Chapter 60

All winter, I honed my abilities relentlessly.

Even though my standing in the Swamp Area had grown strong enough to make the boss of the Crocodile Bird wary, this world is survival of the fittest.

To survive, I had to keep sharpening my skills.

It would be perfect if I could just become as strong as Quaker.

Am I being too shameless?

Well, as of the latest update, Quaker is the strongest in the world, so…

“Shit…”

“Don’t move too much. You might end up getting crushed.”

At my threat, the criminal’s resistance faded.

Even now, the heavy pressure from gravity must be making him realize my threat isn’t empty.

I took my eyes off the now subdued guy and slowly turned my gaze to the flying protagonist landing in front of me.

Wow, he looks like a protagonist.

In other words—he’s handsome. Very.

Some people have a villainous face, and when they smirk a little evilly, it scares people.

“Thank you for your help! But using abilities in the market—”

“Let’s arrest this guy first, then we can talk.”

“Ah, yes!”

Still a bit clumsy. When I subtly redirected the target to the criminal, the protagonist fumbled and cuffed the guy’s wrists.

Do the handcuffs here glow with RGB lights too?

As I showed interest in the gaming-style handcuffs, the protagonist—Lee Si-woo—gave me a strange look. His slight frown suggested he was recalling some bad memory.

From the way he muttered “Quaker…?” in a voice so low only I could hear, it seemed he thought I resembled him.

I hope I don’t get mistaken for Quaker.

That would be really annoying.

“Do you have anything to say?”

“…No. Thank you again for your help.”

He’s not hiding that uncertain expression.

Is it because he’s a rookie that he’s bad at hiding his emotions?

Of course, heroes tend to be weak in this area.

It’s inevitable—these guys are really bad at scheming.

The criteria for selecting heroes are usually like that.

Overflowing with justice and gullibility, easy to manipulate.

As heroes gain experience, they taste the bitterness of society and gradually become corrupted.

Or rather, they get a dose of reality.

Since the world is a mess, the world seen by hero hopefuls, like greenhouse flowers, is very different from the world seen by actual heroes.

In school, villains are taught as heinous criminals, but in reality, most are just trying to make a living. Only a handful are the kind of villains you’d see in comics.

Even then, some become villains due to government schemes, so continuing as a hero can lead to a buildup of disillusionment—and sometimes, a switch to villainy.

From what I remember, around the middle, a hero whose family was killed by the government turned dark and became a villain.

He was eventually caught by the protagonist… but before committing suicide, he told the protagonist, “Don’t trust the government.”

Well, that’s in the future, so no need to think about it now. First, I need to establish some kind of connection with the protagonist in front of me.

“Ah, by the way, is Speed doing well? I haven’t heard anything from him—”

“Sp-Speed senior? You know him?”

“We worked together before.”

At my words, the protagonist, Lee Si-woo’s gaze changed.

A friend of Speed, no less?

Even though it’s a bit unusual, the fact that I’m a friend of Speed, who’s quite popular among heroes, made his expression change. Connections really are useful.

“Ah, so you’re a colleague of Speed senior! He’s doing well! Still too fast to have a proper conversation, though!”

“That’s just how he is. But if you ask him to slow down, he will, so try asking him when you talk.”

“Thanks for the tip! I’ll be going now!”

I sighed as I watched Tempest fly off into the distance, dragging the criminal with him.

I made an impression, but how can I use this?

To deal with Quaker, the protagonist’s help is essential.

After all, it’s the protagonist.

In web novels, it’s practically set in stone that they become the strongest.

And they’re destined to attract all sorts of villains like moths to a flame.

“Kids, should we go get phones?”

“…Phones?”

“Really?”

“It’ll cost some money, but it’s better than not having one.”

After all, smartphones are a modern necessity.

Unlike before, I have an ID that works in Seoul, so I should be able to register one.

“I feel like we’re spending too much money…”

“But it’s a necessary item. Saving money now isn’t the best choice.”

Just having a phone could expand my business.

Until now, requests circulated within the Swamp Area, so a phone wasn’t really necessary. But to take clients from Seoul, a phone is essential.

It’s not realistic for clients to come all the way to the Swamp Area, so taking requests via phone is the most efficient.

I’m not sure if anyone would come to me specifically, but I do have some recognition, so there should be people who would.

Especially from the underworld.

Now that the protagonist has debuted as a hero, the underworld is bound to get restless.

“We’ve bought everything else, so let’s go get a phone now.”

“Okay!”

“Yes, boss.”

We left the market and found a suitable phone store to enter.

—

“Huh…”

I stared blankly at the phone in my hand.

The softness of the body was impressive—was this really the smartphone I knew?

Not just a regular screen, but futuristic features like holograms.

Is this a top-of-the-line computer or a phone? The performance is insane.

As expected, in the near future, the performance is top-notch.

I fiddled with the insanely powerful phone and looked at Seolhwa, who was also fiddling with her phone across from me.

“Wow…”

Seeing her genuinely amazed made the money spent worth it.

It’s cute too.

“Boss, you’re really skilled with phones.”

“Well… I’ve used one before.”

“Every time I hear about your past, I get more curious.”

“Me too!”

…Even if they say that, there’s not much I can tell them.

“Well… I just ended up here after doing this and that.”

When I brushed it off, Seolhwa puffed her cheeks.

She didn’t like that I avoided answering.

“Oppa, you know everything, but we don’t know anything about you—”

“That’s true. Boss, do you have some past you can’t talk about?”

“Actually—”

That’s when it happened.

As if protecting my past, the vibrating bell on the table tickled my elbow. I immediately picked up the bell and stood up.

“The food must be ready. I’ll go get it.”

It’s been a while since I had a burger.

I didn’t used to like burgers much, but when I saw the fast-food place, I couldn’t resist.

Here, burgers are practically a fantasy food.

So, like a country bumpkin, I was drawn in and managed to place an order.

Who would’ve thought it’d be an Xbway-style burger place?

I never imagined this.

“Your order is ready.”

“Thank you.”

I carried a tray with four burgers, fries, and cola—a classic combo—and sat down.

“What’s this black stuff?”

“Ah, this is cola. An amazing drink.”

“Oppa, your tone is weird.”

“Try it. You’ll get addicted.”

I unwrapped the straw and stuck it in the lid.

The two looked at the straw in confusion, but when I sipped the cola through the straw, they followed suit.

“Ugh…! It feels weird!”

“My tongue tingles!”

“Try the fries too.”

I unwrapped my burger and took a big bite of the chicken burger loaded with veggies.

Ah.

This is the taste!

The soft bun, the lettuce, tomato, and pickles adding flavor, and the perfectly fried chicken.

This casual taste was what I wanted in a burger.

Well, here, even this is considered super-healthy, so it’s far from casual.

It’s not easy to get decent veggies and meat here anyway.

“So this is a burger…”

“Delicious!”

“Yeah, eat up. We don’t come to Seoul often, so who knows when we’ll get to eat this again.”

I could come to Seoul for work, but eating like this—

A scream shattered the peaceful moment, piercing my eardrums.

Instinctively, I activated a repulsion field to protect the kids and turned my gaze to the source of the scream.

The shattered door of the fast-food place.

A giant man glaring threateningly.

He looked about 2.5 meters tall.

“Huh.”

Seoul is just as much of a mess.

Well, that’s why heroes exist.

“P-please, save me!”

A hostage.

I sighed as I watched the man holding the hostage, scanning the area.