Shattering the Unbreakable
The target was Jo Nam-sik's face. Kim Jun usually avoided striking the face, but Jo Nam-sik was the exception. If that was the only weak point, he'd have to go for it.
Kim Jun attacked like a nimble monkey.
A fist slammed into his philtrum, the blade of a hand struck his temple, and a heel kick smashed his nose.
There were reactions, bit by bit.
With each hit, Jo Nam-sik staggered back further, his grimace refusing to fade.
Kim Jun leaped high with a Mokhonbo Tan step, then drove his elbow straight down onto the crown of Jo Nam-sik's head. The man's pupils dilated sharply.
His mouth gaped open, a groan spilling out.
Dodging Jo Nam-sik's hands with a midair flip, Kim Jun landed and confirmed it—the crown was the weak spot. He launched himself again, his heel arcing in a half-moon to smash down once more.
Thud!
The violent impact shattered Diamond Indestructible.
The deep gray skin... reverted to its original color in an instant. Jo Nam-sik collapsed like a felled log, crashing to the floor with a heavy thump.
"Hah... hah..."
Panting as he backed away, Kim Jun braced his hands on his knees and stared at Jo Nam-sik.
"Is it over?"
Contrary to Kim Jun's hopes, Jo Nam-sik shook his head and slowly pushed himself up.
The supervisor asked if he was okay.
"Get out of the way."
Jo Nam-sik glared with bulging eyes.
Jang Man-ho stepped back. Getting informal speech from an excited examinee was common enough. What worried him was that Jo Nam-sik's skills far exceeded any examinee's level.
He glanced at the assistant supervisor.
The assistant shook his head. No background check on Jo Nam-sik yet.
Jo Nam-sik grinned slyly.
"Well, damn. Didn't think Diamond Indestructible could be broken. Fine. I admit it. I underestimated you. Sorry about that. But in return, I'll show you something fun. Look forward to it."
Jo Nam-sik raised his right hand, and it turned a vivid blue.
A master who had mastered Diamond Indestructible. Whatever skill this was, its power would be immense.
Jo Nam-sik thrust his fist forward.
Something rushed in fast. Kim Jun dodged on instinct, but too late. Something cold and squishy gripped his throat.
He could feel the water-affinity energy.
'This is like Muhyun's Moon Shadow Cannon. Condensing qi into a rope.'
Weapons weren't allowed in the match. But qi-made weapons were fair game.
Kim Jun cursed himself for not being cautious enough and twisted his body. But he couldn't shake off the invisible hand.
"If you hadn't provoked me, you wouldn't be suffering like this. Tsk tsk. This is all on you."
Jo Nam-sik yanked, and Kim Jun was dragged forward, gripped by that unseen hand. When Jo Nam-sik lifted his arm, Kim Jun was hoisted into the air.
Kim Jun couldn't breathe.
Struggling did nothing. His throat hurt, but his whole body tingled with agony. The way out was simple: admit defeat.
"Give up. You'll never be a Raider. You're a Carrier. Just a Carrier."
Jo Nam-sik whispered with a sly smile.
In that moment, Kim Jun realized Jo Nam-sik was part of the Association's scheme too.
A draw didn't matter... because they wanted him disqualified. If a tie helped his chances even a little, Jo Nam-sik would've fought tooth and nail to win.
'I can't lose!'
The supervisor approached for a closer look, ready to stop the match if it got too dangerous. Kim Jun glared at him. The message was clear: don't stop it.
"You wanna die here? Give up."
Jo Nam-sik's voice... sounded distant, faint.
His vision blurred. His eyes rolled back, whites expanding.
He remembered the first time riding a roller coaster with his dad. Eating kimbap his mom made and getting scolded for it.
The funeral with no body. Weeping endlessly before the dungeon where his father vanished. The day he went to Uramata Guild to become a Carrier. Days running along the Han River. His first dungeon. Everything he'd been through flashed by like a sped-up film reel.
A foreign memory flooded in.
A heavy wooden sword gripped in tiny hands.
Days of swinging it rain or snow, wrapping torn palms in bandages.
The day he first mastered the ultimate technique of the Thunder Palm Method, Po-noe Strike, and felt pure joy.
Hours practicing Po-noe, imagining yellow butterflies dancing between his palms, tiny lightning sparking from their wings.
The moment he struck a tree with his glowing palm, light coiling around it and shattering it to splinters.
'This is... Yeon Chung-jae's memory!'
In that instant, the Thunder Heart Technique coiled in his dantian awoke. Inner energy raced at light speed through his shoulders and arms to his palm's center. Sparks crackled from his limp fingertips.
His hand instinctively seized the mana choking his throat.
Sparks burst from his palm, blasting light that shredded and scattered the invisible hand.
Jo Nam-sik's Manjosu was broken.
"Urk!"
Jo Nam-sik staggered, collapsed to his knees, then flopped flat. His limbs convulsed. Foam bubbled from his mouth; his eyes had rolled back long ago.
The aftermath of Po-noe still ravaged his heart, blood vessels, even the brain inside his skull.
The shock of Po-noe, born from Yeon Chung-jae's living memory, was overwhelming.
Suddenly, Kim Jun recalled Yi Yeong, the second shadow from Yeon Ga who kidnapped Choi Muhyun.
That core embedded in his palm, Pulllgordium spewing lightning—it was a skill strikingly like Po-noe.
The supervisor declared the match over and called the medics.
The doctor, with a nurse's help, shocked Jo Nam-sik's stopped heart. Only after doubling the voltage did it restart.
Jo Nam-sik was carted off on a stretcher.
Kim Jun, barely coming to his senses, managed to sit up. The examinees' gazes had completely changed. A nurse approached, disinfecting his charred palm and wrapping it in bandages.
Only then could Kim Jun piece together the dreamlike scene.
He could hardly believe it. A skill from Yeon Chung-jae's memory, unleashed through his own hand.
The supervisor approached.
"Can you stand?"
"...Yes."
Kim Jun pressed his trembling knees and rose.
"Kim Jun wins."
The supervisor declared.
A heavy silence filled the arena.
Kim Jun limped back to his spot. All he wanted now was rest.