The Martial God who Regressed Back to Level 2 Novel

* * *

Thunk-

A hair, uprooted by the force of a punch, fell to the ground with a thud.

"This... this bastard...!"

It was already a concern that he had very little hair left.

Because of his hair, despite being in his mid-20s, people thought he was in his early 30s, so he had taken great care of it.

"Damn it!!!!! I'm going to kill you!!"

"Just a moment...!"

"Oh, oppa! Stop!"

Ignoring the protests of the security guard and cousin, Kim In-sik charged at Sung JiHan like a bull.

A level 50 warrior.

Even though in the real world, one's strength is nerfed compared to in the game, at that level, he was practically a superhuman.

Kwaaaah!

Kim In-sik's fist tore through the air and flew towards Sung JiHan's face.

The attacks of a level 50 character are fast and deadly.

Combined with his stone skin, his fist was like a giant club.

No matter how skilled a player he was, Kim In-sik didn't know what would happen if a Bronze player took that hit.

"Oh no!"

Kim Hee-su's face turned pale.

He had only intended to intimidate him a little, but things had escalated.

Especially since Kim In-sik's gift was Strength A.

If he really took a direct hit from that fist, his head might explode...

"Even if I become a plant, please just don't kill me...!"

While Kim Hee-su was thinking that.

Sssss-

Kim In-sik's fist, which had been extending rapidly, gradually slowed down.

"What...?!"

Kim In-sik's body didn't move as he wished, as if he had fallen into a swamp.

It was because he had entered the absolute domain of Sung JiHan's force.

The oppression that pressed on him from all sides was so strong that even a Silver-ranked player like Kim In-sik couldn't easily brush it off.

With his slowed and weakened fist, Sung JiHan extended his own fist.

"Kuk...!"

Crack!

A terrible sound erupted from Kim In-sik's fist, and gold appeared on the surface of his skin, which had become as hard as stone.

It was the phenomenon of his Stone Skin breaking.

"This... this can't be...!!"

Unbelievable.

His opponent was Bronze.

No matter how strong the player was rumored to be, there was a level difference of over 20 levels.

And on top of that, he had used Stone Skin, so it should have been Sung JiHan, not Kim In-sik, whose fist should have shattered.

Even if the opponent had used psychic powers, the basic difference in specs was enormous...

However, the result that appeared was the complete opposite.

"Is this all a Silver-level can do?"

"Profit...!!!"

A vein popped on Kim In-sik's forehead.

No matter what, being humiliated like this by a Bronze player.

Although he should have felt a sense of urgency after seeing how easily he had been defeated, anger surged within him first.

"You're dead!"

Swish!

Kim In-sik tried to kick Sung JiHan's throat by surprise.

But his body was already within the absolute domain of Sung JiHan's force.

Although he tried to deliver a powerful low kick, his leg moved sluggishly.

"You're trying to kick me."

Sung JiHan kicked Kim In-sik's leg with a low kick.

Splat!

The Stone Skin on his leg, which had not yet broken, shattered helplessly, and the sound of bones breaking echoed.

"Ugh...!"

Unlike in the BattleNet game, the pain that was transmitted straight to him was unbearable even for a Silver-ranked player like him.

Kim In-sik groaned and rolled on the ground.

"Ah! Ahh!"

It hurts.

It hurts so much.

Contrary to his appearance as a level 50 warrior and the frontline tank responsible for the party, tears were forming in the corners of Kim In-sik's eyes.

"This, this is a scam! It's a scam!!! How can a Bronze...?"

He has become weak.

To think that a warrior of level 50 would whine and complain just because one bone was broken.

Sung JiHan clapped his hands and then clenched them.

Thud!

"Ugh...! My, my eyes!!"

When sudden pain occurred near his eyes, Kim In-sik screamed and covered both of his eyes.

He was afraid that the monster-like creature might even gouge out his eyeballs.

However, what was plucked out was not his eyes but his eyebrows.

Between his trembling fingers, the plucked eyebrows fell apart strand by strand.

"Uh... Uhuhuh..."

Kim In-sik continued to cover his eyes and his body trembled.

He completely lost his composure.

"Oh, oppa! Have you gone crazy!?"

Kim Hee-soo, who had been watching from a distance, rushed over with a worried expression.

"To make someone like this! I'll sue you for assault right away!"

"Sue me? I only retaliated against him hitting me, didn't I?"

Is this self-defense?

Hmm.

Kim Hee-soo gritted her teeth.

"You pulled out his hair first!"

"Then sue me for that!"

"...Do you know who you touched? You've messed with the Daehan Ilbo family!"

"Daehan Ilbo?"

"Yeah! You don't even know the basics...!"

Kim Hee-soo shouted angrily.

Cousin Kim In-sik, even though he was a bastard, was not a member of the Daehan Ilbo family.

He was not someone who would be treated so poorly by a rootless commoner like this.

"Uncle!"

Yoon Se-ah, who had come running from the gift shop, urgently intervened.

She thought that she had to mediate somehow, even though she didn't know why this accident had happened.

Kim Hee-soo yelled at her when she saw her.

"Yoon Se-ah. It's because of you!"

"...Because of me?"

"Because you keep refusing interviews! You should have just accepted quietly when I offered! But you brought your brother for no reason and...!"

"I said I won't do the interview."

"You're so noisy! If I do it, you should just accept it! You, a girl with no parents, acting all high and mighty... Ahh!"

Suddenly, a clump of Kim Hee-soo's hair was pulled out.

Unlike when it happened to Kim In-sik, Kim Hee-soo's head had a hole in the middle like a circular bald spot.

She cried tears of pain and glared at Sung JiHan.

"Are you done?"

"You, you... Are you really crazy? Are you going to touch me too?"

"Do you want to be completely bald?"

"You, I will definitely have you shut down! Do you still think you're part of the Geomwang family? You ignorant fools!"

Upon hearing that story, Yoon Se-ah hardened her expression.

Kim Hee-soo's threat had become a real threat.

Daehan Ilbo, which was one of the top three media companies in Korea.

Kim Hee-soo's family was intertwined with conglomerates and mixed marriages, so it wouldn't be easy to retaliate if they were determined to do so.

And as Kim Hee-soo said, Yoon Se-ah and Sung JiHan were no longer part of the "Sword King's Family."

The situation where the most powerful backing in South Korea had disappeared.

If they wanted to shut them down from over there, they could.

"I have to... apologize."

Yoon Se-ah bit her lip.

As if things weren't already troubling enough with receiving an F grade.

Now I have to apologize to Kim Hee-su, who is shouting at me in an imperative tone, even though we're supposed to be friends.

Today was truly the worst birthday.

Yoon Se-ah stood in front of Sung JiHan, trying to lower her head, but...

"...Huh?"

Her body stiffened and wouldn't move.

"It's okay."

Sung JiHan pushed Yoon Se-ah back with force and stepped forward.

Kim Hee-su, with piercing eyes, glared at Sung JiHan.

"Go ahead. Try it."

"Are you being sincere? Do you think I can't do it!?"

"Well, go ahead. Anyway, once I leave with Se-ah, that's it for Korea."

"What?!"

Sung JiHan lightly tapped Kim In-sik, who had fallen to the ground.

"A Bronze who can send a Silver flying with one blow. The country that desires me will be overflowing. Lately, scouts from Japan have been crawling all over me, and I've been getting calls from the US and China too."

"You..."

"I was planning to continue my player career in my home country... but since Daehan Ilbo wants me to go to that store, I decided to just do activities in the US. Might as well immigrate. It would be quite interesting if it's known that the world's most promising player left the country due to the tyranny of the media, don't you think?"

"Wh-who's the world's most promising player?!"

"Obviously, it's me."

Sung JiHan said without changing his facial expression.

It was an audacious and shameless appearance, but Kim Hee-su's heart trembled when he saw it.

"Most promising players wouldn't even bat an eye... but this guy is different."

Sung JiHan's performance in the Bronze League is insane.

And now, right in front of him, he had incapacitated a Silver 50-level Warrior in one go.

With this level of skill, he could indeed be the world's most promising player.

At least among all the Bronzes in the world, it could be said that he was in the top ten.

"And this guy has a lot of BattleTube subscribers..."

In short, if he were to say on his channel, "I'm immigrating because of Daehan Ilbo."

And if he were to develop into an outstanding player in the US?

Daehan Ilbo would receive unnecessary criticism because of what Kim Hee-su had done.

Especially in the situation where the Sword King had left and Korea was in danger of becoming the last place in the regional league, an outstanding player was desperately needed.

It was possible that Daehan Ilbo would receive much greater condemnation than he had thought.

Thinking about that, the anger that had risen to the top of his head subsided a little.

"...If you apologize to us here, we can let it slide once."

Kim Hee-su tightly pressed his lips and demanded an apology as much as possible, but...

"Apologies are for you to do."

"Are you really going to be like this?!"

"Of course."

Snap. Snap.

Sung JiHan flicked his palm like chasing away a fly.

"If you don't want to apologize, just leave with that guy."

"Y-you! I thought you would let it slide... Aaah!"

Thud!

Kim Hee-su's left eyebrow was completely pulled out.

The security guard who had been watching this was dumbfounded.

This person, he doesn't hold back no matter who the opponent is.

"Did... Did I do something wrong?"

He thought that for no reason.

"If you scream again, next time it'll be the right one."

"Th-th-this... crazy bastard..."

"Hmm. No, let's try something else this time."

As Sung JiHan added a word,

Kim Hee-su flinched and gestured to the middle-aged reporter.

That guy, he's really capable.

For now, he had to leave.

"What are you doing! Protect me, oppa!"

"Yes, yes!"

"Ugh. Ugh... My leg is broken..."

"Hey, you were acting all high and mighty... What the hell, seriously!"

Sung JiHan and his group disappeared without even making eye contact, dragging along their cousin, Kim HeeSoo.

Seeing that, Yoon SeA, whose paralysis had suddenly been lifted, blinked her eyes.

"...What on earth happened?"

* * *

"...That person tried to provoke me? And even forced an interview?"

"That's right."

"But still, Uncle... If you make an enemy out of someone from Daehan Ilbo, wouldn't that be a big problem?"

"It's fine."

Daehan Ilbo, the newspaper that he had touched, was a media company with significant social influence, even among other press agencies.

But Sung JiHan showed no signs of concern.

"Uncle... Daehan Ilbo is a huge place. It's not just a newspaper. It's intertwined with various chaebols through mergers and acquisitions."

"It doesn't matter. If they bother us too much, we can just go to the United States."

"Huh? When did you receive an offer from the United States?"

"Well, someday."

His response was so nonchalant that it was unbelievable.

"Huh? An offer from a scout... No way?"

"Yeah. It's only a matter of time anyway."

"Ugh... Uncle! Aren't you worried?"

"Why should I worry?"

"That's Daehan Ilbo..."

Sung JiHan lightly tapped Yoon SeA's darkened face.

"SeA, it's the era of Battle.net now. The status of a promising player is much higher than you think."

"But still..."

"And after the tutorial season ends, the value of players will increase even more."

Sung JiHan, who had lived in the future and experienced this firsthand, was a witness to it.

In 2020, the status of a Battle.net player was more like that of an integrated sports player and entertainer.

After the tutorial ended, the level of players became directly linked to national security.

A country without exceptional players would perish.

"So, don't worry too much."

"...Okay."

Confident Sung JiHan.

Yoon SeA stared at him intently.

"He can do this because he has the ability."

How nice.

Yoon SeA looked at her uncle and felt a deep sense of envy in her heart.

Just a moment ago, she had wanted to lower her head to Kim HeeSoo because she was worried about what would happen next.

But Sung JiHan, with his exceptional abilities, was not shaken at all by such opponents.

Until she received her Gift, she had also wanted to live such a confident life...

But now that she had received an F-grade, it had become an impossible dream.

"Uncle."

"Yeah?"

"I... I've failed. I think I should study for the college entrance exam."

"...Is that so?"

"Yeah. I should drop out of school too. The academy doesn't recognize my academic records."

The Battle.net Academy, established for special purposes.

Since the curriculum was completely different from that of regular high schools, regular universities did not recognize the academic records from the academy.

So students who couldn't receive a Gift and wanted to enter college would drop out and go to a preparatory school for the GED.

"SeA."

"Yes, Uncle?"

"Do you want to see my status window?"

Yoon SeA furrowed her brow at his words.

Right now, she was so distressed about receiving an F-grade Gift!

Instead of comforting her, he suddenly wants to show her a status window.

"Do you want to see it?"

But she couldn't resist her curiosity.

"Okay, show me."

Even so, she couldn't help but be curious.

"Don't be surprised. I'll explain everything in detail at home."

Yoon SeA looked at the status window that Sung JiHan had displayed.

And her eyes widened.

"What... Is this... for real?"