The Pinnacle of the World (1)
Odyssey.
The stage that determines the pinnacle of the world.
As the number of awakeners increased and their influence grew, the stature of the Odyssey also rose accordingly.
With the arrival of the Golden Generation, Korea participated in the Odyssey with great ambitions, but so did the other countries.
This Odyssey would be the most intense tournant yet, with Golden Generations clashing against each other.
'Master.'
Baek Hojun's thoughts, in particular, were unique.
In the past, his master, hunter Jung Yoo-shin, experienced humiliation at the Odyssey ten years ago.
After returning from the Odyssey, his master always said the world was vast.
Genius.
Perhaps his master had encountered such a person as he always spoke of.
'I wonder what I'll be like.'
He was not a genius.
He certainly had talent, but not to a level deserving of the title 'genius'.
Still, he considered himself blessed and had lived his life accordingly.
"Nervous?"
At that mont, Park Jung-woo, who was sitting next to him on the plane, spoke to Hojun.
"Not particularly."
"You looked deep in thought, that's all."
"Well, it's inevitable. I worry whether I might end up like my master."
At Hojun's remark, Jung-woo chuckled.
"You've already seen Soo-ah, haven't you?"
That was evidence that he was convinced of Soo-ah's talent.
No matter which hunter they would face at the Odyssey, he was confident that Soo-ah's talent would never fall behind.
"And besides, hunter Baek Hojun-nim... You haven't really shown your true abilities yet, have you?"
"I haven't had a reason to fight since the SuHunK."
"Then this would be a good opportunity to show what you're capable of. You know, right? For our Korean team at this Odyssey, hunter Baek Hojun-nim is our strongest mber."
At those words, it was Baek Hojun's turn to laugh.
"I thought for sure you'd say it was Hunter Shin Ah-yeon-nim. Ah, of course, I'm not disparaging the two S-rank hunters from Grand Nova."
The two S-rank hunters from Grand Nova were the veterans sustaining Korea's hunter world.
Their skill needed no further words, but at least to Baek Hojun, Shin Ah-yeon surpassed them.
"Hunter Shin Ah-yeon-nim will have things to do with Odin's Eye midway through. Also, I think it's best for her to conceal her full strength. The others aren't going to be keeping a strong watch on Hunter Shin Ah-yeon-nim anyway."
"... That could be true."
The public believed that Shin Ah-yeon's mana hall had been destroyed.
Though it was said she had been healed, there hadn't been a proper opportunity for her to showcase her true abilities yet.
Maybe when she fought the rampaging Ji Yeon-hwa, or during the Jeju Island incident?
Even then, there wasn't much footage, so many remained doubtful.
She garnered attention mostly for having created a new magical system called 'Circle Magic'.
"So, we're keeping Ah-yeon as a kind of secret weapon in reserve."
"Haha."
Baek Hojun laughed as if he'd heard sothing amusing.
"Isn't the real secret weapon soone else?"
"Huh?"
"As far as I know... there's a hunter among the Odyssey mbers this ti whom I've never heard of."
No Na.
Baek Hojun quietly muttered that na.
"Honestly, I have no idea who this person is, right?"
As Baek Hojun teased him, Park Jung-woo could only avert his gaze.
***
As soon as we arrived in Arica, we were swept away by a throng of people.
At first, I wondered if the reporters crowding the airport entrance were here to cover us, but they paid us no heed.
"Sol Mayer! The British team is over there!!"
I heard soone shouting in English.
It seed that the British team's arrival happened to overlap with ours, and the press sward after the British team in perfect order.
"Well, we're definitely being treated as leftovers here."
Gong Je-hun, the hunter association representative accompanying us, frowned.
Other association employees and hunters looked quite displeased as well.
"Hmph."
Yeon-ji, who had been puffing herself up in front of the press, shot a sharp glare at them, her face brimming with annoyance.
'She really likes to show off sotis.'
Should I say it's good to see that unchanged? Or should I say it seems healthy?
"Let's move to the hotel first. We should unpack and also start adjusting to the ti difference."
Since the tournant was held on the other side of the globe, jet lag was the primary hurdle for Korean hunters.
Fortunately, Ah-yeon, whose schedule was already flipped between day and night, seed unfazed, but Soo-ah, who lived by the book, was already half-asleep.
"I'll take you to the hotel. From what I know, the Odyssey hotel arrangents—"
"E-excuse , please wait!!"
Suddenly, soone interrupted Gong Je-hun, who was about to lead us to our lodging.
Turning to look, we saw a man in thick glasses, panting as he looked our way.
"I'm Veil Robinson, a reporter from MHN. You're the Korean team, right?"
"Ah, yes."
"If you don't mind, could we get a quick interview or take a few photos?"
At Veil's words, Gong Je-hun looked back at , his gaze asking what I wanted to do. I nodded.
"Thank you. Y-you're Manager Park Jung-woo, correct?"
"That's right."
With my brief response, the reporter's face brightened.
He frantically motioned to the caraman behind him to hurry and shoot.
"It's truly an honor to et this year's most talked-about figure in Arica. Have you been comfortable so far?"
"Yes, not too uncomfortable... but I don't think I'm as big a topic as you say."
As I replied, glancing at the reporters flooding after the British team, veil waved his hands, flustered.
"N-no! The thing is, it was originally announced that the Korean team would arrive at LaGuardia Airport. Most of the dia are probably waiting over there!"
"Huh?"
"We received updated info late and hurried over here after hearing about the change."
He showed us his sweat-soaked shirt.
Considering the distance between LaGuardia and JFK, he probably didn't literally "run" all the way, but he did get here in a rush.
"Why was the information wrong?"
Ah-yeon asked Gong Je-hun, who shook his head, looking puzzled.
"I... I'm not sure. I said from the start that we'd be arriving here..."
"Well, it ans we can get to the hotel in peace, so it works for ."
Ah-yeon, who never cared about interviews, looked unbothered, but Yeon-ji was genuinely disappointed.
Ardan gently patted Yeon-ji's back, but she shot him a frosty glare and he hurriedly withdrew his hand.
"That's odd... I'm sure I reported it correctly."
Gong Je-hun murmured as he scrolled through online articles, looking concerned.
In truth, the internet was full of news about the Korean team arriving at a different airport than originally planned.
'Looks like Enoch intervened.'
He probably manipulated the information to spare us from the reporters.
Even so, Veil Robinson's quick judgnt in getting here deserved applause.
"Manager Park Jung-woo, may I ask what Korea's goal is at this Odyssey?"
Veil took out his notebook, ready to jot down my response.
People who participate in the Odyssey usually refrain from making rash statents.
Especially for those like Korea, who are participating after a long absence or for the first ti, words were chosen carefully.
For S-rank hunters, the honor of the nation was at stake.
"Of course, to take the championship."
So my words inevitably caused a massive stir.
***
【Coach of the Korean National Team Park Jung-woo. "Speaks of Victory."】
【Manager Park Jung-woo's arrogant words】
The interview with MHN's Veil spread quickly online.
This showed just how hot the interest in this Odyssey was.
【Is Park Jung-woo confident? What's he going to do if they gets eliminated without a single win like last ti?】
【Would you rather go as your nation's representative and say your goal is just one win like a coward?】
【I'd prefer that, haha. You'd think we at least made the semifinals ten years ago.】
It wasn't just foreign countries—Korea was in even more of an uproar.
The most common response was that we were "drinking kimchi soup".
No matter how much people praised Korea's Golden Generation, other countries had theirs too, so many claid I was being too arrogant.
"Okay, is everyone here?"
Of course, I didn't care about the online reactions.
The fastest way to resolve such controversy was always through results.
"Let
explain the rules for this Odyssey."
This year's Odyssey, held in the US, assigned each country its own training facility.
As expected from Arica, the leading nation in magic-engineering, the facilities and scale were state-of-the-art.
"First, in two days, we'll draw the brackets for the winner-stays-on tournant. Thirty-two countries are participating in this year's Odyssey, but since Arica won't compete, one team will automatically move on."
Compared to the last Odyssey with 21 participating countries, this was a particularly large event.
"And for the A-rank team tournant, there are even more—forty-eight countries. So we'll hold a separate internal qualifier, and from the round of sixteen, it'll go public."
As I explained, I glanced at Yun Seung-hyuk, who looked tense.
Ardan stood quietly behind him, arms crossed.
'Didn't think they'd actually qualify.'
This year's Korean A-rank team consisted of Ghost and Point.
Surprisingly, Grand Nova's A-rank party "Tempest" had been eliminated.
Of course, they still ca as alternates, but the official representative was Point.
Naturally, people online claid that Point only made the cut because I, as the manager, pulled strings and parachuted them in.
'All the more reason why they have to win.'
I could only assu the pressure on Yun Seung-hyuk as the party's leader was huge, but I believed he'd overco it.
"For the winner-stays-on tournant, three people participate as a team per match. Which mbers compete will be decided with input from the other managers, but the final say lies with ."
At my words, a man quietly raised his hand.
"Is there any guarantee that mbers won't be unfairly selected?"
He was a man with sleek black hair combed back and narrow, squinting eyes.
Grand Nova's S-rank Hunter, 'Hong Ji-hak'.
Known as a master of all throwing weapons, he participated in this Odyssey alongside the Sword King.
"As you all know, there are two S-rank hunters from Unique participating this ti. So might suspect you'll favor them."
He looked at
with a snake-like glare.
"That won't happen."
"I'd like to believe that, but I've heard that quite a few of this year's Odyssey mbers were chosen thanks to your influence, manager Park Jung-woo."
He glanced at Yeon-ji.
Unlike the others, Yeon-ji was brought in solely upon my recomndation.
"And there's that unidentified, unaffiliated hunter who isn't present here."
The sarcasm in his tone made the room fall silent.
No one expected a Grand Nova hunter, who'd been quiet until then, to say such a thing at this eting.
"Of course, I understand. It's only natural to have doubts. It's a valid point."
But I accepted it calmly.
In fact, his statent was rather welco.
"So, I have a suggestion."
"A suggestion?"
"Yes, hunter Hong Ji-hak-nim, I think you'll be very satisfied. Now, let's see... We've got more than 30 hours left until group selection, since it's two days away."
At the ntion of ti, Ah-yeon and Yeon-ji both grimaced simultaneously.
Soo-ah looked at
with a troubled face, seeming to know what I was about to say.
"To beco a real team, we need to know each other's abilities, don't you think?"
"Excuse ?"
"Ah, you didn't get it?"
Hong Ji-hak's concerns were entirely valid.
Since I was Unique's manager, I could have easily built the team around Unique's S-rank hunters.
Even if not said aloud, other association staff, the alternate hunters, and countless observers back in Korea would think the sa.
That thought wasn't beneficial for .
Even if I picked Ah-yeon or Soo-ah as the main mbers due to their skill, no one would listen.
So the solution to that controversy was extrely simple.
"I an you should spar with each other right now. Before facing opponents, don't you think you need to gauge each other's strength?"
If we decided who was the strongest in advance, there'd be no problem.
Assessing the differences and characteristics could co after.
In short, I was suggesting a hierarchy match.
"What an absurd—!"
Bang!!
Just as the flustered Hong Ji-hak began to protest, his head jerked forward sharply and he toppled over.
Everyone turned to look at the woman standing behind Hong Ji-hak.
It was Shin Ah-yeon, who had just struck Hong Ji-hak's head with the chair she'd been sitting on.
"What, I thought we were starting right away?"
At Ah-yeon's mumbling— 'Aren't we supposed to start fighting now?'—everyone else's chairs belatedly clattered to the floor.
Thus began the ti for hierarchy sorting.
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
Drinking Kimchi Soup ??
being overly optimistic or getting ahead of yourself.
Hahaha, I didn't expect Ah-yeon to throw hands so readily.
【????????(??????)】
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