him.

“What? Predator? What kind of madman is this?”

A challenger spent AP to designate him as a nominated opponent. To deny it, he would have to use a defense worth 2,000 AP.

“Why are you nominating me?”

He was always quiet in chat rooms and never revealed his nickname during a duel. That meant no one could hold a grudge against him. He couldn’t understand how this could happen.

“Fuck..”

Lee Chang-hoon’s heart thumped against his chest. An uncertain intuition rose in him.

‘Something feels wrong.’

The problem was that he didn’t have enough money to purchase a defense. Lee Chang-hoon checked his AP to be sure. He had only 300 AP left. It was only enough to purchase an F-rank return ticket. Lee Chang-hoon bought it without hesitation, but..

「Ticket use is prohibited. 」

‘There is no escape.’

After pacing around and biting his nails for a while, Lee Chang-hoon came to his senses. While it was shocking to get nominated, his AP was the same as his opponent. He didn’t have to assume defeat at this point.

‘Besides, I’d only lose a coin if I die, right?’

Lee Chang-hoon learned Kendo and was good at online games. On Earth, those experiences weren’t particularly special, but they were quite helpful in this place. Thanks to that, he had reached the fourth floor and even had three coins left.historical

‘Let’s calm down and find out who this Predator is.’

Lee Chang-hoon entered the chat room and searched for Predator. Then, he found his message.

-Predator: Are you Kang Hyung-woo?

‘What? Kang Hyung-woo? Why is he looking for Kang Hyung-woo here?’

Kang Hyung-woo was Lee Chang-hoon’s friend since middle school. Hyung-woo had a lot of money and was very popular since they were kids. When he went to the university, they naturally became distant, but they still kept in touch from time to time. Suddenly, he realized something.

Kalopa was his game ID, and Kang Hyung-woo, who watched him play one day, asked him if he would like his help. He then had Choi Yoon-seok level up his character in his stead. Thanks to that nerd, his character rose in the rankings.

‘Then, is this Predator and Choi Yoon-seok, the same person?’

He thought about the Choi Yoon-seok he knew during their middle school days. Yoon-seok was a guy with low self-esteem who couldn’t even meet people’s eyes.

‘Unbelievable. How did he get here?’

Lee Chang-hoon shook his head. It must only be a delusion, but if his delusion was true..

‘Then, he’s getting destroyed.’

-Kalopa: I am not Kang Hyung-woo. You must have mistaken me for someone else..

He tried to talk to the other person while assuming that he wasn’t Yoon-seok. However, he didn’t receive any response.

-Kalopa: I don’t know who you are, but you’re going to regret it.

Lee Chang-hoon furiously turned off the chat room. After that, he began to practice for a while.

“Prepare. The duel will begin soon.”

Time passed quickly.

* * *

The moment the countdown began, Yoon-seok’s eyes widened. The last time he saw this man was seven years ago, back in middle school. However, he recognized him at a glance.

“Lee Chang-hoon..”

One of the perpetrators tormenting him along with Kang Hyung-woo. Well, they would have their excuses. They might say they were told to do it or because they were afraid of Hyung-woo. But Lee Chang-hoon wasn’t one of them. He could stop Hyung-woo and help Yoon-seok but instead chose to join in and harass him.

「START! 」

Their restraints disappeared, and the duel began. They stared at each other from a distance as if calculating their next moves.

“Wow, it’s you. Haha! Ridiculous!”

Lee Chang-hoon laughed with surprise.

“What were you thinking? That I was Hyung-woo, and you would take your revenge?”

“..”

Yoon-seok was silent.

‘Will I take revenge?’

He hadn’t thought about it in detail. His only thought when he purchased the nomination rights was to check Kalupa’s identity. He had never imagined that Lee Chang-hoon would be here.

“Poor bastard. If you’re dragged into this terrible place, you should only think about returning home. Why would you do something like this? Huh?”

“..”

“This is why I hate bastards like you. You’re a crybaby.”

Yoon-seok was genuinely curious. How could Lee Chang-hoon treat him as a psychopath while referring to himself as a victim? How could they pass on the blame to their victims?

“So, what are you going to do?”

“..”

“Say something, you bastard!”

Lee Chang-hoon shouted, just like he did when they were in middle school. Thanks to this, Yoon-seok easily resolved the doubts in his heart.

“I was wondering whether you would apologize. But..you’re still the same.”

“Oh, I guess I’m also a target for revenge, right?”

Lee Chang-hoon continued his scorn.

“It’s really funny, isn’t it? It all happened years ago, and you still have it with you?”

Yoon-seok decided there was no point in talking to him. So, he raised his swords. However, Lee Chang-hoon only ridiculed him more.

“Two swords? Haven’t you been watching too many cartoons?”

Lee Chang-hoon raised his sword but didn’t make a move. He wasn’t an idiot. It was hurting his pride to admit it, but Yoon-seok was making him nervous.

‘What is this bastard? How could he change this much?’

They were both on the fourth floor, so Yoon-seok must have had his share of experience in battle. Chang-hoon pointed his sword at him and asked.

“How many coins do you have?”

Yoon-seok thought he heard it wrong. At this distance, even a single breath played an important role. If Yoon-seok rushed in at the moment Chang-hoon opened his mouth; he would have had an advantage.

‘How could he not know about this basic stuff?’

Yoon-seok wondered if Chang-hoon was just distracting him, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

“You’re still my middle school classmate. I would feel bad if I killed you and you only had one coin left.”

Chang-hoon smirked at Yoon-seok as he spoke. However, the real reason behind his question was quite embarrassing. He wanted to have even a little bit of information about Yoon-seok.

Yoon-seok shrugged before answering.

“I have six, so don’t worry too much about it. You’re not the kind of person who worries about others, anyway.”

At Yoon-seok’s sarcastic response, Lee Chang-hoon’s brows twitched.

‘Six? Then it means he has never lost..is he lying? Or is he telling the truth?’

Lee Chang-hoon’s troubles didn’t last long.

“Now, stop talking.”

Yoon-seok raised his swords. This pointless conversation was boring him.

“Let’s begin.”