Chapter 57

Chapter 57

Otherworld Cheat Harem.

Episode 57: Martial Exchange (3).

I pulled Eunha back while swiftly moving my foot.

However, the moment I kicked, the snake-like eyes followed the trajectory exactly.

As my foot hit Sayeong’s abdomen, his arm struck my calf.

“Stop!”

“What are you doing?!”

Hoyeon and Namwoong shouted simultaneously. I lightly stepped back, raising my hands. Sayeong also chuckled and swung his arm.

“Dojin, what’s this about…?”

“That guy targeted Eunha first. I just pushed lightly.”

“…Even so, for a first meeting, this is too much.”

“I apologize. I’m sorry.”

I approached Sayeong and bowed my head. Sayeong seemed to realize that getting angry here wouldn’t benefit him, so he accepted my apology.

“Hey, you… find this fun?”

Sayeong said, pointing at my calf. Once I became aware, my calf began to throb.

‘Fast.’

The moment my foot made contact, his arm swiftly struck my calf. Even though I hadn’t kicked with full force, his reaction was unbelievably quick.

“Indeed. It’s fun.”

Judging by the way he used his arms, it wasn’t barehanded martial arts. He was a swordsman like me. Realizing this, I offered a handshake. Sayeong, seemingly amused, accepted my handshake.

Squeeze, squeeze. The strong grip characteristic of beastmen tightened around my hand. However, I didn’t back down and gripped his hand firmly.

“Hahaha! You’re one of us too?”

Seeing my grip, Sayeong burst into laughter, realizing I was a swordsman like him.

Hoyeon and Namwoong, who were watching over us, sighed in relief as they separated the two of us, perhaps fearing we might start fighting again.

“Stop, let go. Namwoong, I’m sorry. This is my fault.”

“…No, it’s okay. It’s true that Sayeong was rude first.”

Namwoong, perhaps understanding my feelings as a fellow man, squeezed Sayeong’s head and bowed his head.

“Agh! No, I was hit first!”

“…Shut up. Unless you want to die by my hands.”

“Ha, I told you to fix that attitude of yours.”

“Hoyang, you…!”

Sayeong was then led into the dojo by Namwoong. Hoyeon instructed the disciples to guide them to the guest room. After the three disappeared, Hoyeon looked back at me and sighed deeply.

“…Well done.”

“…Pardon?”

Expecting a scolding, I tilted my head at Hoyeon’s words. However, she looked at me as if it was nothing.

“Honestly, just seeing what that guy does makes me want to hit him. If you hadn’t hit him, I would have. And then it would have been a bigger problem.”

“…Isn’t it a problem for a human to hit a beastman?”

“They can’t complain about being hit by a human. They’d be seen as weaklings for getting hit by a mere human.”

“Oh.”

It seemed that the beastmen were a race deeply rooted in the ideology of might. They couldn’t even admit to being hit by a human.

“I held back this time… but if we were to spar, I wouldn’t stop until every limb was broken. I can look forward to it, right?”

“Don’t worry.”

Recalling Sayeong’s annoying face and the things he did, I burned with anger.

Licking Eunha’s cheek, something even I hadn’t done.

“Eunha, are you okay?”

“Uh, yeah. I’m okay…”

Fortunately, Eunha didn’t make much of a fuss about the snake’s tongue brushing her cheek. She found it a little creepy, though.

“Let’s go in.”

“Yes.”

We followed Hoyeon inside.

“Damn, what is this?”

Sayeong, who was subdued by Namwoong and brought into the dojo guest room, lifted his clothes to check the footprint left on his stomach. It seemed like a light tap, yet a bruise had formed.

‘Damn… I got bruised by a human?’

It was embarrassing. So shameful that he couldn’t tell anyone… If his clan back home heard about this, they’d call it a disgrace.

Hmph! Focusing the energy circulating within him, Sayeong erased the bruise. After a moment, he confirmed that the mark was gone and tidied his clothes again.

‘That grip, that was the hand of a swordsman.’

Hoyeon was a master of unarmed martial arts. The fact that there was a swordsman under her meant that he was a talent prepared for Sayeong.

“Hahaha!”

He burst out laughing. Snake people were the best sword handlers among the beastmen. Sayeong was one of the top swordsmen among them.

And she prepared a human swordsman against him? Even the Imperial Knights couldn’t face him with a sword.

“What is that woman thinking? Really interesting. Hmm.”

Creak, the door opened, and Hoyang appeared. Seeing Sayeong laughing alone, she frowned.

“What? Are you crazy? Laughing and acting crazy alone.”

“Hoyang. If you keep making a racket, I’ll devour you.”

“Has the snake gone mad? Do I need to tear you limb from limb like a real snake for you to come to your senses?”

“Go ahead. The rumor of the tiger being the strongest species will disappear today.”

“Bastard.”

However, Hoyang did not engage in a fight with Sayeong. She was here because it was the order of Hoyeon and Namwoong.

If she was away for too long, Namwoong would return and dish out both an iron fist and disciplinary action to both her and Sayeong. She was the one who had been provoked, yet she knew she’d still get punished just for fighting. Unwilling to face such an unfair outcome, she let out a huff, feigning disinterest, and turned away.

“The boss is calling. Get out quickly.”

“Ha, are you running away?”

“If you want to be skinned alive, keep doing what you’re doing.”

As Hoyang said that and left the room entirely, Sayeong reluctantly followed.

A short while later, Sayeong arrived at a large dojo. There, Hoyeon, Dojin, Eunha, Namwoong, and many other disciples were waiting.

Seeing that scene, Sayeong scoffed.

“What is this? You said it was a martial arts exchange. Can you reveal it so openly like this?”

“…The people here are my disciples who have trained for a long time and can be trusted. Don’t worry. They won’t carelessly leak what they see, hear, or learn here.”

Sayeong wanted to criticize her for trusting humans too much, but it wasn’t the right atmosphere. He quietly closed his mouth and glared at Dojin sitting across from him.

Dojin also met Sayeong’s fierce gaze. The way his slit-like eyes scanned him was truly unpleasant.

‘What are you staring at?’

Filled with that thought, he glared back at Sayeong, who also stared at Dojin as if he wouldn’t back down. As pointless as having a staring contest with a beast cub was, Dojin quietly turned his eyes away.

Seeing that, Sayeong was inwardly pleased, as if he had won the fight.

“We will begin the martial arts exchange now.”

As Hoyeon spoke, the disciples responded with a loud answer. The dojo shook once, and then Hoyeon called upon her top disciple.

“It would be appropriate for us to show first. Marche, demonstrate.”

“Understood.”

The man called Marche slowly stood up and assumed a stance. Reproducing the techniques of the Tiger Tribe with a human body posed significant challenges.

However, he overcame such difficulties and honed himself into a tiger. His calloused fists, hardened like a tiger’s claws, were proof of his dedication.

“Hmph!”

A human cannot deliver a blow as sharp as a tiger’s claws. Therefore, he focused solely on the weight in his punch.

Tiger Fist.

A strike imbued with the immense strength of a tiger. It lacked sharpness, but its sheer weight was powerful enough.

Bang!

The punch pierced through the air, accompanied by kicks, and a double-handed thrust technique. There was even footwork that pounced on the opponent like a tiger.

After finishing the demonstration, Marche bowed his head in a formal posture. The disciples applauded Marche, who displayed such an impressive skill that they could hardly emulate.

However, the expressions of the three beastmen observing were stiff. Sayeong, who was looking at the disciple disdainfully, spoke up.

“Hey, Hoyeon Ahjumma.”

“…What is it?”

“Do you really think this counts as an exchange?”

“What are you trying to say?”

“Let’s spar. Three of us against three members you choose. Your side will benefit more from it.”

Sayeong said this while glaring at Dojin. Though it was called a spar, the only ones who used swords here were Sayeong and Dojin.

In other words, Sayeong’s target was Dojin. Seemingly aware of this, Dojin glanced at Hoyeon with a slight smile.

“Wouldn’t it be okay? Watching a fight between Hoyeonryu and the martial arts of other beastmen could help improve the disciples’ skills.”

“…Hmm, alright. Namwoong?”

“Yeah, there’s nothing wrong with it.”

Since the leaders of the two parties agreed, the sparring was decided without any hindrance. Once the sparring was set, the next thing to decide was the order.

“Hoyang, you go first.”

“Yep!”

“Marche, please endure a bit.”

“…I will secure victory.”

Hoyang, Hoyeon’s younger sister, and the disciple who had just demonstrated, stepped forward. However, Dojin could roughly predict the outcome just by watching their strides.

‘You can’t beat a naturally born strong person… is that it?’

The two exchanged courtesies and assumed their stances. Unlike Hoyang, who had a natural posture, Marche’s stance seemed artificial.

Hoyeonryu was a martial art modeled after the spirit of a tiger. It was nearly impossible for a human, neither a real tiger nor a member of the Beast Tribe, to use this martial art perfectly.

The disciple who stepped forward must have known that as well, yet he could not back down. He was the dojo’s instructor and Hoyeon’s first disciple.

“Eunha.”

“…Yes?”

“Watch carefully.”

“What?”

“That martial art of that person called Hoyang.”

Simultaneously, Hoyang charged toward Marche. The momentum of a tiger. Once a tiger charges, it cannot be stopped.

Knowing this well, Marche didn’t attempt to block Hoyang’s charge. He simply charged forward as well.

The two tigers collided.

Boom! The power struggle began. If it were Earth, the much larger Marche would have easily won, but this was a fantasy otherworld.

The strength possessed by Hoyang, who was less than half the size of the disciple, surpassed that of the disciple by three times.

“Urrrgh!”

Hoyang let out a monstrous roar and threw Marche. As soon as he was airborne, Hoyang grabbed him by the neck as if to bite him.

“End.”

“Winner, Hoyang.”

Upon hearing Hoyeon’s words, Hoyang released her grip and stood up. Marche did not bother to deny his defeat. He knew better than anyone that if Hoyang had applied more force, his neck would have snapped.

“Did you see that?”

Dojin asked Eunha. She cautiously shook her head.

“That’s the original form of Hoyeonryu that you’re learning. Unlike the modified version made for humans, it’s a martial art designed for the Tiger Tribe, who possess beast-like strength.”

“…I don’t see what’s different.”

“You’ll learn slowly.”

Watching Eunha tilt her head in confusion, Dojin slowly got to his feet. On the opposite side, Sayeong naturally stepped forward.

“A difficult-to-invite adventurer, Kim Dojin.”

“Pleased to meet you.”

“Haha, adventurer? Not a swordsman?”

Sayeong ignored Dojin and flicked his tongue. When he approached to greet him, Dojin whispered in Sayeong’s ear.

“Shut your mouth, your breath stinks.”

“You, you bastard…!”

Before Sayeong could get angry, Hoyeon ordered them to bow. The two bowed their heads in greeting.

“Begin.”

Then, swords clashed in midair.