Chapter 17: Beast Karma

Chapter 17

It had been six months since Kim Jinsung was dragged underground. His life there was monotonous. On days without matches, he was always taken to the incineration room to personally kill boys who were facing their end and then burn their bodies… Beyond that, there really wasn’t much to do.

He didn’t exercise on his own, wasn’t fond of playing leader like Park Seongtae, and preferred being alone over talking with the kids. Thus, he naturally spent his spare time researching his awakening abilities.

‘I can tell my abilities are really good.’

Most kids had, at most, two combat skills. In contrast, Kim Jinsung was like a monster who could devour skills and traits without limit.

‘But I still don’t know much about these Beast Karma points.’

Beast Karma was displayed at the bottom of the physical ability window. He didn’t know the exact details yet, but from experience, he knew that points increased every time he killed a villain.

‘I’m not sure how the points can be used…’

So far, he knew that Beast Karma points could be used for physical recovery. Even that, he had never used in six months since he hadn’t suffered any serious injuries like broken bones.

However, Kim Jinsung believed there must be other uses for the points besides recovery. Otherwise, the trait wouldn’t be named Beast Karma but simply ‘Recovery.’

So, he spent months curious about it. Then, finally, more information about Beast Karma was revealed.

As usual, he was choking boys on the brink of death when suddenly, this notification popped up:

・Your Beast Karma points have reached 500. You can now use the unique trait skill ‘Magi’ with Beast Karma points.

▷ Magi: When activated, all physical abilities significantly increase. Continuously uses Beast Karma points while activated.

“Magi…”

Upon seeing the notification, Kim Jinsung wanted to try it immediately but restrained himself.

‘I don’t know how many points it’ll consume right away.’

It’s better to save points for when facing a strong opponent.

So, time continued to pass without him using it once. And today, the day to face the strongest opponent, Go Junkyung, had come.

As expected, Go Junkyung was strong.

‘I knew he had a powerful skill, but I didn’t expect it to be this strong.’

Having observed Go Junkyung’s matches for six months, he had some understanding of his skills. But he never imagined they could break his bones, which had become incredibly thick and sturdy from absorbing the skills of over a hundred boys.

‘Well, I had considered such an unfavorable situation…’

He had openly taken hits, trusting he could recover using Beast Karma points. But using them for HP recovery consumed more points than expected.

‘I didn’t know 1 point would only recover 1 HP.’

After fully recovering, the over 600 points he had were reduced to about 200. This made using points for recovery too burdensome.

So, he had no choice but to use ‘Magi’ to end it quickly.

‘But this Magi trait also consumes points faster than I thought?’

It wasn’t an absurd rate like 1 point per second, but the points were definitely disappearing quickly, about 10 points every 30 seconds.

It was a situation where he couldn’t afford to be careless. But,

‘I should at least test how much stronger it makes me.’

It was a chance to test the overall capabilities of the Magi trait, too precious to end it with just one blow.

So, Kim Jinsung,

“Stop being surprised and come at me, will you?”

Opened his mouth to taunt Go Junkyung for the first time today.

“Scared again? Your face looks just like it did when you knelt before me last night.”

“Well, what do you have over me, anyway? You’re behind in 1-on-1, outnumbered, ah. There’s one thing you’re ahead in! The cowardice of attacking the day before the match…”

Continuing his taunts, Kim Jinsung then delivered the final blow.

“Thinking about it, you don’t win in anything as a ‘leader,’ do you? I feel sorry for the kids following someone like you. Tsk.”

The moment he mentioned the word ‘leader,’ sparks flew in Go Junkyung’s eyes.

Seeing this, Kim Jinsung confirmed his taunt was successful.

‘As expected. He’s most sensitive to the word ‘leader.”

Some people can’t rest until they’re the leader.

Exactly like Yang Dongju, who tormented Kim Jinsung terribly.

And Go Junkyung, whom he had observed for six months, was very similar to Yang Dongju in personality and many other aspects.

‘Now, let’s see.’

Kim Jinsung deliberately advanced slowly. Go Junkyung also moved forward at the same pace.

Rage was burning in his eyes.

This was enough to feel that he would use his ‘one-punch’ skill at any opportunity.

‘Let’s test Magi’s defense.’

Kim Jinsung deliberately swung his fist to miss.

Dodging the attack, Go Junkyung,

“Die, you bastard!”

Shouting internally, Go Junkyung immediately used his ‘Deadly Strike’ skill. His fist, fueled by all the remaining mana, flew towards Kim Jinsung’s jaw with dazzling speed. However, to Kim Jinsung, it seemed otherwise.

‘Slow.’

The speed of the punch that had broken his bones earlier felt incomparably slower now. Kim Jinsung’s every cell had become extremely sensitive due to ‘Magi.’

Go Junkyung’s punch, slow enough to make Jinsung yawn, finally hit Kim Jinsung’s jaw, which was tightly packed with Magi. The audience’s eyes widened at the direct hit.

And then, nothing happened.

“…What?”

Go Junkyung was extremely confused. Not only had he not broken the jawbone, but Kim Jinsung’s head hadn’t even turned slightly.

‘What? Didn’t he use his trait…?’

Wondering, he checked his remaining mana.

It was zero.

He had definitely used up all his remaining mana. But why…?

Kim Jinsung was equally surprised.

‘…This is an unexpected level of defense?’

To not take any damage from a punch strong enough to break arms…? ‘Magi’ seems incredibly strong.

‘With this, I don’t need to put much Magi into attacks.’

Having roughly calculated, Kim Jinsung decided to attack this time. His fist, slightly infused with Magi, headed towards Go Junkyung’s unprotected left arm.

Go Junkyung couldn’t even react. He didn’t have time to feel the speed before realizing Kim Jinsung had swung his fist.

Thud!

With a dull sound, what used to be Go Junkyung’s left arm dropped to the floor. Kim Jinsung’s eyes widened.

He had not just broken the bone but completely shattered the entire forearm.

“What?”

Go Junkyung, still not grasping the situation, looked down at his fallen left arm. The audience was also in shock.

The shock was so great that more than half of the audience couldn’t even scream.

Kim Jinsung, the cause of everyone’s astonishment, thought, ‘I should only infuse a tiny bit of Magi.’

After deciding, he reduced the Magi in his fist by about half.

Then, Go Junkyung realized,

“My, my arm..! My arm..!”

He cried out in shock, realizing the reality. Kim Jinsung’s fist hit his right arm again.

Crack!

“Stop—!”

Go Junkyung’s scream and the sound of breaking were heard simultaneously. His right arm bone was visibly broken and dangling.

Kim Jinsung nodded to himself.

‘Good, I’ve got the hang of it now.’

After extracting a bit more Magi from his fist, Kim Jinsung began to relentlessly punch Go Junkyung.

Go Junkyung, startled, tried to dodge, but Kim Jinsung’s fist speed was beyond his ability to evade.

Soon, a one-sided and brutal beating unfolded in the arena.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

“Is this too weak?”

Crack!

“This seems a bit strong, then…”

Thwack!

“Oh, this seems about right?”

Kim Jinsung muttered to himself as he kept swinging his fists. Go Junkyung, having lost both arms, couldn’t resist and kept getting hit.

It was like an adult beating a child. Representative Jo,

Too shocked to close his mouth, just watched.

Representative Baek was also surprised, but for a different reason.

‘What kind of skill is this? No, is he even using a skill?’

He kept tilting his head, fixated on Kim Jinsung’s eyes. Shouldn’t the color of the eyes change when using a trait?

‘Could it be that his mana is black? No, that’s impossible.’

Baek Jun almost had the answer but then shook his head. Black mana would mean ‘Magi,’ but it’s impossible for a human body to possess Magi. This was a fact verified through the experiences of hunters over the years.

‘Have I encountered someone who piqued my interest like this recently?’

As Representative Baek was thinking to himself and unknowingly smiling,

Crack!

The sound of bones shattering once again filled the arena. However, it was unclear which bones had broken this time. Go Junkyung’s entire body was already in a state of ruin, more resembling a lump of meat than a human being.

‘Different from his appearance, I like his cruelty.’

To survive in this harsh world, one must have venom. A naive nature, no matter how strong the trait, does not last long.

‘Especially inside the ‘Colosseum.”

As Representative Baek was thinking this,

Kim Jinsung slowly rose from atop Go Junkyung’s body, prompted by a notification that appeared before him.

You have eliminated a villain.

You have gained 10 Beast Karma points.

You have acquired the opponent’s skills ‘Shock Absorption’ and ‘Deadly Strike.’

‘This guy gives 10 Beast Karma points.’

It was unexpected since he had never received more than 5 points at a time before. Could it be that the more powerful the villain defeated, the more essence of evil is gained?

Well, that’s something I’ll find out as I encounter more strong opponents.

“Thanks. Because of you, I was able to properly test my abilities.”

He offered a final word of thanks to the fallen body of Go Junkyung. He hadn’t expected to lose, but Go Junkyung had been much stronger and more threatening than anticipated, befitting a champion.

Kim Jinsung then looked at the referee, who approached him and raised his hand high.

“The new champion of Fight Club! Kim! Jin! Sung!”

The announcer’s loud proclamation echoed throughout the arena.

The PPV was a resounding success.

The event with the highest number of spectators, viewers, and betting money ever recorded.

The tournament that saw the birth of a new champion after two years.

The event that heralded the era of the superstar Kim Jinsung.

Everything had gone exactly as Representative Jo had wanted.

But…

“Sigh… Damn…”

Now, Representative Jo sat alone in his office, exhausted, continuously sighing.

“What should I do? Kim Jinsung is much stronger than I thought…”

The reason was Kim Jinsung. People prefer intense rivalries with unpredictable outcomes over matches with obvious results.

That’s why Go Junkyung, the ‘invincible champion,’ had been unpopular.

But today, it seemed Kim Jinsung was several times more formidable than Go Junkyung!

“Who am I supposed to match Kim Jinsung with in the next fight? Ah, my head hurts…”

Knock, knock, knock.

“Yes?”

At that moment, a man entered the office as the door opened.

It was Baek Jun.

Representative Jo was startled and stood up quickly.

“Mr. Baek! You’re still here?”

“Yes. I had something to tell you, so I waited until the audience had left.”

“Ah! Please, have a seat! Would you like some coffee…”

“That’s alright.”

Baek Jun declined and got straight to the point.

“I watched today’s match. You really run things well. I felt the worth of my initial investment.”

“Thank you so much. Without you, this club wouldn’t have even started. Hahaha…”

“Do you remember the contract you made with me when you took the investment?”

“Which… Oh, are you talking about the contract regarding the return of the investment? I’d have to look at the contract, but I think starting next year…”

“Not that. The ‘player provision contract.'”

Representative Jo froze for a moment.

‘Player provision contract.’

Of course, he knew what it was. Representative Jo had a good memory.

Of course, he had completely forgotten about it until Baek mentioned it.

“I looked at the contract again before coming here today, and it’s written exactly like this: ‘The party of the second part agrees to provide one player of the party of the first part’s choosing without any compensation.'”

“Uh…”

“I’m here to take one player according to that contract.”

“Wh-who…?”

Representative Jo asked with a look of dread.

Baek Jun answered.

“Kim Jinsung.”