Jiu-Jitsu
After finishing my short communication with Alexander Valentine, I headed toward Kaien's office.
According to Scarlet, her office was located in the central management building that oversaw the security of this Sector 7 of Terminus Station.
*It’s only proper to express my gratitude for the help she gave me last time.*
Kaien’s office wasn’t as large or flashy as I’d expected, but it was neat and well-organized in a practical way.
The walls were filled with detailed maps of every sector on Terminus Station and several holographic screens displaying real-time surveillance footage that flickered busily.
“Kang Jinwoo? You’re here. Come on in. Kaien is away for a bit because of the job today.”
The soldier in uniform spoke to me as if he remembered my face—the same soldier who had handed me my mercenary ID card last time.
“Ah, I see. Will it be much longer? If it’s no trouble, I’d like to wait.”
“Hmm… It’s hard to say for sure, but it might take a while. If you’re willing to wait, come this way.”
“It’s fine. I’ll wait.”
Just as I was about to settle onto the sofa, the inner automatic door slid open with a soft hiss, and figures I hadn’t expected at all stepped inside.
“What?”
It was none other than Nyx and Detch.
“Kang Jinwoo? What the hell are you doing here?”
Nyx, who had spotted me first, widened her eyes in surprise and asked.
“That’s what I want to ask you.”
At my question, Nyx clamped her mouth shut, stared at me intently for a moment, then shrugged and answered bluntly.
“I ended up working under Kaien.”
“What? You? Under Kaien?”
“You sound like you have a problem with that?”
Nyx’s eyebrows furrowed sharply, and she strode straight toward me.
“W-why are you coming closer? Trying to knock someone out again?”
I instinctively took a step back, but she let out a short laugh and thrust her right hand toward me.
“Thanks. In so many ways.”
Her tone was blunt, yet sincere.
Before I could even shake her hand in reflex, Detch standing off to the side shouted at the top of his lungs.
“No way, hyung-nim! Saying thanks to this guy? That’s too much! If it weren’t for this guy, we wouldn’t have suffered so miserably at the hands of the Nesis people!”
Nyx reacted instantly, driving her elbow into Detch’s gut with a sharp *thud*.
“Guek—! Hyung, hyung…!”
“Shut up! If you hadn’t made such a mess of things in the first place, this job wouldn’t have landed on Kang Jinwoo’s desk!”
Detch screamed and collapsed to the floor on his knees in utter misery.
*How fitting. Just as expected.*
Detch was the same man who always picked the most awkward things to do, and now he had cut off Scarlet’s meal ticket. That irked me even more.
“What happened to the other mercenaries?”
“Half of them scattered off to other mercenary groups, and the other half said they were heading back home. …Well, since they were the ones who complained the most about me anyway, they didn’t want to stick around anymore.”
“So what about Detch? Why are you still with him?”
“I don’t know. He just said he’d follow me no matter what. Kaien didn’t seem to mind either.”
Nyx said that and kicked Detch’s ribs with the tip of her shoe while he lay there groaning on the floor.
“This stubborn pig… wonders why he keeps following me.”
“Huff, hehe… Hyung-nim, anywhere next to you is fine…”
*Is this guy just a pervert? His eyes look completely crazy.*
Looking at Detch’s flushed face, I felt genuine disgust.
His sanity was highly suspect, and something about him was clearly off.
“So? Kang Jinwoo, what are you really doing here? Did you have some kind of appointment with Kaien?”
“No, I came to formally thank you for the help last time.”
“Hmm… Is that so? I thought you were handling all that force yourself and got caught off guard. Lying so soon.”
Nyx snorted, but her expression wasn’t entirely displeased.
“Anyway, the fact that I’m still alive thanks to you is real. I have to repay you somehow. Otherwise, the taste will be too bitter.”
“What, are you going to pay me money? That’d be perfect for me.”
Credits had vanished in a flash just to buy parts, and if Scarlet asked for more additions, more would disappear.
Even though I’d taken a huge sum from Icarus, it was like pouring water into a leaky bucket.
“Money is…”
Nyx narrowed her eyes in embarrassment for a moment, trying to avoid the topic.
“Honestly, I don’t have anything decent right now. This body of mine… and a fighting skill that’s pretty decent, I guess.”
*This body of mine… a pretty decent fighting skill.*
I unconsciously scanned her arms and shoulders.
Scars of various sizes dotted her tough, battle-hardened muscles.
“Why are you staring so hard? It’s embarrassing.”
Nyx noticed my gaze and shot back.
“Ah, no. It’s just… your scars are very noticeable.”
I quickly pointed out the scars all over her body.
“Oh, this one?”
She casually rubbed the long scar on her forearm, shoulder, and ribs.
It looked grotesque at first glance, but somehow it suited her appearance, making it oddly natural.
“They’re all scars of glory.”
Nyx lightly clenched and released her fist and grinned.
“If you’re fine with it, I can teach you some of the techniques I know. How about it? You’d be at a disadvantage otherwise, right? Even the best pilot would be useless if thrown into hand-to-hand combat.”
“That’s true. Especially in this world.”
I had already seen her skill firsthand during the ambush last time, so I didn’t need to say anything.
“I’m happy about that. There’s still some time before Kaien arrives. Training with someone like you in real combat is rare.”
“Hah! You sure know how to sweet-talk.”
Nyx smiled satisfiedly, then jerked her chin toward Detch still writhing on the floor.
“Detch, either wait here quietly or follow me. I’ll decide for you.”
“Ehehe, of course I’m following hyung-nim! And hyung-nim, if things get dangerous, I can handle this guy for you, right? I’ll fix his manners for good!”
Detch had already stood up and was punching his own fists with renewed energy.
“Hmm, sparring partner? Not bad. Good.”
Nyx placed a hand on Detch’s shoulder and nodded.
“Detch is learning from me too. Even though he gets beaten every day, he says he likes the pain or something.”
*You’re a pervert who gets pleasure from being beaten… you pathetic excuse.*
The words almost slipped out, but I swallowed them.
We arrived at the spacious training room equipped with every kind of training equipment and safety mats.
“Let’s loosen up first. I want to settle the score from the ambush last time.”
Nyx stretched lightly and gave me a challenging smile.
“Enjoying yourself with a sneak attack and still acting so arrogant.”
“Hah! You don’t even know the basics of fighting? Your movements weren’t that bad either. Where’d you learn that?”
“Well, not bad. The terrain was a bit rough.”
In my original world, I had been forced into two years of grueling military service whether I wanted it or not.
The survival skills I had learned there were surprisingly useful.
Of course, I had also trained in full-contact martial arts during school and had competed in amateur tournaments a few times.
I didn’t know how much of that sense would remain after arriving in this world, but I wasn’t a complete beginner.
“Body loosened up? Ready to start?”
Nyx asked, lightly rotating her wrists and ankles.
She had already slipped into the open-finger gloves placed on one side of the room with practiced ease.
I put them on too, following her.
“Hyung-nim! I’ll be the fair referee!”
Detch suddenly appeared beside us, voice full of excitement, but Nyx didn’t even glance at him and waved him off to the corner.
“Shut up and just watch from there. I told you to follow if you wanted to.”
“Ne, yes! Hyung-nim fighting!”
“Kang Jinwoo, ready?”
“Whenever you are.”
We lightly touched gloves.
Almost the instant I took my fighting stance, she struck first.
Her left jab shot toward my face like a bullet, and I reflexively twisted my head to dodge just in time.
But before I could catch my breath, the following right straight caught the side of my head I hadn’t seen coming.
“Guek!”
My head rang from the dull impact.
I immediately dropped my stance and fired a full-power counter punch straight into her stomach.
*Boom!*
My fist definitely landed on her gut, but Nyx didn’t even grunt in pain—instead, she used the recoil to attempt an elbow strike.
*This woman really doesn’t hold back! Elbow shot is too much!*
I barely dodged.
“Not bad. You?”
A faint smile appeared at the corner of Nyx’s mouth.
“You… you’re going to catch a real person, huh!”
We traded blows fiercely several times.
My breathing grew ragged.
The advantage was clearly with Nyx, and I was barely holding on to her attacks.
“Not bad. You’re holding up better than I thought. Reminds me of back then.”
“Huff, huff… Thinking about military days again?”
“Don’t bring up the army.”
Her expression turned ice-cold for a moment, then she suddenly dropped her stance and tried to take me down with a tackle.
We lost balance together and hit the floor, and before I knew it I was caught in her dazzling jiu-jitsu techniques.
Nyx moved with fluid, water-like flexibility, bending my arm and pinning my body.
“Guek—!”
If this continued, my joints would snap or I’d pass out from lack of air.
I struggled wildly with all my strength to escape.
*Damn it! Does this monster really know jiu-jitsu too!*
The smell of sweat and her rough breathing came right to my ear.
Our bodies tangled, rolling across the floor as we desperately flailed our arms.
Instinctively, I grabbed at anything to break the suffocating hold.
*Crack!*
“Hyik?!”
Nyx’s body suddenly stiffened with a short cry.
It hadn’t been intentional, but my wild right hand had gripped her left breast perfectly.
The soft yet firm sensation beneath her thin tank top was transmitted with shocking clarity through my palm.
*Shit…!*
“You, you, you… I’ve never seen such a shameless guy! This pervert!”
Detch’s late cheer—or was it a scream?—echoed through the training room.
At that exact moment, Nyx’s technique binding me loosened.
She stood there for a moment without saying a word or moving, staring down at me blankly.
“I didn’t do it on purpose! It was a real accident! I was trying to get away and… somehow…”
I desperately tried to explain, my voice trembling like a goat’s.
Nyx didn’t respond.
She simply stared at me.
But I saw her black pupils slowly widen and tremble.
“O-okay, let’s stop for today… We’ll do it again next time…”
Just as I was about to speak.
“No.”
Nyx cut me off with an ice-cold voice.
“We finish it properly. Okay?”
A cold smile curved her lips.