Unyielding Grudge, Seek Revenge!!

A week passed—just another ordinary routine. As usual, Zufar planned to stop by the gym before heading home. Going to the gym had become his way of relieving stress after class.

Without Adam in the same school, learning had become a bit more difficult for Zufar, as they could only meet on weekends for group study at Adam's house.

As he walked toward the school's main entrance, he noticed three male students standing there as if they were waiting for someone.

"Are you Zufar?" one of them asked.

"Ehh... No, I'm Zubir," Zufar replied jokingly.

One of the students pulled out a photo from his shirt pocket.

"Are you trying to fool us?!" the student asked in a raised voice.

"What a waste of time wearing a name tag if you're not even going to look at it… and now you're mad at me?" Zufar responded while pointing at his name tag on his shirt.

The three students grew angrier, feeling like they were being mocked.

"You're coming with us now!! Someone wants to see you!!" one of them said, barely holding back his frustration.

"Oh man… I've got other things to do. Can't we do this another day?" Zufar asked.

"No, no!! You have to come with us!! It'll only take a moment!!" one of the students insisted.

"Sorry, but I'm already taken," Zufar joked.

The students grew even more annoyed at his antics. One of them shoved him from behind, forcing him to move forward. Left with no choice, Zufar decided to follow along.

They led him behind the storage room near the school field. There, someone was already waiting—someone he had met the previous week.

"Wait… You look familiar, but where have I seen you before?" Zufar asked with a smirk.

"Sorry… I'm not really good at making choices. But I'd recommend this one. Out of the three of them, he's the most patient—he doesn't yell. If he were a partner, he'd definitely be the patient type," he added sarcastically.

Without saying a word, the girl suddenly dashed toward Zufar at high speed. She jumped and delivered a straight kick.

Zufar tried to dodge, but the three students held him firmly in place.

"Burghhh!!" Zufar groaned in pain.

"This isn't fair! Let go and fight me one-on-one!!" he protested, bending over from the impact.

The girl ignored his words and continued beating him relentlessly.

Zufar was exhausted, his vision blurred, but he fought to stay conscious, refusing to pass out.

He tried to lift his head to look at the girl, but she immediately countered with a direct kick to his face.

Despite the pain, Zufar endured it and attempted to stand up. However, his efforts were blocked, and his head was stomped down.

"This is your punishment for that day… and for my brother," the girl said in a soft but firm tone.

Zufar remained silent, seemingly gathering his strength. His body was too weak from the relentless attacks.

As the incident unfolded, a young man happened to pass by the area. He saw the fight taking place but showed no signs of shock or fear—as if he was already accustomed to such things.

"It's sad to see how low-level thugs fight—ganging up on one person. I happened to overhear everything while dropping off a ball in the storage room," he said with a smile.

"This isn't your business! Stay out of it!!" one of the male students snapped.

The boy nodded, seemingly agreeing with the statement. But then, he stared at them sharply, his gaze radiating an almost murderous aura.

The three male students suddenly felt uneasy. Their bodies stiffened, and it was as if their legs were weighed down by ten tons, making them unable to move.

"This isn't your concern, Din. This is between me and this guy," the girl suddenly spoke.

It seemed she knew who he was.

"I don't practice martial arts to bully people. I despise those who use violence to oppress the weak," he replied.

The three boys were completely shocked upon hearing his name. Their faces turned pale as if they had just seen a ghost.

"D-D-Din?! That's his name? One of the Five Street Champions… 'Lucid King'?! Din the FrostKnight?!" they stammered in fear and confusion.

"And… the strongest among the f-f-five of them?!!" one of them added nervously.

Din was a three-time defending champion of the UTC professional lightweight division, holding a record of 10 wins with zero losses.

All of his opponents would collapse unconscious while still standing after three rounds—frozen in place like ice sculptures. Adding to his icy presence, his blue-colored hair made him look even more like a person of ice. Even his sharp gaze could send chills down people's spines.

"I'm not bullying!! I'm just taking revenge for what he did to my brother!!" the girl responded.

"It's his own fault for acting like a school thug—too arrogant and undisciplined," Din replied.

"But he went too far!! Why did he have to injure my brother so badly?!!" she shouted back.

Her eyes started to well up with tears, on the verge of crying.

"My brother was so close to passing the selection test to become a professional fighter! But it had to be canceled because he became partially paralyzed!!! Now he's like someone abandoned without a purpose—just sitting in his room, silent and depressed!!" she added, her voice filled with emotion.

Din remained silent, shaking his head. It was difficult for him to explain that the incident was actually her brother's own fault.

"I have no idea what you guys are talking about… but did you really have to beat me up?" Zufar interjected as he slowly got up.

Zufar stared at the girl's face. She looked like she was about to cry.

Suddenly, a strange jolt shot through his chest. His face turned red.

"Aipp!! She just beat me up earlier. There's no way I'm suddenly falling for her. This feeling… this is so wrong to have right now," he thought to himself, quickly turning his gaze away.

Zufar slapped his face lightly, trying to shake off the strange feeling. The others watched him in confusion, puzzled by his behavior.

The girl stepped closer to Zufar and grabbed him by the collar.

"You paralyzed my brother!! His name is Aqil!! You beat him up last year!! At the Park!! Don't you remember?!! He had to postpone his final school exams… and now he has to use a wheelchair for the rest of his life!!" she yelled, her sharp gaze piercing into Zufar's face.

Zufar remained silent, as if deep in thought. After a moment, the name finally rang a bell.

Aqil—the Form 5 student who used to lead the "Apache Sereng" gang at this school. He was quite strong. Zufar had almost lost that fight against him.

But since Zufar was only in Form 2 at the time, he felt the age gap played a huge role. So, he never saw that fight as anything special.

He had managed to defeat Aqil by ramming into him, causing him to fall from a high place. Zufar had fought him because one of Aqil's gang members had robbed his father. Upon learning about it, Zufar immediately stormed into their hangout spot, ready to take them down.He had no idea that the impact had left Aqil paralyzed because Aqil was already unconscious.

After defeating him and the rest of his gang, Zufar simply walked away. They couldn't believe that they had been defeated by a 14-year-old kid. The age difference between 17 and 14 was huge, yet Zufar had overpowered them. It was clear—Zufar was no ordinary kid. Zufar's name became well-known among other gangster groups. Many sought him out to challenge him in a fight. Some even tried to recruit him into their gangs.

However, after that incident, Zufar disappeared from their radar. He transferred to another school because of the fight. His family also moved after his father received a new job offer, which helped ease his workload following the injury he suffered from being robbed by those delinquents. And it was at this new place that Zufar met Adam.

Zufar hadn't expected to meet Aqil's younger sister here, especially since he had moved away. The thought left him a bit confused.

"Wasn't that incident in Astana, Section 21? How did you end up at this school? That place is like 80 kilometers away from here," Zufar asked, puzzled.

"My family moved here. I didn't even know you were here. But when I saw your name on the student list that day, I remembered everything. I searched for you in class, and it turned out you were really the same person… Because when you fought my brother—I was there!!". She replied, her voice trembling as tears streamed down her face.

Zufar stared at her face, smiling slightly. Then, without warning, he smacked her head lightly.

"He started it first!! Do you even know that his gang robbed my dad?!!" Zufar snapped.

The girl looked confused.

"I went straight for your brother's gang and took them all down!! Aishhh!!! You're lucky you're a girl—otherwise, I would've beaten you up just now!!" he shouted again.

She was still in shock, trying to process what he had just said.

"But my brother didn't do anything! When we gathered that day, it was just to discuss our plans for meeting up at the 'Santai Anak Utara' festival. We had been together since the morning. None of us went anywhere," she replied.

"I heard someone say that the guys who robbed my dad were wearing jackets with the Apache Sereng logo!! Who else could it be if not his gang?!!" Zufar retorted.

"It wasn't my brother's gang!! We never even had group jackets! We only used membership cards for our group!!" the girl argued, refusing to back down.

Now, it was Zufar's turn to fall silent. His mind raced, trying to recall if there was something he had overlooked.

He scratched his head, even though it wasn't itchy. The situation was getting more confusing—he wasn't sure who was right in this.

Din watched the exchange and shook his head.

"I can be a witness—it's true that the group only used membership cards. And there's a chance that someone was trying to bring them down. They wanted the group to get caught by the police. That was the only way to take them out. Back then, that group was the strongest in Astana. They were formed to fight against bullies and criminals," Din interjected.

"But I still blame your brother for trying to play the hero while acting like a school thug. He should have just focused on competing instead of trying to be a hero," he added.

"I hope this matter is settled. No more revenge. Let's act as if this never happened. Anis, you better apologize to him," Din said, urging Zufar to drop the issue after the girl apologized.

Zufar smirked sarcastically and looked at Din.

"You're just going to settle it like that? No way… I got beaten up pretty badly," Zufar replied, demanding justice.

"I can cover your medical bills. Don't worry about it," Din answered.

Zufar didn't seem satisfied with that offer. He pushed Anis aside and stepped toward Din.

"How about this—you take a hit from me in her place? Use that medical money for yourself instead," Zufar suggested. He clenched his fists, waiting for a signal to beat Din up.

Din sighed. He stared sharply at Zufar, his gaze carrying a deadly threat.

"I don't like beating up weaklings. You should just rest," Din replied.

"Weak?! Why don't you try me first?" Zufar challenged.

But Din showed no reaction to his words. Instead, he walked straight toward Anis. Feeling provoked, Zufar swung a punch at Din with full force. But the punch stopped mid-air. Zufar was shocked—his fast strike had been halted with just one hand.

"I tried to settle this peacefully, but you chose to fight? Big mistake," Din muttered, his cold eyes locked onto Zufar as he firmly gripped his wrist.

Zufar attempted a straight kick, but Din dodged and locked his arm. Zufar pulled away forcefully, managing to break free, but he lost his balance. Din immediately countered with a punch to his left ribs, followed by an uppercut to his chin.

Zufar fell, but he managed to catch himself before hitting the ground.

Using his hands to support himself, he swung his legs in a sweeping motion. Din dodged the attack, but a small scratch appeared on his cheek. Zufar quickly followed up with another spinning kick, ending with a powerful strike aimed directly at Din's head. Din blocked the kick, reducing its impact. He then swiftly moved to his right side and launched a flurry of rapid attacks. Zufar defended himself and quickly created distance between them.

"This is the first time I've faced such a strong opponent. Usually, my fights don't last more than five hits," Zufar admitted, impressed.

Din ran a hand through his messy hair, wiping the blood off his cheek. Then, he did a quick stretch before rushing toward Zufar at full speed. Zufar tried to dodge, but Din's movements were too unpredictable.

Din suddenly shifted his position and landed a direct kick to Zufar's head.

Zufar gritted his teeth through the pain and immediately countered with a backward kick—but Din was already in front of him. With one final move, Din ended the fight by delivering a high kick to Zufar's chin. Zufar lost consciousness while still standing.

"Let's go, Anis… We're done here," Din said as he adjusted his school uniform.

Anis simply nodded silently and left with him.

"You three—take him to the hospital, now!!" Din ordered, throwing a handful of cash at them before walking away.

Zufar remained unconscious until the next day.

At the Hospital,

Zufar was still resting in his hospital bed. He had regained consciousness earlier that morning. Looking at the clock on the wall, he saw that it was 8:30 AM. His head still ached from last night's fight. He couldn't even remember exactly how he was defeated. Getting out of bed, he stretched a little before starting sit-ups. He didn't want his daily routine to be interrupted just because he was in the hospital.

As he exercised, a nurse walked in to perform her routine check-up.

"Good morning, Mr. Zufar. Looks like you're finally awake. Your opponent must have been really strong, right?" she asked, breaking the silence.

"Eh… How do you know I was in a fight?" Zufar asked, confused.

"Yesterday, three of your friends rushed you to the emergency room while you were unconscious. They said you lost in an open amateur martial arts selection match and fainted during the competition," the nurse explained while checking his blood pressure.

Zufar simply nodded in agreement. Deep down, he felt disappointed—it was his first loss. The difference in their strength was too overwhelming.

"Oh! I just remembered… One of your friends left this letter for you yesterday," the nurse said, handing him an envelope.

Zufar unfolded the letter. It was from Adam.

"I've kept all your stuff. Come over to my house when you're up. Your mom told me you were in the hospital when I stopped by yesterday. No wonder you didn't answer my calls. Anyway, come over—I have some exciting news to share! – Adam."

Zufar couldn't wait to hear the good news Adam had for him. He turned to the nurse and asked when he could be discharged. The nurse told him he could leave this morning. Without wasting time, Zufar quickly got ready and packed his things to go home.