Saving My Favorite in a Doomed World

“Cough.”

 

“Someone please–”

 

“Yes—”

 

A call was picked up. A cheerful voice answered.

 

“Hey. We’re good at handling this kind of thing. We’ll handle the gate while maintaining national protocol. Again, you’re talking nonsense. ….Yes, yes, I understand. After this, I’ll fly back to Korea right away.”

 

The man who hung up the phone with a smiling face pulled the leg of the monster that tried to escape through the gate.

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

“They want us to come back to Korea once we’re done here… Why isn’t this one affected by illusions? It gets tougher from A-rank and up.”

 

“Wouldn’t it be easier to manage if we cut off a leg or arm?”

 

“That’s true.”

 

Jin easily pulled off one of the monster’s legs like he was pulling out a radish. Although he was an illusion-type hero assigned to Unit 3, he wasn’t weak in close combat. 

 

He gripped the last monster’s head tightly with his five fingers. With the thrashing legs gone, it was easier to hold it steady. As he applied more force, the monster’s eyes bulged forward.

 

“Oh, it’s working.”

 

Crunch. The monster swelled, as if its blood vessels were about to burst. He tossed the monster, which had met a gruesome end, back into the gate.

 

Sssss.

 

After confirming that the gate had vanished, Theo contacted the overseas branch of the Association.

 

Since the formation of SH3 Unit, hero overseas dispatch operations had become much more active. The problem was that these two were the ones handling it all.

 

“Hmm.”

 

While Theo was making the final report, Jin browsed through internet articles.

 

Yoo Hwashin, huh. He was an interesting guy.

 

A man who almost died in a gate and then newly awakened. A perfect S-rank hero from head to toe. He became part of Unit 1, but his actions were aggressive, resembling someone.

 

At the press conference, he gathered experimental subjects to use his powers on, and he even coughed up blood.

 

“Hyung, is your report done? So, are we heading back to Korea right away?”

 

“Yeah, the Association booked our plane tickets.”

 

“…But why the sudden order to return—”

 

“Ah, well.”

 

Jin smiled brightly and held up one finger.

 

I heard we’re having something like a training retreat among ourselves?

 

***

 

“This outfit is hardly suitable for a training retreat.”

 

“What’s a training retreat?”

 

“….Hyung, what country are you from? You don’t know what a training retreat is?”

 

Me? I’m from another world.

 

Yoo Jian, wearing an orange jump suit, asked while doing some casual stretching.

 

“So what are we doing today?”

 

A day had passed since hearing about Ha Cheongwon’s awakening. But honestly.

 

‘It’s hard to believe.’

 

They went and asked Ha Cheongwon directly, and Ha Cheongwon himself confirmed it, so at this point it seemed to be true. But still. How? Was that even possible? By a mere human?

 

“Today is about learning how to use your abilities more efficiently.”

 

“Abilities?”

 

“You’ve felt it too, haven’t you? That your abilities are not at their maximum potential right now. You’re already S-rank, so it’s tough for you to become like Ha Cheongwon.”

 

Ha Cheongwon was destined to awaken in the future, so it was just a matter of bringing it out. Even now, Hwashin wasn’t going to give them new abilities. Just bringing the future a bit closer.

 

“So, you’re going to learn how to handle your abilities better in a short amount of time.”

 

If they could use abilities meant for the later part in the book earlier, couldn’t they develop more? Probably. After all, the more you used your power, the more familiar it became.

 

“I get what you’re saying.”

 

Yoo Jian crossed her arms and tilted her head.

 

“But how is that possible? Wouldn’t it be better to go to small gates and gain real experience quickly, as you said?”

 

“We’ll do something similar to that.”

 

Hwashin took a small square chocolate from his pocket. It was his favorite snack, filled with nuts.

 

“Let’s spar.”

 

They simultaneously muttered ‘Huh’ and ‘What?’. Was he seriously suggesting this after being bedridden until two days ago? Hwashin added that he even left Pii behind at home just for today.

 

Hwashin clasped his hand, smiling cheerfully.

 

“Got it?”

 

…’What could he possibly teach us in a sparring session?’ Jeong Mueum thought, but after two hours of the sparring session.

 

‘…Ah, should I just go home and study for the college entrance exam?’

 

He felt like he was going to die. He was soaked in sweat, so he changed into his school uniform. It was more comfortable that way. Moreover, for Mueum, this kind of sparring, where he had to constantly exert his power, was quite the ordeal.

 

Yoo Jian didn’t look particularly pleased either.

 

‘What the heck is this guy doing?’

 

It was her first time directly facing off against Yoo Hwashin.

 

– Let’s spar.

 

If Yoo Hwashin used his powers properly, she honestly thought she had no chance. But he said this:

 

– Instead, I won’t manipulate your mana. No, except for when sparring with Mueum. So I won’t use my power only when facing you, Jian.

 

A vein bulged on Yoo Jian’s forehead.

 

His ability was manipulating mana, but he wouldn’t use that ability? That meant she wouldn’t have to listen to commands like ‘stop’ or ‘dance’.

 

‘…Is he looking down on me?’

 

Besides, with those conditions, she naturally thought she’d win… which was a mistake.

 

Whish. Whish. Whish.

 

He was a ghost. Otherwise, there was no way her punches and kicks wouldn’t land at all.

 

“…Damn it.”

 

Jeong Mueum struggled to follow the fight with his eyes. That was how fast Yoo Jian was. She was famous for her speed. Hwashin dodged all her attacks one step ahead.

 

His face was devoid of a smile, with sunken eyes unlike usual. A more serious attitude than in any gate.

 

Hwashin, who had only been dodging, gradually started to attack. However, he didn’t make contact. He stopped just before hitting. Even as he started attacking, his speed increased further. Yoo Jian’s eyes moved rapidly. Whoop. She dodged by sharply bending her knee downward. Hwashin’s leg grazed her short hair as it swung up.

 

Yoo Jian kicked away his right leg that was supporting his body. Hwashin seemed to fall sideways, losing his balance. But he immediately planted the arm on that side on the ground. He spun back in place with a side roll.

 

“Hosh. Hosh.”

 

Yoo Jian was the only one gasping for breath. Did she manage to catch up? No, something was different. As Hwashin started attacking, his movements changed. Until now, no matter how fast Yoo Hwashin was, it felt like he was only facing one person. But as his movements changed, Yoo Jian felt as if…

 

‘…I’m fighting ten people at once.’

 

…Tch.

 

“You. You know that’s my weakness, don’t you?”

 

Hwashin just smiled. Damn it. Yoo Jian bit her lip and ran a hand through her hair.

 

Sparring. Hwashin said this wasn’t a fight or training, it was sparring. He said he would teach them, that meant there was something to learn from this sparring.

 

Suddenly realizing something, Yoo Jian ran towards the door, shouting,

 

“I’ll be right back!”

 

She need to get something.

 

Jeong Mueum watched her leave with a blank expression, then sighed and stood up slowly. Did she just run away?

 

“Noona ran off.”

 

When Hwashin teased him, Jeong Mueum responded with a deadpan expression.

Yeah.

 

Jeong Mueum trudged over to take the spot Yoo Jian had vacated. He lifted his head weakly and asked,

 

“…Shall we start?”

 

“Sure.”

 

The sparring Hwashin proposed for Yoo Jian and Mueum had different methods.

 

– I’ll stay still, so do as much as you can with gravity.

 

So Jeong Mueum freely used his ability. He fought Hwashin by alternating between increasing and decreasing gravity. He even tore off a floor panel and threw it at him.

 

But nothing worked. A few flicks of Hwashin’s fingers or a few words from him made the abilities bounce off. No, they disappeared.

 

So he lost motivation.

 

He thought he was a genius. Gravity manipulation was one of the more difficult abilities to handle. Like natural abilities, controlling something invisible required an innate sense of the awakened.

 

Jeong Mueum, lowering the headphones he was wearing to his neck, grumbled.

 

“…Is this really sparring? We’re not even hitting each other like what you did with Jian noona.”

 

“Haha, for you, we could call it training.”

 

“…Will if help if I keep going?”

 

Before Jeong Mueum put his headphones back on, Hwashin said.

 

“When your ability doesn’t work directly.”

 

Once he put the headphones on, he couldn’t hear the voice. Judging from the lip movements, it sounded like—

 

‘Think about… what might work?’

 

But what would work if his powers were nullified? If he encountered a monster that neutralized all his abilities like now, the only thing he could do was—

 

Using surrounding structures to throw at them. He could make them light and adjust the weight to be heavy only when they dropped on the monsters.

 

What else he could do?

 

Hwashin, watching Mueum’s furrowed brow, gestured with his thumb to the side. All that stood in the direction he pointed was the center’s white wall.

 

“…The wall.”

 

Jeong Mueum slowly raised his hand and spread out both palms wide.

 

‘Hmm, as expected of our genius.’

 

Hwashin smiled in satisfaction and immediately stepped back. But Mueum, concentrating as if it didn’t matter, murmured in a low voice.

 

“Enclose.”

 

An invisible pressure surrounded Hwashin from above, below, and on both sides, trapping him in an unseen cube.

 

When he reached out, there was a resonant ‘thud’ as he bounced back.

 

Like a stone thrown into a lake, the air rippled outward in circular waves. Looking up, something similarly transparent rippled as well.

 

“….Wow.”

 

Even the person who trapped him seemed surprised by what he’d done.

 

“Well done.”

 

Hwashin’s voice echoed from inside. Mueum looked triumphantly at Hwashin, who looked like a trapped mouse. He struggled to suppress his rising grin.

 

“Happy?”

 

“…Yes, very.”

 

A wall. He had never thought about it before. He could create walls with gravity. He just trapped an S-rank hero with this wall. What if he could make this wall bigger? What if he could create a bigger prison?

 

‘I could have trapped those monsters at the hospital all at once.’

 

Jiing. Just then, Yoo Jian arrived with an axe in each hand. For someone who just went out to get a weapon, her expression seemed too serious.

 

“A gate opened.”

 

“What? …Oh, but we didn’t get any notifications, so it must be a low rank, right?”

 

“No, that’s not—”

 

“Did the gate’s rank change?”

 

At Hwashin’s question, Yoo Jian whipped her head around. Her round eyes widened further.

 

“How did you know? I overheard it when I stepped out by chance. A C-rank gate suddenly changed to an A-rank gate. The color too.”

 

“Red?”

 

“…How do you know that too?”

 

It seemed it had started.

 

It still seemed difficult to deploy them in the field, but experiencing it themselves would be good for them. Alright then. Hwashin stepped back two or three steps, then stretched his leg forward and kicked the wall.

 

Crash. Shatter. Along with the sound of breaking glass, the gravity prison collapsed as well.

 

“You know walls need more precision, right?”

 

Ugh. He worked hard to make that. And Hwashin just destroyed it like it was nothing.

 

‘…Hyung… You jerk…’