The Fighting Dog of a Ruined Organization

Even if he’s a detailed small fry bastard, Murim Alliance is still Murim Alliance.

I could easily beat up a normal bodyguard by kicking him with all my might, but not this guy. Even if my title is Fighting Dog, it’s best if we can end this peacefully without fighting.

“Are you from Murim Alliance? It’s an honor to meet you. I’m Woo Hyeon-woo, the Fighting Dog of Fantasia.”

I bowed my head while making the fist-palm salute, the greeting style of Murim Alliance. The Half-moon Bear opened his eyes wide and then returned the fist-palm salute while bowing his head.

“Nice to meet you. I am the Half-moon Bear of Gangnam Temple, a secular clan faction of Shaolin Temple of Murim Alliance.”

Is his name Half-moon Bear? It’s not. Why is he introducing himself like that?

It seems Murim Alliance has its own rules, but I don’t understand. However, Half-moon Bear seemed pleased, the corners of his mouth twitching.

I can see it all even with my head bowed.

As expected, this guy, being a detailed small fry, must have never received a polite greeting. If I play this right, maybe we can end this peacefully?

“But how did Young Master Woo become a Fighting Dog?”

“I’m just a Fighting Dog because I’m a dog that fights for the organization. What meaning is there?”

“Ah… I suppose it’s natural that Fantasia, having fallen, wouldn’t have a Fighting Dog to send to dog fights.”

“Dog fights? What’s that?”

“Every month, one of the criminals within the organization is selected as a Fighting Dog and sent to dog fights. If they win, the Fighting Dog is pardoned of their crimes, and the organization gains the right to propose creating or abolishing one policy.”

Hmm, so there’s such a thing.

I was wondering why the word ‘Fighting Dog’ was chosen among so many titles, but it seems the title was given considering even the dog fights, intending to use me thoroughly.

Damn system bastard. Thank you so much!

“I didn’t know any of this, thank you so much for telling me. As expected of the Half-moon Bear of the Three Bears of Gangnam. You’re so kind and smart, I want to learn from you.”

“Haha, it’s nothing much. But what were you doing here, Young Master Woo? I’d rather not fight if possible.”

This bald bastard must have never been acknowledged before. Just from me flattering him a bit, he’s saying he doesn’t want to fight.

“Ah, our Fantasia lent 20 million won to Gold Sun Textile. I came to collect that money, but President Gold Sun doesn’t want to pay. So I showed off a bit of strength.”

“I see. That’s unfortunate.”

Unfortunate? What’s unfortunate?

“I didn’t want to fight Young Master Woo, but it seems we have no choice but to fight…”

“No, if you don’t want to fight, why are you trying to fight? I intend to leave quietly if I just receive the 20 million won. Instead of trying to fight, couldn’t you persuade the president, Half-moon Bear?”

“As I said earlier, it’s unfortunate. The protection service provided by Murim Alliance prioritizes the protection of the subject. If we don’t uphold this, we lose trust, which is most important in this industry.”

Saying that, Half-moon Bear swung his arms strangely and took a horse-riding stance. Isn’t that the stance taken when shooting something like an air blade?

It’s a pity I don’t know anything about martial arts novels.

“Half-moon Bear of the Three Bears of Gangnam Temple of Shaolin Temple of Murim Alliance! I shall now subdue the Fighting Dog of Fantasia!”

This bald bastard, I even flattered him, but he’s determined to break the peace? Even while self-proclaiming such a detailed small fry title?

I’m really wronged, I just need to receive 20 million won. But it can’t be helped. If we must fight, then we must fight.

“If you want to fight that badly, there’s no choice. I won’t show you any more respect either.”

“What…?”

Do you know what’s most important in a fight?

It’s not getting angry yourself, but making the opponent angry.

It might be dangerous to incur the wrath of someone who’s really good at fighting, but it’s okay with a weakling. Once a weakling loses their reason from anger, they might get stronger, but they won’t be able to make normal judgments.

“What do you mean ‘what’? You baldy bastard, your scalp is wide open but your thoughts are all clogged up. This is why you shouldn’t associate with balding bastards.”

“B-balding? Baldy? You bastard, watch your mouth! I just shaved my head according to Shaolin Temple rules!”

“Oh really? Then is the boss of Shaolin Temple bald too?”

“Ah, no, the abbot has hair, but…”

Right, being the boss of one of the 5 major factions, he probably wouldn’t have taken a girl’s body. It would be strange to take a girl’s body and then shave it bald.

“Then it’s not a rule. Did you get crescent-shaped baldness and that’s why you’re Half-moon Bear?”

“W-wooooah! I can’t stand any more insults!”

Having been hit by fact bombs, Half-moon Bear seemed unable to keep his composure, swinging his fists wildly while messing up the stance he had taken.

What the hell is this? It’s not like he’s joking around. There’s no reason to take such punches.

I dodge all the punches flying wildly without any foundation and move to the side. Then I dive in and just need to plant a fist in his side to end it.

His guard is wide open because he’s swinging his fists like that, making it very easy to hit. For Murim Alliance, not teaching even these basics, they must be frauds.

Claiming to be martial arts but not even shooting air blades, this is an easy win.

Convinced of that, I struck his side forcefully.

But.

Why does my fist hurt?

“Wooooooah!”

Half-moon Bear swung his fist at me as I approached. It would be bad if I got hit, so I hurriedly backed away.

And I calmly think about it.

Why does it hurt when I’m the one who hit?
Why is that guy fine?

It didn’t make a metallic sound, so he didn’t hide anything under his clothes.

Then the conclusion comes easily.

He doesn’t need to guard, so he didn’t learn how to guard. He seems to have learned something that hardens his body, though I don’t know what it is.

Is that why he’s a bear? A normal person’s fist wouldn’t work on a bear.

But it would be different for a Fighting Dog. It hurt when I threw a punch now, but as I repeat the fight, my combat power will increase due to the Fighting Dog effect, so it will become advantageous.

If I endure and keep hitting, I should be able to cause damage eventually.

Fortunately, Half-moon Bear was on the slower side. It’s not difficult to hit while enduring the pain.

I repeat hitting and retreating while taking flashy steps.

“By the way, what’s crescent-shaped baldness like? Does it draw a crescent on your scalp? Or can you make a crescent shape with the fallen hair?”

I don’t forget to provoke to maintain the opponent’s anger.

“Baldy, baldy, baldy.”

Bald people are easy to provoke because they get angry just hearing those three syllables ‘baldy’. Every time he heard the word baldy, Half-moon Bear’s face turned redder.

“What’s wrong with being bald, you hair-abundant bastard! You must be happy to have hair to put wax on, you bastard!”

His anger seeming to have reached its limit, Half-moon Bear spread his hands and desperately tried to grab me. He probably intends to destroy me the moment he grabs me. But I have no intention of letting him grab me.

But something’s a bit strange. My fists are swelling up from pain, but I don’t feel like my combat power is increasing. Rather, as my stamina is depleted, my movements are getting slower.

Why is that? Wasn’t Fighting Dog supposed to get stronger in real-time even during fights?

“…Ah.”

Come to think of it, the message saying I got stronger only appeared when the fight ended. It’s true that I get stronger just by experiencing a fight regardless of win or loss, but it means it has to end after all.

I was confused because of Mohanya, but in reality, it probably means the title recognized each time I fell to Mohanya as the end of a fight. Let’s say I’m the idiot for misunderstanding.

But if it’s like this, it’s impossible to beat the baldy with bare hands.

What should I do?

As I was pondering, I saw a metal chair.

That’s right, that’s much stronger than hitting with fists. I grabbed the metal chair, lifted it, and said.

“Hey, baldy. Is your body harder than this chair?”

“…Huh?”

As I ran towards him holding the chair, the baldy seemed to come to his senses, his heat cooling in an instant. I guess the reality of his impending defeat hit him harder than being mocked as baldy.

“W-wait! Using a weapon in a sacred match is cheating!”

“What the fuck, there’s no such thing as cheating in a fight, you baldy bastard.”

It’s too late to try to respond now. I swung the chair and struck the baldy’s ribs hard.

“Arggghhhh!”

The baldy screamed in pain, but that’s not my problem.

I didn’t want to fight, but the baldy himself said he wanted to fight.

“Y-you coward! How dare you hit a baldy with a chair, are you even human!”

As I was beating the baldy with all my might using the chair, President Gold Sun pointed his finger and criticized me.

He’s really talking nonsense without understanding the situation.

“Beating a baldy thoroughly with a chair is cowardly, but refusing to pay back money when you have it is just?”

Thud!

Then the baldy, seeming to have run out of stamina, collapsed. Before losing consciousness, the fallen baldy weakly said.

“Don’t call me baldy, you bastards…”

That’s the end. Half-moon Bear won’t be able to get up anymore.

『You have won against an opponent slightly difficult to beat. Your combat power increases decently.』

Decent increase for winning against a slightly difficult opponent? I guess it increased a bit more than the modest increase for just winning.

『Your combat power has surpassed 150. From now on, you can read your own and others’ combat power.』

Oh? This is an unexpected gain.

What you gain should be used right away.

First, what’s my combat power?

『Combat Power: 190』

Half-moon Bear’s?

『Combat Power: 170』

I’ll win easily next time we fight.

As a bonus, the bodyguard’s combat power was 80. Pathetically weak.

Then President Gold Sun, what’s your combat power?

『Combat Power: 20』

You’re a real idiot.

“Hey, you 20 bastard.”

“C-calling me a 20 bastard… please speak more politely… I’ll pay back the money…”

President Gold Sun spoke with his hands clasped together, seeming to have nowhere else to retreat.

“But if I pay back 20 million won right away, it will disrupt several plans. I spread a lot to my employees…”

“So, are you saying you can’t pay back again?”

Crack…

“N-no! I’ll pay! I’ll pay! But could you let me pay in installments? I’ll pay 5 million won each month for 4 months!”

“Installments? Installments? Innnnstallllments?”

Crack…

“Waaah, I really did wrong. I’ll pay back, so please forgive me. Please spare me just this once…”

Gold Sun grabbed my trouser leg while crying. What are you touching, you bastard.

But it feels a bit harsh to coldly take it all when he’s begging like this. If Gold Sun Textile falters, we might get on the bad side of the Phoenix Guild.

“Alright, then I have a condition.”

“A condition? I’ll follow anything!”

“You didn’t pay for 7 years, and now you’re paying in installments, plus you kept saying you couldn’t pay back, which is outrageous, so pay 5 million won for 8 months.”

“40, 40 million won?!”

“Not okay? Even paying in installments, would 40 million won make Gold Sun Textile falter? If you don’t like it, hand over 20 million won right now.”

“Ah…”

Actually, this is just testing him.

Whether he really can’t pay 20 million won because it would make the company falter, or if he’s bluffing.

“A-alright. I’ll pay 5 million won each month for 8 months…”

He chose that even though it’s twice the amount. It seems paying 20 million won at once was really burdensome.

Well, I guess I should trust him then.

“Okay, I was just testing you. You can pay 5 million won for 4 months.”

“R-really? Thank you, I’m overwhelmingly grateful…!”

Sometimes it’s good to show mercy to enemies.

Because there are no eternal enemies in this world.

“Well then, shall we write a payment agreement?”

So today, I came back agreeing to receive 5 million won. When I checked my account, 5 million won was really there.

But there was a more important matter than this 5 million won.

“Hyungnim Agasshi, don’t lie and tell me honestly.”

“Huh? Tell you what?”

“Were you originally a man, Hyungnim Agasshi?”

Whether Eris is someone who committed murder and took over a body, or not.