Chapter 87
Boss, Gambling Should Only Be for Fun (4)**
6.
The Battle God of Avalon, the great Master Jerakh, once told me something.
‘If you want to hit someone without leaving marks, infuse mana and explode it from the inside.
Do you know how many times I used that trick when I was young?
A life lesson from your senior! Hahahahahaha!’
It’s what they call internal strike—you momentarily detonate your energy so it directly hits the flesh beneath the skin.
Muscles, or even further—internal organs.
It requires decent concentration, but I wasn’t worried.
[Unique Trait: <Skill Archive – Battle God Jerakh>]
[Skill: Internal Strike]
BOOOOOM—!
“GRAAAAAH!”
Ahh, that impact felt good.
This skill is broken as hell—the pain is absolutely brutal, but it leaves almost no marks.
How do I know?
Back when I was learning from that old fossil, I got hit by it three times a day.
The outside looks fine, but the inside gets completely wrecked.
The bruising shows up only after you sleep—perfect.
Anyway, since I landed a hit, now it’s time for me to take one.
WHAM—!
I subtly manipulated Daeho’s arm and made him throw a big wide right hook.
The filming drone already had stealth activated.
I rotated my body just enough so the drone could get a perfect shot, then placed my face directly in the path of the punch.
BOOOOOM—!
“Ow!”
CRAAASH—!
I flew back again and slammed into the wall.
Daeho shouted with an offended tone:
“I barely grazed you! Hey, what are you playing at?! What the hell are you doing?!”
“Last time you even beat up a normal guy at a bar, and now that you’re facing a Player you’re trying to kill me? Cough.”
Without thinking, I licked the ketchup from the corner of my lips.
Still delicious.
Maybe I should get a hamburger tonight.
I smiled at Daeho.
“As expected, it’s tough for a 4th-floor Player like me to fight a 6th-floor Player. Daeho, you’re pretty good.”
“What kind of insane—gahhh!”
Daeho suddenly grabbed his stomach and screamed.
It looked exaggerated, but that pain was real.
My mana, which I’d slipped inside his body earlier, was now tearing through his guts.
Probably feels like his intestines are twisting.
But he won’t die.
I spat out the “blood” (ketchup) onto the floor like a tough guy and rolled up my sleeves, striding toward him.
“Time to get punished, right?”
People outside must have heard the noise by now and called the cops.
Especially the manager I saw earlier—he told us to come eat, but I could feel him waiting at the entrance the whole time.
My phone on the table kept ringing too.
It was a call from Deputy Director Choi from the Ability Management Department, so he’d be arriving soon.
Time to finish this with style.
So far, everything was perfectly within “self-defense.”
Even if I got taken to a police station right now, I wouldn’t be at a disadvantage.
“Don’t… come… urghhh.”
Daeho threw up the alcohol he had just drunk.
He was clutching his stomach, unable to respond properly.
“Next time you see me, avoid me. Especially in the Abyss—hide if you see me.”
Sure, if I go too far it’ll count as mutual assault, but I’m not upset.
Because it was mutual.
I smiled brightly as I approached him and moved behind him.
Time for the finishing move.
“You like WWE? Oh, no need to answer. I like it, so we’re doing this.”
I wrapped my arms around his waist.
Daeho screamed in rage.
“Let go! If y-you do this to me—huh?! Think you can still do proper broadcasts after this?!”
“I’ll be totally fine. Don’t worry. I’m uploading our little ‘touchy-touch’ session the moment I get home.”
A clean suplex is needed.
Nothing humiliates like a suplex.
And since he’s a 6th-floor Player, he won’t die even if I slam him onto the marble floor.
I interlocked my fingers, ready to execute—
“Player Meteoroooo! Stop! Please STOP!!”
A frantic shout came from the entrance—an all-too-familiar face running in.
Deputy Director Choi of the Ability Management Department.
He screamed desperately toward me.
“Pleaaaase! Huh?! I just got summoned by the Minister over this…!”
“It’s etiquette to finish what you’ve started once the technique begins.”
“…Eh?”
“Plus, we have an audience, so I’ll show you everything—even the premium stuff.”
Sorry, Deputy Director Choi.
But this guy kept pissing me off. Sometimes pain is the only cure for bad habits.
Old saying—a beating is medicine.
“Hmmph.”
“W-wait! Wait! I’m sorry, okay?! Let’s talk! Let’s TALK! We can negotiate—this is bad for both of—!”
At the last moment, Daeho switched sides pathetically.
I shook my head in disappointment.
“Daeho, you’re pathetic.”
“Please! Please, let’s just talk—!”
“Nope.”
I inhaled deeply, tightened my grip, and leapt.
This wasn’t an ordinary suplex.
This was the Super Jump Suplex.
While airborne, I flipped Daeho’s body and slammed him backward, and an earth-shattering crash echoed through the bar.
BOOOOOOOOOOOM—!
His head was literally planted in the floor.
And he stopped moving.
…Did he die?
Let me poke him.
Tap.
“Hey.”
Tap.
“Hey, you dead? If you’re dead, say something. I made sure not to break your neck, right? You’re not dead, right?”
I planted him deep so he’d grow well, so why is he unresponsive?
Just as I was checking whether he was alive, Deputy Director Choi screamed toward the door:
“Medical team!! Get the medical team inside RIGHT NOW!! HURRYYYY!!”
…He’s not dead, right?
Come on, no way.
You don’t die from a bit of wrestling technique.
7.
Thirty minutes later.
We were now in the interrogation room of the Seoul branch of the Ability Management Department.
“Fortunately, they say he’s still alive.”
“See? I told you I adjusted it so he wouldn’t die.”
“Concussion, cervical fracture, shoulder dislocation… An ordinary person would’ve died on the spot. You do know that?”
“He’s not ordinary, which is why I went that far. And I just showed you the video, didn’t I? I even bled! This was self-defense.”
I firmly stated my innocence to Deputy Director Choi.
The footage recorded by the drone came out beautifully.
In the video, Daeho and I exchanged punches evenly, and the finish was flawless.
Especially the “Super Jump Suplex”—the cinematography was so good it was almost satisfying to watch.
“How did you even perform that suplex?”
“Importance of a good vertical jump. Lower-body strength is key. Want a copy of the footage?”
“…sigh. What even is this… hold on.”
He glanced at his phone, then glared at me.
“They say there’s internal organ damage too.”
“Isn’t it amazing? His insides are ruined but his outside has zero marks? Art. Pure performance art.”
After returning to Earth, aside from family and Inseop, the person I’d seen the most was probably this Deputy Director.
He used to be quiet and level-headed.
But now he was just a government employee crushed by horrible workloads.
Makes me feel a little bad.
“Anyway—it’s self-defense, Deputy Director Choi. I’m really innocent.”
“We still need to hear his side, but for now, this video is the only evidence.”
“Right?”
“There were four CCTV cameras installed in that bar. All four are broken.”
“Oh dear. How unfortunate. CCTV isn’t cheap.”
He sighed deeply and leaned back.
“You could’ve settled this with words. This is not a simple case.”
“Daeho has a lot of connections?”
“He has ties even in politics. You know Players are a privileged class.”
Yeah, democracy or not, Players ended up being a privileged group.
There’s even a Player Special Law.
The higher the rank, the greater the privileges and protection.
“But with this footage, am I still responsible?”
I smiled faintly—silent pressure.
Deputy Director Choi sighed again and shook his head.
“No, of course not. We’ll handle it. Mutual fault—will that suffice?”
“He threw the first punch.”
“…Understood. His share of the fault will be higher.”
“If the fault split doesn’t look good, I can hire a lawyer. Do you know Attorney Yoo Jin-sung? He’s my brother. Rumor says he’s very capable. Not at home, though.”
“We will resolve this cleanly so your brother won’t need to visit our office.”
The key point: I’m also a Player.
And right now, I’m a rising star.
Daeho?
Sure, he’s Korea’s #1 Abyss streamer and a top ranker, but at the moment I have more allies.
“I can upload the video I just showed you, right?”
“It’ll cause controversy.”
“I’m not putting it on my main channel. I know someone who loves these juicy scandals… Actually, I already sent it.”
I filmed up until the moment Daeho’s head got planted in the floor.
My channel is too valuable to stain with that guy.
“To whom did you send it?”
“To Ggukjeong—one of those cyber-hyena channels.”
This is how you clean up filth without getting your own hands dirty.
Ggukjeong even replied immediately—he promised to snipe Daeho as quickly and thoroughly as possible so I wouldn’t be disappointed.
I felt so supported.
“A lot of people said they’ve been waiting for someone to take Daeho down.”
Big towers crumble in an instant.
And the bigger they are, the more flesh there is for the hyenas to tear apart.
I merely lit a match under the mountain of sins he’d piled up.
“He might think of retaliation.”
“Then I’ll just kill him when that happens.”
“…That’s not—”
“Kidding. Kidding. Don’t worry. He won’t even dare think about revenge.”
He let out a relieved sigh.
Then he pulled something from his briefcase.
“This was originally supposed to be delivered to your home, but circumstances brought it here instead.”
“Ooh, a gift?”
“It is a gift, but not one from the AMD.”
A palm-sized box.
Made of a strange alloy—a mix of purple and gold.
“It’s an alloy of Abyss Stone and gold. Usually used for storing items.”
“If not from you, then who?”
“Do you remember a man named Ryan Beckett? From last time.”
“Oh, the American.”
“Yes. He asked us to hand this to you. A gift from the United States.”
Probably trying to curry favor because of my Transcendent trait.
I opened the box immediately.
Inside was a very small gem.
A grayish stone.
“He also said the U.S. government will not pursue your Transcendent trait.”
“Then why give this?”
“He said… he wants to become your ‘best friend.’”
“That’s funny.”
America being America.
Maybe they realized I was deliberately drawing attention with my Transcendent trait.
First, let’s check what the gift is.
“Hm.”
As I lifted the gem, a note underneath was revealed.
“The video of the 8th Floor we sent previously—our advance team collected this there.
We give this gift with pure goodwill.
We hope to see you often.
—From Ryan Beckett, who sincerely wishes to become your friend.”
The 8th-floor video I saw last time—was it that one?
The one where Velua briefly appeared?
I put aside the note and held the gem.
Information popped into view.
[Coordinate Stone]
Grade: Unique
Description: A gem containing coordinates to a specific dimension.
Using it, you can summon that dimension into the Abyss.
Requires a vessel to contain it.
This Coordinate Stone contains coordinates to a location in <Dimensional Realm – Avalon>.
“…What the hell.”
Avalon?
Why is that showing up here?
