88. The New National Team Representatives (5)
Baek Jinwoo grinned as he received the list of successful applicants from Yoo Jia.
Among the two bundles of documents, one applicant’s name was familiar.
‘Kang Geonho.’
So he made it after all.
Baek Jinwoo had already known that Kang Geonho completely outclassed Hwang Juwon in terms of physical ability and sense.
It was a slight surprise that he had even passed Yoo Jia’s Mind-Reading Eagle.
‘Looks like he really is someone who lives by the conviction he showed back then.’
Right.
That was enough to qualify him to board the ark called SKY.
Accepted!
‘And Song Yeonhee?’
It was a name he had never heard before.
She was a ranker, apparently, but was she really at the level to show up in the selection tournament?
“HunGyo.”
—Yes, my lord.
“Do you remember her?”
Swish.
He held up the photo attached to the papers and asked.
Song Yeonhee.
Female, age 23.
She was four years younger than Baek Jinwoo or Hong Ari.
Not bad.
Age was not important when it came to control, but the younger they were, the more alive their senses tended to be.
Just look at Jaehyuk and Jihoe.
Wasn’t their rate of improvement unbelievably fast?
—I remember her. This young lady had the Heavenly Heart Body.
“Heavenly Mind Body? What’s that?”
There’s another kind of special constitution?
—It refers to a constitution created by the heavens with special care, meaning a talent destined to become a promising prodigy in whatever they do.
“Ohh, something like that exists?”
—It is not as special as it sounds. It is not a once-in-a-thousand-years constitution like that girl with the Nine Yin Severed Veins or Hwang Jiwoo’s Fiery Body. Still, it is a one-in-ten-thousand constitution.
“Huh, really?”
Baek Jinwoo found HunGyo’s words fascinating.
To think that a person’s constitution was determined from the moment they were born.
Life really was unfair.
‘One in ten thousand means......’
Korea’s population was about 50 million, so that meant there were roughly 5,000 of them in Korea alone.
There would be even more overseas.
—On top of that, she also had the Boundless Physique.
“What? They can overlap?”
Could constitutions overlap too?
And besides, Boundless Physique.
This one sounded even cooler.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
—It means she is perfect in every field without leaning toward any one area. It is usually a body possessed by martial artists skilled in Weapon Mastery or Thousandfold Arsenal, and because her balance in technique is so well-rounded, she will likely perform well in the player role too.
Ooh.
Even if he did not fully understand it, it sounded like they had selected a proper player.
The problem was—
‘Only two got picked…..’
Because of that, they were one player short for the national team.
They either had to go find one more somewhere, or pick the rank 11 player who had been eliminated in the selection tournament…...
‘But neither option feels right.’
Baek Jinwoo liked things to be neat and clean no matter what he did.
If he had to train the entire national team—
Then he wanted every single one of them to be members of SKY.
Members he could sincerely teach while thinking of them as disciples.
Members who would never betray him.
‘No helping it, huh?’
There was only one method.
Just recruit Hwang Jiwoo into the guild, even though he had thought the national team was still too much for her, and train her properly.
After thinking for a moment, Baek Jinwoo nodded.
‘Yeah.’
Let’s just do that.
Even if he did, they would probably still perform far better in the league than before.
* * *
Now there were about two months left until the World League!
It was time to seriously prepare training, summon builds, and rune settings.
And then—
“Hwang Jiwoo.”
“Yes, Sir Jinwoo!”
Baek Jinwoo called Hwang Jiwoo over and made her an offer.
He had been watching her up until now, and she had been doing so well that he was very satisfied.
Her effort was so admirable that he wanted to ask her something—would she have any interest in joining SKY?
“M-Me?”
So startled was she that Hwang Jiwoo clapped both hands over her mouth.
SKY?
There was no way she had not heard of it.
Wasn’t it the hottest topic shaking all of South Korea these days?
To be honest, she had wanted to submit an application too.
But because of that promise that if she worked hard for 100 days, he would accept her as a disciple, she had deliberately chosen not to apply.
Some people asked her—Wasn’t it miserable having to deal with the Explosive Dragon Sorcerer every single day?
But she had never once thought that.
Hwang Jiwoo was genuinely happy.
As the days passed, what hurt her more was the thought that she might have to leave this life behind.
“.....If I join SKY, can I keep living here?”
“Of course. We’ll even give your family a house, and the salary will be huge too. Naturally, you can keep coming to the training grounds as well.”
Huaaah!
Her whole body trembled once from the overflowing joy.
“And Sir Jinwoo will keep teaching me too, right?”
“Of course.”
Baek Jinwoo nodded with a smile.
“SKY guild members are basically all in the position of my disciples. And they’re also South Korea’s national representatives.”
“N-National representative too?!”
Ahh.
The strength drained from Hwang Jiwoo’s legs, and she dropped into a frog-like squat.
Right.
The purpose of this recruitment was not only to select SKY members, but also, above all, to choose the national representatives, wasn’t it?
Really?
‘I can become a national representative?’
What is this?
Is this a dream?
Just in case, she pinched and pulled at her cheek.
It hurt.
Thankfully, it seemed it was not a dream. In truth, this was something she imagined every day.
To succeed as a player, enter a major guild, rise to ranker status, and play as a national representative!
She had sworn to herself that someday, without fail, she would achieve that dream.
But now the chance had come so quickly.
Still, there was one thing she was curious about!
“Is it really okay for someone like me to go to the national team? I’ll probably get nothing but hate.”
“Oh? You’re saying you won’t join the national team because you don’t want to get criticized?”
“N-No, that’s not it!”
Hwang Jiwoo cried out in alarm, wildly waving her hands.
Then she took a deep breath and calmed herself down.
“I’ll do it. I’ll definitely do it.”
Hate?
If it meant she could join SKY, it felt like she could swallow a hundred thousand insults and still find them delicious.
‘If I just keep my head down and train properly here, then in a year I’ll definitely be a ranker.’
She simply knew it.
Anyone at all would realize it if they trained here.
HunGyo was systematic, and Baek Jinwoo was a spiritual pillar.
And because everyone around her trained so hard, she naturally got swept up in that atmosphere too.
“You’ll do it?”
“Yes!”
“Even if you do, the 100-day contract stays exactly the same.”
“Of course!”
Watching Hwang Jiwoo answer spiritedly, Baek Jinwoo let out a faint laugh.
Right.
It would also be a problem if he tried to build everything around only overwhelmingly strong players from the very beginning.
To begin with, South Korea did not have many true masters anyway.
If they just started from taking baby steps, then before long, wouldn’t they be flying all over the place?
‘Okay!’
The national team was decided.
Now all that remained was to announce it and start preparing in earnest.
“Ah, but...”
It was then that Hwang Jiwoo cautiously asked something.
“Can I tell my parents that I became a national representative?”
“Ah.”
Baek Jinwoo smiled softly and nodded.
“Of course. They’ll find out anyway.”
* * *
The next day.
The national representatives were announced.
[National Team Player Roster]
[1. Unranked, Baek Jinwoo]
[2. Rank 1, Kang Geonho]
[3. Rank 3, Hong Ari]
[4. Rank 4, An Gijeong]
[5. Rank 5, Oh Sunyoung]
[6. Rank 8, Hwang Juwon]
[7. Rank 15, Gi Jaehyuk]
[8. Rank 25, Kang Jihoe]
[9. Rank 60, Song Yeonhee]
[10. Unranked, Hwang Jiwoo]
The reactions were noisy.
Baekho being left out was understandable, but rank 60? And even an unranked player too?
Is this for real?
ㄴ They said they’d pick unranked players, but they actually did it?
ㄴ With this lineup, can they even make the semifinals? This is bad…… Still, at least Kang Geonho stayed on.
ㄴ Oh, and Oh Sunyoung made it too. She really got unfairly eliminated in the selection tournament, charging at Baek Jinwoo without knowing any better.
A few people voiced complaints, but—
ㄴ Let’s just trust them.
ㄴ It’s not like it got way better, but it’s not bad either.
ㄴ We can lose this game anyway. If we lose, they said they’ll pay out 1 trillion won lol.
ㄴRight. Honestly, I didn’t have any expectations to begin with. To be blunt, if it were the previous national team, I’d have had even less hope.
The majority opinion was basically: what else can they do, let’s trust them just this once!
And the one public opinion focused on most, without question, was Hwang Jiwoo.
ㄴHwang Jiwoo?
ㄴ She’s unranked, so how amazing is she that she got picked?
ㄴI heard she’s 22 too? Super young.
ㄴ Young is good. Quick and sharp.
ㄴWouldn’t Baek Jinwoo have obviously picked her based on skill?
The entire community was buzzing about Hwang Jiwoo.
Absolute chaos!
And—
The uproar was just as intense in Hwang Jiwoo’s house as well.
* * *
“Dad.”
Hehe.
With an excited face, Hwang Jiwoo made the call.
She had wanted to share the good news right away, but training had kept her too busy, so she could not help it.
The most important thing to her was getting through training!
And taking care of Explosive Dragon, who was diligently training too.
—D-Daughter, our daaaughteeer!
As if he had really missed her, her father answered the phone in an energetic voice.
—Daughter.
“Hm?”
—I saw something super amazing today, you know?
“What?”
—I was watching TV, and they said a new national team had been selected! But one of the names on it was our daughter’s name! Even the surname is the same! Hwang. Ji. Woo. Isn’t that amazing?
“Haha, Dad, about that.”
I’m the one they mean!
She was about to proudly say it, but her father’s chatter would not stop.
—Times like this make me feel a little sorry again. Why did I ever name you Jiwoo? Honestly, it’s way too common, right? But when I named you that, it was a super rare and gender-neutral name. These days, it’s so popular everybody and their dog is named Jiwoo.
“Everybody and their dog……that’s a bit harsh.”
—Hahaha, I’m kidding! Our daughter’s name is the best in the world! Anyway, daughter! You’re doing well over there, right?
“Dad, that’s not what’s important right now.”
—Not important? What are you talking about! No matter how big Yoobaek is! You can’t even leave work, you’re basically locked up and doing nothing but work, and you’re saying there’s something more important than that?!
His daughter had been sickly ever since she was little.
And because she lacked social skills, he always worried whenever she was out somewhere. It had already been over a month since he had last seen her at home.
Of course he was worried.
“You have to listen without freaking out, okay?”
—What are you trying to say that you’re dragging it out like this?
“Actually, that’s me.”
—That? What nonsense are you talking about now?
“That Hwang Jiwoo from the national team announcement. It’s not someone with the same name. It’s me.”
—Huh?
What on earth was that supposed to mean?
…What did you say?
Her father’s voice, which had been full of energy, dropped sharply. It was the voice of someone frozen in shock.
—Y-You….. are on the national team?
“Yeah. Somehow, that’s what happened.”
—Somehow? Really?
“Yeah, really.”
—You’re not joking around?
“It’s not funny at all. My personal info is already all over the community. You can check it yourself.”
Startled, her father quickly went onto the community sites and searched for information.
And then—
—It’s real.
He confirmed that what his daughter said was true.
Ha.
Honestly, he could not get his head around it.
Was the national team some random neighborhood dog’s name or what?
How could his daughter, who had been an ordinary player, possibly have the skill to become a national representative?
Faced with this unbelievable reality, her father could not continue speaking.
“Actually, I’ve been getting special training here lately. I think Sir Jinwoo took a liking to me. He even gifted me an insanely expensive summon•….. and said my hard work was admirable, so he told me to try being a national representative too.”
Then.......
Her father adjusted his grip on the phone and swallowed dryly.
—Then I guess that means you joined that new guild, what was it, SKY too?
“Yeah.”
—That place where Baek Jinwoo is the guild master, the one with the huge salary, and where they support your runes and summons too….? That place where only national representatives get picked?
“Why do you keep asking? I told you. I became a national representative.”
G-glug!
Through the phone came the sound of her father foaming at the mouth.
“D-Dad?”
What the heck!
Don’t tell me he actually fainted from shock?
From far away through the phone, she could hear her mother’s voice shouting, “Honey? Honey!”
“Dad, are you okay?! Pull yourself together!”
And not long after—
—Daughter, it’s okay.
Her mother picked up the phone.
—Yes, your father just fell over backward and is lying there grinning like an idiot. Good grief, that pathetic man! What on earth did you tell him this time to make him act like this again?
Sigh.
Hwang Jiwoo let out a breath.
‘I was worried for nothing.’
Seriously, my dad.
He really is hopelessly overdramatic.
Same Pakisabi I thought the story would be generic and it really was, but it’s such a fun read
Found this novel through its manhwa and had to read ahead. Enjoying how this story is progressing and can't wait to read the next chapter :)