Chapter 19: Kids These Days Are Terrifying
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 19: Kids These Days Are Terrifying
Knock, knock, knock!
“Is anyone home?”
Two police officers and a neighbor—the one who had called them—stared anxiously at the tightly shut front door.
“Are you sure there isn’t a fire? Look at this. The door is scorching to the touch.”
Just as the neighbor said, the door was radiating enough heat to feel warm even from a distance.
The two officers hesitated, looking at the door. It felt strangely hot compared to the others in the hallway. The neighbor chimed in again, her voice rising.
“Shouldn't we be calling the fire department? What if this turns into a massive blaze?”
“We don’t have confirmation yet…”
Just as the officer tried to calm her down, she snapped at him.
“If a fire breaks out and this whole place burns down, are you going to take responsibility, Officer?”
The middle-aged woman’s shrill scolding forced the officer’s mouth shut. The mention of liability made the situation much more complicated.
If there really was a fire inside, they needed to call the fire department immediately. If their hesitation caused a delay, they might lose their jobs.
The senior officer, feeling the pressure, pounded on the door even harder.
Thud, thud, thud!
“Is anyone inside? We’re responding to a report!”
“Just break the door down! That’s the only way to know for sure!”
The woman’s frantic prodding made the officers look troubled. Breaking into a civilian’s home without clear evidence of an emergency could lead to serious disciplinary action.
In such an urgent situation, they didn't have the luxury of calling a locksmith to open it quietly. They would have to practically smash the door in, and if nothing was wrong, they would be liable for the damages—not to mention it would be a blatant breach of protocol.
“We cannot damage private property without clear evidence,” the officer stated firmly.
The woman threw a fit. “And what if a huge fire breaks out because of your mistake?!”
“If we break it and there’s no fire, are you going to pay for the door, ma’am?”
The younger officer’s sharp retort left the woman speechless. The senior officer stepped in to mediate, calming his partner down.
“If there were a fire, we would have seen smoke by now. Even for a basement unit, this doesn't look like a fire. Maybe they just cranked up the heat…”
“Are you kidding me?! Who turns on the heat in the middle of summer?!”
“Well… if they have a really bad flu, it’s possible…”
“Does that even make sense?!”
Click!
Just as the woman was about to have another outburst, the door swung open.
The moment it did, a wave of sweltering heat rushed out of the entryway, washing over the three people standing there like a blast from a furnace.
“What’s going on?”
Seo-un emerged, his face flushed bright red and his entire body drenched in sweat. A look of immense relief washed over the two officers' faces.
“Ah, we’re responding to a report. Your neighbor felt the wall getting hot and noticed the door was warm, so she called us fearing a fire.”
“What? If you thought there was a fire, you should have called the fire department… Anyway, there’s no fire. I have a terrible cold, so I turned the heat up.”
“Right. It certainly looks that way. I’m glad it’s nothing serious. Honestly, if it were a fire, the place would be filled with smoke by now.”
The officer emphasized his words while glancing pointedly at the middle-aged woman.
“Well then, have a good day.”
The door slammed shut almost before the officer finished his sentence. The woman who had made the report was already fumbling with her own front door, trying to make a quick exit.
“Ma’am! Next time, please check the situation properly before calling us. We’re busy people. And call 119 for fires!”
The woman, now quiet as a mouse, scurried into her home without a word.
*
“Phew!”
Seo-un let out a long, deep breath, and hot steam seemed to billow from his mouth.
“I really almost died.”
If the mental art he had learned hadn't been the Baekmu Juyeongong, his qi channels would have been shredded ten times over.
Fortunately, thanks to the protective properties of the Baekmu Juyeongong, he had been able to shield his channels while forcing them open to achieve the Small Circulation. Seo-un slumped to the floor, completely drained.
“I never dreamed the energy of an elixir would be that wild.”
He had been overconfident because he had handled such energy in the other world before, but he had overlooked one crucial fact.
Back then, he had consumed elixirs after already achieving the Small Circulation. This time, he had taken one without it.
There was a world of difference between absorbing elixir energy when the channels were already open and ready for circulation, versus slamming a massive amount of energy into a completely blocked system.
If he hadn't been able to protect his qi channels from the explosive surge of energy, the police might have found his corpse instead of a sweating man.
“Still…”
Seo-un clenched his fist, his flushed face filled with intense confidence.
The energy of the Cheong-un Pill, now absorbed into his dantian, made him feel incredibly empowered. He was itching to test out this internal power as soon as possible.
“But before that…”
A single manual appeared in Seo-un’s hand, pulled from his subspace like a magic trick.
[Ding! Would you like to learn Muryeong Phantom Step?]
As soon as the notification rang, the manual crumbled into dust and vanished. Seo-un’s eyes sparkled.
If he hadn't learned this footwork, he wouldn't have been able to make it into the Top 2 in the last game. The final move that killed the man with the relentless rapier had only been possible because he had mastered the Muryeong Phantom Step, creating eight afterimages.
After learning the skill, he sat for a while longer to calm himself. The heat in his body subsided, and his internal qi fully settled.
He stripped off his sweat-soaked clothes, took a quick shower in the cramped bathroom, changed into a tracksuit, and headed out.
After eating at his usual local diner, he made his way toward the mineral spring on the mountain behind the neighborhood. His steps felt lighter than ever. He ascended the mountain with a spring in his step, moving so fast it felt as though he were sprinting.
As I thought! You need internal energy!
After running for a while, he reached a quiet clearing with a few pull-up bars and two benches. A few elderly residents were scattered about, exercising or just resting.
There are still quite a few people. Maybe I should have come up after sunset.
He had rushed up because he was eager to move his body, so it was no surprise people were there. Just then, a group of students in school uniforms swarmed into the clearing.
There were at least ten of them. Seo-un glanced at them indifferently, but the elderly people in the clearing began to cast wary glances at the students and started leaving one by one.
The students chuckled as they watched the seniors retreat, seemingly finding it amusing. Then, they pulled out cigarettes and lit them.
From the mountainside, you could look down at the school they likely attended. It seemed this was a frequent spot for them to sneak off and smoke.
Seo-un frowned but decided not to pay them much mind. It wasn't like he hadn't smoked during his own school days, and more importantly, he knew that trying to lecture "kids these days" often led to unnecessary trouble.
The sun will set soon. They’ll probably leave once they’re done smoking.
With that thought, he hopped onto a bar and started doing pull-ups. A few more students appeared.
The moment Seo-un saw the boys carrying black plastic bags filled with something in both hands, he let go of the bar.
Sigh. Drinking on a mountain? Is this how kids drink these days?
He wasn't a saint; he’d had a drink or two away from adult eyes back in the day. On school trips, they’d sneak some alcohol in and have a glass. But he had never heard of kids setting up a full-blown drinking party in a public clearing before the sun had even fully set.
“Haa. Today’s a wash.”
Thinking they were just there for a quick smoke, he was disappointed to see them settling in for a party. Seo-un resigned himself and started to leave the clearing.
At that moment, a sturdy-looking old man marched past him toward the clearing, huffing with indignation.
Sensing something was about to go wrong, Seo-un stopped in his tracks.
No way… Sigh. I hate this kind of development.
As if on cue, a fiery shout erupted from behind him.
“You rascals! How dare you smoke in your school uniforms! And what’s that? Alcohol?! You little…”
Seo-un stood with his head bowed for a moment, contemplating, before inevitably turning back.
As expected, the scene unfolding was exactly what he had imagined, and Seo-un’s expression soured.
Two well-built students had stood up and were hurling profanities at the much older man. The rest of the students watched the spectacle as if it were entertainment. A few girls, sitting with their legs spread wide despite their skirts, were egging the boys on.
“Just get rid of him already. Ugh, he’s ruining the mood.”
Just as one of the students approached the flustered old man and reached for his collar, Seo-un spoke up.
“That’s enough.”
The students, who looked slightly more tense than they had when the old man appeared, soon broke into sneers as they looked at Seo-un.
“What? It’s that loser from before.”
“Get lost before you get hurt. It’s embarrassing to get beaten up by a kid.”
The one speaking with a cigarette dangling from his mouth was a massive guy—it was practically cheating. He wasn't just tall; he was built like an athlete, thick and solid.
His shaved head only added to his intimidating aura. Seo-un looked at him for a moment before walking over to the old man.
“Are you alright, sir?”
“Huh? Y-yes, I’m fine! But these young rascals…”
Suddenly, the large student’s hand shot toward the old man’s chest. As the hand flew forward to grab the old man’s collar, the senior froze, but Seo-un reached out.
Clap.
Seo-un snatched the boy’s wrist just before it reached the old man. He spoke with a smile.
“Sir, I’ll talk some sense into them. Why don't you head down first?”
“Ahem! Well, shall I?”
The old man glanced at the massive student whose hand was caught in Seo-un’s grip, then hurried away. As he passed Seo-un, the old man muttered quietly.
“Be careful…”
“Ha! Think you’re some kind of hotshot? Were you a big deal back in your day?”
A scrawny kid standing next to the big guy spat through his teeth and sneered. Sensing the shift in atmosphere, the students who had been sitting in the back began to gather around.
“Seonghwan, just throw him.”
When the skinny student tapped the big guy’s shoulder, the massive student suddenly dropped to his knees, grabbing Seo-un’s hand with his other hand.
“Aaaaaagh!”
The boy, Seonghwan, looked up at Seo-un piteously, practically clinging to him as he collapsed.
With his strength tripled by the Ring of Strength, subduing a large student with nothing but grip strength was child's play for Seo-un.
“Look, you can smoke and you can drink. I get it. But don't you have the decency to do it somewhere out of sight? Do you think you’re special because you can bully old people?”
As the heavy-set Seonghwan hit the ground, the other students hesitated, realizing something was very wrong. Then, one of the faster ones lunged at Seo-un, throwing a kick.
As Seo-un lightly stepped aside to avoid the leg thrusting toward him, a technique from the Boundless Fist flashed through his mind.
Tap, tap.
“Gah! Ack!”
He had simply tapped the top of the opponent’s knee as it passed and followed up with a light jab to the neck with the same hand.
That was all it took for the boy to collapse, clutching his neck and knee as he rolled on the ground.
With the big guy pleading for mercy while his wrist was crushed and another student rolling on the floor after a single exchange, the students' faces turned pale.
“Even if you don't respect your elders, don't you think assaulting them is crossing the line? You’re old enough to know better, no matter how young you are.”