Junhyuk had been invited to the banquet, but he was worried. Should he show up in armor like he’d done to everything so far? Or should he show up as his real self?

He decided it wasn’t time for him to show his real face yet. Junhyuk knew that he was really important to humanity now, but there were those who would try to use him, and while he could protect himself from those that would try, he would also have to protect those close to him.

Some people might even take his family hostage to get him to destroy a tear in their country. He knew all about the selfishness of people, so he couldn’t show his real self yet.

For that reason, Junhyuk created another face. His eyebrows were thick, and he had strong, intense eyes. Junhyuk gave himself gray hair and looked at himself in the mirror.

After creating the new face, Junhyuk felt more comfortable. He would only use that face within allied countries because he didn’t have an ID to go with it. Looking at himself in the mirror, Junhyuk made different expressions. Then, he turned to the tuxedo on the bed.

Clothes had been supplied to all of those who would attend the banquet.

Smacking his lips, Junhyuk put it on, and although he was very muscular, the tuxedo fit well. When he walked outside, many people were already waiting for him, so he walked toward them, and they were astonished by his face.

He looked manly, and the face made him look imponent with its intense eyes. Everyone followed behind him, getting into their vehicles.

Arriving at the banquet where President Woonpyung Jo and other famous people were gathered, Junhyuk walked to President Jo, and the president walked up to him and smiled, offering Junhyuk his hand. Looking around, Junhyuk declared, “Send the reporters away.”

President Jo stared at him for a moment and nodded.

“Let’s.”

He motioned with his eyes, and soon, all of the reporters were gone.

“I want to enjoy the banquet, so I don’t people watching me,” Junhyuk explained.

“I did not think of it.”

However, President Jo must have known there would be reporters there. He had wanted to advertise the banquet with the hero. The monsters had dealt a ma.s.sive blow to humanity, and to mitigate that, they had to give people hope.

The powered people were that hope, and President Jo wanted to tell people that he was by their side.

Junhyuk, on the other hand, didn’t want to go along with President Jo’s plan.

President Jo offered him a seat and a drink and asked, “Is Shanghai next? Or Hong Kong?”

Junhyuk shook his head.

“The next target will be in another country.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to take care of China since you are already here?”

Junhyuk hadn’t heard about the third country from Doyeol yet, but he knew China wasn’t it. He just shook his head, and President Jo grimaced a little.

The president knew Junhyuk was there to destroy the Beijing tear, but did Junhyuk really have to go to another country now? He wished that Junhyuk would take care of the tears in China first, but Junhyuk’s response didn’t go as he expected.

Junhyuk emptied his gla.s.s and answered, “I’ll decide when and where.”

President Jo stared at him calmly. He understood that Junhyuk was very aware of his position. The Dark Knight was a hero to the people already. The world’s population kept saying that only the Dark Knight could destroy dimensional tears.

Even though President Jo had a champion now, that champion couldn’t kill A-ranked monsters. Therefore, President Jo had to maintain a friendly relationship with Junhyuk still.

“Then, when can you destroy the tears in Shanghai and Hong Kong?”

“When the time is right.”

There was nothing President Jo could do about it, but he wanted to remain on good terms with Junhyuk. So far, President Jo had never met anyone he couldn’t deal with. If someone wanted honor, he would give them honor. If someone wanted power, he would give them power. If someone wanted money, President Jo would give them money.

At the moment, Junhyuk was refusing to deal with President Jo, but that only meant that he could not satisfy Junhyuk’s needs.

President Jo smiled and said, “I’ve heard that each time you destroy a tear you get paid $1 billion. However, that can’t be much after you pay your entire team. I’ll give you another billion for the tears in China.”

Junhyuk nodded. No one had died in the last battle, which felt like a miracle. However, he also wanted to consider those team members who had fallen comatose. The novices and experts together numbered sixty people, so $1 billion divided among them would only give $15 million each.

On top of that, if he gave a larger amount to the experts, the novices would get $10 million each.

If he made sure to pay those who had died, even more would show up to join the effort, especially if he made their remunerations public. On top of that, initiative was important. If China paid them an extra $1 billion, other countries would follow suit.

“It would help a lot.”

“Ha-ha-ha! Just don’t forget about China.”

From then on, Junhyuk changed the topic of the conversation, and they talked about different things throughout.

—

After the banquet was over, Junhyuk was on his way to his room when Jeffrey came to see him. Once inside the room, Jeffrey turned on a tablet, and Doyeol’s face appeared on the screen.

“Is that what you look like as the dark knight?”

Junhyuk smiled and said, “That’s right. Call me DK in public.”

“I will.”

Junhyuk could guess as to why Doyeol was contacting him.

“I’ve destroyed two tears, so have you decided on the third target?”

“I have. Destroy the tear in New York.”

“Will do.”

“You aren’t going to ask me why?”

“You need me there, and I’m not too interested in the why.”

It was up to Doyeol, and Junhyuk didn’t want to meddle. Doyeol smiled and asked, “Do you need anything? I’ll supply you with whatever you need.”

After some thought, Junhyuk answered, “If I do, I’ll let you know.”

“Can I ask you something?”

Junhyuk nodded, and Doyeol asked, “Can we destroy the dimensional tears without you?”

Junhyuk answered, “You’ll need at least two heroes.”

Junhyuk knew his own strength. Even two new heroes together would have a lot of difficulty destroying a tear, which was why he said at least two.

Doyeol knew he wasn’t joking. He understood Junhyuk well now. He had a strong personality, but he was stronger than all of the novices and experts together.

“I understand now. May you have strength.”

Junhyuk nodded and disconnected. Then, he turned to Jeffrey, and Jeffrey smiled at him.

“You’ve worked hard.”

“How is it going?”

“What is?”

“I thought you were gathering more powered people.”

Jeffrey smirked and answered, “We have twelve new novices.”

“Really?!”

Junhyuk knew that Jeffrey was also busy with the experts’ team.

“Since you are here, who is protecting Doyeol?”

“I don’t know. He must have someone new, but he didn’t tell me.”

Doyeol hadn’t sent Jeffrey away without thinking of it first. Junhyuk wanted to get along with Doyeol, so, shaking his head, he said, “I’ll have to hold a meeting with Guardians early tomorrow. Tell the others about the plan.”

“That we are going to New York?”

Junhyuk nodded, and Jeffrey got up and replied, “Then, rest easy.”

Jeffrey went out, and Junhyuk entered the training facility. He couldn’t rest yet.

After activating four powers, one could become a hero, but on Earth, being a hero wasn’t the end of it. While he inspected his new core, Sarang entered the facility.

“Big brother!”

She walked up toward him, checking out his face, and asked, “Big brother, have you seen the pictures?”

“No.”

Sarang offered him her smartphone, and Junhyuk saw a picture of him and President Jo. He laughed when he saw it.

“You look more handsome than now.”

“Do I?”

She smiled and replied, “But, I like your real face much better.”

“It’s OK.”

Junhyuk pulled out the cracked core and gave it to Sarang.

“I want to give this to you before I forget. Take it.”

“This is the core you’ve been studying!”

“That’s right,” he said and pulled out the new core. “This is a new one. I was able to remove it safely, so I’ll be studying it from now on.”

“Then, are you giving this one to me?”

“Show it to Vera.”

Sarang nodded and looked at the cracked core.

“I can sense something within it, but I don’t know what.”

“Vera knows about teleportation magic, so maybe she knows about the cores. If we learn more about them, it’ll certainly help us.”

They didn’t know much about the cores, but it was because of them that the monster areas persisted and grew. If they found out how they worked, maybe they would have other options.

To deal with management, they had to know more about the cores.

Sarang nodded and put the core away.

“Shall we begin?”

Junhyuk laughed loudly and pulled out the Wolf Warlord’s claw swords. Lately, the two had been sparring against each other.

Sarang would be alone in the Champions’ Battlefield, so she had to train hard. For that reason, they had started sparring. Junhyuk wouldn’t teleport or use his acceleration. They would distance themselves from each other, and after the signal, he would quickly chased after her.

Sarang would keep her distance from him, using her electric arrows in the process. She had long range attacks, which she had to practice.

When they weren’t fighting monsters, they were sparring. That way, both sides learned about each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Junhyuk was faster, but he had to be aware of Sarang’s casting, so he couldn’t move at full speed. His defense was still better.

Once they had distanced themselves, they smiled.

“Then, let’s begin.”