Chapter 66: Dunking Lee Chulhun

One of the participants standing beside Roy glanced at him with sparkling eyes.

It was their first time performing a mission so close to Roy.

They had seen Roy’s power on broadcast before, but it felt completely different witnessing it in person.

On the broadcast, even when a spirit used their power, you couldn’t feel the chill in the air the way you could now.

“Everyone, use this path.”

Roy was the first to dash across the path Aqua had made over the Swamp.

The participant who had been admiring Roy moments ago tried to quickly follow behind, but it was Lee Chulhun who shoved past and sprinted after Roy.

“Aaagh!”

“Move! Don’t just stand there blocking the way!”

“You little ᄊ…….”

Lee Chulhun slammed his shoulder hard into the participant, who rubbed his throbbing chest and tried to keep his expression neutral, lips quivering with frustration.

Unlike the notorious editing of other networks, this program’s production crew wasn’t known for being malicious.

Still, for those who weren’t very popular and lacked strong backing, it was easy to become a scapegoat on broadcast.

“What? You got something to say? If you don’t like it, speak up.”

Unlike himself, Lee Chulhun was the nephew of a famous agency CEO.

There wasn’t a single remaining participant who hadn’t heard the rumors—Lee Chulhun had already been spreading them everywhere.

***

“…Sorry.”

It was Kangchul who apologized to the participant, desperately trying to hold back his anger at Lee Chulhun.

The participant had some connection with Kangchul from a previous mission, so he forced a smile in Kangchul’s direction.

Unlike the infamous Lee Chulhun, Kangchul was known for his kind nature.

Many wondered what kind of leverage Lee Chulhun had on him to make him follow around like a servant.

“Is this really a Teddy Bear? Why is it so fast?!”

While the two were talking, Roy and Lee Chulhun were struggling to snatch the Teddy Bear with their hands.

“Porrr-!” (Freeze here too!)

Aqua, quick on the uptake, was blowing her breath to freeze spots where Roy could step.

Round platforms formed like stepping stones over the Swamp.

“What are you doing, making it so slippery?”

Aqua had made it for Roy, but Lee Chulhun stepped onto the Ice Platform without hesitation.

Since it was made of ice, his body slipped the moment he set foot on it.

Instead of blaming his own physical abilities, Lee Chulhun scolded Aqua.

It was muttered under his breath, but both Roy and the spirits heard it clearly.

“Pii.” (Contractor, can I make this guy bald again this time?)

Ber, who usually bickered with Aqua, couldn’t stand someone else saying anything to her.

Maybe it was that possessive streak—only he could tease her.

Fuming, Ber fluttered the feather atop his head as he flew behind Lee Chulhun.

His chest swelled with anger, and the moment Roy gave permission, he looked ready to burn off all of Lee Chulhun’s hair.

‘No. Not this time. Hold back.’

‘I already burned off all of Lee Chulhun’s hair once before.’

‘Despite everything, he actually has quite a lot of fans.’

‘Maybe it was thanks to all his screen time compared to the other participants.’

‘Even though his ranking dropped a lot in the second Ranking Ceremony compared to the first, he could easily climb back up in the third.’

‘His singing and dancing skills are better than mine. For now, anyway.’

‘I need to reaffirm my resolve to raise my idol skills again.’

Roy gave Ber a signal.

“Ber, can you drive the Teddy Bear my way?”

“Piiiik!” (Leave it to me, Contractor!)

Ber, who had been sulking because he couldn’t attack Lee Chulhun, quickly shook off his disappointment and accepted Roy’s request.

Ber darted forward and smacked the Teddy Bear on the back of its head with his wing.

Ber’s power was now nearly at level 50, thanks to Roy’s own level.

‘It’s not impossible, after all. Even if the Teddy Bear is set at level 50, there’s not much difference now. But the Teddy Bear seems to have a lot of battle experience for a level 50.’

Even now, the Teddy Bear used the force of Ber’s hit to slide its small, plump body like an eel between Lee Chulhun’s legs.

Roy, who was behind Lee Chulhun, swept his arm to grab the Teddy Bear, but it nimbly climbed up his arm and slid down his back.

“What are you all doing? How can we not catch a single Teddy Bear?!”

Lee Chulhun complained in frustration.

It was now a one-versus-eight situation.

Not only Roy and Lee Chulhun, but the other participants had also made their way onto the Swamp.

Kangchul struggled to catch the Teddy Bear, but missed and ended up grabbing Roy’s pants leg instead.

“…Sorry.”

“It’s fine.”

Roy, who had almost lost his pants, accepted Kangchul’s apology and started thinking.

“If this keeps up, we’ll just waste our stamina. And more than anything, I don’t want to give the button to Lee Chulhun.”

“There are seven buttons, but eight participants gathered here.”

“If I exclude Lee Chulhun and give the button to Kangchul, he might just hand it over to Lee Chulhun anyway.”

“Roy’s mind drifted toward one solution.”

“Let’s naturally dunk Lee Chulhun into the Swamp.”

“Porrr!” (That’s a great idea!)

Aqua’s round, bead-like eyes sparkled.

Before anyone realized it, the Swamp was now densely covered with Ice Platforms Aqua had created.

With the advantage of the Swamp gone, the Teddy Bear tried to escape.

But the participants weren’t fools.

“Don’t let it get away!”

They exchanged glances and herded the Teddy Bear into their midst.

It was a relief the Teddy Bear didn’t have wings.

The lack of tall trees nearby also worked in their favor, making the Teddy Bear like a rat in a trap.

The battlefield it had chosen for its own advantage was now backing it into a corner.

“Everyone, use your powers!”

Lee Chulhun drew his sword.

The other participants also took out weapons suited to their classes.

Kim Hanbom had only told them to get the button from the Teddy Bear—he hadn’t said the Teddy Bear had to remain in good condition.

Lee Chulhun was now determined to tear the Teddy Bear to pieces.

Once its seams burst and limbs fell off, it wouldn’t be able to move so annoyingly.

“You just cut my hair!”

“What’s the big deal about hair in the middle of a fight?”

With sword in hand, Lee Chulhun swung ruthlessly at the Teddy Bear.

The problem was that with everyone piling on top of each other to catch the Teddy Bear, his sword wasn’t just hitting the Teddy Bear.

A clump of hair was sliced off one participant’s head, who blushed and raised their voice.

Even with the participant’s rightful protest, Lee Chulhun was shameless.

“Aqua, can you make the Ice Platform under Lee Chulhun’s feet extra fragile from now on?”

“Porrr!” (That’s easy.)

Aqua understood Roy’s instructions perfectly.

***

The moment Lee Chulhun stepped on an Ice Platform, a fine crack spread across it.

So subtle that even Lee Chulhun didn’t notice.

But if another participant tried to step on the same platform after Lee Chulhun, Aqua would instantly restore it to normal.

Let’s catch the Teddy Bear.

With the participants now using their powers, the Teddy Bear’s movements began to slow.

Every so often, the Teddy Bear would swing the branch it was holding, but the moment it hit a participant’s weapon, it was sliced off, leaving the Teddy Bear empty-handed.

“Ber.”

Roy didn’t miss the opportunity and gave Ber a signal.

Ber moved behind the Teddy Bear like a thief sneaking over a wall at midnight.

He took advantage of the moment when the Teddy Bear’s attention was focused forward.

“Piiiit!” (Got you, you rascal!)

At last, Roy caught the Teddy Bear.

Lee Chulhun’s face lit up.

The moment he reached out for the Teddy Bear Ber had caught—

“Huh…?”

A crack spread across the Ice Platform he’d stepped on, and in an instant, his body was sucked into the Swamp.

“Wuup……..”

The other participants’ eyes were all on the Teddy Bear Ber had caught.

Ber quickly bit off the topmost button and popped it in his mouth.

“My button!”

“Let me have one too!”

The rest of the buttons were swiftly snatched by the other participants, one by one.

Kangchul was just taking off the last button when he looked around and noticed Lee Chulhun was missing.

“Lee Chulhun!”

Roy reached out desperately toward the direction Lee Chulhun had disappeared.

Aqua flew frantically over the Swamp, not knowing what to do.

Judging by the expressions on their faces, no one would ever believe these two were the ones who’d dropped Lee Chulhun into the Swamp.

“Did Chulhun fall in there?”

“Yes. Aqua, can you dig out the mud?”

Kangchul hurried over to stand next to Roy.

The moment Roy asked Aqua for help, a whirlpool of water swirled over the Swamp.

If Ber used his power, Lee Chulhun would end up a well-roasted barbecue stuck in the Swamp.

As Aqua’s whirlpool touched the Swamp, mud splattered everywhere.

The nearby participants, faces aghast, scrambled away from the Swamp.

The Swamp already smelled foul to begin with.

The moment it soaked your body, there was no doubt you’d stink even worse.

“Keurgh…….”

“Chulhun!”

Lee Chulhun finally emerged from the torn-up Swamp, looking like someone who’d literally been buried in mud.

It looked like even his mouth was full of dirt—every time he gagged, muddy water dribbled out.

Roy covered the lower half of his face with a hand to hide his twitching lips.

Kangchul nearly dove into the Swamp to drag Lee Chulhun’s body back onto the Ice Platform.

“Aqua.”

“Porrr,” (I don’t want to wash him off.)

Roy also suppressed a rising laugh, then knelt on one knee beside Lee Chulhun.