The training hall vibrated with the sound of fists colliding, each impact echoing like a drumbeat of violence.
Seong Min's chest heaved, violet eyes narrowing, sweat dripping down his chin. Across from him, Tom Lee rolled his neck with a lazy crack, as though his massive frame wasn't already dripping with exertion.
And then Tom smiled.
"Let's see if you can survive when I stop holding back."
The world blurred.
Tom's Rampage
BOOM!
The mat rippled as Tom's foot launched him forward, his size defying physics. A mountain shouldn't move like lightning, but Tom did, his fist streaking through the air with the weight of a wrecking ball.
Seong Min's Eye of Insight screamed warnings. He shifted left—
TOO LATE.
BAM!
The punch caught his shoulder, sending shockwaves down his bones. His feet left the ground as his body smashed into the wall, padding tearing loose from the force.
Gasps erupted from the recruits.
"Did you see that?!""That wasn't even human speed—!"
But Seong Min pushed off the wall, rolling his shoulder despite the agony lancing through it. Blood seeped at the corner of his lips.
Tom tilted his head. "Still standing. Hah. You've got steel in your spine."
Then came the next barrage.
Calculated Madness
Tom swung like a storm. Fists, knees, headbutts—all crashing forward without rhythm, raw chaos that no style could replicate.
But beneath that chaos, Seong Min's vision slowed. Violet light sharpened every detail.
The hook—telegraphed by the flex in Tom's thigh.The knee—loaded the moment Tom shifted weight.The headbutt—his shoulders dipped half an inch.
Prediction. Calculation. Counter.
Seong Min slipped under a haymaker, jamming a fist into Tom's ribs.
BAM!
Tom grunted but retaliated instantly, a hammerfist cracking against Seong Min's guard. His forearm screamed in pain.
Seong Min twisted low, snapping a kick into Tom's knee.
CRACK!
The monster stumbled half a step. Half a step, but the entire hall reeled.
"Holy shit…""He made Tom Lee move!"
But Tom's grin only widened, teeth flashing through blood. "Cheeky bastard. You're making me sweat."
Crystal's Gaze
Above, Crystal Choi's fingers dug crescents into the railing. She'd seen fighters collapse under Tom's first blow. But Seong Min?
He was dissecting him.
Her throat felt tight. This wasn't luck. This was Seong Min reading Tom Lee. Exploiting openings where none should exist.
Her pride hissed at the thought, but her pulse hammered all the same.
Tom Turns Savage
The grin faded. Tom's eyes sharpened.
"This is me serious."
Then he vanished.
BOOM!
Seong Min's gut exploded with pain as Tom's fist buried itself inside him. His knees buckled, vomit threatening to rise.
BAM!
A sweeping kick crashed into his shins, nearly folding him.
WHAM!
A hammerfist slammed onto his guard, smashing him into the mat.
Each strike was a landslide, merciless, unending. His vision blurred, ribs screaming, lungs refusing to expand.
The recruits whispered in awe and terror.
"Anyone else would be dead already…""He's fighting a monster…"
But through the blur, Seong Min steadied himself. His violet eyes never wavered.
Eye of Insight vs. Raw Instinct
Tom lunged again, arms like battering rams.
Seong Min's mind raced. Predict the rhythm. Find the flaw.
Tom's fists blurred—one, two, three—no pattern, only carnage.
But at the last instant, Seong Min saw it: a hitch in Tom's shoulder as he twisted for the killing blow.
NOW.
He slipped inside, violet eyes gleaming, and rammed his fist into Tom's jaw.
CRACK!
Tom's head snapped sideways, spit and blood flying. The monster staggered.
Gasps filled the hall.
"He hit Tom!""He actually staggered him—!"
The Monster Laughs
Silence.
Then Tom threw back his head and laughed, the sound booming like thunder.
"Hah…! That's it. That's what I wanted to see!"
His grin was genuine now, eyes alight with wild approval. He wiped blood from his chin with the back of his hand, teeth glinting.
"You're no First Gen. Not yet. But you've got the bones of one."
The recruits stared, unable to believe what they'd witnessed.
Crystal's heart hammered. Even her father's chosen monsters weren't praised so openly by Tom Lee.
And then Tom added, voice low, dangerous:
"Even Manager Kim would think twice about trading blows with you."
The hall went silent.
The name carried weight. Every mercenary, every recruit knew it. For Tom Lee to speak it here, for Seong Min to be compared… it shifted the very air.
Seong Min's Resolve
Seong Min's body trembled. Blood dripped from his nose, his arms heavy as lead.
But his violet eyes burned steady, unyielding.
He had survived the Monster's Rampage.
Tom chuckled again, stepping back, satisfied. "Good. You're dangerous. Don't die too soon—I want to see how far you'll go."
Later, in hushed corridors, the story spread like wildfire among recruits.
"Tom Lee acknowledged him.""Even said Manager Kim would hesitate…""Who the hell is this Seong Min?"
In the shadows, Yui Kim leaned against a wall, hearing the whispers. Her lips curled, equal parts pride and hunger. My Master…
Zoe, walking beside her, clenched her fists, face flushed. The image of Yui kneeling still haunted her—and now this?
And far away, on the other end of a quiet line, Charles Choi's voice cut through crystal-clear, cold and deliberate:
"Seong Min. Report tomorrow. Your test is only beginning."
End of Chapter 36 – White Tiger's Test (Part 2B): Monster's Rampage