Chapter 65 – Swimming Emperor (9)
Elementary, middle, high school.
In every sports day hosted by the school, I had never once been chosen as class representative.
Running? Maybe 4th or 5th in class.
In soccer, baseball, or basketball where the PE teacher refereed, I was just barely not called “hopeless.”
And yet now, that same me,
“This is impossible…”
“This is cheating…!”
“Is he a monster…?”
Was casually crushing the track-and-field athletes scheduled to represent Korea at the Olympics.
Rumors were swirling that the pandemic might delay or even cancel the Olympics, but as long as it wasn’t canceled, it was nothing but profit for me.
Why?
The longer the Olympics are postponed, the more events I can qualify for.
“Coach, as promised, please clear the spot for me.”
“Heh… heh heh heh…”
The coach, shocked that the athletes he’d been so proud of were defeated, could only laugh in denial.
I had overwhelmed them with raw physical ability, lacking even the basic technique and tricks the existing athletes had.
It must feel like soldiers with guns losing to a child.
“There’s no need to be disappointed. It’s only natural that I run better than all of you.”
“Natural?!”
“Are you mocking us?!”
“You little…!”
I had simply told the truth, yet the track athletes flared up without reason.
The faces that had once looked down on me, telling me to stick to swimming, were now crumpled as badly as their crushed pride.
“Have you ever experienced your whole body being torn apart the moment you stop? I had no choice but to become fast to survive. If you’re caught, you die.”
The Sword Demon who could slap Olympic skaters was terror itself.
“Are you looking down on us?!”
“We train until we’re half-dead too!”
“Don’t cheat!”
But no matter what I said, they refused to listen.
‘Nothing I can do.’
I felt sorry for them, but I couldn’t give up or yield track-and-field—the Olympic discipline with the most gold medals.
It has nearly twice as many medals as swimming!
100 m, 200 m, 400 m, 800 m, 1.5 km, 5 km, 10 km, marathon.
20 km and 50 km race walking.
Hurdles, high jump, long jump, pole vault, triple jump…
Throwing events too: discus, hammer, javelin, shot put.
If I sweep track-and-field alone, I can get quite close to Nam Hae-soo’s record.
“Ahem! Athlete Kang Moon-soo, I acknowledge your ability. Join training starting tomorrow at 7 a.m.”
“That won’t be possible.”
“…What exactly won’t be possible?”
“I’m planning to participate in quite a lot of Olympic events. All swimming events, and if possible, every track event too.”
“This is absurd…!”
“And tomorrow morning I have fencing, afternoon taekwondo. The day after is fully booked too.”
“…”
Hearing my grand plan, the coach’s lips pressed into a thin line.
He must think I’m insane.
But this is the old era without P’s aptitude tester—I was confident.
‘There’s no reason I can’t.’
Nam Hae-soo, whose true aptitude was track-and-field, became the Emperor of Swimming.
There’s no law saying a shaman can’t do the same.
“Athlete Kang Moon-soo, this might be a strange question, but…”
“Yes?”
“Are you… the same kind of human as us?”
“Of course I’m human. That really is a strange question.”
“R-right. Haha…”
“Haha!”
“Molang molang!”
Compared to the first-string athletes of the modern era, I’m just an ordinary human.
***
“Your stance is all wrong! Who the hell taught you…?!”
The fencing coach exploded.
“So does that mean it’s invalid? Or a foul?”
“W-well, no…”
I learned swordsmanship in the world of the romance fantasy novel <I Became the Youngest Daughter of the Count’s Family>.
The most efficient way to take a human life with a blade!
‘Valentine…’
The time I spent with her was among the happiest in my entire life.
Though our conversations were very far from ordinary romance…
“Athlete Kang Moon-soo!”
“Ah, yes.”
“Are you listening to my explanation? In foil and épée, only thrusts are allowed.”
“I did thrust, didn’t I?”
“…In épée the whole body is valid, but in foil only torso thrusts score.”
The fencing athlete whose face was stabbed right from the start looked extremely displeased.
“Let’s go again.”
“…”
Beep!
This time, the tip of the foil properly stabbed the opponent’s torso.
Instantly, without giving him time to react!
“…Huh?”
The athlete only realized what had happened moments later and stood there dumbfounded.
“15 points, right?”
“…”
Beep! Beep! Beep!
But no matter how many times we went, the result never changed.
15–0. Complete domination.
On a battlefield, 99 wins out of 100 fights mean nothing. You have to win every single time and survive to be the true victor.
With that mindset, I fought seriously and allowed not a single point, not even an invalid touch.
“Ah…”
“Good work.”
I have no intention of dismissing or belittling the effort and skill of the fencing athletes.
‘It’s just sport.’
Athletes who have never taken a human life cannot beat me.
Why?
Because—even if it was only in a dream—they cannot withstand the killing intent of a serial killer who has slain countless people.
The absolute will to kill you!
No matter how trained the body is, it instinctively shrinks before malice it has never experienced before. Until one overcomes the fear of death and becomes accustomed to murderous intent.
By the way…
‘Every single fencing athlete is ridiculously good-looking!’
I didn’t say it out loud because I didn’t want to be misunderstood like I was with the track team when I tried to console or praise them.
Long limbs, sleek physiques…
They perfectly reminded me of the handsome men from the romance fantasy novel <I Became the Youngest Daughter of the Count’s Family>.
Standing next to them made me feel shabby!
It felt like I’d lost even though I won the match.
“Ahem! Athlete Kang Moon-soo.”
“Yes.”
“This might be rude, but… are you the same species as us?”
“Of course I’m human.”
I’ve just had experiences that others haven’t. I’ve nearly died plenty of times, but no one here has actually died, right?
Even Song Sun-young, who jumped off a building rooftop, lost consciousness right before hitting the asphalt, so it’s hard to say she truly “experienced” death.
“You don’t have to come to practice.”
The coach glanced at the fencing athletes who still hadn’t recovered from the shock of defeat and spoke.
He probably decided they’d lose more than they’d gain training with me.
Anyway,
“I’ll get going now. I have another appointment this afternoon.”
“Do whatever is convenient for you.”
“…”
It felt bittersweet—like the coach was already erasing me from his mind.
“Molang…”
“Thanks.”
I placed my comforting friend on my head and headed to the next gym.
***
Thud!
The gym ceiling came into view. My body was lying on the soft mat covering the floor.
“…Huh?”
What just happened?
I belatedly realized that the moment the spar began, I had charged in confidently and been completely crushed without doing anything.
“Haha! They said a monster athlete was rampaging everywhere, and the rumors weren’t wrong! Great movement!”
A man in pure white dobok with a black belt tied around his waist laughed heartily.
The taekwondo head coach and master.
A former national representative from the homeland of taekwondo, Korea, he had told me to come at him freely.
And this was the result!
If I’d had a sword or spear in my hand, it would’ve been different, but we were both bare-handed.
My defeat.
“One more time, please.”
“Incredible stamina. Normally people can’t even breathe properly after that. Rest a bit and then—”
“I’m fine.”
“Hm. Then come as much as you want.”
“…Yes.”
This time I kept my distance and attacked cautiously.
Thud!
The result didn’t change!
“…”
“Your reaction speed is outstanding. Learn the techniques properly and you could become an amazing athlete.”
“…Thank you for sparring with me.”
“Leaving already?”
“Yes. Sorry for the disturbance.”
I bowed politely to the athletes who hadn’t mocked me despite my loss, then left the gym.
Click.
The moment I closed the door and stepped outside, my face burned.
I was so embarrassed!
I couldn’t even lift my head.
“Molang?”
“You’re right. I got way too full of myself.”
Fencing was eerily similar to the “noble swordsmanship” I learned from Valentine in the world of <I Became the Youngest Daughter of the Count’s Family>.
Valid scoring zones, points, standardized weapons and uniforms…
All I had to do was understand the rules.
‘I thought a shaman would also have combat talent for subduing ghosts…’
That was my delusion.
I didn’t have the “aptitude” to perfectly replicate a martial art I’d never learned just by watching it once.
“Molang?”
“You’re right. I really underestimated the athletes of the old era.”
It wasn’t just martial arts like taekwondo, judo, wrestling, and boxing.
Any sport that required tools—balls, rackets—or intricate technique was hard.
Take basketball, for example.
You have to dribble a huge ball, keep it from being stolen, and throw it into the opponent’s hoop.
Is that easy?
“Molang~”
“Don’t tease me.”
I even practiced basketball alone all night because I wanted to try it, but I spent the whole time just chasing the ball. It was pathetic.
In other words, just like when I, who could only dog-paddle, had to properly learn swimming from Song Sun-young, time and effort were essential!
The limits of a shaman were laid bare.
“This is tough~”
“Molang~”
I couldn’t let my guard down with fencing either.
If I sparred too often, the athletes would get used to my killing intent. To safely reach the Olympics, I should avoid fencing matches as much as possible.
Bzzz—
“Another coach this time…? Hm?”
I took out the old-era smartphone vibrating in my pocket and frowned.
「Park Han-hee: Are you busy?」
A message from “Nam Hae-soo’s wife,” whom I had no reason to meet anymore.
‘What’s this about?’
I thought I had clearly conveyed that I had no desire to get close to her.
I couldn’t figure out her intentions.
「Park Han-hee: My hospitalized boyfriend got angry.」
「Park Han-hee: So we fought.」
「Park Han-hee: I don’t know what to do now.」
“…I don’t know either.”
Why a girl would tell another guy that she fought with her boyfriend.
No matter how I looked at it, it didn’t paint a good picture.
Tap tap.
I immediately replied.
「Kang Moon-soo: This doesn’t seem like something I should get involved in.」
「Kang Moon-soo: I’m sorry I can’t help.」
I didn’t want to get tangled in something unrelated to my goal, so I firmly expressed refusal.
That should be the end of it, right?
I let my guard down when no reply came, but then the phone vibrated again.
Bzzz—
「Park Han-hee: Please help me.」
“…”
The desperation in her short, powerful message pinned me like a butterfly in a spiderweb.
My fingers moved on their own.
Tap tap.
「Kang Moon-soo: Why me?」
If she gave an obvious lie, I’d cut her off immediately.
「Park Han-hee: Because Kang Moon-soo is faster than my national-representative boyfriend.」
“Hm…”
I recalled what her older sister had said in confidence.
That her little sister Park Han-hee was being forced to date a senior…
「Kang Moon-soo: What did you fight about?」
「Park Han-hee: He got mad that I didn’t come straight to the hospital and gave the water bottle to another guy.」
“No way…”
Is it because I’m a guy? It feels like the one at fault isn’t the angry boyfriend, but her.
But,
‘What if she’s being forced to play girlfriend to a senior she doesn’t even like?’
Then all the blame lies with the senior who calls himself her boyfriend.
In other words—
「Kang Moon-soo: Is the plaza okay again?」
I decided to hear the full story from her first.
“Last time it was hotel ice cream, this time a water bottle…”
From now on, I swear I’ll never accept free favors from women I don’t know!
「Park Han-hee: Yes!」
「Kang Moon-soo: Then text me 20 minutes before you arrive at the plaza.」
「Park Han-hee: I’m already behind you.」
“Hm?”
I was leisurely walking from the athletes’ village toward the hotel when I stopped dead.
‘Behind me?’
I slowly turned my head.
“Hi!”
There stood Park Han-hee, most of her face hidden by a mask and cap.
“…Hello.”
I couldn’t shake the feeling that I’d gotten myself into a very troublesome situation.
You think so too, right?
“Molang~”
My friend just molang-ed like it was none of its business.