Martial Arts Exchange (3)
Martial Arts Exchange (3)
I pulled Eunha back and simultaneously swung my foot.
But the moment I launched my kick, those slit snake eyes stuck right to its trajectory.
The instant my toe collided with Sa-young's abdomen, his arm struck my calf.
"Stop!"
"What are you doing!"
Hoyeon and Nam-woong shouted at the same time. I lightly stepped back and raised both hands. Sa-young also let out a smirk and swung his arm around.
"Dojin, what the hell is this..."
"That guy targeted Eunha first. I just gave him a light shove."
"...Even so, come on, on first meeting?"
"I apologize. Sorry."
I approached Sa-young and bowed my head. He seemed to realize there was no point in making a fuss here, so he accepted my apology.
"Hey, you... fun guy?"
Sa-young said that while pointing at my calf. Now that I was paying attention, it started throbbing.
'Fast.'
The moment my foot connected, his arm had shot in with incredible agility and hit my calf. Even if I hadn't kicked full force, it was an unbelievably quick reaction.
"Yeah. Pretty fun."
From the way he used his arms, it wasn't bare-handed martial arts. He was a swordsman like me. Realizing that, I offered a handshake. Sa-young took it with an amused look.
Ppudeuk, ppudeudeuk. The beastkin's characteristic strong grip crushed into my hand. But I gripped back just as fiercely.
"Hahaha! So you're one of us too?"
Sa-young burst into laughter upon feeling my grip strength, realizing I was a swordsman like him.
Worried we might start fighting again, Hoyeon and Nam-woong sighed in relief and pulled us apart.
"Enough, separate. Nam-woong, sorry about this. My mistake."
"...No, it's fine. Sa-young was the rude one first, after all."
Nam-woong seemed to understand my feelings as a fellow guy, grabbing Sa-young's head and forcing him to bow.
"Aaak! No, he hit me first!"
"...Shut it. Unless you want to get wrecked by my hand."
"Hmph, that's why I keep telling you to fix that attitude."
"Ho-yang, you...!"
Sa-young was dragged inside the dojo by Nam-woong like that. Hoyeon ordered a disciple to guide them to the guest room. After the three disappeared, Hoyeon turned to me and let out a deep sigh.
"...Well done."
"...Pardon?"
I'd expected a scolding, so I tilted my head at her words. But she just looked at me like, what's the big deal?
"Truth be told, I wanna smack that punk every time I see his crap. If you hadn't hit him, I would've. And then it would've blown up into a bigger issue."
"...Doesn't a human hitting a beastkin cause problems?"
"If you get hit by a human, you can't even complain about it. They'd just call you a wimp for getting beaten by some puny human."
"Ah."
Beastkin seemed to be a species rampant with might-makes-right thinking, more than I'd imagined. Couldn't even go around saying you got hit by a human.
"I stopped it this time... but if we end up sparring, they won't stop even if limbs break. You can handle that, right?"
"No worries."
I stoked my anger recalling Sa-young's punchable face and the crap he pulled.
Licking Eunha's cheek? Something even I haven't done.
"Eunha-ya, you okay?"
"Uh, yeah. I'm fine...."
Fortunately, Eunha didn't make a big deal out of the snake bastard's tongue touching her cheek. Though she did look a bit grossed out.
"Let's go in."
"Yes."
We followed Hoyeon inside.
"Fuck, what the hell?"
Dragged into the dojo's guest room under Nam-woong's restraint, Sa-young flipped up his clothes to check the footprint on his stomach. It had felt like a light tap, but a bruise had already formed.
'Shit... a bruise from getting hit by a human?'
What a humiliating thing. The kind you couldn't even tell anyone about... If his clan back home heard, they'd call it a disgrace to the family.
Hweep! Sa-young focused his internal energy circulating in his body to erase the bruise. A moment later, confirming it was cleanly gone, he straightened his clothes.
'That grip—it was the hand of a swordsman.'
Hoyeon was a master of bare-handed martial arts. Having a swordsman under her meant Sa-young had a prepared opponent for him.
"Hahahaha!"
He burst into laughter. Snake beastkin were the best swordsmen among beastkin. And Sa-young was one of the top among them.
Preparing a human swordsman to face him? Even if they brought an imperial knight, they couldn't match him with the sword.
"Wonder what that auntie's thinking. This is gonna be fun. Hm."
Clunk, the door opened and Ho-yang appeared. She frowned at Sa-young laughing to himself.
"What? You crazy? Laughing your ass off alone like an idiot."
"Ho-yang. Keep yapping and I'll eat you."
"The snake brat's lost it. Should I rip off your limbs and make you crawl like a real snake to snap you out of it?"
"Try it. That bullshit about tiger-folk being the strongest race ends today."
"Fucking punk."
But Ho-yang didn't start a fight with Sa-young. She was here on orders from Hoyeon and Nam-woong.
If they stayed away too long, Nam-woong would come back and give both her and Sa-young the iron fist and punishment. She didn't want to get unfairly disciplined for fighting when she was the one provoked, so she snorted dismissively and turned away.
"Boss is calling. Get your ass out here."
"Ha, running away?"
"Keep sitting if you wanna get skinned alive."
With that, Ho-yang left the room, and Sa-young followed behind her, shaking his head helplessly.
A moment later, the place Sa-young arrived at was the massive dojo interior. There, Hoyeon, Dojin, Eunha, Nam-woong, and numerous disciples were waiting.
Sa-young took one look and threw a jab.
"What's this? Martial arts exchange, my ass. You cool putting it on public display like this?"
"...These are disciples who've trained under me for years, ones I trust. Don't worry. They won't leak what they see and hear here carelessly."
He wanted to snark about trusting humans too much, but the mood wasn't right. Sa-young quietly shut his mouth and glared at Dojin sitting across from him.
Dojin met the eyes of Sa-young glaring fiercely at him. Those slit pupils scanning him over—it pissed him off.
'What're you staring at?'
He glared back at Sa-young with all that feeling packed in, but Sa-young glared right back like he wouldn't back down. There was nothing more pointless than a staring contest with a beast brat, so Dojin quietly looked away.
Sa-young saw that and inwardly rejoiced like he'd won the fight.
"We'll now begin the martial arts exchange."
As Hoyeon spoke, the disciples responded with a loud shout. The dojo shook once, then Hoyeon called her top disciple.
"It's only right we demonstrate first. Marche. Show them."
"Understood."
The man called Marche slowly stood and assumed a stance. Reproducing tiger-folk techniques with a human body came with huge practical difficulties.
But he overcame those difficulties, honing his body into a single tiger. The calluses thickened like tiger claws on his fists proved it.
"Hweep!"
A human couldn't strike as sharply as tiger claws. So he put only weight into his fist.
Hogwon.
A strike loaded with a tiger's super strength. No sharpness, but that weight alone made it plenty powerful.
Paaang!
A fist piercing the air, along with kicks, palm strikes thrusting both hands at once. Even footwork pouncing like a tiger on its prey.
Finishing the demonstration, the instructor bowed in proper stance. The disciples showered applause on the instructor's skill, far beyond what they could imitate.
But the three beastkin's faces were stiff as they watched. Sa-young, looking at the instructor pitifully, opened his mouth.
"Hey, Hoyeon auntie."
"...What?"
"You really think this counts as an exchange?"
"What're you trying to say."
"Let's spar. Our three against three you pick. That'll make you grow more."
Sa-young said that while glaring at Dojin. Sparring? The only ones here who used swords were Sa-young and Dojin.
In other words, Sa-young's target was Dojin. Dojin knew it too, giving a slight smile as he looked at Hoyeon.
"Sounds good, right? Seeing Hoyeon-ryu clash with other beastkin martial arts would help the disciples improve just by watching."
"...Hm, sure. Nam-woong?"
"Yeah, no harm in it."
With the two leaders deciding, the spar was settled without issue. With the spar set, next was the order.
"Ho-yang. You first."
"Yep!"
"Instructor, mind stepping up?"
"...I'll bring victory."
The instructor who'd just demonstrated and Hoyeon's sister Ho-yang stepped forward. But Dojin could already guess the winner just from their gaits.
'Can't beat a natural-born powerhouse... something like that?'
The two quickly exchanged bows and took stances. Unlike Ho-yang's near-natural posture, Marche's stance felt forced.
Hoyeon-ryu was martial arts modeled after a tiger's momentum. It was near impossible for a human—who wasn't a real tiger or tiger-folk—to use it perfectly.
The instructor ahead surely knew that, but he couldn't back down. He was this dojo's instructor and Hoyeon's first disciple.
"Eunha-ya."
"...Yeah?"
"Watch closely."
"What?"
"That Ho-yang person's martial arts over there."
At the same time, Ho-yang charged at Marche. Start of the tiger's charge. No stopping a tiger once it lunges.
Knowing that well, Marche didn't try to block Ho-yang's charge. He just charged straight back.
Two tigers clashing head-on.
Kwaaang! They went into a contest of strength. On Earth, Marche—who was twice her size—would've crushed her, but this was a fantasy Otherworld.
Ho-yang, not even half his size, had strength over three times the instructor's.
"Grrrrr!"
Ho-yang roared as she grabbed and hurled Marche. The moment he was airborne, she pinned his neck like biting it with her hand.
"Done."
"Winner, Ho-yang."
Hearing Hoyeon, Ho-yang released her hand and stood. Marche didn't deny his defeat. He knew best that if she'd applied force there, his neck would've snapped.
"See that?"
Dojin asked Eunha. She cautiously shook her head.
"That's the original of the Hoyeon-ryu you're learning. Different from the version modified for humans—it's martial arts made for tiger-folk with beast-like power."
"...I don't see the difference."
"You'll get it slowly."
Seeing Eunha tilt her head, Dojin slowly stood. Naturally, Sa-young stepped forward from the other side.
"Kim Dojin, adventurer specially invited with great difficulty."
"Please take care of me."
"Haha, adventurer? Not a swordsman?"
Sa-young ignored Dojin like that and flicked his tongue. As they approached for greetings, Dojin whispered in Sa-young's ear.
"Shut your mouth, your breath stinks."
"You little shit..."
Before Sa-young could get mad, Hoyeon called for bows. The two bowed their heads.
"Begin."
And then, swords clashed in midair.