Saving My Beloved from a World on the Brink of Destruction

‘Did he really say that?’

Jeong Mu-eum looked back at him in disbelief. “Why would I make that up? Seriously. At least that’s how it was back then.”

“Hmm.”

‘He didn’t want Mu-eum to tag along because it was bothersome,’ he said.

Hwa-shin hid his expression behind crossed arms. It was clear that his favorite character didn’t particularly like working as a pair with someone. No, it would be more accurate to say he was averse to it. It was even mentioned that Cha Jaeha tended to be like this in <Your Hero is Here>. Cha Jaeha at the time must have been inexperienced in controlling his powers.

‘Well, it makes sense. Given his past.’

‘It’s not something that can be overcome easily. It’s also the foundation of Cha Jaeha’s character.’

The childhood trauma of Cha Jaeha.

On the day the Gate opened, Cha Jaeha, upon awakening, burnt his parents to death with his power. At least, that’s what Cha Jaeha believed. The burnt bodies turned to ashes, making it impossible to recover them. He had burned them completely, his own parents, with his own hands, using his own powers.

During his parents’ funeral yet without their bodies, young Cha Jaeha didn’t cry. In the original work, Cha Jaeha described himself as a beastly child, a creature that should be in hell.

‘I don’t have the right to cry. How could a beast that killed its own parents shed tears? At least, it should have been a person, not a beast. I am worse than a beastly child.’

Since then, Cha Jaeha obsessively tried to save people using his powers. At the same time, he didn’t value his own life very highly. He tended to think that, as a sinner, his death would be a just outcome.

He cursed himself for having the power to kill and struggled to use that power to save others.

If Cha Jaeha, who had such trauma, struggled to control his powers…

‘He probably refused to pair up because he was worried he might be a hindrance to someone else. And, Jeong Mu-eum is a genius who could control his powers well from the start.’

Hwa-shin sighed softly.

All Cha Jaeha had to do was say, “Actually, I’m worried my fire might kill you,” but instead, he stubbornly kept his mouth shut. It was frustrating, even if he was his favorite character.

Cha Jaeha was like that with everything. He always tried to handle things on his own.

Taking on the danger himself, saving others himself. That’s how he operated until he started to change gradually after a fight with Yoo Ji Ahn.

You need to fix your attitude first. What’s the point of being strong? You said you wanted to save more people, that it’s your role! Yeah, you’ll save more people in that state when things get worse. Get your head straight. I’m part of SH1 Squad, and so are you. You want to act like a hero? Then fight with us.

Yoo Ji Ahn had such a way with words.

I’m eager to see her fight soon.

Thinking of his favorite characters brings a smile to his face.

Right then, Jeong Mu-eum, with his weird grin, interjects with a groan, “Anyway, I’m just saying, don’t get your hopes up about teaming up with Cha Jae-ha. You probably won’t even make it into the SH Squad.”

‘Despite his seemingly nonchalant appearance, he’s surprisingly good at looking after others.’

“You’re younger than me, Mu-eum, but you really take care of people well. Have you always been like that?”

“Huh?” Jeong Mu-eum’s ears turn bright red.

‘Indeed, being young means that his reactions come quickly.’

‘When I think about it, Jeong Mu-eum in <Your Hero is Here> was a character who, despite his edgy nature, took great care of his people. He looked after his teammates’ meals and health without them even realizing it. It was all thanks to him.

And how well he treated his fans! The guy who rejected all idol castings because he couldn’t be cute smiled brightly in front of his fans. That scene filled an entire page in the novel.

If you smile with that face, it’s a crime, you rascal.’

However, the Mu-eum in front of him, with a red face contrasting his previous expression, frowned and answered, “When did I ever?”

At that moment, Yoo Hwa-shin felt certain.

Ah, of course.

It’s fun to tease Mu-eum.

After a brief speech by a high-ranking official that Yoo Hwa-shin didn’t recall, the selection test began, starting with waiting room number one. As initially explained, a hero was randomly selected from the first waiting room to enter the arena.

The chosen person was an S-rank male with a similar appearance to Mu-eum, cute and young. ‘He’s probably popular too,’ Hwa-shin mused to himself. Although, the hero’s cheerful smile seemed to have a completely opposite personality. It would be quite amusing if they were both in the same room.

After a brief explanation of the match, it began right away. It was a match between S-rank and A-rank heroes.

‘I wonder what kind of ability the S-ranks have.’

There was one S-class hero in each waiting room, with Cha Jae-ha in the fifth waiting room. They would have to wait at least one round.

Hwa-shin yawned widely. ‘It would be nice if it didn’t take too long.’

However, contrary to Hwa-shin’s expectations, the match ended disappointingly fast and bland.

The A-rank hero seemed to have a cloning ability within the offensive category, as he duplicated himself into four bodies and charged at the S-rank hero. Since the S-rank hero had a small build, the assault might have been quite effective if it had landed.

However, the man soon stopped. His clones also stopped following him.

The rank A hero mumbled something and shed tears. Then, he desperately begged someone. Not long after, he grabbed his throat with both hands. The once lively black pupils had disappeared behind his eyelids, leaving only the whites exposed.

‘Huh, the illusion-type ability is quite remarkable.’

All of his joints twisted in the opposite direction for no apparent reason.

Arghh!

The Rank A hero screamed in agony, foaming at the mouth before collapsing to the ground. Since he fell forward, his cheekbone was probably broken. Even lying down, the man was having convulsions. His writhing resembled a fish unable to return to water.

There was no exchange of blows. The arena was silent.

‘Indeed, illusion-type abilities are interesting, but they’re no fun.’

Wiping away the tears from his yawn, Hwa-shin leaned back.

—”… due to one side being incapacitated.”—

The staff member overseeing the match was also surprised by the contest that ended in just one minute. Along with a thunderous cheer, the staff member announced the result.

“The victory goes to Jin!”

Among the heroes, there were those who used aliases instead of their real names. Jin, who belonged to the 3rd Division, was one of them.

‘Now that I’ve heard the name, I’m sure.’

Illusion-type Rank S Hero, Jin.

Even though there was no mention other than a description of him being innocent and cheerful, Hwa-shin thought it was interesting seeing the man evoked a completely different feeling compared to Cha Jaeha and Jung Mu-eum.

This place, where even the extras lived in earnest, was a world of its own. A truly existing world. That fact sent chills down Hwa-shin’s spine once again.

Jin, who even blew a hand kiss towards the heroes in the audience, exited the stage.

Jin and Teo were a few of the heroes joining the SH3 Division. Teo seemed to have a completely opposite personality from Jin. Hwa-shin scratched his chin.

Meanwhile,

“It’s our turn for the waiting room.”

Mu-eum pointed at the staff member who started the draw. The number written on the paper drawn by the staff member was cruelly 2-1.

The owner of number 2-1, as if fate was playing a joke, was

“It’s me.”

The muscleman from before. He immediately grabbed the microphone as soon as he stood on the stage. His deep, rumbling voice called out to his desired opponent.

“Rank F, Yoo Hwa-shin!”

‘I knew it.’

As if expecting this, Hwa-shin got up from his seat, rotating his arms a couple of times.

“… popularity comes with a heavy price, right?”

Attention instantly focused on Hwa-shin as soon as the term “Rank F” was mentioned. Of course, it wasn’t the most favorable gaze.

However, Hwa-shin seemed to be quite enjoying the situation.

“I’ll be back.”

Hwa-shin, who gave Mu-eum a gentle eye-smile, headed towards the arena. If his plan had worked, he might have been a pretty good opponent.

◈◈◈

On the arena.

Standing about 1 meter apart, the two awaited the start of the match. The first round had ended easily, so not much time was needed for recovery.

Hwa-shin slowly turned his neck.

Even before light exercises, a brief warm-up was essential. The bulky man bumped his fists together like rocks. Hwa-shin closed his eyes, as it seemed too stupid to be an intimidation tactic.

‘Let’s see. The staff from the Inspection Department said it earlier… What’s this guy’s name?’

‘Ah, right. Go Young… Oh? Woo? Ah, Go Young. What a cute name.’

Hwa-shin slightly opened one of his previously closed eyes. He didn’t know what the man’s abilities were, but it didn’t seem like it would take much karma to place a command on him.

A few days ago, after testing it out himself, Hwa-shin’s body wasn’t very efficient at using karma.

His karma manipulation ability remained the same, but it didn’t harmonize well with his body. Naturally, the number of times he could use it was limited. It wouldn’t matter for ordinary people, but if an awakened person forced themselves to use a command, they might end up with a hole in their lungs or suffer from internal bleeding.

‘Even if I get injured, healing is easy, but I still need to properly manage my karma usage.’

That’s not to say it was difficult to just blow away that gorilla-like man.

“Judging by your speechless, scared face, this will be over quickly.”

Instead of answering the man’s provocation, Hwa-shin responded with a wide, wicked smile. ‘…Maybe I should just kill him. There’s no way killing one awakened person would make me vomit blood.’

‘…But the situation isn’t great for that.’

He had to join SH1 squad and stay by the protagonist’s side to prevent his death.

But now, he was only an F rank. If he showed off flashy abilities, they would doubt why his ranking wasn’t measured correctly.

‘I’ll likely be placed under special surveillance even before joining the SH1 squad.’

Moreover, if it was just about destroying or blowing something up, Yoo Ji Ahn or Jeong Moo-eum would be more suitable. The ability the SH1 squad lacked wasn’t in that area.

Even so, trying to match Cha Jaeha’s abilities and affinity was difficult. To do that, a nature-based ability would be needed, but manipulating that category using a language ability proved to be a complicated condition. In the first place, magic utilizing karma in addition to nature type didn’t really have the best affinity.

So, without the flashy stuff, without the nature-based abilities, and something moderate. An ability that would be absolutely necessary in the first unit but might be judged as an F-rank depending on the evaluation criteria.

Since it’s a tournament, they could just casually pass the first round with luck, and starting from the second round, they would probably appear to have gotten used to the ability.

Such an ability. Hwa-shin clapped his hands.

‘….I really don’t have a clue, do I?’

“Then, we will begin the match for the heroes in the second waiting room. I, a personnel from the Inspection Department, will be in charge of judging. The decision of victory or defeat will be when it is determined that the match cannot proceed, or when a defeat is declared.”

Hmm, what could it be? Hwa-shin furrowed his brow and racked his brain, but nothing came to mind. He needed to think of something that could meet all those conditions.

Cruelly, time continued to pass, and soon the start of the match approached.

“Then, the first match of the second waiting room.”

“Uhahaha! My fists are roaring! Yoo Hwa-shin, let me teach you a lesson!”

‘…Ugh. I really want to kill him.’

The staff member’s hand shot up towards the ceiling lights.

“Start!”