Dream Breaker

Elementary school, middle school, high school.

I had never been a class representative at a school-sponsored sports event even once.

In running, I was ranked 4th or 5th in the class.

During physical education class, I barely managed not to hear the teacher say that I couldn't play sports like soccer, baseball, and basketball, which the teacher refereed.

And yet, I was...

"Unbelievable..."

"This is a scam...!"

"Is he a monster...?"

I was easily overwhelming the track athletes who were scheduled to participate in the Olympics as national representatives of South Korea.

There were rumors that the Olympics might be postponed or even canceled due to the worsening pandemic, but as long as it wasn't canceled, it was definitely a benefit for me.

Why?

Because the later the Olympics, the more events I could challenge and secure participation rights.

"Coach, please keep your promise and vacate my spot."

"Hehehehe..."

The coach, shocked by the defeat of his once-proud athletes, could only laugh as if denying reality.

I had crushed their skills and tricks, which were inferior to those of existing track athletes, with my physical abilities alone!

It must feel like a soldier losing to a child holding a gun.

"You don't need to be disappointed. It's only natural that I run better than all of you."

"Natural?!"

"Are you making fun of us!"

"This brat...!"

The track and field athletes were getting angry for no reason, even though I was just stating the truth.

Their faces were twisted in agony, just like their crumpled pride, as they had looked down on me for being good at swimming.

"Have you ever experienced your whole body being torn apart if you stop? I had no choice but to get faster to survive. If I was caught, I would die."

The fear that the skating athletes experienced was itself terrifying.

"Are you looking down on us!"

"We trained hard enough to die too!"

"Don't cheat!"

But no matter what I said, they wouldn't listen.

'I can't help it.'

I'm sorry to them, but I can't give up or concede track and field, which has the most gold medals among single events in the Olympics.

The number of medals is almost twice as many as swimming!

100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1.5km, 5km, 10km, marathon.

20km, 50km race walking.

Hurdles, high jump, long jump, pole vault, triple jump...

There are various throwing events as well. Discus, hammer, javelin, shot put.

Sweeping through all track and field events alone could bring me considerably close to Nam Hae-soo's record.

"Ahem! Kang Moon-soo, I acknowledge your skills. Join the training from 7 am tomorrow."

"That's going to be difficult."

"...What's difficult about it?"

"Well, I have a lot of Olympic events I want to participate in. All swimming events. And I plan to try all track and field events if possible."

"Preposterous...!"

"And tomorrow, I have a fencing appointment in the morning and Taekwondo in the afternoon. I'm also fully booked the day after tomorrow."

"......"

The coach's lips tightened upon hearing my grand plan.

It must be absurd.

But I was confident since it was an old era without P's aptitude test machine.

'There's no reason I can't do it.'

Nam Hae-soo, whose aptitude was a track athlete, became the emperor of swimming. There's no law that says I, a shaman, can't do it.

"Kang Moon-soo, this might be a bit of an odd question, but..."

"Yes."

"Are you the same kind of human as us?"

"Of course, I'm a human. That's a really odd question."

"Well, right. Haha..."

"Haha!"

"Molang molang!"

Compared to modern first-class athletes, I am just an ordinary human.

* * *

"Your posture is all over the place! Who taught you this...!"

The fencing coach was furious.

"So, are you saying it's invalid or cheating?"

"Well, that's not it, but..."

I learned swordsmanship in the world of the romance fantasy novel "I Became the Youngest Daughter of the Count."

The most effective way to take a person's life in a flash!

'Valentine...'

The time I spent with her was one of the most enjoyable and happy moments of my life.

Although our conversations were far from ordinary romance...

"Kang Moon-soo!"

"Ah, yes."

"Are you listening to my explanation? Only thrusting is allowed with the foil and epee."

"I did thrust, didn't I?"

"...In epee, the whole body is a valid target, but in foil, only thrusting the upper body is considered scoring."

As soon as it started, the fencer with a pierced face showed discomfort.

"Let's do it again."

"......"

Beep!

This time, the tip of the foil properly pierced the opponent's upper body.

In no time, without giving them a chance to react!

"Ah...?"

The athlete belatedly realized what had happened and was at a loss.

"15 points, right?"

"......"

Beep! Beep! Beep!

But no matter how many times we tried, the result didn't change.

A landslide victory with 15 to 0.

In a battlefield, winning 99 out of 100 fights is useless. You must win them all and survive to be a true winner.

With that mindset, I took the match seriously and didn't allow a single lost point or invalid hit.

"Ah..."

"Good job."

I have no intention of ignoring or belittling the efforts and skills of the fencing athletes.

'Because it's a sport.'

Athletes who have never killed a person can't beat me.

Why?

Because it's hard to withstand my murderous intent, as I was a serial killer who killed many people in my dreams.

The determination to kill you!

No matter how trained they are, they can't help but instinctively shrink in the face of the first encounter with 'malice.' At least until they overcome the fear of death and become accustomed to killing.

By the way...

'All fencing athletes are handsome!'

I didn't want to be misunderstood by comforting or praising the athletes like I did during track and field, so I didn't say it out loud.

Long arms and legs, a sleek physique...

Handsome men from the romance fantasy novel "I Became the Youngest Daughter of the Count" naturally came to mind.

I, standing next to them, looked shabby!

Even though I won the match, it felt like losing.

"Ahem! Kang Moon-soo."

"Yes."

"Pardon my rudeness, but are you the same kind of person as us?"

"Of course."

I've just had a variety of experiences that others haven't. There's no one who has really died, even if they've almost died, right?

Song Seon-young, who jumped off a building rooftop, lost consciousness just before hitting the asphalt, so it's hard to say she experienced 'death.'

"You don't have to come to the training."

The coach said, glancing at the fencing athletes who couldn't get over the shock of defeat.

Perhaps he judged that they would lose more than gain by training together.

Anyway,

"I'll be going now. I have another appointment this afternoon."

"Do as you please."

"......"

The coach seemed to want to erase me from his mind, which was bittersweet.

"Molang..."

"Thank you."

I put my comforting friend on my head and headed to the next gym.

* * *

Thump!

I saw the ceiling of the gym. My body was lying on the soft mat on the gym floor.

"...Huh?"

What just happened?

I realized too late that I had been defeated without being able to do anything, as I had charged in full of confidence.

"Ha-ha! So you're the monster-like athlete who's been making a stir everywhere! Your movements are as impressive as the rumors!"

A man in a white Taekwondo uniform with a black belt around his waist laughed heartily.

He was a Taekwondo coach and instructor.

As a former national representative of South Korea, the home country of Taekwondo, he suggested that I freely attack him.

And this was the result!

If I had a sword or a spear in my hand, the outcome would have been different, but he was also barehanded.

It was my defeat.

"Please, one more time."

"Amazing stamina. Normally, it'd be hard even to breathe. Take some rest and then try again..."

"I'm fine."

"Hmm. In that case, come at me as much as you want."

"...Yes."

This time, I attacked cautiously while maintaining distance.

Thump!

The result didn't change, though!

"......"

"Your reaction speed is excellent. If you learn the proper techniques, you could become a great athlete."

"...Thank you for the match."

"Are you leaving already?"

"Yes. I apologize for any inconvenience."

After politely greeting the athletes who didn't laugh at my defeat, I left the gym.

Thud.

As soon as I closed the door and stepped outside, my face felt hot.

I was too embarrassed!

I couldn't raise my head.

"Molang?"

"That's right. I was too arrogant."

Fencing was very similar to the 'noble swordsmanship' I learned from Valentine in the world of the romance fantasy novel "I Became the Youngest Daughter of the Count."

Valid hitting areas, scores, standardized weapons, and outfits...

All I had to do was understand the rules.

'I thought a shaman would also have combative skills to subdue ghosts...'

That was my misconception.

I didn't have the 'aptitude' to perfectly reproduce an unfamiliar martial art just by watching it.

"Molang?"

"That's right. It seems I underestimated the old-era athletes."

It wasn't just martial arts like Taekwondo, judo, wrestling, and boxing. All sports that required tools like balls or rackets or that needed techniques were difficult.

Take basketball, for example.

In basketball, you have to bounce a big ball and put it into the opponent's basketball hoop without getting it stolen.

Is that easy?

"Molang~"

"Don't tease me."

"...What?"

Why did this happen?

I tried practicing basketball all night by myself because I wanted to give it a try, but it ended miserably, as all I could do was pick up the ball.

In other words, time and effort were essential, just like when I learned swimming from Song Seon-young when I was only at a dog-paddling level!

The limitations of a shaman were revealed.

"It's difficult~"

"Molang~"

I couldn't let my guard down in fencing either.

If I face the athletes frequently, they will get used to my murderous intent. To safely participate in the Olympics, I should avoid fencing matches as much as possible.

Woo-woong-

"...Huh?"

I had no choice but to frown as I took out the vibrating old-fashioned smartphone from my pocket.

「Park Han-hee: Are you busy?」

It was because I got a text from 'Nam Hae-soo's wife,' who I thought I had no reason to meet anymore.

'What's going on?'

I thought I made it clear that I didn't want to be friends with her?

I don't understand her intentions.

「Park Han-hee: My hospitalized boyfriend got upset.」

「Park Han-hee: So we fought.」

「Park Han-hee: I don't know what to do now.」

"...I don't know either."

The reason why a woman would tell another man that she fought with her boyfriend.

No matter how I looked at it, it didn't paint a good picture.

Thump thump.

I immediately sent a reply.

「Kang Moon-soo: It doesn't seem like a problem I should be involved in.」

「Kang Moon-soo: I'm sorry I can't help you.」

I didn't want to get involved in issues unrelated to my goals. So I firmly expressed my refusal.

Is it over now?

When I let my guard down because there was no reply, the smartphone vibrated again.

Woo-woong-

「Park Han-hee: Please help me.」

"......"

As soon as I saw her desperate text, I couldn't move like a butterfly caught in a spider's web.

A short but powerful word!

My fingers moved involuntarily.

Thump thump.

「Kang Moon-soo: Why me?」

If she tells an obvious lie, I will refuse in an instant.

「Park Han-hee: Because Kang Moon-soo is faster than my national team boyfriend.」

"Hmm..."

I remembered what her older sister said while claiming it was a secret.

Her younger sister, Park Han-hee, was forced to date her senior...

「Kang Moon-soo: How did you end up fighting with your boyfriend?」

「Park Han-hee: He got mad because I gave a water bottle to another guy instead of coming straight to the hospital.」

"No way..."

Is it because I'm a man? It seems like the fault lies with her, not her angry boyfriend.

However,

'If she was forced to play the role of a girlfriend for a senior she doesn't even like?'

All the fault lies with the senior who claims to be her boyfriend.

So,

「Kang Moon-soo: Is it okay to meet at the square again?」

I decided to listen to her detailed story and make a judgment.

"Last time it was hotel ice cream, this time it's a water bottle..."

From now on, I'll never accept free favors from unknown women!

「Park Han-hee: Yes!」

「Kang Moon-soo: Please leave a message 20 minutes before you arrive at the square.」

「Park Han-hee: I'm behind you.」

"Huh?"

As I was leisurely walking from the athletes' village to the hotel, I stopped.

'She's behind me?'

I casually turned my head to look behind me, and

"Hello!"

There was Park Han-hee, with most of her face covered by a mask and a hat.

"...Hello."

I couldn't shake off the feeling that I was caught in a very annoying problem.

Do you think so, too?

"Molang~"

My friend seemed to be fine with it, as it wiggled.

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