The Observer

The original title was one of two things: it either appeared or it didn't. How refreshingly straightforward. The only titles my Title Collector couldn't see were ones the person wasn't wearing. Any title they had equipped, I could read without fail. But not with the Mohanya standing in front of me. A blatant ??? floated above her head. Since no title called "???" existed in the world, it meant Mohanya had somehow hidden her title. And she'd done it in a way that suggested she knew I was a Title Collector.

"Who the hell are you?"

"I already told you. Mohanya is Mohanya, nya."

"Mohanya..."

No matter how I looked at her, she seemed like a complete lunatic, but that ??? hovering over her head was no joke. Her tone felt a bit mocking, but that was apparently just how the character Mohanya was, so I let it slide. She seemed more friendly than hostile, and she was offering to teach me a technique for finding people. Might as well trust her for now. My heart was racing, but panicking wouldn't make finding anyone any easier.

"Alright. Then please teach me."

"Meow meow meow! Good, nya. I'd love to tell you everything I know, but everything has its proper order. So today, I'll only teach you this one thing, nya."

"Today...?"

The word "today" sounded like she was implying we'd meet again later. I really didn't want to run into this crazy person often. Whatever she was about to teach me, just being around her was already draining the life out of me.

"Okay, pay attention, nya. From now on, focus on whatever I'm about to do, nya."

Focus on what she was about to do? I stared hard. But I completely missed Mohanya's movement. The next thing I knew, my vision was filled with the sky and my body was sprawled on the ground.

"What—what the? How are you so fast?"

"Meow meow meow. That was only one percent of Mohanya's top speed, nya. That's how weak you are, nya."

I really was weak, sure. But I wasn't weak enough to lose to normal people. Mohanya definitely wasn't an ordinary person.

"If you keep missing movements like that, what are you going to do, nya? You'll die pathetically, nya."

Still, through that brief exchange with Mohanya, I'd learned one crucial fact.

The Fighting Dog's ability to "grow stronger the more you fight" didn't require winning. Whether I won or lost, simply fighting made me stronger in real time. That meant even if I couldn't read Mohanya's movements right now, it didn't matter. I'd be able to read them eventually.

"Alright. This time I won't get caught off guard. Come at me again."

"Just what I wanted, nya!"

Sure enough. Last time Mohanya had seemed to vanish completely. This time was different. I could see her blurry form approaching me. But was my body still not fast enough to react? Even though I could see the blurry shape, I couldn't respond at all and got knocked down again. The pitch-black sky filled my vision.

"You see a pitch-black sky? That's your future, nya! Pathetic mutt. With only that level of skill, you can't do anything, nya!"

Her tone was seriously annoying. Still, it wasn't bad. In fact, I was grateful. I didn't know why she was training me like this, but even though not much time had passed, I already felt noticeably stronger. Look, this time Mohanya's movement wasn't just a blurry shape—I could see it clearly.

And the moment I registered that I could see it, my vision suddenly expanded. It felt like I could now perceive things that simple looking alone couldn't catch. Every single strand of hair swaying, every flutter of clothing. And her chest... well, it was small so it didn't bounce. The comfort of no bouncing. Anyway, if I could see movements in this much detail, there was no way I couldn't block them.

Last time my combat power had risen a little across the board. This time, it felt like my vision had improved dramatically more than anything else. I didn't know why, but if it was going to be like this, I was all for it. This time, I cleanly dodged Mohanya's attack. A follow-up low kick came right after!

Whoosh! Unfortunately, the low kick missed. Seeing Mohanya disappear into a blurry shape again, it seemed her claim about using only one percent wasn't just bragging.

"Meow meow meow! ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Mohanya has taught you everything she was going to teach you today, nya."

"What exactly did you teach me?"

"How could a newborn puppy understand a tiger's intentions, nya? Mohanya will take her leave now, nya~"

And just like that, Mohanya vanished in an instant. Or maybe "vanished" wasn't the right word. She disappeared so suddenly it was like she'd never been there at all. It felt like I'd been dreaming. But the new title "The Observer" appearing in my title window proved it wasn't a dream.

"What the hell was that?"

They say an ignorant person with conviction is scary. But even scarier is a lunatic with power. I really hoped I wouldn't run into her again. Anyway, I didn't have time to waste. I should check out my newly acquired title.

Even with restrictions, it was undoubtedly an incredible ability. Without hesitation, I equipped the title.

There were restrictions, so I wasn't sure if I'd be able to find Siz. But since Mohanya had helped me specifically to find her, it probably wasn't impossible.

"Situation Observation. Target—Siz."

In that instant, my vision switched. I saw a woman with red hair held back by a headband. She looked exhausted, with dark circles under her eyes and a tired gaze. Overall, she seemed completely worn out. Was this woman Siz?

Siz was standing in front of a building labeled "College Girl Aroma Massage," surrounded by men. They weren't ordinary men—their overall vibe screamed delinquents. Those delinquent men spoke to Siz.

"Hey, miss. Why do you keep playing hard to get? You work here, right? That's why you were hanging around, wasn't it? How about giving us some of that massage too."

"I've told you several times, I don't... I was just standing here wondering if I should work here. I don't actually work here."

"You were wondering if you should work here? Perfect! Practice on us. We'll even give you an evaluation on how well you do."

"I have no reason to do anything for you people. I need to go home, so please get out of my way."

So that's what was going on. Eris had mentioned that Siz had started considering sex work. Logically, a place called "College Girl Aroma Massage" wasn't going to be a legitimate massage parlor. It was one hundred percent a brothel. Siz had been standing there debating whether she should or ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠shouldn't, and the longer she agonized, the more time had passed. That's when these weird bastards had latched onto her and started harassing her.

Passersby? What could they do. The atmosphere was too scary, so they probably just hurried on their way without helping. If I left her alone, she'd definitely get dragged off somewhere and raped. The one piece of good fortune was that this place wasn't too far from where I currently was.

I ended the observation and hurriedly checked the map on my phone before breaking into a run. As I ran, I could feel my body had become even lighter. There was no doubt that fighting Mohanya had significantly raised my combat power. I was already confident I could beat guys like that in a normal fight, but now there was no way I could lose.

With confident strides, I arrived in front of the massage parlor. What was the current situation?

"L-let go of me. If you don't, I'll call the police...!"

"Hah—police? Go ahead and call them! If they see a bitch like you, they'll get horny and join in. Then we're innocent."

No matter how stupid the police were, would they really join in? These bastards were definitely on drugs. Calling the police might solve this easily. But in this world, the law of the fist was closer than the law of the courts. I'd already decided not to rely on the police anymore. Bastards like these needed to get a proper taste of my fists.

"Let go of that woman."

I cracked my neck loudly as I approached. The men burst into laughter at the sight of me, as if they were amazed.

"Well well? Look who it is, Mr. Big Shot Gym Rat. Buddy, just keep walking. Don't mess with us and see something you shouldn't."

"Yeah, yeah. You think working out and fighting are the same thing?"

"Do you even know how many gym rats like you we've sent to the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hospital?"

Hahaha... It wasn't even funny, but they were giggling among themselves like it was the best joke ever. Did these guys fight with their mouths? In a world where fists were closer than the law, what the hell were they doing? Still, if they wanted to do trash talk, I wasn't about to lose.

"Who the hell are you guys? You part of the Esper Hunters or something?"

"No? Not really?"

"Then Carpe Diem?"

"Nope."

"Murim Alliance... I don't even need to ask, do I."

"What does that matter? You think we're like gangsters with solid backup? We've got nothing to fear. We live for today!"

"Then let's see you live for ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠today for real."

Crack! I threw a hook. No need to jab and test the waters with trash like this. I swung my fist with everything I had. The guy who looked like the leader of the pack... Ah, sorry. I didn't realize my strength had gotten this strong. I'd only meant to knock him out with a hit to the jaw, but not only did his jawbone shatter, his teeth flew out like corn kernels being stripped off the cob as he collapsed.

What should I call it? The situation was far more shocking than I'd expected.

"Kyaaaaaaa! It's a monster!"

Was it because their leader-looking guy went down from a one-punch knockout? The rest of them screamed like delicate maidens and ran away. Where did all that earlier arrogance go?

Even in the middle of this, the fact that my combat power went up again made me want to laugh. And because it was a victory rather than just experience, it rose modestly instead of slightly. Well, whatever. If I kept getting stronger like this, ripping out that bastard Choon-sik's tongue wouldn't be far off. But right now, I needed to focus on Siz.

"U-um... thank you. But who are you?"

Siz asked, blinking her exhausted eyes in a daze. Wait, was she really Siz? I should confirm that first.

"You're Siz, right?"

"Yes, I'm Siz Selenor..."

She even had the same last name as Eris—Selenor. No need for further confirmation. I changed my title to public and pointed above my head.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Woo Hyun-woo, who has become the Fighting Dog of Fantasia."

Upon hearing those words, Siz began to cry. From eyes that looked so dry from exhaustion that it seemed they couldn't produce even a single tear.