The Tough Guy Hides the Villainess

023 – The Three Problematic but Strongest #1

023 – The Three Problematic but Strongest #1

“Alright, then we will conduct a simple simulation class this morning. Here, we have a young pregnant woman and a man holding a knife. The role of the pregnant woman is… Kim Jin! You do it, and the role of the man holding the knife is the class president?”

When attending school, there is always at least one student who gets picked on by the teacher.

When the teacher needs to ask questions or conduct practical exercises during class, that student is often used as a guinea pig.

“And Han Nam-jin! You come out here! What would you do in this situation? When the pregnant woman is confronting the man holding the knife!”

Captain Kang Cheol-min always calls me first.

“Is it Nam-jin again today?”

“He’s totally marked by the captain.”

“It’s not the captain, it’s the instructor!”

The classroom was already in a state of chaos and excitement just because the captain called my name.

From everyone’s gaze, it was as if they were eagerly anticipating, “What kind of fun antics will Han Nam-jin show today?”

Damn! To be honest, I love everyone’s attention!

Maybe it’s because my only friends for years have been loneliness and whining, but the attention from everyone is as sweet as honey!

The problem is that popularity is like a sandcastle in front of the waves.

The public is easily disappointed and quick to turn away, so you always have to stay on your toes.

If there’s a way to meet everyone’s expectations and solve the captain’s dilemma in this situation?

“I would side with the man.”

“What?”

The captain looked perplexed.

Kim Jin, who was chosen to play the role of the pregnant woman, and Jung Eui-seon, who was assigned the role of the man with a knife, also frowned slightly as if they were taken aback.

Murmur, murmur-.

The classmates also started chattering, creating waves of murmurs.

“Ah-. Does no one understand?”

Do I have to explain everything step by step?

“A pregnant woman has a baby in her belly, right? So that’s two people. But the man is alone. Therefore, this is a 2:1 situation, which is disadvantageous for the man. We need to side with the man to be fair.”

Swoosh-.

I stood next to the man and shouted.

“You cowardly pregnant woman! How dare you use your numerical advantage to oppress an innocent man! But now it’s 2:2!”

Our fight starts now!

Everyone seemed stunned by my righteous judgment and realistic acting.

Not missing the moment, I struck the toy ‘knife’ that Jung Eui-seon was holding with the edge of my hand, causing it to fall to the floor.

Clang-.

“What!?”

The class president was flustered, but I had already kicked the toy knife on the floor far away.

With the biggest threat, the weapon, gone, the simulation of “a man threatening a pregnant woman” was practically resolved.

The kids were watching amazed, and Captain Kang Chul-min reluctantly ran his hand from his forehead to his chin.

“So, Han Nam-jin, you’re saying you distracted the dangerous person and took the opportunity to eliminate the threat first? The method was peculiar, but well, it passes. I’ll give you 10,000 points.”

Oh yeah, get 10,000 points!

Just thinking about going to the store to buy a cold cola with this makes my tailbone tingle with excitement.

Come to think of it, does Seo Ga-eul like cola? The thought of buying a cold cola for Seo Ga-eul today and possibly earning points to gain cooperation made me feel very good.

“Han Nam-jin, you punk, your mind is elsewhere right now. Are you feeling the spring?”

Thud-.

The captain smacked my head, and the kids laughed heartily.

The captain was right.

I had a lot on my mind today because of what happened in the morning.

Kidnap Yoo Yeoreum and bring her next to me─he said.

What on earth was Seo Ga-eul thinking when he said that? I don’t understand his intentions. When I tried to ask for the reason, he clammed up like an oyster, truly a girl who had a knack for driving men crazy.

If he wanted cooperation, he asked me to kidnap Yoo Yeoreum?

Why did Seo Ga-eul say such a thing?

Maybe the basement was too lonely.

Maybe he needed a roommate in the basement.

After all, Seo Ga-eul was the type to throw parties and enjoy the noise because of loneliness, even inviting people he didn’t want.

It wasn’t strange that someone like him, suddenly trapped alone in a quiet basement, would feel bored and lonely.

‘That seems like the right answer.’

In other words, Seo Ga-eul wanted me to create a “kidnap mate” equal to himself. Like how only children sometimes tell their moms, “Make me a sibling!”

That’s it. I’m smart.

…So, Yoo Yeoreum, huh.

The problem was that Yoo Yeoreum was a powerful awakener, called the darling of the elite F class.

Even though she hadn’t graduated yet, she was already active as a current explorer. How on earth could I kidnap someone like that?

But if there was one lucky thing, it was that there was an opportunity today.

This afternoon, there would be a group practice, so I could see Yoo Yeoreum’s skills firsthand and make a plan.

# # #

Group practice is exploration.

It’s a class where we enter the practice “Great Labyrinth” and explore.

“Guys, let’s do our best this time too.”

“Sounds good!”

“I… I’ll be different from last time!”

“…….”

This time, the “No Leftovers Group” gathered again, but unlike last time when it was a gathering of stragglers and everyone was gloomy, there was a glimmer of hope on everyone’s faces.

“Hanamjin, you boasted that you would come first in this practice, didn’t you?”

Before entering the Great Labyrinth, Mr. Koga, who was in charge of the entrance, lifted his blindfold slightly and glared at me with a meaningful look.

I glared back at Mr. Koga without backing down.

“Mr. Koga, you haven’t forgotten your promise to kiss me if I come first in this practice, right? Don’t go back on your word.”

“I’m not Mr. Koga, I’m Ms. Moon Hyuna. Now, let’s see how you struggle. Even though Ga-eul is resting because she’s sick, we still have Yeoreum in our F class.”

In this joint practice between classes D and F, I really wanted to come first.

Even though Mr. Koga was covering his face with a blindfold, he was quite a beauty. If I could get a kiss from such a beauty, I would cherish that memory as a family heirloom for life.

Swoosh-.

As I entered the “Great Labyrinth” with the same feeling of my intestines twisting as last time, I found myself in a high place where the view was clear.

Was it a cliff?

No, it felt a bit different.

“Isn’t this a building?”

Under the dusty sky, we were standing on top of a building in a city full of the ruins of broken buildings.

For some reason, it seemed like a roughly destroyed world.

It was a familiar sight to me.

“Po, post-apocalypse…”

Duksun, who was always quiet, explained the situation in a small voice, happy to know something this time as well.

Post-apocalypse.

A world after destruction. That was the perfect description. Last time, we were transferred to a place like a ‘forest,’ but this time it was a ruined city.

What on earth is this “Great Labyrinth”?

“So, what are you going to do?”

Geum Taesung was looking at me.

Changsik, Duksun, and Baek Yeoul were also looking at me.

Let’s put aside Yoo Yeoreum’s kidnapping for now and think about earning a lot of points first?

If it’s a ruined city, I’m an expert.

“I think we should focus on ‘monster hunting’ like last time. There are many places in this urban jungle where monsters could be hiding. Let’s go down the building first.”

Fortunately, the building’s stairs were intact, so we could easily get down to the city’s ground. Now, what should we do here─.

I examined a nearby manhole cover.

Creak-.

The door opens.

“Jackpot.”

The underground passage of the ruined world could indeed be called a separate kingdom. In a place filled with rats and bugs, there were bound to be monsters that preyed on them.

However, Deok-soon, looking into the open manhole, gagged.

“… Ugh.”

The stench was indeed foul.

Baek Yeoul and Chang-sik, who were resistant to strong smells, seemed fine, but Tae-seong and Deok-soon hesitated to enter the underground passage.

I should give them a tip.

“When the smell is bad, breathing through your mouth might help.”

Perhaps because they trusted my performance in the last practice, Deok-soon followed my advice and started breathing through her mouth.

Although her actions were somewhat exaggerated, her expression relaxed, indicating she felt better.

And so, we entered the sewer.

Splash-.

The incredible water rising to our ankles was truly dreadful.

Even more dreadful was the fact that the interior was winding and twisting.

With all sorts of forks in the path, it was hard for me to lead the way.

“Which way should we go?”

It was when I paused for a moment.

Baek Yeoul, who had been quiet all day, stepped forward.

“Me! I can figure it out! In times like this, you do it like this!”

Spit, splat-.

Baek Yeoul spat on his palm.

He then slapped it with his other hand, making the spit fly.

“It flew to the right! Let’s go right!”

A very primitive and superstitious navigation method.

Is Baek Yeoul on par with Amazonian natives?

But when combined with Baek Yeoul’s concept of “misfortune,” even such a superstitious way of finding the path could become meaningful.

Meeting a “monster” in this smelly underground passage would be the worst, right? So, following the misfortune compass Baek Yeoul would likely increase the chances of encountering a “monster.”

Splash-splash-.

As we walked through the underground passage, it was then.

“It’s blocked?”

A dead end appeared.

Ssshhh-.

A very thick iron plate blocked our way.

Is this some kind of bunker?

“That, that can’t be… .”

The confident Bbangdaengi, who had been full of baseless confidence until now, suddenly became gloomy and couldn’t proceed any further. This misfortune seemed to be a literal ‘misfortune,’ and just as I was about to turn back.

Srrr-.

A strong scent of strawberries, completely out of place in this underground waterway, wafted into my nose. And from behind us, I could sense the presence of several people walking.

Squeeze-.

Choi Chang-sik grabbed my wrist.

“… Friend. From now on, you must not act impulsively. Absolutely not!”

Choi Chang-sik was as started as if he had seen a starving Tyrannosaurus.

No, in some ways, something more surprising than a dinosaur appeared.

It was Yoo Yeoreum.

Without paying any attention to us, he silently looked at the iron wall and his eyes glowed white.

Zzzing-.

In this dark underground waterway, his two glowing eyes were as beautiful as a blazing “supernova” or “sun.”

Zzzzzzzzzing-. Boom-!

Yoo Yeoreum’s eyes emitted two beams of light.

Then, the thick iron door was pierced as if it had been hit by a futuristic welding machine!

What the hell is that? Shooting lasers from his eyes? No matter how awakened he is, can a human do that?

Even the usually silent Deok-soon seemed to be at a loss for words at this amazing sight.

“It’s, it’s heat vision. Shooting heat rays from the eyes, like Superboy in movies or, though a bit niche, heroes like Homelander in dramas… .”

Whatever it is, I get that it’s amazing.

How could the usually quiet Deok-soon be so talkative? Deok-soon was still busy marveling, “Is that the power of Invincible, the leader of Class F? His callsign wasn’t exaggerated.”

Here, I could understand the ‘exact meaning’ of what Seo Ga-eul had told me about kidnapping Yoo Yeoreum and cooperating with my training.

Yoo Yeoreum is Invincible.

Kidnapping someone who moves faster than me, who has the concept of “leap,” and shoots crazy laser beams means the kidnapper’s ‘death.’

In other words, Seo Ga-eul was telling me, “I will never cooperate, so go out and die.”

With that in mind, I clenched my fist tightly and hunched my upper body─.

“Namjin Kick!”

Paaat-!

I launched my body towards Yoo Yeoreum, splashing water everywhere.