When I played the game, I always thought the villains in
They never fight fair.
"Welcome, newbies! In this room, you'll face us in a marathon!"
The first room's theme was the "Room of Athletics."
The twins, Johnny Mount and Rick Mount, were former marathon-running heroes.
"If we hadn't become heroes, we'd be marathon gold medalists! So don't waste your energy and just lose gracefully! Hahaha!"
"…"
Why're these pros so cocky about competing against regular folks?
"Woooh! Taeyang! I'm great at running!! I'm Rebel Guy…! I was in the track club until elementary school!!"
"Hey, Rebel Guy, don't get too excited."
"Okay!"
Sorry, Rebel Guy.
You're a sacrificial pawn, so no racing for you…
"Hey, Sow Duo!"
The elite marathon twins.
My trump card to crush them? None other than Seol Harin and Chloe.
"You two are up."
"Tch. I didn't want to team up with her."
"I'm the one who's annoyed?!"
The two sows bickered as they lined up at the starting line.
The Mount brothers were already smirking, certain of victory.
"The one who gets lapped by the leader is out! The last one standing wins! No further explanation needed, right?"
A race requiring both speed and endurance.
The Mount brothers, whose bread and butter was marathons, were the obvious favorites.
But.
The Mount brothers are just extras, no matter how fast they run.
Seol Harin and Chloe, on the other hand, are main characters.
Their talent is on a whole different level…!
"Hey, sows!! Show them the results of your training!! Grr!!! Let everyone see the power of sows!!!!"
They've been grinding through brutal training with me—
Dash dash dash dash…!!
"?!"
Not just outpacing marathon pros, but beating them to a pulp and tossing them into the Han River level of skill…!!!
Move over, Uma Musume!!!!
Now it's the sows who run!!!!!!
"No way?!"
"What's with that speed…?!!"
The Mount brothers couldn't close the gap from the start and fell further behind.
"Ugh…! We gotta catch up!! Full speed, little bro!!"
"Bro! I'm already at full speed!!"
"What…?"
Their specialty was long-distance.
They couldn't keep up with the sows' sprint.
"We're about to get lapped!!"
"Bro! My legs are losing feeling…?!"
"No!! Stay focused!!! If you collapse here, it's really over!!!!"
The older brother's desperate cry.
The younger brother only gave a sad smile.
"Sorry, bro… This is my limit…"
THUD────!
The younger brother tripped, maybe from a cramp.
"Damn ittttt!!!! For my brother!!!!!!"
The older Mount, fully erect with rage, shed tears as he sped up.
'…Are they filming a movie?'
Anyway, it was time to end this pathetic game.
"Hey, sows!! You're running slower than you do on the treadmill?!! If you don't step it up, I'll free you from slavery!!! Huh?!!!!"
"Don't say that so much! It really hurts my feelings…!"
"Down with slave liberation!! Master, push for sow regularization!!!"
Seol Harin and Chloe had enough energy to banter with me.
Shocked, the older Mount finally—
Flop-!
Gave up the race.
"Hey! Hard training pays off, doesn't it?!"
An easy victory, get~☆
Time to move to the next room, but—
A problem arose.
"Huh? Sow Duo! Why aren't you stopping?!"
They kept running.
"Because we haven't decided first place yet!"
"This brat keeps provoking me?!!"
They were neck-and-neck, continuing the race.
Why are you fighting each other…?!!
"When did I provoke you? Aren't you just imagining it, senior?"
"You sly fox…! The real delusion is you thinking you're Taeyang's wife!!!"
"It's a tie~ Stop and come back already!!!"
The two sows completely ignored me.
"…"
A master ignored by his sows…!
Something's seriously gone wrong here!! Hey!!!!
***
Seol Harin and Chloe.
They hadn't planned on settling a score from the start.
But when Chloe fell slightly behind,
Seol Harin's icy smile became the problem.
It was like she was saying, "Second-place sow Hel-lin, just as expected…"
["헬린이" (Hel-lin-i) — literally means "gym newbie" or "fitness baby"—a playful/insulting term for someone inexperienced in working out.]
'This little brat…?!'
That sparked Chloe's competitive fire.
"Hel-lin sunbaenim! Just give up already!"
"Who're you calling Hel-lin?! You, who got outlifted by me in the big three?!"
"I'm just low on strength because I'm cutting! Don't act smug when you know nothing…!"
"You're the one acting all high and mighty just because you started training a few weeks earlier!!!"
A battle of sow pride…!
Believe it or not, their love for fitness was genuine!
…Two hours passed like that.
"Ugh…"
Flop…!
Seol Harin collapsed first.
Right after, Chloe plopped down too.
"Heh… hehe… Now who's Hel-lin…?"
"I basically won! My chest is bigger!"
"What's your chest got to do with it…?"
"You know how heavy these are?"
Fuming, Chloe lifted her chest and shouted.
"What, a few grams?!"
"Grams…? Pfft. Sure, you'd measure in grams, sunbae… Mine's in kilograms."
"Hey! Did you weigh them?! Did you?!!"
Somehow, Chloe won but felt like she lost.
Anyway,
The important thing was our team's victory.
***
Waiting in the second room was Yoo-young, the student council's brainiac.
A smart girl with glasses stood ready.
"This room's theme is a quiz. Answer all five of my questions correctly to pass!"
"Woooh!! Quiz…! I'm Rebel Guy, been watching quiz shows since I was a kid!! My time to shine!!!"
"Hey, Rebel Guy, shut up."
"Not me! Okay!"
This room's theme was a quiz.
Answer five history questions correctly to pass.
But.
A twist came up.
"The quiz subject is science!"
They switched it from history to science?
Did the student council catch on and change it?!
"Hey, Angyeong! You good at science too?"
Kim Angyeong turned to me, light glinting off his lenses with a ching-
"Kim Taeyang. As you said, I found my own cool. The cool of a study elite…! Using my disciplinary committee connections, I learned they'd switch subjects, so I went all-in on science, reaching expert-level knowledge…"
Basically, he was prepared.
"So watch me shine!! I'll show everyone how hard I worked…! I'll prove what my cool is!!!"
(Omitted)
Kim Angyeong won.
"K-Kim Taeyang? Did we just skip something?"
"Yeah, I saw. You were pretty impressive, Angyeong."
"Wait! That's it?! I worked so hard…!"
"Hey!! Stop flaunting your effort!!! You think you're the only one working hard?!! Huh?!!!"
"…"
And so, we moved to the third room.
The smallest of the three, with powerlifting equipment in the center.
Kuma was waiting, seated on a bench.
"Wow, you won twice? Don't get cocky! This room's my guaranteed win!!"
The third room's theme was the "Room of Strength."
A powerlifting showdown against Kuma.
"Woooh!! Powerlifting! This is where I, Rebel Guy—"
"Hey."
"Okay, okay! Zipping it!!"
Rebel Guy mimed zipping his mouth shut.
Why do you keep acting up when you know better…?
Trying to hog the spotlight…?!
Anyway.
This stage was my time to shine.
"Steroid sow. Your muscles always look so unnatural…?"
"What?! You're saying yours are natural?!"
"Huh? Obviously! Unlike you, doping up, this body's all natural!!!!"
Kuma's legit on steroids.
Even for a superhuman, no woman could naturally have a body like that.
"Don't make me laugh! As if that body's natural!! Bet you're a limp-dick loser who can't even get it up!!!"
"Huh?"
Kuma Rodriguez, you bitch!
How dare you insult my 'almighty dick'…?!
Then, Seol Harin shouted from behind.
"That's absolutely not true! I can vouch it works perfectly!!"
"?"
Kuma and the others coughed awkwardly, looking embarrassed.
They probably think we're banging like animals every day.
The only ones with question marks over their heads were me and Chloe.
"W-Wait… Taeyang? What's she talking about?"
"Huh? It's nothing, Mini Sow!!"
"You two actually did it?! That's unfair!! We're both sows!!! You can't play favorites like this?!!"
"I told you before, I'm a real sow, and you're a Mini sow… a knockoff."
Harin…
You gonna go around broadcasting we had sex…?
That's practically date violence…!
"Shut up, sows!! Stop messing with my head!!!"
After shutting them down, I turned to Kuma.
We locked eyes, sizing each other up.
"A sow who's eye-level with me… Kek kek kek. A female this big is hilarious."
"Hey! That's a sexist remark!!"
"Huh? You, a woman? With muscles that huge, you're already disqualified as a normal woman."
"My body is beautiful!! Is there a law saying women can't have big muscles?!!!"
There's no such law.
But as a hero, it's not a great choice.
The drugs Kuma takes to maintain those muscles weaken her hero powers.
───────
◆ NTR Solution
◆ Kuma Rodriguez
[Loyal Hero: Seol Hajeong]
[Relationship with Loyal Hero: 92]
[Traits: Fitness Addict, Susceptible to Flattery]
◆ Solution
+ High bond with the hero makes NTR difficult…
+ But stimulating her trait, Fitness Addict, might work!
+ Kuma craves a stronger body and greater power!
+ Help her reduce drug dependency and teach her hero-optimized training methods!
+ With your expert fitness knowledge, her susceptible ears will see you as a fitness mentor and respect you!
───────
In the original game, Kuma's muscles gradually shrink.
She transforms from a muscle monster to a toned, sexy older-sister type.
Quitting drugs and achieving true health and a hot body is her growth arc.
That was supposed to happen later in the story…
But with Kim Taeyang, I might just kickstart it now.
"Hey, Steroid Sow. Females have muscles suited for females. Being that bulky is just gross."
"I don't rely on drugs! They're just a boost to achieve a stronger body…!"
"Huh? Sounds like non-natural bullshit to me."
"You'll find out when you're crushed under the bar…!"
CLANG-!
Kuma racked the barbell.
The metallic sound pierced my eardrums.
"The rules are simple! Squat, deadlift, bench—total max weight lifted wins!"
"Starting with squats?"
"I'll go first! Bodybuilding and powerlifting are different, so watch my form and learn, newbie!!"
CLANG! CLANG!
Kuma's lackeys started loading plates onto the bar.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
The plates kept piling up.
"How many are they loading?"
"It's already over 200kg…?"
Rebel Guy and Kim Angyeong whispered.
To a normal person, it was a shocking weight.
"I'll start the first squat set at 220kg…! No complaints, right?!"
"Kek kek kek. That's too light for a warm-up, isn't it?"
I wasn't just bluffing.
Spankings' buff had doubled my strength.
"Hup…!"
KA-CLANG!!
Kuma executed a perfect squat.
"Newbie! Beat 220kg!!"
My turn.
Yawn. "So sleepy…"
"Come on, tone down the bravado."
…No, I'm actually sleepy.
The sows' pointless competition in the first room made me wait two hours.
So I'm ending this boring match in one go.
"Hey, Steroid Sow. What's your best record?"
"Huh? For squats, it's 910kg."
910kg.
Piece of cake.
"Hey, sows!! What're you doing?!! Hurry up and load the plates!!!"
"…!"
Seol Harin and Chloe scurried over to load plates.
"It's at 220kg. Add another?"
"Huh? What kinda nonsense is that?! Keep loading!!!!"
"But… without warming up, you could get injured…"
"This body's fine!!!!"
Seol Harin, looking worried, loaded more plates.
CLANG! CLANG…!
The sound of plates clashing echoed endlessly.
"It's 400kg. How far are you planning to go?"
"Keep going! Until I say stop!!"
"…"
The plates kept piling on.
The barbell's elastic rod looked dangerously bent.
Kuma smirked at me.
"Hey, newbie! You'll wreck your back pushing it like that! Wanna quit lifting for life?"
But her smirk soon faded.
Because the weight had gone beyond what could be dismissed as bravado.
"Why aren't you saying stop…?"
"Because it's not heavy enough, obviously?!"
"It's already 900kg! How much more are you gonna add?! No one's ever lifted this much!!"
Current weight: 900kg.
Already close to Kuma's record.
"Hey. The goal is one ton."
"No way! Even you can't lift that kind of weight!!"
"Hey!! I decide my limits!!! Just move the plates, you weak-muscled sow!!!!"
"I can't! I'd rather lose this match!! I'd rather move to the next room than watch you get hurt!!!!"
Seol Harin's eyes welled up with tears.
This girl… way too overprotective…
"Hey, Mini Sow! Drag her out!!"
"…Taeyang. I think you should stop too."
"I'll give you a 'strong' setting massage gun session after this."
"Come on, we're sows, so we obey Taeyang~"
Classic Chloe.
So easy to handle.
I loaded the remaining plates myself.
Total weight: exactly one ton.
Kuma watched me with trembling eyes.
"Hey… You're really doing this? If you break something, it's not my fault."
"I won't take responsibility for you either."
"What?"
"If your pride gets shattered watching my epic performance, that's not my problem. Got it?"
"Hah. Fine. Lame bravado… Put on a lifting belt."
Kuma offered me a support tool.
A rare act of kindness from one lifter to another?
She's got a warm side, surprisingly.
"Huh? That's for weak-ass losers!!!!"
"Ugh…"
No tools needed.
I'll prove my strength raw…!
Grip-!
I tightly grasped the bar,
Securing the elastic rod across my shoulders.
"Hup-!"
I inflated my core, creating rock-solid intra-abdominal pressure.
CLANK-!
Unracking the bar was easy.
"He… He actually lifted it!"
"He's got a ton on his back!! The God of Delinquents!!"
"Don't make a fuss! He only unracked the bar!!"
Kuma was right.
Unracking's the easy part.
Going down and coming up—that's the challenge.
One step, then another.
Slowly moving forward to prep for the squat.
Squat…!!!!
I bent my knees and hips, fully bearing the weight.
"…!!"
All eyes were on me.
Seol Harin, covering her mouth in shock.
Chloe, equally stunned beside her.
Rebel Guy and Kim Angyeong, jaws dropping.
And Kuma, teeth clenched, tense.
"You can do it! Come up!! Up!! Up!!!"
"Taeyang! Get up!! It's light!!! You got this!!! Up!!!!"
"God of Delinquents! God of Delinquents Kim Taeyang! Up!!! Up!!! Up!!!!!"
"Up!!! Up!!! Up!!!!"
"Up!!! Up!!! Up!!!!!"
"Up!!! Up!!! Up!!!!!!!"
Everyone chanted "UP" in unison. I grinned at them.
"Huh? What's with the nonsense?"
"?"
"This isn't a regular squat!"
"If it's not a regular squat…?"
Every muscle fiber in my thighs and glutes activated…!
I explosively pushed off the ground with my feet…!
"This is a jump squat!!!!"
Unlike a normal squat,
A squat where you jump on the way up…!
"J-Jump…?!!!"
"A jump squat with a ton?!!"
"No!! Your knees will break!!!"
"Taeyang! That's too much!!! Who's gonna give me a massage if you get hurt?!!!"
"Hey, hey! You'll really die!!!"
The one dying isn't me.
It's your pride, Kuma.
"Grrr!!!!!!"
BOOOOOOOM─────────!!!!!!!!!!!!
Carrying everyone's worries,
I launched into the air with the barbell.
A jump squat with one ton…!!!!
See the overwhelming strength difference?! Huh?!!!!!!!
…But I jumped way higher than I meant to!!!!!!!!!!
Save meeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!