Episode 8 - Room 101, The Cursed Room - 'A Strange Family' (3)
Episode 8
Tsk! Tsk! Tsk t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t!!!
Amidst the blaring noise, Jin-cheol sighed. What is all this? It was the sound of his mother glaring at him and clicking her tongue.
Since childhood, whenever Jin-cheol made a mistake or did something lacking, his mother wouldn't add this or that remark; she would simply click her tongue once as a warning.
Such behavior from his mother hadn't changed, even now that her son was fully grown and past thirty.
If there was one minor change, it felt like she used to look him straight in the eye and go *Tsk!*... but today, she was making the sound while doing a handstand.
Don't her arms hurt? Was she always that good with her arms?... His memory was a bit hazy.
"Geez, Mother, at least sit down. Didn't I tell you I did really well on the interview this time? I don't know why you worry so much."
"You've been saying that for almost five years now. 'I did well this time, nothing went wrong this time.' And in those five years, you've quit three companies, you rascal. I've accepted my death and am just waiting for my day to come, but seeing my son past thirty with nothing to show for it terrifies me so much I can't close my eyes! I just can't!"
"Why wouldn't you close your eyes? If anyone heard you, they'd think you were 80 or 90. You've just passed sixty... Besides, seeing you talk while doing a handstand since earlier, you're still overflowing with energy."
"Not backing down a single word... You're as big as an ox, but if you're a man, you should have some silent dignity, so how come you never think of backing down? When you said you'd go to that dojo as a kid, not stopping you is the regret of my lifetime! My lifetime!"
Dojo. At the mention of the dojo, along with a surging feeling from deep within his heart, he turned away silently, lacking the confidence to control his emotions in front of his mother.
Since childhood, Jin-cheol was a promising seedling in the sports world.
From his elementary school days, showing an exceptional physique and growth, people called him the successor of Kang Ho-dong in the wrestling club, the successor of Park Ji-sung in the soccer club, labeling him the successor of all sorts of TV sports stars. However, what young Jin-cheol was most drawn to was, above all, a primal sport.
That's right, what is the most primal, most savage thing a human can do with a honed body? Ultimately, it's pitting fists against each other. Combat!
Jin-cheol wasn't particularly a violent child. It sounds funny to self-evaluate, but he considered himself sincere and kind-hearted. He pictured himself sharing a match with an opponent who had honed their skills on the ring; he never had the slightest intention of doing thuggish things in some back alley.
Time passed. In the flow of time, a genius becomes a talented person, and a talented person becomes an ordinary person. Jin-cheol himself truly hadn't known this would apply to him.
In the world of ordinary people, Jin-cheol's physique alone was enough. A height reaching 192cm, evenly developed muscles. Just by walking, most men felt intimidated and stepped back, and every time, Jin-cheol felt considerable pride.
However... he learned that the world of combat couldn't be won by physique alone. More accurately, beyond a certain level, the heavyweight combat world is a place where demi-humans with similar physiques gather anyway. Every single one of them was over 190cm tall and easily over 100kg, and in a crowd of such muscle-bound monsters, he couldn't win on physique alone.
Why was that? Why couldn't I react to my opponent's fists? Why did moves that worked during sparring fail in actual combat? Why didn't my opponents fall for my feints, while I fell for theirs time and time again?
I lost once, twice, three times. It was only after five consecutive defeats that I realized. My talent wasn't enough to endure in this arena of Asura.
There was no place for Jin-cheol in a world where one could see fists like the wind and throw two feints in under 0.5 seconds.
By the time he came to his senses, it was already too late. He was nearing thirty, and all that remained was a failed combat career that was useless anywhere.
No. In truth, it wasn't a matter of objective conditions. Late twenties wasn't an irrecoverable age, and his trained body alone was enough to open up a way to make a living.
Among the people he trained with, someone opened a gym. Someone jumped into the bodyguard business. Someone became a police officer.
Even if they all backed out midway due to a lack of talent, they lived well by making good use of their top 0.1% physiques. The problem probably lay not in Jin-cheol's body, but in his mind.
He didn't want to give up. He didn't want to veer off into another path either. Even after getting a job at a company through a former colleague's recommendation, he quit making up strange excuses, and repeatedly refused offers to run a gym together. As his connections disappeared one by one, and even the flame in his heart began to die out...
Only then did Jin-cheol realize his life was going off the rails.
Gloomy thoughts. Even though he decided to stop thinking like this, they wouldn't easily stop. He gathered his mind and turned back towards the house. First, he should apologize to his mother. Wasn't she the one who supported her struggling son after his father passed away early? And, he should really try to endure and work well at the company he interviewed for this time.
When he returned home, Jin-cheol was a bit flustered.
A familiar face was at the house. It was the dojo master he had known for over 10 years since childhood! After his father passed away, he was a special person who had even acted as a half-father figure.
Even after he put down his dream of being a fighter, he maintained a good relationship with Jin-cheol for quite a long time, and the fitness-related company he interviewed for this time was also introduced by the Master.
"Oh, Master Park? What brings you to our house?"
"Oh my, Jin-cheol, hurry and thank him, and then thank him again. This man has brought good news!"
"Haha, did I bring it because I'm so great? It's just that there are a lot of people who know how sincere this friend Jin-cheol is, so these introductions keep coming."
"Master? What's the news?"
"Busan is hosting a major comprehensive combat tournament this time. This is an opportunity, you know? It's an event where the local government spent quite a lot of money... But somehow, it overlapped with the schedule of the XXX tournament, right? So the named fighters can't participate in the Busan tournament. You know what that means? Only small fries will come out, but the prize money is decent, and there are a lot of eyes watching. When else would you get a chance like this?"
"Haha... Master. You know that, right. Honestly, I'm past my prime. Being a small fry is meaningless too. I'm a small fry myself..."
"Ahem, I said this tournament is a bit different? It's the 'One Man Standing' rule style that's becoming increasingly popular in Japan."
"One Man Standing? What's that? It's my first time hearing about it."
"You're hearing this for the first time? It's been around for 10 years since it came out of Japan, what are you talking about... Only one person survives in the arena. Aren't you strong in this kind of thing?"
What... He was too flustered. Only one person survives in a combat match, can such a thing exist? And I'm strong in that kind of thing? What kind of nonsen--------------------------
I understand. Why did I forget this? Come to think of it, didn't the One Man Standing rule tournament prosper in Japan even when I was in high school?
However, I remember the tournament taking a break for a while because half of the registered fighters in Japan died while it was running. Maybe that's why I forgot. It's only natural that I'm strong in that aspect.
Who am I? Am I not the man who beat a man-eating monkey to death with a single wooden club? Extreme violence of killing or being killed. Since I am the only one who has had such an experience against a monster, it's only natural that I am strong.
At last, the opportunity I've waited for all these years has returned.
But wait, when did I ever fight a man-eating monkey? Does such a thing even exist in Korea? It's not a very important issue. Whatever the case, it's true that I beat a monkey to death.
------------------- Flicker
Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!
A tremendous roar erupts from all directions. What is this? It feels like I just closed my eyes for a moment while talking to the Master...
I was somehow standing in the middle of the arena, and I saw a large man on the opposite side. What on earth?
Aha, I understood immediately. Today is the day of the Busan One Man Standing Combat Tournament. Right, it's the day of the tournament, and to momentarily lose my mind even after stepping into the arena, I'm truly beyond saving.
Thud thud thud thud thud thud
The opponent then charged at me holding an iron mace. 4 meters? 3 meters? Just as I wondered how close he was getting, the mace from his waist flew in like the wind.
An iron mace? Why is something like this in a combat match? Ah, is this the trend these days? Fortunately, I also had a tonfa in my hand, so I preemptively deflected it before the mace could pick up speed.
A mace isn't a blade; it's a mass weapon. If you defend after it picks up speed, it's too late even if you block it. The impact alone is enough to break your bones.
So when I stuck close and preemptively deflected it, the opponent panicked. If I don't give him the distance to build up speed with the mace, I have the advantage.
Immediately, I struck down the opponent's mouth with the tonfa. Teeth fell out like corn kernels. I felt a dull impact on my leg. The opponent had kicked my leg and then struck down with the mace as well.
It's bearable. In a clinched state, it can't build up proper speed anyway.
Calmly, I shoved the tonfa into the opponent's mouth and shook my hand. At first teeth, then unidentifiable lumps of flesh. As I pushed my fist in further, the opponent's throat was pierced.
Was my strength always this great? A tonfa isn't a sword; piercing through the opponent's mouth and out the back of their neck with a blunt wooden club?
I figured it must be so. For a man, for a combat sports fighter, being strong is a good thing, why question it!
Just as I stepped back and was laughing heartily, the next person appeared at some point. An axe? What an insolent weapon.
Of course, if our skills were similar, I wouldn't be able to get close to an opponent swinging an axe with something like a tonfa.
'If our skills were similar'
I sprinted exactly three steps, closing a distance of nearly 20 meters in an instant and charged in. I saw sheer horror fill the opponent's eyes.
Is he surprised? How ridiculous. I am as fast as a tiger right now. Since when did I gain such nonsensical physical abilities?
If I had this kind of ability from the start, things like reaction speed or psychological warfare wouldn't have mattered at all, and I would have easily become a world champion.
It's no big deal. It's just a matter of rising up from now on.
Before he could even swing the axe, my fingers pierced the opponent's eyes. Piercing the eyeballs, crushing the brain, my fingers dug in, collapsing the front of the opponent's skull, and even reached the back of it.
How many was it? 10? 20? By the time it became hard to even count how many I had killed, there was no one left in the arena.
Waaaaaaaaaah! Cha Jin-cheol! Cha Jin-cheol! Cha Jin-cheol!!!!!
I see countless crowds shouting my name. I feel the lump that had built up in my heart for 10 years, perhaps even longer, unraveling in a single moment. Across the way, my mother was crying her eyes out. The Master stood proudly, but it was clearly visible that the corners of his eyes were red.
Ah... how much I had longed for this moment. At this very moment, I am the protagonist of the world.
I saw a middle-aged man in a suit walking over from across the way. Aha, it's the Mayor of Busan. So the Mayor of Busan is the one handing the belt to today's tournament winner. To think a day would come where I'd win a championship in front of someone like him... My heart filled with emotion.
Bang!!!!!!!
I hear a sound like lightning striking. There's a flash, and then a burning sensation in my chest.
What on earth. As I stared at the Mayor in a daze, I saw that a Glock was now in his hand.
The moment I realized the bullet had pierced my chest, my body collapsed.
What is this. What on earth just happened. The realization came immediately.
Aha! Wasn't this arena a place where only one person could walk out standing! From the moment the Mayor stepped in, it was natural that one of us had to die. Letting my guard down was the problem. I should have snapped the Mayor's neck right away...
I felt my consciousness fading. Since I had achieved the dream I'd longed for all those years, I didn't have huge regrets... but I wanted to see my mother one last time.
/You have failed!
A long-unfulfilled dream! The inability to let go of that obsession! In the end, entranced by a dream you couldn't achieve, you failed to notice the bizarre changes in your beloved mother and the Master who was like a father, and after participating in a lethal combat tournament with them, you ended up losing your life at the hands of the Mayor.
You couldn't even escape the curse, nor could you resolve the root of the curse. It is unfortunate.
However, there is still a chance! Wait for your comrades
...
...
...
...
A comrade has successfully escaped! Congratulations! With the emergence of a successful escapee, all members return safely./
Cha Jin-cheol feels his sunken consciousness slowly floating......