Needless to say, Kim Joohyuk's physical condition was not good.
He hadn't had the chance to do proper physical training while searching for information over the past few days, but just using this body for a short time was enough for him to quickly grasp its state.
'Weak and frail, like a cripple.'
Of course, it was better than an average civilian.
But being "better than a civilian" simply meant that, for a contractor who had to butcher monsters, his physical state was barely distinguishable from a civilian's.
'Honestly, trying to do anything with this body is a struggle.'
Kim Joohyuk cleanly admitted the fact.
With this body, he could not produce the same power as before.
However.
'Just because I became weaker doesn't mean the rabble got any stronger.'
Oh Se-hyuk, who was rushing toward him in a frenzy, possessed physical abilities that even Kim Joohyuk acknowledged as decent.
Among the freshmen he had faced so far, none had better physical stats than Oh Se-hyuk.
But combat was not something that could be decided by overwhelming physical ability alone.
It required martial arts to support that power, and above all, observation of the opponent.
But what if those three elements were not balanced?
[Thwack!]
'This happens.'
Kim Joohyuk smirked as he watched Oh Se-hyuk's eyes roll back into his head, two of his front teeth flying refreshingly through the air.
Oh Se-hyuk's physical ability was certainly good, but that was it.
He didn't try to analyze his opponent, and most importantly, he lacked the martial arts to properly utilize that excellent body.
'That's why he goes down with a single counter.'
Kim Joohyuk had actually done nothing special.
He simply extended his fist at the exact moment Oh Se-hyuk rushed in and extended his, landing a clean counter.
"There isn't a single one who isn't frail."
[Winner: Kim Joohyuk.]
Soon after, seeing his name appear on the overhead hologram, Kim Joohyuk left the now-silent arena behind and returned to the waiting room.
Oh Cheol-shin, the head of the Oh Seon Family, Guild Master of the Oh Seon Guild, and known to the world as the 'Fighting King', possessed a cold-hearted personality unlike his wild title.
He was the type who calculated rationally rather than moving instinctively during a fight.
A man who analyzed and analyzed his opponent's movements, raising the probability of victory to the maximum before properly beginning the fight.
That was the iron rule and combat style of the man named Oh Cheol-shin.
In a way, his personality seemed contradictory to the title of Fighting King.
However, Oh Cheol-shin had no doubt that he received the title precisely because of his iron rule.
In short, he trusted his philosophy and trusted his analytical skills.
From that perspective, Oh Cheol-shin certainly believed that his son, Oh Se-hyuk, possessed extraordinary talent, even if he was arrogant.
Especially his physical ability, which grew without limits unlike others, by Oh Cheol-shin's standards, it was in the realm of something beyond talent.
Of course, perhaps due to being born with such overwhelming talent, Oh Se-hyuk's personality was arrogant. But compared to the stats he possessed relative to his peers, Oh Cheol-shin judged that he had every right to be arrogant.
Unlike other families who needed to use media play and flashy packaging to hype their children, he believed his son was genuinely strong.
But.
"...."
Oh Cheol-shin looked at his son.
The sight of his son sprawled out so pathetically that it could be called the shame of the family, with two front teeth missing.
Yet, regrettably, Oh Cheol-shin's emotions showed no particular agitation.
Was it because he wasn't angry?
No.
Was it because he wasn't ashamed?
No.
The reason he remained unmoved even after seeing his son's pathetic state, a state that disgraced the family's prestige, was not because he was cold-hearted, nor because he didn't love his son.
"Ha…."
The reason he showed no emotional agitation was simple.
His mind was not in a relaxed enough state to show emotion over something so trivial.
"Ha, a counter punch landed in one shot. I thought he was doing well so far, but to think he'd break like this."
"Honestly, I didn't know Oh Se-hyuk would end with just one simple punch."
Oh Cheol-shin listened to the scouts muttering in front of him and sneered.
'Morons. You call that a simple counter punch?'
No, it wasn't.
It might have looked that way to others' eyes, but at least to him, the Fighting King, the counter punch Kim Joohyuk showed was not the ordinary fist swing people spoke of.
'That was an unavoidable punch…!'
Oh Se-hyuk wasn't stupid.
Even if his physical ability was outstanding and he barely trained in martial arts, that was only by the standards of the Oh Seon Family's heir. Compared to other peers, he had sufficient skill.
Such a son couldn't dodge a simple counter punch?
That was a laughable statement.
Oh Se-hyuk didn't fail to dodge the counter punch.
Kim Joohyuk had thrown an absurd punch that could not be dodged.
Oh Cheol-shin replayed the moment that just occurred.
The fist that extended exquisitely the moment Oh Se-hyuk rushed in. The way Oh Se-hyuk's face stiffened in disbelief.
Oh Se-hyuk was the one who extended his fist first.
Oh Se-hyuk was the one with overwhelming physical superiority.
Oh Se-hyuk was even the one using mana, which Kim Joohyuk did not use.
Yet, the freshman named Kim Joohyuk casually crushed those three overwhelming advantages, a gap that seemed impossible to bridge in the current situation.
With just a single punch.
The result.
'A monster…!'
That was how Oh Cheol-shin evaluated Kim Joohyuk.
No, he had no choice but to evaluate him that way.
What if that kid trains his body right now and gains decent physical stats?
What if he spends a little more time and fully blooms his talent?
"Haha…."
The more he thought about it, the more chills ran down his spine. Oh Cheol-shin unknowingly smiled and scanned the arena.
He vaguely sensed that a few people here had already recognized Kim Joohyuk's value and sighed.
'It would have been better if there were only morons here.'
But a gem was bound to shine sooner or later.
'I will bring him to our family no matter what.'
Vowing this, Oh Cheol-shin stared at the waiting room Kim Joohyuk had entered.
"Hwaaa~ Choi Ah-rin Noona-"
"Noona! I love you, Noona!"
"Hey, you crazy bastards! Guys who've already been to the army are sitting there calling a 17-year-old 'Noona'."
Listening to the voices coming from one side of the stadium, Kim Joohyuk raised his gaze to the hologram, then looked at Choi Ah-rin, who was facing him.
[Round 5]
[Final Match]
[Choi Ah-rin vs. Kim Joohyuk]
Holding a Batto (drawing sword) stance, Choi Ah-rin did not move a single step from her spot.
Watching her, Kim Joohyuk smirked.
'At least there's one kid who actually thinks.'
Today, Kim Joohyuk had fought a total of four opponents, including Oh Se-hyuk.
Among them, only two were better than the other freshmen.
The first was Oh Se-hyuk, whom he faced at the very beginning, and the next was a child from the Jang San Family.
Well, even they were only better than the other freshmen; honestly, they were worse than Yoo So-yeon, whom Kim Joohyuk had faced on the first day.
However, the girl currently in front of him seemed the best among all the freshmen he had met so far.
'At least she understands the situation.'
In fact, Choi Ah-rin hadn't moved once during the 30 seconds since the match began.
She was simply waiting for Kim Joohyuk to come first.
Honestly, while it might not have been the best choice, it wasn't a bad one.
After all, Kim Joohyuk hadn't moved his body much in any match so far, so he had revealed almost zero information about himself.
Therefore, her intention was clear: rather than rushing in rashly, she would face him with her strongest technique.
However, regrettably, there was one thing Choi Ah-rin had overlooked.
It was that Kim Joohyuk's skill was far more "outside the norm" than she imagined.
Step— step—
Kim Joohyuk began to walk.
He didn't leap forward in an instant, nor did he run furiously.
Step— step—
He just walked.
Of course, he didn't adopt a boxing rhythm or stance either.
Literally, Kim Joohyuk was just moving his feet.
With every step he took, the distance between Kim Joohyuk and Choi Ah-rin closed, and accordingly, Choi Ah-rin tensed her body, preparing to draw her blade.
Yet, without a single pause, rather, with a smile on his lips, Kim Joohyuk narrowed the distance.
Step— step—
Now, less than nine steps remained between them.
Accordingly, Choi Ah-rin hardened her expression and, as if she had been waiting, exploded her mana.
[Crackle, bzzzt!]
"Lightning!?"
"She's already mastered Elemental Transformation at 17? That's the Choi Jin Family's technique!"
"The children of the Five Great Families this year are mostly exceptional…!"
Exclamations burst from the surroundings.
However, Choi Ah-rin focused only on Kim Joohyuk walking toward her.
'Now!'
The moment Kim Joohyuk entered her range, she drew her sword toward him with a thought closer to certainty than ever.
[Zzzzt!]
Simultaneously, the blade drawn at a speed invisible to the naked eye aimed for Kim Joohyuk's neck.
The next moment.
"If you signal exactly where you're going to attack with your eyes like that, isn't it too easy to dodge?"
"Wh—!"
[Thwack!]
Kim Joohyuk struck Choi Ah-rin's solar plexus, sending her flying. He watched her bounce away with a momentarily strange expression.
Of course, that reaction wasn't because he was surprised by Choi Ah-rin's skill.
She wasn't frail compared to the others, but ultimately, from his perspective, she was just another one of the frail freshmen.
Yet, the reason he was looking at her was:
'…For some reason, that draw was a bit strange. Haven't I seen it somewhere before?'
The Batto technique Choi Ah-rin showed at the end was remarkably similar to something Kim Joohyuk knew.
'I'm pretty sure the stance was different, though.'
[Winner: Kim Joohyuk.]
However, seeing the hologram floating above, Kim Joohyuk soon shrugged and turned around.
There was no need to dwell on it.
And.
— — —
Valhalla TOP 10
Kim Yun-won9. Oh Se-hyuk8. Marlene Rotiya...3. Jang Ju-on2. Choi Ah-rin1. Kim Joohyuk
Breaking all expectations of the Five Great Families and scouts before the entrance ceremony, Kim Joohyuk entered Valhalla as the Rank 1 student.
"Mr. Kim Joohyuk! Let's talk for a moment!"
"Student Kim Joohyuk! Join us at Cheongmyeong! We will spare no support!"
"Mr. Kim Joohyuk. Speaking for us, we are a guild with 30 years of tradition in Korea—"
"Everyone, fuck off!"
—And started creating flashy controversies even before the entrance ceremony properly began.
(End of Chapter 3)
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