Johan's POV
"Even if I was sure you're the real God Dog, I wouldn't have given up my territory and my gang so easily," declares Seok Kang as he takes off his top, ending up shirtless.
He's incredibly muscular; you can see he really takes care of his physique.
And I can also guess that he's a fighter who specializes in wrestling.
While I'm analyzing him, he charges at me at full speed.
However, I had already anticipated such a tactic.
I use a Brazilian kick against his neck, as he's clearly trying to grab me.
Typical of a wrestler.
*BAM* The sound of a body thrown across the room resonated loudly.
"I must have gone a bit hard..." I mutter, looking at the man on the ground who, despite the violence of the blow, is still trying to get up, in vain.
He literally left cracks in the wall. Does this idiot really think he can come back to fight?
He's far from his prime in QuestSim, so he doesn't stand a chance!
"Stop, you can see the gap between us is too big," I sigh.
"I-I can't... We've worked too hard to get here..."
Seok Kang was babbling incoherent things before completely losing consciousness.
It seems that the shock was too violent for him.
I start gathering those who are totally KO'd to use them as chairs.
It's not just for style or to imitate Jame Lee, but also to let them benefit from Apollo's Blessing.
They should all be on their feet after a few hours of rest, without injuries, thanks to regeneration.
If I'm questioned about this, I'll simply tell a half-truth by claiming to have healed them without going into details.
It took a few minutes for those suffering from stomach pains to be healed.
I kindly asked them to wait.
They quickly complied. Apparently, seeing their leader serve as a seat was enough to make them understand who I was to them now.
"There's really nothing interesting on NewTube or social media right now," I couldn't really contain my frustration caused by boredom.
"My head... I remember a kick to the neck..." mumbles Seok Kang as he gets up.
He really is the leader of this Crew.
He was the first of the knocked-out guys to wake up.
I would have thought he'd be among the last.
It probably means he has real talent in purely physical aspects.
"Don't move, you're my chair for now," I tell him while looking down.
"Uh... I'm what?" At first confused, he finally understands that I'm literally sitting on him and the other bodies.
"I see... I lost," he says in a tone that's hard to decipher.
He must be disgusted.
I understand him, Johan felt the same thing after his first encounter with Gun in that alley.
"Tell me, Seok Kang, why did you create a Crew?" I ask while playing on my phone.
I already knew the answer, but I wanted to rally him to my cause.
For that, he needs to understand one thing... we see the world the same way!
"What do you care?" he spits through his teeth.
"You're my future subordinate, I want to know my allies this time," I simply reply.
He seems to think for a moment and then finally speaks.
"At first, I just wanted to earn money to eat..." After these words, silence falls in the room.
All the members of South Gangbuk look at him, shocked. Apparently, they weren't aware.
"Stop looking at me like that, you bunch of hypocrites!!!" he yells. It seems that his diet is a taboo subject.
After his outburst, everyone looks away. Despite the fact that he's my chair, he remains their leader.
"Continue. I'm guessing that's not all," I say, glancing at him quickly.
"Yeah... That's right," he agrees.
"After I started earning money, I had more than enough to eat well, and I was even earning more than expected," he says, clenching his fists.
I can clearly see the greed in him.
He also avoids saying how his gang earned this money.
He doesn't fully trust me yet, and he's right: it's his crew's secret.
If this information leaks, they're all screwed!
"So you moved on to more serious things. I'm sure the idea of 'rising in power' isn't yours," I glanced at the overweight tattooed boy.
He seemed surprised that I suddenly fixed my gaze on him, but his expression quickly changed from surprise to understanding.
He's really intelligent.
"How did you guess?" asks Seok Kang, in a confused tone.
"You're a bit like me. The idea of unifying Gangbuk, back then, wasn't mine either. Haha!" I laugh a bit.
My words shock the people around.
It seems they don't know about Gun Park's existence, but that's logical.
The guy stayed in the shadows and only came to collect Charles Choi's money... I was really his little puppy back then.
"I guess you're all recovered now," I ask as I stand up from the pile of bodies.
"Indeed, I don't feel any pain anymore. I even felt better when you were sitting on me," mumbles Seok Kang, checking his condition.
"Idiot, don't say useless bullshit!" I really wanted to beat him up, but that would force me to heal him again.
I really need to control my emotions.
Johan's angry personality tends to want to manifest itself.
"Well, I think everyone's awake and in better shape," I express while looking around.
"I'll introduce myself again: I'm Johan Seong, also known as God Dog," I say, in a serious tone.
"I want to create a new Crew, a new God Dog, and for that, I need you," I calmly and sincerely explain my ambitions.
"So I want you to join me, and together, we'll take control of Gangbuk... and later, Seoul!!!" I exclaim, carried away by my own speech.
*Wheee* Enthusiastic cries resonated after my words.
Looks like I'm good at speeches after all.
It's surprising for a former unsociable person like me... or maybe it's just Apollo's blessing making them more receptive to my presence.
This blessing is supposed to make people feel at ease around me, and they've been with me for nearly two hours now.
I should really look into this ability in detail.
"I also want to follow you, Johan... no, excuse me, God Dog," declares Jihyeon Lee, and I see the gray-haired guy nodding next to her.
"And you, Seok Kang?" I ask the former leader.
"As long as you maintain my current lifestyle, I'll follow you," he says, nodding.
Surprisingly, South Gangbuk's number 3 refused to follow me.
I would have liked to have a competent strategist like him, but I see he's the type to have ambitions like Jin Jang from K-House.
I didn't hold him back; he doesn't represent a threat, and it reminds me that Apollo's blessing isn't absolute.
This ability to put people at ease doesn't mean they become puppets, but simply that they're more inclined to be favorable toward me.
Obviously, it's formidable in a capitalist society like South Korea,
a place where appearance and money greatly influence people's opinion of you.
But it's not invincible for all that.
There are people who don't rely on appearances but judge only actions.
These kinds of people like Charles Choi or Gun Park.
"Now, I'm officially the leader of South and West Gangbuk. I'm heading to East Gangbuk before twilight," I declare nonchalantly.
"Wait!" cries Seok Kang, blocking my path.
"Problem?" I ask, perplexed.
"You've already beaten Hanju Gu? And you're really going to East Gangbuk?" he questions hastily.
"Yeah, I fought and beat him. And I want to unify all of South Gangbuk by tomorrow morning," I answered honestly.
I could do like the old Johan and unify all of Gangbuk in a single day, but that didn't create a solid gang.
His subordinates weren't really loyal to him; they only followed him out of fear.
The result was betrayal as soon as Johan showed a sign of weakness.
Of course, he defeated them again, but his gang was ruined.
That's why I'm taking the time to talk with my future subordinates.
I want to erase Johan's bad reputation regarding his bad temper, but also create a real bond.
Maybe one day, I'll have the nickname "Hero of Gangbuk," like Vasco with his title "Hero of the Burn Knuckles."
Yeah, that would be cool.