Saving My Favorite in a Doomed World

Yoo Jian stood in the arena without specifically choosing anyone.

 

As a result, another draw was conducted. According to the draw results, one A-rank hero was selected and entered the arena.

 

“Hello, hello.”

 

The corners of her mouth lifted high. The A-rank’s shoulders twitched, seemingly unnerved by the smile on her face. Having been classmates at the Education Center, the selected A-rank knew how recklessly Jian used her abilities.

 

The A-rank hero sighed briefly. Wishing to enter the SH Unit was one thing, but this match…

 

‘This is going to hurt like hell.’

 

The thought of winning didn’t even cross their mind. It was impossible to even imagine winning against Jian. Their match record against her at the center was 28 losses and 1 draw out of 29 matches. Even the draw was because Jian had flopped down in the middle, saying she was hungry, not because her opponent had been particularly skilled.

 

Yoo Jian asked, rotating her arms around.

 

“Hey. Aren’t you happy to see me? We’re classmates after all.”

 

“Happy? Just go easy on me in the match.”

 

“What? That’s not how it works. You know, life is about always giving your best. We only have one life. Bet everything at once, hit the jackpot. Fulfill your honor. You know, that kind of thing.”

 

A cracking sound came from Jian’s neck as she stretched. She stared with eyes fully open as she cracked her neck. It was creepy again. Everything about her stretching was eerie. The A-rank let out another deep sigh. With slumped shoulders, they said to Jian:

 

“Jian, you… don’t have to live so intensely.”

 

As their small talk ended, a staff from the Audit Department slowly stepped onto the stage.

 

After seeing Cha Jaeha fight once, it was difficult to carelessly shout “Start!” when an S-rank was on stage. After taking a deep breath, they opened their mouth wide.

 

“Start!”

 

Bang-!

 

As soon as the staff stepped back, Jian kicked the ground hard with her right foot.

 

With her foot temporarily stepping on the crater created by the impact, she shot forward like a bullet.

 

Before the A-rank could even use their ability, Jian’s bobbling hair was already swaying in front of their eyes.

 

“Bingo.”

 

Grin.

 

Bang, bang, bang. Bang, bang.

 

How the A-rank hero managed to react to that speed was a mystery. Yoo Jian’s power to smash the ground was incredible, but the A-rank hero’s ability to dodge quickly was just as impressive.

 

Debris from the shattered stadium flew everywhere. With the added speed, getting hit would surely mean immediate unconsciousness.

 

“Noona tends not to pay much attention to her surroundings when fighting.”

 

Mueum reminisced about the past.

 

When noona would smash buildings, he would float all the debris and reassemble it. Using his ability like fitting puzzle pieces together.

 

After reminiscing, Mueum sat down again.

 

“That’s why noona and I often get paired up. I protected the surroundings, and she took down the monsters. …But hyung… aren’t you surprised?”

 

“Huh? About what?”

 

“That was dangerous just now. If that hit someone’s head, they’d be knocked out at least. For hyung… it could have been fatal.”

 

“…Ah. Aah. I was surprised. Really.”

 

“….At least put some effort into your lies.”

 

Jeong Mueum stopped two or three flying pillars at once and sighed.

 

Observing Mueum’s reaction, Hwashin thought.

 

‘I should put more effort into pretending to be surprised from now on.’

 

The fragments Mueum missed from the ceiling nearly hit his head, but at Hwashin’s brief whisper of ‘away’, they easily bounced to the side. Thanks to that, another hero in the waiting room, oblivious, ended up with a large bump on their forehead.

 

Hwashin, watching the match, unconciously spoke.

 

“Oh, she caught up.”

 

It didn’t take long for Yoo Jian’s speed to surpass the A-rank hero. With her fierce punches wrecking the stadium, the A-rank hero’s speed inevitably decreased. Eventually, caught by her, the A-rank hero shouted, “Hey, take it easy!” and then “I surrender! I surrender!” ending the match.

 

“Eh— You’re ending it like this? You got guts, no guts at all.”

 

Yoo Jian released the collar she was holding with a bored expression. It was a clear-cut victory, but she didn’t look satisfied.

 

“Honey, you weren’t like this before.”

 

“What’s with the ‘honey’. I don’t want to die either, you know?”

 

“How could I kill you?”

 

Amid their childish banter, the staff of the Audit Department loudly raised their hand and declared,

 

“Hero Yoo Jian is the winner.”

 

After the match of Waiting Room 6 ended, the order returned to Waiting Room 1.

 

That meant…

 

Hwashin subtly used eye signals to put Mueum’s match first.

 

Oh, he didn’t get caught. Even though he used his ability, Mueum didn’t send him a look of suspicion.

 

He was worried because Mueum was usually quick to notice things.

 

It was probably because Mueum’s mind was elsewhere due to what happened earlier.

 

“…Haah.”

 

Mueum walked with an annoyed expression, and as soon as the match started, he crushed the opponent with gravity.

 

If there was more to the match, it would have been impressive.

 

Unable to endure, his opponent quickly declared defeat, and the match ended in an instant. It might look like an invincible ability, but it had limitations on the weight he could manipulate, so it wasn’t invincible.

 

Hwashin greeted the returning Mu-eum with a smile.

 

“Good job.”

 

“Not really.”

 

Well, now it was all over.

 

The matches of the main characters had ended. It went around to Waiting Room 6 again, and with this, the first round was over. There were 3 people left from each waiting room, 18 in total. These people would have another match.

 

“We will take a brief break to prepare for the second round. Heroes continuing in the competition, please remain in the stadium and take your rest here. If you need anything, please inform our staff. Thank you.”

 

The eliminated heroes started to leave the arena, and Hwashin also got up from his seat and stretched.

 

‘It’s still peaceful so far.’

 

As he looked around, he saw Yoo Jian charging towards this way from the opposite side like a bull excited by the color red. She was moving so fast that smoke seemed to rise from her heels.

 

“Jeong! Mu! Eum!”

 

With a leap, she came right up to Jeong Mueum and hugged him enthusiastically.

 

“Ah, noona! My neck! My neck!”

 

“It’s been a while! You little rascal!”

 

Wow. Jeong Mueum and Yoo Jian in one place. Hwashin watched the two with an amazed expression, while Jeong Mueum frantically patted her arms, saying his neck was really about to break. Eventually, he had to use his ability to remove her arms.

 

Jian, with her light arms floating in the air, finally turned her gaze towards Hwashin.

 

“…Ah, I almost forgot. You’re Yoo Hwashin, right?”

 

“Oh, you know my name.”

 

She flashed a bright smile, revealing her teeth like rows of corn.

 

“You’ve been with Mueum since earlier, haven’t you? You even beat an A-rank hero, so I remember your name. I’m Yoo Jian.”

 

“I know. You’re quite famous. Congratulations on your victory.”

 

Hwashin knew how famous Jian was from reading the book several times.

 

In the novel <Your Hero is Here>, Yoo Jian was already a popular hero. After all, not many heroes could take down monsters with one hand.

 

Moreover, with her tall stature, short bob haircut, and boisterous way of speaking, she boasted unrivaled popularity among women in the novel. After she joined the SH1 unit, her popularity hit its peak.

 

For an F-rank hero, just knowing Yoo Jian was an honor.

 

Jeong Mueum looked sympathetically at the staff who were diligently repairing the devastated stadium.

 

“Noona. Didn’t you break the arena too much earlier?”

 

“Huh? Did I? I was holding back though.”

 

“Try to hold back more.”

 

“Eh, but then it’d be too weak.”

 

“Noona. Weak people don’t go around folding other people like paper. …Hyung, where are you going?”

 

As Hwashin, who had been contentedly listening to their banter, stood up from his seat, Mueum immediately noticed this and asked.

 

“The match will start soon. Are you going to the bathroom?”

 

Hwashin smiled lightly at Mueum’s question and replied.

 

“Yes, I’ll be right back. Nice to meet you, Jian. See you again.”

 

“Ah, same here~!”

 

Having walked out into the corridor, Hwashin let out the cough he had been suppressing.

 

“…Oh boy.”

 

Blood stained his palm. It wasn’t soaking wet, but it wasn’t a small amount either.

 

He hadn’t even used much karma, yet his body was in bad shape. Maybe it was because he used it against an awakened one for the first time. It was different from using it on ordinary people.

 

Well, if the soul was naturally talented, it would be okay even if the body wasn’t quite compatible. He already knew this and had expected it. He also knew how to solve this problem.

 

Just ignore it and keep using word commands. If he kept using it, his body would naturally adapt to manipulating karma. Whether this body would hold up was uncertain, though.

 

“If you were going to send me here anyway, it would have been nice if you could put me in a sturdy S-rank body.”

 

Then he could have controlled it as easily as his original body.

 

Anyway, Hwashin, who had nothing but a fragile toothpick of a body, leaned against the wall and took a deep breath. He slowly exhaled, feeling the internal injuries from the karma easing out as he uttered a word.

 

“「Restoration.」”

 

A warm energy bubbled up from inside his body. A smile involuntarily spread across his face at the pleasant resonance, like water droplets falling into the center of a lake. Even if he had coughed up blood, it wasn’t a deep wound and only needed a little fixing at the core.

 

“Haa.”

 

He lightly jumped up and down where he stood. His body felt much lighter than before. Hwashin thoroughly checked everything from his head, shoulders, knees, to his feet.

 

After confirming he was fine, he left the arena with light steps.

 

‘I should take care of business while I have the chance.’

 

The Audit Department’s request to refrain from leaving was probably aimed at guys like Hwashin.

 

Sneaking out of the arena, Hwashin headed to the infirmary inside the building. Unless it was a case requiring surgery, it was better to receive treatment from a hero with healing abilities waiting in the infirmary than at a designated association hospital. There were even heroes who could mend broken bones in seconds.

 

“Hello.”

 

Fortunately, the medic hero of the infirmary seemed to be out for a moment. Hwashin started pulling back the curtains one by one, starting from the bed on the right side of the infirmary, closest to the entrance.

 

Shhhk.

 

Not here.

 

Shhhk.

 

Not here either.

 

Was it all the way inside?

 

As he drew back the curtains one by one, Hwashin moved deeper into the infirmary. Finally, when he drew back the curtain on the bed in the farthest corner on the right, he smiled.

 

The reason he had come to the infirmary.

 

The one person he had been looking for.

 

“Found you.”