Chapter – 04
Sparring
“Exercise? That wastrel?”
“I’m telling you it’s true. I heard it from the guys on Security Team B. He’s been locked up in the gym these days and hasn’t come out.”
“What kind of weird scheme is he plotting this time… My head hurts.”
That Lee Tae-hyun had suddenly started focusing on working out.
He had completely quit drinking and partying, and was now training his body like someone in closed-door training.
Given Lee Tae-hyun’s usual sly nature, everyone assumed he was up to something.
Even when they went to Chairman Lee Jin-seong about it—
“Leave him be for now.”
That was the only answer they received.
The same Lee Jin-seong who would grab the back of his neck at the mere mention of Lee Tae-hyun’s name was reacting like this.
People thought:
‘Ah, he’s finally given up on Lee Tae-hyun completely.’
Just as opinions surfaced that Lee Tae-hyun might soon become Kim Tae-hyun or Park Tae-hyun—
“…That’s what I’ve been told.”
The man sitting on the sofa listened to his secretary’s report.
“Is it really true?”
“Yes. Young Master Tae-hyun plans to challenge a C-rank Gate alone in one month.”
“Ha! That bastard has finally lost his mind.”
Lee Si-hyun widened his eyes and twisted his lips.
His head was already pounding from all the messes that guy had caused.
Now he was saying he’d go into a Gate and come out as a corpse.
‘A guy who doesn’t bring even a single ounce of benefit to my life.’
He was a human who filled him with disgust.
A worthless, bottom-tier wastrel who wasn’t even a proper degenerate.
The fact that such a guy was his older brother, and that he had once genuinely respected him—
“It makes me want to puke.”
Lee Si-hyun stuck his tongue out and dry-heaved.
Even his current behavior was so transparent that his own face turned red.
‘Cheonseong.’
Both inside and outside the company, everyone had already decided that the next Chairman of Cheonseong would be Lee Si-hyun.
Looking at Lee Tae-hyun’s behavior, it was a miracle he had clung on this long instead of being kicked out.
He had thought the previous B-rank Gate incident would completely bury him, but—
“So he’s determined… determined to keep making noise?”
Now he was saying he’d solo-clear a C-rank Gate.
A hopeless piece of trash who received an F-rank judgment.
Lee Si-hyun found it utterly disgusting that someone so unworthy was still coveting the name of Cheonseong.
And if he died in there?
Lee Si-hyun’s name — and by extension, Lee Jin-seong and Cheonseong’s names — would be brought up.
Even if he was half-abandoned, he was still the Chairman’s son.
“……”
Lee Si-hyun stared at the screen of his phone.
One text message from someone.
After reading its contents, he twitched his eyebrows and stood up.
“Mr. Sang-ho. Prepare the car.”
“Where shall we go?”
I have to stop him.
“To the gym where my brother is.”
Even if it meant beating Lee Tae-hyun to death.
***
Crunch!
“Ah.”
Another training dummy broke apart.
“Tsk.”
I clicked my tongue and scratched my head a few times.
I had brought in fairly sturdy ones, but they couldn’t even last 100 exchanges before their bodies shattered.
Especially Zha, after just 10 thrusts the dummy would be left in tatters.
‘I wanted to test Lan and Na too.’
But since the dummies didn’t attack, those two were impossible to practice properly.
If I went to a Hunter-exclusive gym, I could use all kinds of state-of-the-art simulations, but permission started from C-rank minimum.
And right now, my position with the Hunter Association was… a bit awkward to show my face.
“It’d be nice if I at least had a sparring partner.”
As I was moving to the next dummy while regretting that—
“You really are here.”
A familiar voice came from the entrance of the gym.
A face similar to mine, dressed sharply in a suit.
“Si-hyun!”
Without thinking, I ran over with joy.
Lee Si-hyun’s eyes narrowed sharply as he reached out his hand.
“Don’t come any closer. You smell like sweat.”
Well, that was true.
I had been training for several hours and was drenched in sweat.
I gave an awkward smile and stepped back slightly. Lee Si-hyun’s gaze swept over me and the entire gym.
Then he asked in a rather surprised tone.
“I didn’t know you even owned clothes like that, Brother. You always sang about luxury brands so much I thought you’d die if you didn’t wear designer clothes.”
Right now, I was wearing light training wear.
The black one with three stripes.
“This is from a pretty decent brand too. Look.”
The ventilation and material were both excellent.
It was a hundred times better than the rags I wore in my previous life.
“Ah… Yes… I guess so.”
Lee Si-hyun twitched his eyebrows, looking displeased.
“No, it’s true. It washes well and doesn’t stain easily…”
“Brother. What kind of nonsense are you up to this time?”
“…What?”
Lee Si-hyun tilted his head and let out a scoff.
“Do you really think doing this will make Father look at you differently?”
“……”
“There’s a limit to how stupid you can be. You’re sticking your head back into the place where you almost died, and you don’t even consider how we feel having to watch you from the side.”
Brother and us.
Me and the family.
Lee Si-hyun was clearly drawing a line with every word.
“It’s not too late even now. Cancel the Gate or whatever and just stay quietly locked up at home. That way you won’t cause any more trouble.”
“I don’t want to.”
“Of course a coward like you would… Wait, what?”
“I said no. I’m going into the Gate.”
His flustered face gradually turned into one of utter disbelief.
“There’s a limit to recklessness! You know full well that going in there means certain death!”
Si-hyun’s reaction was understandable.
My publicly known potential was still F-rank.
I couldn’t even solo-clear a D-rank or E-rank Gate, let alone C-rank.
‘If it weren’t for Father’s help, I probably wouldn’t have even gotten permission for the clearing rights.’
It was literally “going there to die.”
There had never been a case in the entire history of Awakened where an F-rank solo-cleared a C-rank Gate.
But—
“Si-hyun. I won’t die.”
I knew better than anyone just how ridiculously long my lifespan was.
Si-hyun, whose face had turned red as he panted angrily for a while, spoke quietly.
“…Then let’s do this.”
***
Both ends of the completely rented-out, empty gym.
I lightly loosened my body while looking at the man standing opposite me.
His name was Kim Sang-ho.
One of Lee Si-hyun’s bodyguards and a D-rank Awakened.
‘If you win the spar against Mr. Sang-ho, I won’t bother you about this matter anymore.’
‘But if you lose, hand over the Gate rights without complaint.’
I gladly accepted the spar.
Then a window appeared in the air.
[Quest – Sparring]
▷ Win the spar against ‘D-rank Awakened Kim Sang-ho.’
▷ Rewards
① 5 Exp upon victory
② +3 Exp if you win without getting hit even once
③ 「Low-grade Random Box」 if you win within 1 minute
‘This is a freebie.’
Not only did I get a sparring partner, but there were even extra rewards.
Winning would give me a whopping 8 Exp!
‘But what’s a Random Box?’
Anyway, since it was a reward, it probably wouldn’t be bad.
The main point was to win within 1 minute without getting hit even once.
“Isn’t this too easy?”
“…What did you just say?”
Oops.
I accidentally spoke my thoughts out loud.
“Go easy on him, Mr. Sang-ho. It’ll be troublesome in many ways if my brother ends up hospitalized.”
“Understood.”
Kim Sang-ho bowed his head while wrapping bandages around both hands.
[Warning! If the opponent holds back or intentionally loses, you will not be able to receive the rewards.]
Oh, that’s a problem.
My mind spun quickly.
At this rate, the spar would lose its meaning and I wouldn’t get the rewards.
‘Think!’
A way to draw out the opponent’s true strength!
“Scared?”
“Pardon?”
“You’re laying the groundwork in case you lose to an F-rank and get embarrassed, right?”
Twitch!
A vein bulged on Kim Sang-ho’s forehead.
Perfect.
“I’ve been thinking this for a while… Mr. Sang-ho, are you really D-rank? Not the same F-rank as me?”
“…That’s enough.”
“My little brother’s security seems so lax that I, as the older brother, feel uneasy. Honestly, I’m a bit worried about this spar. If I win, how will you show your face afterward?”
“……”
Kim Sang-ho didn’t reply.
He only ground his teeth.
‘Good.’
This should be enough for him to come at me seriously, ready to kill.
***
Watching the continuous provocations, Lee Si-hyun was inwardly shocked.
Had Lee Tae-hyun really lost all sense of fear?
Kim Sang-ho was quite high-ranked even among D-rank Hunters.
Although he had given up on being a Hunter due to his growth limit and became a bodyguard, he was still among the top within Security Team A in terms of pure strength.
The reason Si-hyun sent him was to make Tae-hyun truly feel the wall of a real Hunter, but—
‘This won’t end with just a few weeks of injury.’
Kim Sang-ho was biting his lip slightly.
That was a clear sign he was genuinely pissed.
And just as Si-hyun expected, Kim Sang-ho was currently swearing inwardly.
‘How dare an F-rank…!’
Kim Sang-ho clenched his bandaged fists tightly and glared at Lee Tae-hyun.
He wanted to smash that grinning face that was resting a wooden spear on his shoulder right this instant.
Of course, he hadn’t planned to take it seriously.
After all, the opponent was nothing more than a worthless F-rank Awakened.
If he went all out, he could kill him in a few seconds.
But the other side had crossed the line first.
Me, F-rank? Losing to him?
‘Young Master Si-hyun told me to go easy on him.’
But no one would care if a guy like this had his bones crushed or organs ruptured.
They’d probably cheer instead.
‘I’ll kill him halfway.’
“Ready— Begin!”
The moment Lee Si-hyun signaled the start of the spar—
[Strength Increase © has been used.]
[Mangjin (D) has been activated.]
Kim Sang-ho’s muscles writhed violently and swelled grotesquely.
At the same time, he charged forward like a raging bull.
Ku-gwa-gwa-gwa-!
The ground shook and the lights hanging from the ceiling trembled.
‘I’ll teach you the difference between D-rank and F-rank!’
The instant he tried to slam his fist into Tae-hyun’s abdomen—
Lee Tae-hyun lowered the spear from his shoulder.
“I wanted to drag this out a bit longer… but I have to finish it in one minute.”
Grin.
His annoying lips curved upward.
The two hands holding the spear finally moved.
Na !
The spear shaft coiled from outside to inside and crushed Kim Sang-ho’s fist.
He felt a heavy, forceful pressure in his hand.
The trajectory of his punch twisted and veered far away from Tae-hyun.
“…!”
Kim Sang-ho’s eyes widened.
Did his attack miss?
‘No!’
He was not so incompetent a bodyguard that he would miss a stationary target.
This was clearly an intentional defense.
An F-rank’s spear had deflected a D-rank’s attack.
“Your side is wide open.”
Per-ber-buk!
The quickly retrieved spear stabbed rapidly into Kim Sang-ho’s right flank.
Five strikes in an extremely short time.
“Ugh!”
Even with his reinforced body, a sharp pain spread through him.
The attack had accurately struck his liver area.
If it hadn’t been Kim Sang-ho, it was an attack that could have caused someone to faint from pain.
Conversely—
It was an attack that only Kim Sang-ho could endure.
In that brief moment when his body stiffened from the pain—
Lee Tae-hyun’s spear slipped through.
Zha !
The blunt tip of the wooden spear slammed straight into Kim Sang-ho’s solar plexus.
Baaaaaaaang!
“Kraaaaaagh!”
Two consecutive critical hits.
A look of obsession appeared in Kim Sang-ho’s eyes.
‘That’s F-rank?’
Bullshit.
In the few exchanges he had with Lee Tae-hyun, Kim Sang-ho couldn’t find even the slightest opening.
Even though he was clearly looking down on his opponent, Tae-hyun showed not a single moment of carelessness.
He was the very picture of an ideal powerhouse.
‘In that case…!’
He had to go all out too.
[Iron Fist © has been used.]
Kim Sang-ho’s right fist was dyed silver.
One solid hit from this would definitely end it.
If the shield was impenetrable, he would simply smash the shield along with it.
“Uraaaaaaaaah!”
His fist shot forward in a straight line.
However, Lee Tae-hyun still wore a relaxed smile.
He simply held his spear.
‘Not yet.’
The distance wasn’t enough yet.
Just a little more. Just a bit more.
“Now.”
The tip of the spear trembled.
Lan !
Kuuuung!
The fist and spear collided, producing a heavy roar that shook the entire gym.
The reflected damage from the punch struck Kim Sang-ho directly.
“…Keuk.”
His massive body collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut.
In Kim Sang-ho’s eyes as he lay on the floor, there was no visible pupil.
“Guhhh……”
Total sparring time: 38 seconds.
The winner: F-rank Lee Tae-hyun.
“Th-this can’t be……”
Lee Si-hyun’s pupils trembled violently.
