Chapter 4 – A Rather Undesired Meeting. Continuation. (1)

I was a son who got compared to my father in every way. Not only that, but I also couldn’t even compare to the tip of my father’s toes. But… How was it my problem?

Chefs who spent all their life cooking fall into despair when they encounter my father; Martial artists who spent all their life training fall into despair when they see my father’s techniques; Writers who devoted their lives to writing literally fall into despair when they see my father’s writings, and musicians who devoted their life to music forget to even breathe at the tunes of my father’s instruments playing skills. I wasn’t the one who was lacking. He was just exceedingly outstanding.

‘Yes, perhaps… It can be interpreted like that.’

That was right. I might have embraced the facts. If he had only been a stranger.

-Hmm… Your grades aren’t as good as I thought. But it seems like you did your best.

I had always been compared.

-Ah! So you are his son!

-Oh, but… you aren’t as handsome.

-Hey, what are you saying in front of a kid!

It happened from when I was young.

-Oh, uh… so you aren’t good at sports. That’s unexpected…

-Mmm… you don’t even have an artistic side…

My friends. My teacher. Even those who came to see my father and left in despair had to compare me with him.

‘You are his son. Not a stranger but his actual son, so why is there such a huge difference? You don’t resemble him a bit!’

That was right. That was the problem.

If I had been someone else, people would have treated me as another human being, but unfortunately(?), he was my actual father. Getting compared was inevitable. I might have even done the same. Those who knew my father and I couldn’t help but wonder how that superior DNA gave birth to such a common specimen (It’s not correct to call me that because I developed a strange ability). And the people who were interested in me eventually came to the conclusion that I was a quick-witted boy. They judged that I would never be better than him in any way because I hadn’t been able to inherit my father’s talents.

But in fact, there was one thing I was better at than my father.

You win. Perfect.

“Woooow! Awesome! 32 wins in a row!”

“What’s with this guy?! No, in the first place, can such a winning streak come out from a fighting game? Those guys aren’t even beginners either.”

“Damn it. How am I supposed to win when he blocks everything as if he’s able to see the future? I’m also good at this game, but I’ve already lost 8 matches!”

People around me were shocked but I felt a sense of shame rather than being happy.

“Being good at this…”

Yes. I’m good at playing games. I’m playing a fighting game right now. However, I’m good at all kinds of games regardless of their category.

‘No, I’m not that good at board games so should I say that I’m only good at computer games?’

In the case of strategy simulation games, my win rate was over 98%, and frankly, I had never lost in a fighting game unless I had decided to lose. It was to the point that I had to visit Daerim-dong[1] just because I wanted to lose. I also had a strong win rate even in FPS or MOBA games, which required some sort of team members luck, so it was not wrong to think that… whatever games I play, I would be able to enter the professional arena.

Huh? How was I so sure about that?

‘Well, that’s because I beat my father in it.’

At first, I won five games out of five. After a week, I won four out of five and then, a week later, I won three games and lost two and I wasn’t going to play again out of fear of losing (don’t tell me I’m despicable. To be honest, it’s because I feel like I would lose all hope to keep on living), so anyway, I had won all the games until now!

But of course, if I said something like ‘I beat my father in the game so I’ll be able to enter the professional arena, alright?’, it would result in people treating me like an idiot, but people who knew my father would think otherwise.

“Ah, I lost.”

“Pant pant… I, I won!!”

“Ohhh!!”

I was defeated in the end and stood up from my seat. Of course, I had let him win. To be honest, it would be never-ending unless I let them win. I thought it would be weird if I lost simply, so I lost to the best player, giving the impression that he could beat me.

Actually, fighting games aren’t games where I could bring out 100% of my abilities every time, so depending on every opponent, the synergy could be bad and the game could get dragged on if I made a poor judgement. Even experts don’t always win, so there shouldn’t be anyone thinking that I’ve lost on purpose.

“Ohh. You didn’t get rusty at all, huh? How impressive.”

“What use is there with being impressive at this?”

I snuck away from the crowd. I attracted a lot of attention, but it wasn’t so bad because the winner remained there.

“By the way, this arcade is great. The facilities are clean and it feels like it’s cutting edge overall.”

“Do you think I brought you here for nothing? The scale is big, and the latest games and popular classic games are well-established, so they are quite popular these days. Besides, they have quite a number of high-tech games.”

“True, the arcade has been quite empty for a while, but it’s really crowded now.”

Students crowding the arcades after school was a story from the past.

Honestly, how many people go to arcades these days? If they went, they’d choose to go to the PC room or Playstation Room. Arcades were disappearing. Of course, that might not necessarily be the case, but anyone would have to admit that they weren’t as good as it used to be.

“Well, frankly, it seems a bit of a risk to me. It must have cost a lot of money to decorate the arcade into this. Well, it’s not something I should worry about. Oh, drink this.”

“Thank you.”

I caught the orange juice he threw towards me and looked at the surroundings while drinking it in gulps.

It was a considerable size. There were about 200 arcade machines and not just the type where you sit down to play but there were also shooting games, archery games, and I had no idea what was the name of it, but it was something similar to a billiard table where you had to hit a small disk towards the opponent’s side. There were also the basketball machines, betting games for practice, and even some throwing games.

“By the way, did you really call me here to play games?”

“Well, what else is there?”

“Hmm, I think there’s something else.”

Jae-seok turned his head and ignored me when I looked at him with sharp eyes. But as I kept staring at him regardless of his action, cold sweat started to flow down his forehead.

“…Damn bastard. You really are a ghost when catching up on things. A ghost.”

Of course, he didn’t give off a strange vibe at all. His acting skills, coupled with his wicked heart and crafty personality, were almost at the boundary of completion to the point where if he were to become an actor, he would be able to become a world-class actor.

“…”

But unfortunately, that didn’t work on me. It was because the title ‘Has something to ask of you, Bae Jae-seok’ was still floating above his head. If his intention was merely to come to the arcade, his title would have changed the moment we arrived.

“So what’s the matter…”

“Ah, did you hear about that? About the freshmen?”

It felt like he was hurriedly changing the subject but there was no need to drive him to a corner with a pointless thing so I answered him.

“No, I haven’t heard anything related to freshmen.”

“So you haven’t. I know that you aren’t interested, but it has made quite a ruckus.”

“A ruckus?” I tilted my head. A ruckus? Was there a fight?

“Don’t be surprised. You know the Twin Roses in our school, right? It’s now the Triple Roses.”

“…”

I waited for his next words, but he said nothing else.

“…”

“…”

“…”

There was only awkward silence between the two of us for the moment.

“…What? Was that what you wanted to ask me?”

“Hey, you bastard! You should be surprised! It’s Triple Roses now! Triple! There are now three celebrity-like beauties in our school when other schools don’t even have one!!”

I got flustered at him getting angry.

No, what about it? What has that got to do with me?

It was childish, but there was something called ‘Twin Roses’ in our school.

Oh, that’s a really cringe-worthy title.

Was the world a land of martial arts to be giving them nicknames? And now that there were three of them, it had become ‘Triple Roses’? Well, anyway, one of them was the Human Slayer, Kyung-eun, who was now in the same class as me, and the other was Han Min-kyung, the current student president, a senior. If Kyung-eun was a lively and active beauty, then Han Min-kyung, or Han Min-kyung sunbae[2] was a calm and cold ice princess. No, the word “ice princess” would be wrong. Rumor had it that she was more of an ice queen than an ice princess. She was often called the black rose, but it wasn’t because she exercised any form of violence, but because of the aura around her.

“So what is it after all?”

“Excuse me, are you done talking?”

A female student wearing our school uniform approached us with a careful voice from one side. She had wavy permed hair that stretched to her shoulders and a small stature. It was… What should I say? Right, a real beauty.

Actually, it was better to label Kyung-eun and Min-kyung sunbae as beautiful women rather than beautiful girls. The female student had a startling cuteness that the two beauties didn’t have.

‘Ah, my standards will get higher if I get accustomed to these looks.’

For me, who wanted some peace, a woman who was such an outstanding beauty was considered a minus point. Even in this situation, she wasn’t that far away from that fact as people in our surroundings mumbled.

“Haha, hello.”

Bae Jae-seok raised his hand and acted like he knew her, and at that moment I had an ominous feeling. There was no way he would know a new freshman who just started school today. If that bum had known that beauty in advance, there was no way I wouldn’t have known it until now.

But she bowed her head when she saw Jae-seok.

“Yes, sunbae-nim. Ah, is this sunbae here really the son of teacher Kwan Il-han?”

I flinched at those words and then looked at Jae-seok with cold eyes.

“Did you…”

Did you just sell me out? Bae Jae-seok just shrugged his shoulders when I looked at him with eyes that implied that.

“Sorry.”

“Ugh, really.”

This guy already knows how much I’m suffering due to this!

However, I couldn’t let the ‘problem’ standing behind me discover that I was feeling annoyed so I just shot him a look that spoke ‘let’s talk later’ and turned around.

“What is it… ah, I can speak without honorifics, right?”

“Of course. You are my sunbae.”

“Thanks. So what’s your business? For your information, wanting to meet my father is a no go.”

“Eh, ah, I can’t?”

So it really is because of that.

Jae-seok, who was next to me, acted restlessly when I let out a sigh.

“Hey hey, just do it for me.”

“My father personally went around the fan clubs and said that they can’t.”

“But she doesn’t even belong to any fan club. Besides, she said that she is acquainted with your father.”

“Really?”

As far as I remembered, anyone who had a personal acquaintance with my father had never been ordinary. In a broader sense, wasn’t the President of the United States one of them?

“Oh, to be exact, I’m not acquainted, but my sister worked with him. She asked me to deliver something to him, and I want to take the chance to ask him something as well.”

She was a good-natured woman, smiling and giving an explanation, but I didn’t care and looked over her head. I could see for sure whether her words were true or not just by checking on her title. I wasn’t called a ‘Lie Detector’ for nothing.

But I was greeted with an unexpected result.

Supreme Magic Tower, Protection Barrier Class

Magician Girl, Kang Bo-ram

“…”

Please don’t do this.

1. Daerim-dong is the unofficial Chinatown in Korea.

2. Sunbae is the Korean word for Senior. It’s usually added to someone in the same school or field with more experience to show respect.

Chapter 5 – A Rather Undesired Meeting. Continuation. (2)

Supreme Magic Tower, Protection Barrier Class.

Magician Girl, Kang Bo-ram

“…”

Please don’t do this.

“…?”

I sighed and stood there speechless as she looked with me with her round eyes.

Ahh, damn it. What’s wrong with all the titles these days? This isn’t even a joke. A magician girl? Do you want to get hit?

“Phew, so what do you want me to do? My father will be at home anyway, so you can go and see him.”

“Oh, no. I’m not ready yet.”

What preparation does she need? It was absurd, but I asked because I was not sensitive enough to understand the feelings of a high school girl.

“What do you want then?”

“Uh, I’m sorry, but could you give me your number? I’ll call you later.”

“Well, it doesn’t matter. Give me your mobile phone.”

“Here.”

I took her mobile phone. Its size fitted right in my palm, and it had a cute design, reminding me of a pink rabbit. It was something that suited her really well, but there was something else that caught my eye.

“Huh? What’s that?”

Her wrist had a strange thing wrapped around it as she held out her mobile phone. What should I call that? A steel wristband? A wristlet? Anyway, the silver metal that covered the back of her hand all the way up to her elbow was by no means an ornament a high school girl should be wearing. When I took a clearer look, it was the same for her left arm as well as her right one.

Erm… how should I call it—

Right. It was ‘Equipped’. A jewel the size of an eyeball and emitting a pink light was lodged in the back of her hand. Thinking about it, I didn’t know why I hadn’t been able to see it until now.

“Yes? Wh-what do you mean?”

“It’s not a what. I’m talking about that weird design. Where did you buy it?”

“Huh? What are you talking about? Is it a weird design if the wristwatch looks like a rabbit?”

“…Uh. Ah, yeah. Haha. It’s a design I have never seen before.”

It was a close one. I activated my superhuman senses and ignored the suspicious looks thrown at me.

Pant pant pant. That, that was dangerous.

It was that moment where I exercised my lightning-like wit to the maximum. I realized that the wristband she was wearing couldn’t be seen by normal people. It seemed like she used some means to break away from the perception of ordinary people.

‘But why can I still see it?’

I had that thought for a moment but just let it slide. Well, it seemed like I also had somewhat of an annoying ability. Thinking about it, being able to see titles was technically considered an observation ability.

“Give me a call when you’re free on a weekend. I’ll let you know if it’s fine, depending on the situation.”

I saved my number on the cute looking mobile phone and returned it.

“Ah, thank you.”

“No, I didn’t do much so there’s no need to thank me.”

“No, it seems that there are many like me. It must be annoying for you, so thank you.”

I let out a small sigh inwardly at the sight of her bowing. She was a polite girl and it didn’t seem like she was being pretentious at all. It meant that she was a good girl. To put it simply, she must be a good girl. But I didn’t really want to get involved regardless of if she was a good person or not.

“Then I’ll take my leave. You guys can continue talking.”

“Uh, wait. Dae-ha?”

“You should treat me to something later, you bastard. You got blinded by a girl and sold your friend?”

I snorted and turned around to get out of the arcade. Well, honestly, I wasn’t that upset or anything but I didn’t want to be with a magician girl. I should just go home quickly. Go home and spend some free time watching TV.

However.

“Ah! So there you are.”

That was a huge mistake.

“…”

A sudden silence. Though it was a refreshing voice that could clear my mind, I subconsciously frowned at it.

“Wow, look at her.”

“A beauty…”

“Is she a celebrity?”

I felt the urge to just run away from the chatter of the people. No, it wasn’t just an impulse, but really trying to run away. However, she approached me before I could do that.

Her blue hair stretched all the way down to her waist as if it were made from seawater. It should weigh a lot if her hair was that long, but it didn’t seem to affect her at all. Rather, there was a shine or gloss when she moved. And the way she approached me was so charming that it could make any man’s heart in the world flutter but—

“Is a ghost haunting me today?”

I just wanted to cry.

*

I recalled the first time I saw her.

“I’m very sorry to ask you this during our first meeting…”

She asked softly, “Are you an Earthling?”

“…What?”

That was my first meeting with her.

Yes. That was our first meeting. She, who asked such a bewildering question at our first meeting that made me think it was a prank, looked at me like a tourist who had just discovered a rare creature. I would have thought she was hitting on me if I had been a normal person… but that was a huge burden as I could see her title.

No, you are telling me she’s an extraterrestrial being?

It wasn’t something that I could have imagined at all. No, not even someone who normally imagined about extraterrestrial beings would have thought they would meet one in this way. I was walking on the streets when she appeared suddenly to ask me if I was an Earthling. It wasn’t even a joke so what kind of situation was this?

“I’m sorry. I’m quite the tactful person, but I can’t grasp this situation. Are you an Earthling too? Or is that impossible?”

Thinking about it now, I think I handled it quite well. Despite the embarrassment, I showed an extremely normal reaction, just like a person who had misunderstood her as trying to hit on them. But even so, I feel suspicious as to why such a beauty like her was approaching me…

Yes, I played the ‘Normal Reaction’ act perfectly. But regardless of that.

“Are you sick?”

I almost nodded at her question. Frankly speaking, I wanted to say “Yes. My head hurts so much it feels like it’s splitting just by having you standing beside me, so can you please go somewhere else?” but I just barely held myself back.

“…No, not really.”

“But why have you been frowning for a while?”

“That’s because you are saying strange things.”

“Hm, so you really are an Earthling?”

“What are you saying? Are you not a human?”

I was surprised at my blunt response.

Ohh, Dae-ha. You should be an actor when you grow up. Your usual poker face was quite good but you still act really well, huh?

She still smiled brightly despite that.

“Would you like me to show you some evidence?”

“Hey. Do all extraterrestrial beings usually approach someone at will and show them proof that they’re extraterrestrial beings?”

Even though I was just walking, I could feel the gazes of the people from everywhere, but I tried to ignore them. I wanted to return home quickly.

“So, are you really a normal Earthling?”

“Yes, I really am a normal Earthling. We all are normal Earthlings. I will take my leave if you keep spouting nonsense.”

I left her alone and got away from that place.

Ahh, how troublesome. Why is she so interested in me?

Seeing how she asked me if I was an Earthling and still stuck with me even though I kept denying, perhaps she had felt I was different from the others.

‘Are all extraterrestrial beings able to see this title thing?’

No, that couldn’t be. I could control my title freely and my current title was Fly Hunter. The title was so trivial; there was no way my abilities would increase with that and it wasn’t a title that would make one think I wasn’t human. Moreover, it would also be strange for them to be able to see the titles just because they are extraterrestrial beings.

Kiiiiiing---

Just when I was feeling relieved for having passed the day safely after getting about a 100 meters away from the girl whom I still have no clue who she was, I heard a strange sound from the sky.

How should I describe this sound? Yes, it was similar to the sound made by a jet or aircraft when they take-off. The echo was quite loud, but somehow no one around looked up.

‘A sound that ordinary people can’t hear.’

Then the answer was obvious. I could pretend not to have heard it. But after a while, I had no choice but to stop walking.

Woooong—

It was a huge silver sphere about 2.5 meters in diameter. The unidentified object made of silver metal floated in front of me and scattered mysterious light. What really drove me crazy was that people around me were just passing by as though they couldn’t see the absurd object that appeared.

‘They can’t see this either?’

If that was the case, I would just walk away as though I couldn’t see it but the problem was that this weird object was in front of me. I would crash into it if I kept walking.

“So you really can see it.”

Before I knew it, I heard a shrill voice next to me.

Damn it, I should have kept walking, even if I may crash into it.

But it was too late to regret it now that the beautiful girl had walked next to me and was just smiling brightly.

“My introductions have been late. I am Celestia. You can call me Cel.”

“Cel, huh? Have you reached your ultimate form? What about your combat power?”

“Excuse me?”

“…It’s nothing. Just a poor joke. I’m Dae-ha. Kwan Dae-ha.”

It was a kind of a declaration of defeat. I was sure she would never get away from me if I didn’t face her properly. It would be troublesome if she followed me to school or my house. I didn’t know which side of me had piqued so much of her interest that her eyes were sparkling.

“Hehe, you finally gave up. Would you like to go somewhere where we can talk in private?”

“…All right.”

Is there a coffee shop that’s as empty as possible? I thought as I looked around, but I would only have an answer if I had been to somewhere like that before. However, there were surprisingly many places like that if you looked around.

“May I take your order?”

“A lemonade please.”

Well, I would have known if I’d been to such places before. Moreover, it was just a drink, why were they priced so expensively? To be honest, I wanted to go to a place like Lotteria rather than a cafe, but I couldn’t help it because our conversation isn’t suited for a crowded location.

“A café mocha.”

“A lemonade and a café mocha. Understood.”

I looked at Celestia in amazement as she ordered skillfully.

“Have you gone to many of such places before?”

“No. I’ve never been to a cafe before.”

“Really? You looked accustomed to it.”

“I just ordered the recommended menu item written in the guide, but I don’t know what’s going to come out.”

Guide? Recommended menu?

Those were words I couldn’t understand, but I didn’t even want to ask her about it so I just let it go.

After a moment of waiting, our lemonade and a cup of coffee that was covered in cream was ready. The coffee gave off a faint chocolate scent.

“Mm. This is pretty good. Where I lived…”

“So what is your purpose for coming to Earth?” I cut her off lightly.

I didn’t want to know much about the world in which she lives. It was because I felt that the more I knew, the more dangerous it would be.

“Wow, I can’t believe you just went straight to the point.”

She was looking at me as if I had no manners, but she was smiling as she spoke.

“There’s no particular purpose. I’m just here to play.”

“You came to play?”

“Yes. I came here because I received an Earth 34 tour package from Attraction. I wanted to enjoy some peace since I’m here, you know? But then I saw you when I got here, and I was so happy to have met a traveller like me on this trip, but you just played dumb.”

“…”