The Weight of Four Ounces
"?"
At first, Ma Eun-woo looked like he didn't quite know what he was hearing.
But true to form for a student of Seoul Hunter Academy, the word "senior" made him react immediately, and he turned toward the voice.
"..."
In that instant, his face twisted.
Has this bastard lost his mind?
The thought showed plainly in his expression.
Then—
His distorted face shifted into a smile so sudden it looked manufactured.
"Well, well. Look who it is. Been a while, hasn't it, Senior?"
It was a strange, slippery form of polite speech, almost casual. There was something unmistakably condescending underneath it.
Seonwoo didn't bother pointing that out.
"Yeah. It has."
He had history with the bastard.
More precisely, not Seonwoo himself, but the [Protagonist] who had filled the empty stretch of time left behind when a Restart went wrong.
The reason Seonwoo currently possessed an E-grade hunter license.
That reason was Ma Eun-woo.
Winter, one year ago.
Despite being only a first-year, Ma Eun-woo had taken the exam with his clique—his party.
Normally, students took the test around third-year graduation, but if they wanted, first-years could take it too.
Still, few students chose to do that at a time when their skills were still lacking—especially when even obtaining temporary equipment suited to that lacking skill level would mean unnecessary expense.
On the other hand, students with enough ability and enough money often took the test early.
Ma Eun-woo had been one of those cases.
He came from a fairly decent guild family and had some talent to speak of.
Backed by his family's support, he had entered the exam as a first-year party leader and earned a D-grade license.
D-grade.
By the standards of Seoul Hunter Academy graduates—the best in South Korea—that put him in the lower tier.
But Ma Eun-woo had only been a first-year.
Measured against other first-years, D-grade was unquestionably top-tier performance, and that made him carry himself with even more swagger.
It wasn't just his family name or his size anymore. He had proven his ability with a license.
And the one who had been included in that party and taken the exam alongside him was the [Protagonist], who had sat for the exam before graduation.
In practice, he had served as a porter.
But because he had officially entered as a hunter, he had managed to force his way into an E-grade license and graduate.
That was how Ma Eun-woo had scored points at the academy while also "doing Seonwoo a favor."
Even though the truth was that he'd only used him because he needed a porter and a meat shield.
That was the kind of person Ma Eun-woo was—someone who emphasized the "favor" he'd done and used it to gaslight students who were already being bullied.
A delinquent pretending to be some cheerful wandering hero.
If his actions and results had truly matched that image, then even if his motives hadn't, people might still have treated him like the real thing.
But he never hesitated to show his rotten nature either.
So in the end, he was nothing more than a villain pretending to be a chivalrous man.
That villain grinned and said,
"Thought you'd quit being a hunter. Guess not?"
The implication was obvious.
You're not even a hunter anymore, so what makes you think you deserve to be treated like a senior?
Seonwoo nodded.
"Yeah. This time, I'm planning to take the test properly."
Properly.
Snicker.
At that word, some of the bastards behind Ma Eun-woo let out short laughs.
They knew very well what kind of student Kim Seonwoo had been.
Doesn't even know his place, and he's trying to act cool just because he's technically a senior?
The thought was written all over their faces and in the air around them.
If this hadn't been the Seoul Hunter General Center—
If there hadn't been so many eyes around—
If this hadn't been a place where the strict hierarchy between juniors and seniors had to be observed—
They might have said it aloud.
"Ha. Properly, huh."
Ma Eun-woo was no different.
Standing right at the front, he was the one treating Seonwoo with the most blatant contempt.
He wasn't saying it directly, but anyone could tell from his attitude how little he thought of him.
"Ah. Right."
Then, as if he'd just remembered something, he let his gaze slide past Seonwoo and over Seol Yun-ri beside him.
At that look, Seol Yun-ri clenched her fists tight.
"I've got a pretty good offer for you. Want to hear it?"
"No."
"..."
The answer came back without even one second of hesitation, and Ma Eun-woo faltered in surprise.
Seonwoo was looking straight at him with an expression that said the offer wasn't even worth considering.
What the hell? This fucker.
He wasn't like this before.
Why's he being so stiff?
Kim Seonwoo of all people.
A crack ran through the smiling face he had pasted on, as his real feelings threatened to leak out.
Someone like Kim Seonwoo shouldn't dare ignore me.
"Ha! At least hear it first before you answer. Why so firm? You're like a damn pumpkin—caught me off guard there."
As he said it, he pressed Seonwoo with an unpleasant, coercive tone.
Of course, it didn't work at all.
"I'm busy. Since it's such a good offer, ask someone else. I'm sure you've got plenty of people willing to listen."
With that, Seonwoo ended the conversation and moved to walk past with Seol Yun-ri.
It truly wasn't worth hearing.
Before Ma Eun-woo had even come into view, Seonwoo's sharpened senses had already picked up their conversation.
"Hey. I told you to beat up Jongwoo's ass just enough."
"No, but that fucker hid my money in his bag and wouldn't give it back. Had to teach him a lesson."
"Pfft. Hey, why's it your money? It's Jongwoo's."
"If he was supposed to give it to me, then it's mine, isn't it?"
There had been one party member they intended to use for the hunter license exam, but in practice as a porter and a meat shield.
A student the others bullied while Ma Eun-woo gently gaslit and exploited him.
And because that student had hidden the money they were trying to take from him, they beat him badly enough that he could no longer participate in the exam.
They had probably lined up their story in advance—calling it an accident during training, then collecting the insurance payout.
And they weren't worried, because they planned to force some other student into the party to fill the role instead.
There were plenty of others they'd bullied and gaslit into place.
Then they saw Seol Yun-ri.
From the very beginning, she had stood out for one reason above all: she was strikingly beautiful.
And she'd supposedly entered Seoul Hunter Academy on scholarship because her talent was so extraordinary.
So at first, he had approached her with a pleasant face, intending to charm her.
"Hey. Let's break that one in."
When she still hadn't summoned a spirit by the end of first year and expectations had cooled, he started scheming to shape her to his liking.
Ma Eun-woo preferred relationships where the other side feared him, not ones where both sides had to be careful around each other.
He intended to torment her thoroughly, break her down, and then gaslight her.
But Seol Yun-ri ran.
She stopped coming to school altogether and was expelled, and he'd put aside his disappointment.
Wow. This is basically fate.
He had never imagined he'd see her again here of all places.
And as luck would have it, there was an open slot in his party now, so he intended to put Seol Yun-ri in it.
Since it had been so long, the way she was standing there, forcing strength into her eyes, looked like it would make breaking her even more satisfying.
And yet standing in front of her—
Arrogantly—
This pathetic bastard, acting like he's something just because he's a senior.
The truth was, someone who probably wouldn't even become a hunter was blocking him.
And that was enough for Ma Eun-woo to lash out.
He lost control of his temper.
"No, hold it right there."
He wasn't trying to hit him.
This place had far too many eyes on it for that.
He only meant to grab Seonwoo roughly by the shoulder and stop him.
Thunk.
But before he knew it, Seonwoo had turned, and the hand Ma Eun-woo had reached out with was caught at the wrist.
"Pfft—ha!"
And Ma Eun-woo burst out laughing.
There wasn't just a difference in weight class between them—it was so overwhelming it wasn't even a game, much less a real contest.
And more than that—
Ma Eun-woo's stats were on another level.
He had ranked near the top overall, and among those, his strength in particular was widely acknowledged—by himself and others alike—to be exceptional.
Back then, his Physical stat had been D-grade.
Not long ago, it had finally risen to C-grade.
Following his father through dungeons had paid off.
Now he truly ranked near the top not only among second-years, but even when compared to third-years on the verge of graduation.
In truth, the reason Jongwoo had been injured badly enough to miss the exam was because Ma Eun-woo's C-grade strength had been too much, and he had failed to control it.
And now—
Kim Seonwoo of all people grabbed my hand?
A cruel delight filled the upward curl of Ma Eun-woo's lips.
The anger that had made him reach out vanished instantly.
Overwhelming strength.
The thought of using it to fling Seonwoo away filled him with ugly joy.
He could already imagine himself saying it to the Seonwoo sprawled out on the floor after flying back pathetically.
Ah, Senior. I misjudged my strength. Sorry about that.
With this many people watching, getting thrown around by a junior like that would leave Seonwoo too ashamed to show his face anywhere again.
Suppressing the laughter bubbling up inside him, Ma Eun-woo swung his arm.
Twitch.
"..."
He swung.
Twitch.
"...?"
Wha—hey?
It didn't move.
His arm—packed thick with swollen muscle beneath his clothes, clearly straining with power—didn't swing at all. It only twitched slightly.
It felt as though he'd been caught in some bizarre magic.
But it wasn't magic.
It was the path Seonwoo had carved into himself over three hundred years of ceaseless advance.
Martial arts.
One of the principles of martial arts by which a small force subdues a great one: Four Ounces Deflecting a Thousand Pounds.
Though he had gone beyond his limits again and again every day, Seonwoo's Physical stat still remained at E-grade.
In terms of raw strength alone, the gap between him and Ma Eun-woo was so vast it couldn't even be bridged.
But at this moment, that gap was being filled with martial skill.
Using a small force, Seonwoo was turning Ma Eun-woo's power back against him and suppressing him with it.
Crrrk—!
Ma Eun-woo gritted his teeth and tried to wrench his arm free with all his might.
Swooosh.
Seonwoo lightly drew it in, then twisted.
The force that had been flowing naturally forward reversed and scattered apart.
Twitch.
And just like that, strength capable of pushing aside a compact car was spent on nothing more than a tiny shudder.
It was Four Ounces Deflecting a Thousand Pounds at a truly exalted level.
And this wasn't even the common, widely known version of that principle.
One day, his master, Cheonma, had asked that of her disciple, who was treading an endlessly deep path through countless failures—slowly, but never stopping.
In Goddess Saga, any capable character from Murim basically had that skill by default, so he had been able to answer immediately.
His master had smiled and nodded at his answer.
At that moment, Seonwoo had realized something.
What it truly meant to possess complete understanding.
His master's teaching had shown him.
One among the many pieces of knowledge he had engraved through countless failures had risen into genuine enlightenment.
To Seonwoo now, Ma Eun-woo's strength was certainly immense.
But compared to the force Seonwoo had commanded when he once reached the Path—
"Gghhh..."
The strength Ma Eun-woo was grinding out with clenched teeth at this moment was more pitiful than a firefly before the sun.
And so, for Seonwoo to control that force—
Swooosh.
A supreme principle by which even less than four ounces of force governs a thousand pounds.
He didn't even need a full four ounces of strength.
The force born from Ma Eun-woo never got the chance to erupt; it remained under Seonwoo's control.
That bastard.
And then, face turning bright red, Ma Eun-woo finally understood as Seonwoo entered his narrowed field of vision.
That this impossible situation was because of Seonwoo.
He had no idea what exactly was happening or how.
But he understood one thing:
His arm wasn't moving because of Seonwoo.
Clench!
The moment that thought reached him, Ma Eun-woo's other fist tightened.
With his vision narrowed and his reason half-gone, he tried to smash Seonwoo without thinking.
But Seonwoo was not the kind of man who would fail to read that.
Before the fist had even fully clenched, he read the flow of force.
Whoosh—!
And he controlled that as well.
The instant Ma Eun-woo's other arm drew in, Seonwoo yanked the wrist he was already holding.
"...!"
The balance of his force collapsed, and Ma Eun-woo's upper body pitched violently forward.
Seonwoo merely stepped back once.
Crash!
That alone was enough to slam Ma Eun-woo's face into the floor.
"..."
"..."
Across the vast center, the commotion froze.
Silence fell.