From Today, I'm a Player

Chapter 35: A Test Pt. 5

“I’m being serious. It’ll be different from the Rhine River Gate,” Yeo Seong-Gu said in an even lower voice. He wasn’t done yet either.

“I thought about it for quite some time. About how you knew about Asgard, or why in the world you are trying to enter it…”

Yeo Seong-Gu stared straight into Lee Jun-Kyeong’s eyes.

“...or even your true purpose.”

Lee Jun-Kyeong wondered what Yeo Seong-Gu wanted to say. Was he trying to convince him to tell him his secrets?

However…

“But, I decided not to care about those things.”

“...”

Yeo Seong-Gu’s following words were astonishing.

“I believe in you.”

It was blind trust, the same thing that Jeong In-Chang had given him.

“What in the world makes you trust me so much?” Lee Jun-Kyeong asked in a bewildered manner. It wasn’t as if they had spent a long time together. After all, this current Yeo Seong-Gu wasn’t the one that Lee Jun-Kyeong had known, but rather, he had simply become acquainted with this version after returning to the past.

Whether it be him or even Jeong In-Chang, Lee Jun-Kyeong wondered what in the world they saw in him for them to give him such blind trust as neither of them had known him for a long time.

Lee Jun-Kyeong began to feel an unknown emotion again.

Then…

“I see the desire inside of you,” Yeo Seong-Gu replied.

“It's different from them, unspoiled, and so it’s a strange and pure desire… So I decided to try and believe in it.”

Apparently, Yeo Seong-Gu believed in him for a different reason than Jeong In-Chang. The older man finally sat down and continued to speak while casually unwrapping the tteokbokki.

“Anyways, don’t go tomorrow. Odin is already intensely interested in you. You’ll be able to enter Asgard as you planned, even without having to take that sort of test.”

He seemed to think that Lee Jun-Kyeong wouldn’t object to his advice. After all, the man he knew was intelligent and could think far ahead.

Not just anyone could make a plan and act accordingly to it. It was even more difficult to obtain results that matched the level of the plans that were made. For example, Lee Jun-Kyeong was someone who had produced those difficult-to-obtain results.

“As you said, I am a member of Asgard, and I know the nature of the tests you must undergo.”

“...”

“Did you, by chance, earn a title?”

He had finished unwrapping the tteokbokki and looked up at Lee Jun-Kyeong.

“You most likely haven’t. If you leave for tomorrow in your current state without a title, there’s no way you’ll come back alive.”

Finally…

Thump.

Lee Jun-Kyeong sat across from him. He picked up a piece of tteokbokki from the opened container and put it in his mouth. He said while chewing, “Hyung. Although it hasn’t been all that long, you know who I am and what I’m like, right?”

Lee Jun-Kyeong’s pronunciation was entirely accurate even though his mouth was full. He continued.

“Regardless of what it is, I’ll come back alive. Moreover…”

Munch, munch.

“...they are the ones who will become the prey."

***

“To think you’re already joining an expedition… you really are amazing,” Kim Su-Yeong said with genuine admiration for Lee Jun-Kyeong. The latter was just standing there with Jeong In-Chang, who was scratching his head.

Lee Jun-Kyeong and Jeong In-Chang had received a request from the Association to go on an expedition. It was a request to help with the raid of an A-Grade Gate that had been a headache for Europe.

The fact that they had requested Lee Jun-Kyeong and Jeong In-Chang by name was unusual. Usually, whether it be due to political reasons that required the Korean Association to produce a show of might or concerns over the poaching of Hunters who had left for the Association, only reliable giant guilds or established heroes were dispatched to overseas expeditions.

‘They said that Korea’s Heroes are already going around the world.’

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That was the reason why Lee Jun-Kyeong couldn’t meet the famous Heroes of the future even after having returned to the past.

The threat of gates and monsters wasn’t only limited to Korea. They were a global threat. Therefore, Hunters who represented their countries would go around the world and raid gates.

‘My first expedition.’

This expedition hadn’t been selected for them according to standard procedure as Jang Hyo-Jin, the Association President, had gotten involved this time. While it was a secret selection made in the name of Odin’s test, Lee Jun-Kyeong still felt strange.

In the future, he knew he would have to travel abroad countless times. After all, the gates he absolutely had to raid wouldn’t only appear in Korea. ‘The overseas Hunters…’

Furthermore, it was difficult to ignore the skill level of the overseas Hunters because they would also have their own Heroes as well.

In the future, the twelve who founded Eden would also have different nationalities, even though they eventually united their affiliations into one.

“I wish you a safe return,” Kim Su-Yeong said with sincerity.

The man was about to turn around when Lee Jun-Kyeong responded to him, “Congratulations on your promotion.”

“Ah! So you knew.”

“Of course.”

He had heard that Kim-Su Yeong, the Hunter who had discovered and managed him, had, unlike before, been promoted one rank.

Lee Jun-Kyeong wondered if it was Odin’s consideration or if it was a threat. Odin was most likely keeping an eye on everyone close to him. Even Jeong In-Chang, who was scratching his ears endlessly, was subject to this.

“Why are my ears so itchy?”

Of course, Odin’s interest in Yeo Seong-Gu would have also grown even further.

Regardless of how things had happened, his plans were moving ahead.

“The portal will open soon. Please return safely.”

“We will. Let’s have a party celebrating your promotion when we get back.”

Kim Su-Yeong and Lee Jun-Kyeong said their final words while smiling

Vwoop.

The portal began to move.

‘This was the result of transforming a gate.’

When the gates appeared, progress in science began to slow down. Since science couldn’t explain the existence of monsters or gates, the world focused on something else: magic.

Magic was the power of mana possessed by the Hunters, and they could experiment on it by using the mana stones that would sometimes drop when a monster died. A new form of study spread across the world and began to be heavily researched.

The first of the results of this study was the portal in front of Lee Jun-Kyeong. Hunters had found out that certain gates would open by chance that connected to other countries. They had stabilized these gates and made them into a kind of passageway.

‘Eventually…’

As these sorts of things began to happen more frequently, pure science began to decline. Science was no longer the mainstream. Instead, Magic Science had emerged, the result of the merging of magic and science.

“...”

Lee Jun-Kyeong looked into the portal that was shining blue. It was beautiful, and he had never been able to see this when he was an ordinary human. A portal was something that would be difficult for Hunters, let alone ordinary humans, to see. It had been something out of reach for him.

Now, before he knew it, he was standing in front of the portal with the qualifications to use it.

“By the way, Mr. Lee.”

At that time, Jeong In-Chang interrupted Lee Jun-Kyeong’s reminiscing.

“Is this… really the right move?”

Jeong In-Chang knew that this was a test and not a simple expedition or gate raid. In return for the trust Jeong In-Chang had shown Lee Jun-Kyeong, Lee Jun-Kyeong had also provided him with information to a certain extent. Jeong In-Chang had known about that person, but he had been ignorant about Asgard, where that person reigned as king.

Now that he had learned of Asgard, he was amazed and felt embarrassed that he had no clue that there was a vast secret organization working behind the scenes of the world.

He asked, “Couldn’t this be another situation in which we get used by that person… no, that bastard?”

That person, no, to him, he had now become that bastard. Jeong In-Chang had watched his brothers and his guild fall into corruption under Jang Hyo-Jin’s guidance. He clearly had some doubts and worries about the upcoming expedition.

Lee Jun-Kyeong whispered softly enough so that only Jeong In-Chang could hear it.

“I swear by putting everything I have on the line.”

It was an oath of mana. Jeong In-Chang didn’t know about mana streams, so he may have thought that it was nothing, but in reality, the oath Lee Jun-Kyeong swore had a magical effect.

“I will put everything on the line to destroy them.”

“I’ll trust you,” Jeong In-Chang responded after hearing that his concerns were heard.

At that moment, the staff member managing the portal announced along with an offhand dismissal, “You may enter the portal. I wish you all a safe return.”

***

“Welcome to London.”

There were people waiting for Lee Jun-Kyeong and Jeong In-Chang when they arrived, and they greeted them in fluent Korean. They were members of the British Association who had impeccable manners and were clothed in well-tailored suits.

"It's an honor to actually see the Underdog who has been highly spoken of these days."

It was clear with just a glance that the person standing at the very front of their group was the one with the highest position. He approached Lee Jun-Kyeong and offered a handshake.

“Nice to meet you. We are the team dispatched from the Korean Association, Lee Jun-Kyeong and Jeong In-Cchang.”

The other person’s eyes widened in surprise.

“...!”

“Mr. Lee…?”

Jeong In-Chang also looked at him in astonishment.

“This… it seems you are also fluent in foreign languages.”

“It's nothing much. I just had an opportunity to learn it, that’s all.”

They had been shocked because Lee Jun-Kyeong had greeted them in flawless British English.

‘Damn it.’

By no means was Lee Jun-Kyeong in a good mood. His English ability wasn’t related to an item or any skill. He had acquired it through real effort. Before he returned to the past, Lee Jun-Kyeong had tried to at least live like a normal human being in the Eden era. He had tried to become a civil servant and studied any and everything, hoping it would be of any kind of use. Thus he learned several foreign languages, including English.

Back in those days, it had been a useless effort. After all, none of that mattered as a normal human being could never shatter the impenetrable glass ceiling through hard work alone.

‘Still, it feels good to use it for once.’

He never had a reason to use it before. However, in this era, not only did they approve of his English, but it also made Jeong In-Chang surprised. So it wasn’t a bad feeling.

“For now, we will first take you to the dormitories, as portal travel can be very exhausting.”

He smiled and started to move forward.

All of a sudden…

“Bleeegh!”

…Jeong In-Chang, who had been staring at Lee Jun-Kyeong, began to splatter jeon on the floor.

***

Lee Jun-Kyeong knew why Yeo Seong-Gu had tried to stop him from leaving.

‘It definitely…’

If he had actually come to the expedition without knowing anything, he most likely wouldn’t have been able to return alive. Furthermore, even if he knew the exact purpose of the test, nothing would change.

At his current strength, it would be impossible regardless of whether his enemy was a monster or human. He had wondered to himself earlier as he knew that the test given to him was futile for someone at his level. Just as Yeo Seong-Gu had bluntly stated, it would have been the right choice to give up and run away from the test.

However, that would have been the logical choice if it were anyone else besides him.

‘If it wasn’t me…’

He had returned from the future, and knew many things through the book of the Demon King. Therefore, he had the confidence to make the impossible possible. He was confident in returning alive.

‘They can’t ascertain exactly how much strength I have.’

Everyone most likely thought of him as just an A-Rank Hunter.

‘I will go back.’

On the contrary, he would achieve greater results than they would expect. So Odin would become more curious about him. So Yeo Seong-Gu and Jeong In-Chang would believe in him even more.

Jeong In-Chang interjected weakly, “Ugh… Mr. Lee, what the hell are these people saying?"

Lee Jun-Kyeong kindly explained to the other man, “There are some who are saying it’s nice to meet you, and some who are making racist comments…”

Lee Jun-Kyeong suddenly curled the corners of his mouth and abruptly stopped.

“Is something wrong?” asked the bewildered Jeong In-Chang.

"He says you’re his style,” replied Lee Jun-Kyeong.

"Does he? Looks like he’s a good judge of character."

Lee Jun-Kyeong did his best not to burst out into laughter. "Well… He seems to have meant it romantically."

"Pardon? But that person… is a man?"

“That’s what I’m saying. Well, if you're interested, I can convey your feelings.”

Jeong In-Chang became flummoxed. “N… there’s no need!”

Lee Jun-Kyeong smiled at him. They had been brought to the banquet hall of a hotel. This expedition wasn’t just limited to Korea. Several countries and Associations had made the expedition, and a party had been organized to welcome the Hunters from the other countries who had gathered to protect this one.

Lee Jun-Kyeong and Jeong In-Chang walked around while listening to the others’ greetings and stories. Their goal wasn’t to enjoy the party though.

‘How many of these people will survive to the end?’

It was to figure out the power of those who would end up entering the gate with them. This expedition was by no means a simple gate raid. They would have to examine every Hunter who would enter alongside them. However, there weren’t any Hunters of much note in attendance.

Most of them seemed to be assistants to the Hunters who had come to the expedition or members of the British Association.

At that moment…

“What is this? I thought it was Chi-Woo because they said someone had come from Korea, but what kind of runts are these two?”

Lee Jun-Kyeong turned his head to look at the source of the voice. A giant was shouting at them. His height was easily over two meters and was huge enough to be reminiscent of a golem.

“They don’t even look like they could fit in one fist. Are you telling me the Korean Association sent this type of trash?”

“What is that punk saying? It looks like he’s not saying anything good while looking at us…”

Jeong In-Chang couldn’t understand the words of a certain giant who had suddenly appeared, but he seemed to have sensed the general meaning. Lee Jun-Kyeong became immersed in thought after seeing the giant appear unexpectedly.

‘Damn it.’

It was different from what he had expected. The difficulty level was much more significant than what he had initially predicted.

Why? What could be the reason?

These types of questions began to pop into Lee Jun-Kyeong’s mind. In the end, Lee Jun-Kyeong took a deep breath and said to Jeong In-Chang, “For now… please look carefully.”

A large man slowly approached Lee Jun-Kyeong and Jeong In-Chang.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

He was so big and ferocious that the entire banquet hall echoed every time he took a step.

“Damn it.”

“I thought he wasn’t interested in parties."

"Let's avoid him."

"Why the hell did he show up here?"

"That’s impossible. Is he going to participate too?"

In fact, other people looked back and gossiped about the approaching giant. Their expressions were different. Some were disgusted, some looked terrified, and someone who was supposed to enter the gate with Lee Jun-Kyeong was trembling from shock.

Finally, the giant came close to the two of them, and Lee Jun-Kyeong spoke to Jeong In-Chang, “We have to deal with that guy. Look at that punk’s power.”

Although Odin hadn’t explained it in detail, Lee Jun-Kyeong still knew what the exam was like. They may have come in the name of the gate expedition, but the gate raid wasn’t the goal of this test.

“Hello? Who are you two? Where did Chi-Woo go, leaving you two to show up?”

It was a battle of champions.

To survive while fighting among the Hunters who had come on the expedition to raid the gate.

That was Odin’s test.

1. Jeon is a panfried pancake; and this is a joke in Korean. ?? ??? reads to fry jeon, but an alternate meaning of ??? ??? is to throw, heave, and send. So the author takes the term throw up/splatter and just adds Jeon, making it, was frying jeon on the floor/throwing up jeon on the floor.