Outfight everyone
[Yuito's POV]
"Oh, so you live here? Neat." I said as I invited myself inside Hobin's house. It was a small house, the roof was so low that I could touch it if I raised my hand.
I looked around the house and saw the damp patches on the roof which indicated that the house was not totally dry from the rain and there were leaks in some places.
The house was ancient and so was the furnitures. There was barely anything that looked new or was completely undamaged.
There were no tables or couch as the people living here were supposed to sit down on the floor. Realizing that, I took off my shoes before I entered deeper into the house.
"Your neighborhood is very quiet, it's nice." I said and sat down on what I suppose was the living room, but it also looked like a kitchen, maybe it was both.
The area in which Hobin lived was not exactly a slum area but it looked like one compared to the tall apartments of the city. That was also why it was quiet, unlike the bustling city that never sleeps.
I touched the ugly yellow painted floor and I felt no dust in my hand. I noticed that although the house did not have anything luxurious or new, it was extremely clean.
I also noticed a shelf and a computer in the corner of the house. I visibly trembled as I saw it because I remembered that computer and the table from reading the Manhwa long ago.
It was the place where Hobin learned how to fight from the videos of Samdak. It was where the magic happened.
{That's where the legend starts.} The author commented, equally excited.
The main plot of the manhwa was goes like this. One day while Hobin was searching for martial arts tutorials on YouTube, he stumbled upon a martial arts channel with no viewers or subscribers.
The person who made the videos call himself Samdak and wore a chiken mask. It was from those videos that Hobin would train himself and get stronger as time went on.
The videos had everything related to martial arts, from 'How to beat an amateur fighter', 'How to beat a Tweakwondo master', 'How to beat an Olympic boxer, and so on.
"Um, sorry about the messy house." Hobin quickly apologized as he came behind me shyly. He was acting so timid that you would think he was the guest instead of me.
He quickly put away his bag and sat down opposite to me while rubbing the back of his head. He was so awkward that it made you want to be alone forever than be in his company.
But luckily, I have dealt with someone more awkward than him so it did not affect me. He gave me a strained smile because even the simple act of smiling was hard with the bruises on his face.
"Ah, thank you for paying for my medical fees." He thanked me while bowing his head. His face was covered with bandages and so was his body.
We went to the hospital before coming here. Hobin claimed that it would be alright after putting ice on it and that he had no money to go to the hospital.
But I insisted and even paid the fees.
"Don't worry about it." I looked around the house.
"Do you live alone?" I asked curiously even though I knew his mother was in the hospital.
"Yes, at the moment. You see my mother is in the hospital right now." He said, again with the strained smile that hid the sadness he felt from thinking about his mother.
His mother was one of the main reasons he went into streaming and fighting to make content for money. He loved his mother so he needed to cover the hospital bills and he also wanted her to have the best.
Oftentimes, his future enemies would try to use his mother as an advantage against him, using her as his weakness. And you wouldn't want to know what kind of monster he could turn into if it involved his mother.
I respect him for that.
"Oh, well, I hope she gets well soon." I said and Hobin thanked me. He was extremely polite to me, unlike his true character which was rather prude.
"Anyways, I haven't introduced myself, have I?"
I put my hand forward and Hobin shook it after hesitating, "My name is Yuito Fujita and I am from Japan. I came to Korea to participate in the upcoming tournament, Absolute Championship."
"Hobin Yoo, umm.." He trailed off, not knowing what to add, "I'm 18."
{Oh damn, he is a year older than you. Better call him Oppa then hehe} the author said.
I disagree. With my past life, I was already 30 years old. So I did not feel like Hobin was older than me, and did not even feel the need to say my age and start addressing him formally.
"You said Absolute Championship right? I know about that. Monseoung did say that he was going to participate in it too." He said, trying to stir up a conversation.
{Well, well, well, isn't that just perfect?}
'Absolutely correct.' I thought to myself, excited at the prospect of fighting that monster again.
"But I guess you would win even if you fight him. You are stronger than him after all, right?"
Was I stronger than Monseoung? I did not know but I hope so. Our encounter was too brief to properly assess his strength.
In the manhwa, we saw that Monseoung was strong enough to fight with a genius like Teahoon even before he learned martial arts. He had a rough childhood and had to do labour works from a young age.
So he had monstrous strength and inhumane durability.
He was also trained by a UFC champion who saw potential in him. It was then that he found his true purpose and dedicated his life to fighting.
I had trained way longer than him in martial arts but that was mostly by myself and with the bad coaches in Japan. He had a fucking UFC champion as a direct coach so coupled with his genius, his martial arts skills may already be on par with me.
But I was also sure that I had better stats and possessed supernatural skills like Bullet time and Sun breathing.
{So, would you lose?}
'Nah, I'd win.'
"Monseoung is the alpha in our class, but you were even stronger than him." Hobin said with a voice full of admiration.
I looked at him and just gave him a smile. He hesitated for a few seconds before he finally said what he wanted without buttering me up.
"What you said earlier...about helping me get strong." He started, his eyes held hope but they also braced for disappointment, "Do you really think I can get strong....like you."
I stayed silent and observed his earnest eyes. I contemplated what I was going to say to him but in the end, I settled for the truth,
"No."
His shoulder slumped and he sighed as if he had expected my answer.
"You will never be stronger than me or even Moneoung, nor will you ever surpass our skills," I said truthfully.
"But strength and skill are not the only things that dictate the victor of a fight." I smiled at him.
The thing about Hobin, even in the manhwa was that he was never stronger or even on par with any single opponent that he went up against. He was always weaker.
Yet he always ended up as the winner.
Why?
It's simple. It was because of his tenacity and his crafty fighting style that stemmed from the fact that he was aware that he was the weakest.
"You don't have to be stronger or even more skilled. You can also win a fight by outfighting them." I said and his eyes shined.
"That's all you need to do. You just need to outfight them." I stood up and towered over him. I imagined the situation as a badass moment that every anime sensei had on their student.
"And I am going to teach you how to outfight everyone."
Hobin looked at me as if I was the second coming of Christ.
He bowed.
"PLEASE!!!"
...
'Heh, this would be fun.'
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