Chapter 13
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: Spreading Rumors (6)
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"Our Seung-jun has prepared a lot."
Before the match started.
Just from catching a glimpse of Lee Seung-jun's gear, it was clear how much preparation the bastard had put in.
'Attack-assist lenses, three rings infused with magic... and that outfit's made from specially crafted fibers.'
Even a rough glance screamed money poured into it, and a closer look would reveal prices in the hundreds of millions. Plus, since none of it was top-tier expensive, each piece could only be used once.
Which meant Lee Seung-jun had basically burned at least 500 million on this spar just now.
Sure, dungeons brought massive profits to the world, and people in related businesses raked in cash hand over fist.
But this was a bit much.
'Or maybe he's been saving up his allowance bit by bit?'
Either way, Lee Seung-jun was screaming with his entire body that he intended to end me in this match. We'd barely locked eyes, and he was already glaring like he wanted to kill me.
Getting beaten by me must have bruised his ego pretty badly.
'Well... I'm just not feeling the tension.'
The outcome was set in stone anyway, so the only thing to worry about was 'how to handle it.'
Not fully hiding my power, but revealing just enough—that required precise control.
'Pretending to struggle a bit before winning would be ideal...'
Showing some tough resistance and scraping by with a sweaty victory would earn me a decent evaluation of my strength.
It was the cleanest approach, yet a nagging unease deep in my gut kept delaying the decision.
Maybe it was rebellion from years of living suppressed.
A lifetime toiling like a dog under someone, only to get discarded. Every moment was pathetic and humiliating, like swimming through sewage.
But now an opportunity had come to live differently, so throwing myself back into the mud felt repulsive.
'If I'm doing this, make it clean and gentlemanly, while showing just the right amount of power.'
Beating Lee Seung-jun wouldn't skyrocket my evaluation overnight.
At best, it'd drag my rock-bottom reputation up from the gutter.
In other words, flexing a little wouldn't turn heads much.
Like how no one thinks an adult man is "super fast" just because he crushes a kid in a race.
That was the logic.
And so the result.
Thud!
Bam!
The signal blared, and I flattened him immediately.
Too fast for any reaction, too strong for any counter, and thorough enough he'd never get up again.
A perfect one-two-three punch blending those elements.
Like driving a nail into the ground in one strike, Lee Seung-jun hit the floor without even dreaming of resistance.
"W-Winner... Kim Geon-ho..."
And the judgment followed right away.
It ended quicker than expected, but this should be enough to haul my image out of the basement.
I was riding high on that happy thought when.
Swish swish swish.
"Ah, it's not over yet...!"
Lee Seung-jun rose.
His eyes distinctly red, unlike usual.
'Well, look at this guy.'
Proof he was rampaging.
Rampage comes in various forms.
The common kind happens when someone can't properly control their own power, and in those cases, it's harmless to anyone but the user.
But rampages that endanger everyone, including the user, occur when external power isn't fully digested.
'Did he want to beat me that badly?'
When someone who can't even control their own power forcibly draws in outside strength to push their abilities.
Like a hose with the water cranked wide open but not held right—the uncontrolled force sprays everywhere, shredding friend and foe alike.
That was exactly what was happening to Lee Seung-jun now.
"I-I won't lose! Why-why-why should I lose! Why me!"
His muscles and brain refusing his commands, wrecking his speech.
"G-Getting humiliated in front of everyone... that's gotta be you, you-you bastard!"
The blind obsession and raging desire dominating his body made the rampage obvious.
Even the accessories on him were blatantly emitting dangerous waves.
"Raaarghhh!"
And in most cases like this, the artifacts spewing waves clash and shatter each other.
As long as you braced for the shock from that destruction, everyone except Lee Seung-jun would likely be fine.
But in extremely rare cases, if the waves synced up perfectly and resonated...
"Power... power overflowing! My body's recovering! Right now, I could beat anyone!"
Temporary power surge from wave resonance.
The most dangerous rampage scenario. The berserker gains immense strength.
The problem? Zero chance of using it right.
Indiscriminate destruction fueled by blind obsession? A walking bomb.
"Rematch, Kim Geon-ho! This doesn't count! I didn't even fall! I'm totally fine!"
Lee Seung-jun's bloodshot eyes flashed as he charged straight at me. Good thing I'd kept distance; otherwise, I'd almost had to use Ferocious Tiger.
'About 15 seconds.'
Minimum 15 seconds to adjust power without hurting cadets and wait for rescue.
Short time, but plenty to kill someone.
Boom!
Unhappy with my retreat, Lee Seung-jun stomped, closing the gap in an instant with the shock.
His one-shot accessories maximized single-use effects.
'Strength, agility, senses boosted... and a shield absorbing two impacts...'
Overkill for cadet spars, but must-haves for victory.
Lee Seung-jun swung his drawn sword wildly, ready to shred me the moment I entered range.
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
Time slipped away relentlessly. I had to decide here.
Take the hit to hide my power, or pull out the strength I hated most to escape this.
Normally, I'd pick the former.
But.
'I swore I wouldn't live in submission anymore.'
I had no intention of using Ferocious Tiger here.
So I had no choice but to use that power.
"Die, you-you-you bastard!"
Lee Seung-jun's blade reached my throat.
I'd made my choice and moved.
"Didn't want to use this here..."
Time to show him I'm not some mutt—I'm tiger spawn.
"Wh-What?"
The first to sense the anomaly was the cadet MCing.
He spotted Lee Seung-jun's rampage, signaled the instructors immediately. They were watching too and bolted for the arena.
But factoring security protocols and full sprint to the field? About 15 seconds.
Pray Kim Geon-ho held out unscathed. Time marched mercilessly, Lee Seung-jun's blade grazing his throat.
Instructors imagined horrors as they breached; the MC snapped to and cast protective magic late.
But the fastest response came from Kim Geon-ho himself, seconds from decapitation.
Clang!
Right before the blade bit flesh.
Something slammed the flat, snapping the sword clean.
"Huh?"
Lee Seung-jun, expecting a kill, couldn't even process what hit him.
"Tail...?"
Late glance revealed it.
Wrapped tight around Kim Geon-ho's neck—a tail. And batting the blade away? A tiger's forepaw.
Chill!
They say facing a beast freezes your legs, leaves you helpless.
Lee Seung-jun locked eyes with Kim Geon-ho and went rigid; meanwhile, Geon-ho closed in to striking range.
"Don't die."
First time using it—can't control the power yet.
Boom-!
Low murmur from Kim Geon-ho ended with a devastating straight punch.
Lee Seung-jun flew resistance-free toward the instructors. They caught him unconscious, ribs caved in.
Punched, yet claw-like gashes too—all in 15 seconds.
"Th-This is..."
"Tiger Fist."
The power only true Mountain Lord heirs could wield, from a wastrel's hand?
This alone erased the wastrel label for Kim Geon-ho. As that sank in, his voice boomed across the field.
"F-Fuck, what the hell? How'd that happen? He okay? Not dead, right?"
Crude as dirt, like pure luck.
The watchers pondered.
Just luck? Or skill?
Opinions split, but rumors about Kim Geon-ho began to spread slowly.
The Mountain Lords' wastrel wasn't a mutt—he was a tiger.