Chapter 115: Bald Man and Ninja

“He’s rampaging like a madman.”

Baek Jeong-nam’s movements, more reminiscent of a small magic beast than a human, as he repeatedly destroyed the barrier with ruthless efficiency, were truly a scene of carnage.

Boom!

With a sound like a bomb exploding, a section of the barrier crumbled.

Despite being on the barrier for barely 10 minutes, it was already in tatters as if hit by a natural disaster like an earthquake.

Considering that this barrier wouldn’t even budge from an actual earthquake, it was truly astonishing.

I could’ve done the same with just my fists if asked, but seeing someone actually demolish a centuries-old barrier with bare hands was still shocking.

“He’s gotten much stronger than 80 years ago. Well, he was pretty weak back then too.”

“…Was he not this strong in the past?”

“That’s right. It’s taking him 10 minutes now, but 80 years ago, it would’ve taken about three hours.”

“That still sounds monstrous to me.”

The high-ranking ninja beside me was the one who had gone to inform Baek Jeong-nam about the Baldo House’s appearance.

He must have known the man was dangerous, but seeing this madman in action seemed to have finally scared him.

Well, even for a high-ranking ninja who hadn’t yet seen the true essence of ninjutsu, it’d be weird to stay calm in the face of a warrior approaching the realm of transcendence.

“I heard that when he appeared 80 years ago, Lord Bukkake defeated him.”

“That’s right. It was 80 years ago, but I remember it like it was yesterday.”

When I first heard that a strange barbarian using Taekwondo had destroyed the barrier and entered the kingdom 80 years ago, I couldn’t believe my ears.

He’d always spouted nonsense about fists being the strongest even back on Earth, but the martial art he claimed to use was just Taekwondo.

‘Well, calling that Taekwondo might be a stretch.’

Even I, who only attended a neighborhood Taekwondo dojo in elementary school, could tell that what he was using now was light-years away from Taekwondo.

If anything, with hand techniques being the main focus rather than kicks, it seemed closer to Karate.

“Um… Lord Bukkake?”

“Hm? Ah, my apologies. I was lost in thought for a moment. To continue the story, 80 years ago, he was like a frog in a well.”

“A frog in a well, sir?”

“Yes, a frog in a well. A foolish frog who’s lived its entire life in the small well of the uncharted lands, ignorant of the vastness of the sea.”

People tend to fear the uncharted lands, imagining ferocious magical beasts and cruel barbarians roaming about, but thinking carefully, it’s not quite like that.

While the magical beasts born in the uncharted lands are strong, they still can’t match the strength of Lobo, raised by Rapier’s possessed.

And unless we’re talking about a tribal chief who’s trained for decades in the uncharted lands, even the barbarians fall far short of the kingdom’s knights, who’ve honed themselves through systematic training methods.

“Of course, he’s in a different league from the uncivilized barbarians roaming the uncharted lands.”

Unfortunately, he rarely had the chance to meet a strong opponent who could make him realize his own shortcomings.

The strongest opponents he’d face would be moderately strong magical beasts or barbarians, never feeling the need to develop new techniques.

Mistaking his small well for the entire world, he’d become endlessly arrogant, only to fall pathetically before me.

It was such an anticlimactic fight that I almost wondered if I’d found the wrong person.

The only praiseworthy thing was that even faced with an opponent of a completely different caliber, his will never broke.

“After driving him away, I sent ninjas to the uncharted lands to investigate him.”

Thanks to his rather flashy activities in the uncharted lands, gathering information wasn’t difficult.

The name of the tribe Baek Jeong-nam was born into was Koraea, similar to Korea, revealing the playfulness of the author who possessed us into this world.

Born into the Koraea tribe, he killed the chief at 15 and took the position of tribal leader.

I heard he tried to teach Taekwondo to other tribe members, but there was no way they could properly use such a shoddy martial art.

Some were killed by magical beasts or other barbarians while fighting barehanded, and those who resorted to weapons out of desperation were personally killed by him, enraged at their neglect of his teachings.

In the end, within a year of him becoming the chief, the entire Koraea tribe was wiped out, except for him.

After that, perhaps realizing he lacked the qualities to lead people, he never again created or joined a tribe, spending his entire life alone.

“So, beating up magical beasts and weak barbarians, he deluded himself into thinking he was the strongest and headed for the kingdom. You know the rest.”

“I see… Then, may I ask one last thing?”

“What is it?”

“When I visited him, he said something I couldn’t quite understand. What does ‘toechak waegu[1]’ mean?”

“…That’s a thing.”

As we were chatting, I looked back at the barrier, which had resembled a demolition site, and suddenly all was quiet.

“You’d think an old man’s hearing would deteriorate…”

“Huh? Agh…!!”

The high-ranking ninja who’d been expressing doubt suddenly gasped, seeing a shadow racing through the darkness, kicking up dust.

Pushing my surprised subordinate behind me, I drew my sword and faced Baek Jeong-nam, who was charging towards me, emitting a fierce aura.

Recalling the humiliation from 80 years ago, Baek Jeong-nam wore a ghostly expression as he ran, then suddenly leapt high into the air.

The moonlight reflecting off his shiny bald head nearly blinded me for a moment.

“Using baldness as a weapon. You’ve grown.”

“Shut up!! Junggeun!!”

With that ridiculous technique name, a sharp gust of wind infused with energy shot from his interlocked index fingers, enveloping me.

If the Junggeun he showed me 80 years ago was a toothpick, this technique now was like a cavalry lance charge.

“Ninja Art! Technique of Transfer.”

Immediately forming hand seals to activate the ninja technique, a thick smoke rose from the ground, enveloping my body.

The next moment, when Baek Jeong-nam’s Junggeun pierced through the smoke, my body was gone, leaving only a freshly cut log smashed as if hit by a hammer.

“Such petty tricks!!”

“I’m not romantic enough to deliberately take on attacks I can avoid.”

“Shut up!! You native Waegu bastard!!”

When I first met him 80 years ago, he also denounced me as a ‘native Waegu’ upon seeing my ninja outfit.

I was too dumbfounded to speak then, but while I revere ninjas, I’m not exactly obsessed with Japan.

When I told him this fact, he smirked and said:

“What brazen words. Then why did you call my theory about ninjas originating from Korea bullshit back on Earth?”

Unable to tolerate his nonsense about ninjas originating from Korea, I drew my sword. Sensing the threat, Baek Jeong-nam leapt back.

“…Be careful with every word you say about ninjas in front of me. Ninjas originated in Japan, not Korea.”

“Shut up!! It’s already practically established in academic circles that ninjas originated in Korea!! You’re a Japanophile for denying this fact and worshipping ninjas while insisting they’re Japanese!!”

“This isn’t worth listening to.”

I listened carefully, wondering what he was going to say, but it was just nonsense as expected.

Feeling foolish for even squaring off against such a person, I sheathed my sword.

“What? Are you running away?”

“What a pathetic provocation. If you want to fight me again, first defeat the Baldo bug. Then I’ll face you.”

“You think I’ll just let you go…!”

He tried to attack me as I turned my back, but seeing the shadow already enveloping me and my subordinate, he lowered his raised fist.

Ninja Art! Technique of Shadow Transfer.

It’s a ninja technique that transfers the physical body while leaving behind a shadow copy of oneself to confuse the enemy.

Having been badly beaten by this technique in our fight 80 years ago, he recognized the shadow enveloping my body and realized he was too late.

“You rat bastard!! Fine, I’ll crush that Baldo bug first, then I’ll tear your throat out!! And then…!!”

I almost burst out laughing at his words about proving fists were the strongest.

Prove fists are the strongest?

Ignorance truly is bliss. He couldn’t even perceive the wall that even I, with insufficient training, had yet to overcome.

“If you manage to defeat the Baldo bug, I’ll tell you a sad truth.”

“What?”

Not foolish enough to miss that this wasn’t a mere provocation, he turned his back with a meaningful expression.

Then he set off towards the von Grund family’s territory, not the academy.

‘So he’s starting there.’

Well, 80 years ago, he fell to my hands before he could face Thor Kim’s successor, so he must have some regrets.

Come to think of it, wasn’t the von Grund family’s daughter particularly close to the Baldo bug?

Though unintentional, it seemed their meeting might happen sooner than expected.

—

[1. raei: Toechak, (도착, 到着): This is a Korean word meaning “arrival” or “arrived.” “Waegu” (왜구, 倭寇): This is a historical term referring to Japanese pirates who raided the Korean and Chinese coasts during the Goryeo and Joseon dynasties.

Also, authors note:

To clarify the timeline of when the possessed arrived: currently, it’s 100 years since the Baldo House, 200 years since Baek Jeong-nam, 300 years since Ponpon hyung, 400 years since Bondage Master, 500 years since Bukkake, 600 years since Dick Length = Sword Length, and 700 years since Thor Kim.]