This World is too Cruel to Men

How… How did this happen?

I couldn’t understand.

The dizziness that started with the ringing in my ears hadn’t subsided yet, making it difficult to grasp the situation.

It was like a mosquito buzzing around my ear on a summer night.

It was so persistent… that it made it even harder to understand what was going on.

‘So…’

What happened?

Why is this pointed at my throat right now?

I clearly heard the signal to start, and then a sudden, high-pitched ‘beeeeeeep’ filled my ears. It made me so dizzy that I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment, and when I opened them…

“Are you not going to surrender?”

A calm voice, somehow naturally flowing into my ears, whispered directly into my brain.

It’s over.

You lost.

‘Lost…?’

Me?

Why?

Like this?

So pathetically, in an instant?

It was absurd.

No, it was beyond absurd; it was infuriating.

‘—Listen carefully. If my prediction is correct… the moment the sparring starts will be the critical point. So…’

Dokgun’s voice, echoing in my head as if he’d been waiting for this very moment, only fueled my frustration.

…Of course, the frustration wasn’t directed at Dokgun.

‘Stupid girl…’

Dokgun even came to me and warned me, and what?

I talked as if I’d already won in front of him, and now I lose pathetically like this, without even putting up a proper fight?

If this was going to happen anyway, why did I ask him to buy me dinner? Why did I ask him to watch a movie with me?

‘I’m so embarrassed…’

It wasn’t just embarrassment; it was so mortifying that tears welled up in my eyes.

It was humiliating to display such a disgraceful sight in front of so many people, but… honestly, Dokgun’s gaze from the audience seats bothered me more than the stares of everyone else.

I wish I hadn’t said anything.

If I hadn’t, lifting my head wouldn’t feel so terrifying.

What is Dokgun thinking right now, looking at me? What kind of expression does he have?

It was obvious without even looking.

He must be looking at me with a disappointed gaze.

He specifically advised me to be careful at the beginning, yet I failed to follow his advice and ended up like this.

From his perspective, he couldn’t help but feel disappointed.

And what made me feel even more embarrassed and annoyed in this situation was—

“I understand it’s hard to accept the result… but I don’t think there’s any point in continuing.”

It was the voice of that Baek Seol-hwa, or whatever her name was, making me feel pathetic.

A businesslike yet calm voice.

It really made me want to lash out.

Just from her voice, it sounded like she was absolutely certain that I could never beat her, no matter how many times we fought.

As I reflexively bit my lip, a feeling I had never experienced before, a feeling of inferiority, began to sprout within me.

For the first time, I had tasted defeat, a helpless defeat where I couldn’t do anything.

This planted the seed of inferiority within me, and what acted as fertilizer, allowing it to sprout, were… Dokgun’s advice.

Dokgun had only analyzed the opponent as he always did, trying to increase my chances of winning even slightly… but having experienced defeat for the first time since my Awakening, my reason had completely flown out the window, and I couldn’t make a proper judgment.

And the conclusion I reached was—

‘So… he’s interested in her, huh?’

That was it.

Of course, it wasn’t entirely a wrong judgment.

The person who instilled this feeling of inferiority in me at this moment possessed an undeniably attractive appearance and physique.

Especially for men, this was even more true.

Dokgun was indeed slightly captivated by her, but that was all.

Having spent so much time with me, Dokgun had built up a strong guard against anyone under 20, so there was no way he would waver now.

However, unaware of this, Dokgun’s unusually detailed explanation of my opponent seemed to me like he was interested in her, and as a result… it was the beginning of a misunderstanding.

Lost in my feelings of inferiority towards Seolhwa and misunderstanding about Dokgun, it was the MC’s voice, who had climbed onto the sparring stage, that brought me back to my senses—

“Miss Oh Yun-seo?”

The moment that carefully spoken voice reached my ears, I snapped out of it and immediately admitted defeat.

“…I lost.”

The match was already decided, and clinging on any longer would only make me look more pathetic.

The moment I stepped down from the sparring stage, I realized why those who had lost to me before looked so miserable.

Just a moment ago, I believed I was the main character of this world… but in an instant, I felt like

I had fallen to the position of an extra with no lines.

The despair from that tremendous fall, the despair from the possibility that Dokgun’s feelings towards me were just my own delusion, was so overwhelming that it felt like I had been branded as the most useless being in the world.

Did everyone feel this way all along?

One thing was for sure… I had no strength left in my legs.

All I did was step onto the sparring stage and bow my head towards my opponent, yet I felt this way.

‘I’m tired…’

I wanted to lie down on my bed and rest right away.

My legs were trembling, and my whole body felt heavy.

But I couldn’t.

Since the Regular Sparring was more of a league system than a tournament, I still had a few more matches left.

So, I forced myself to walk towards the waiting room.

And the results of the sparring matches I participated in, while feeling like I had lead weights attached to my body, were… indescribably disastrous.

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‘Oh dear…’

I had a bad feeling when she ignored my advice, but I never imagined she’d be defeated so thoroughly.

Honestly, that alone was enough to make me wonder what to do, but… what unfolded afterward was even worse.

Was the first taste of defeat after Awakening her talent that bitter?

She stumbled around on the sparring stage with a look of someone who hadn’t recovered from the aftermath of defeat… it was like she had gone back to the day she first revealed her Awakening to me.

That’s how pathetic it was.

She still had some basic skills, so she didn’t lose all her remaining matches… but if this was going to happen, wouldn’t it have been better to just lose them all cleanly?

If she had, I could have scolded her as a friend, asking what she was doing, but seeing her struggling to avoid losing even in that state made it difficult for me to do so.

‘Sigh…’

The one who brought down Yun-Seo, who had been on such a winning streak, performed… so-so afterward.

She definitely showed dominance against middle school students, but not against high school students.

She won some and lost some.

Looking at the high school matches alone, her win rate was a bit low.

That’s what made it seem even more impressive.

‘She’s performing at that level even without fully utilizing her talent…’

It made me feel a sense of awe and fear.

The power displayed by Awakened who aspire to be Heroes is, from my perspective, practically a superpower, even if it’s called a talent.

She’s holding her own against those who wield such powers as if they were their own limbs, using only her physical abilities… if this Baek Seol-hwa girl were to fully blossom her talent, just how powerful would she become?

I don’t have a scouter or anything, so I can’t predict someone’s future with certainty, but… if that were to happen, wouldn’t passing the Hero qualification exam be a given?

If the exam topic that year happens to be ridiculously bizarre, the probability of passing might be a bit lower, but the fact that she’s competing against other people will never change.

And if I’m right, this Baek Seol-hwa’s ability has the potential to be top-tier in one-on-one combat if honed properly.

I’m not sure how effective it would be against those Another monsters, which are basically monsters themselves.

‘Do they even have ears?’

Based on the various videos I’ve seen, it seems like they have the five senses… anyway, it doesn’t matter if she specializes in one-on-one combat.

I heard there’s a huge demand for that because of all the Villains running rampant.

Anyway… enough with the random thoughts.

The event seems to be coming to an end, so I should go comfort our little one, who’s probably feeling down.

‘The problem is how to comfort her…’

Since this is the first time this has happened, I can’t think of a good solution.

The methods I used when she was occasionally upset probably won’t work this time.

As I was getting increasingly worried, the only fortunate thing was that it didn’t seem like I would be fighting this battle alone.

There was someone next to me who seemed even more restless than I was.

“Shall we go to Yun-Seo now, Uncle?”

“Y-Yes…!”

Was he waiting for those words?

As soon as I spoke, Yun-Seo’s uncle, who had been restless since the closing ceremony began, jumped to his feet.

Using him as a shield, I got a free pass to the waiting room and followed him inside.

“Yun-Seo…? Are you alright?”

She looked unwell, but did she not even have the energy to turn on the lights?

The waiting room we entered was so dark that we couldn’t see an inch in front of us.

So,

I turned on the lights… and immediately saw Yun-Seo huddled on the waiting room sofa.

“…Yun-Seo?”

Seeing her like that, her uncle called her name again, but… there was no response.

Instead, she abruptly stood up and started heading somewhere—

“Yun-Seo? W-Where are you…”

“…Just going to the restroom.”

Only after her uncle managed to stop her just before she left the waiting room did she finally speak.

“O-Okay… Go ahead.”

To be completely honest?

Despite the cold, heavy atmosphere, I couldn’t help but chuckle.

From my perspective, it was just cute.

‘This is… like she’s protesting for comfort…’

Anyway, I couldn’t leave her alone like this, worried she might wander off somewhere in her emotional state, so I followed her, trailing behind as her uncle, who couldn’t bring himself to follow, remained in the waiting room.

I followed her, and—

“…”

She must have been bothered by my presence following her.

She stopped in her tracks without a word… so I asked her, injecting a bit of playfulness into my voice,

“Why? You said you were going to the restroom?”

“…Why are you following me?”

“Hmm, just because?”

“Ha…!”

Oh?

Look at this.

What’s that scoff supposed to mean?

Is she… annoyed?

At me?