Chapter 39
Chapter 39
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: Let's Shake Hands!
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The inside of the bathroom was a gruesome sight.
"Gasp!"
"W-what the hell?!"
"Their hands are all...!"
That was right.
There were four people in the bathroom besides Dokgo Hyun.
Three of them had their hands smashed to pieces, while the other one lay collapsed, blood trickling from his ear.
Blood flowed from their shattered hands and ear, staining the tiled floor.
It was horrific, but in truth, Dokgo Hyun had gone easy on them.
"Excuse me, coming through."
Ignoring the curious stares, Dokgo Hyun walked out somewhere.
"W-what the hell happened here?"
The story rewinds to five minutes earlier.
Five minutes ago.
Dokgo Hyun extended his hand to Lee Sam-sik, who was persistently demanding a handshake.
"Please, a handshake."
With a big smile, no less.
"Heh. That's more like it!"
Lee Sam-sik grinned maliciously, pretending to wipe the sweat from his palm with a handkerchief.
But hidden inside that handkerchief was a slender, needle-like parasitic worm.
A small familiar created by the [Mother of Parasites] skill.
The parasite was about as thick and long as four strands of hair bundled together, and its apricot color made it hard to spot.
Moreover, it was concealed in the palm during the handshake pretense, infecting the opponent through their palm—so the victim only felt a slight sting in their fingers.
The trace of entry vanished in an instant, so even checking the palm afterward revealed nothing.
"Come on, let's shake."
Lee Sam-sik reached for Dokgo Hyun's outstretched hand.
At that moment.
"Schlurp..."
The parasite's downside: the smacking sound from its proboscis was loud.
"Hm?!"
Dokgo Hyun quickly pulled his hand back, puzzled.
"What's wrong?"
Lee Sam-sik asked, knowing full well, and Dokgo Hyun glanced around.
"Didn't you hear something just now?"
"Hear what?"
"Like a smacking sound? Lips licking?"
"What sound? Haha. This is a bathroom—probably just the drain gurgling."
"Hm, maybe?"
Dokgo Hyun tilted his head, and Lee Sam-sik forced a laugh.
"Come on, look at my hand. Can't you see I've been holding it out?"
"Ah, my apologies."
Dokgo Hyun extended his hand again.
Swish.
But this time, it was his left hand.
"...Hey."
"Yes?"
"Who shakes hands with their left? I've got my right out here!"
And sure enough, he did.
But Dokgo Hyun played it cool.
"Ah, my right palm's too sweaty. Didn't want to be rude."
"It's fine, use your right."
"Let's do left. It's closer to the heart..."
"You think you're Jimi Hendrix or something?!"
"Why do you keep getting mad? You got something against lefties?"
"What does that have to do with anything?!"
"Hm."
Dokgo Hyun withdrew his left and raised his right again.
Lee Sam-sik tried to grab it, willing or not.
But whoosh!
Dokgo Hyun dodged downward faster.
"By the way."
"What now!!"
"Why are those people smirking at us?"
"Uh, huh?"
There were folks giggling and watching.
They were Lee Sam-sik's 'bodyguards' of sorts.
Also tasked with monitoring whether he pulled off the job.
"Ignore them! Why's this handshake so damn hard!"
"You're really obsessed. Fine."
Snap!
Dokgo Hyun grabbed Lee Sam-sik's hand first.
'Yes! Got it!'
Lee Sam-sik cheered inwardly.
He knew what happened during a handshake.
As a low-rank member of a certain 'organization,' he'd learned the secret there.
His role had two parts.
Gather opponent intel via handshake.
Plant the parasite during the shake.
'Nailed both!'
But the joy lasted only a moment—a split second.
Shocking opponent intel burned into his mind.
'No way! Combat power 924?!'
An absurd number, no matter how you sliced it.
At the same time, Dokgo Hyun checked Lee Sam-sik's.
'Hm. Nameplate showed nothing earlier. Guess handshake beams the info straight to your head.'
The nameplate intel was so laughable it nearly made him chuckle.
"Man, your mindset's rotten to the core. Isn't it?"
"Ah, I, uh...!"
"Heh."
Dokgo Hyun gripped Lee Sam-sik's hand harder.
At [Instant Acceleration] speed, channeling mana, expertly crushing the weak spots.
Crack!
Lee Sam-sik's hand exploded.
Like a strawberry pie run over by a truck.
"Gaaahhh!!"
He screamed and tried to shake free, but Dokgo Hyun held on.
"Hey now, dropping mid-handshake is bad manners."
Dokgo Hyun said calmly.
Something wriggled in his grip.
"Kikik, kreeek!"
A pained cry emerged.
'Aha. Must be the parasite.'
The parasite had tried burrowing into Dokgo Hyun's hand the moment they shook, but failed.
His amateur MMA-thickened palm, vice-like grip speed and strength, mana-infused skin.
And crucially.
'[Instant Deceleration].'
Dokgo Hyun had spotted Lee Sam-sik's suspicious clenched fist and activated [Instant Deceleration] on his own palm during the shake.
For these reasons, the parasite couldn't pierce.
'[Instant Deceleration]. Ease it up just a bit.'
Dokgo Hyun slowed the thrashing parasite less, observed its movements, then extracted it from the mangled hand.
'Weird little thing. Pointy proboscis—burrows into people, huh.'
A thin, apricot-colored parasite with a sharp snout.
Nothing more to glean visually.
"Hm."
Snap!
He just crushed and ripped it out.
"Keeeek."
It seemed to die, then turned into a strand of hair.
Black and glossy—likely a woman's.
'Aha, some bitch used her own hair as material for the skill.'
Who could it be?
Seemed like a clue, so he pocketed it.
"Sob, ugh sob. My hand..."
Lee Sam-sik was crying.
"Hey, mister."
"Uh, y-yes?"
"Who's your backer?"
"Huh?"
"Hid a bug in the handkerchief, right? Meaning you didn't make it yourself—someone gave you the parasite to hide and infect via handshake on command?"
Dokgo Hyun had pieced it all together.
Indeed, Lee Sam-sik hadn't joined the organization willingly.
A fearsome 'big sis' there had blackmailed him into it.
"C-can't say."
"Haha."
Dokgo Hyun approached the fallen Lee Sam-sik.
Plan: torture—no, 'handshake'—with his left for more intel.
But.
Thud thud.
The three giggling spectators approached.
"Hey, kid. That's a bit much."
"Got a strong grip, huh?"
"Must be some body mutation skill like [Strength Boost], right?"
They flexed their muscles as they spoke.
Dokgo Hyun trembled—not from fear, but nostalgia.
'Brings back memories.'
Days before his parents died, thrashing self-proclaimed delinquents in this very bathroom.
'Haven't fought at school since. Ah, the joy of pounding punks in the school john.'
Misreading his quivering as fear, the three villains swiftly divided roles.
Thud.
One shoved away anyone approaching the door.
"Get lost. Unless you wanna die."
Sensing trouble, they scrambled off.
Click.
He locked the door.
Another watched Dokgo Hyun; the third pulled out rope, looping it over a stall door.
Mangled-hand Lee Sam-sik hid in a corner.
"Y-you're dead now..."
Lee Sam-sik muttered unnecessarily from his hidey-hole.
The three villains regrouped, facing Dokgo Hyun.
"FYI, numbers won't help you."
Dokgo Hyun said.
'No attacking.'
This mission—and all of prelim phase 1—banned harming others.
But 'attack' was loosely defined.
Dokgo Hyun's 'handshake' and Lee Sam-sik's parasite ploy weren't attacks.
"Kekeke. We've thought it through."
They pointed to the rope on the stall frame.
Fire escape rope, now noosed.
Plan: lasso Dokgo Hyun, hang him.
"Think that'll work?"
Dokgo Hyun asked; they grinned savagely.
"It has so far."
"Kikik!"
"Gravity does the killing, not us."
"Right. We just hold you, stuff your head in the noose, pin your limbs lightly while you flop. Giggle!"
Clearly, they'd offed a few in tutorial breaks this way.
'Explains the practiced moves.'
Maybe bullied weaklings like this pre-tutorial too.
"Hm, you guys are real pieces of shit."
Dokgo Hyun was thrilled.
"You. You. You."
He pointed at each.
"From now on, you're Villain 1, 2, 3."
The villains fumed.
"This punk lost it."
"Wait'll the noose is 'round your neck, you brat."
Dokgo Hyun smirked.
"Fate brought us together—handshake?"
The villains went silent.
Rushed him.
Surround, restrain limbs, drag to noose.
Solid plan.
'[Instant Acceleration].'
Except against Dokgo Hyun.
Whoosh!
He accelerated, slipped the encirclement, closed on one.
Grabbed Villain 1's unguarded hand with [Instant Acceleration]'s explosive power.
"Handshake!!"
Crunch!!
"Aaaagh!!"
One screamed.
Dokgo Hyun checked his nameplate.
"Weaker than expected, Villain 1."
"Aagh! Grab him together!!"
The other two yanked from behind.
But.
"Hup!"
Dokgo Hyun waltzed, hugging Villain 1 close then flinging him.
Bam!
Villain 1 crashed into 2.
"Aagh!"
"Gah?!"
'Perfect!'
Dokgo Hyun figured he'd get a violence penalty.
But throwing someone? Not a violation.
"Fuck! That works?! Then me too!"
Villain 2 hoisted the downed Villain 1.
"H-hey...! We're on the same side!"
"Shut up! Hrah!!"
Villain 2 activated [Super Strength], swinging Villain 1 like a massive hammer.
Bam!
"Hm!"
Dokgo Hyun elbow-blocked—no real damage.
Villain 1 fainted.
That instant.
Villain 2—real name Lee Nam-jun—freaked.
"Wha?! Why! He did it too—why only me!!"
"You swung while holding him; I threw him. Get the difference?"
Subtle, but the system distinguished direct vs. indirect attack.
Dokgo Hyun had flung Villain 1 toward 2 and let go.
Villain 1 then slid across tiles into 2.
Villain 2, however, gripped and swung directly.