Yesterday, Ulsan was raised to the status of a metropolitan city from a former local ward, and Sia Automobile Corporation ended up bankrupt.
I was in a boxing gym the following day.
Whoosh.
I whipped back my left fist as I slammed the sandbag with my right. It jiggled with a big motion while it flew backwards, and the sound my punch made was satisfying. The entire gym suddenly became quiet, and everyone working out was staring at me. The manager approached me.
"I'm sorry to bother you, but are you a professional? Who is your coach?" The manager glared at me.
"I don't belong to any gyms," I answered.
"Do you have a license?" He asked.
"I don't," I replied.
He asked again, "You said you're 21 years old this year, right?"
The manager wasn't doubting me. When I saw myself in the mirror, I even thought that my physique was that of someone in his early twenties. Of course, my face still looked young.
"That's perfect!" He was amazed. As the manager beamed, I shook my head.
"I work out only as my hobby," I said.
"Your talent is stunning. Hit the sandbag one more time. Let's see you put your weight into these punches," he went behind the sandbag and hugged it as he talked to me. Then, he tapped where I should hit with his palm. His reaction was natural.
[Strength: F (20)]
[Sense: F (20)]
My current stats were closing in on the initial stats of professional athletes. I could move flexibly and accurately like those who had been specially trained.
I did what he wanted, and the manager grinned after feeling the force being punched into the sandbag. He called over a young man who was a professional athlete that belonged to the gym. When the manager told me to spar, I didn't refuse because I came to this gym specifically for that.
***
"Fuck!" The young man couldn't control his temper and shouted as he spat out his mouthpiece. He glared at me with a fierce look.
It was something unimaginable in the future because an ordinary guy picking a fight against an Awakened? It was the same for fights between the Awakened. Unless it was between comrades who trusted each other, provoking an Awakened like that clearly meant for a fight until death. No country's law or army could interfere in that battle.
This young man was lucky. Blood was coming out from the ripped gloves, so he had to go down from the ring to stop the bleeding.
"Manager," I spat out the mouthpiece and looked towards him.
"Yes! Hey, you don't belong to any gym, right?" The manager replied as if he had been waiting.
"Wait, is there anyone else? I'm not warmed up yet," I said.
"Gi-Chan, go up!" He shouted at another guy.
"Okay!" The guy named Gi-Chan answered and prepared to enter the ring. He briefly scanned me while he put on a band and bit into a mouthpiece. His gaze was somewhat familiar because it reminded me of the way hunters looked at guild members from foreign nations in the future. I was a stranger here, too.
Ding!
The bell rang. The new guy was slightly better than the previous one, but he was still an amateur. The only thing I could compliment him on was the fact that he endured the pain better when I accurately hit his abdomen. His movement became slower then, and it allowed me to counter-attack.
Smash!
The feeling of hitting him wasn't that satisfying because I was too weak, at least, compared to my old days of being Awakened. Even though I punched him with all of my strength, he still wasn't knocked out instantly.
The manager yelled, "Gi-Chan, come down!"
"I can keep going," Gi-Chan grunted but he looked like he would collapse soon.
"What do you mean? You can't," the manager replied.
The manager went into the ring and sent Gi-Chan down, then began to prepare himself. Of course, I didn't stop him. The trophies in the cabinet were won by the athletes affiliated with the gym, but the old picture hanging at the most visible spot depicted a young man holding his fist in front of him and smiling. He had to be the manager, and a champion belt was around his waist. Although the manager had retired as an athlete, he was still much better than mediocre amateurs.
After letting the manager smash my face a few times, I remembered the days when I was an E class. I had entry training with eight other E classes.
That was a good punch. I could still taste blood despite the mouthpiece in my mouth. The manager was going all out on full strength, and he was relying on his muscle memory. While his power and reaction speed were not like his professional days, his expertise and skill remained in him despite the time. The manager knew that he couldn't beat me unless he did his best, and his smiling eyes turned firm. Then, I threw an uppercut between his eyes.
There were many ways to take the manager down when I found a gap in his defense, such as kicking, elbow slamming, tackling and striking his joints. However, I had to abide by the rules of boxing since I was at a boxing gym.
Baaam!
The manager stumbled, and I moved to the corner of the ring to put a distance from him. He admitted his defeat without hesitation.
"Hey! What was your name, again? Something Ho?" He asked.
"Jeong-Ho. Kim Jeong-Ho," I answered.
"Let's go for the Rookie of the Year Award, Jeong-Ho! You can do it since you don't have a license! Jeong-Ho!" He screamed with excitement.
"...Is there anyone else?" I asked.
"Huh?" He seemed to be bumfuzzled.
"Anyone who took the Rookie title or professional. I'm still not warmed up yet," I replied.
"You are taking blows well! But kid, I know you're strong, but let's stop here. It's no good," he said.
"I'm sorry," I responded.
"Why are you taking this as a hobby when you're so passionate about it? If you're willing to take boxing seriously, I'll set you up with another one!" he said.
It was then a young guy who had been standing quietly in the corner of the gym approached me. He was wearing a black sweatsuit and had been watching us spar after pausing his workout.
The guy said, "Let me do it, manager. We're of a pretty similar size, and most of all, he hasn't been trained for boxing. As you know, letting him go like this is embarrassing for us."
He had sharp eyes since he was correct. I had never received proper training for boxing.
"Your name is Jeong-Ho, right? How about sparring with me?" He started wrapping his hands instead of waiting for my answer. The manager didn't stop him, and the guy came up to where the manager used to stand.
"I'm a pro. I'll go a bit harder on you because of what you said, okay?" He said while smiling at me like a real man when I stared at him.
"Okay," I responded.
"How long have you been boxing?" He asked.
"I'm a beginner, just doing jumping ropes," I answered.
"Yeah, I could tell from your boxing skill. You filled up the gaps with your skill with other things," he bluffed, "You can say that you transferred these skills from other sports. You must like sports, right?"
I asked, "Are you ready?"
"Let's go slowly. I'm not going anywhere. You should take a breather since I don't want to hear your excuses later," he replied.
He was right because I was breathing heavily after sparring with the manager for three rounds. I nodded and calmed down. There was no one working out at the moment in the gym because everyone had gathered around the ring as an audience. According to them, the guy fulfilled the conditions I had asked for. He was a pro boxer in the light heavyweight class. His name was Park Dae-Soo, and he was quite famous in the boxing world.
Anyway, there were three reasons why I came to the gym. First, to confirm when the trait 'The Man Who Overcomes Adversity' became effective. Second, to familiarize myself with my currently lowered stats. Last but not least, to secure the stats that I could increase by training to my limits. Until I was completely prepared, I shouldn't even be looking toward entering a dungeon.
However, every time I allowed a light heavyweight boxer's hammer-like punches hit my face and abdomen, I felt a swift surge of anger that came from deep inside me.
Huff. Huff.
He latched onto me, and we grabbed each other's necks as our breathing became hot and rough.
We went back to the corners when the bell rang in the gym. No one could hide their shock when I defeated the manager. So after I fought in the fourth round against a pro boxer, they cheered on every punch I landed. Some of the new members looked at me like they were my fans. Someone even handed me a towel to wipe my sweat. As I wiped my sweat off, I mumbled in a faint voice so no one could hear me.
"Status window," I said.
[Name: Na Seon-Hu
Health: F (2), Strength: F (20), Agility: F (13), Sense: F (21)
Total points: 87]
Ah! My Sense had risen by 1. The sparring with Dae-Soo was as intense as the actual professional game. I must have missed this message when it popped on the screen.
[Your Sense has increased by 1.]
***
Someone asked, "You're not going soft on him, right Dae-Soo?"
"That boy…Where did he come from? You hit the jackpot today, Manager," someone else said.
The manager beamed, "Hahaha!"
"Stop laughing. I feel like I'm dying here," Dae-Soo grunted.
"You shouldn't lose, right?" the manager looked at Dae-Soo.
"Don't say that. I have to save my image as a pro," Dae-Soo replied.
However, Dae-Soo was thinking that it would be difficult to win even as he forced himself to smile. It was not easy. He stood up as he tapped his head with both of his gloved hands. Then, he shot a cold look at Seon-hu as he started to calm down.
I'll do my best with all my full power. Don't blame me for this, Dae-Soo thought