Chapter 22: Leave Me Alone, I Am Trying to Be Aggressively Average

Hey everyone! Dropping a little good luck charm your way before you start reading 🍀✨ May your day be stress-free, your coffee be strong, and your gacha pulls/life goals all hit the jackpot today! Sit back, relax, and enjoy the chapter!

---

Seo-Yeon’s smile widened as she felt the hook sink in. “Of course,” she added, her tone becoming a bit more transactional, “this can only happen if your brother—technically, Ethan—agrees to my demands. If he joins my guild and lets me guide him, I’ll guarantee his rise through the ranks. I know he has the potential to be an A-Rank, perhaps even an S-Rank.”

She paused, glancing sideways at Ethan, who was currently wrapped in a blanket and looking like a very disgruntled burrito.

“Maybe an A-Rank,” she corrected herself, her voice dropping an octave. “But... probably close to S if he stops acting like a human slug.”

Mia looked from the shimmering promise of a debt-free mansion to her slug-like brother. The internal struggle was visible on her face. The allure of a luxury home was fighting a losing battle against her affection for her brother, but "no bills" was a very strong argument.

Ethan just sighed, sinking further into his blanket. “Great. Now she’s bribing my sister. I’m being sold for a house. I’m basically a luxury appliance at this point.”

“This is the most efficient kidnapping I’ve ever witnessed. I’m impressed and disgusted at the same time.”

Mia cleared her throat, her eyes darting between the shimmering promise of a mansion and her brother, who looked like a discarded laundry pile. She looked directly at Seo-Yeon, her expression suddenly becoming the "responsible adult" of the room.

“Okay, let’s just back up for a second,” Mia said, crossing her arms. “You’re offering a lot, and it’s… a lot to take in. Before we go any further, tell me exactly why you want Ethan in your guild. What's so special about him that makes you willing to dangle a whole new life in front of us?”

Seo-Yeon paused. She actually took a moment to think, her grey eyes drifting toward the ceiling as she processed the question.

Ethan, seeing the silence as his chance to escape this corporate kidnapping, chimed in from the depths of his blanket. He pointed a limp finger at himself. “Yeah. Seriously. If your goal is just to turn an E-Ranker into an A-Class, you can literally just go to any E-Rank gate, grab the first guy who isn't crying, and tell him you'll pay his rent. I’m not a rare Pokémon.”

He let out a long, rattling sigh. “I prefer this life. I like being aggressively average. It’s a peaceful existence—well, mostly. I mean, I have to kill monsters every day sometimes, but it’s a predictable kind of stressful. I don't need the S-Rank pressure. I can't even handle the pressure of choosing which flavor of ramen to eat.”

Seo-Yeon didn't look deterred. Instead, she stood up and marched right in front of him, her presence suddenly filling the small room like a thunderstorm in a closet.

“I agree with that,” she said firmly.

Ethan blinked. “Wait, really? Case closed! I win! Now please leave my apartment before I accidentally fall asleep during this conversation—”

“But,” Seo-Yeon cut him off, her voice sharpening. “You are a cut above the rest. I felt it the second time we met. There is something... an unexplained potential. It’s like a dormant volcano that refuses to erupt. You're either subconsciously suppressing it or you're just too lazy to let it bloom, but it's there.

You're holding yourself back, Ethan. You're pretending to be a slug when you were born to be a dragon.”

The atmosphere in the room shifted. The comedy didn't vanish, but it was suddenly layered with something heavy. Ethan’s expression changed. The sarcasm died. His eyes, usually vacant and dreaming of naps, suddenly sharpened into something cold and serious. He didn't look like a "human burrito" anymore; for a fleeting second, he looked like a man who knew exactly how much he was hiding.

Without a word, Ethan stood up. He didn't stagger this time. His movement was fluid, precise, and devoid of his usual clumsiness. He turned his back on her, walking toward his bedroom with a slow, deliberate pace.

He stopped at the door and looked back over his shoulder, his voice devoid of its usual nasal drone.

“I don't know what you mean about blooming or dragons,” he said flatly. “But here's my answer: I don't want to join any guild. I don't want to be a cornerstone or a prodigy. I prefer this life. I’m perfectly happy being an E-Rank, and if I die an E-Rank, then I die an E-Rank. At least that way, I can stay close to my normal life.”

He gave her one last, lingering glance—a look that told her that no matter how many mansions she offered Mia, she couldn't buy his ambition.

“I hope you understand, Crimson Layed Guild Master,” he said, and with a decisive CLICK, he shut the door in her face.

Seo-Yeon stood alone in the living room, staring at the closed door. She blinked, her face twitching with a mix of frustration and admiration.

“It’s Crimson Scale,” she muttered to the empty room.

The echo of the slammed door still hung in the air, leaving a heavy, awkward silence in the living room. Mia looked at the closed door, then back at Seo-Yeon, her face crumbling into an expression of deep apology.

“I am so, so sorry!” Mia blurted out, bowing slightly. “I’ve actually never seen him like that. Usually, he just groans until I give him a snack, but when he gets that serious look... well, it’s kind of terrifying. Like a sloth that’s finally decided to actually hunt something.”

Mia sighed, her shoulders slumping as she looked at the Guild Master. “About the offer... I can’t take it. I really, really can’t.”

Seo-Yeon blinked, genuinely surprised. Most people would have fought through a brick wall for a debt-free mansion.

“I know it sounds crazy—who says no to a free mansion with no bills?—but you might not have seen this side of him, but my brother is stubborn.” Mia continued, her voice softening, He doesn’t want handouts. He wants whatever he gets to be because of his own hard work—even if his version of hard work is complaining for three hours before doing a five-minute task.

A small, genuine smile touched Mia's lips. “When I first heard you offering us a house, I was floating on cloud nine. But... it wouldn’t be a home if my brother wasn't in it. I’d rather live in this tight-ass shoebox with him than in a palace without him.”

Seo-Yeon stared at the girl. For a moment, the Guild Master persona vanished, replaced by something softer. She reached out and gently patted Mia’s head, a small, appreciative smile on her face.

“I guess I overstepped my boundaries,” Seo-Yeon admitted, her voice lacking its usual commanding edge. “I forgot that some people actually value things other than efficiency and rank.”

She reached into her cargo pants pocket and pulled out a sleek, high-end smartphone. She stepped forward and pressed it into Mia’s hands.

“Because I feel bad for the intrusion, take this,” Seo-Yeon said. “If you ever have a problem—anything at all—don't hesitate to contact me. My number is already saved in here. I had intended to give this to your brother as part of my persuasion package, but I think I severely miscalculated his level of stubbornness.”

Mia took the phone, her eyes wide. “Thank you! Truly!” She paused, then looked up with a curious, slightly mischievous glint in her eye. “So... does this mean you’ll stop pursuing my brother now?”

Seo-Yeon froze. She processed the word pursuing. Her brain immediately flickered through several different definitions of the word, and it landed on the one involving romance and candlelit dinners.

Her expression shifted instantly to one of utter horror.

“Maybe!” Seo-Yeon replied quickly, stepping back as if the idea itself were contagious. “But just to be crystal clear: I am not pursuing your brother in that way. I am not interested in that kind of thing! The idea of dating a man who considers not moving a professional skill is... it's a nightmare!”

She stepped back toward the door, her composure returning, though her voice was still a bit frantic.

“I will still try to recruit him,” she added, glancing one last time at the door to Ethan's room. “But I’ll pause the operation for a while. He needs time to recover from his cold... and I need time to figure out how to deal with a man who treats an S-Rank offer like a piece of junk mail.”

With a final wave, Seo-Yeon opened the door and stepped out into the hallway, her cargo pants swishing as she disappeared, leaving Mia with a luxury phone and a brother who was probably already snoring.

...

The equipment room of the Crimson Scale headquarters was a cavern of polished concrete and reinforced steel, a space designed to withstand the erratic violence of S-Rank training. It was late, the hour where the city’s neon heartbeat grew dim, and the only sound within the hall was the rhythmic, thunderous percussion of a war.

THUD. THUD. THUD.

Seo-Yeon was a blur of motion, a storm confined to a single point of impact. She was clad in obsidian-black tight shorts and a matching form-fitting top that clung to her frame like a second skin, glistening with a thin veil of perspiration.

Before her, a heavy-duty punching bag—engineered from high-density polymers designed to absorb the impact of a building collapsing—was being systematically dismantled.

To any other hunter, the strikes she delivered would have been catastrophic. But for Seo-Yeon, this was not a fight; it was a meditation. Each blow was merely a jab, a light tap infused with a mere sprinkle of her true force, yet the speed was so blinding that the bag didn't even have time to swing back. It remained suspended mid-air, folded and crushed by the sheer frequency of the barrage, trapped in a state of perpetual collapse.

As the air hissed around her fists, her mind drifted back to the suffocating confines of that small apartment.

To think... she thought, her breath coming in sharp, disciplined intervals. There is actually someone who would reject the ascent. Someone who would look at the pinnacle of power, the promise of prestige and security, and simply... walk away.

BOOM.

A rotational back kick connected with the center of the bag, the impact sending a shockwave through the concrete floor. The sound wasn't a thud; it was a crack, like a whip made of iron.

She paused for a fraction of a second, her grey eyes staring through the bag, seeing not the equipment, but the image of Ethan—wrapped in his blanket, smelling of sickness and stubbornness.

I didn't think people like that still existed, she mused, her expression darkening. Relics of a bygone era, clinging to the ghost of a normal life as if the world hasn't already been rewritten in blood and mana. They are stuck in the past, dreaming of a peace that was incinerated the moment the first Gate opened.

She knew the truth. The world was a predator, and those who refused to grow their claws were simply waiting to be consumed. In her world, the present was a battlefield, and the future was a looming shadow that demanded readiness. To ignore the potential for growth wasn't just modesty—it was a dangerous luxury.

Seo-Yeon shifted her weight, her muscles coiling like a spring. With a final, explosive exhale, she delivered a singular, concentrated punch.

KRA-KOOM!

The internal stuffing of the bag didn't just shift; it detonated. The high-density filling erupted through the seams, shredded into a thousand fragments by the sheer pressure of the blow. The bag didn't swing; it simply ceased to be a functional piece of equipment.

Silence returned to the room, heavy and oppressive.

Seo-Yeon stood still for a long moment, her chest heaving. She raised a hand, wiping the sweat from her brow with a slow, methodical motion. Her eyes remained cold, reflecting the stark lighting of the gym.

“In case such a phenomenon happens again,” she muttered, her voice a low, dangerous vibration in the quiet room. “Just like when the Gates first appeared... the world changes without asking for permission.”

She didn't look back at the ruins of the punching bag. Without a word, she turned and walked toward the far end of the room, her footsteps echoing against the concrete as she sought out another target to destroy.

---

Sooo... quick question for you guys! Who’s the most interesting female character so far?

Are you team Lindis, team Ran, or team Seo-Yeon?

(And before anyone asks: Mia is completely out of the running, man—she’s just a kid! 😂)

Who takes the crown for best female lead in your book so far? Drop your picks in the comments! 👇