Chapter 76
Chapter 76: Fight, You Can Win (1)
My high school days, there were a lot of guys who bullied me.
The main perpetrators were 5, but guys like Na In-pil treated me like prey.
The prestigious high school I attended had a high rate of admission to top universities—a private school, but one where anyone with enough money could enroll their kid.
The first time I met ‘Park Seon-su’ was in the hallway.
He was tall. His whole family was athletic, and his father was a judo athlete who'd won gold at the Asian Games.
He was wealthy, running dozens of gyms nationwide.
As they say, blood doesn't wander far from the vein—Park Seon-su had a natural gift for athletics as well.
Especially because he'd inherited his father's blood, he'd been training in judo and other martial arts since childhood.
From middle school onward he trained in MMA, even placing in domestic competitions.
A full head taller than his peers, he was effectively the number one fighter in the school.
Crash!
"Urgh!"
Kicked by Kang Hae-san, I flew out through the classroom doorway and dropped the bread I'd been holding.
I lay there clutching my stomach, and Kang Hae-san spoke to me.
"Hey, did I tell you to bring cream buns? I said melon buns."
"The, the school store didn't have melon buns."
"So?"
Kang Hae-san crouched down and flicked my forehead with his index finger.
"The school store doesn't have melon buns? Then what?!"
"W-well, I'd have to buy them outside. But to go out I'd need a permission slip from the teacher—"
"Ah, screw that! Why the hell would I need to know that!"
Whoosh—!
Kang Hae-san's right hand swung upward.
I reflexively covered my cheek—but.
"……"
The slap never came.
I slowly raised my head. Kang Hae-san's hand was being held by someone.
The one gripping his hand was Park Seon-su.
"Kang Hae-san."
"Huh……?"
Kang Hae-san flinched and glanced warily at Park Seon-su.
Park Seon-su held his wrist and asked.
"What are you doing?"
"Ah, nothing much."
"Stop doing ugly things and get back to class."
"……"
Kang Hae-san pressed his lips shut and went back to the classroom.
Of course, if Kang Hae-san had had his crew with him, Park Seon-su wouldn't have acted so freely—but right now Kang Hae-san was alone in the hallway.
Park Seon-su stood tall, looking down at me.
"Get up. Samcheolli."
I grabbed the cream buns and got to my feet.
Park Seon-su glanced at me, smirked, and walked off.
"Oh! That was cool!"
"What's the big deal."
The guys who idolized Park Seon-su fawned over him.
Park Seon-su draped his long arm over the shoulder of one of them.
‘I thought, for a moment, that Park Seon-su was cool.’
‘……Until that day came.’
About a month later.
A day when the monsoon rain was pouring down in torrents.
I was standing blankly under a roadside tree near the school gate, sheltering from the rain.
I had no umbrella.
To be precise, I had brought one—but Kang Hae-san had taken it.
If I went home like this, I'd be soaked through, and Mom would worry.
I laughed bitterly at my own helplessness and rubbed the bruise on my temple.
Then someone placed a hand on my shoulder.
A large, thick hand, calloused and rough.
"……!"
I turned to look—it was Park Seon-su.
"No umbrella?"
"Uh, yeah……"
"You came out in the monsoon without an umbrella?"
"Ah, well……"
"Goodness. Share mine."
"It's okay."
"Come here!"
Park Seon-su draped his arm around my shoulder.
Standing beside his large frame, I ended up walking almost tucked into him.
Park Seon-su said,
"I let you share my umbrella, and I'm the one holding it?"
"Ah…… I'll hold it."
"You should."
I took the umbrella from Park Seon-su.
"Samcheolli. I'm getting rained on."
Even though I'd already tilted the umbrella far toward Park Seon-su's side, the guy was saying he was getting rained on.
I silently tilted it further. My entire right shoulder was getting soaked.
We came to a fork in the road.
"Thanks, Seon-su. I go right from here."
"I go left."
"Huh?"
"You're holding the umbrella—you want me to get rained on?"
"No, that's not it."
"You should walk me to where I'm going."
He tightened the arm around my neck and pulled me along.
I had no choice but to follow him all the way to his destination—the gym.
"We're here."
"Uh, yeah……"
He held out his hand.
"Huh?"
"Give back the umbrella."
Ah.
In that moment, my expression stiffened.
‘This guy Park Seon-su…… He used me as his umbrella errand boy.’
As I held it out to him, Park Seon-su said,
"What's with that look."
"Huh?"
"You're not giving it back, is that it?"
"No, it's just—"
"Follow me. I'll give you an umbrella."
"It's fine."
"There are more umbrellas in the gym. Come."
Who was I to defy a word he said?
I followed him up into the gym.
It was evening, and the MMA gym was packed with men training.
All of them were burly, sweating it out.
There were female members too.
‘It was no place for someone like me.’
"Oh, Seon-su's here?"
"Yes!"
"Who's that behind you? A friend?"
"Ah, nothing much."
Park Seon-su went inside, and I stood waiting at the entrance.
"What are you doing? Come in."
"……"
I followed him inside, and shortly after Park Seon-su came back out in workout clothes.
There was no umbrella in his hands.
"Samcheolli. Come here."
Park Seon-su looked me up and down as I approached.
"How much do you weigh?"
"Me? 50 kilograms……"
"Perfect."
Swish.
He looked at me, and a glint of madness flickered in his eyes.
"Samcheolli. I'm going to make you stronger."
"Huh?"
"Hey. Princess."
Leaving me baffled, Park Seon-su called out to a female member who was training.
A woman who looked to be around 50 kilograms, same as me.
"I'm seriously so annoyed! I told you not to call me Princess."
And then Park Seon-su grinned at me and said,
"You two—fight."
"What?"
"Princess. If you beat him, I'll stop calling you Princess from now on."
"Really?"
"H-hey, Seon-su. What do you mean all of a sudd—Uwak!"
Thud.
Before I could finish, the woman who'd been called Princess executed a takedown on me.
The back of my head hit the mat with a thud, and the impact knocked the breath right out of me.
She grabbed my school uniform shirt in a cross grip and choked my neck.
Rip-rip-rip—. The shirt buttons tore off.
Park Seon-su scratched his head and said,
"That was too easy, wasn't it?"
"Seon-su. Urgh…… What is this?"
"Next up—our rising star. Middle schooler Seong-chan!"
"Yes!"
A boyish-looking kid came running up and stood in front of me.
For a middle schooler, he was even bigger than me!
"Samcheolli, this kid is a middle schooler, right. Surely you can handle a middle schooler?"
"No, wait—"
"You get stronger through fighting. You know that. Come on! Ready—go!"
The middle schooler called Seong-chan climbed on top of me and suddenly started wrenching my arm.
‘This maniac!’
‘What in the world was this situation?’
"Aaaargh!"
"Stop. His arm will break."
"Aaaargh!"
"Hey, damn it! I said his arm will break!"
Park Seon-su forcibly pried off the middle schooler who kept applying pressure.
I was horrified, genuinely on the verge of having my arm broken, and I looked around—
"Heh heh heh."
"Again, again."
"But isn't it fun?"
Not a single person helped me.
On the contrary, everyone was just watching, as if it were entertainment!
"Haah……"
I let my shoulders slump in despair.
Park Seon-su kept calling out names.
High schooler Ryu Hyeon-gyu. University student Hwang Jin-tae.
After facing them, I was a completely wrecked mess, gasping for breath.
"Haah…… haah……"
Every muscle in my body was screaming.
My ligaments felt torn and injured, my hands and feet trembling uncontrollably.
Clap, clap, clap—.
Park Seon-su applauded.
"Just like I heard! Our Samcheolli is incredibly tough! Holy crap, he's a complete robot!"
When I had barely managed to calm my breathing, face-down on the floor.
Swish—.
A large shadow fell over me.
Tremble, tremble, tremble.
I looked up—a man built like an actual bear stood there with his arms crossed.
Between the gaps in his dobok, his chest, wrists, and ankles were covered in ugly tattoos.
"S-Seon-su……!"
I looked at Park Seon-su with tears welling in my eyes.
Park Seon-su smiled and said something.
Not to me—to that bear.
"Wow, you big bear. You want a turn too?"
"It looks fun. I've been practicing a move lately."
"What move?"
"It's called the Giant Swing."
"Bwahahaha! You crazy bastard! Go ahead, kheh heh heh. That'll be fun."
I trembled and crawled over, grabbing Park Seon-su's leg.
"Seon-su. I…… I can't do this anymore."
"You're giving up? Our Samcheolli?"
"Seon-su! Please!"
He patted my shoulder and said,
"Fight. Try hard and you might win?"
"……!"
I despaired, and the bear-like man grabbed my foot, dragging me off into a corner.
* * *
Ding-dong.
‘—Park Seon-su just entered the Murim Tower.’
A message came from Kang Hae-san.
‘Well done, Kang Hae-san.’
‘Not that I needed it—I could see him myself.’
I set down the binoculars I'd been holding and looked away from the window of the hotel near the Murim Tower.
The hotel near the Murim Tower had suspended operations for a while, but had reopened following the Golden Tower. It had a clear view of the Tower, so it was a place I'd been using quite often lately.
Park Seon-su, Princess, Seong-chan, Ryu Hyeon-gyu, Hwang Jin-tae. And the bear bastard.
"I still remember all your names."
‘Kim Tae-yang……’
I smiled bitterly, stretched out long, and loosened my body.
The TV I had on in the hotel room was playing the news.
[Red Alert for the Republic of Korea's Golden Tower Myth!]
An urgent anchor's voice flowed out along with the headline.
"The Golden Tower has been rising 3 floors consecutively up until now, but for 2 days following the achievement of the 27th and 28th floor Golden Towers, there has been no change on the 29th floor. We have National Assembly Murim Tower Committee Chairman Pyeon Jae-yeong here with us today. Representative, how did this come to be?"
At the anchor's question, Pyeon Jae-yeong pushed up his glasses and replied.
"As the floors climb higher, even Ghost may have begun to struggle."
"What do you mean by that?"
"The higher the floors, the more difficult they become. The Golden rank is even higher than S-Rank Red, so it would naturally be harder to achieve."
"You mean……?"
"I mean that even Ghost may find it difficult to achieve the Golden rank any further. Ah, of course I don't mean to imply that I don't wish for the Golden rank to be achieved, contrary to the expectations of our citizens—"
Click—.
I turned off the TV.
‘Just as I expected. Pausing mid-climb has thrown the Republic of Korea into an uproar again.’
‘Expectations have lowered, and an alarm bell is ringing through their peaceful daily lives.’
Outside the window, rallies were being held in succession.
"O God of the Tower!"
"Golden Tower! Golden Tower!"
With the Bell Tower Sect at the forefront, people were crying out in one voice.
"This is killing 3 birds with 1 stone."
Crack-crack—.
I finished stretching, and stepped into the herb field.
[Entering the 29th Floor of the Murim Tower (Republic of Korea).]
[This is your first entry.]
[Mission (29th Floor): Defeat 10 Black Bears.]
—Time Limit: 3 days
—Upon Success: 100,000 Happiness Points awarded
[A bonus mission is given upon first entry.]
[Bonus Mission: Release the Black Bear Demon Beast.]
—Time Limit: 24 hours
—Upon Success:
① The Mission (29th Floor) is considered complete (GOLD)
② Happiness Points Decupled (×10)
③ ‘Gold Sulfur Crystal’ will be awarded.
—Upon Failure: The Black Bear Demon Beast disappears, and all rewards from the Bonus Mission are permanently lost.
Upon entering the 29th floor door I had left alone from the 28th floor, a message appeared.
"As expected…… The Black Bear Demon Beast was a Bonus Mission."
The information I'd obtained from the Black Market had nothing at all about the Black Bear Demon Beast.
And for good reason—the Black Bear Demon Beast was settled in the deepest part of this cave, and to wake it, one had to break through a stone wall.
That stone wall had been formed long ago when the Demonic Cult's Killing Dragon Pavilion Chief, Ko Cheon, had been defeated by the Black Bear Demon Beast and fled.
He detonated the explosives he had on him to collapse the entrance and barely escaped.
The beast had no intention of coming back out through it, resting peacefully within.
Even in my memory from my past life, the stone wall was now so overgrown with moss that if you didn't look carefully, you wouldn't even notice a wall was there.
"Well then."
I had entered the 29th floor, and thankfully, a margin of 24 hours had been given.
I'd been worried there might be a 10-minute time limit—what a tremendous relief.
"Let's go see our Park Seon-su."
[The 'Silver Key' has been summoned.]
—You can intrude upon the Murim Tower of the Republic of Korea.
Woo-woong—.
[A door intruding into the 29th Floor of the Murim Tower (Republic of Korea) has opened.]