Junhyuk read about Gongon and Sarang’s team. He read about their experience and powers, everything about their results in the Champions’ Battlefield and about the other champion.

“A sniper.”

The new champion also had the power to tie enemies up. Their experience wasn’t bad either: six victories and three defeats. The new champion had started with losses, but they’d been on a winning streak nowadays. They would be a big help to the allies.

Junhyuk checked out their adversaries as well. The enemy champions had a distinguished record.

“This won’t be easy.”

They’d been paired up with the opposing team because Junhyuk used to be on their team. The opponents also had six straight wins, and their team was composed of a tank, an a.s.sa.s.sin and a vanguard. It was a balanced team.

“The a.s.sa.s.sin is the problem.”

If Junhyuk were still there, he would have been able to protect Sarang with his force field, but that wasn’t the case. Who would save Sarang in his stead? However, the new a.s.sa.s.sin did not have a hiding power.

The a.s.sa.s.sin used shadows to move in and out to attack, just like a hero Junhyuk had fought early in his career. If Sarang was aware of the distance between them, she’d be able to deal with the a.s.sa.s.sin.

Her Thunderstorm could kill enemies who had not invested much on defense, and if her enemy survived the first one, she could always trigger her item and cast another one right after. Two of those should be able to kill any champion.

The item’s effect had a long cooldown, but even without it, her power was still the most useful of the bunch. After reading through that, he scanned further through the book.

“Can I take the book with me?”

[You can’t take it outside. And you must place your bet now.]

“I heard I can watch the battle in real time. How is that possible?”

[You can’t watch all of the Champions’ Battlefields, but you may watch the one you bet on. We have a viewing room.]

“Then, my time will stop also?”

[Certainly!]

He nodded.

“What is the rate of return for Gongon’s battlefield?”

[Gongon team’s core strength, Junhyuk Lee, is out, so the rate went up. Because of Junhyuk, the rate for the other team had gone down as well, but now it’s up again. Those placing bets have higher opinions of the enemy than of Gongon’s team.]

“But Gongon is still there!”

[Yes, but Sarang’s equipment is still very weak.]

Sarang had bought a lot of equipment, and her defense had increased. The truth was that Kilraden was strong, especially against Sarang, and he had realized that even more after fighting those weak heroes.

He wondered just how high Kilraden’s attack stat was. Maybe now that he wasn’t in the battlefield, Sarang would really be able to shine.

“So, what are the odds now?”

[If you bet now, you’ll get about twice what you put in. The battle will take place next week, so it’s impossible to predict the exact odds.]

Junhyuk nodded and pulled out his hand.

“I’ll bet 200,000G on Gongon’s team.”

He was betting his entire victory reward. He was gambling, sure, but he also trusted Gongon and Sarang.

[That’s a significant amount. Your bet has been registered.]

Junhyuk looked at Ariel and asked, “Am I going back now?”

[There’s one more thing for you to do. Did you like anybody on your team today?]

He shook his head.

“No. Did anyone pick me?”

[All four of your teammates picked you for their team.]

Laughing, Junhyuk asked, “I can’t decide now. If I want to pick a hero from this team, can I decide that after the three rounds?”

[That’s not possible.]

“Well, nothing I can do for now,” he said, smacking his lips. “I can’t decide for now.”

[Understood. I will see you in the next round.]

“Till next time.”

He said his goodbye, and the s.p.a.ce around him crumbled. The world changed. He slowly opened his eyes and looked around. He was on a bed in the j.a.panese hotel.

Junhyuk pulled out the magitek book and said, “I have to visit Korea soon.”

He wanted to meet with Elise, but if he could not, he would ask her to come to j.a.pan. As he thought about it, he murmured, “It would be nice if I could teleport to South Korea.”

Junhyuk entered his training facility. Inside, he watched as the morning monster appeared. It was a fully-powered A-ranked monster, and if he didn’t kill it, more wouldn’t show up.

He walked toward the monsters that had appeared, and the Wolf Warlord turned to him. Howling, it ran toward Junhyuk. By now, Junhyuk knew that he could use the Spatial Collapse on living things.

What about using it on the Wolf Warlord?

He cast the Spatial Collapse on the middle of the Wolf Warlord’s chest. The monster sensed the attack coming and quickly tried to withdraw, but there was no way to escape the collapse.

Craack!

The Wolf Warlord’s ribs were shattered, and it started getting squeezed by the vacuum of s.p.a.ce. Then, Junhyuk used his Spatial Slash. The Wolf Warlord couldn’t move, so the attack landed.

Junhyuk looked at the dead body of the Wolf Warlord, pulled out his communication crystal orb and connected to Gongon and Sarang.

Sarang was still wearing her pajamas, and Gongon looked all sweaty.

“Why did you call me two days in a row?” the hatchling complained slightly, and Junhyuk smiled at him.

“I can bet on you guys now that I’ve become a hero and I read the entries for your new enemies.”

“Yeah? What are they like?”

“A standard tank, an a.s.sa.s.sin, and a vanguard.”

“Interesting. What about our new partner?”

“A sniper with a recent winning record.”

“I don’t have time to strategize!”

“I’ll do it!” Sarang shouted with her hand up, and Gongon shrugged.

“Do it. I must train some more.”

Looking at Junhyuk, she asked, “Big brother, did you win?”

Gongon was curious too, and as the hatchling looked at him, Junhyuk sighed and answered, “I fought heroes, sure, but the team selection process was c.r.a.p!”

“Team selection?”

“That’s right. I have to form a team within three rounds. If not, I’ll get randomly a.s.signed to heroes who’ve selected me.”

“So, you’re depending on luck?”

“You must become a hero soon. I want you on my team.”

“Ha-ha-ha! You know my value.”

Junhyuk smiled and nodded.

“Please do it. And win in the Champions’ Battlefield.”

“How much did you bet?”

“Two hundred thousand.”

“That’s a lot! And when you win?”

“Twice that.”

“OK. I’ll win for sure.”

Gongon disappeared, and Sarang waved at Junhyuk, saying, “I’ll plan our strategy.”

“Right.”

Then, she was gone, and Junhyuk connected with Artlan.

“Hm? Did you select a team?”

“You knew about that?!”

“All heroes know about it. The selection process happens to everyone.”

“Is that how you made your team?”

Artlan laughed and said, “I knew Vera beforehand. She’s from my dimension. The others came from the team selection.”

“Right.”

“Did you find anybody you like?”

“No,” he answered curtly.

Artlan gave him some advice, “People who don’t find harmony within their team members often aren’t selected. Such people aren’t quite heroes. However, don’t be dismissive of those you are working with.”

“Thanks for the advice. I was having a hard time.”

“Did you win?”

“Yes,” he answered, and Artlan laughed with joy.

“We may fight one another someday.”

His heart pounded. Artlan had taught him what he knew, and Junhyuk did not want to fight him or any of his former teammates.

“If you want to fight me, win and win again. Form a nice team as well.”

Junhyuk nodded and asked, “Now that I’m out, are you keeping Sarang?”

“Probably. Vera still wants her.”

“Do look after her.”

“Don’t worry. We are fighting to win.”

Junhyuk disconnected and returned to the hotel room. He washed himself lightly and walked out. When he did, he saw Major Jiro waiting for him.

“Guardians has called for you.”

He had been expecting that call as well. A thousand people had been summoned that day, just in his battlefield. Even though many had returned, abnormal narcolepsy cases were happening again. Guardians was aware of that too.

Eunseo already knew about the situation, but the countries’ delegates didn’t.

Junhyuk could see the people gathered in the Guardians’ meeting room. Eunseo and delegates from five other countries were there. He greeted them.

“Why did you call me?”

Steve spoke up carefully, “There are cases of abnormal narcolepsy again. Do you know anything about it?

Junhyuk answered calmly, “The abnormal narcolepsy happens because people are summoned to the Dimensional Battlefield, but you already know about that. It only means that the Dimensional Battlefield has started up again.”

“You mean it wasn’t over?”

He felt no need to share the information.

“I don’t know why it had stopped, but it began again. I’ll let the teams rest so they can be summoned to the battlefield. You must recheck on activated novices and experts. Those will also be summoned to the battlefield.”

“Sure. We’ll check.”

After that, Junhyuk turned to Eunseo and said, “I’ll restart the training on Sunday, but the team members will probably be summoned today, and some of them will not come back. I’ll need more experts and novices. Is that possible?”

“It’s possible. Just tell me when novices go missing, and I’ll get those position filled.”

Junhyuk had handpicked the teams, and they all served a purpose together. He had thought about their combination, but if some didn’t come back, he had to fill the void.

He had a lot of ranged attackers. There was a high number of DPS novices in the Dimensional Battlefield, but he wished his own novices would come back safely.

“I’ll call you again tomorrow.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

Junhyuk got up and looked at Jiro.

“Abnormal narcolepsy is a thing again. Report to me on my novices and experts every two hours.”

“Yes, sir!”

Junhyuk went to his room and called Elise through his phone.

“Aren’t you busy? Why did you call me?”

“I got the stuff you asked for, but I also have another present you’ll like.”

“A present?!”

“However, I have to stay where I am, so what do we do?”

“I’ll see you in three hours!”