The wooden floors gleamed under the dim light, clearly waxed not too long ago and maintained with care.
On the wall hung a somewhat nonsensical handwritten banner that read: "Real men should practice Taekwondo!"
Thin beams of light filtered in through the windows, illuminating countless fine dust particles dancing lazily in the air like tiny spirits.
The scene inside the Taekwondo club was not much different from what you would expect in reality training mats spread across the floor, equipment racks along the walls, motivational posters showing proper kicking techniques.
But at the same time, there was something in the venue that would never exist in the real world.
That was a massive Demon with red in color and enormous in size, with wild, flowing hair that seemed to move despite the lack of wind, and big curved horns coming from its forehead.
Its muscular chest was bare and imposing, and its expression was absolutely ferocious the kind of face that could only belonged in nightmares of a person.
Based on this terrifying appearance, if someone told Surya that this creature had just finished devouring a human being, he would have believed it without question.
But the massive demon knelt formally in the center of the training area, and positioned in front of it was a traditional Taekwondo uniform folded with precision and a unusual Katana.
"What the hell is this thing? A Demon?"
"Are those headless students outside afraid of this monster and that's why they will not come in?
Did I just fucking stumble into the boss room of the eastern section?"
Surya studied the imposing demon carefully, but surprisingly, he wasn't particularly terrified by what he saw.
From his perspective, he was going to die either way whether it was at the hands of regular monsters or some kind of boss creature didn't make much practical difference on his end.
"Well, since I have already seen the boss and there is really no room left to struggle anyway," Surya decided to embrace the inevitable and simply sat down on the polished floor. "Come on then, do your worst. Do not go easy on me just because I am still technically a beginner."
Even though Surya had essentially given up and was prepared for the end, death didn't come as he expected.
The hideous red coloured demon did not launch a sudden attack, but remained kneeling in that formal, respectful position with an almost ceremonial seriousness.
When it spoke, its voice was deep and muffled, like the sound of an enormous drum being struck with tremendous force: "One hundred soul crystals... I will teach you martial arts..."
Surya blinked in confusion.
Soul crystals certainly sounded like some kind of in-game currency system.
The current situation appeared to be that as long as he could pay one hundred soul crystals, he could train one-on-one with this red demon and learn various Taekwondo techniques and forms!
It took Surya a moment to process this revelation. This terrifying red demon was actually an NPC instructor in the game.
"But I do not have any soul crystals with me right now," he replied tentatively, testing the waters.
The red demon simply raised its glowing eyes slightly and repeated in that same thunderous voice: "One hundred soul crystals..."
Well, that was typical NPC behavior endlessly repeating the same programmed lines.
Buzz.
The phone in his pocket started vibrating, and a line of text appeared on the previously dark screen
[The Red Demon of the Taekwondo Club is willing to teach you martial arts, but you must pay one hundred soul crystals as tuition.]
"If I learn powerful martial arts techniques in the game, then in reality I will also become a Taekwondo expert, right? Just like learning the Panchmukhi Art yesterday."
Surya pulled out his phone and quickly scanned the prompt that had appeared on screen.
He spent a while longer in the Taekwondo Club, but the red demon did not engage in any additional dialogue or interactions.
No matter what Surya said to or how many ways tried to start a conversation, the creature would either reply with that exact same sentence about soul crystals, or simply remain silent and motionless.
"Seems like there is no point in coming back to the Taekwondo Club until I have managed to collect a hundred soul crystals somehow."
Surya prepared to leave and continue his exploration elsewhere.
He glanced toward the closed door, wondering if those headless students were still waiting outside with their supernatural patience.
There was no back exit from the Taekwondo Club, and the only two windows were secured with metal bars for security purposes. The main entrance was the only way out.
With no other options available, Surya smiled bitterly and steeled himself with the ancient resolve that all people must face death eventually.
He pushed open the main door and stepped outside into whatever fate awaited him.
"Wuwuwu—"
"Hee-hee-hee—"
The sounds of crying and disturbing laughter immediately filled the air.
The headless students who had been patiently waiting threw themselves at Surya with obvious satisfaction, finally getting their chance to finish what they had started...
On the dark phone screen, large Red letters appeared
[BRUTALLY DEAD]
------