CH 45

“Give me some time to think.”

“Alright. Let me know here once you’ve come to your decision.”

Leon handed him a business card and went outside. As soon as he disappeared, Seon-woo let out a small sigh and put down the card. The demands, including a conversation with his Hyung, were about what he expected. Nevertheless, it wasn’t something he wanted to do.

“Hyung, do you have to go?”

“Yes.”

Hyeon-woo seemed unwilling to change his mind. That monster, dead or alive, didn’t matter to Seon-woo. Despite not wanting any of this at all, he was weak to Hyeon-woo.

“Okay. If you want to go, you must never leave us. Don’t even make any sudden moves.”

“That’s fine.”

“Do you have Kero in the car?”

Hyeon-woo held Kero with both hands and lifted it up high.

“Waang.”

Seon-woo didn’t get the slightest bit of confidence seeing the dog yawn with his mouth wide open. Still, he’ll be fine as long as his Hyung follows him closely. He’s the kind of guy who would run away with only his Hyung if something happened.

“Then I’ll call you tomorrow.”

The other side wanted to see a little more, so he was thinking of taking the time.

“By the way, Hyung.”

“Unn?”

“Have you gone out sightseeing yet?”

It’s his first overseas trip, so wouldn’t it be better to take a stroll outside? He asked with that in mind, but the answer he got back was different from what he had expected.

“We don’t have to go out. People live just about the same way everywhere. I’d rather take a nap or something.”

Hyeon-woo answered and tapped the side of the bed. Then, before Seon-woo could react, Kero jumped up and lay down next to him. Seon-woo naturally grabbed Kero and moved him, took off his coat and joined his brother on the bed. As he watched his older brother’s eyes slowly shut, he followed suit.

Do-jin’s in here too, he thought.

***

In the afternoon of the next day, Seon-woo messaged Leon.

That took a while.

You think so? I think I got back to you pretty quickly.”

Well, since we are the ones who need Hyeon-woo-ssi, there is nothing we can do about it. We are sending a helicopter over. It will take you to the training center.

The helicopter landed on the roof of a nearby building at the appointed time. After riding it for about 30 minutes, the research center began to appear. A high-rise building surrounded by a dome of unusual material.

As they got off the helicopter and approached the entrance, the waiting Leon greeted them.

“Welcome.”

The building was larger than expected from what they had seen in the sky. And they found out that the skyscraper had only one floor above ground, because the ceilings on several floors had been opened.

It seemed to accommodate the giant monster.

“This is it. Please be sure to wear the translation gear before entering.”

Wearing the item and going further inside, they saw Spotty trapped, lying flat on the floor. His eyes were closed, and his body was more tattered than before.

“He seems well-behaved.”

At Hyeon-woo’s words, the nearest researcher sighed with a tired expression.

“Well-behaved? No. No. It’s hard to articulate how cunning and violent the monster is. Even knowing that, if someone approaches it, it immediately opens its mouth and bites them. I can’t keep track of how many people have been injured so far. Additionally, we’ve had to adjust and retie the beast several times. Since it’s adjustable in size, we don’t know how to best bind and anchor it. It was hard enough getting a resizable constraint chain.”

“Wouldn’t you not have issues if people stopped approaching it?”

“I couldn’t just keep wasting my time waiting around. I had to try something.”

The researcher shrugged his shoulders and answered.

“You’re right. Time is gold.”

A middle-aged man appeared.

“This is Wilson, the head of the lab.”

“Hello, I’m Wilson.”

Wilson reached out his hand for a handshake, but no one moved to accept it. Wilson retrieved his hand with a slight wrinkle on his face. Now, to him, these were the people he was pleased with, but not happy with. No matter how odd this kind of contradiction seemed to be, it made sense after he reviewed the facts again.

Hyeon-woo was needed to calm the monster and gather the necessary information. But in the end he will take the monster away from them. He said he would provide the information, but how could that compare with being able to conduct the research himself? Naturally, he had no choice but to harbor complex emotions.

“So what do you think? Can you handle it?”

“Yes, I think I’ll be able to.”

Hyeon-woo replied matter-of-factly and walked towards the Black Drake. Tension began to appear in the gaze of those around him.

“Is it really ok for him to get so close?”

The researcher whispered to Wilson, the head of the lab.

“It will be fine. Didn’t you even guarantee it yourself?”

Hyeon-woo, imperceptibly approaching Spotty, reached out his hand. Then he gently stroked the Black Drake’s forehead, who then opened his eyes. The distinctly reptilian eyes looked at Hyeon-woo.

“Wang wang!”

Beside him, Kero stood dignified and barked at Spotty.

“Kreung.”

Spotty shook his neck and rubbed his head on Hyeon-woo’s palm in a sign of submission.

“Can you release it?”

“That’s not possible. Release that terrible monster?”

The researcher waved his hand in horror.

“We should be alright now.”

“No, it’s dangerous! Absolutely not.”

Leon, who was watching the two of them quarrel, opened his mouth slowly.

“Please release it.”

“Are you crazy!”

“What are you worried about? We have a few S-Class Awakened here.”

Then, looking at Seon-woo and Do-jin, the researcher’s complexion improved a bit. Come to think of it, two of the three visitors today were S-Class Awakened. America’s pride, Leon was also an S-Class Awakened, so even if the monster was released it would be subdued immediately.

“Very well, I’ll release it.”

Several Awakened cautiously approached Spotty. They began to untie the restraints that were wrapped around his body. Spotty snorted as if he was annoyed by their touch, but he didn’t attack. Because Hyeon-woo was right in front of him.

While he was only a ferocious monster in front of other people, in front of Hyeon-woo he could only be a gentle sheep. He has been beaten up too many times to not have learned his lesson. When he thought of the pain he had experienced, he immediately cooled down.

Eventually, all restraints were released and Spotty’s body was freed. With his body raised, he looked around and straightened his wings.

“This way.”

When Hyeon-woo called, he immediately complied.

“What should I do now?”

Leon answered Hyeon-woo’s question.

“You just have to prove that you can handle the monster with certainty.”

“Ok. Paw!”

Spotty placed his large hand on Hyeon-woo’s small hand.

“Turn around! Roll! Speak!”

Whatever he commanded, the Black Dragon performed the trick.

“Huh. You said you’re not a tamer, right?”

“I guess I am one though.”

“But how is that possible?”

Wilson’s eyes lit up. Monsters were also monsters, but Hyeon-woo’s handling made him a coveted test subject. Leon warned him in a low voice.

“Don’t get any ideas.”

“Hahaha, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Wilson pretended, but Leon, who knew what kind of person he was, only warned once again.

“You are only to experiment with the monster. Do you understand?”

But there is such a coveted material right in front of you! Wilson’s hand twitched.

“Yes, I’ll keep that in mind.”

With the two speaking, Hyeon-woo’s proof of competency finished. He handled monsters better than anyone else.

“Then, can I take Spotty with me?”

“You even came up with a name for it?”

“Yes. Isn’t it fitting?”

In fact, the name came during his time in the Demon realm. Bike No. 1, Spotty. All of a sudden, bikes no. 2 and no. 3 came to mind, but we wouldn’t meet them. Hyeon-woo wanted to believe so.

“Good. Then when do we start giving you the information?”

“Once we have prepared sufficiently, we will contact you again. I don’t think we are in a state to do that at the moment.”

“I’ll take care of the rest of the process, Wilson. Would you like to return by helicopter?”

“Yes please.”

Things went smoothly. Although Wilson looked at the monster and Hyeon-woo with a sad expression the whole time, he did not open his mouth, Leon’s warning ringing in his ears.

So the four of them came back to the hotel as five. After getting smaller and changing into the shape of a lizard, Spotty gave a small yawn and entered the hotel room.

A tremendous roar came from Spotty’s belly.

He hadn’t eaten or slept while dealing with the lab people, so it was a natural result.

“Were you not fed there?”

At Hyeon-woo’s question, Spotty vigorously agreed. In fact, he wanted to swallow a few people during his stay, but he only tasted them before spitting them out. He had remembered that Hyeon-woo was also human.

“Then let’s order some room service.”

Hyeon-woo ordered some meat dishes with Seon-woo’s help. Before the dishes arrived, Spotty washed himself and rolled over on the bed.

Unlike the rough soil of the Demon Realm, the soft, soft bed made him instantly doze. It felt even better than he expected. Just as he was about to fully pass out, the food arrived.