Chapter 2: King of Seoul

**the middle of the day**

"Dammit, I thought confronting my bullies would make me more popular." I pondered to myself, feeling incredibly bored as I absentmindedly played with a pencil and rested my head on the desk while everyone else engaged in their own conversations. Just as I was about to doze off, a voice caught my attention.

[system] (Quest starting...)

I snapped my head up quickly and eagerly grabbed the card. "FINALLY!" I exclaimed, but immediately hushed myself as people turned to look at me. "What are you staring at? Want a taste of my invisibility kick or something?" My retort caused them to avert their gaze, avoiding any further interaction.

[System] (Fight the former king of Seoul and earn his recognition)

[System] Difficulty: EXPERT!!!

[System] REWARD: {1x Diamond card}

[System] (accept?)

"Who is the former king of seoul?" I mused to myself, feeling a gulp of nervousness. "If he's so powerful that defeating him grants a diamond card, am I even strong enough to face him? Well, I just need to earn his acknowledgment, so it can't be that difficult, right?" I chuckled nervously, attempting to downplay the gravity of the situation.

AFTER SCHOOL

"AHHHHHH!!!" I yelled in frustration from the confines of my room. "THE COP WAS THE FORMER KING OF SEOUL?! AND HE LIVES HERE, SUPPOSEDLY A COP?! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO EVEN APPROACH HIM, LET ALONE EARN HIS ACKNOWLEDGMENT?!" I slumped into a corner, believing all hope was lost, until a quest window suddenly popped up.

[System] (Side quest: defeat gangs in your area 0/3)

[System] (Reward: {bronze card} {platinum card})

[System] (accept?)

"YES, YES, I ACCEPT! ANYTHING TO GET STRONGER!" I eagerly accepted the quest and dashed outside. "Come out, you gangsters!" I shouted into the darkness of a nearby park, realizing it was probably the most foolish thing I could have done. Suddenly, a bat swung towards me, but to my surprise, I swiftly ducked under it and rolled back, introducing myself to the attackers. "Who the hell is he?" exclaimed Sinyeong Han, a skinny but muscular figure standing behind Kungyu Kim, a hefty individual, and alongside Jingum Han, a man with a similar build. "Just some guy who thinks he's hot stuff or something," Jingum sneered, holding a baseball bat with a mischievous smile.

Kungyu took a drag from his cigarette, glaring at me with malevolence and muttering, "Kill him." Upon hearing this, Jingum swung the bat at me, but I managed to evade it. "HA!" I laughed cockily, only for Jingum to swing the bat downwards. Instinctively, I used my arm to support myself and executed a half-moon kick, knocking Jingum out cold.

[System] (capoeira-half moon kick: level up: lvl 5)

"Whoa!" I exclaimed in astonishment, then quickly composed myself, adopting an intimidating demeanor. "I-I mean, yeah! Show some respect!" I boasted, thumping my chest confidently. "Get him!" Kungyu bellowed, growing increasingly annoyed. Sinyeoung charged at me, launching a flying side kick. "Jeez!" I shouted, raising my arms to block his attack, which sent him flying backward. "GAH!" I gasped, feeling the pain in my arms. "Taekwondo is amazing," he muttered quietly, before delivering another kick with greater force. However, I swiftly executed an invisible kick, striking his foot and throwing him off balance. I followed up with a half-moon kick to his chest, sending him crashing into a nearby tree.

[System] (invisible attacks: Level 10)

[System] (capoeira half moon kick: level 10)

"HAHA!" I was about to celebrate, but my jubilation was cut short when a fist struck my stomach. "You think you can defeat my boys and get away with it?" Kungyu seethed with anger, relentlessly pummeling me. 'I need an escape plan,' I thought to myself, desperately evading his attacks. "Brace yourself," he warned, lifting me up and slamming me onto the ground. "ACK!" I screamed, blood flowing from my head. "Who did you think you were-" He paused, his vision becoming blurry. "Oh, it was just my imagination that I lost to such a weakling like you." He noticed me standing before him, breathing heavily. In reality, when he lifted me, I clapped my hands onto his ears, disorienting him and causing him to fall headfirst onto the concrete floor. "This guy is a fighting genius. His battle IQ is insane!" he muttered to himself before losing consciousness.

[System] (Side quest: defeat gangs in your area 1/3)

I continued to catch my breath, wiping the blood from my mouth. "Fighting is damn exhausting. And I have to do this two more times?"

**TIME SKIP**

I lay in bed, utterly exhausted and covered in bruises. "Dammit! I'm so tired."

[System] (Side quest completed: defeat gangs in your area 3/3)

[System] (Here are your new stats from defeating those gangs)

[System] (Invisible attacks: Level 20)

[System] (capoeira-half moon kick: level up: lvl 15)

Current stats: Dongyu Han

Strength: C

Speed: B

Potential: UMMEASURABLE!!!

Intelligence: A+

Endurance: A

[System] (Reward: {1x bronze card} {1x platinum card})

"Yes!" I exclaimed, jumping up in excitement. "Accept the cards!"

[System] (CONGRATULATIONS, YOU HAVE COMPLETED THE QUEST AND CLAIMED THE CARDS)

Reward: {BRONZE CARD: Taekwondo-FLYING SIDE KICK; You now have the ability to perform a taekwondo flying side kick Level: 1}

{PLATINUM CARD: TRIGGER-SELF HATE: ONLY USED IN A SPECIFIC TIME}

I eagerly examined the cards, then remembered the main quest. "Oh, right! I still have to fight the king—well, the former king turned cop." I lay back down, contemplating a plan. "EUREKA!"

**The countryside of Chungcheong (or wherever Jichang and his brother live)**

A crash was heard from outside, causing Bakgu and Jichang to look outside and see a homeless man with a bottle of beer, hitting the car with a bat. "ARGHH!" The man yelled out as he kept hitting the car. Jichang stood up and walked outside. "Sir, I need you to calm down." The man threw the bottle at Jichang, who easily dodged it. "She left me," the man said in a drunkish voice and continued to hit the car. "Sir, don't make me use force!" Jichang raised his hand in a chopping motion, but something caught his eye, and he stopped and ducked as a flying kick was sent towards him. "Nice plan, kid. What do you want?" He said, looking down at Dongyu, who was now on the ground coughing.

"Ahh, that hurt!" I rubbed my head and stood up in a heroic way. "I mean... Aha! I'm surprised you saw through my plan." Jichang took a drag from his cigarette. "No, you were so confident in your plan I heard your goofy cackling."

"O-oh, I mean I wanted you to find out my plan to test out your strength and awareness. I'm not surprised from someone who used to be the king of Seoul." I said cockily and used a half moon kick aimed for his face. "He's fast." Jichang muttered to himself and raised his hand, and the side of his hand connected with my shin, and it cracked. "AHHH!" I yelled and fell on the ground, grabbing my leg in pain. "Ow, ow, ow!" Jichang took a drag from his cigarette. "My bad, I didn't mean to use my knife hand. Anyways, what do you want? I don't have all day?"

I wobbled as I tried to stand up and said in a stutter. "Y-You t-think I-I'm a-afraid o-of y-you? I heard you all were defeated by one man. That's pretty humiliating if you ask me." I ran and invisible kicked him, but he dodged easily, though he was incredibly surprised.

[System] (Invisible attacks: Level 21)

"W-What?!" He dropped his cigarette. "Kid, how did you do that? Answer me?" Jichang threw a knife hand, hitting me in my neck, but I was able to land an invisible kick to his chest. It wasn't strong enough to hurt him but staggered him. "I never thought they'd have someone that could do the same as him." He launched at me with incredible speed and chopped my philtrum, knocking me out. "You got my hopes up, kid. If you were stronger, I might have had to use my full strength. Maybe in a couple of years." Jichang flicked his cigarette at me and walked away.

[System] (You are feeling self-hatred, and your body feels like it's on fire)

[System] (Your potential is skyrocketing)

[System] (Congratulations: You have awakened your potential)

[System] (A reward for awakening: You are able to be the PEAK until your self-hatred gives up!!!)

Current stats: Dongyu Han

Strength: UMMEASURABLE

Speed: UMMEASURABLE

Potential: UMMEASURABLE (AWAKEN)

Intelligence: A+

Endurance: A

The same cigarette that Jichang flicked at me was flicked in the back of his neck, causing him to turn around. "HEY PIG." I yelled and had a psychotic look on my face. "YOU THINK I'M NOT WORTHY!? HOW CAN SOMEONE LIKE YOU SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT?"

Jichang sighed and shook his head. "Jeez kid, why do you keep wanting to fight me?" He raised his hand and threw a chop aiming for my head, but his hand was sent flying back by my invisible kick. "WHAT?!" He yelled and chopped my neck. "If I didn't have a reason to fight you, I wouldn't be here with all these bees. So I can't go back without your acknowledgement." I said as I did a handstand on his head and kicked him into the concrete. "GAH!" He yelled out and stood up fast and was able to hit me 6 times consecutively with his chops. "You may have his moves, but you're nothing like him." I kicked his foot, spun around, and used my momentum to kick him far. "MY BODY IS ON FIRE. YOU'RE RIGHT I'M NOT STRONG ENOUGH RIGHT NOW! BUT I WILL BE!" He ran at me, but I side-stepped and consecutively invisible kicked him. "ACK" He yelled out and smiled and laughed loud. "KID, YOU SURE GOT MY ACKNOWLEDGEMENT! YOU EVEN GOT A HOMELESS MAN TO DESTROY MY CAR? YOU'RE A GENIUS." I yelled back with a sadistic smile. "SHUT UP ALREADY. YOU ALREADY MAKE ME MAD WITH YOUR JAWLINE. HOW CAN IT BE SO SHARP?!" We ran at each other for one final strike, and a loud crash was heard.

[System] (Heat mode over)

[System] (The peak mode over)

[System] (All stats back to normal)

[System] (Invisible attacks level 50)

[System] (Half moon kick level 50)

[System] (Congrats; You fought and were able to get Jichang to acknowledge you. {1x Diamond card}

I woke up on the ground, and I was back to normal, with Jichang standing over me. "You're a pretty strong kid. I haven't had any fun like that in a long time. You're not strong enough to beat a first-gen king, though. So yeah, I acknowledge you. If you ever need any information, just come to me." He took a drag from his cigarette and walked away.

BACK HOME

"OWWWWWW" I groaned in pain as I rubbed my body with alcohol. "I pushed my body over its limits, only for me to get beat up, and he still called me weak. Why did I get so crazy, though? All I knew is I was angry at myself for losing, and I want to keep this system incredibly much."

"OOH" I remembered that I earned a diamond card. "CLAIM CARD!"

[System] (CONGRATULATIONS, YOU HAVE COMPLETED THE QUEST AND CLAIMED THE CARD)

Reward: {BRONZE CARD: IRON SHINS; one-time use}

"IRON SHINS! NOW IF JICHANG CHOPS MY SHIN AGAIN, HIS KNIFE HAND WILL BREAK HAHA!"

[System] (Quest starting...)

[System] (ATTEND JAE-WAN HIGH)

[System] ({1x Diamond card})

"How am I gonna convince my mom to move to Jaewan High? It's all the way in Seoul." I asked myself and jumped as my mom burst into my room with a huge smile on her face. "DONGYU!" She screamed, and I jumped. "JEEZ MOM, WHAT IS IT!?" She gave me some papers. "I HAVE A BETTER JOB OPPORTUNITY! PACK YOUR BAGS, WE'RE MOVING TO SEOUL, AND I PUT YOU IN JAEWAN HIGH! I KNOW HOW MUCH YOU LIKE CARTOONS, SO I PUT YOU IN THE ANIMATION DEPARTMENT!"

[System] (CONGRATS, YOU HAVE COMPLETED THE QUEST!)

[System] ({Diamond card:...})