Episode 1: New World / Chapter 3: Ring of Rebirth (3)  

Someone screamed.

“Kyahhh!”

Lee Mingi was attempting to kill Yang Gilsoo in front of everyone. The malice he revealed made everyone astonished.

Gilsoo’s dark face was dyed red.

“What do we do... He might die...”

A female student was on the verge of tears. That was human nature. If Gilsoo was beaten and killed on some hill, they might have only clicked their tongue and felt sad for him. When they saw him dying in front of their eyes and since they didn’t know if the next person would be them, it felt more shocking and horrifying.

The small 162cm tall Yang Gilsoo was pitifully dying underneath Lee Mingi. Although the math teacher shouted, condemning him, Lee Mingi who was engulfed in excitement couldn’t hear a thing.

“Awk. Awk.”

Yang Gilsoo who looked like he was about to die grabbed Lee Mingi’s arms with his trembling hands. Then there was an unexpected change.

“Uh? Uh?”

Yang Gilsoo who was laying on the floor being strangled was getting up. He was pulling away Lee Mingi’s arms as he stood up.

Lee Mingi gave up strangling him and brushed away Yang Gilsoo’s arms.

Riip.

When his clothes ripped, it revealed a distinct mark on Lee Mingi’s arms.

An unexpected situation, everyone focused on the ring. Even Choi Hyuk.

“Euahh! You fucking asshole!”

Yang Gilsoo let out a horrible shriek as he rushed towards Lee Mingi. He was in a state in heightened adrenaline.

‘I beat Lee Mingi in strength. Look at that asshole cowering and running away. I can win. I can kill him. Asshole!’

The sorrow and anger that had built up for a long time exploded. He swung his fists as he ran towards Lee Mingi.

Crash!

Yang Gilsoo’s fist was extremely sloppy. However, the fist had somehow managed to hit Lee Mingi’s shoulder and he flew about 3 steps back. A ridiculous punching power.

Yang Gilsoo grew more confident as he rushed forward.

Choi Hyuk who saw this couldn’t help but frown.

‘No... you have to take a defensive stance.’

He could tell just by looking. That the sudden burst of confidence would lead to his defeat.

Yang Gilsoo may be stronger than him but Lee Mingi was faster. Lee Mingi’s arms and legs were longer as well. He twirled around while avoiding Yang Gilsoo’s brute force punches.

Punch!

He would land a hit whenever there was an opening. In Choi Hyuk’s eyes, Lee Mingi’s fists were pathetic but perhaps it was due to ‘karma’ that his fists were unimaginably strong.

Punch, punch!

However, it looked like Yang Gilsoo had great endurance as well since he was able to endure taking a lot of hits. Unfortunately, the problem arose from somewhere else.

“Pant! Pant! Haa... Mingi... asshole... just one hit... one fucking hit...”

Unlike Lee Mingi who avoided until there was an opening, Yang Gilsoo’s brute force punches quickly drained his stamina.

His fists hopelessly slowed down. On the other hand, Mingi’s movements became more relaxed.

Choi Hyuk couldn’t take his eyes off the fight. If it was like any other day, he would have already shaken his head to clear his thoughts but today was different. He was completely immersed in the raw desperate struggle unfolding in front of him. His long-suppressed talent and spirit longed to see more of the fight.

Lee Mingi who was carefully circling around a panting Yang Gilsoo suddenly burst forward and struck Yang Gilsoo’s face.

Crack!

Yang Gilsoo was too exhausted to dodge. He was hit straight on. Gilsoo’s teeth flew out and blood spurted from his mouth. A distinct stream of blood.

“Kyahh!”

Another scream erupted.

Afterwards, it was one-sided.

Punch! Punch! Punch!

Lee Mingi laid Yang Gilsoo down and crazily beat him with his fists. He was covered in blood.

“Sav...”

Yang Gilsoo’s faint pleading voice painfully pierced the spectators’ ears.

However, Lee Mingi constantly hit him again and again as he endlessly despised him.

“This crazy loser bastard. Embarrassing. Crazy Bastard. Overrating himself.”

At some point, Yang Gilsoo stopped moving.

Someone mumbled.

“He’s dead...”

Yang Gilsoo’s corpse turned into grey ashes and was disappearing. Those ashes circled around Lee Mingi before being absorbed through Lee Mingi’s nose.

A murder had occurred right in front of their eyes. A fearful silence came down.

Every scene of the fight imprinted into Choi Hyuk’s memory in slow-motion.

Fresh blood. The last breath of a dying man. The chest that wouldn’t rise again.

Choi Hyuk’s memory was returning to his time in grade 6. Death. The middle schooler who had died too easily. The one who easily died was the middle schooler but his mother was the one who was actually torn up.

This was the first murder he had witnessed since then.

This time, it wasn’t by his hands but someone else’s.

However, the attitude of the murderer was too different from himself.

“Hoooo...”

In the ring, Lee Mingi stretched his waist as he let out a sigh. Lee Mingi felt a strong sense of excitement. He exuded a more composed demeanor.

‘I got stronger. Power is overflowing. Was it that the more people I kill the stronger I become?’

Lee Mingi thought.

‘I killed one... does that mean I can leave? No... no... was there any guarantee that this wouldn’t happen again? What happens if I leave and I have to fight someone stronger than me?’

Lee Mingi decided.

‘I have to get stronger now.’

His survival instincts pushed him into a corner. He had a hunch. A hunch that this murder game wouldn’t end here.

‘Since it said that I could kill up to 5 people... if I could get stronger.’

He had already killed someone in front of everyone. Nothing would change now. Lee Mingi decided.

‘Let’s fight once more. I need to pick a weak one, so I don’t get tired.’

Someone weaker than Yang Gilsoo... at the very least, there was no ‘man’ like that. Lee Mingi chose his target.

“Yoon Girim. Come.”

A crying female student raised her head up in surprise. Her face was completely pale.

At that moment, the students who were watching Lee Mingi realized. The meaning behind the {Ring of Rebirth}. Lee Mingi, he had definitely been reborn as a ‘murderer’.