Chapter 22: Plan
Yoo Soha could feel the cheers of the arena’s crowd directed at her.
Just one year. In just one year, Yoo Soha had washed away the memories steeped in humiliation.
She glanced at Eclipse beside her.
He still looked unremarkable, but she knew all too well that this unremarkable knight had led her to this point.
“Well, to be honest, after the semifinals, Eclipse pretty much obliterated everything before I could do much, so it’s only natural.”
Still, it was she who had summoned the overwhelmingly powerful Eclipse, so surely she deserved to stand in this spot.
With that thought, Yoo Soha strode confidently toward the center of the arena.
The cheers grew louder, and the award podium gradually came into view.
She stepped onto the podium with an expression brimming with confidence.
The roars of countless people filled her ears.
Waaaaah!
The deafening noise pounded against Yoo Soha’s ears, but she didn’t frown.
Deepening the smile on her lips, she accepted the trophy.
The trophy she couldn’t claim last year, unable to surpass her sister, now shone brilliantly in her hands.
“Please share a few words.”
At the announcer’s prompt, Yoo Soha pondered.
What should she say?
She could throw out some polished words like she had in previous interviews. But… wouldn’t that be boring?
“I thought winning would be tough, but my guardian was just too outstanding. I rode the right bus.”
Yoo Soha answered concisely, beaming with a bright smile.
“Pardon?”
The announcer’s bewildered voice was joined by stunned murmurs from the stands.
Yoo Soha grinned at their reactions and continued.
“Honestly, I didn’t do much, but summoning a guardian this strong means I’ve done my part, right?”
Those who had been curious about what Yoo Soha would say were left dumbfounded by her response.
A brief silence settled over the arena.
But it didn’t last long.
Soon, the crowd’s laughter and cheers, finding her response amusing, engulfed the arena.
Perhaps because it had been such an astonishing match.
Stories about Yoo Soha and Eclipse began to spread everywhere.
Online communities, broadcasts, articles… every medium was flooded with talk of the two.
The reaction on Transcendence, the awakener community Eclipse frequented, was particularly explosive.
So much so that the already fragile site’s servers kept crashing.
[“Damn it, Transcendence admins, didn’t you say you’d upgrade the servers???”]
[“Where’s the server?”]
Such posts occasionally caught Eclipse’s eye.
Honestly, Eclipse was a bit taken aback.
He hadn’t imagined the aftermath of his actions would be this significant.
Eclipse thought what he’d done was no big deal, but reality begged to differ.
The scene of him slicing Adein’s breath with his sword was being immortalized and circulated as GIFs everywhere.
Moreover, the awakeners in the Hwanryeong Grand Tournament were mostly vetted elites.
Even the members of Hwanryeong Team 2, who were constantly chewed out by Yoo Soha, were generally respected figures in society.
Winning such a tournament naturally caused a massive stir.
[“Saying she rode a bus so openly is kinda badass, isn’t it?”]
Compared to other awakeners who try to hype up their own skills despite relying on their guardians, Yoo Soha’s way cooler lol
- For real lol
- I don’t know why, but Yoo Soha’s been super likable lately
- Her only blemishes were that unfair dismissal and not having a guardian, but the dismissal was cleared up ages ago, and now she’s got a guardian lol
- And that guardian is insanely strong, strong enough to take down Shin Sungmin
- As long as an awakener’s strong, what else do you need lol
[“I could accept her beating Yoo Danha, but I was floored when she took down Shin Sungmin.”]
Has Shin Sungmin ever been beaten like that before? I don’t recall it happening.
- Never
- Even overseas, Shin Sungmin gets VIP treatment. It’s insane that someone like him got thrashed like that
- I still get chills watching the part where he sliced the breath with his sword. I’ve rewatched it so many times
- For real
[“Isn’t Yoo Soha going to be S-rank now?”]
As long as your guardian’s strong, that’s what counts, right?
Yoo Soha’s own abilities are already enough to take on most A-ranks single-handedly
Other countries sometimes give high awakener ranks to people with exceptionally strong guardians, so…
- Probably not far off?
- S-rank isn’t some common title lol. What has Yoo Soha even done to deserve it?
- Did you forget how she soloed gates? Yoo Soha’s the type to charge into gates like a madwoman. How can you say she hasn’t done anything?
- From what I see, she’s probably gearing up to rack up achievements nationwide lol. Hwanryeong’s gonna back her hard, right? An S-rank coming from their guild?
Eclipse watched the community’s reactions with interest. He felt oddly pleased that public opinion about Yoo Soha was mostly positive.
“What are you doing?”
Seeing Eclipse engrossed in his smartphone, Yoo Soha approached and asked.
“Just browsing the community. The sentiment seems quite favorable.”
“Favorable? It’s probably explosive. You beat Shin Sungmin like that. Honestly, even I was shocked. I knew that greatsword was something special, but I didn’t expect that.”
“I was surprised too. In my original world, this greatsword was just an ordinary weapon.”
“That was an ordinary weapon?”
“Yes. My master gave it to me when I turned twenty, as a gift for becoming a knight. I told him I’d only use a greatsword since I learned his greatsword techniques.”
“How many years did you use that sword?”
“Let’s see… about ten years, I think.”
“Ten years…”
For some reason, Eclipse felt that letting Yoo Soha dwell on this would lead to him spilling unwanted memories of his past, so he quickly changed the subject.
“By the way, aren’t you going to work today?”
“Nope. They usually give awakeners a week off after the Hwanryeong Grand Tournament.”
“A week off… so you’ll just train during that time?”
“No way.”
Yoo Soha laughed boldly, shaking her head at Eclipse’s question.
“You saw it while browsing, right? People saying I might get promoted soon.”
“I did. There was some talk about that. Are you saying you’re getting promoted?”
“When I stepped out earlier today?”
“Yeah.”
“I actually went to meet my father. He asked for my opinion.”
“About what?”
“Whether I want to be promoted to S-rank.”
“What do you think?”
“Of course I want to.”
Yoo Soha’s eyes burned with ambition for promotion.
It had been three years since she awakened as an A-rank.
She wanted to aim higher, to show off to others.
Moreover, S-rank was a rare status worldwide, reserved for the pinnacle of awakeners.
Just imagining the S-rank label attached to her name made Yoo Soha feel like she could fly.
“What’s needed for promotion?”
“Achievements.”
“Achievements… like what?”
“Clearing high-rank gates or preventing gate invasions multiple times. Especially overcoming desperate situations—that boosts your evaluation even more.”
“So what’s your plan?”
“In a word, I’m going to be insanely busy.”
“Right. And you’re planning to work hard in various areas too.”
“Various areas?”
“Yeah. Controlling mana more efficiently, increasing my mana capacity, learning swordsmanship, and other weapon techniques.”
“…Soha, isn’t that too much? Effort is good, but rest is important too.”
“It’s because you’re too strong. I don’t want people saying I’m just riding on my guardian’s coattails. Sure, summoning a guardian is recognized as a skill, but that’s not enough. People will probably whisper behind my back that I’m nothing without my guardian.”
“Then doesn’t that mean you don’t need to rush for S-rank? If you get it too quickly, you’ll face even more of that talk.”
“Oh, no need to worry about that. The conditions for S-rank promotion are insanely tough. Achieving it in the short term is near impossible.”
“Then why rush into it now?”
“Because it’s near impossible in the short term. If you think long-term, it could take years—too long to even imagine. Moving diligently now might speed up the process a bit.”
“I see.”
“And there are tons of A-rank awakeners aiming for S-rank, so I need to hurry.”
“Ah.”
“A-rank awakeners aren’t exactly common, but there are quite a few. Do you think they’re all content staying A-rank? No way. Except for a few, most are scouring gates across the country right now.”
“Got it. So when do you plan to start?”
“Next week.”
“Alright.”
Eclipse nodded. It seemed they’d be busy for a while.
The next day, Yoo Soha expressed her intentions to Yoo Hajun.
She wanted to prepare for S-rank promotion.
Caught off guard by her quick response, Yoo Hajun looked at her with a startled expression.
“Are you serious about this?”
“Yes. I’ll work hard, Father.”
“Alright. But the guild won’t provide excessive support. The funds and personnel available to you are limited to Hwanryeong Team 2.”
“I’m already prepared for that.”
“And exclude anyone from Team 2 who doesn’t want to participate. I won’t tolerate forcing people into dangerous areas.”
“Of course. I wouldn’t drag along someone without motivation. That’s just asking for trouble.”
“Good. So, where are you planning to go?”
“North Korea.”
“North Korea…?”
“Yes. There are many unrecovered areas, and gate invasions happen frequently because they haven’t been properly dealt with.”
“Isn’t that too dangerous…?”
Yoo Hajun looked at Yoo Soha with a hint of worry.
“It’ll be fine. You saw Eclipse’s power, right? Don’t worry. And if it gets dangerous, I’ll pull out immediately. Besides, North Korea has fewer competitors.”
“That’s true…”
“With Eclipse’s strength and Team 2, we’ll be enough.”
“Alright, for now. When do you plan to leave?”
“Next week. I need to check with the team about who’s willing to join, and we need to consult on what equipment we’ll need for North Korea.”
“…Got it. Go now. And be careful.”
At Yoo Hajun’s concerned words, Yoo Soha flashed her signature confident smile and left the room.