Episode 1: New World / Chapter 1: Ring of Rebirth (1)  

This child was a fighting genius.

He instinctively knew where to hit, how to hit, to hit or to shove, to take down, to break or to grab their hair without any training. Even with his young age, his small height and physical strength didn’t affect his ability. He was simply a genius.

At age 5, he fought and won against an 8-year-old kid in a playground.

In grade 2, he found and won against three 4th graders.

At first, the child’s mother was worried. She feared that her child would get seriously injured constantly fighting against people older than him.

This was a misjudgment.

In grade 6, he fought with five 16-year-olds who tried to rob him at a PC bang{1}. The child’s eyelid ripped and spilled a lot of blood. However, the ones who really got hurt were the middle schoolers. Among them, one became blind and another died on the spot.

Since he was a minor, he didn’t receive a criminal penalty even though he had committed murder.

However, his mother was stricken with fear.

A 13-year-old... a child who had just turned 12 in Western years{2} beat and killed a middle schooler that was much bigger than him. And he didn’t kill him with brute strength. After investigating, it was discovered that the victim died of a concussion when the child threw him cleanly over his shoulder. However, the assailant had never learned judo before. It was then that the child’s mother realized that his fighting ability wasn’t simply extraordinary. If this child grew up, how dangerous would he be? Would he kill someone again? Would he live his life as a criminal?

The mother pleaded to her child as she cried.

Never.

Never again. Do not hit anyone.

If anyone hit him, to just get hit.

If he experienced something unfair, to just experience it. To think about the sin of killing someone.

To never hit anyone again.

That he was a deadly weapon.

Then the mother distanced her child away from any physical activity and the child was unable to watch any sports at home.

The child whose mother was everything to him as he did not have a father faithfully accepted his mother’s demand.

Afterwards, the child who was prideful and loved sports never asserted himself. During physical education, he would lie by saying he felt ill and quietly sat down.

Nonetheless, the child still grew tall and became muscular.

**

Choi Hyuk was in his second year of high school. He wasn’t good at studying nor did he have a lot of friends.

cm tall. His body was quite muscular, yet he did not exercise.

He never asserted his pride either. He would usually sit alone and blankly stare out the window. Then he would suddenly shake his head as if he had a tic disorder. He looked like an idiot. If someone picked a fight with him, he would put on a sloppy smile and say, “Sorry.”

So he became the target of the school bullies.

Choi Hyuk transferred to this school during the first semester of his second year. Looking at his healthy figure, the bullies were nervous that he would pick a fight but when they realized he didn’t fight back, they started to harass him as if he owed them money.

There were three bullies in Choi Hyuk’s class.

“Hey- Hyukie!”

The know-it-all bastard, Lee Mingi. Kang Minho nicknamed him ‘know-it-all bastard’ because he was a know-it-all even though he wasn’t good at fighting. 170cm tall. Thin. This fellow would always greet Choi Hyuk with a fist whenever he met him. He claimed that because Choi Hyuk was big, he liked the feeling of hitting him.

Punch!

“Urgh!”

When Choi Hyuk lowered his head after getting hit in the guts, Lee Mingi put him in a headlock.

“Hyukie. What did you have for breakfast?”

He said affectionately while hitting Choi Hyuk’s head with his fist.

“I couldn’t eat today. Haha.”

Choi Hyuk would go through this every day and every day he would put on a sloppy smile like today.

“Anyways, I saw that our Hyukie glanced at Minji when you came in today, do you want to fuck her? Should I let you fuck her~?”

Jung Minji. 170cm tall. She was popular because of her slim figure and innocent face. She was the only female student that would talk to Choi Hyuk. She was first in school as well as the class president. She was also the only student to bring up the topic of the harassment Choi Hyuk endured. Of course, she eventually abandoned him as well.

“Haha. No. It’s not like that.”

“What isn’t it? Hmm? What isn’t it? Huh? Aren’t you hard right now?”

Lee Mingi punched Choi Hyuk’s lower belly with his fist.

Since he didn’t have any friends, his classmates would act like they didn’t see anything. Until first period started, Choi Hyuk stayed in a slightly bent position and was dragged around in a headlock by the much smaller Lee Mingi.

After the first period ended, the boss, Kang Minho, called Choi Hyuk over.

“Hey. That.”

Kang Minho. 190cm tall. Thick bones and developed muscles. He was the best fighter in school after the Choi Junsung. He demanded today’s math homework from Choi Hyuk.

“Yeah. Here. Haha.”

Choi Hyuk awkwardly laughed as he handed him his homework.

“Did you show your work properly this time?”

Last time Minho copied his answers, he was punished by the teacher. That day, Choi Hyuk was called over by Kang Minho and was punched 3 times in the chest.

“Yeah. I personally answered them. Haha.”

“Good job.”

Kang Minho said before turning away. There weren’t many cases where he would personally hit Choi Hyuk.

When second period ended, the students became hungry.

“Gilsoo! Gilsoo! Where are you? Gilsoo. Here you are, you fucking bastard!”

Slam!

As soon as the teacher left, the fellow who made his way from his seat in the back calling out ‘Gilsoo’ and the one that hit the back of Gilsoo’s head was Bae Hyunsung. 175cm tall. Liked soccer and was agile. Was good at swearing and lost his temper easily.

The kid who got hit in the head, Yang Gilsoo, was ranked even lower than Choi Hyuk. 162cm tall. Dark skinned and thin. Would often tremble his hands.

“Fucker, buy me pizza bread.”

When Hyunsung said that, Mingi stuck next to him and added in.

“Me too.”

There would occasionally be days when they would give him money but seeing how they said, “Buy me,” it looked like he would be buying today as usual.

During the break after second period, no one would touch Choi Hyuk. So Choi Hyuk would blankly stare out the window. He was picturing Lee Mingi in his head. He recalled Mingi swinging his fist at him.

Unexpectedly, he wasn’t angry.

‘Why is his punch always like that?’

It was a simple question.

There wasn’t enough power behind Lee Mingi’s fist. It was because his footing was sloppy. When he swung his fist, his shoulder didn’t turn enough. There was nothing to say about his waist and his uselessly large swings couldn’t hit his target properly and would waste his energy. His wrist would shake as well.

Honestly, even though he was hit in the guts, it didn’t hurt a lot.

Like always, he would only act like it did.

‘At least Kang Minho’s fists are quite good... well...’

Kang Minho’s fists didn’t meet his expectations either. Choi Hyuk’s mind drew up the most effective punching method. His muscles that weren’t noticeable even when he took off his clothes wriggled. Even if he didn’t exercise, his muscles would develop when he imagines it for short periods of time

‘No... No, I can’t.’

Choi Hyuk slowly shook his head.

‘Not these thoughts again...’

To clear his mind, Choi Hyuk blankly stared out the window. Desperately. He looked at the blue sky.

However, he would eventually think of those thoughts again.

‘Would it really turn out to be a proper punch like I imagined?’

‘If I fought, would I really win?’

He would then become startled and shake his head again. With a guilty conscience, he desperately attempted to clear his mind.

‘Crazy bastard. Are you crazy? You’re a murderer. What do you mean fight? You have to atone your whole life.’

Choi Hyuk appeared to be foolishly looking out the window, however, there was an intense conflict raging inside him.

‘...Still... I’m curious...’

Choi Hyuk sat supporting his chin. His shoulder muscles wriggled and moved.

‘...Everyone looks so weak.’

Looking out the window, Choi Hyuk compulsively shook his head again.

The class president, Jung Minji, looked at Choi Hyuk with a pitiable look.

‘If he didn’t shake his head so much, he might not have become a target...’

Then she looked back at her notes.

‘So irritating...’

{1} PC Bang – A place where you can pay an hourly fee to use a computer (usually for games)

{2} Koreans are 1 when they are born, so people are 1-2 years older than their ‘true’ (Western) age.