The Law of Webnovels

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“What the heck is that?!”

Looking dumbfounded, Ban Yeo Ryung retorted from behind me. Jooin also didn’t look good. Actually, those who didn’t want Jung Yohan to win this entire battle all looked very irritated.

I murmured, ‘Unlimited competition sounds nice, but in fact, this place will turn into a lawless area.’ If several people challenged someone one after another, that person would lose the fight, eventually, out of strength. Thus, it was an unfair rule.

I threw a glance again at the darkness under the stage. The reason why Jung Yohan and his clique were so obsessed to increase the number of their teammates became obvious now. They would have definitely recruited people with this rule in mind.

Once the host finished speaking, the vote started right away. Just as expected, the ‘unlimited competition’ was finally chosen by the overwhelming numbers of people on Jung Yohan’s side.

However, there was one thing incomprehensible. Why on earth did those who didn’t side with Jung Yohan also vote for this unfair rule?

While I murmured to myself that way, someone’s response reached my ears. I turned my head aside.

“Because this way has more chance to win for the weak.”

“Jesus Christ!” I shouted. As I turned my head, Jooin came into view. He was sitting right beside me before I even knew.

He kept whispering in my ear, “For those who have little presence in the ranking, this is a big opportunity to easily defeat the highly-ranked fighters who are out of strength from continuous fights.”

“But still…” I replied, knitting my forehead. “It’s too cheap…”

Shrugging nonchalantly, Jooin continued, “These bastards want to earn respect just by being physically stronger and having better fighting abilities than others. Why would they pursue fairness or justice then? All they care about is, ‘How higher can I get and receive the most benefits?’ something like that.”

He added, “In this respect, this place is the most modern society, instead of a jungle.” Resting his chin on his palm, Jooin showed a sour face.

I switched my gaze to the court. Now, Eun Hyung seemed to be standing in an arena with thousands of lightings, not in a gym. I prayed with my two hands together, ‘Eun Hyung, I don’t expect something like a high rank. Please, just stay safe.’

Meanwhile, the first fight began, at last. As soon as the host asked a boy to pick his opponent, he jumped up the stage without using the staircase and pointed at someone.

The boy’s rapid movement, which reminded me of a monkey, and the fact that no one, however, exclaimed at him made me ramble such thoughts like, ‘So, we must be, at least, as good as him to become the top 100 fighters, huh?’ Then I turned my head, as the boy shouted out his opponent.

“Number 17 in the ranking!”

Did he just say Number 17? Wasn’t it quite an ambiguous number in the overall ranking? While I wondered that way, a boy shuffled gently toward the stage.

Unlike the previous boy, he even walked up the stairs, which looked very ordinary. His uniform was neat without any wrinkles, and he also wore his necktie and name tag properly along with a pair of spotless white sneakers and a very tidy hairstyle. In every aspect, he didn’t look like a fighter ranked 17th in the ranking.

Besides, he looked sad as if he was forced to come join the battle. ‘I never expected that I’d see someone here who doesn’t seem to suit the ranking thing as much as Eun Hyung,’ I murmured.

Then the contender shouted with an upright spirit, “Number 17 Kim Pyung Bum! I’ll challenge you.”

His name was even Kim Pyung Bum, which meant ‘run-of-the-mill.’ Whoa, the author of this novel not only depicted the characters’ appearances so roughly but also named them too half-heartedly! While I even began to sympathize with him, Kim Pyung Bum just swept his hair back continuously without preparing to fight.

Shortly after, Kim Pyung Bum started to mutter with a frustrated look on his face. I tried to pay attention to his words.

“This is a total disaster. Why did I come here…?! I should have just retired from the ranking this time…”

‘That person really doesn’t go along with this place. Maybe he found the wrong genre of his life as much as I did, right?’ I thought. Then at the moment, I heard Dae Lisa striking a retort from under the stage.

“Kim Pyung Bum! Charge in upon him like a man of spirit! Show them that you deserve your title, the Number 17!”

Listening to Dae Lisa raising her voice for the first time ever since she stepped into the gym, I felt a slight expectation rising within me. Right, some characters had a twist such as becoming very strong when pressing a switch at a crucial moment.

A secondary personality deeply hidden inside could wake up or the Black-flaming dragon could open its eyes… Uh, let’s just forget about the latter. While I had those thoughts in mind, Kim Pyung Bum’s response resonated around me.

He shouted with tears, “I don’t deserve it. It just happened!”

“Geez, you idiot!” said Dae Lisa. She lifted her hand to cover her eyes. At the same time, more people began to send threatening gazes to Kim Pyung Bum.

Then I perceived that although he would, fortunately, defend his title here, sooner or later, other contenders would challenge him to take his rank. That was what the unlimited competition indicated. The system became more unfair to those who revealed their weaknesses.

In the end, Dae Lisa turned out to be so urgent that she started to pour out blunt remarks.

“Kim Pyung Bum! How long are you gonna live without having a girlfriend? If you show your unexpected side here, who knows what will happen afterward? Maybe a girl can fall in love with you this time!”

“I don’t care!”

Geez, he always replied without hesitation. While I was astonished at his immediate response, the meaningless battle kept on.

“That’s why they say you’re glued to Suh Doh Gyum!”

“It doesn’t matter; I just wish Suh Doh Gyum is here!”

“Dude, I’m afraid you’ll jump into Suh Doh Gyum and cry in his arms once he gets discharged from the hospital!!”

“That’s not enough. I can even kiss him on the lips!”

“Hey, you usually got sick of even hearing Suh Doh Gyum’s name! How unmanly are you gonna become?”

Kim Pyung Bum’s facial expression then changed when Dae Lisa dropped a random question out of the blue.

“Kim Pyung Bum, aren’t you gonna go back home to feed your dog today?”

“Feed a dog?” murmured Ban Hwee Hyul from beside me.

Ban Yeo Ryung also began to mumble that word as if it was a mysterious spell.

What was wrong with feeding a dog? I wondered. Suddenly, Kim Pyung Bum showed an utterly different look on his face as if he had recalled a forgotten memory of his previous life.

Turning his head toward Dae Lisa, he uttered, “My dog…?”

“Yeah, Kim Pyung Bum! Imagine that your parents are traveling overseas, and only you and your dog are at home!”

As if Dae Lisa decided to go as further as she could, she babbled some craps in front of the whole people. That was when Jooin’s small whisper saved us from falling into the mystery.

“Pyung Bum hyeong’s dog is a beagle.”

“Oh…”

Dae Lisa kept on shouting, “Are you gonna leave your dog, Bdol, starve for a DAY? Come on, that’s too harsh!! Poor, Bdol… Let’s make it half-day!”

“What? Half a day?” replied Kim Pyung Bum.

“What do you think your house will look like if you don’t return home right away?!”

On the other hand, the boy who looked so sick and tired of Kim Pyung Bum and Dae Lisa’s quarrel turned around and yelled at the host, “Aren’t you gonna start the fight?!” The host then raised the flag bitterly to gesture the beginning of the match.

To the boy, having Kim Pyung Bum as his contender seemed like a bed of roses since all that Kim Pyung Bum showed was less motivation to fight and just arguing with Dae Lisa over feeding his dog. With full of confidence in his eyes, the boy turned his head toward Kim Pyung Bum.

However, the boy flew away and banged on the wall in the blink of an eye.

“Eh…?”

Flying in an arc like a baseball, the boy burst out a death cry. So did we, of course. All of us were struck dumb at the unexpected sight.

I murmured, “What was that?”

While everyone was enveloped by a deafening silence, Kim Pyung Bum lifted his fist determinedly and uttered his words in a solemn and emphatic manner.

“If I don’t return home and feed my dog, Bdol, right away, he’s gonna kill me first, then my parents will do it afterward.”

“…”

“Anyone trying to block my way, come out here ASAP!”