War Zone part 4

Odd opened his eyes and found himself in his room.

He looked at the clock—it was nine o'clock.

"Damn it, I was really killed in less than an hour. Even though there's no pain, just thinking about it is terrifying."

Odd shivered at the thought, but his mind quickly shifted to Corrupter Slayer.

"That girl… I know that voice very well. It's Lucy's voice. Ordinary fighters in the War Zone can't change their voices—there are no tools for that in the Ordinary Zone. Even her height is about the same…"

Odd's eyes narrowed with interest.

"There's no doubt about it—it's definitely Lucy. But what is she doing in the War Zone? And I had no idea she was this strong…"

He lay back on his bed, deep in thought.

According to the War Zone's rules, he couldn't return until 24 hours after his defeat, so there was nothing he could do for now.

---

March 21, 3022 – 12:48 PM

"Come on, Mundo, you can do it!"

Inside New Dawn Club's training hall, David Garcia shouted in encouragement as Mundo sparred against Lucy in a training match.

Since the formation of New Dawn Club, they had been training every day. With the academy's resources, weapons, and training machines, practicing was much easier than before.

Mundo was defending himself against Lucy's relentless attacks.

With his strong physique, his defense was incredibly solid.

However—

Mundo couldn't keep up with Lucy's unnatural speed.

She suddenly ducked, dashed behind him, and placed her dagger against his back—unable to reach his neck due to his height.

Mundo froze.

Unable to counter, he simply surrendered.

"I give up."

"Don't worry, Mundo," David said, encouragingly. "Your physical strength is incredible. When you become a Beginner, you'll no doubt be a powerful warrior. I suggest training as either a Predator or Sniper."

Lucy pouted.

"Aren't you going to say anything to me? And why were you only cheering for Mundo during our fight?"

"You're already skilled. You have great talent and will probably reach the Beginner rank soon. Someone like me isn't worthy of praising you."

David turned away indifferently.

"I'll cheer for you if you call me 'Big Brother'."

"That's never happening," Lucy scoffed, ignoring David.

She walked toward Odd, who was sitting nearby, and spoke gently.

"Big Brother, what do you think of my skills?"

Odd hesitated for a moment before replying.

"...You're really skilled, Lucy. No wonder you specialize in assassination—you're incredibly fast and agile."

His tone, however, sounded like he was thinking about something else entirely.

"Really? That's awesome!" Lucy smiled happily, not noticing Odd's suspicious expression.

"Hey, I said the same thing!" David grumbled.

"Shut up, you brute."

"What!?"

As the two bickered, Odd was too lost in thought to care.

"She's really holding back. If she used her full strength, she could've defeated Mundo in under two seconds."

"I wonder… does David or her parents know she's participating in the War Zone?"

Odd's eyes darkened with curiosity.

"Hmm… I heard that the top 100 fighters in the War Zone receive a monthly payment of 500 Bronze Sync Stones. Could she be fighting for money?"

Odd knew about the Garcia family's financial struggles.

He could only look at David and Lucy with pity.

David was his best friend.

Lucy was like a little sister to him.

He didn't like seeing them struggle with poverty.

"I wonder if, in the future, I'll be able to wish for more money per day. If so… maybe I can give them some."

Odd smiled to himself, feeling hopeful.

Just then, a sharp voice spoke beside him.

"Those two are really funny, don't you think?"

Odd turned his head and saw Lor sitting to his left.

"...Ah, right." Odd responded, puzzled.

Lor was an unusual presence in the club. Although he came every day, he rarely trained, and when he did, he trained alone. He hardly spoke to anyone.

"So why is he suddenly talking to me?"

"You know," Lor continued, "when I first joined this club, I didn't think I'd care about you guys at all. But… I suppose you're worth watching. The big guy is strong, and the short girl has an undeniable future."

There was a hint of arrogance in his voice.

Odd glanced at Lor, surprised.

"I didn't expect him to be this full of himself."

"And who are you to say that?" Odd asked, raising an eyebrow.

"They've told you before, haven't they?" Lor smirked.

"I'm from the Gordon Family."

"And so what?" Odd scoffed. "Your status means nothing if you can't live up to it."

Hearing Lor's words, Odd instantly saw through him.

Lor wasn't as kind or reserved as he appeared before.

And given that he was here, in this place—he was clearly not that capable.

Yet he also wasn't foolish enough to fall for David's tricks.

"Oh?" Lor smirked. "And who says I can't live up to it?"

"You might not know this," he continued, "but I'm actually somewhat famous."

Odd suddenly heard David's voice from his right.

"Lor Gordon. A genius in GR tools since birth."

David's sharp eyes locked onto Lor.

"I looked into you a little.

At five years old, you had already learned the fundamentals of GR tools and Claudio Energy.

By eight, your GR mechanics knowledge had already surpassed that of the academy's Innovation Department mentors.

At twelve, you wrote a thesis on Syncro Synchronization with Claudio Energy, which even the academy's scientists found shocking.

You were a true genius—set to become a legendary talent in Silo."

David's voice then grew colder.

"But unfortunately…

While intelligence is important for a GR engineer, talent is just as necessary.

You were born with a weak body.

And while Syncro training could've fixed that, even your soul was too fragile to synchronize with the sky.

Even if you became a GR engineer, you'd likely never surpass the Beginner level.

And despite this… instead of joining the Innovation Department, you chose to train in the Warriors Department for some reason.

You might've ranked first in the theory exam, but that doesn't matter much in the Warriors Department."

David's sharp gaze pierced Lor.

"Honestly, I don't see you living up to your status at all."

"And one more thing—don't act arrogant in my club."

As the club leader, David naturally hated seeing members act arrogantly.

However, he was forced to allow Lor's presence… otherwise, their club would be shut down.

Lor chuckled softly.

"Impressive… you really researched me, huh?"

He didn't seem angry at all.

"But for the record—

I don't plan to live up to my status as a Gordon Family member."

Lor's lips curled into a smirk.

"I'm aiming for something far greater."

"A small family like theirs could never contain me."

Odd and David exchanged bewildered looks.

"What kind of nonsense is this guy talking about?"