NOVEL WEB Chapter 18: Face to Face
Change of scene: Haru Seong versus Changung Yeom.
"Tch... why do I have to fight a girl?" Changung muttered, his brow slightly furrowed. He didn't sound nervous, just annoyed.
"A what?" Haru snapped, stopping and blushing.
[Haru Seong]
Height: 167 centimeters.
Weight: 52 kilograms.
Strength: S+
Speed: SS+
Potential: A+ (Awakened)
Intelligence: B
Endurance: S
She didn't wait any longer.
Haru's body twisted like a rope. The sole of her foot flew in an upward arc, seeking that idiot's face with brutal precision. Changung barely managed to raise his forearm. The impact was sharp.
Crack.
He didn't break anything. But it was clear to him that this "girl" was not someone he should have opened his mouth to.
[Changung Yeom]
Height: 173 centimeters.
Weight: 79 kilograms.
Strength: SS
Speed: S
Potential: A
Intelligence: B
Endurance: S
Scene change: Hyeondong Lee vs. Seok Kang
Hyeondong climbed the stairs with the stick still stained red. Each step sounded louder than the last. Not because of the noise, but because of the pressure.
He knew who was waiting for him upstairs.
[Hyeondong Lee]
Height: 179 centimeters.
Weight: 75 kilograms.
Strength: A
Speed: B
Potential: F (Awakened)
Intelligence: B
Endurance: A
"The former leader of the South... Seok Kang. What the hell am I doing here?" he thought.
For a moment, he hesitated. He doubted Suhyeon and he doubted himself.
But only for an instant.
"No. He's not like that... My lord sent me for a reason. And I will obey all his orders," he thought, filling himself with conviction.
When he turned the last corner, there was Seok, arms crossed, as if it wasn't even worth stretching.
[Seok Kang]
Height: 182 centimeters.
Weight: 92 kilograms.
Strength: SS-
Speed: SS
Potential: A (Awakened)
Intelligence: C
Endurance: SS+
"They sent me the idiot with the stick?" he said with a slow, almost lazy smile.
Hyeondong gritted his teeth, lowered his head... and charged. The first blow carried his full weight.
"But sir, why did you do this?!" he cried, tears streaming down his face, a treacherous booger hanging from his nose, swaying with each sob.
Scene change: Yugyeom Na & Jihyeon Lee vs. Dongtak Seo
Dongtak saw them coming. One didn't speak. The other couldn't stop yawning.
[Dongtak Seo]
Height: 177 centimeters.
Weight: 67 kilograms.
Strength: S
Speed: SS-
Potential: B
Intelligence: C
Endurance: S
"And this dynamic duo?" he whispered.
Yugyeom was already on guard. Pure kickboxing, he was not in the mood for jokes, as could be seen from his impassive face.
[Yugyeom Na]
Height: 180 centimeters.
Weight: 70 kilograms.
Strength: S
Speed: S+
Potential: A
Intelligence: C
Endurance: S+
Jihyeon, on the other hand, raised her wooden sword as if it were a broom.
[Jihyeon Lee]
Height: 160 centimeters.
Weight: 46 kilograms.
Strength: A+
Speed: S
Potential: C
Intelligence: B
Endurance: A
"Let's get this over with before my hair grows back," she muttered indifferently.
Yugyeom was the first to take action without saying a word. Just one step and a turn, throwing his leg with controlled violence toward Dongtak's torso.
The sword came down right behind him, tracing a perfect diagonal line.
Dongtak didn't back down, he just got more serious.
Change of scene: East Gangbuk Main Base
Hajun walked ahead, cigarette hanging lazily from the corner of his mouth as usual, leaving a trail of smoke that dissipated into the air.
[Hajun Gu]
Height: 186 centimeters.
Weight: 83 kilograms.
Strength: S+
Speed: S+
Potential: A
Intelligence: C
Endurance: SS
At his side, Gukja followed silently, one hand in his pocket and the other clutching his cell phone, which displayed Suhyeon's message.
[Gukja Yang]
Height: 170 centimeters.
Weight: 84 kilograms.
Strength: SSS
Speed: SS
Potential: S (Awakened)
Intelligence: C
Endurance: SSS
Both advanced down the main hallway of the East School, where the white walls and distant echoes of footsteps gave the feeling of crossing enemy territory. They exchanged no words. Their eyes were fixed on a single target.
A heavy atmosphere surrounded them, but in the distance they could make out a dark silhouette. Amidst the restrained silence, Hajun's cigarette burned slowly.
"That must be him..." said Gukja as he put his cell phone in his pocket.
"Judging by his hair color, it's obviously him. Who else would dare to have that shade of blond and still imitate me?" Hajun muttered with a half-smile, without taking the cigarette from his lips. Although Jaeha couldn't hear him from that distance, the comment was intentional.
"How are those two here? They shouldn't have gotten past the rear guard..." Jaeha thought, throwing his cigarette from his mouth onto the ground and then stomping on it.
[Jaeha Han]
Height: 181 centimeters.
Weight: 83 kilograms.
Strength: S+
Speed: S+
Potential: A
Intelligence: C
Endurance: S
Jaeha narrowed his eyes, assessing the situation. "Can I handle numbers 2 and 3 from the West on my own...?" he thought, and the smile that spread across his face was for no one else but himself.
He didn't need an answer. The classroom doors began to open one after another, and dozens of students poured out, silently surrounding Hajun and Gukja as if they already knew what was coming.
Then Jaeha raised his voice with blatant mockery:
"Did you two really come alone?" he said with a light laugh. "What was that, little idiots? Did you think you were invincible, or are you just desperate for attention? This isn't your turf anymore, you couple from the West!
His provocative tone echoed throughout the hallway, heightening the tension in the air. Laughter soon erupted among the students from the East, who began to surround the scene with a mixture of morbid curiosity and excitement.
Some laughed mockingly, while others murmured as if they already knew the outcome of this massacre.
And despite the laughter... the mocking murmurs, the two newcomers did not react immediately. They remained with their eyes downcast, as if ignoring the noise around them. Their faces, however, were not expressionless.
Under the shadow of their bangs, silent smiles appeared... not of amusement, but of excitement at a new challenge.
And then, without warning, when the cigarette Hajun dropped to the ground touched the floor, they moved.
Without exchanging a single word.
The first to fall was a student who had come too close, perhaps thinking they would be easy to stop. Gukja met him with a step forward and a tsuki straight to the face.
The impact was brutal. The boy flew backwards, his head hitting the lockers with a hollow thud.
Another tried to back away, but Hajun was already on him. His jab was a needle that pierced the boy's eyes, followed by a hook that snapped his neck and brought him down without resistance.
"Shit, they're moving, let's all attack!" someone shouted, backing away as they advanced.
The hallway erupted into chaos. Students running in all directions, others trying to fight... but with no real chance.
Gukja was a machine. He advanced with clenched fists, his torso firm and his chin down. Each blow was like a stone thrown with fury... to the solar plexus and ribs. The impact sent an enemy reeling, no matter how heavy he was.
Hajun, on the other hand. His guard was high. He moved his feet with elegant, rapid rhythm, dodging with a slight twist of his waist or tilt of his head.
He didn't waste energy. Every punch he threw connected with precision: chin, cheekbone, jaw. One after another after another.
Punch. Punch. Punch.
A third tried to surprise Gukja from behind. He was a complete idiot.
Gukja spun around with a direct blow to the stomach, knocking the wind out of the boy before finishing him off with two consecutive punches to the chest that folded him like paper.
"Don't give them space!" shouted another student from the East. But no strategy would work, as Jaeha remained calm, leaning against a column and watching intently.
In less than a few seconds, the hallway became a battlefield. The floor was littered with weapons, bodies writhing in pain, blood dripping everywhere.
And in the midst of it all... Hajun advanced toward Jaeha.
"Jaeha, you'd better fight me," Hajun said as he wiped the blood from his knuckles.
Gukja, for his part, kept his distance, holding back the other students, as if the two had arranged for Hajun to face Jaeha alone.
"Do you really think you can beat me... after losing to Seok?" Jaeha said with a crooked, arrogant smile, as if each word were a dart aimed at his pride.
The two stood face to face.
Hajun stared at him silently. His expression was serious, and his gaze held only the intention to strike.
Jaeha, on the other hand, seemed to be enjoying himself, as if he couldn't take someone who showed no emotion seriously.