After two relentless weeks of prowling the shadows, building the myth of the Absolute Fighter, Jalen stood on the edge of another choice one that would separate him even further from the rest.
He stared at the message on his phone, a simple reply from an old number he had pestered endlessly.After constant pestering and increasing the weekly pay.
Fine. Show up tomorrow. 6 AM sharp. Don't be late."
Hansu Seong.
The Taekwondo Legend. The man who made kicks look like weapons forged by the heavens. The silent force behind legends like Manager Kim. And now, reluctantly, Jalen's next mentor.
He didn't tell anyone not even Gun.
For the next month, Jalen disappeared from school.
Every morning before sunrise, he stood at the gates of a humble, quiet dojo nestled between two old buildings in the outskirts of Seoul. The wooden floors were clean, the air always sharp with discipline, and the atmosphere dead serious.
Hansu never welcomed him with smiles.
Only commands.
"Again."
"Higher."
"Faster."
"No wasted movement."
For hours, Jalen drilled the basics. Over and over. Kicks. Footwork. Precision strikes. Forms that seemed simple on the surface but burned his muscles deeper than any sparring session with Gun ever had.
Hansu never praised. Only nodded once. Maybe twice.
But that was enough.
Jalen's body adapted again. Faster. Stronger. Cleaner. He learned the difference between force and flow, power and poise. Gun had given him fists of destruction. Hansu taught him how to move like lightning and strike like thunder.
Even at night, Jalen shadow-trained in his room, mimicking every technique with robotic focus.
By the end of the month, he wasn't just a fighter anymore.
He was a weapon in motion.
When Hansu finally called an end to their last session, Jalen stood, drenched in sweat, chest heaving.
The older man regarded him in silence.
Then simply said, "You're not done learning. But you're done here."
Jalen bowed deeply, full of respect.
"Thank you."
As he left the dojo and walked back into the city, hoodie back over his head, the world didn't know it yet…
But the Absolute Fighter had evolved.