Chapter 48

Chapter 48

 

—–CROW—– 

 

Makgora.

 

Similar words include 1v1, duel, or deathmatch. As you can tell just from the words themselves, it’s a fight to the death.

 

It’s a sacred battle between beasts, a 1v1 fight to the bitter end, driven by a desire for revenge or to achieve one’s goals.

 

Huh? Can you call a beastly fight “sacred”?

 

Of course.

 

Most fights involving force are more intense among animals than humans, but they’re also more romantic and fair.

 

They don’t resort to petty tactics like those seen in movies – NTRing someone’s family or resorting to threats if they’re weaker.

 

They fight purely with strength and size… Sometimes they use numbers, but that’s not considered cowardly in the wild.

 

“A-are you serious?”

 

“?? Of course? It’s not like you can just walk away from an argument as a YouTuber.”

 

“That’s true, but…”

 

However, makgora between humans, who chose civilization over the wild, was more complex and systematic than a simple dominance fight between animals.

 

So, instead of a bloody, brutal makgora with teeth flying and bones breaking, it became an arm-wrestling match under the emcee’s supervision.

 

He said we had to avoid violence because there were a lot of people watching, and it could cause legal trouble and controversy later…

 

He had a point, but couldn’t we just wear gloves and go at it without causing any serious injuries?

 

‘This is more likely to cause injuries.’

 

In a fistfight, as long as you avoided vital points and controlled your strength, you’d be fine.

 

But arm-wrestling was different.

 

It was less violent, and there was less chance of accidents if the opponents were evenly matched, but if I lost control and got too excited… I didn’t even want to imagine it.

 

Still, arm-wrestling was probably more palatable for the audience than a makgora between a grown man and a slender middle school girl.

 

And the muscular guy sitting across from me, glaring at me, seemed pretty eager.

 

…Was there any other way?

 

“It’s okay if the table breaks, right?”

 

“Huh?”

 

“You said ‘yes,’ right? Okay, I’m in.”

 

Wow, this YouTuber was pretty bold. He was going places.

 

I had to put on a good show for him.

 

I unbuttoned my coat, draped it over the emcee’s shoulder, and walked towards the table, showing off my toned abs and lean, muscular physique.

 

Wearing just a sports bra and slacks, I approached the table, waved to the cheering crowd, sat down, grabbed the man’s huge hand, and locked eyes with him… Wow, intense.

 

His eyes were burning with such intensity, it made me chuckle.

 

Was he seriously taking an arm-wrestling match this seriously?  A grown man getting this worked up over a million won against a middle school girl?

 

…

 

‘I’d probably do the same.’

 

Hmm, that didn’t sound right.  I should reflect on that. “Just” a million won?  I’d kill for that.

 

A million won was enough to buy 30 more shares of Busan Industrial.  How could I call it “just” a million won?

 

“O-okay… We’ll start on the count of three! One! Two! Three!!”

 

“Hup!!”

 

“…”

 

He was putting all his effort into it, his veins bulging, his face contorted, even twisting his body.

 

But despite his desperate struggle, my arm remained as steady as a rock.

 

I calmly held my ground against the budget Burari, showing him that age was just a number.

 

‘Wow, he’s all muscle, no strength.’

 

I’d been testing his strength, unsure how much force to use, but he was surprisingly weak.

 

I could probably win just by flicking my wrist.

 

Tsk, I’d been worried for nothing. Time to end this.

 

I wasn’t going to cheat like some people and use my body weight.

 

Arm-wrestling was about pure arm strength.

 

“And the winner~!”

 

*Thud!!*

 

“Aaaaagh!!”

 

Accept your defeat, you mortal who was enjoying the taste of victory until I showed up.

 

Time to retreat like a loser and give up the prize money.

 

He was no match for me, someone who’d wrestled with tractors and wild boars as a kid.  A muscle-bound octopus was child’s play for my superpowered TS body, now inhabited by a beast, a gorilla-gorani hybrid.

 

The muscular pig, stripped of his pride, masculinity, and glory by Han Yuna, gritted his teeth.

 

He looked like he could be in his 30s, but he was only 27.

 

He was a gym rat, his mind young, his muscles his only measure of age.  He still couldn’t understand it.

 

How could a 15-year-old girl defeat him, someone who’d been training for seven years and even started boxing to overcome his childhood trauma?!

 

The 1 million won prize money.

 

He’d seen the event on his way to buy some nice clothes, not his usual gym attire, hoping to attract some girls.

 

It had been seven years since he’d dropped out of college, against his parents’ wishes, to focus on training.

 

Which meant he’d been living off his parents for seven years.  Even a protein monster like him felt guilty about it.

 

He was running low on cash, and the 1 million won would be enough to buy some new clothes and give the rest to his parents.

 

He’d imagined his pathetic life turning around.

 

He thought it was a lifeline from God, his pecs twitching with excitement.  He’d snorted and punched the machine with all his might.

 

988 points.

 

He was sure he’d win.

 

If it weren’t for that monstrous little girl!

 

‘How did the machine shake and break?’

 

At first, he thought it was just a coincidence, a combination of his powerful punch and the machine’s prior use.

 

That’s why he’d swallowed his pride and agreed to the arm-wrestling match!

 

“What will I do with the 1 million won? Hmm~ I should save it! Or maybe take my family out for a nice meal!”

 

Ugh, damn it.

 

That million won was supposed to be his! His prize money!

 

Not only did she steal it, but she also humiliated him! That wicked girl!

 

He was so angry and frustrated that he punched the cold, hard ground.

 

“Wow, MalphOte’s ultimate. Unstoppable Force.”

 

“Pfft! N-no, you can’t say things like that.”

 

That monster had crushed him completely.

 

Hehe, 1 million won. 1 million won~

 

My wallet was fat with the prize money, the spoils of victory. I hummed a tune, my steps light and bouncy, as I headed for the subway.

 

Hehe, all I had to do was put on a little gorilla show of strength, and I earned a million won in less than an hour?

 

Not bad.

 

What should I use it for?

 

It felt wrong to invest the entire amount in stocks, so maybe I’d invest half and use the rest to buy a ton of pork belly and beef before going to Ulleungdo?

 

No, maybe not all meat. Last year, I noticed that the grandparents liked soft, sweet things, so maybe I should buy snacks instead.

 

Most of them didn’t have teeth anymore, so they wouldn’t be able to eat meat.

 

Mom liked sweets too, so that was a good idea.

 

Yogurt, fruit pudding… maybe walnut cakes?  She liked those.

 

But those were too common; you could buy them on Ulleungdo. I needed something special, something you could only get on the mainland… I’d look around and check online before I left.

 

Or maybe I could buy some warm fleece-lined underwear or order quilted jackets online.

 

…Quilted jackets weren’t a bad idea. They were warm and light.

 

Lost in happy thoughts, I sat down on the subway, pulled out my phone, and saw a new message.

 

It was from the emcee, my coat rack and temporary baggage handler.

 

* This is Wharton, the YouTuber you saw earlier.  I was so impressed by your performance today that I’d like to make you an offer. If you have time, would you be interested in becoming a regular guest on my YouTube channel?

 

That was the gist of the message, after removing the usual pleasantries and compliments.

 

A regular guest on a YouTube channel.

 

Considering what happened today, it seemed like a fun and profitable opportunity, but…hmm, I wasn’t sure.

 

It was tempting, but I was only 15.

 

I figured I could try YouTube later, if I wanted to.

 

For now, I was busy enjoying my teenage life, doing crazy things with the four weirdos at school, running around the playground like a gorani midfielder… things I could only do now.

 

It wasn’t that I wasn’t interested, but I had to decline.

 

I didn’t want to get caught up in a busy, stressful life like in my past life.

 

A fun, relaxed, and enjoyable life was the best.

 

As I typed out a polite rejection, my heart fluttered with anticipation for the upcoming winter break. I leaned back in the rattling subway car, wondering what I should do.

 

Unaware of how today’s feat of strength, soon to be uploaded to YouTube, would change my life…

 

—–CROW—– 

 

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