Hang Woo was sitting in his office at the head of a large metallic round table. Leaning back into his chair as he stared at a person standing by the door, standing in the shade, away from the gaze of Hang Woo.
No one spoke for a moment—Hang Woo was in a bit of a foul mood from what it looked like.
Lips pursed, eyes narrowed—jaw clenched. All signs of annoyance or anger.
"I'm planning on showing the kids their place in this world. Their overestimating themselves a lot—Their tail is definitely growing long, they might trip on it."
There was silence for a good few moments, the man hidden away inside the shade was definitely not much of a talker at all.
"Are you in? Han Dae-sik?"
Han Dae-sik was silent but his eyes gave all the answers needed. He was most definitely interested in this little test that Hang Woo had arranged.
Just as Han Dae-sik was about to leave, he heard Hang Woo stand up and approach him.
"What is it brat?"
Han Dae-sik's voice wasn't harsh, it was rather a bit more taunting, like he was reminding Hang Woo, of their difference in rank. A bit too gentle and soft in fact to belong to someone that was as feared as him.
"Well. Eyun-jung. Her brother's also a second year. Hyuk Ji Won, he's talented..."
He smirked, putting his hands inside of his suit pockets—tilting his head over to his right.
"Be sure to break him down. I'll handle Eyun-jung. I want to make sure we don't have a failed star on our hands after all."
Han Dae-sik nodded quietly—but he definitely seemed interested in Ji Won now, courtesy of Hang Woo.
"Arrange for the students to go on a picnic today—without any teachers, I'll be there."
Hang Woo let out a small huff of amusement—he leaned back against the table. Crossing his arms over his chest.
"Sure.. They'll be at the Seoul Hunter Grounds—I'll rent it out completely so it'll be empty, go on a rampage there.."
In an instant Han Dae-sik was gone, the door left wide open and Hang Woo's wallet? Also gone alongside Han Dae-sik. But the principal had yet to notice that.
"That guy.. I really do wonder why Eyun-jung is called the strongest with him roaming around, he's called the Demon for god's sake.."
Ji Won and Sae Jaehyun were both sleeping in the dorm. Having finally left the training halls since the tournament was just two days away now—they needed rest.
Inside of Ji Won's dreams—he was back at the mysterious black plain where he had first gotten contact with Cheonjiwang but this time, something was different.
There was something alongside him inside of this—a white figure, standing so far away that it was barely visible. A mere dot in the infinite expanse of this dimension.
"Hey! Who are you?!"
The figure slowly approached, now a bit more clearer—it was like a mannequin, dressed in a white suit with only a black tie wrapped around its neck.
"Greetings I am a servant of Lord Seokga. You may call me Dealer. Shall we gamble? {REDACTED}"
Ji Won narrowed his eyes, taking a few steps closed towards the Dealer, sizing him up—Seokga huh? He didn't recognize that name at all.
"Seokga. Who is that?"
The Dealer didn't answer. He was standing before Ji Won, arms at its side, featureless face staring at Ji Won. Waiting for the answer to its question.
"Fine then. Lets gamble."
Ji Won took a step back—seeing as the face of the Dealer changed, a black smile spreading across its face, like it was painted onto it.
A golden table sprouted up from the oil-like ground below, a scale set onto the middle of it.
"Pleasant!—Very Pleasant! Let us gamble! What shall you put at stake? Money and items that are not yours aren't allowed."
Ji Won crossed his arms over his chest—he was definitely surprised that he couldn't put up things like money, but then again, this wasn't a normal run of the mill casino.
"Anything? What about my appendix? Even that?"
The Dealer nodded in fervor—immediately Ji Won felt a small sting on his lower abdomen, a small slit appearing out of nowhere as indeed. His appendix floated out and was set onto the scale.
"Hmmm! This item is quite useless, OH! It also contains Lymphoid Tissue! And it also has a wide array of Probiotics! Hmm.. Interesting! I'll put up a new class in exchange of this organ!"
The scale shifted settling in the middle as a glove made of glowing blue light was set on the other side—opposite of Ji Won's appendix.
Ji Won put a hand on the slit on his abdomen—managing to remain calm as he took in a deep breath.
"Alright, what's the class called?"
The Dealer didn't reply, only putting forward a bunch of pebbles as the smile on its face got even larger. Shifting into a big wide grin.
"Shall we play? If you can guess the only different type of rock in this pile—without touching. You'll get the class."
Ji Won's heart started beating faster—adrenaline rushed through his veins, his brain started to analyze each and every one of the pebbles, skimming through all of them.
"Um.. This one.. I think that's an Igneous rock."
The dealer emitted a sound that sounded like a tongue click—not out of annoyance but mostly out of disappointment.
"Wrong! While the pebble is indeed the odd one out! Its a Metamorphic stone. Not Igneous."
The Dealer put his hands behind his back. The glowing blue glove slowly disappearing like shimmering glitter flying away into the air.
"But I'll give you a soft corner, you get the class perk! Anything else you shall gamble?"
Ji Won breathed a sigh of relief—shaking his head from side to side in refusal, knowing his luck might run out anytime.
The Dealer's smile shifted once more. Going away completely—the table sinking into the ground, the Dealer giving Ji Won a deep bow before it also disappeared.
'Well.. Lets see the perk I got..'
Ji Won opened his system window—his eyebrows shooting up to the top of his forehead as he gawked at the perk, jaw slacked open.
'What the hell? This perk.. Its so..'
His thoughts trailed off as he reached out for the system screen—his mind already strategizing how to use this perk to his advantage, a breathless chuckle escaping his lips.
"I'm so gonna get first position in the tournament.."
The thrill of becoming stronger was already settling deep inside of Ji Won's soul, knowing that this perk was a loophole, a way to use his full potential.