The Truth of the Matter
Ralph, fully recovered from the flames, charged at Won-goo.
For a man that size, his speed was almost impossible to believe. And naturally, the power behind it was monstrous.
Won-goo knew this type of survivor all too well. The kind that worshipped nothing but raw strength—reckless, lacking anything resembling humanity, and precisely because of that, the kind who made enemies everywhere they went. On the flip side, they committed to things more boldly than anyone else, which meant they grew fast.
In the early days of the apocalypse, this type had been an absolute headache. There was a very good chance they'd already stockpiled a considerable fortune in Coins.
The Ralph standing in front of him now certainly looked the part. He wouldn't have been out of place standing beside the Named survivors Won-goo had worked with recently—and that was with Ralph holding back as much as possible. With that level of regeneration, his reserves were likely far deeper.
On top of that, he had companions of considerable skill. The fact that the fight was still ongoing despite Ralph's side being outnumbered was proof enough.
How the battle would end, no one could know until it did—but the simple fact that it was dragging on said everything about their ability.
Sde's skill in particular stood out. He was single-handedly holding back both Lee Hyun-sung and Suwon.
THWACK!
Won-goo and Ralph collided. Ralph had charged in on pure instinct, then deliberately split the rhythm mid-charge to scramble Won-goo's reactions—an unexpected strike.
Ralph had feasted on that trick plenty of times before. It worked on most people, and when it worked, the fight was over. His fists had settled most monsters in a single blow, after all.
"You blocked that? Full of tricks, aren't you."
Ralph grinned. His clothes had burned away to almost nothing, leaving him nearly naked, but he didn't care in the slightest.
"Your strength is off the charts. Your Gift's regeneration-type, isn't it? How are you this strong?"
"Good instincts. One exchange and you've already figured out where you stand."
"You're a patient due for surgery, and you're babbling about rankings?"
"Cute little act you've got going. How's the blocking feel? One clean hit and you're dead, right?"
"Who said I blocked? I attacked."
Ralph believed Won-goo had raised his hammer to block the fist. Won-goo, on the other hand, believed he'd smashed his warhammer into Ralph's fist.
Same exchange, two entirely different readings of it.
BANG!
Ralph came at him again—faster and more aggressive than before. The reason was simple: he was now certain the man's attacks couldn't hurt him.
Regeneration bought with Coins wasn't infinite. Like stamina, push the ability too hard and there always came a moment when it degraded drastically. That was why Ralph had been wary of the gun.
A gun that spewed flame—he'd never even heard of such an item, and taking another hit from it could be dangerous. But the moment they clashed again, he could read it in Won-goo's reactions.
The flame power was spent. Whether it needed recharging or was single-use, he couldn't tell—but the fact that it couldn't be used right now was all that mattered to him. Until it came back, he could subdue this man whenever he pleased.
Won-goo, conversely, had no intention of using it again even if he could.
The flame ability was charge-based; once fired, he'd have to wait at least a week before it was ready again. Though since the flame gun derived from his special Gift, he could of course force another use—at the cost of Coins.
And Won-goo judged that he wasn't at the stage where spending Coins was necessary yet.
Like Ralph, he'd already broken his opponent down in record time. Regeneration powerful enough to recover instantly from full-body burns. Strength to match that frame. Serviceable hand-to-hand skill.
Even if the fighting technique fell a little short, it wouldn't have mattered. With that monstrous durability and raw power, simply barreling forward solved most problems. At this stage of the apocalypse, Ralph was a nightmare to just about any other survivor.
But not to Won-goo.
Dangerous, yes. Insurmountable, no. Won-goo had already beaten plenty of survivors of this exact type with a single warhammer.
Sang-je, who'd worked under Poke, had been cut from similar cloth. Miles below Ralph's current level, but that didn't matter. Won-goo had the warhammer.
Land enough hits, and even Ralph would have his moment of weakness. Then he could win.
Won-goo's real worry was Ralph charging off into another fight and hurting his people. If it went beyond hurting them—if he took one hostage—things could get very messy indeed. So as long as Ralph's eyes stayed on him, that was a blessing.
Besides, the rest of the crew was holding their opponents in check admirably. Stall long enough, and they win. That was Won-goo's thinking.
The fight ran on for about three minutes.
Ralph's attacks grew bolder, and Won-goo dodged each one by a hair before counterattacking—with the warhammer.
This was possible because Won-goo's hand-to-hand ability was in a league far above Ralph's. And on top of that, he'd reinforced his stats before entering the dungeon. Without that, no way he could have slipped the man's attacks this cleanly.
From the outside, the battle looked razor-thin. Won-goo barely holding on, Ralph appearing ready to end it at any moment. That was why the crew's mood was far from good.
Won-goo, meanwhile, was landing the warhammer on his opponent again and again.
Turnon's Warhammer was an item so valuable it defied conversion. A hidden piece that the current grading system couldn't even classify. It didn't come with flashy, easy-to-read options, but there was nothing cheap tucked inside it either.
There was a reason an ordinary-looking crowbar-shaped warhammer had been the Resistance's final card. In particular, the option that made a target more vulnerable with every repeated strike was one of the powers of Musang—and in a situation like this one, it shone brightest.
Vmmm! Whish!
Suwon timed it perfectly and unleashed his claw ability. An attack aimed at Sde.
But Sde backflipped out of the way, and even mid-dodge, he didn't forget to raise his saw to guard his vitals.
Watching that, something surfaced in Suwon's memory.
"I—I reme, remember!"
"The hell? You were a psycho this whole time?"
When Sde sneered at Suwon, Lee Hyun-sung stepped forward with a hardened expression.
"H-his movements are s-similar to Bat's!"
"Bat? Baaat?"
The word Bat made Sde react instantly. And everyone else heard it too.
"Right. I remember now. The little bastard who bawled his eyes out begging us to spare him. Yang Jun-sik, wasn't it?"
"The youngest……."
"He was the youngest here?"
Won-goo welcomed Ralph's reaction. It was as good as adding another weapon to his arsenal.
"Sde, hold!"
Ralph cut off his attack at once.
"It was just getting fun. Why stop?"
"You can't beat me. That fire—magic or item, I don't know which, but it didn't kill me either."
"Chiming in out of nowhere. That Yang Jun-sik fella must be your baby brother, huh?"
For an instant, Ralph's face stiffened, ever so slightly.
Figures.
"Dying to know, aren't you? Yang Jun-sik. Is he dead? Or alive?"
"He's alive. Obviously."
"And if he's not?"
"Then everyone dies."
"Then I guess my answer is he's alive?"
"You fucking piece of shit. Give me a straight answer. What happened to Jun-sik?!"
"He's alive."
"Then we settle this head-on."
"Keh-heh-heh."
Laughter burst out of Won-goo.
"What a remarkably simple head you've got. Why settle it head-on when you're so sure you'll win?"
"Because if I can't hold back and kill you, we lose track of the kid. So this is a good deal for you, no questions asked. You lose, you don't die. All you have to do is tell me where the kid is. But if Jun-sik is already dead—then I'll show you hell. Your friends, all of them……."
"Spare me. You think anyone waltzed into this line of work without knowing what happens when they lose? So, if I win, you spare me? In this situation? It's so absurd I'm actually starting to enjoy it."
Ralph glanced back at his companions. He gave a few nods, and they dragged the Yang sisters forward.
"I'm returning them. If by some miracle you win, do whatever you like. Getting cold feet?"
"Ha…… Now you've gone and given me a competitive streak. Give me one minute. Time-out."
Ralph nodded.
The crew swiftly gathered around Won-goo.
"Director Gong, is this something we can accept?"
"I can beat him, so don't worry. What worries me isn't him—it's that Sde bastard. He's hiding something, I can feel it. Something's off about him, so you old hands stick right next to Hyeji. Got it?"
"That will suffice?"
"That's plenty. I'll handle the rest. Ttugi."
"Yes, Hyeong-nim!"
"Don't worry. Have any of you ever seen me get cocky?"
"That is correct, Hyeong-nim."
"Huh? Say I get cocky one more time?"
"N-no, sir! That is not what I meant—"
"Kidding, kid. Everyone hold position. These bastards aren't the type to honor a deal. And feel free to kill them—just leave the heads intact."
"Why the heads, though?"
"Look at them. Those bastards have got to be carrying monster bounties. That Ralph bastard especially. Him for sure."
"Yes, sir."
The crew answered in unison, short and sharp.
"Here we go. Judging by the atmosphere, those bastards have already cleared the whole dungeon. All we have to do is slip past them and take the path they've opened up. Nothing to it."
"Di-Director, will you be, be all right?"
"You're worried about me? Suwon?"
"That's no ordinary regeneration, sir. I've never seen an ability like that. Recovering from fire like that……"
Jo Mu-sa chimed in. The crew always trusted Won-goo, but this time they couldn't help worrying.
"Trust me. I've already priced him up. That bastard can't beat me."
Ralph and Won-goo faced each other at a reasonable distance.
"Don't play the thug. Just accept the result."
Ralph said.
"You took the words right out of my mouth. Ask around—whose word carries more weight. Come at me."
THUD.
Ralph's face contorted into a savage scowl as he flexed, and his body began to swell. Veins bulged across his skin, and he took on the look of a muscleman pumped to bursting after a savage workout.
"Gear Second or whatever the hell? What's with the freak show?"
Ralph didn't answer. He simply closed the distance to Won-goo in a single burst—faster and more powerful than before.
CRASH!
In an instant, Won-goo was driven into a corner. Ralph's fist split the wall with a massive crack.
That wasn't a punch; it might as well have been a bludgeon.
His Gift wasn't regeneration? Then……
Won-goo's approach didn't change. He'd already been through Ralph once, so even with enhanced physical abilities, nothing gave him real trouble.
The type that genuinely threatened Won-goo were survivors with special, unpredictable abilities like Yeom-gwi. Pure enhancement-types with nothing but high physical stats were the perfect prey.
Was there an item like that? Did he dose himself with something?
It was a world where all manner of stress-relieving consumables flourished, and drugs that temporarily boosted physical ability weren't unheard of. But an enhancement on the level Ralph had just displayed would cost a fortune.
Won-goo stood his ground against Ralph by a hair's breadth, working his counters through the warhammer.
Counters was generous—it was closer to say he was deflecting Ralph's attacks with the hammer—but it hardly mattered.
Because unknown to anyone, Ralph was growing weaker with every exchange.
PTOO!
A crack opened in the pitched battle. After several exchanges with nothing to show for it, Ralph spat in Won-goo's face.
Won-goo dodged that too, tilting his head sharply to the side.
"You're the one who said don't play the thug……"
Ralph didn't miss the opening. He drove his fist deep into Won-goo's abdomen.
For a moment, Won-goo's body left the ground, rolled several times, and sprawled flat on his back.
Seeing it, Sde jumped up immediately.
"It's over! It's over! Told you!"
Ralph snorted a laugh and roughly ruffled the hair of Sde, who'd come scurrying close.
The expressions on Won-goo's crew had gone stone-hard.
S PROPS HIMSELF UP!
But off in the distance, the sprawled-out Won-goo sprang to his feet in one motion.
"Your punch's got real weight. I suppose I can call you Ralph and mean it."
Ralph and Sde both froze in shock. Their companions behind them were no different. Sde looked to Ralph's eyes.
"That landed clean."
"But……"
"No idea."
"True. It hit him square. Who knew he'd pull something that dirty from there? But didn't I tell you? When it comes to trading blows, I've never lost. Come on, then."
"……"
"What are you waiting for? I'm telling you I'm confident in a slugfest."
Won-goo taunted, swaying on his feet. Ralph lunged at him like a beast.