Chapter 165: Monster 1
Junhyuk was training when he heard the doorbell. He teleported to the basement and went over to the intercom. From the intercom, he saw Jeffrey standing there, waiving some beer.
"I’m not having a housewarming party!" he said over the intercom
"I want to talk to you about what happened today," Jeffrey said, smiling.
Junhyuk opened the gate and teleported to the front door. He wiped his sweat off with a towel before opening it, and Jeffrey crossed the threshold astounded.
"It’s much better than my house!"
Junhyuk looked at the house next door. It was about the same size as his.
"You are joking."
He stepped aside, and Jeffrey walked in and smiled.
"This house looks like a house."
"Are you teasing me?"
He had a training space in the basement, and the upper floor had furniture. He wasn’t done decorating yet, but it didn’t get in the way of his daily life.
He offered Jeffrey a seat at the living room and made a fruit platter to go with the beer. Being an expert with a blade, it didn’t take long for him to cut everything. Once he brought the platter out, Jeffrey opened a can of beer and handed it to him. Junhyuk gulped the cold beer down, ate some apple and asked, "What did you want to talk about?"
Jeffrey took a drink of his own and said, "I heard former MSS members were behind the attack. There were thirteen of them, and you captured five. Two of the eight died on the scene; two more were seriously injured and hospitalized. The police are watching them."
"What about the rest?"
"They didn’t get them."
Junhyuk took care of the agents who got out of their cars, but whoever remained inside got away.
"Then, they aren’t out of danger yet."
"Don’t worry too much. We are using Zaira to do a long range investigation, and we got the R-Agents working the case."
"R-Agents?"
Jeffrey put the can of beer down.
"The agents were created by using bloodstones to maximize their regeneration rate. Their muscle strength is many times that of ordinary people, so the stones were just right for making agents."
"I didn’t know they could do that with bloodystones!"
Jeffrey smiled.
"By using things from the Dimensional Battlefield, we are advancing. The project was led by Doyeol and Elise."
"Right."
Jeffrey emptied his can, picked up another one and said, "This Friday, it’s extremely likely that Sora Shin will go to the Dimensional Battlefield."
Junhyuk stared at him, and Jeffrey smiled and said, "She should be on our side."
"Her?"
"This will be her first time at the Dimensional Battlefield, but she has a higher chance of surviving than other minions. We should help her!"
Junhyuk stared at him. Doyeol was leading the world, and Jeffrey got a lot of information by being next to him. It was like he was spying Doyeol.
"But there isn’t a place to meet her. Guardians HQ is under Zaira’s supervision."
"Elise already knows a lot about the Dimensional Battlefield. Even if she learns anything, she can’t changed the flow of it."
Junhyuk thought for a moment and asked, "I’ll give her some advice. If she returns, I’ll get closer to her."
"Good thinking."
Jeffrey emptied his can and got up.
"May I leave the rest of the beer in your refrigerator? You’ve got a really big one."
"Do it."
Jeffrey was relaxed. It was his personality, and Junhyuk agreed with the beer situation. Jeffrey left, and Junhyuk took the beer and teleported them to the refrigerator. He placed the cans inside, teleported to the basement and summoned his swords.
"Advice on the Dimensional Battlefield..."
He thought about what to say to Sora and swung his swords.
---
Junhyuk walked to work and saw a helicopter. He waited for the helicopter to land in the parking lot. The security team came out first, and Eunseo moved out after.
She was earlier than usual, and Junhyuk went over to greet her.
"You are early."
Eunseo moved the wheelchair over, looking up at him.
"Follow me."
He followed her to her office, and she offered him a seat. Junhyuk knew she could walk, but didn’t ask her about it.
"How is Dohee doing?"
Eunseo frowned.
"We need the Regeneration Project to help her, but she will live for now."
"That’s nice."
He was relieved that Dohee had made it. He had seen at least ten bullet holes in her. Eunseo looked at him.
"I want to thank you officially."
Junhyuk became embarrassed and scratched his head.
"I did what anyone would do."
Eunseo adjusted her glasses, hiding her mouth with her hands while she smiled.
"You saved me and captured the attackers. I am grateful and I will certainly repay you."
"What happened to them?"
"We’ve identified them, and they are currently under interrogation. We are gathering evidence on who ordered the hit."
"They are Chinese. China must be behind all of this!"
"We’ve started investigating. It’s a long range investigation, but we will track them soon. When we find out who did it, we won’t forgive that person."
"Right."
Eunseo looked at him.
"We have a small problem. Two of the attackers are unaccounted for. Until we find them, I will put a security team on you."
"Please, don’t do that. I can protect myself."
"They carry guns. Please, accept my offer."
Junhyuk shook his head.
"I’m really OK. Use that manpower to help catch the culprits. If possible, before the day is over."
Eunseo looked at him and gave out a short sigh.
"OK. I will do my best. Today will be busy. You may leave."
Junhyuk bowed to her and headed to the Administrative Department. He soon understood what she had meant when she said the day would be busy. All of the phones were ringing like crazy.
---
Ribs were on the menu at Guardians HQ, and Sora had a plate full of them. She was eating them with enthusiasm. Feeling antsy that she might have to go to the Dimensional Battlefield, she used the food to calm herself.
She was working on her plate when a shadow loomed over her. When she raised her head, she saw Junhyuk smiling with another plate full of beef ribs.
"May I join you?"
Sora nodded. He saw the bones she had left and said, "I have to work hard to catch up to you."
Sora looked at him.
"Are you OK?"
"Me?" He plugged his ear with a finger and answered, "I’ve been on the phone about a hundred times today. My ear hurts, but I’m fine. They are paying me well."
Sora lowered her head and whispered, "But you don’t need more money."
He smiled at her.
"They will pay me until I quit. I shouldn’t refuse my salary."
She was also smiling, and Junhyuk stared at her.
"After the meal, how about some coffee with me? The roof has a little park, so it’s a good place for coffee."
"Sure!"
Sora really wanted to talk to him.
Junhyuk showed her a piece of rib and said, "Then, let’s get to work."
They smiled at each other and ate, piling bones on top of each other. After, they made coffee and went to the roof.
Once they arrived at the small park, Sora stared at him and said first, "Please excuse me, but I want to ask you about the Dimensional Battlefield!"
He stared at her.
"When you get to the Dimensional Battlefield, find out about your heroes."
"Jeffrey told me the same thing. I must get close to them."
"Correct. Heroes are the leaders of the Dimensional Battlefield. If they take your side, you will survive."
"About the survival rate, is it hard to come back alive?"
"So far, hundreds of thousands died there. Only a few have survived."
Sora started feeling nervous, and Junhyuk continued calmly, "Don’t get too scared. To survive, you must do what is necessary. It’s different from South Korea. Steel your mind to survive."
"Survive?"
In South Korea, survival meant fierce competition, but what Junhyuk meant was survival itself. She had to do anything to survive.
Sora inhaled deeply to shake off her nerves, but she still felt nervous.
"Your power is important over there. You have a very high movement speed, so use it well," he continued calmly.
"I should run away?"
"When you are facing a hero, but the allied heroes might use you to lure the enemies in. Only your power can help you."
"You mean I should run."
"When you get there, use your power. Check it out first. I’m not sure if you can run a hundred meters there."
She could run a hundred meters, but she could only do it for one second. Within that timeframe, she covered that distance on Earth. However, she wouldn’t have more time even if the distance at the battlefield was shorter.
"You should use your power to survive."
"OK."
Sora was being told different things between Junhyuk and Jeffrey, and she pondered the information.
"And work on improving your power," he said calmly.
"Powers can improve?"
"Sure. Right now, you cover one hundred meters. It might increase to two hundred. The one-second timeframe could increase to two."
"I didn’t think that was possible."
Sora was surprised, and Junhyuk continued, "And there is a very little chance, but you might activate a new power."
"Activate another power?!"
He realized there had been limits to what the others had told her. They told her about the Dimensional Battlefield, but hadn’t given much detail.
Junhyuk told her what she might get from visiting Bebe.
"The first power you activate makes you a novice; two powers make you an expert; three powers make you a champion; and finally, four powers make you a hero."
"So people with four powers are called heroes?!"
Junhyuk knew she was carefully paying attention.
"Right. After activating four powers, one becomes a hero."