How to Win Against a Gun-Wielding Opponent
The neon signs flickered and glowed along the nighttime streets. Drunks staggered through the alleys, while beggars sprawled across the pavement, either sleeping or begging for spare change. The women outside the bars crooked their fingers, promising a good time, and the intoxicated men followed those gestures as if pulled by invisible strings. Second round, third round. Drink until your nose goes crooked. Drink until you die. In a street soaked with that kind of cheap, hollow pleasure, I was heading toward Phone Cash.
To be honest, I was worried. Not even a full day had passed, so I still couldn’t use Situation Observation. And with my combat power sitting at a pathetic 390, it wasn’t clear whether I could actually take down the Banana Man by myself. At this point I would’ve gladly borrowed a cat’s paw if it were on offer.
“Ant-nyang-nyang~”
Was it my imagination? I thought I heard a strange cat’s cry slipping out from between the black trash bags. Still, it’s not like I could actually borrow a cat’s paw. Those soft little feet wouldn’t help much in a fight.
“Nya~ Doggy walking over there! Stop right there, nyang!”
Ha. I clenched my teeth and tried to pretend I hadn’t heard, but the Mohanya cosplay lunatic popped out anyway. From between the trash bags, of course.
“Um… excuse me, why exactly are you coming out of there?”
“Ant-nyang-nyang! Mohanya is a stray cat, so it’s not strange no matter where I appear, nyang!”
“A stray cat? Want me to mix some Tylenol into Churu and feed it to you?”
“Nyang-nyang~ Mohanya isn’t a real cat, so that won’t kill me, nyang~ Or are you the type of person who feeds stray cats stuff like that, doggy?”
“I don’t.”
I like cute things. I like Eris because she’s cute, and I like Mohanya’s character because it’s cute. Not the lunatic standing in front of me. So naturally I like cats too. Why the hell would I feed them Tylenol?
“I’m just saying that because running into you is exhausting. I was wondering if there’s any way to kill you.”
“Ant-nyang-nyang! Even if the Murim Alliance Leader came, he couldn’t kill Mohanya, nyang.”
Was she serious? And stop sneaking closer while you talk. You were literally inside a trash bag—you should be filthy. Strangely, though, she didn’t smell bad at all. If anything, she gave off a sweet cherry scent. How the hell did she manage that? Did those trash bags have some kind of cherry diffuser hidden inside?
“So? What is it this time? You always show up when I’m in a hurry.”
“Ah? It’s nothing special, nyang. I was hiding to see how much stronger you’ve become, nyang!”
I had gotten stronger. Whether it was thanks to Mohanya or not, the fact remained.
“Even so, I still can’t beat you. I’ve only gotten about three times stronger than before.”
“Nyang? Three times, squared, becomes enormous, nyang. Right now it’s three times! Later another three times makes nine times! Then another three times makes twenty-seven times, nyang? It’s amazing, nyang.”
What was she even trying to say? It’s still only three times right now. And can you even calculate combat power like that?
“Still, knowing your own limits is admirable, nyang. I’ll praise you for that much, nyang. Doggy is currently the weakest of the weak, nyang!”
That pissed me off. We were close enough, so maybe I could land at least one hit. Without even taking a proper stance, I threw a quick jab. It happened so fast she shouldn’t have been able to dodge it.
But why was my fist slicing through empty air?
COMBAT POWER: 10,000
“Ant-nyang-nyang! Did you think that slow punch would actually land, nyang?”
Why the hell was Mohanya hugging me from behind? She was disgustingly fast. Might as well check her combat power while I had the chance. It probably wouldn’t show up as question marks like the titles did.
Fuck. She really was on another level.
“Nya~ Doggy’s body is so firm and attractive, nyang~ For such a pathetic doggy, you have a surprisingly good body, nyang♥”
You like my firm body? Your soft chest pressing against my back is extremely annoying, you know. I thought they were small, but they feel bigger than expected. Not that I care.
“Anyway, I don’t have time for this. Let me go.”
“That won’t do, nyang! Mohanya can’t send the doggy she loves straight into danger, now can she?”
“Danger? Do you even know how strong those Banana Men are?”
“How would Mohanya know something like that? There is no existence in this world stronger than Mohanya, nyang! It’s only natural not to pay attention to weaklings, isn’t it?”
“Then why are you paying attention to me?”
“Because Mohanya likes doggy, nyang~”
She was a mystery from head to toe.
“So the truth is, I came today to give my favorite doggy a lesson, nyang.”
She’s a lunatic and mysterious on top of that, which makes her exhausting, but if she’s willing to teach me something, I should accept it gratefully.
“Then what are you going to teach me?”
“Does doggy know the saying my granddaughter mentioned—know the enemy and know yourself, and you will win every battle, nyang?”
“It was grandson, not granddaughter. If you’re going to teach, at least get the story right.”
“Ding ding ding! Wrong, nyang. As expected of doggy, completely wrong, nyang.”
“What was wrong?”
“The grandson said if you know the enemy and know yourself, you will never be in danger even after a hundred battles, nyang! It means that if you understand both, you won’t be in peril no matter how many times you fight, nyang.”
“Isn’t that the same thing?”
“It’s different, nyang! The granddaughter said if you know the enemy and know yourself, you will win every single battle, nyang! In this world where losing might mean death, it’s a maxim you must engrave deep in your heart, nyang.”
Apparently this world has a granddaughter instead of a grandson. This is seriously fucked up.
“In that sense, today Mohanya is going to teach doggy one more observation ability, nyang. By the way, I saw you fighting with a chair earlier. It was very impressive, nyang.”
She saw that? How? That’s creepy as hell.
“Also, measuring combat power is something only the observing doggy can do, nyang. Normal people can’t, nyang. It’s all thanks to Mohanya, so you should be grateful, nyang!”
She even knew about the combat power measurement. At this point, whether it was Carpe Diem or the Beggars’ Sect, they were all pathetic in front of Mohanya’s information network.
“Nyang-nyang! In that sense, it’s practical training time again, nyang.”
Mohanya suddenly pulled a pistol from her pocket and tossed it to me.
What the fuck. The only gun I’d ever fired in my life was the K-2 when I was unfairly dragged into the military. I’d never even held a pistol before.
“If you can hit me even once with that gun, it’s a great victory, nyang.”
“Are you insane? Shooting a gun in the middle of the red-light district?”
“Don’t worry, nyang. Mohanya has a place that suits only Mohanya, nyang. It’s as stealthy as a cat’s footsteps, nyang! So don’t worry, nyang.”
No way. Thinking it was nonsense, I looked around. The street had definitely been crowded with people moments ago, but now there wasn’t a single soul. Just me and Mohanya in this wide open space. Impossible. It was truly impossible, yet here we were.
“Now, if you don’t concentrate you can’t win, nyang. Focus, nyang!”
It was truly strange. Even though it was my first time using a pistol, it somehow felt like I had used this exact gun before. Loading it was as simple as pulling back the slide, just like the BB gun I played with as a kid. Flip the safety to fire and I could keep shooting until the magazine was empty. Ten rounds in the mag. How the hell did I know any of this?
The moment I gripped the gun, information flooded into my head. Was this the “know yourself” part of “know yourself and know your enemy”? No message window appeared saying I’d gained an ability, though.
It had doubled just from picking up the gun. Not bad.
“Go on, try to hit me, nyang!”
Mohanya moved at a speed I could actually follow. It was my first time shooting a pistol, but it didn’t seem that difficult. I calmly took aim, finger tightening on the trigger—only for Mohanya to hurl a black trash bag at me. It was thrown perfectly to block my line of sight.
“You son of a—”
As I cursed and tried to knock the bag aside, Mohanya burst out from underneath it and kicked upward.
Thwack!
“Argh!”
Fuck, that hurt like hell. Her shoe slammed straight into my jaw, launching me into the air. I hit the ground hard, too dazed to even attempt a proper fall. It felt like my spine had shattered.
You have experienced combat. Your combat power has increased slightly.
“Stop whining and get up, nyang. I’ll give you one more chance, nyang!”
Getting up was a pain in the ass. Still, I somehow managed to stand. But how the hell had she kicked like that while wearing such a tight skirt? Was she insane?
“You still haven’t achieved knowing yourself and knowing your enemy, nyang. Quickly observe Mohanya closely, nyang! While thinking of me as your lovely girlfriend, nyang!”
As if I’d ever think of you as my girlfriend. Still, staring hard at Mohanya made her next move oddly predictable. She was probably planning to hide behind the utility pole to dodge my shot.
“Then let’s begin again, nyang!”
Mohanya instantly created distance and slipped behind the pole. Just as I predicted, she would grab the black trash bag and throw it next. Since she’d come hidden behind it anyway, I could just shoot the bag itself.
And exactly as I predicted, Mohanya threw the trash bag.
Bang!
This time I fired without hesitation, putting a round straight into the bag.
But why did I suddenly feel a presence behind me?
“Nya-nya-nya-nyang!”
“Whoa!”
I dropped to my knees. The reason was simple—Mohanya had come up behind me and jabbed the back of my knee with her own. This was the kind of prank little kids pull, damn it.
You have experienced combat. Your combat power has increased slightly.
“Doggy lost again this time, nyang! Do you know why?”
“What is it?”
“It’s because you didn’t take into account that you’re far weaker than Mohanya, nyang! Failure to know yourself and your enemy, nyang!”
This is seriously pissing me off.
“Still, you did well, nyang. Didn’t Mohanya teach you everything? I showed you how to use the environment to win against an opponent with a gun, and I taught you how to observe better, nyang. You should have more than enough to win now, nyang!”
So that’s why she gave me the gun?
“Since doggy also fought well with a chair, I think you’ll be fine, nyang. You really are a fighting genius, nyang!”
“R-really?”
“And this gun is mine, so I’ll be taking it back, nyang.”
Mohanya snatched the pistol out of my hand.
“Then today’s lesson is over, nyang! See you next time, nyang~ Bye-bye, nyang~”
Mohanya waved and vanished. When I blinked, the people had returned to the streets. It felt like waking from a dream. What the hell was that?
I couldn’t understand it at all, but an incredible reward was waiting for me.
Situation Observation
Can now be used twice per day.
Action Observation
During combat, predicts the opponent's next action and displays it as a message. Unfamiliar actions will include detailed explanations, but do you really have time to read them? If you do, go ahead!
Combat is fast. It changes in real time. Unfamiliar actions probably refer to things like the strange stance Bandalgom showed before. You definitely won't have the luxury of examining them closely. Maybe once your combat power rises you'll be able to manage it.
The biggest gain was being able to use Situation Observation twice a day. Since I’d already confirmed the mage researcher’s name and face with Siz before leaving, there shouldn’t be any restrictions.
“Situation Observation, target—Yu Jin-ri.”
A place with a completely different atmosphere from the red-light district. A dark basement. A man grinning wickedly. Several other men surrounding something. Banana-shaped badges pinned to their chests. And a woman with both wrists bound behind her back with duct tape, trembling violently.
The grinning man approached her and spoke.
“If you borrowed money, shouldn’t you pay it back? Hm?”
That’s something you should do first, you hypocritical bastard.