*Once Sunz left Elder Nam's office, the second meeting began*
Elder Nam placed the letter on his table before sitting back down.
"As all of you already know, the reason this tournament was created is to connect with other clans while also inviting them to join us officially."
"But that was not the initial reason. In recent years, our clan has been losing members working in the same occupation."
"Being a Hero. But that was to be expected in that line of duty. After Soju many diplomatic meetings with other clan Elders, they also have the same situation."
"Which led to them believing the Hero Corp is trying to eradicate us entirely. I was skeptical about this at first, but could not rule out that possibility."
"Until some recent information from Narae. The recent attack at the Tower, seems to be aimed at a specific individual."
"Sogae, if you don't mind."
Sogae pulls out a small device from her pocket and throws it into the middle of the room. The light in the room slowly darkens as the device starts projecting a hologram of the Villain responsible for the attack.
Sogae: All set, Elder!
Elder Nam: This is the creature responsible for that attack, and it was sent by someone to perform a task.
*A video of one of the moments of the attack*
*Puppet: My task is 50% completed, but it was a good half.*
"It said that its task was 50% completed, but after that accident, there was no casualty, some minor injuries, and the two bodyguards that suffered the most lethal attack still live."
"None of the clan members who worked as a Hero were there except for Narae and your group, Jihu. So this does put the speculation of the Hero Corp wanting to eradicate us in a gray area, but it introduces us to a new group of enemies."
Laikan: I have a question, Elder. How did that put your speculation in a gray area? From what I see, it just introduces another problem.
Elder Nam: It showed us that the death of clan members who worked as Heroes may not have been caused by the Hero Corp themselves.
"Also, right now we have to consider the Hero Corp as an ally, we can not attack them out of nowhere since they have more numbers than us and some of them might know about our existence…"
"This is one of those situations where we can't really do much except for waiting, gathering information, and living our normal life."
"We'll leave that situation there for now. Does anyone have anything they want to discuss about?"
Laikan: I have questions about this tournament, and how did that Android and that Grimm guy, who is an ex-Hero, join this tournament?
Sogae fingers made a few small movements, and the hologram switched to display ONE and Grimm.
Elder Nam: The selection process was simple, forward, with some exceptions to be made, and nothing to talk about.
"The Android called ONE was an oversight that I wasn't expecting."
Sogae: And for Grimm, the ex-Hero… I didn't know he was a Hero.
Laikan: Well, this Grimm guy, he knew that ONE was an android at the start of the tournament and its manufacturing location.
Sogae: Germany… that was where we accidentally found him in an alley.
Laikan: Doesn't that mean Grimm might have some kind of connection to these thing creators?
Sogae: Grimm, probably don't have any connection to them. He doesn't have any connection since all of his previous ones have a tragic end. Well, that was what shaped his past. He is just less gloomy now.
"What about your father, Laikan? The CEO of Hero Support Company, who wants to do his own thing instead of following tradition. Any resentment toward his father that he would want to burn all of us down?"
Laikan: I don't think so. He was pretty supportive of me following the tradition, and he did train when he was young too.
Sogae: Huh? That theory is out the window.
*then ask Archibald and Elder Nam*
"Isn't his grandpa say, his father wasn't that interested in training and wanted to focus on his company. While also complaining that his father is a disgrace for not following the tradition?"
Archibald: I've never met his father, so information about him is either through his Grandpa or social media.
Laikan: I think my grandpa lied to you two. My father is the worst student he has ever trained, till the age of 20. My father still hasn't mastered the basics of our clan skill and was urged to do anything else except this.
"Luckily, he found it, and somehow he managed to create the biggest Hero Support Company."
Sogae: Did your father ever master the basic skill?
Laikan: He did, about three years ago.
Sogae: *sigh* the list option now narrowed down to…waiting…
Jihu: I want to throw in an idea.
Elder Nam: Go ahead.
Jihu: Can Sunz be the target of both of these attacks?
Sogae: That seems impossible, he is a nobody…(Except!)…
Jihu: During his fight against ONE, their movements matched each other one to one, it was like ONE was copying Sunz.
Elder Nam: Jihu, I appreciate you pitching in, but weren't your eyes closed for most of the match?
Jihu: That's right, I haven't found the time to report back to you. So, I can see people's aura when my eyes are open or closed, but now, I can also see through their eyes too.
Elder Nam: That is unheard of, and nothing was written about that ability. *sigh* There have been way too many surprises throughout this tournament.
Jihu: The new ability also has some strict requirements to use. I need to be actually blind or my body needs to be at its worst, having no strength and energy left, which is equivalent to a normal person.
"From the current information I have, this ability acts as a way for my body to rest since I can't feel anything when I use it."
Elder Nam: That new ability of yours seems to be only useful in niche situations.
Jihu: That is disappointingly true, but when I get to see through other people's eyes, it seems to be a 1 to 1 vision, and Sunz's eyes are not normal.
Sogae: So when you were looking through Sunz's eyes, you saw every action ONE did, and those actions matched Sunz's action 1 to 1?
"That just seems impossible, because did you memorize all of Sunz's moves?"
Jihu: Well, that is a fair statement, and to be honest, those action movements just look a bit familiar to me. The better evidence is that ONE was able to use multiple elements while Sunz is the only person capable of doing that.
Elder Nam: Right now, it's best to leave everything where they are. All we are doing is showing theories and evidence that are not leading anywhere.
"The meeting will conclude here for now, until more information shows up."
Sogae: Understood *retract the hologram device*
Elder Nam: I hope that you and Laikan enjoy your stay here at our hotel. All common questions can be answered in the itinerary, and for specific ones, please ask Sogae.
Archibald: Thank you for the services.
Elder Nam: Anything for my associates.
*Archibald: and Laikan leave the room*
Jihu: I guess, I should leave too since the meeting is over.
Elder Nam: Before you go, I want to ask. Has your new field of study had any negative effect on your current goal?
Jihu: It's challenging but not that hard. The only negative is being the only test subject with no other reference, which drains my energy a lot quicker.
"Physics, biology, and chemistry are still a breeze, they're going to get worse once I master this new field."
Elder Nam: Glad to see you are having fun with learning. You may leave now.
*Jihu left the room*
Elder Nam grabbed the letter and opened it, and inside it was a note with a familiar handwriting.
Note: Hello Nam, if you are reading this letter, I am dead, and the little girl or big girl who gave you this letter is Thư. She is an orphan I picked up during my journey. She has a lot of potential, combined with the fact that she is not a normal human.
"Writing this letter this early just in case something bad might happen to me and only I can save myself, since working as a secret rank Hero, allies are not a ready asset."
"Your Friend No."
Elder Nam turned the note around and saw some more writing on the back of it.
Note's back: Been a few years and I'm still alive. Currently working with the top Lady of the Hero Corp. She is nice, knows how to make a Hero become better… though, her method relies heavily on using traumatic emotions.
"In recent years, there has been an increase in organized crimes and attacks from clans like yours, not superhuman. Being tasked with investigating the clans I know and unknown. Your hotel has been doing quite well, so I don't think you are part of this, but your clan is still on the list."
"The girl has been going to school for a while now, no friend, said that class is too easy and focuses a lot on training. I don't understand how to raise a kid at all. All I know is feed her, tuck her into bed, teach her what I know, and repeat."
"If there is more in this letter, I might be alive… then you won't receive this letter."
"Well, if you receive this, it means I'm dead."
"Dead Man No."
Elder Nam: *sigh* one problem leads to another.
Sogae: You ok, Elder? Did you get bad news?
Elder Nam: Read this, then you'll know why.
*hold the letter in front of Sogae*
Sogae: Should I read it? Isn't this like a personal message?
Elder Nam: I would have told you to leave if I didn't want you to read this.
Sogae: Oh, that's right *take the letter*, let's see what's on here.
…
"Oh, great. Other clan's bad deeds managed to involve us in the crossfire too. Well, what can you even expect… but this means they knew about us for a while, so why let Narae join?
Elder Nam: To monitor them is the only answer. Also, I don't think all of them know, only the top Lady knows.
Sogae: Well, since your friend worked with the Hero Corp, are they our allies or still potential enemies?
Elder Nam: That answer still needs time to develop, but there seems to be a powerful unknown clan out there, that was the cause of these events.
"This must have been going on for at least 5 to 10 years till now. Since she already knows about us, I'll have Narae find more information about her."
Sogae: What about Soju? Will we have him expand the diplomatic area?
Elder Nam: No, he will certainly die if we have him find more information about this unknown clan. If they can kill No, then our clan will die if we dig deeper."
Sogae: You think their clan is that big?
Elder Nam: That doesn't matter much. If they are big, they have the advantage in numbers. If small, they have people with strength to commit mass genocide. Either way, the outcome is bad.
"Are you nervous about this?"
Sogae: Haha, I sure am, but like you said, all we can do is wait and see what unfolds.
Elder Nam: It seems I taught you well.
Sogae: Onto less serious matters, your friend's name is No, and No Name's real name is Thư?
Elder Nam: Yes, and it seems so, but keep calling her No Name just in case, since she doesn't want to reveal her name.
Sogae: Understood… but is No his last name or first name, and why is it No?
Elder Nam: It's his first name, and *grab a pen and note on his table* it's actually written like this Nô, not No.
"And for the girl, she probably combines my name Nam and his name No to make No Name."
Sogae: How did you even meet him?
Elder Nam: He was travelling around to other clans to learn their skills. Simple man.
Sogae: Ok then… so when do you want to set up the next meeting with Narae and Soju?
*Elder Nam and Sogae discussing upcoming plans*