Second Ranking Match # 2
Second Ranking Match # 2
When I checked my status window, I saw my stats had gone up a bit. And I'd earned some coins too. Let's keep the coins for now. After that, I went to sleep.
ㅡRrring.
"Shit."
Is it morning already?
When I reached to silence the alarm, it was a call from Si-hoo. What the hell? He's calling me in the morning when I'm not even late?
"Yo. Si-hoo."
"Geun-cheol! Get up, quick! It's chaos outside!"
"Chaos?"
ㅡSwoosh!
I was already moving.
"Yeah! I'll get ready and head out!"
I dashed into the bathroom, brushed my teeth while checking my phone. A few news alerts had popped up—something had definitely gone down...! What the hell is going on?!
[Mass Monster Outbreak!]
A mass monster outbreak!
"Khaaah!"
I washed up fast, threw on my uniform, and grabbed my gear. When I opened the door, Si-hoo was waiting.
"Geun-cheol! Quick, the TV! Turn on the news!"
"Right!"
I thought we were heading out—news?
I immediately turned on the TV and checked.
[This is Gangnam. As you can see, it's hard to tell if this is Korea or another world—small monsters the size of chickens are flying around everywhere.]
[This is Bundang. The situation here is also grim—all kinds of otherworldly creatures are clinging to building exteriors...]
"This is insane."
I cursed reflexively.
Small monsters stuck to buildings like pests that had multiplied out of control.
"Apparently outside is all like that! A weird gate must have opened up suddenly at dawn!"
"Does it usually get that bad?"
"I don't know."
Si-hoo shook his head like he really didn't know.
"Anyway, let's hurry outside! Si-hoo, you've got your gear, right?"
"Yeah!"
I left the dorm with Si-hoo right away. Instead of heading to the academy, we went outside the main gate to check the neighborhood.
"Whoa."
No kidding.
Our neighborhood was a total shitshow too.
"Krrrk."
"Screee!"
"Slither slither."
Giant bugs... no. Otherworldly creatures the size of large dogs were flying around everywhere, and something like larvae were stuck to building exteriors, crawling and spraying slime.
ㅡSplat.
The road was already littered with the crushed, mangled corpses of small monsters.
"Geun-cheol. These are all otherworldly creatures below F-rank."
"Ah. Yeah, I figured as much."
Unranked otherworldly species. These bastards are basically the same as monsters, but they're not classified because they're not dangerous. They're from another world, but if you really break it down, they're more like pests or wild animals than monsters.
"Hey! Heeey!"
"Dieee!"
"Hahaha!"
As if proving their harmlessness, grade-schoolers with metal pipes were beating the shit out of some larvae-like creatures over there.
"Whoaaaa!"
"Look at this little bastard!"
Middle schoolers had made flamethrowers with lighters and spray cans, torching some fly-like otherworldly creatures.
"This is the end times, all right. Quick, Si-hoo! Let's disperse the civilians!"
No time to stand around gawking. According to the manual, if civilians are making contact with monsters or otherworldly creatures, we're supposed to go and take control.
I'm no cop, but I'm a superhuman cadet. Naturally, I've got the authority.
"We should. Even if they're unranked, this isn't good. Geun-cheol, recite the manual for me."
"Civilian control manual. If civilians are playing near an otherworldly creature, drive them off by making loud noises. What is this, some boar-chasing protocol?"
"Boars? They've been extinct in the wild for a while now, haven't they?"
"What?!"
They are?!
Anyway, let's get this control going first.
"Citizens! Get back right now! Those things shoot poison, poison! I know for a fact they do!"
"Poison?! Kyaaah!"
"Uwaaah!"
"Mommy! Mommeeeeee! Save me!!"
"Aaaaaahh!"
With a bit of a fright, the citizens who had just been messing with the otherworldly creatures for fun fell into a panic and fled screaming.
"That was easy."
"Not the time to be impressed, Geun-cheol. Let's kill every one we see and go. If we don't hurry, we'll be late."
"Got it!"
ㅡSschhk!
I immediately drew my monsterkin sword.
"I get to test this thing out today... Heeyah!"
I kicked off the ground and charged toward a utility pole. They really were bugs the size of roosters. I plunged my sword in without hesitation.
ㅡShluk!
A squelchy, revolting liquid burst out.
[You obtained a coin: 1]
These bastards drop coins too.
"This thing's pretty sharp."
Don't underestimate a monsterkin sword. It cuts well enough, so I could even use it as a backup.
"Si-hoo! Let's see who can kill more!"
"Time limit: 20 minutes!"
"Loser buys Don-gapnaegi! But you've gotta catch three times as many as me!"
"Hahaha, playing dirty won't help you, Geun-cheol."
With that, Si-hoo—
ㅡFwoosh!
—ran straight up the utility pole and, in one sweep, wiped out the winged otherworldly creatures on top!
"You bastard!"
"Anyway, let's just get this pest control done fast!"
"Yeah, okay!"
So Si-hoo and I slaughtered every last otherworldly creature scattered around the area.
"Get lost! All of you, get loooost! All you little brats, get loooost!!!"
"Waaaaaah!"
"He's a maniac!!!"
"Help!!! Help me!!! That crazy guy is spinning!!"
Also, I went near the grade-schoolers who were messing with the otherworldly creatures and chased them off by spinning Heelwind. Honestly, that was the most fun.
* * *
"Geun-cheol. I didn't eat breakfast today, so buy me a Don-gapnaegi before noon."
"Hah, bastard. Hey, how can you leech off someone who's broke? That's inhumane."
"Did you forget you made the bet first?"
Watching Si-hoo grin while demanding a Don-gapnaegi made my blood pressure spike.
ㅡClick.
I slid the classroom door open and went in.
Of course, because of the morning events, the mood was grim. Everyone was clustered in small groups, looking at their phones and buzzing about it.
"And today's the ranking matches, too."
As I walked further—
ㅡThump.
"Well, look who it is! Mun Min!"
"Hey. Kim Geun-cheol."
Mun Min blocked my path with a warrior-like expression...!
"You. Brace yourself today."
"Hahahaha! Brace myself?! As if a Mun Min could ever beat me!"
"If we fight fair, I win, you know?"
He said it like it was absurd, but honestly, if we fought properly, I'd crush him for sure. Too bad he didn't see me fighting yesterday.
"You're really gonna push it to the end, huh? Hey, Mun Min. Do you know what I did yesterday?"
"U-um? Did you go to a swordsmanship dojo or something?"
"Not a dojo. I went through actual combat."
"Actual combat? Ah! No way! The department store?!"
"Nope?"
"I saw the news!"
"I was there, slicing up monsterkin. Check it out. I even grabbed some loot."
"This is a monsterkin sword! Can I see it?"
Is he unexpectedly into this stuff? Mun Min was eyeing my sword. Showing him wasn't hard, so I held out the hilt.
"Wow!"
"Cool, right?"
"Yeah!"
"I've got a gun too."
"What?!"
That's when, out of nowhere, Ryu, who'd been sitting down, came over to me.
"You Taliban bastard...!"
"What? Ryu?"
"You fought monsterkin at the department store yesterday and brought back loot?"
"Yeah. You wanna see too?"
"You crazy son of a bitch!"
What'd you say?!
"Weak as you are, doing something like that! Are you out of your mind and dying to get yourself killed, you suicide-bomber bastard!"
"I'm not crazy, man. Leona and security agents were there too. We all fought with a plan."
"Even so, you've lost all sense of fear...! Know your place!"
With that, Ryu went back to his seat, looking displeased.
No way.
Is this bastard actually worried about me?
"What's this, Ryu."
"Don't talk to me."
"You don't mean you were worried about me?"
"Bullshit...!"
"Waaaaah! Ryu was worried about me!"
"Shut up, please! You worthless piece of trash, your mouth is too damn loud!"
This guy's secretly soft-hearted. Getting worried over something like this. Just seeing it made me burst out laughing.
"Hahahahaha!"
"You lunatic! Build up your skill before you go into real combat!"
"I'll show you today!"
I'll show you for real.
Just then, Yu-ri came in.
"Yu-ri, you here?"
"Hey. Did you see outside? It's an absolute shitshow."
"Tell me about it. I just finished killing every otherworldly creature out there this morning."
"Oh, nice going. But what's with the monsterkin sword?"
"Well, about that—"
Just as I was about to explain.
ㅡClick.
The door opened and Instructor Lee So-ra and Leona came in together. Looks like Leona barely avoided being late today.
"Alright, alright. Everyone take your seats. Morning assembly will begin. As scheduled, we'll hold the ranking matches this morning... but as you know, the situation outside is unusual. If any alarm comes down, we'll immediately take control, so stay on your toes. That's all. Move to the gymnasium."
What a succinct morning assembly.
"Let's go, Si-hoo."
"Yeah. Geun-cheol, give it your all today."
"Will do."
Let's see.
Was my opponent today Ken?
* * *
When we arrived at the gym, everyone was hyped up like cats on catnip. With sparring gear equipped, the excitement exploded.
"Ohhh, Mun Min! You! Today, watashi will 'Mun-Min' you! The execution!"
"This half-assed foreigner bastard...! I'll use you as a warm-up before Kim Geun-cheol beats you to death!"
"Hahaha! You stupid! A mere Mun Min cannot defeat me! I mean!"
Brian laughed in an obnoxious way, serving up verbal abuse and provocations in his weird accent, drawing loud laughs. Meanwhile, Ryu was burning with rivalry toward Si-hoo and shouting something or other.
I drew my sword too.
"Yo, Scream Man!"
Ken greeted me cheerfully as he approached.
"Heh heh heh, Ken, you bastard. You're the sacrifice for my blade today?"
"Hahaha! So confident! Scream Man!"
Since Ken's from Japan, he's a swordsman who uses a katana. His style will be completely different from mine, so I'll have to observe and analyze today.
"But don't jump to conclusions, Scream Man. This is the first time we cross blades, after all."
"That's true. I'm looking forward to your samurai swordsmanship."
"I'll show you plenty!"
Ken crossed his arms, eyes flashing behind his glasses, and shouted with spirit. But this Ken bastard looks surprisingly strong.
Well, we'll see in the ring.
"Kim Geun-cheol. And Ken. Get up on Ring 3."
"Yes, sir!"
"Understood."
I climbed into the ring with Ken. We took our positions and faced each other. Ken had messy brown hair and glasses. He was smaller than me, with a look that screamed computer nerd.
"Hmm, I did think you were an oddball since the start of the semester... but standing here like this, you definitely have a different kind of aura. Scream Man?"
ㅡSschhk.
With that, Ken drew one foot back like a samurai, lowered his stance, and gripped the hilt of the katana at his waist.
"This guy's a walking samurai. Hey, Ken. Gonna show me your iaijutsu today?"
"Of course I will."
ㅡShing!
Ken quickly drew his sword.
"Wh-what? Why'd you draw it already?"
I asked him to show me iaijutsu, why'd he draw it?
"What do you mean?"
"Isn't it about drawing when they get close and finishing it in one blow?"
"Oh dear, Scream Man. You've got a big misconception about iai."
Ken's glasses glinted as he smirked.
