Chapter 120

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 120: Ability vs. Ability (3)

Jang Hanil had lived a relatively smooth life.

An only son in a moderately affluent family with a harmonious home.

He once dreamed of becoming an athlete, and thanks to his father—who refused to compromise with reality—he received unwavering support from his early elementary school days.

His stubbornness and competitive spirit, which were unusual for a child, sometimes made adults click their tongues, but no one really criticized him.

They simply saw it as the youthful arrogance of someone destined for greatness.

"Ha… That bastard Lee Eunho set another record."

"200m? He broke it again?"

"No, all of them—100m, 200m, 400m. Fuck… Is he even human?"*

"……."

So no one could have known.

How infuriating it was to always be chasing that bastard’s back on the red track.

How his shadow, cast under the scorching sun, felt so long and persistent.

"You think you can skip warm-ups just because you ran a good time?"

"Annoying bastard."

He hated him.

He hated his talent.

He hated himself for not being able to surpass him.

And he hated his own weakness—the torment of knowing that fact.

So.

"Hey! Did you hear? Lee Eunho messed up his leg!"

"Huh…?!"

"That arrogant prick! He’s retiring!"

When he first heard that Lee Eunho had injured his leg, he was caught off guard.

Unsettled.

And yet, somewhere deep inside, he felt relieved.

The thought of finally seeing that indifferent, arrogant face twisted in defeat and despair…

But when he finally met Lee Eunho again…

"As long as I’m alive, I can always come back."

He was the same.

Not a trace of defeat or frustration—just that same confidence, as if the world was beneath him.

‘How… is he… like this…?’

He had thought that Eunho was lucky to have gotten his leg fixed through the restructuring process.

But no—

Even if he had never been able to use his leg again, he wouldn’t have lost himself.

Because his standards for life weren’t dictated by others or by society—they were set by himself.

And at that moment, Jang Hanil admitted it.

The true nature of his dark emotions.

‘I want to be like Lee Eunho.’

And—

‘I want him to acknowledge me.’

It took ten years to realize, but it wasn’t confusing.

It felt like opening a long-forgotten drawer of neatly sorted emotions.

As Jang Hanil was clearing out the last of his lingering bitterness with a bitter smile—

[In a moment, at exactly 2:00 PM, the final round—the ‘400m relay’—will begin.]

[Each of the four runners will run 400m. All runners will start in their designated lanes, and from the second runner onward, overtaking will be allowed on the open course.]

The 4x400m relay.

It wasn’t his main event, but…

[The final runner's placement determines the team’s score: 1st place earns 100 points, 2nd place 80 points, 3rd place 50 points.]

[4th, 5th, and 6th place receive 40, 30, and 20 points, respectively.]

"Hyung! You’re running, right?"

"Huh?"

"Ah—too bad there’s no short track relay! We’d take gold—no, we’d win first place for sure!"

A junior who had trained with him since Taereung asked as if it were obvious.

But—

[Each team representative must now select their runners in order.]

"Not sure."

Eunho wasn’t an idiot.

He wouldn’t pick him.

Not after he had tried to take his things, jumped into the capsule to steal opportunities, and done everything possible to get under his skin.

"What? But your ankle’s all healed, isn’t it?"

"It’s not my decision to make."

"Ah…"

It didn’t matter if he had regained his old form—the choice was entirely up to Lee Eunho.

So he suppressed the strange, floating sensation in his chest and feigned indifference.

Then, he heard a familiar voice calling his name.

"Jang Hanil."

Thud.

The moment he heard his name, his heart dropped.

For a brief second, words like “No way, could it be—?” filled his mind.

"First runner. You can run, right?"

Lee Eunho asked.

"I heard your leg is fully recovered."

"But… you’re really putting me in?"

"Well, your start and cornering aren’t bad."

Thump. Thump. Thump.

His heart pounded, and sweat formed on his palms.

Something welled up inside him.

‘Did… he just acknowledge me?’

"I don’t know exactly what kind of skills the other teams will use, but at the very least, they won’t be using items right from the first runner, so you don’t have to worry—"

"I’m not."

"Not what?"

"I mean… I’m not worried."

At his words, Lee Eunho frowned slightly.

He quickly masked his expression and turned his head away, but—

"Again…"

Lee Eunho glanced around at the intrigued crowd.

And then—

"I’m counting on you."

"Huh? Me?"

He pointed at someone.

Someone who, at first glance, seemed to have no connection to track and field whatsoever.

"You ran track, didn’t you? Your face looks familiar."

"Uh… Yeah, I did…"

"Then let’s go. There’s no time to practice, so we’ll keep baton passes simple with an overhand exchange."

And just like that, he rattled off a reckless strategy.

"Hanil-sunbae! Didn’t you say that guy was a former track athlete?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"I mean, the goalkeeper lady earlier was one thing, but… this time, I really think he made a mistake."

The crowd grew noisy over the unexpected selection, but there was no way it was a mistake.

Because—

"That bastard’s IQ is over 150."

"Huh?"

"He doesn’t make mistakes."

He was ridiculously smart.

So much so that people used to joke he would’ve lived a better life if he had studied instead of doing sports.

"For real? Then… what’s that thing called? Mensa? Is he in that?"

The juniors’ jaws dropped.

"No way… A person like that exists…?"

Their reaction made Lee Eunho frown again.

He cut off the junior’s rambling with a sharp remark.

"Save the chatter for later."

"……!"

[All first runners, please take your positions at the starting line!]

Tipping his chin toward the empty air as the announcement echoed overhead.

“Number 1, let’s go.”

“Huh…? Oh!”

“Numbers 2 and 3, warm up.”

“Yes!”

“Uh… got it.”

Despite his cocky attitude, people’s gazes had already changed.

Especially the women’s.

As expected…

‘That jerk!’

* * *

Six red lanes.

Six athletes who had made it to the final round stood in their respective lanes.

“From lane 1: Korea, China, the U.S.… Who’s next?”

“Russia, France, and Argentina.”

While Jieun nodded with an “Ah,” she scanned the other five athletes besides Jang Hanil.

As if she would tear them apart with her eyes if she could.

“China seems to have brought some bodyguards… and the U.S. athlete is new. The Russian athlete competed in soccer matches, too.”

“Eunho, you’ve memorized all their faces already?”

“Only the ones who have competed before. But the French athlete…”

Jieun and I turned our gazes to the same person at the same time.

“His outfit is unusual.”

It was the French athlete with brown hair wearing tight shorts.

“Are those swim trunks?”

“No, those are…”

The moment a bad feeling crossed my mind—

“Summon!”

The French athlete pulled something out that was as big as himself.

Fwoosh!

Light flowing from his palm toward the ground began to form a shape.

A long, horizontal thin column.

Two round wheels supporting it.

A minimal structure with no unnecessary lines or surfaces.

I can’t believe it…

Clink!

“A bike?!”

The man mounted the summoned vehicle.

“What?! That guy… now that I think about it, he’s a Tour de France winner!”

“Tour… what’s that?”

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

“Tour de France! The world’s biggest cycling race!”

Great.

If it’s the Tour de France…

Bicycling isn’t widely known, but it’s an intense sport that requires explosive use of the entire body’s muscles.

The Tour de France is a race that covers all of France—a dream stage for any cycling enthusiast.

If he’s skilled and obsessed enough to become the world’s best there, he probably unlocked some serious abilities.

“But why does he need sunglasses and a mask to ride a bike?”

“To block sunlight and bugs! Their speed is incredible!”

“What? Bikes are that fast?”

“Of course! Athletes like him easily hit 50 km/h…”

Hearing Jaehyuk’s conversation with the older lady, Jieun’s face turned pale.

“This doesn’t make sense! That’s not running!”

“It’s being allowed as an ability…”

Jieun bit her lower lip hard.

Then she started raising her hand as if to bite her nails.

Slap!

I grabbed her hand.

“Don’t worry. Our ability’s way more OP.”

“But…”

“You trust me, don’t you?”

Jieun froze, her eyes wide.

Her big, dark pupils reflected me.

“…Yes, I trust you!”

It was slow, but her answer was firm.

As Jieun walked away confidently—

[The relay race will now begin!]

[Get ready!]

Beeep—

A horn-like sound covered the stadium.

Beeep—

It echoed again.

Beeep—

And again.

Bang!

The starting gunshot ripped through the air.

Whoosh!

Six silhouettes shot forward like bullets.

“Are you kidding me?! They’re that fast?!”

“No way…”

The speed was so incredible that even their feet were invisible—faster than anything seen in the Olympics.

“Whoa, how high is senior Jang’s agility stat?”

“32! Insanely fast!”

The fastest in the world, pushing themselves with power beyond earthly limits.

In the midst of their astonishing strides—

Zooooom!

The best French road racer sprinted ahead.

[FRA zone: passing ROK!]

[FRA zone: passing CN!]

[FRA zone: passing RUS!]

“No, senior Jang’s crazy fast, too, but… those guys…”

“This is insane. How do we beat that?!”

France led the pack.

Russia and Argentina chased close behind.

Korea, the U.S., and China followed a bit farther behind.

[FRA: 200m passed!]

The distance between the leaders and followers widened.

Not just between the leaders and the rest, but also between the followers themselves.

[RUS: 200m passed!]

They ran like mad, overtaking each other back and forth.

[ARG: 200m passed!]

[ROK: 200m passed!]

[CN: 200m passed!]

[USA: 200m passed!]

After those announcements came out with slight delays—

“The bike! It’s almost made a full lap!”

“No way, their next runner’s on a bike too! What’s with that team?!”

France’s first runner had already reached the passing zone—the area where baton exchanges were allowed.

Runner 2 had one foot on a bike and one foot on the ground, ready with an outstretched hand.

“This isn’t even fair!”

“Damn it… I guess humans really can’t beat machines.”

"What? Is that a machine?"

The moment France’s first runner slowed down and passed the blue baton—

[RUS Zone, 'Water Fly' activated!]

[Marks the target ahead with water droplets!]

"!!"

The first item had been triggered.

Pop!

A huge object appeared above the head of France’s first runner.

Unrealistically blue...

"...A fly?"

"What, wha— Aaaaaaah!"

Rattle!

The fly's grotesque eyes rolled toward its target.

Then—

Buzzzzzzzzzz!

It charged at the first runner.

"Aaaaaah! Help me!"

"St-Stefan! No!"

The water fly completely engulfed the runner.

Gulp. Gulp. Gulp.

Inside the transparent blue body of the fly, the first runner and his bicycle became one, violently thrashing about.

Then they floated into the air.

"Shit..."

Against the backdrop of the blue sky, the man and his bike were now trapped in an even deeper blue—water.

The man flailed his arms and legs, gasping like a goldfish.

In response to his struggles—

"Watch out!"

The entire scene collapsed in an instant.

The water fly, the first runner, and the bike.

Splashhh!

…Right on top of the second runner waiting for the baton.

Crash!

"Ugh!"

"The wheel! The disc brake! Ahhh!"

The baton forgotten, the first and second runners crashed into each other almost completely.

"Was that the water fly?"

Dumbfounded by the unexpected collision, people stood in stunned silence.

Meanwhile, the Russian team overtook the fallen road racers.

[RUS Zone, FRA overtaken!]

[RUS, baton touch!]

"Run! Just run!"

The first runner, trapped under the bike, shouted urgently.

While they fumbled to retrieve the baton stuck between the wheels, other zones were already switching their runners.

[ROK, baton touch!]

[ARG, baton touch!]

[CN, baton touch!]

[USA, baton touch!]

Thanks to this, Korea finished the first leg in second place, right behind Russia.

"Senior Jang!"

"Great work!"

He looked frustrated.

Because he was ‘only’ second place.

He must have expected more considering his confident attitude earlier.

But—

"It’s fine. We just need to cross the finish line first."

"Huff... Are you trying to comfort me?"

"No, it’s a fact."

The expectations for Jang Hanil weren’t that high.

Whether he was an Asian Games medalist or not, this wasn’t just a pure running competition.

They expected the other racers to unleash all kinds of abilities.

[ARG Zone, 'Banana' activated!]

[Places a trap in front of the target!]

[CN Zone, 'Thundercloud' activated!]

[Obscures the vision of all racers except for the user!]

Exactly.

Like this.

"Sigh... The third racer’s record is worse than mine. You think you can win it all by yourself?"

"Hmm? I don’t plan on winning alone."

"…?!"

Because the next racer—

Flash!

—was someone unaffected by thunderclouds or bananas.

"Wh-Who is that woman?!"

As Jang Hanil took a step back in surprise, she patted him on the shoulder.

"Don’t worry."

"Who are you?!"

"Didn’t you know? There’s always someone who flies above those who run."

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]