The blinding light was gone, and Junhyuk saw Ariel in front of him.

[Congratulations on your victory!] He nodded, and Ariel smiled as she spoke to him. [A reward of 200,000G has been added to your account.]

Junhyuk realized he had earned a small fortune. The victory reward and the items dropped by the enemies, they all added up.

However, he still didn’t have enough to buy a Vampire Lord set item, but should he focus on a new weapon first?

He thought seriously about what he should do. Currently, his defense was greater than any of the enemies he had come up against. However, an item from the Vampire Lord set would boost the entire set. Would that be better than getting a new weapon?

If he got killed, he would definitely lose an item from the set, but weapons didn’t drop.

Still thinking, Junhyuk asked, “Can I still bet on the Champions’ Battlefield?”

[Of course!]

He frowned a bit. Gongon was gone, so Sarang’s team lacked strength. He didn’t want to bet on her for now. He still cared a lot about her, but he didn’t want to waste his gold.

Junhyuk inspected the champion that would join her team. They were a tank. It seemed like their defense was as great as other tanks, and they had a taunt. They also had a stun, but they lacked power. The tank’s record wasn’t great either.

Junhyuk didn’t know who would win, so he decided not to make a significant bet that round. However, he still wanted to watch Sarang fight, so he chose to bet a small amount.

“What’s the lowest amount I can bet?”

[A hundred gold.]

“Then, I’ll bet 1,000G.”

[Are you betting on Sarang again?]

Junhyuk nodded, and Ariel took care of the rest. He shrugged and asked, “Then, can I make a partner selection now?”

Ariel smiled and asked, [Did you like anyone?]

Nodding, Junhyuk answered, “Layla, the hero. I want her in my team.”

[The Hero Layla has also selected you as a partner. Since you’ve both selected each other, you’ll be on the same team next round.]

Junhyuk was a little anxious, so he asked, “Can I select an enemy to be on my team?”

[Unfortunately, no. Only allies can be selected as teammates.]

Junhyuk had expected that answer, but after hearing it, he felt despondent.

“So, for us to be on the same team, we’ll have to fight on the same team?”

[Correct.]

Ariel was smiling brightly, but Junhyuk was even more anxious.

“Luck is definitely a part of getting people in the same team.”

It was possible for Junhyuk to meet Gongon as an enemy again. Wishing that wouldn’t be the case, he told Ariel, “Then, see you next time.”

[As always, may the force be with you.]

Junhyuk returned to the flowing timeline. He opened his eyes slowly and stretched. He had spent a lot of time where no time pa.s.sed, so psychologically, he was tired.

He threw himself on the bed. It was Friday, so there was no training. He lay there comfortably and thought about his battles with Gongon, falling asleep as he did.

—

After sleeping soundly, Junhyuk woke up. He was rested, so he checked on the time and saw that it was seven in the evening.

He stretched and walked out of the room. Major Poma saw him, walked up and said, “So far, three haven’t woken up.”

On Fridays, novices were summoned, and there was nothing he could do about it. He sighed and asked, “How about the experts?”

“Three went through narcolepsy, but they all woke up.”

“I see.”

Junhyuk walked to the roof. There, he looked far away toward the Russian monster area. When he heard footsteps approaching him, he turned around.

Ling Ling was walking toward him. She looked a little disturbed, and when he saw her, he was a little surprised.

She bowed toward him, and he asked, “Have you become a champion?”

Her eyes widened, and when she took a step back, he asked her, “Were you planning on hiding it?”

“How did you know?”

“All I have to do is look at you.”

Junhyuk could do it, but Ling Ling frowned and asked, “Is that a power?”

“It’s more of an equipment than a power.”

She nodded and declared, “Certainly, you are a hero.”

Junhyuk didn’t deny it, and Ling Ling shook her head and added, “You aren’t an ordinary hero.”

“What do you mean?”

“For a hero, you are too strong.”

Junhyuk laughed and turned to the Russian monster area.

“Heroes are stronger than you can imagine. When you meet a real one, you’ll lose your confidence.”

Those were his honest feelings. Without his equipment, would Junhyuk be able to approach Artlan? No, Junhyuk wouldn’t be able to shine Artlan’s shoes. However, with his equipment, things were different.

Ling Ling nodded and walked closer to him. While she was looking far away at the Russian monster area, he asked her, “Were you an expert for a long time?”

Ling Ling turned to him, and Junhyuk smiled and asked, “You must be expert 002, right?”

She frowned hard. Looking at him nervously, she said, “You are 001.”

Junhyuk didn’t deny it, and Ling Ling looked far away again.

“What are you going to do?”

He smiled and replied, “Since you are a champion now, we’ll attack a monster area.” Turning to her, he asked, “What’s your third power?”

“I can create wind blades everywhere,” she answered.

Junhyuk knew Ling Ling’s powers were wind-based, but now he also realized that her powers were fully focused on attacking. If she became a hero, her role would be damage.

“OK. You’ll protect the experts. You’ll be able to do anything you want with them.”

“Are we attacking a monster area right now?”

After some thought, he replied, “Tomorrow. I’ll contact Guardians and get a meeting with the delegates.”

“Where are we attacking?”

“Well…”

She asked carefully, “Can we go to China first?”

He turned to her. There were three dimensional tears in China. The one in Beijing had caused the most damage. They had lost historical sites, and many people had died.

“We’ll stop one of the Chinese tears. Make sure to fight with all you have.”

They had to stop the Chinese tears anyway, and now that Ling Ling was a champion, he wanted to congratulate her by taking one of them out first.

“Thank you!”

She bowed to him, and he said, “But, keep the fact that I’m a hero a secret between us.”

She smiled.

“Many intelligent people know it already, though I can’t be sure.”

Ling Ling had found out only after she had become a champion. She had realized that Junhyuk wouldn’t be an easy person to overcome.

“There is a difference between when you say things and when people guess.” Smiling, he added, “Now, we can really go after the tears.”

Ling Ling nodded, pumping her fists. Junhyuk looked into the distance. He had wished for more experts, but he had gotten a champion instead.

Then, she asked him hesitantly, “I signed a contract. Do you know anything about the Champions’ Battlefield?”

Junhyuk had been the first human champion, so he had had the right to recruit other human champions to his team. However, he didn’t know if Sarang had acquired the same right now that he wasn’t one.

After thinking about it, Junhyuk replied, “You’ll form a team with two other champions. The battlefield itself is smaller than Nightmare Mountain, and that’s where you’ll learn to lead.”

“I must lead…”

“Think of it as practice for becoming a hero.”

Ling Ling thought about heroes leading minions into fights and guessed at the dynamics of the Champions’ Battlefield.

“Right.”

Junhyuk pulled out his cell phone.

“I have a new champion, and we know our next target, so let’s get ready. I’ll report to Guardians about China.”

“Understood. I’ll call my country as well.”

Junhyuk walked down from the roof and made the call. Eunseo picked up.

“I have a new champion.”

“Who is it?”

“One of the Chinese experts, Ling Ling.”

“You mean the one with wind powers?”

“That’s the one. Our second target will be in China. Is there a problem with that?”

“No problem. When are you moving out?”

“I’ll still need more experts, but with a new champion, we’ll attack immediately.”

“I’ll call a meeting.”

“Please do.”

After Junhyuk hung up, he asked Major Poma to gather up the rest, who were now awake. Within ten minutes, the powered people gathered in the hotel’s meeting room.

“Some of you haven’t come back from the Dimensional Battlefield, but I want to tell you something.”

Everyone listened attentively, and Junhyuk called Ling Ling to the front and introduced her.

“Ling Ling, from the experts’ team, has become a champion.”

People were stunned, and Junhyuk clapped. The others began to clap as well, and Ling Ling gave them a light bow.

He waited for everyone to calm down and continued, “Ling Ling will lead the experts’ team. Starting tomorrow, we’ll destroy tears around the world.”

“Where will we attack first?” Peyton asked.

Junhyuk nodded at the question and answered, “The second dimensional tear we’ll destroy will be in China.”