Despite our eyes meeting, O Ah-ra wouldn’t look away.
That’s strange.
Ever since our first encounter, she has been deliberately ignoring me. Why is she suddenly showing such a look now?
“Ladies arm wrestling participants, please gather! We’re starting now!”
Before I could resolve my questions, the MC announced the start of the arm wrestling event.
I had to move to the arm wrestling table to find my opponent.
The format was a tournament.
With 4 members from the blue team and 4 from the white team, that made a total of 8 participants. I just had to win 3 times to take the championship.
‘Alright.’
So I decided to stop thinking about O Ah-ra and focus solely on the opponent in front of me.
After all, the prize for winning the women’s arm wrestling event was a ‘NinXdo Switch.’
In my previous life, I wanted that so badly but couldn’t buy it since I was broke.
Maybe because of that, as soon as I saw the prize of the NinXdo Switch, an overwhelming competitive spirit surged within me.
No matter who my opponent was, I planned to finish it quickly.
And my first opponent was…
“Hehehe…, Ye-rin! Long time no see… huff…”
“……”
It was none other than Hitomi Kanna, the only Japanese member of Python.
[Trait: Pervert – There are various kinds of love in this world. It’s just that your love might seem a bit unpleasant to ordinary people.]
[Trait Effect: Huff huff – In front of the object of your sexual interest, your face turns red, and your breathing becomes rough.]
Kanna was still staring at me with a red face, panting heavily.
“Ah, Ye-rin! You’re looking at me with those disgusted eyes again!”
“…It’s just your imagination.”
I said firmly as I took her hand.
Squish.
Perhaps due to the hot weather, Kanna’s hand was extremely sweaty.
“Hehehe…, Ye-rin’s fingers are so long and pretty…. I wanna interlock our fingers…, hehehe…”
“……”
She looked like a doll with a pretty face, but why does she sound like a pervy old man as soon as she speaks?
Kanna seemed to be concentrating only on rubbing my hand, as if she had no interest in the competition.
Meanwhile…
“Ye-rin? By the way, you haven’t followed me. Do you know why…?”
Bang!
“Eek—!!”
“Blue team Ha Ye-rin wins!”
I quickly twisted Kanna’s wrist like a reed and secured the victory easily.
“Good job.”
“How cruel……”
Leaving the whimpering Kanna behind…
Boom!
“Blue team Ha Ye-rin wins!”
“Good job.”
I quickly dispatched my next opponent.
And the person waiting for me in the finals was…
“Now, the much-anticipated finals! From the blue team, participant Ha Ye-rin! And…! From the white team, O Ah-ra!”
“Wow—!”
It was none other than O Ah-ra.
Ha Ye-rin’s body, my current body, was quite strong, even stronger than most adult men.
In contrast, O Ah-ra’s strength appeared to be just average.
‘I thought she would drop out in the first round, but she made it this far.’
Even now, O Ah-ra continued to look at me with a meaningful gaze.
‘…What? Is she trying to pick a fight?’
Not knowing her intentions, I decided to end the match quickly and took her hand.
Squeeze.
Just from the pressure in my hand, I could tell I was way stronger than her.
With my mind slightly relaxed, the match began…
“Alright, let’s start!”
Wham!
“……!”
I prepared to put my strength into it, but suddenly stopped.
And for good reason…
‘…Huh.’
My arm suddenly froze like stone and wouldn’t move.
No, it wasn’t just my arm that was still.
Stiff.
My neck… and legs…
Every part of my body, except my eyes, wouldn’t move as I willed.
Alarmed, I rolled my eyes to check my surroundings.
And…
‘…What is this?’
It was as if time had stopped… I confirmed that everyone else’s movements had also ceased.
“It’s no use.”
At that moment, someone’s voice broke through the scene that seemed like time had stopped.
It was O Ah-ra, right in front of me.
“This is my skill.”
“Skill…?”
I thought I wouldn’t be able to speak, but the words came out just fine.
However, it seemed others couldn’t speak.
In this space where time felt frozen, only O Ah-ra and I were conscious.
Stunned by this unprecedented sight, I was rolling my eyes intensively while O Ah-ra began to explain.
“It’s not that time has completely frozen… It’s just flowing very slowly. I guess you could say my skill adjusts time? Something like that, anyway.”
“Adjusts time…?”
“I’ve used this ability during important events. If there’s something lacking or not perfect, I rewind time… and for difficult movements, I slow down time to fill in the details.”
“Oh….”
That’s why Python’s performances always appeared flawless.
I thought my skill Sky Demon Martial Arts was a terrific ability, but O Ah-ra’s skill was nothing short of cheating.
While admiring it, I cautiously asked her.
“Are you really using this skill just to win this one arm wrestling match? What’s the real reason?”
“……”
“You have something to say to me, don’t you?”
As I pressed her, O Ah-ra sighed and began to speak.
“Shin Si-woo.”
“……!”
“I’ve been watching since earlier… it seems like he’s pretty fixated on you.”
“……”
“You might not realize it, but that guy… he’s more dangerous than you think.”
I couldn’t help but flinch as I heard her next words.
“Shin Si-woo… actually smokes marijuana.”
“……!”
“If you use that knowledge to threaten him, he won’t harass you anymore.”
“……”
Of course, thanks to my Sky Demon Vision, I had known about Shin Si-woo smoking marijuana long before.
But for O Ah-ra to tell me that directly was surprising.
Taken aback, I asked her.
“Why are you telling me this…?”
“……”
In response to my question, O Ah-ra briefly looked up at the sky before answering.
“Even if it’s not Shin Si-woo, Rookies are bound to fail anyway… I don’t want a fine person to suffer unnecessary harm because of a crazy person.”
“……”
O Ah-ra’s eyes held a complex mix of emotions.
‘Could it be…’
With that, the small doubts in my mind grew larger.
When I briefly entered Seo Yoo-jin’s body through Sky Demon Vision in my previous life, I saw something.
To confirm it, I asked O Ah-ra again.
“In your past life…”
And…
“……!”
As soon as my words reached her, she looked shocked, wide-eyed at me.
“How do you… know that…?”
“Is it true?”
“……”
Realizing I was sure about it, O Ah-ra fell silent, which affirmed my suspicions.
Seeing her reaction, anger began to boil within me.
“If that’s true, then you must help me… No, help Rookies! Why aren’t you helping Rookies?”
“……”
“You said there were multiple reasons for Rookies to fail. Please tell me the other reasons!”
Now I knew that the first reason Rookies failed in my past life was Shin Si-woo, but there were still other dangers lurking.
If O Ah-ra, who had memories of the past, could reveal what that danger was, it could prevent it.
But…
“Even if I tell you in advance, you can’t avoid it.”
“That’s for me to decide! So please…”
“And I just… hope Rookies fail.”
O Ah-ra shook her head, looking a little sad but remained steadfast.
“I hope Rookies fail regardless of the quest. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“Why…?”
“Because I have my own circumstances.”
Naturally, it seemed O Ah-ra wasn’t going to share what those circumstances were.
Instead, she sighed and told me, as if giving me a piece of her thoughts.
“So give up. And… find another team. With your skills, you could debut with another team besides Rookies.”
She spoke as if she was already sure that Rookies would fail.
Of course…
“No.”
I couldn’t accept that.
“I won’t give up on Rookies.”
“……”
I glared at her, who had given up, and continued speaking firmly.
“The moment Rookies disband is exactly 10 months later, when the promised period is over. Even if you don’t help me…”
Crack.
Strength began to surge into my previously frozen arm.
I declared to her as I pushed her arm down.
“I will protect Rookies!”
Boom—!
The time that had stopped began to flow again as O Ah-ra’s arm went down.
“Ah! It’s over in an instant! Blue team Ha Ye-rin wins!”
“……”
O Ah-ra stared at me, who declared I would protect Rookies, with a slightly dazed expression.
I left her with my final words.
“If you’re not going to help, then don’t get involved from now on. Rookies are my team now.”
And I bowed my head slightly to the still-dazed O Ah-ra, picked up my prize, and returned to my tent.
“Ye-rin, you’re back?”
“Did you, of course, get first in the arm wrestling?”
My fellow Rookies greeted me with bright smiles.
Seeing them, I made another vow.
I will definitely protect Rookies…
No matter what obstacles come our way.
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