The Birth of the Monster Legion, and the Revolution of 12-Year-Olds

After the relentless winter winds had passed, a warm March arrived at Haeseong Elementary School, cherry blossoms drifting down across the schoolyard.

A new semester had begun.

The name badges of Gang-cheol and the kids had changed as well. Now they were the sixth-graders at the school’s ‘Wang High’.

"Hey, Gang-cheol. We’re really sixth-graders now."

"Gross, disgusting. After all that training, I don’t even know how a year went by."

Last year. Under Ma Gang-cheol’s leadership, the Haeseong Elementary soccer club had completely transformed. The ragtag bunch of fifth-graders had endured ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠his hellish training and emerged like solid steel. But Gang-cheol was not satisfied. His target was victory in the National Superstars Tournament in August—the Hwarang Dae-gi.

"Uwaaaak!"

In the far corner of the Haeseong Elementary athletic field, near the water fountain, the kids finished morning training and lined up retching violently, ready to hurl their entire stomachs.

"S-save me… Mom…"

"I’m quitting soccer… This isn’t soccer!"

Lee Dong-hyuk was crawling on the ground, groaning in pain.

Only three days had passed since the new semester’s intensive training began, yet the kids were in a state worse than battle-weary veterans. No wonder—Ma Gang-cheol’s special sixth-grade training was nothing like ordinary soccer.

Morning: Interval Running (400m × 20 sets)

Afternoon: Weight Training (bodyweight squats, lunges, plank—repetitions without end)

Evening: Tactical Understanding (called “mental education,” but it was actually tactical training)

Time to kick the ball: zero.

It was an extreme regimen that tore apart cardiovascular and muscular endurance to the absolute limit, no different from a special-forces training camp.

"Rise."

The voice of the grim reaper echoed across the field.

In the center of the field stood Ma Gang-cheol, arms crossed, looking as fresh as if he had just woken up, not a single drop of sweat on his smooth, porcelain skin.

"Thirty seconds of rest remain. Next is circuit training."

"Hey! Ma Gang-cheol! You’re really out of your mind? You want to kill us all?"

Park Min-su whimpered and shouted. His thighs looked ready to burst; standing was already torture.

"You will not die."

Gang-cheol answered in a flat tone and checked the system window.

'As expected of growing kids—recovery is incredible.'

Gang-cheol smiled faintly. The cellular division speed of growing children was astonishing. The torn muscle fibers were knitting themselves back together visibly every day. Though they looked on the verge of death now, once they passed this critical point, their bodies would transform into engines, shifting to a higher level.

"You kids. The habit of leaving meat as a side dish at lunch yesterday—gone, right? And the habit of staying up late playing on your phones at night—also gone?"

"T-that…"

They had been so exhausted that they had eaten like they were drinking, then collapsed the moment they hit the bed.

"It is evidence that your lifestyle patterns are being corrected. The body does not lie. Now, gather up."

At that moment.

"Stop! Halt immediately!"

A sharp shout rang out from the entrance to the athletic field.

Six flashy-dressed parents came running toward them, bristling with anger. Behind them appeared Park Tae-su, the coach, looking utterly defeated, and the principal.

"Oh my, mothers! Please calm down…"

"Calm down? Our kids came home yesterday crawling on the floor and complaining of leg cramps! They couldn’t even sleep!"

Lee Dong-hyuk’s mother glared daggers at Gang-cheol, flames shooting from her eyes.

"You’re Ma Gang-cheol? What gives you the right to torture our precious sons like this? This is child abuse! I’m reporting you to the education office!"

"Yes! You call yourselves a soccer club yet you don’t even have them kicking the ball, just making them run until they break!"

"Cut that coach right now! Or we’ll transfer the kids to another school!"

The athletic field instantly turned into chaos. The kids, seeing their parents, finally relaxed and plopped down, starting to whine again.

"Mom… I’m dying from exhaustion…"

"I want to go home…"

Park Tae-su, the coach, wiped sweat from his forehead and shot Gang-cheol a desperate look. *Gang-cheol-ah, what do we do now?* But Gang-cheol didn’t move an inch. Instead, he looked down on the parents with a look of disdain.

"Mother."

Gang-cheol’s calm, low voice pierced through the commotion. The maturity beyond twelve years made the mothers flinch.

"If you want to ruin your precious son, take him home now. I won’t stop you."

"W-what? Ruin him?"

"You say he wants to become a soccer player. Dream of being a national team star like Son Heung-min, right?"

Gang-cheol pointed a finger at Lee Dong-hyuk.

"Dong-hyuk. He has real talent. Good ankle strength, excellent shooting instincts. But his stamina is trash. After just ten minutes in the second half, he’s already limping. In modern soccer, a non-active striker is basically just a spectator."

"B-but he’s still just a kid…"

"Exactly. They have to be built right from the start. Miss this window and he’ll spend his whole life playing as a second or third-tier player before retiring. If you then blame him for ‘not training because of Mom’ later, will you take responsibility?"

Gang-cheol’s fact-based barrage left the parents speechless. He was right. But emotionally, it was too harsh.

"And child abuse? Did I hit them? Did I curse at them? I simply applied the ‘Premium Youth Physical Program’ provided by the LK Group."

Gang-cheol naturally boasted about the conglomerate.

"LK…?"

"Yes. This training menu was personally reviewed by Team Leader Choi ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Hyeon-seok. It’s a training program with hundreds of billions in data. Other schools charge money and still can’t teach it—here it’s free. If you don’t like it, go ahead. There are waiting lists for the spots."

LK Group. Choi Hyeon-seok. Hundreds of billions.

The magical words hit the mothers’ ears like a slap. Their anger instantly transformed into suspicion: *Is our kid getting special treatment?*

"B-but the kids are suffering too much…"

At that moment, Lee Dong-hyuk suddenly staggered to his feet.

"Mom."

"Dong-hyuk! Okay, let’s go home. Mom will cook something delicious."

"No… I’m not going."

"What?"

Lee Dong-hyuk wiped his nose with his jersey sleeve and glared at Gang-cheol.

"I’m doing it. I’m doing this to the end."

"Dong-hyuk?"

Lee Dong-hyuk had realized it the night before when he ran up the hill behind the neighborhood. His breathing had been ragged. More than anything, the fact that Gang-cheol had called him “talented” had burned itself into his chest.

He wanted to be acknowledged by that useless guy. And he didn’t want to lose.

"Hey, Park Min-su. If you’re going home, go ahead. I’ll handle Gang-cheol’s ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠right arm myself."

"What? Don’t mess around! Who said they’re going? That spot is mine!"

Min-su also stood up with fire in his eyes. The atmosphere had reversed. The kids’ eyes burned with determination.

Gang-cheol gave a sly grin.

"You heard? The kids are ready to go."

The parents exchanged glances and slowly backed away.

"T-then… we’ll give our kids some medicine to eat, so be gentle with them…"

"Aigoo, our kids have backbone. Hehe."

The fuss was quickly and lightly suppressed. Gang-cheol gave Park Coach a signal.

"Coach. Change the afternoon training schedule."

"Change? You want to let them rest?"

"No."

Gang-cheol’s gaze was fixed on the yellow school bus entering the gate outside the schoolyard. On the side of the bus was clearly written [Cholsong Middle School Soccer Club].

"Real match test."

The Cholsong Middle School first-year team.

Even though they were first-years, they were physically different from elementary school kids. They were entering puberty—bones thickening, muscles just beginning to develop.

"Hey, Park Coach. Even if it’s a practice match, no way are we letting elementary kids play with middle schoolers. Our kids’ form will get ruined."

Cholsong Middle School’s coach was idly chewing gum.

"Haha, sorry. Our kids… they were too rough, so…"

Park Tae-su, the coach, laughed awkwardly.

The two teams lined up on the field. The bigger middle schoolers looked down at the Haeseong kids with smug laughter.

"Hey, little brats. Don’t cry."

"Our big brothers will go easy on you. If you get hurt, Mom will scold you, right?"

The Haeseong kids were completely terrified. The size difference was overwhelming.

At that moment, Gang-cheol slapped Park Min-su’s back.

"Don’t be scared."

"Hey… look at those thick legs. If we clash, we’ll fly off like leaves."

"We won’t fly."

Gang-cheol declared firmly.

"The sweat you’ve spilled in the last three days is telling the truth. And don’t forget the tactics?"

"Huh? What?"

"Don’t think. Just let your body remember what it was taught. Tear them apart."

Pierce—!

The referee’s whistle signaled the start of the match.

The Cholsong team kicked off. A middle school striker dribbled leisurely toward the Haeseong defense.

"Here we go~"

Just as he was about to show off his personal flair.

Tadadak—!

Two black shadows shot forward at blinding speed. Two Haeseong midfielders. In the past they would have hung back, but not now. Their bodies moved faster than their thoughts.

'We have to tackle them. If we don’t, Gang-cheol will kill us!'

"Huh? What the—?"

The middle schooler panicked and tried to push them with his body. A “shoulder battle” using the weight difference. Of course he thought the elementary kid would fly back.

Klang!

"Kyaa!"

The scream came from the middle schooler.

The Haeseong kids didn’t budge. In fact, they used their low center of gravity ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to pierce the opponent’s abs and disrupt their balance. The squats and core training they had repeated hundreds of times every day finally paid off.

[System Effect Activated: 'Root of the Lower Body' (E)]

"What? Why aren’t they pushing back?"

Taking the gap created by the staggering middle schooler, the ball was snatched away.

"Counterattack!"

Gang-cheol shouted.

Park Min-su, who had received the ball, sent a long forward pass. Lee Dong-hyuk was there waiting.

"Run!"

Lee Dong-hyuk started sprinting. A middle school defender chased him. The leg length was longer on the defender’s side. But the rotation speed (RPM) was different.

Tadadadada!

Lee Dong-hyuk’s legs blurred as they spun at a speed that seemed invisible. His cardiorespiratory stamina, forged like a shuttle run, overheated his engine.

'H-huh… I’m… faster?'

Lee Dong-hyuk felt it. Normally his lungs would have burned, but now his heart was pumping like a machine. It felt like he had motors attached to his legs. In the blink of an eye he bypassed the defender and created a one-on-one chance against the goalkeeper.

"This… is possible?"

Klang!

A powerful shot tore through the net.

[ 1 : 0 ]

Absolute silence. The Cholsong coach dropped the gum he had been chewing. The mothers watching from the stands couldn’t close their mouths.

"Waaaaaaaah!"

The Haeseong kids cheered and hugged each other tightly.

It hadn’t been luck. The match remained one-sided after that. The Cholsong team played technical, precise passing, but the Haeseong kids never tired. They kept pressing like zombies, clashing, and charging forward. In the second half, the middle schoolers were limping and walking off the field, but the Haeseong kids were still running at full speed as if it were only the first five minutes.

"Hah… hah… Hey, what did those little brats eat? Why aren’t they tired?"

"Insane dogs…"

In the end, the match ended 3-0 in Haeseong’s victory.

After the game, the kids stared at their own legs in disbelief. The muscle soreness remained, but the pain no longer felt like suffering—it felt like a badge of honor.

Gang-cheol approached the kids.

"How was it? Did it feel good?"

"Hey… Ma Gang-cheol…"

Lee Dong-hyuk grabbed Gang-cheol’s shoulder, eyes blazing with excitement.

"I flew! Did you see? That shoulder clash? It was nothing! Just a light touch and I was flying!"

"Because you had stamina left, your peripheral vision opened up. It looked like the ball had stopped."

The kids’ eyes had changed 180 degrees. The defeat complex and weakness had vanished, replaced by a flame of self-confidence.

"Now do you get it? Technique is only used when stamina supports it."

Gang-cheol smiled and said.

"This is just the beginning. The Hwarang Dae-gi? The championship cup is already in our grasp. We’re aiming higher."

"Waaaaaaaah!"

The kids charged at Gang-cheol as if wanting to give him a piggyback.

Park Tae-su, the coach, watching the scene from afar, muttered blankly.

"He raised a monster… No, a monster legion."

A pleasant message floated up in Gang-cheol’s system window.

'Good. The chassis is complete.'

Gang-cheol clenched his fist.

Now it was time to place the high-performance engine of tactics from the previous life onto this sturdy body.

The Hwarang Dae-gi. The LK Cup.

Wait. I will show you just how terrifying Korean elementary school kids can be.