Card Master, Talk With Chaerin & Late Night 'Clash' With Thugs

Sitting in my bedroom in nothing but a pair of shorts, I looked at myself in the full body mirror opposite me. My memories of how I used to be in both lives basically overlapped over my new body and I could see just how different I was.

6'2" and 200lbs of brawny muscle mass. All my muscles were perfectly defined and proportioned, I had the legendary eight pack, my pecs were perfectly shaped and my arms and legs were stacked perfectly with muscle. Not too big, not too small. Every single muscle on my body had changed and become brilliant-looking as an effect of me entering A-Rank Strength alongside my Adonis skill forging their aesthetic.

Compared to the short, less athletic body I was used to in either life...and the difference was stunning to me, even now.

I'd quite literally gone from zero to hero in terms of strength and martial ability. From only having a basic knowledge of fighting, to having the ability of a professional boxer who dabbled in karate. It really was utterly shocking, when I really thought about it. A kid who died of cancer and a kid who died from bullying, joined together and given a system...the result? All of this that I'm seeing and experiencing right now.

It was still the day of the Gangbuk Summit. Or the night after it, anyway. I couldn't sleep either way. My mind was just running a mile a minute as I thought about the add-on of 'Weak Hero' and Donald Na to this already pretty messed up world.

How could I deal with Donald Na? First off, it's never really shown how strong he was in the webtoon. He beat the shit out of Ben Park, one of the strongest characters in the webtoon, so he's definitely pretty monstrous. But that's not the most dangerous thing about him. His most dangerous weapon is his mind - dude's an actual genius among geniuses. He's probably already got plans to deal with Gangbuk and I've got no clue what they could be because even with B-Rank Intelligence, I'm still not the brightest out there. Ah, this is fucking annoying.

Well, look on the bright side, I at least get to meet the infamous Big Ben and the rest of the gang at Eunjang. I should be able to make contact with them at some point and broker some sort of alliance to fight against the Union.

Sighing, I pushed those thoughts out of my head and opened up the system.

[Do you wish to reveal your cards?]

"Sure," I answered nonchalantly, knowing that if I can't match Donald Na mentally I needed to be able to overpower him in a fight. Or overpower whoever he sends my way, at least.

A burst of rainbow coloured light flooded my room and nine cards appeared in front of me. One Gold Card and eight Bronze Cards. I skimmed through the Bronze cards and saw there was nothing really that useful - mainly just cards that could minutely enhance my senses once a day. There was even one card that could be used once to temporarily enhance my Strength by half a rank but it would lower my Intelligence by three whole ranks. Yeah...no. I'm already pretty dumb, thanks.

The last two Bronze Cards were just as lackluster. One of them allowed me to Taunt opponents, which I could already do pretty well, and the other allowed me to use my voice to produce low-pitch noises as a form of attack. Why do that when I can just hit them?

Aside from that, the Gold Card was what I really liked.

[Card Master - You can earn high or low-rank cards by combining and splitting the cards you receive as rewards.]

Me likey.

Basically turns the gacha aspect of the system into something I can control more. Don't like a Gold Card? Split it into two Silvers and then recombine them into a new Gold Card. Repeat that for as long as it takes to produce a good Gold card. Or at least one you want.

I accepted all the cards and got to combining them. I didn't need the enhancements to my senses because they were only temporary and I wasn't some sort of bloodhound detective who wanted to solve cases with slightly better than human senses, am I? I'm a fighter. I need cards that take that and enhance it. Besides, my sense of sight, hearing and touch are all at the peak human level because of my Athletic Body skill. So I'm not exactly wanting for enhancements to my senses.

Anyway, I combined all the Bronze Cards into four Silvers and then took a look at what I'd gained.

[Active Card, Basketball - 3 Point Shot - Your odds of making a 3-pointer improve. Current skill rank: F 0/100]

[Attack Card, Karate - Axe Kick - You can now perform an Axe Kick. Current skill rank: F 0/100]

[Attack Card, Karate - Back Kick - You can now perform a Back Kick. Current skill rank: F 0/100]

[Active Card, Football - Penalty Kick - Your odds of making a penalty kick improve. Current skill rank: F 0/100]

Crazy to think that if I gained a sports related skill instead of Boxing ones, I would've probably turned to sports instead of fighting. No, not probably, I would've definitely joined the school's football team and tried to get a scholarship to a decent University. But oh well, guess living in a sports webtoon isn't destined for me. Woe is me~

But with those two kicks, I basically had all the basic kicks in Karate. Everything beyond the kicks I have are just variations of the basics. Does that mean if I get all of them to B-Rank, they'll combine together like Boxing? I hope so.

With a heavy heart, I combined the two sports skills and waited for a Gold Card to appear.

When it did, it was a shit one. So I uncombined it and recombined it. Again and again. Until I got something good. More than good, actually. I got something great.

[Heightened Healing - You now heal in half the time it would normally take. This does not heal injuries that cannot normally be healed nor does it include healing damage to muscles after exercising*.]

(*A/n - He already trains ridiculously fast. I don't wanna up that anymore lol.)

Goddamn, that's a good skill. Healing shit fast would basically mean I can fight more often and not have to worry too much about minor injuries. I heal in half the time it normally takes? For reference, that means I could heal a broken femur between two to three months opposed to the four to six months it'd normally take. Doesn't seem like much, sure, but in the bigger scheme of things it'd save me a lot of time. Especially for cuts and bruises.

I felt a warm buzz flowing through my body and I couldn't tell if that was the effect of the skill or just placebo but either way, I felt fucking great.

Getting up off my bed, I decided I'd grind up my new Karate skills as high as I could before sleep tonight. I wanted to test whether they combined together as soon as possible, rather than waiting and possibly regretting it. But before I left, another screen appeared in front of me and I nearly forgot about the skill combos - at least that proved that the system was giving me the kicks from Karate for a reason.

[Due to the completion of collecting all the cards regarding kicking in Karate, you have been rewarded with a further card due to having a Skill Combo: Flexible Body.]

[Flexible Body - Your muscles, bones and joints are now more supple and limber than before, allowing easier and more complete flexibility. Somewhat increases effectiveness of Tenacity and Speed due to changes made to the body and how it has been made more able of facilitating drastic movement.]

...I'm beginning to think the system wants me to be unable to be harmed. Which is good, sure. But what the hell is making it try so hard? Now I have strong joints which are sturdy and hard to break AND I'm much more flexible which should mean my joints are even more able to resist damage.

A slight stiffness in my body, brought on by my increased muscle mass, disappeared as soon as the skill was added to my body. I felt much freer than before, like my limbs were able to move much easier. This should help in a fight then. I feel much lighter than before - was my increased muscle mass really doing such a disservice to me? Well, I guess the fact my Strength outmatches my speed should say something about that. Pulling up my status, I saw that Speed had actually crossed over into the A-Rank, so the feeling wasn't placebo or a coincidence.

Thank God (or the system) for that Skill Combo giving me such a good passive skill.

With all that out of the way, I pulled on a tank-top and got some slippers on before making my way out of the apartment. Dahyun gave me an odd look but didn't deign to add to it with anything vocal, so I carried on my merry way and exited through the door.

Once outside, I took in the cold night air and listened to the utter silence of Gangbuk around me. It was quite odd for it to be this quiet, considering it's so close to Seoul...but I'm thankful for it either way. Helps me clear my mind and focus on the goal I've come out here to do tonight: grind my new Karate skills up.

And so, I got started.

The increase in flexibility was something I was very grateful for. It made my attacks much easier to perform and even made them quicker by a slight margin. A slight margin is all I needed as well, considering my A-Rank Speed already made my attacks pretty damn fast.

With my understanding of grinding skills - having gotten pretty good at it with all my previous ones - and the focus I could put into it with the quiet surroundings, I quickly got my new skills up to D-Rank.

Man, if only it didn't slow down massively at that point. At D-Rank, you've reached the limit of personal practice and actually need to use it against someone. If only some random mobs--

"So, it is you."

--Appeared.

...I turned to see Baek Chaerin, looking up at her slightly from where I was sitting on a bench. She was dressed really casually, with some short shorts, a spaghetti-strap top and a hooded jacket over that. She looked fine as hell, man. Easily the hottest girl I'd met since I'd come to this world. Shame I'd kinda burned bridges with her for the sake of a mission.

"Oh, hey," I gave her a slight wave before going back to looking up at the night sky. Man, stars are bloody great to look at - why don't I do this more often?

"What are you doing here?" surprisingly, Baek Chaerin actually continued talking to me. I gave her a inquisitive glance, to which she continued, "I mean, why are you out here constantly doing the same two kicks over and over?"

I turned a little toward her and shrugged, "Training, I guess. What did you think I was doing? Can't be strong if you don't put the effort in."

Chaerin scoffed in reply, "I thought you were losing your mind, doing the same thing over and over again. Why are you doing it here, though? Pretty sure you could do it...wherever you live. Not here."

"That's how training works, idiot," I joked with a grin, "You do something over and over until you get good at it. And I live here," I pointed to the apartment behind me, "I just came out here because I don't wanna make a lot of noise in my room when my mom's trying to get to sleep."

"I...I guess that makes sense," she awkwardly fidgeted back and forth, glancing at me every now and again. I was confused for a second before I realised my tank-top did very little to cover my torso and what it did cover was sweaty after my little grinding workout, so it was stuck there, showing off my impressive abdominal muscles. I guess that even if she thinks I'm weird, I'm still some pretty good eye candy, huh?

Chaerin looked away from me, her cheeks a little red before she went silent for a few moments and then decided to speak up, "You're a weird guy, Kim Soohyun. First, I thought you were a little nerd. Then you went all creepy on me and made my skin crawl. But after that you apologised sincerely. And now here you are, telling me you take your family into consideration before doing stuff," she paused again before looking directly into my eyes, "What the hell are you? Because you're not like any other delinquent I know. Not many of them care about shit like that."

I laughed at that, chuckling lowly at first and then giving a belly laugh toward the end. Chaerin was really trying to figure me out, huh? Shame for her that I'm the amalgam of two people, both of which died in pretty sad ways. I'm gonna be hard for someone to work out unless they know that specific info.

Just as she was looking a little angry at my laughing, I calmed down and wiped a tear from my eye, "What the hell am I? Baek Chaerin, that's one hell of a question that not even I know the answer to, really," I replied truthfully before looking up at the stars again, "But like you said, I started off as a nerd. I'm not exactly like the delinquents in our school who've always been delinquents and bullies. I guess that gives me some perspective on how to act like I do."

That stopped her in her tracks and she just looked at me before giving a light laugh of her own, following my gaze to look up to the sky as well, "You really are a weird guy, Kim Soohyun."

"Yep," I said while giving a wide smile, "And I wouldn't change that even if I could. I'd rather be weird than some cardboard cutout delinquent who only knows how to act one way and one way only. Though the same could be said about you, Chaerin." Just as I saw her looking annoyed and like she wanted to refute it from the corner of my eye, I carried on, "Everyone at school thinks you're some tough, strong, fierce girl. Some of them probably think you're a bitch - I know that at some point before I actually spoke to you, I did," I admittedly honestly before shaking my head, "But there's more to you than meets the eye. You are pretty tough and strong but deep down, I'm pretty sure there's a nice girl who was forced to change."

"What the hell do you know?" she scoffed before shaking her head, "Are you gonna tell me you're psychic and not just a good fighter?" she looked to me and gave a smirk.

"Maybe," I returned the smirk before also looking to her, "So, you think I'm a good fighter? Kya~ The most beautiful girl in our school thinks I'm awesome~" I joked and she just scoffed again, rolling her eyes.

Just as she looked like she was about to leave, I heard some people approaching us and turned to face them.

...Who the hell are these guys?

"Wow, I sure am jealous, Kim Soohyun~!" one of the guys, with dyed blond hair, said with an envious tone, "Speaking to such a pretty girl this late at night? You sly dog!" he laughed somewhat menacingly. He really just looked goofy, if I'm gonna be honest. His friends joined in with him and there was about five of them with one guy trailing behind them a bit.

"...Who the hell are you guys?" I asked in genuine confusion. That stopped their laughing, each of them either frowning, scowling or just generally looking pissed.

The blond one stepped toward me, "Kim Soohyun! Just because you're a bigshot now, you've forgotten what you did to us?! You robbed us--"

"Ah," I put my fist to my palm in realisation, "The weirdos who were harassing that woman."

Baek Chaerin, off to the side, mumbled, "Pot calling the kettle black..." but I ignored that and stood up from the bench, stepping forward and keeping Chaerin behind me. As tough as she acted, her stats were pretty abysmal when it came to fighting so I'd rather not have to worry about her getting hurt because some guys had come after me.

"We weren't harassing her! We were just asking her out, you fucking busybody!" one of the others shouted, raising his fist like he was about to rush at me but blondie stopped him.

He looked at me before shaking his head like he felt sorry for my plight, "You fucker, do you know who we brought along with us?"

"Someone's elder brother, probably," I answered without missing a beat. I kinda remember this scene in the original but it was also just a solid guess because I knew the reality I was currently in. It was almost like a Xianxia with how many shitheads come out of the woodwork after you mess with one singular guy. Or a group of guys, in this instance.

I was about to feel annoyed before I realised what I'd wished for just before Chaerin popped up.

A bunch of mobs to pop up so I could grind my new skills on them. The smile that threatened to tear my face in half couldn't be stopped and when the guy who'd been hanging back came forward and pushed his way through the group, I knew I'd be able to at least rank up my stuff tonight.

Ah, God, you're really spoiling me lately...Keep it up! Please!

"That's right," the newcomer said, "I'm Sang Cheol's brother," he stepped to me, a head taller than the others he was with yet still a few inches shorter than me.

"Bitch, I don't even know who Sang Cheol is," I gave a deadpan reply and Chaerin gave a laugh behind me, obviously enjoying the show. I can't really blame her, I love being witty and winding up my opponents as well. Regardless of my bad habit of being witty before fights, I used Observe.

[Name: Park Sanghyuk]

[Height: 183cm]

[Weight: 81kg]

[Strength: B]

[Speed: C]

[Potential: F]

[Intelligence: F]

[Tenacity: C]

...What a weakling. He's dumb, slow and his potential is literally the lowest it can be for a human being. Not to mention his B-Rank Strength is vastly outmatched by my A-Rank Strength, and that's not even including the height and weight difference between us. He's about to get his shit rocked and yet from the confident grin on his face, he doesn't even know it.

"I've heard a lot about you, Mad Dog Kim Soohyun. I didn't know you had such a cute girlfriend though," he started and I had to heavily refrain from rolling my eyes. Baek Chaerin seemed a little pissed at his attitude and what he was saying, but I kept her behind me so as to not make this any more annoying that it already is. Mobs are supposed to just stand there for you to grind, not give you useless flavor text.

Of course I know this guy isn't actually a mob. I'm not mentally ill. I think, anyway.

Ahem, moving on. I quirked an eyebrow at him, "Are we gonna fight or are you just gonna go on and on with your words? As expected of a weakling~" I mocked him in a sing-song voice and that seemed to put an end to his talking. Seems I hit a sore spot.

He tried to land a stomach punch but he was just so...slow. Like Jesus Christ, he moved like a snail. No technique. So it was all too easy for me to grab his wrist and stop the attack.

I pushed him back a little, his face contorting in surprise, but not quicker than it contorted when an Axe Kick landed right against it. Then I brought the foot down and sent a Front Kick right to the same place as where I'd previously hit and twisting my body to the side, I hit the same spot again but with a Side Kick this time.

Funny thing about grinding skills? You get proficiency points for it regardless of whether you go full power or not. And right now? I was using just the right amount of strength to hurt and damage him but not enough to instantly KO him.

Because if I went all out, he'd have been KO'd from the Axe Kick alone.

A benefit of having A-Rank Strength and a passive skill that makes my body harder and more durable. Getting hit by me is like getting hit by an honest to god sledgehammer.

Either way, this dude was pretty unlucky. Because while the others were trying to pick their jaws up from off the ground and regain their composure from the earlier shock, I was beating the guy around with all the kicks I needed to grind up. And when I was finally done? I moved onto all the others. I used them all to grind my skills as much as possible.

When I was done, I looked at the system alerts.

[Karate - Front Kick - Has Ranked Up To B-Rank!]

[Karate - Side Kick - Has Ranked Up To B-Rank!]

[Karate - Axe Kick - Has Ranked Up To C-Rank!]

[Karate - Back Kick - Has Ranked Up To C-Rank!]

Smiling, I checked the current skill rank on the last two to see how far away they were from B-Rank, "Tsk," I clicked my tongue when I saw it.

[Attack Card, Karate - Axe Kick - You can now perform an Axe Kick. Current skill rank: C 54/100]

[Attack Card, Karate - Back Kick - You can now perform a Back Kick. Current skill rank: C 52/100]

Halfway there. I should be overjoyed that I've already got these skills this far but if the guys who'd come after me tonight were even a little bit stronger or had higher Tenacity, I would've been able to rank them up to B-Rank and then I could've combined them into, hopefully, a full understanding of some form of Karate instead of just knowing the kicks. Who knows, it might've combined with Boxing to form Kickboxing.

Goddammit.

I turned to Chaerin who was just looking wide-eyed at me and the groaning or unconscious guys on the floor, and I gave her a smile, "See? The fruits of my training," I said before stopping and sighing, "Fuckers ruined the peace and quiet of such a nice night though. Hey," I turned toward one of them who was barely conscious, "When you're able to, fuck off. If I see you around here again, I'll strip you naked and post the pictures all over the internet."

He groaned in response and I took that as an affirmative before I looked back to Chaerin, "Do you live around here?" I asked

"...Y-yeah," she stuttered before flushing a little from embarrassment, "Yeah, I live here. What about it?" she said, trying to put up a tough front to cover for her stuttering and embarrassment. I wonder what made her like this? Someone who thinks they need to cover up any weakness with toughness and confidence.

Giving her as best a gentle smile as I could, I answered her, "I was gonna walk you back to your house. You're probably not gonna admit it but you do look kinda shaken up by what just happened, Chaerin."

"S-stop calling me by my name, you idiot!" she huffed with red cheeks, "You keep doing that and--and what if people start thinking things that aren't true?"

...Okay, I was kinda caught off-guard by such a drastic change in subject.

Still confused by her sudden changing of the topic, I gave her a 'meh' gesture and answered, "Rumours are rumours. As long as you know they aren't true, you shouldn't pay any mind to them unless they're actually damaging to your reputation. Besides, I think we're kinda close enough to call each other by our given names--we had a late-night chat, I fought off some goons in front of you and you've even slapped me a bunch of times. Not everyone does that type of stuff, you know?" I joked.

Some of the tension in her body melted away at my joke and she gave a slight smile - one she was obviously trying to restrict - before she huffed and turned away from me, "Whatever," she said before walking away, "See you at school on Monday, Kim Soohyun."

I shrugged at her continued use of my full name. Can't blame her for it. I have memories from a dude who lived in England, so part of me doesn't even really get why I need to call people their full names but I won't stop other people from doing it just because I don't. Either way, I'll slowly break through that tough outer shell she'd put around herself. Not for entirely pure reasons, sure, but also because I can tell she needs an actual friend who she doesn't need to be the eternally tough and fierce Baek Chaerin around.

Well, either way, I think it's about time for me to go back inside and get to sleep. Gonna have to wake up nice and early for the gym and so I can shower before school.

I cast one last look up at the stars and the moon before heading back inside.