“So what now?” a voice reverberated across the quiet space, prompting everyone to turn toward the source as they tried to calm their nerves. They had been so engrossed in reading through the details of their Soulex abilities that they hadn’t even noticed the goddess was already gone, leaving them alone in the endless white space. Now, as they tried to make sense of the situation, their expressions grew more complicated.
“She said she’d give us five hours. I think we should share our names and maybe any skills we have that might contribute to our group going forward,” one of them suggested, and they all nodded in agreement. Since they also had to learn some of the elements of the god system, they needed to get through introductions quickly.
The person who had suggested this was a man with dark hair tied back in a ponytail and a face that walked the line between beautiful and handsome. Though he wasn’t fully recognized as their leader, he had been instrumental in maintaining the group’s social calm.
“I’ll go first then. My name is Nolan, and I worked at a big tech company. Though I doubt we might encounter any, if there are any tech-related issues, I might be able to help out in that aspect,” he said calmly. A few of them showed curious expressions but didn’t press for specifics beyond that.
Doesn’t ring a bell, Lin thought as he replayed the man’s name in his head, skeptical about his claims. From the small introduction, he didn’t seem too enthusiastic about hearing out everyone else. A moment later, he bent down and sat on the floor, legs crossed, simply watching as the next person introduced themselves.
“Same here. Name’s Adem,” the man in glasses chimed in, drawing a quick glance from everyone. Seeing this, Nolan simply smiled, seeming unbothered by the possibility of his role in the group being taken and viewing it in a positive light.
“That’s a relief. It might be better to share the burden this way,” he said, and Adem nodded in agreement, matching his energy.
“Well, before you make the rest of us feel any more mediocre,” another voice cut in—a tall man with blue hair, carrying a woman in his arms. As everyone turned to face him, he continued,
“I’m Kian. Currently unemployed, but I did some underground boxing, so I was pretty well-off,” he explained, and they all looked a bit impressed and intimidated at the same time. His physique already suggested he exercised a lot, but knowing he was a boxer earned him even more respect and envy.
“Kian… Y-you don’t mean… Kian Nill?” Adem muttered, adjusting his glasses, his voice cracking a bit. At the same time, a smile appeared on Kian’s face, which seemed to send a chill down Adem’s spine.
“Hahaha, I guess it’s no surprise for you tech nerds to come across those kinds of streams,” Kian said, while everyone else looked confused, glancing between the two. He then added,
“Well, it doesn’t really matter, but I guess you could still use my nickname,” he said confidently, shrugging as if it wasn’t an issue.
“I don’t get it. Is he some kind of big deal?” a voice cut in, coming from a blonde-haired woman among the crowd. Adem nodded, giving a serious look as he replied,
“Are you familiar with Jimmy Rackenberg?” he asked, but the woman only tilted her head in confusion. At the same time, Lin seemed to wince at the mention of the name, quickly turning to look at Kian as if suddenly recalling something.
However, Kian’s gaze was already fixed on him, the two of them staring at each other for a moment before Lin finally looked away.
I see. So he’s the ‘friend,’ Lin thought, just as the blonde woman spoke up.
“I think he’s a famous boxer, right?” she asked, still a bit puzzled, but some of them nodded, confirming her suspicion. They all turned to Adem, waiting for an explanation of why such a famous individual would have any connection to an ‘underground’ boxer like Kian. As Adem began to speak, their expressions grew even more amazed than before.
“Yeah. There was a hot rumor a few years ago that Jimmy lost to Kian in some underground fight club, but he never responded to the allegations, so the rumor died down. Everyone thought it might even lead to an official fight between the two, but since Jimmy went into early retirement, we never got to see it,” Adem explained, and everyone looked toward Kian with awestruck expressions. Despite the admiration in their eyes, Kian wore a slightly agitated expression, as if something Adem said didn’t sit well with him—or maybe he was just bitter that they never had that ‘rematch.’
Lin, who somewhat understood the situation, simply remained silent, though he noticed Kian stealing a few glances his way, still choosing to ignore him.
“Wow, that’s really amazing,” the blonde woman said loudly, grabbing their attention. Noticing their collective gazes, she decided to continue, holding her chest out and speaking with a confident smile,
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“I’m in the same category, but I don’t have any major skills to speak of. My name is Sera, nice to meet you,” she said, and everyone looked at her in slight amazement.
The second highest, Lin thought to himself, recalling the score that had floated above her head, which was the highest after his own: 911/1000. She wore casual clothing—jeans and a pink, baggy jacket that gave her a stylish, relaxed look compared to everyone else.
Her face, however, was dotted with several silver piercings—some on her eyebrows, which drew attention away from her deep blue eyes, another on her nose, and one below her bottom lip. They all seemed momentarily surprised by her revelation, and as if prompted by her confidence, a few others gained the courage to speak up.
“Same here. Artin, unemployed, no skills,” one added, and everyone turned to him, nodding. Surprisingly, this type of introduction continued for more than half of the individuals present, which was very unexpected.
These were people considered to have the greatest potential in all of humanity, yet the society they lived in hadn’t recognized them as such.
Is it a problem with society? Lin wondered, shifting his gaze to the next person introducing themselves. It was the person he’d been eagerly waiting for, however, the man’s introduction fell flat—failing to stir Lin’s interest in the slightest.
“Ren. Kind of in the same category. I played games, so unless there were tournaments or something, I didn’t have any other hobbies. But I’ll try my best to contribute,” the man said, the reason for the bags under his eyes finally becoming apparent. Everyone seemed a bit underwhelmed.
Given that he shared the same perfect score as Lin, 1000/1000, they had expected more than just a self-proclaimed gamer. They began to wonder if his silence all this time was due more to a lack of social skills rather than an inherently observant nature. As they finished with him, they naturally turned to the man considered his ‘equal,’ and calmly, without getting up from the floor, Lin muttered,
“Lin. Normal office worker,” he said, glancing up at the person next to him as if passing the baton. However, everyone’s eyes lingered on him, their expressions clearly showing their skepticism about everything he’d just said.
“You don’t expect us to believe that, do you?” the blue-haired man asked, echoing everyone’s thoughts as they nodded slightly. Lin quickly glanced at their faces, letting out a tired sigh.
“I guess you could say I come from a rich family, so I was taught a bit of martial arts. Since there wasn’t much else to do, I ended up working a regular office job to pass the time,” he explained in one breath, mixing truth and lies. Some of them showed a bit of pity, while others displayed hints of resentment. After all, he was part of the ‘high’ society, which the public often viewed in bad light—individuals who looked down on everyone else, thinking themselves superior.
“Did you also learn some boxing?” Kian asked, glancing at him curiously. Lin hesitated for a moment, thinking ahead a few steps, before answering casually.
“I did,” he said, causing everyone to look slightly impressed, though Kian’s expression grew even more complicated.
“I see. You know, I had a talk with Jimmy before he retired,” Kian suddenly muttered, going completely off topic as his eyes grew distant, a small smile crossing his face. “A few years back, he got an invitation from some rich guy to fight in an unofficial match. That was the last time I saw him face-to-face, and after he came back from that place, he just announced his retirement and never spoke to me again.”
As he spoke, everyone’s expressions softened with sympathy. Kian’s tough exterior had made him seem larger than life, but this glimpse of vulnerability allowed them to see him as just another human being with his own struggles, beyond their admiration.
“That sounds like a sad story,” Lin remarked, his face completely neutral—a stark contrast to his kind words. His red eyes met Kian’s, cold and calm, giving him an almost unsettling appearance – one they were gradually getting used to.
Seeing this, Kian chuckled to himself, seeming unsurprised by Lin’s reaction. Unexpectedly, he suddenly bent down, gently lowering the woman in his arms and laying her on the floor. Her expression suddenly shifted as her eyes darted around the room, as if waking from a deep sleep.
“Hehe. It is, isn’t it? But as a good friend, I kept bugging him until he finally opened up a bit,” Kian said, taking a step forward, closing the distance between himself and Lin, who remained seated on the floor, legs crossed, calmly meeting Kian’s gaze.
The tension in the room spiked, and some of them exchanged glances, a flash of realization appearing on their faces—but the thought seemed too outrageous to voice. It’s impossible, they all thought. But Kian’s next words sent a chill down their spines.
“If you ever meet a kid named Lin, avoid fighting him under any circumstances. That’s all he said to me.”
An incomprehensible statement, and yet, Lin’s expression remained unchanged as he continued to watch Kian, now just a few steps away.
“Strange, right?” Kian scoffed, chuckling to himself again. “At first, I thought he’d been threatened or something. I mean, why would he retire so suddenly? I dug deeper, going through his paper trails and everyone he’d met, but there was nothing. On the surface, it looked exactly as he announced to the world—an early retirement to spend time with family and friends.”
He continued, finally stopping just a step away from Lin and looking down at him. In that position, Lin had no time to untangle his legs and stand, forced to rely only on his hands for balance. Despite his vulnerable stance, his demeanor gave no hint of weakness.
In the competitive entertainment industry, it was common for participants to face pressure to fix games or be offered large sums to lose on purpose. Usually, such payments were made on a match-by-match basis, securing a quick profit in each match. But forcing someone to retire entirely? That was unheard of.
The worst-case scenario would be holding someone hostage to continuously fix all their upcoming games, ensuring a steady profit over the years. In a one-on-one competition, the whole point of fixing matches was to control at least one of the two variables (players) to influence the outcome. Eliminating one variable entirely would simply introduce a replacement variable—one you couldn’t control—effectively bringing you back to square one: needing to control one of them.
“Jimmy Rackenberg. He lost to you, didn’t he?” Kian finally muttered, a hint of anger in his tone as he looked down at Lin, who remained silent. But the silence spoke volumes.
“Would you mind having a friendly spar with me?” Kian added, causing everyone’s faces to darken, a few of them stepping forward as if ready to hold him back and prevent a fight from breaking out.