The Fallen Sky, the guild master of Cheorang, the crazy number one ranker in South Korea, and so on. There were many words to describe Cheon Shin Woo, but few people knew exactly about him.

For example, those who knew that he was unofficially ranked number one in the world.

The person in front of Cheon Shin Woo was one of those who knew that secret.

“Hey there. What brings you here this time? The smell of blood is really strong, did you wash up before coming?”

“…You know I didn’t come just to exchange greetings.”

“I know, I know. Anyway, good job on the latest raid? So what information are you trying to get? You know my information doesn’t come cheap, right?”

Frowning at the playful tone, Cheon Shin Woo threw what he was holding. After checking the contents, the other person soon smiled with satisfaction.

“Heh. Your skills are truly remarkable, aren’t they? The way you manage to bring monsters back alive is impressive.”

“Shut up and give me the information.”

A blue aura flowed from Cheon Shin Woo’s body. At this, the hooded figure made a fuss.

“Whoa! You know if you kill me, Silence is the only one left who can give you information, right? If you don’t want to go to him, you can’t kill me!”

“…”

A ranker with the alias ‘Information Broker’ and a noisy, flirtatious personality. Calling himself Nightcat because ‘Information Broker doesn’t sound cool!’, he snapped his fingers.

The mini helper robots floating in the air made a whirring sound. What a nasty hobby. Cheon Shin Woo, who had no room to talk about nasty hobbies, nodded slightly.

“Hmm, hmm. Hmm? Hmm.”

The Information Broker, with an appearance and voice that made it impossible to tell if they were male or female, flipped a coin in their hand a few times. Cheon Shin Woo watched the scene indifferently.

“For this case, it might be more accurate to go to Silence than me? Since I’ve already been paid… Should I write you a referral? I know where he is.”

“…”

Instead of expressing his displeasure verbally, Cheon Shin Woo, who exercised it through his skills, unleashed an electric current. Terrified, the Information Broker hugged their robots and stepped back.

“Really, you only know violence! How barbaric! Ugh, fine. I’ll try my best!”

“…”

Knowing that the silent, calm expression was pressure, the Information Broker grumbled in a small voice.

Though the Information Broker and Silence dealt with the same ‘information’, they were fundamentally different. While Silence used ‘prophecy’ to find out what would happen in the future, the Information Broker compiled all existing possibilities and data to pinpoint the most likely event to occur.

The Information Broker, looking at the empty window, said:

“The will to destroy this world… Sin has shown itself for the first time, it seems. This is definitely a dangerous sign. Considering that the main body’s power is still sealed, the probability of you stopping this alone is about 3%? And that’s only if you’ve eliminated all other fragments of destruction.”

“That’s not what I asked.”

“This is important information too, so listen first. And I’m not a prophet, so I can’t tell you anything without observed information!”

“Useless.”

Cheon Shin Woo turned away without hesitation.

“How can you make such ego-bruising remarks! Wait, don’t go. You’re curious about the gate where the second fragment is sleeping, right? But while I can tell you the location, I can’t specify the timing yet. It’s premature! I’ll let you know as soon as I find out. Hm? There’s no rush, right? Should I give you information about the hidden piece instead? Fallen Sky, I know a lot of other information that could be useful to you…”

“…”

“You’re not even looking back, you cold-blooded man! Huh? Wait, wait a minute. Hey?”

“…”

“Hey, this is something you need to know too! Your younger sibling is caught up in another gate right now?”

Cheon Shin Woo stopped at the loud voice. Right, the second fragment isn’t important right now. The Information Broker, nodding and looking satisfied, was surprised when Cheon Shin Woo suddenly grabbed their collar.

“…I told you those kinds of jokes aren’t funny.”

“Uh, huh? This isn’t a joke. Hm? Can we talk after you let go first? I’ll tell you for free…”

“…”

“Okay, okay. Relax your expression. The observed information right now is really just that. Your sibling got caught up in another gate… That’s it. No, is that friend an S-class magnet? They got involved in another S-class gate?”

The Information Broker’s voice was light as they spoke. Still being held by the collar, they chuckled and tilted their head.

“It seems someone forcibly tampered with the system. The only being capable of doing something like this would be Sin… Anyway, your sibling. At this rate, they’ll awaken soon, right?”

“Clearly, that shouldn’t be possible…”

“You said you prevented it, right? But it’s no use. It’s already a miracle that you’ve managed to hold it off this long. And the gate being observed now… bad luck. This one is an erosion type.”

The strength left Cheon Shin Woo’s hands. The Information Broker grinned at his expression.

“And this gate is abnormal. According to observations, it’s not a gate that should appear here, at this time.”

There was no time to hear more. Cheon Shin Woo ran off without even asking where the location was.

Watching his retreating figure, the Information Broker smiled.

“Always in such a hurry.”

Stretching, they checked the windows floating in their hand and organized the information to relay to the rank 1 who was rushing off at breakneck speed.

Erosion-type S-class gate. Attribute: Death. The fact that it was chosen with the worst compatibility for Fallen Sky’s sibling couldn’t be seen as anything but intentional.

“If you’re so worried, why not just tell him everything? This way, you’ll only earn his hatred.”

Right? The cat-shaped mini robot next to them beeped.

The air at dusk was particularly cold. Opening and drinking the canned beer in my hand brought a creeping sense of satisfaction.

“Whew!”

The beer bought from the convenience store inside the park was colder than the air. Watching me drink beer without any side dishes, Baek Yi Hyun muttered.

“Shin Ah, you look like an old man…”

“What? Don’t you drink?”

“I don’t drink… No. Never mind…”

Somehow his face seemed filled with worry, but that must be my imagination. I ignored Baek Yi Hyun’s gaze and looked up at the sky.

The sky, turning from blue to a splash of red paint, was faintly tinged with purple.

I suddenly wondered how long I would be able to take in this scenery, and felt a bit melancholy.

Problems and questions keep piling up, but none are being resolved satisfactorily, making me feel like I’ve been thrown into darkness. And the most displeasing thing is that I might soon get used to this situation.

Seeing me like this, Baek Yi Hyun carefully asked.

“…Are you okay?”

“Am I okay? Well… I’m not sure if I’m okay.”

After saying that, a laugh mixed with a sigh escaped. It was just… funny. I don’t even know what’s funny. Surely I couldn’t be drunk already after just half a can of beer?

“If you want to run away, just say so. I’ll help you.”

“As if you could help.”

“…I’m not joking.”

“Forget it, you brat.”

Baek Yi Hyun’s expression was serious, but I didn’t feel like responding seriously. What did he mean by saying he would help?

Help me live a free life? Or help me find out what Cheon Shin Woo is hiding?

Either way, it’s nonsense. We’re talking about Cheon Shin Woo here. Not just South Korea’s number one ranker, but someone unofficially recognized as the world’s strongest. What could this guy possibly do against someone like that?

Seeing my lukewarm reaction, Baek Yi Hyun slightly pushed out his lower lip.

Well, well.

“Making that face won’t help. You don’t even know if you can help or not.”

“…I can help. Anything, if you want.”

“…”

It felt like words got stuck in my throat. Looking at Baek Yi Hyun’s sulky expression, I couldn’t help but wonder one thing.

Normally, I wouldn’t have voiced this thought out loud. But.

“…Do you really like me?”

“Huh…? Why are you suddenly asking that?”

A surprised expression was directed at me. Ah, am I really drunk? I don’t know. The words I’m saying now are clearly things I wouldn’t say when sober.

“Just wondering. If you really like me, I’m curious why.”

“…”

Baek Yi Hyun was briefly silent. I giggled.

The ‘like’ he’s talking about probably doesn’t mean he sees me as a romantic interest. It’s probably just a friendly, platonic kind of like.

That’s why I was even more curious. Why?

“I used to dislike you.”

“…I know.”

Why would he like me? Someone who has nothing special about them, who can’t do anything well, who just causes trouble by meddling unnecessarily.

Someone who dislikes him for such a pathetic reason as inferiority complex.

Soon, Baek Yi Hyun met my gaze and smiled.

“Would you understand if I told you?”

He was a good-natured guy. To smile even after being told to his face that I disliked him.

I shouldn’t have asked after all. At times like this, I feel pathetic, unsure of how to act.

“I’m still curious though.”

Yet my mouth spoke on its own.

I had known for a while that Baek Yi Hyun was following me. It’s true that he treated me more friendly than others.

That’s why I disliked him more. Because I couldn’t believe that someone so accomplished could like me. Because I hated feeling so consumed by that inferiority complex.

“…Because you’re upright.”

The answer that followed made all the strength leave my body.

It’s the opposite. The complete opposite. I wasn’t upright at all. Being stubborn without any ability was just recklessness and hypocrisy. I was a hypocrite acting recklessly.

There wasn’t even the tiniest reason to like me.

“What about you? Why did you dislike me?”

The direct question came back at me. My throat closed up. It felt like I’d become incredibly pathetic if I answered, but I felt pathetic even without answering.

“…Because you can do things I can’t.”

The brief silence passed, and my uttered answer shrank infinitely small.

Because when you show courage, it doesn’t become recklessness, when you do good, it doesn’t become hypocrisy. Because I envied how you could naturally do things I couldn’t.

We returned at the same time, but one is so incompetent while the other is so capable.

Because I hated that endless comparison, and hated that my peer happened to be the other party. Because the more I hated you, the more I became the bad person, and I hated the fact that you were such a good person.