Chapter 381
"The next challenger is someone with a knack for stacking things!"
As the host spoke, the staff brought up the necessary items from below.
Bottles, rocks, a wrench, and even a large ladder.
These were the items that Team Lead Seon had prepared in advance upon the master's request.
If Seo-jun hadn't watched the first test video, he would have seriously wondered what they were planning to do with these things.
-Wow
-A knack for stacking lololololol
-What! What!
-No, it's cool lol
"Now, before we begin, Mr. Seo-jun! Did you watch the first test video?"
"Yes."
"Then, do you happen to be confident in finding an object's center of gravity?"
There's a reason a master is called a master.
It's not something just anyone can do. Even when many try in earnest, it takes them hours to achieve, yet the master does it in one go.
Their level cannot be reached through sheer will and practice alone.
You must truly love the work and dedicate yourself to it to gain such skill.
That is why they are called a master.
Like Yamada Rise, you need an outstanding talent that everyone admires, and only then might you succeed once after hundreds of attempts.
The host is asking Seo-jun if he's confident in such a feat.
But Seo-jun's reply is:
"Finding the center of gravity? Want to see a quick warm-up?"
He has already transcended humanity.
The man who came as the master of balancing shook his head vigorously left and right.
No, it was beyond vigorous.
As seen in the darts event, what if Seo-jun pulls off something even greater before the match even starts?
Then it's not Seo-jun who needs to prove himself—it's him.
From the craftsman's standpoint, it was a catastrophe and tragedy he couldn't bear to watch with open eyes.
"Ah, unfortunately, the challenger objects. Mr. Seo-jun, please refrain from warming up."
-lololololol
-This time it's definitely the host's fault
-That damn warm-up lolololol
-The challenger is openly objecting like that lolol
"A pity."
Seo-jun just shrugged his shoulders.
The challenger let out a deep sigh of relief, so visible that even the audience member sitting furthest away could see it, then stepped forward.
Seo-jun glanced once more at the boxer sitting beyond. The boxer was fervently tapping at his phone, his hands positioned so it wasn't easily seen.
A mystery why his anger keeps building.
Could he have been scammed?
"Alright! Now let's begin the demonstration! Master, what will you show us first?"
"Ah, first I'll start with the easiest difficulty: rocks."
If it were simply placing a pointed rock atop another, it would of course be difficult, but Rise would have stopped it.
However, what the master does is stack multiple rocks on top of one.
His level of skill was such that he caught the eye of the Middle Eastern royal family and went on tour performances.
The master stacked three rocks of various shapes and sizes on a single large rock.
Cheers rang out, and Seo-jun also clapped from the sidelines.
"That's amazing."
"Oh, is it amazing even by your standards, Mr. Seo-jun?"
Not only was his sense for finding the center of gravity exceptional, but his precision and speed were outstanding as well.
"Of course. That took less than 30 seconds just now, right? Hmm. Indeed, there are people like this."
"Yes!"
"And things that defy common sense happen all the time..."
"Yes!"
"So, I think things like remembering a past life are really nothing."
The host, who had expected a sensible answer from Seo-jun, was disappointed for 0.001 seconds.
Disappointed in himself.
After 0.999 seconds of reflection that he still didn't know Seo-jun properly, he resumed the proceedings.
"Hahaha! Yes, well, that's what he says."
The host nodded inwardly as he read chats like 'that could be' or 'as expected', 'the host is a true martial arts man', and spoke.
"Then, shall we give it a try now?"
"Understood."
Seo-jun went in front of the stone tower the master had built and took the rocks down one by one.
Then he opened his mouth.
"Everyone, I don't need to feel something like a center of gravity."
"Oh? Why?"
"Because I just put it back exactly as I saw it."
"Exactly as you saw it just now, the same position and angle?"
"Yes."
And 3 seconds later.
The exact same stone tower as moments before was erected.
"Next."
* * *
It's not that he couldn't find the center of gravity.
But was there really a need to?
He just had to replicate what was shown, as that would be the most stable form the master had chosen.
After the rocks came the bottle and wrench.
The master, who had been constantly wiping his cold sweat ever since Seo-jun called 'next', presented yet another perfect and mysterious form.
It didn't collapse under gravity.
Objects perfectly supported one another, naturally eliciting admiration from the onlookers.
A structure that the mind simply couldn't accept unless you could see the action of gravity with your own eyes.
The master was a master.
Seo-jun clapped, walked up, collapsed the beautiful structure,
and restored it in 5 seconds.
"Next."
The master's frequency of wiping cold sweat increased.
-No way lololol
-Is this for real? lolol
-The word 'next' is really annoying lololololol
-Is this guy seriously protesting because they didn't let him warm up first? lolol
-Why are you doing this to a precious challenger who came to save the booth, you bastard lololol what's the reason lolol
Despite his bewilderment, the master didn't lose his composure and presented the next structure.
If the combination of bottle and wrench was the previous stage, this time it's solely bottles.
He continuously handles over eight large and small bottles, feeling out the center of gravity and making them support one another.
The master always gets nervous when performing with bottles.
But this time, his fear of failure was even greater.
'I just need to succeed at everything in one go and then bow out smoothly.'
That seemed satisfactory.
And when Seo-jun replicated it again precisely 15 seconds after he succeeded this time, the master applauded vigorously.
He was just moved to have been part of this together.
Pride in one's skill? That meant nothing in front of that man.
"Now! Last one remaining is the ladder."
Ladders typically come in two main types: A-type and H-type.
The A-type ladder, resembling the letter A when viewed from the side, supports itself front and back, making it very stable and mainly used in households.
The H-type ladder is a straight ladder, and the one the master brought was precisely this H-type.
It wasn't a typical straight ladder.
Usually, straight ladders are used leaning against a wall, and their feet and rungs can be freely adjusted, but this was a wooden ladder that couldn't do that.
It looked like a ladder that could never be stood upright without a wall on the other side.
While Seo-jun was examining the ladder with interest, the host made a sudden suggestion.
"Mr. Seo-jun! Why don't you try first this time?"
Since Seo-jun had revealed himself that he simply copies what he sees, the host was asking him to show it first this time.
Even if the booth's original content was about Seo-jun copying, it was a reasonable point.
After confirming the positive chat response, Seo-jun nodded and moved to where the ladder was prepared.
While the master was unable to collect himself in the rapidly changing situation, Seo-jun stood the ladder up and climbed.
For the ladder's feet to be horizontal with the ground, the ladder had to tilt, and to prevent the tilted ladder from falling, a wall was needed on the opposite side.
So the reason they brought this ladder must be to climb it without a wall.
Seo-jun exerted intense concentration with every step he climbed up the ladder's rungs.
Truly worthy of the craftsman's final item.
To climb a ladder that feels like it's about to fall by balancing yourself at the end.
A sense of respect wells up inside.
He can do this because he was simply given memories of a past life, but that craftsman was an ordinary person, wasn't he?
Seo-jun finally climbed up to the last rung of the ladder.
He couldn't hold onto the top rung with his hands anymore, so Seo-jun, standing precariously atop the ladder, was like a person balancing on a pole.
Nevertheless.
-Why is he so calm lololol
-Wow, amazing
-This is like acrobatics
-But is it really possible to climb a ladder without support while constantly balancing like that?
Seo-jun calmly came back down and gently placed the ladder on the floor.
"It's definitely difficult. You are amazing."
He said it with respect.
Balancing not only objects but also yourself—that truly deserves to be called a master.
Though there's no one who wouldn't agree.
And he looked at the master.
"Um..."
"What?"
"No..."
"...?"
"That, Mr. Seo-jun."
"Yes."
"I was going to do a performance where a person hangs on the ladder and I stand it up. Not climb the ladder while balancing yourself, that crazy... ah, sorry. Anyway, that... yes. I can't do that. I'm sorry. I'll be going now."
With a bewildered expression, the master threw a double thumbs-up to Seo-jun and walked off the stage.
-Sssssssssssssssssssssssssss lol
-Host, stop tormenting him, for real lololol
-You damn bastard lololol
-Seo-jun stories are really bountiful, ah lolol
-This bastard host knew this would happen and made him go first lolol wow, both are the worst lololol
Seo-jun looked at the host, bewildered.
Meanwhile, the host, who had intended to play the role of hanging onto the ladder when Seo-jun went to it, reproached himself for being unable to stop Seo-jun when he immediately started climbing.
Seo-jun nodded as if it couldn't be helped and reached a conclusion.
'The world is unfairly messing with me.'
* * *
Choi Han-gyeol couldn't shake off the bittersweet feeling as he watched the back of the balancing specialist exiting after fist-bumping them.
He turned his body the other way.
Amidst the pouring cheers, there stood a demon lord-like figure, leisurely awaiting the next challenger.
The exiting challenger and the champion who simply held his ground.
"Hey, Han-gyeol."
"Yeah?"
"Don't worry."
"Why?"
"I'll avenge all our fallen comrades. Against that bastard."
"Hold on."
"Huh?"
"Calling him 'that bastard'? You're also a fan of Mr. Seo-jun, aren't you?"
"Oh, right."
"Cool your head. Stop looking at your phone now. That streamer isn't our enemy."
He didn't provoke them, nor did he invite them.
"..."
"We're the ones who challenged him."
Choi Han-gyeol smiled as if the young, spirited foreign boxer was adorable, then went on stage.
And he performed magic with sleight of hand, making a CD disappear and reappear, and even copying it.
Seo-jun, watching from the side, figured out the trick and replicated it, so Choi Han-gyeol was easily disposed of.
"Hey, I leave the revenge to you."
He went down the stage.
The boxer looked at Choi Han-gyeol's retreating figure for a moment, dumbfounded.
Then he collected himself and lit a fire in his eyes.