Chapter 31: Godok-Style Training Method (1)
I had lived quite fiercely.
Until recently, Eddy had evaluated his own life that way.
No one could deny it.
A fellow not even from the city had come up with nothing, built a reputation, honed his skills, raised a respectable force, and climbed to the position of boss.
However, that conviction began to waver slightly after experiencing several recent crises.
‘Do I truly possess the abilities befitting my position?’
‘Am I putting in the effort suitable for such abilities?’
In the past, I would have confidently answered ‘Yes’.
The day I first lost a street fight, I was so furious I couldn't sleep and continued training; when I formed the family with seven members, I fought even more fiercely to avoid being swallowed by larger organizations.
But what about now?
‘Just a pig wallowing in laziness.’
Those words were right.
Compared to when I fought alone, compared to when I managed an organization of less than 10 members, I now led a much larger group.
Therefore, I should naturally possess skills befitting that scale.
If not, I should at least be making the effort to achieve them.
But I couldn't.
Instead, intoxicated by the sweetness of having unified Marzen's back alleys, intoxicated by the sense of security provided by the reliable figure named Harang, I often spent my days drowning in alcohol.
‘Perhaps if it weren’t for Boss Harang…… I would have paid the price today.’
I would surely be living day by day, enduring the life in the Jeten Guild that I never wanted, constantly reading the faces of the dispatched swordsmen.
Having thought this far, Eddy bowed his head to the young man much younger than himself and pleaded.
“Boss Harang! I know that the grace you’ve shown us so far is already as vast as the heavens. Despite that, I, like an ungrateful, lazy pig, spent my days idly and only sought your help when needed, so it’s no wonder you’re disappointed and leaving.”
“…….”
“But this Eddy! I may make a mistake once, but I’m not the type to make it twice! I will strive. I will work until my bones crumble, and I will become a vessel that absolutely does not yield to the jackals eyeing Marzen’s back alleys!”
“The same goes for me! As an executive supporting Boss Eddy, I will do my utmost. So please, please grant us your teachings! Boss Harang!”
Eddy and Pale, requesting guidance with utmost desperation.
The sight of the burly men shouting with teary eyes wasn't pleasant, but the emotion conveyed in their expressions and voices was quite poignant.
An atmosphere thick enough to move the heart of even someone unaware of the circumstances emanated strongly.
However, Harang remained unaffected.
Shaking his head, he spoke briefly.
“I don’t want to.”
“…….”
“…….”
“Ah, I’m not saying we should cut ties. But I just don’t feel like training you specifically.”
“Wh-why……!”
Eddy asked.
His eyes were filled with the question of why Harang was casting them aside, but Harang answered without hesitation.
“Because I don’t want to help you with your gangster activities.”
“…….”
“…….”
“Can you quit the gangster work?”
Harang's question sounded as if he would teach them how to become stronger if they quit being gangsters.
Hearing this, Eddy and Pale ultimately couldn't answer.
It was inevitable.
For them, who had spent their entire lives throwing punches, there was no other choice besides gangster work.
Both their heads bowed down again.
Harang paid no mind.
Leaving the room, he smacked his lips and muttered.
“I’m hungry, should I have some chicken leg dish?”
Until that moment, Harang hadn't realized just how tenacious the people of the Eddy Family were.
* * *
“Boss! Boss Harang!”
“Boss Harang! We implore you like this!”
“Implore? What does implore mean?”
“They say it’s better than just asking?”
“I see…… This Bloody Fist Thomas also implores you, Boss! Please bestow even a small teaching upon us pitiful souls, Boss Harang!”
“…….”
The Iron Fist and Bloody Fist brothers, encountered by chance on the street.
The inevitable pleas and implorations flowing from their mouths.
Harang let out a sigh.
Seeing the Eddy Family gangsters clinging to him every time they saw him for a whole week now, he couldn’t help but feel fed up.
‘Should I consider this coercion? But maybe not?’
He felt frustrated inside, and his fists itched.
But he couldn't just beat them up.
If the Eddy Family had threatened him for their own purposes, he would have readily used force, but all they were doing was annoyingly and persistently sticking to him, asking for favors.
Of course, their requests disregarded time and place, often causing extreme irritation, but…….
‘They don’t cross the line. It feels like they’re playing just within the boundaries…….’
“Boss Harang!”
“Boss Harang! Please!”
“Hoo.”
Pat.
Sighing, Harang quickly hid himself.
The bewildered Fist brothers, watching him suddenly disappear, cried out pitifully.
Another sigh escaped him.
He thought.
‘Should I leave Marzen soon?’
Come to think of it, there was no particular need to stay here any longer.
Initially, Marzen had been full of wonders, enough to make him think he could live here forever, but that was no longer the case.
Having scurried around all day, there wasn't a corner of the Outer District he hadn't visited.
Of course, there were still many places in the Inner District he hadn't experienced, but having had at least a taste, he wasn't overly regretful.
The thought that getting rid of these leech-like gangsters was more important grew stronger day by day.
Just then, a familiar voice reached Harang’s ears.
It was Glen.
Glen, who in the time unseen had become a proper gangster ranked 42nd in the Eddy Family, caught his eye as he laughed and talked with a merchant selling fruit at a stall.
“Here’s the money for the fruit, Mister.”
“Aigo, why buy so much? Can you eat it all by yourself?”
“Eh? Haha, of course, I can’t eat it all alone. I was thinking of giving some to the Family Big Brothers.”
“Ah…… Big Brothers?”
“Yes. I have a favor to ask, and it felt wrong to do so empty-handed…….”
“A favor? What kind of favor…….”
“Ah, it’s nothing major…… Erm, it seems like you fruit folks are having a tough time lately, so I was thinking of maybe talking about reducing the protection fees, just for a little while……”
“No, no! What if you get into trouble for saying something like that!”
The fruit merchant exclaimed with a terrified expression.
It was understandable.
Although the Eddy Family was said to be better than Travion's side, they were fundamentally gangsters.
It was unlikely that they, who valued hierarchy, would listen to an impertinent request from a subordinate, especially one related to protection fees.
However, Glen’s mind was firm.
With a gentle face but a firm smile, the young gangster looked at the fruit merchant and said.
“It’s okay. I’ll talk to them carefully so no harm comes to you, Mister.”
“No, but……!”
“And you know me. My rank is low, but I’m somewhat close to Boss Harang. Even the Family Big Brothers can’t treat me carelessly…… And it’s worth a try anyway, so I’m just going to mention it. Aren’t things tough for the fruit vendors lately with all the taxes?”
“Glen…….”
“It’s okay. Really. And you know, right? The Big Brothers might look rough, but they’re not completely heartless people.”
“That’s true, but…… Anyway, be careful, okay? Don’t push yourself too hard thinking about me?”
That was all Harang heard of the conversation.
Deciding there was no need to watch further, he began to walk aimlessly through the streets of Marzen, trudging along a narrow alleyway.
‘I was a little disappointed.’
He had been.
When Glen approached him in clean clothes and said he had become a member of the Eddy Family, Harang had felt happy, yet a small sense of disappointment lingered in a corner of his heart.
He thought the boy, who knew how to sacrifice himself for others, had changed.
He couldn't understand why he felt disappointed about that fact, but anyway, that's how he felt at the time.
But it was a misunderstanding.
Even if some might call it the wrong method, the boy was striving in his position.
He was doing his best to help the people around him.
‘He used my name just like the others, but this time, I don’t feel bad.’
Time slowly passed.
The warm midday sun subsided, and eventually, dusk arrived.
The daytime people and the nighttime people intersected, bringing the bustling, vibrant scene of Marzen into view.
Stopping his steps, Harang quietly absorbed the scenery before murmuring softly.
“It’s a bit different from what I thought.”
He nodded his head.
Was it because of Glen’s influence?
Things he hadn't noticed before began to come into view more clearly.
Like the sight of the Iron Fist and Bloody Fist brothers helping some elderly people with their luggage.
Or the figure of a gangster with a fierce impression, called Razor something-or-other, deliberately entering a struggling shop to boost its sales.
Of course, the fact that they were gangsters remained unchanged, and thus it was unavoidable that the merchants feared them, but…… he felt their relationship was slightly different from how he had judged it.
As such thoughts gradually accumulated, his mind also began to change.
“Hm.”
Harang nodded once more.
The black-haired young man, having found a reason to stay in Marzen a little longer, returned to his lodging a bit earlier than usual.
And early the next day, he summoned all the gangsters.
The price for his teaching was simple.
As Glen wished, it was to lower the protection fees for some struggling merchants, including those in the fruit business.
* * *
The large vacant lot behind Eddy's hideout was usually used as a place to strengthen resolve before a big fight.
Today was similar, yet slightly different.
Fighting was indeed involved.
But the opponent wasn't another person. It was oneself.
To crush the self that had become complacent after unifying Marzen's back alleys.
To tear apart the self that had wallowed in laziness, in order not to retreat against the formidable enemy named Travion, and potentially even stronger external foes!
For this purpose, the Eddy Family, the former Travion Gang members, and even the city thugs who ran errands for the regular members…… truly an enormous number gathered.
A rough estimate put the number at likely 200, to the extent that some gangsters expressed concern.
“Hey, can he even teach with so many people here?”
“Exactly. Shouldn’t we be selective about who gets accepted……”
In a way, it was a natural worry.
Even in a modest neighborhood swordsmanship school, let alone a prestigious one, the number of disciples assigned per master usually didn't exceed thirty.
This was just the minimum standard; talented disciples often received one-on-one instruction from their master.
Of course, they, being mere gangsters, didn't expect such luxury, but this number was truly excessive.
Consequently, the gangsters, especially the members of the original Eddy Family who currently held the most sway, were voicing their complaints.
“Hm.”
Just then, the black-haired young man, Harang, who had been silent until now, stepped forward.
Instantly, the murmuring voices vanished.
It was only natural.
His legend, having single-handedly subjugated the Travion Gang, was so famous that there wasn't a soul in Marzen's back alleys who didn't know it.
But it was already too late.
Harang, having caught the gangsters' complaints with his keen hearing, spoke thus.
“There’s no need to worry. What I will teach is simple enough for many people to learn at once.”
“…….”
“…….”
“And, probably, the number of participants will decrease by half each month.”
Recalling the Godok training method, Harang nodded.
Considering the rate at which his peers dropped out, it seemed likely these individuals would be similar.
Watching the young man look down at them with such an expressionless face, the gangsters felt an inexplicable chill run down their spines.