# Chapter 1:
Barbarians.
Born warriors in barren lands, raised as warriors, and considering it an honor to die on the battlefield.
Here is a warrior who is fleeing.
"Argh!"
With a warrior's cry, he slashed the neck of an enemy charging at him.
Once comrades of the same tribe, but now enemies.
Just as protecting the tribe is an honor and duty, protecting family is a natural duty as a head of household.
A warrior's duty is above honor.
"Arghhhhh!"
Crack!
Therefore, as he flees, eliminating former comrades one by one, there is not a trace of hesitation, guilt, or shame on the warrior's face.
He is only focused on protecting his wife running beside him, hand in hand with their son who is running hard.
Only that is on his mind.
Already, thirteen warriors have been dealt with.
With that much loss, our tribe is finished.
No, they are just enemies now.
Thud!
The warrior, who had stopped abruptly, kicked a pile of stones, sending them tumbling down the cliff.
If he had gone just a little further, he would have fallen off the endless cliff and died in vain.
Scanning his surroundings quickly, dismay filled the warrior's face.
"Damn it!"
A sharply protruding cliff terrain.
A cunning shaman must have designed this path to lead them to flee here.
"Huff."
The muscular warrior took a deep breath in and out. Shrugging off any hesitation, he turned to his wife.
"Evelyn! I'll buy us time."
Even though they were cornered and surrounded, they still had some time since they'd taken out all the lead pursuers.
"Kadazan!"
Ignoring his wife's cry, the warrior bent one knee and grabbed his son's shoulder. A child, barely six years old.
His face was drenched in sweat from running non-stop, and his small eyes were full of fatigue, but there was no fear.
"My son. Aiden!"
His father's blazing eyes captured the image of his son, which might be his last.
"Become strong. Stronger than anyone."
"Stronger than you, Father?"
Kadazan laughed, out of place for the situation.
"Ha! Yes. Stronger than me. Become so strong that you lose nothing. So that no tribe would dare to lay a hand on you."
"I understand."
His son's crisp answer, without a hint of whining, eased his mind a little.
"Kadazan!"
He raised his head at his wife's voice, and already the sounds of the rear pursuers were audible nearby.
"I'm sorry. Evelyn."
For not being able to protect you to the end.
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"Don't worry."
This must be fate.
"Argh!"
The warrior roared and rushed forward.
The shamans needed a little more time.
"Aiden."
Evelyn knelt down and hugged her child.
Tears streamed down her face.
There's still so much I need to teach this little child...
Nothing in the world is eternal, but this farewell that has come too soon is so regrettable.
The child is smart; he probably gets what's going on.
"Wherever you go, it'll be better than this place. Hide. Your little friends will help you disappear."
"Mother..."
This is the last time with mother too.
He barely held back the tears that were about to burst.
He held back, held back.
"Son… Please survive."
Evelyn said that and stood up, chanting a spell.
A strange voice, like and unlike his mother's, continued without pause.
Light began from her staff.
A mysterious blue and red light soon spread along the staff and engulfed her entire body as if it were burning, and when she opened her closed eyes, light exploded from her pupils.
It didn't seem like his mother.
The light that exploded from her eyes approached as if to say, "Your turn next, after mother."
At that moment, he felt the light enveloping his whole body.
[Spirits of our ancestors, protect this child!]
With a bizarre voice that did not sound like his mother's, the child lost consciousness.
*
"Hoo, hup."
Bang, bang!
Exhaling short breaths, he throws punches.
The sandbag swayed with a bursting sound, enough to draw the attention of everyone in the gym.
Bang, Kwaang!
Is that really the sound coming from a sandbag?
Brring!
With the chime, the fist that was being extended stopped.
Break time is 30 seconds.
"Haa, haa!"
Breathing short breaths, he controlled his breathing.
His roughly opened jaw closed, and his chest, which had been excessively inflated and deflated, calmed down.
His recovery was surprisingly fast.
"Hoooo."
He caught his breath, conserving his energy.
He still had energy in every muscle. To unleash it all in the next three minutes, he had to savor these thirty seconds of heaven.
5 seconds.
The time he estimated in his head was 5 seconds left.
His hazy eyes, which had been relaxed and focused on recovery, sharpened and came alive.
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3 seconds.
His gaze turns to the sandbag. He imagined the sandbag was a bear. The man's eyes now resembled those of a beast about to hunt.
2 seconds.
Cautious like a wolf about to pounce.
I will shove these claws, which I have no intention of hiding, into the bear's torso.
I will kill you.
His eyes even held a murderous glint.
1 second.
Preparation is complete. Soon.
Brring!
The beast sprang out and pounded the sandbag.
Kwaang, Kwaang!
The explosive noise and power drew the attention of other members who were starting to jump rope.
The explosive momentum, as if what he had done before was just a warm-up, was even frightening.
It was the first time anyone in the gym had ever felt sorry for a sandbag.
Thud, Wham! Clang!
The iron chain holding the swaying sandbag rattled precariously.
"Hey, Cheol-du."
Kwaaang!
The man caught the sound of someone calling him.
The flow was broken.
He put all his strength into the fist he was already extending. The heavy sandbag soared almost to the ceiling, then fell and danced.
"Hoo."
Cheol-du exhaled a long breath and turned around.
"Coach, you're here?"
"Yeah, keep it up. See me in my office later."
"Will do."
Cheol-du bowed and continued his workout.
Pow, thud!
"Sounds good!"
The coach smiled contentedly and headed to the office.
About 30 minutes later, Cheol-du, towel draped over his head, opened the office door and came in.
"Yo, you're done working out?"
The coach always smiled contentedly whenever he saw Cheol-du.
"Yeah, just a warm-up."
"Has it been about 10 years since we first met?"
"It was when I was in the second grade of elementary school."
Cheol-du is now a senior in high school, so it's been about 10 years.
"Yeah. I remember. When you came to the gym and said you were in the second grade, I thought you were a middle schooler who was a little short."
The coach's face was full of contentment as he reminisced about the old days.
Cheol-du's physique was outstanding from a young age.
Now, as a senior in high school, he is well over 190cm tall.
He's gotta be close to 2 meters, right?
"You were the definition of a 'quick study'."
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Why's he laying it on so thick again?
"Shouldn't you be figuring out your career path by now?"
"I'm still thinking about it."
Park Bong-pal started to complain.
"Come on, you're practically twenty already. What's there to think about? Are you serious about the national judo team?"
"Nah, I'm sticking with boxing."
Park Bong-pal's face brightened noticeably at Cheol-du's words.
"Right?"
"Yeah. Gotta go, my grandpa's waiting."
"Tell him I said hi."
"Yes."
Cheol-du left the gym and chuckled as he walked down the street.
'Going pro, huh.'
It's not that he hasn't thought about it.
But sports are all about fair play. Going pro would be taking it too far.
"Hah!"
Cheol-du, who had been walking well, suddenly punched the wall.
Kwaang!
Concrete broke and chunks fell down in a rush.
"Whoa, earthquake!"
Oops, someone was there.
He brushed off the debris, his hands completely unscathed.
With this kind of power, what chance do I have as a pro?
If I ever lost control, I could kill someone.
"That's not the way of a true man."
He is a barbarian.
I'm a different breed.
It's like a tiger entering a cockfight.
Just me being there would be a foul.
"Heh. It's lonely at the top."
A man does not foul.
He nodded to himself, satisfied.
All good.
Walking without thinking, he was already in front of his house.
He opened the door lock and entered, and a familiar house greeted him.
"You're home?"
"Grandpa, you're home early?"
"The whole country's going crazy."
"Hmm?"
Cheol-du plopped down next to his grandfather.
– The government's investigating some kind of disaster in Cheongju...
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All hell's breaking loose in Cheongju.
"Jeez, the death toll's already over 120."
"Whoa."
Cheol-du also clicked his tongue.
This is huge.
– As you can see, the area's completely overgrown... Breaking news. The injured...
"Huh? Why'd they cut away?"
Kang Yong-cheol flipped through the channels, but they were all showing the same thing: hospitals and interviews.
Losing interest, he switched to a soap opera.
"Coach Park been calling?"
"Yeah, I saw him earlier."
"You tell him you'd go pro?"
"No."
"......"
Kang Yong-cheol, who'd been watching TV quietly, suddenly said,
"I'm not gonna stop you, whatever you decide."
"I know."
Who's he get that bluntness from, I wonder?
"You're a grown man now."
"I know."
"College, work, sports... whatever. I've done my part. I'm heading back to my hometown to do some farming."
"Farming?"
"Yeah."
Cheol-du nodded silently.
Grandpa's had it rough, too.
He stood up and bowed low.
A real man shows his gratitude.
"Thanks for everything, Grandpa."
"Hey, cut it out."
He's gruff, but he's got a heart of gold.
He even took in a lost barbarian kid.
"Haha, don't be embarrassed, Grandpa. I'll pay you back someday."
"Quiet, you. Go on, I'm watching my show."
"Heh heh heh."
He's a softie at heart.
Cheol-du went into his room.
One wall was covered with a display case full of trophies.
– Taekwondo Middle School MVP, National Amateur Boxing Heavyweight Champion, President's Cup Boxing High School MVP, Prime Minister's Cup Hapkido Heavyweight Champion, National Judo Champion (+100kg), President's Cup Swimming 200m Butterfly Champion, Dong-A Swimming 400m Freestyle Champion...
He'd never even broken a sweat.
Barbarian. Outsider.
"Heh. It's lonely at the top."
I want a real fight.
I want a bloody brawl with a worthy opponent.
I want to be a great warrior, like my father!
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But if I stay here, surrounded by humans, I'll end up a desk jockey, not a warrior.
"So many problems."
Cheol-du picked up his phone, saw the caller ID, and chuckled.
"What's up, punk?"
– Yo, you see the news?
"What news?"
– About Cheongju!
"Yeah, I saw something about it."
– Dude, I had this crazy feeling, so I looked into it. It's insane! Monsters showed up in Cheongju.
"......?"
Cheol-du couldn't believe his ears.
"Monsters?"
– Yeah, it's wild! It's like a dimensional invasion or something, right? A real-life raid! Aliens are probably next!
"......"
Cheol-du, the alien, froze.
His body started to tremble.
His heart hammered: thump-thump-thump!
"We gotta go!"
– Where?
"Cheongju!”
