Chapter 3: Survival Match (1)

Chapter3. Survival Match (1)

Kim Jinsung looked at the burly man with a startled expression, hoping he had misheard.

However, the burly man did not even glance at him and continued to look at the list.

“Park Seongtae.”

At his call, a boy with a scarred face from a knife wound looked up.

“Room 100. You’ll handle body disposal with Kim Jinsung.”

“What?!”

Park Seongtae was startled and immediately began to vehemently protest.

“You want me to burn living corpses? I can’t do that! Give me another job!”

“Shut up, will you?!”

The burly man shouted while aiming his gun, but Park Seongtae was already in a state of extreme agitation.

“I can do anything else, but I absolutely can’t do that! So change my room! There are plenty of weaker kids here, why do I have to use that room?!”

“This guy, really…”

“Hey! You use Room 100. If you don’t want to get beaten to death, got it?!”

Eventually, he started shouting, grabbing another boy by the shoulder.

“Answer me! Will you change it or not—ugh?!”

Suddenly, a chair flew from the side, causing Park Seongtae to duck in shock as it narrowly missed and hit the wall with a loud noise.

Silence descended abruptly, and Park Seongtae stood up and shouted.

“Which bastard did that?!”

The waiting room fell silent, with no one answering.

Kim Jinsung covertly glanced at the burly man holding the gun, but surprisingly, the man just watched with a relaxed expression.

Then, someone approached with a look that clearly said, “I was the one who threw it.”

It was a face familiar to Kim Jinsung.

‘Wasn’t he the one who won earlier?’

It was Go Junkyung, the boy who had just won in the arena.

He approached Park Seongtae with a group and stopped in front of him.

‘Why is he so tall…?’

Kim Jinsung looked up at Go Junkyung and involuntarily swallowed.

With a muscular physique that seemed to reach at least 195cm, one punch from those huge fists seemed like it could bend anyone present at a 90-degree angle.

The intimidating presence of his overwhelming visuals was immense.

“You, you threw it?”

Even Park Seongtae, with his menacing look, stuttered in confusion.

Go Jun-kyung, looking down emotionlessly at Park Seongtae, opened his mouth.

“There are two choices. Choose.”

His deep voice resonated lowly.

“One, keep quiet and do as told. Second, fight me now and win.”

“Why do I have to fight you?”

“Because I’m the leader of this waiting room.”

Leader… Kim Jinsung glanced at the boys behind Go Junkyung.

Even in this small space, a hierarchy existed. That’s why so many boys were following him, Kim Jinsung thought.

“If you fight and win, I’ll put you in the room you want. I can even give you the best Room 1 that I’m using now. But if you die during the fight, It won’t matter.”

“——|”

“By the way, a total of eight guys have challenged me so far. All of them were immediately dragged to the crematorium.”

Park Seongtae’s gaze involuntarily shifted to the burly man upon hearing that terrifying statement.

However, the burly man, presumably a supervisor, still had no particular reaction to Go Junkyung’s words. Instead, he leaned on his back leg and watched with amusement.

“Make your choice. I’ve just finished a match, so your chances of winning against me are slightly higher now.”

He then took a step closer, looking down at Park Seongtae.

Park Seongtae, whose eyes wavered as he looked up, shifted his gaze from Go Junkyung’s muscular physique to the boys standing behind him like bodyguards, glaring at him.

One against one is already a tough fight. One against many? The chances of winning are almost zero.

Eventually, Park Seongtae quietly lowered his gaze.

With that, the small disturbance in the waiting room came to an end.

Heading to Room 100, Park Seongtae immediately grabbed Kim Jinsung, who was standing near Room 99, by the collar.

“From now on, you’re in charge of the crematorium alone. Got it? This is a secret. If any trouble comes my way because of this, I’ll really kill you!”

Threatened, Kim Jinsung could only nod in submission, shrinking back due to the aftereffects of years of bullying, instinctively terrified the moment he was grabbed.

As Park Seongtae turned his back and left the area around the crematorium, Kim Jinsung let out a heavy sigh.

‘How did I end up in this situation…’

It felt like he was living a terrible nightmare.

The once bullied, fragile boy was now in a worse-than-slave status, having to work at a human crematorium.

Kim Jinsung walked into the crematorium with a gloomy expression.

Inside, there was only one thick metal door leading to the cremation facility, with what appeared to be an instruction manual hanging beside it.

Kim Jinsung’s gaze naturally drifted to the ground.

The body of a boy covered in blood lay collapsed…

‘So, I have to physically lift and move this myself..?’

At that moment, a faint groan reached his ears, and Kim Jinsung’s eyes widened.

Could it be that he’s still not dead?

In a rush, Kim Jinsung brought his fingers to the boy’s nose.

There was a faint but definite sensation of breathing.

Kim Jinsung was about to call out for help, but he soon reconsidered.

‘No one will come to help just because I yell.’

They must know that this person wasn’t dead yet.

If they had wanted to save him, they wouldn’t have left him like this.

As Kim Jinsung was helplessly looking on, the fallen boy struggled to open his eyes.

Kim Jinsung quickly went over to him and sat by his side.

The boy seemed to have something to say and looked at him intently, so Kim Jinsung leaned his ear close to the boy’s mouth.

‘If you meet my sister… tell her…’

It sounded like a last will, a voice aware of its impending end.

So Kim Jinsung listened even more attentively, not wanting to miss a single word.

‘That time,I got drunk and did that… I’m so sorry…’

‘What?’

Could it be, he’s confessing to r*ping his own sister?

Kim Jinsung’s face turned to astonishment as he saw the boy’s eyes losing focus.

The boy was about to die.

At that moment, a thought flashed through Kim Jinsung’s mind.

‘Wait. If he’s going to die anyway…’

He recalled the ability to gain a trait from killing a villain.

Unconsciously, Kim Jinsung’s hands moved.

And in an instant, he grabbed the boy’s throat with all his might.

The boy’s eyes widened momentarily in surprise.

But soon, his head fell limply, lacking strength.

At the same time, a notification popped up in front of Kim Jinsung.

You have eliminated a villain.

▶You have gained 5 Beast Karma points.

▶You have acquired the trait ‘Violence’ of the opponent.

▷ Violence: Permanently increases strength by 3

Your strength has increased by 3 because of the ‘Violence’ trait.

‘Done. It’s done.’

Kim Jinsung slumped backward as if his strength had drained away.

However, his gaze remained fixed on the notification window.

Thanks to his decisive action, Kim Jinsung had acquired a valuable strength-increasing trait.

‘Could it be, I can keep getting stronger like this?’

Kim Jinsung surveyed the crematorium almost without realizing it.

It was then that he recognized the opportunity.

Being assigned to the crematorium was a lucky chance for his own survival in this place.

Inside the Fight Club representative office.

“There was a guy who defied even when you aimed a gun at him?”

In response to the question from the representative Jo Kanghyun, the burly staff member Daejoon, who had been with Kim Jinsung and the others, replied.

“Yes, sir. It was a guy named Park Seongtae, but he calmed down when Go Junkyung stepped in.”

“Another one soon to die has come in.”

In this underground world, those with nasty temperaments did not survive long. No one knew this better than Representative Jo.

“What about Kim Jinsung?”

“I placed him next to the crematorium as you instructed, sir. But to be honest, he seems fragile enough that we wouldn’t even need to demoralize him by placing him next to the bodies.”

“We still need to take care of him, though. Someone made a special request.”

The amount wire-transferred by Lee Dongshik, the second in command of Dream Gold, meant they should take even more care.

“Have you set up the matchups for the newbies tomorrow?”

“Yes, sir. Here they are.”

Representative Jo took the smartphone offered by Daejoon and looked it over.

Then he casually said,

“Switch Kim Jinsung and Park Seongtae’s opponents.”

Daejoon’s eyes widened at those words.

“You want Kim Jinsung to fight Lee Hyungjun?”

“Yes.”

“But, sir. Even if you received a request, isn’t this too unbalanced? Lee Hyungjun is bound to win, so there won’t be many bets…”

“How much money do the newcomers matches earn anyway? It’s better to focus all excitement on the main match, which is Park Seongtae’s.”

Daejoon looked back at the matchups and reflected before nodding.

“Now that I think about it, changing it this way will indeed increase Park Seongtae’s chances of winning, sir. The bets will likely pile up since the outcome isn’t predictable.”

“That’s what I’m saying. Proceed as planned.”

“Yes, sir.”

Daejoon bowed and left the office.

Left alone, Representative Jo lit a cigarette and muttered,

“This should satisfy him…”

As a representative, he had provided all possible services for Yang Joong-geun, the ‘big spender.’ Anything more was impossible.

The matchups were soon announced on the Fight Club’s internet broadcast notice board.

They were also announced in the waiting room where the athletes were.

Everyone crowded around the posted matchups on the wall, but Kim Jinsung had to watch from a distance, as he was in the middle of finishing work in the crematorium.

Fortunately, the matchups were big enough that the writing was visible even from the crematorium.

‘Who’s Lee Hyungjun?’

Kim Jinsung quickly rolled his eyes to find his opponent.

However, there was no need to search hard as his opponent was quickly identified.

“What? Is Hyungjun fighting that scrawny guy from the crematorium?”

“It’s like an easy win matchup!”

“Hey Hyungjun, did you bribe that pig or something? Hahaha!”

He didn’t want to hear it, but it was clear who his opponent would be.

That bald head in the center, receiving congratulations with a bright expression, must be Lee Hyungjun.

‘He looks really strong…?’

Kim Jinsung felt intimidated.

He wasn’t as imposing as Go Junkyung but still had a tall, muscular build.

Looking around the waiting room, the visual impression was that he could easily rank among the strongest there.

“Heh, heh, heh, exactly. For once, Representative Jo picked a good match for us!”

Lee Hyungjun laughed loudly, not even caring if Kim Jinsung heard his demeanor showed he sensed an easy victory the next day.

“Where’s my opponent? Ah, there? Hey!”

Lee Hyungjun started walking towards the crematorium. Then he picked up a thick piece of firewood used for stoking furnaces.

In front of everyone’s eyes, including Kim Jinsung’s, he grabbed the timber with both hands and snapped it forcefully with his knee.

Crack! The timber broke into two parts, the sight catching everyone’s attention.

“Your spine will be like this tomorrow! Better write your will in advance!”

After his loud declaration, Lee Hyungjun turned around triumphantly and walked back.

Go Junkyung’s gang welcomed him back with laughter.

“Puhahaha! Hey, take it easy, man. He’s gonna pee himself before the match!”

“This guy’s got a hell of a confidence, doesn’t he? I’ve never seen someone boast like this before a match.”

“Man, I could beat Kim Jinsung with one hand!”

While they were making a racket in the center, Kim Jinsung quietly entered the crematorium.

Then he picked up a piece of timber that was rolling around on one side. It was similar in thickness to the one Lee Hyungjun had just broken.

When he applied a slight amount of strength with both hands holding the ends,

Snap.

It broke cleanly into two.

Kim Jinsung looked at the broken timber with a surprised expression, even though he was the one who had done it.

Was it this easy to break something like this…?

Unconsciously, Kim Jinsung turned his head towards Lee Hyungjun.

‘Maybe, I could win tomorrow…?’

A wave of hope began to rise inside Kim Jinsung’s heart.