Chapter 16
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: One Shot One Kill
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"...Wow."
A sigh of admiration slipped out unwittingly.
Veronica scoffed as she slung the highbar over the handle of the motorcycle haphazardly parked by the roadside.
As she said it came every year-end, this must be a fairly familiar sight to her.
The Lionheart estate where she grew up was probably much larger than this.
It was utterly ruined now, but it had once been a proper noble family with a title.
In any case, we were standing in the heart of the affluent neighborhood of Hannam-dong, lined with luxury homes.
Beyond the wall encircling the mansion like a fortress... honestly, it was so grand it barely qualified as a mere house anymore.
Unlike me, overwhelmed by its majesty and unable to even think of entering, Veronica strode forward confidently, pressed the intercom with her finger, and said,
"Uncle Cheon the butler. It's me. Me, Veronica. Can I come in?"
A moment later, the automatically opening gate revealed an even more astonishing sight.
A garden that, with a bit of exaggeration, felt like a small hill.
The lawn, masterfully blending flat and sloped terrain, featured colorful bizarre rocks, streams mimicking creeks, ponds, and trees harmoniously composing a landscape painting.
There were even a few large carp in the pond. Their scales oddly emanated heat... no way those were Fire Carp, right? Even if they were, judging by the size, they'd be less than century-old ones.
Following the winding gravel path that snaked naturally through the lawn, we reached the main building of the mansion, built in a modern architectural style.
Honestly, it went beyond admiration to something like awe. Do all chaebol houses look like this? It was insanely impressive. Having only read non-fiction-like martial arts manuals my whole life, I regretted not being able to describe this mansion's scenery in 5,700 characters.
I'd come this far on momentum, but now I wondered if it was really the right choice.
As I timidly raised my hand to knock on the main building's door, it opened from inside.
A sturdy elderly man in a impeccably tailored suit bowed politely toward us.
"Welcome. Miss Veronica. If you'd informed us in advance, we could have prepared to make your arrival more comfortable."
"Nah, it's fine. I have to ride that thing home anyway."
"Understood. Shall we park the vehicle you arrived in at the garage?"
"Yeah, yeah~."
Veronica waved her hand dismissively and headed inside. Park Jong-myeong and I followed closely behind her like chicks trailing a mother hen.
Chairman Baek and Baek Chan's older brothers, being older, were probably still at their companies since it was just around the time high schoolers got out.
The butler guided our group to a reception room furnished with large, luxurious sofas.
"Miss Veronica, the usual for you. For the two of you, coffee or tea?"
"Pass on tea today, Uncle. We're here to catch that crazy bear cub still hibernating in this house even though it's almost April."
At Veronica's rough speech, a troubled expression flickered across the elderly butler's face, but he professionally bowed and replied,
"The young master is in the underground training room. He might be meditating, so... I'll go inform him. Please wait here while I bring some tea. We just received some fine tea leaves."
Horo-rook—.
By the time we'd finished the tea the butler brought—about the length of one cup—we heard him return to the reception room.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. Please head down to the training room now."
Veronica, who had chugged the boiling espresso like cold water and grumbled about being bored, cracked her knuckles and rose from the sofa.
We followed the butler's guidance down a long corridor to the stone stairs leading underground. There was an elevator nearby, but figuring the basement couldn't be that deep, we opted for the stairs.
For some reason, a movie scene overlapped in my mind.
It was about a hidden basement beneath a rich family's mansion where someone lived secretly without the owners' knowledge. It hadn't been released yet at this point, though.
The film, directed by someone immortalized alongside the Wind Duke, Ice Queen, and Pororo in the 'Do You Know Club,' sparked endless talk about the symbolism of descending into the basement and its mise-en-scène, but right now, my head was filled only with curiosity about what lay beneath such a magnificent mansion.
And sure enough, the mansion didn't betray my expectations.
As we descended the stairs, a massive solid metal door greeted us.
The basement ceiling seemed incredibly high.
We'd walked quite a ways down the stairs—enough to regret not taking the elevator—but this was something else. Astonishing.
"Veronica, how many times have you been to this house? Have you seen this place before?"
"Nope. First time for me too..."
The truly amazing part was something else.
A seasoned martial artist proficient in qi sense could detect the environment beyond walls as clearly as if seeing it with their eyes, yet I sensed no presence whatsoever behind this door.
"The training room's partition walls are designed with a special shielding structure. Air currents or vibrations inside don't affect the outside. It's also seismically engineered to withstand a magnitude 12 earthquake, so please use it with peace of mind."
One might wonder why prepare for a magnitude 12 quake in Korea, not Japan, but this was Chairman Baek Kang-mu's house. An S-rank master's stomping foot could genuinely cause an earthquake.
I thought it was time to stop being surprised, but the moment we opened the door and entered, I was startled once more.
The training room's ceiling was even higher than I'd imagined. Its width went without saying. It matched the vast garden I'd mistaken for a field or mountain at first glance.
The walls, ceiling, and floor were seamlessly covered in pristine white shock-absorbing grid tiles, and despite being underground, bright artificial light poured from the ceiling like midday sun.
In one corner stood sandbags, weight machines, wooden dummies, and more.
Despite Baek Chan and Baek Kang-mu both being fist fighters, the racks were densely lined with gleaming weapons.
And moreover... that was...
"Hey, Veronica. That's not a real gun, right? I'm not seeing things?"
"Ha... don't be such a bumpkin, kid. It's common sense for a house to have an automatic rifle or two for protective aura training."
"Bullshit! What kind of common sense is that! Park Jong-myeong, say something—"
"Well... it's not something to say outright, but our house has one too, actually."
These crazy rich bastards.
I'd only touched a gun after becoming a vagabond, and here they were casually saying every house had one.
This country clearly banned gun ownership, too.
At this point, I gave up understanding and shifted my gaze to the center of the vast training room.
An octagonal sparring platform stood in the dead center. Atop it, a massive martial artist slicked back his sweat-dampened bangs and glared down at us with cold eyes.
Veronica swung her raised fist in circles and said,
"Hey, Baek, wanna die? Do you know how long you've made us wait?"
"Veronica, coming all the way here must've been your idea. I'm impressed. Didn't know you were capable of thought."
They were at it from the get-go.
Veronica was the type to secretly visit the infirmary out of worry if her one friend Son Ha-rin fainted, but to Baek Chan, she seemed purely a hated rival.
"Should I beat this fucker today and scatter him as Cheonji grilled pork rice..."
As Veronica smirked and reached for the greatsword on her back, I stepped forward and spoke up.
"Right. Pretty good idea, huh? You skipping the school training room nearly had us stomping our feet in frustration."
Baek Chan frowned briefly upon seeing my face, then spoke in an arrogant tone.
"I don't need to team up with trash like you to handle some assignment. If that's all, get lost—"
Before Baek Chan could finish, I crossed my arms and bellowed,
"Enough! Your repertoire is so damn boring. Why are all you geniuses like this? No repeats, so last time: First, you can't suck up to Teacher Lee Soo-young alone even if you die and resurrect. Second, participate properly in the group project. Got it? Or not?"
Veronica, who had been standing still, paused midway and glanced my way, but I shrugged indifferently.
"Trying to beat an A-rank master solo? What confidence is that... You're shit at fighting. I one-shot you—one shot one kill."
Ku-rung! Suddenly, thunder rumbled inside the training room. It was the sound of the fierce energy surging within Baek Chan.
His sweat-soaked hair even stood on end amid the murderous aura. Proof his internal energy cultivation was no joke.
"Kim Hoon. Shall I kill you first?"
Baek Chan growled in a sinister voice. The ultra-low frequencies in his tone made my body tingle.
Park Jong-myeong frantically looked between us, trying to intervene, but Veronica blocked him with a thrilled grin.
"What? Did I lie? If losing to me bugs you that much, I can give you a rematch."
I rested my chin on my hand atop the sword hilt at my waist and said,
"Let's duel. Loser obeys the winner without complaint."
A proposal no martial artist could refuse.