"This arrogant tiger bitch says she can take down our entire center 1-on-1! Who wants to give her a taste of our fists!!"
Seeing Yi Rang standing in the middle of the spacious ring, the beastkin glared at her with fierce eyes.
Yi Rang started having second thoughts as she looked at the massive beastkin predators.
"Hey, to correct ya, I didn't say the entire center—just up to the top 70 percent..."
"And she said we're trash with zero beastkin pride too!"
Curses rained down on Yi Rang from every direction.
Yi Rang was busy figuring out how to take the hits without it hurting too much.
"Director! I'm more than enough!"
A reindeer beastkin man walked out confidently.
Although he wasn't a predator beastkin, he was tall with solid muscles and even had two intimidating horns.
"Hey! Min-Soo! Don't just enjoy it all by yourself and end it!!"
"Kuku. Don't worry, I'll leave some for you older brothers too."
Jumping into the ring, the reindeer beastkin Min-Soo began leisurely gathering mana in both hands, acting as if there was no way he could lose.
However, Yi Rang wasn't just standing still and watching.
"Openin'!!"
"Kwek."
Min-Soo was helplessly knocked out by a single punch to the face from Yi Rang.
"Tsk, tsk. Usin' a technique that takes more than one second in close combat? Ya shouldn't do that next time! Got it?"
Yi Rang plagiarized Yu-Han's line and gave a lecture.
Silence fell for a moment, but the beastkin soon laughed it off.
"Seriously, that youngest punk! Being constantly off guard is his main problem!!"
"Besides, the opponent is a tiger beastkin, so the matchup was a little bad for him, right?"
The next one to appear was a black panther beastkin woman.
She instantly transformed into 'furry mode' and pounced on Yi Rang, attacking from all directions at incredible speed.
"I'm called the fastest among the beastkin in this center! I won't stupidly allow your attack like Min-Soo did!"
Sure enough, under the onslaught of attacks crashing down like raging waves, Yi Rang could only focus on defending.
After tanking the hits while standing her ground for a moment, she spotted the repetitive, obvious pattern and snatched the woman's wrist.
"Nya?"
"Tsk, tsk… Those kinda weak-ass attacks only create openin's!!"
With a roar, Yi Rang slammed her onto the ring floor.
The poor black panther beastkin woman was in so much pain she couldn't even control her body and was carried out with the support of her colleagues.
'Hmm. Knockin' 'em down and lecturin' 'em… this is super fun, ain't it?
That punk Yu-Han was enjoyin' this fun all by himself?'
Maintaining a cool expression on the outside, Yi Rang was having such foolish thoughts on the inside.
***
"Wow, Yi Rang C is having a good time."
Peeking through the crack in the training room door, Kim Ga-Eun let out a small sigh of relief and turned away.
Because saving Yi Rang was not her top-priority objective.
"E-Excuse me, but who might you be…"
At that moment, a delicate voice reached Kim Ga-Eun.
Startled, she instantly grabbed the speaker's neck and pinned her against the wall.
The opponent was a rabbit beastkin with brown hair.
"Hiiieeeck… Seriously, this is what always happens when I talk to predator folks… Their hunting instincts…"
"Ah, I'm sorry."
Judging her to be an insignificant opponent, Kim Ga-Eun let her go.
She didn't want to cause a commotion unnecessarily, and it seemed this kind of situation was an everyday occurrence for the rabbit.
"More importantly, you're a face I haven't seen before…"
"!!"
Kim Ga-Eun quickly reassessed the situation and wondered if she should just kill... no, knock this rabbit out quietly…
"You must be a rookie! It seems you're not used to this place yet!"
"H-Huh? That's right!"
Luckily, the rabbit had jumped to her own conclusion.
"I am Baek Myo-Hee, a trivial odd-job employee. By any chance, may I guide you through the center?"
"That would be much appreciated! I am Kim Ga-Eun."
"To be thanked by someone like you… a trivial rabbit like me really doesn't know what to do with herself…"
Seeing Baek Myo-Hee wiping away tears of emotion, Kim Ga-Eun couldn't understand why her self-esteem was so low.
However, as they walked around, she quickly understood the reason.
"Over there is the dormitory exclusively for the strong beastkin. And that one is exclusively for the powerless beastkin."
A state-of-the-art dormitory with big south-facing windows that let in plenty of sunlight and plush beds inside.
And visible beyond a door that looked like a closet—a dilapidated dormitory with no windows and gloomy lighting.
It was obvious which one belonged to the powerful beastkin.
"…Is this really a center that cares for beastkin rights? Why is there such a huge difference?!"
"Ga-Eun C is truly kind! But it's okay! Those who can't endure it just leave on their own!"
Further inside, a warehouse storing weapons and supplies appeared.
"As you can see, it's a warehouse."
"…Who manages it?"
"Of course! Inspecting weapons, cleaning—everything is done by trivial beastkin like us! Our duty is to make sure the useful beastkin folks can work without any difficulties!"
Baek Myo-Hee spoke proudly, puffing out her huge chest, but Kim Ga-Eun somehow felt sorry for them.
"Here is the cafeteria!"
"…I suppose beastkin like you also do the cooking and dishwashing? Do you at least get a high hourly wage?"
"Minimum wage, though?"
"Isn't that too absurd!"
"Ga-Eun C, since we are trivial lives, it's only natural that we do trivial work and receive trivial treatment!
And I am happy! Because I've mastered the method to draw happiness from trivial things!"
Kim Ga-Eun became solemn at the rabbit's somewhat broken-sounding words.
"…I see. Thank you for guiding me through the center."
Resolving that she must absolutely destroy this place, Kim Ga-Eun dashed out.
With her usual serene expression, Baek Myo-Hee picked up something Kim Ga-Eun had dropped.
"This is… a gas capsule? Ga-Eun C has been dropping these all over the center since earlier…
More importantly, I'm sure there weren't any new employees today?"
And Baek Myo-Hee added,
"Besides, it seems Ga-Eun C isn't even a beastkin… Just like our Director…
But such things are all trivial matters!"
Smiling, Baek Myo-Hee returned the capsule to its original place and went back to her favorite trivial tasks—cleaning and dishwashing…
***
Meanwhile, Yi Rang was already on a 5-win streak.
'Yeah, come to think of it, I was originally a powerhouse too! It's just 'cause there are so many monsters around me!'
Park In-Hyeok's mood soured as he watched the tattered state of his subordinate beastkin.
"Hey! You said your name is Yi Rang! You've got more skill than I thought!
How about becoming a member of our center? I'll treat you well!"
"Talkin' about killin' me or sellin' me off to human trafficking, and ya got the nerve to say that!?"
"What's the big deal over a little scare! Do you think I'd actually do that?
Things like that are generally said all the time in this industry!"
"Who the hell would believe that!"
"Oh my. Feisty. Ma Sa-Yoon. You go out there and finish this."
The one who stepped into the ring this time was a lion beastkin—the largest among all the beastkin she had faced so far.
He was a towering figure well over two meters tall.
This lion beastkin called Ma Sa-Yoon muttered as if disappointed.
"To struggle against an opponent of this level… I'll have to re-educate the kids."
"An opponent of this level? Don't underestimate me!!"
Saying it out loud, Yi Rang somehow felt her own line sounded like the defeat flag of a third-rate villain.
And as if that premonition was correct, she was immediately hit by Ma Sa-Yoon's lariat and flew straight into the ropes.
Yi Rang's head spun from the impact.
"Ugh… Is he really the same beastkin...?"
"I have an outstanding aptitude for Physical Enhancement Magic. I'm at the level where I can lift a truck with my bare hands…
So don't get beaten up any more for nothing and just surrender."
"No way…"
"Even after we offered to scout you? Why aren't you working for the sake of beastkin when you are a beastkin yourself?"
"How is framin' others workin' for the sake of beastkin…"
"To climb to the top, you have to endure that level of dirtiness and sacrifice!"
"I don't think so. And… I got a 'debt' to the Cheong-Am Center."
Yi Rang meant it literally—she couldn't change jobs easily because of actual debt—but Ma Sa-Yoon seemed to have interpreted it differently.
"…That grit and loyalty, impressive. I apologize.
I will show you the utmost respect and defeat you with all my might!"
The moment Ma Sa-Yoon swung his powerful fist at Yi Rang, her survival instincts screamed in alarm.
Memories of brutal combat and training flooded her mind all at once.
Not just the sessions with Yu-Han, but even her old sanctioner training days.
"!?"
In a flash, Yi Rang's knife-hand deflected Ma Sa-Yoon's fist.
She naturally altered its trajectory, as if letting water flow.
'Did she use magic in that short instant?'
Using complex magic to alter the trajectory of a fist while in close-quarters combat—he had never even heard of such a style.
Adrenaline surging through her, Yi Rang stared at Ma Sa-Yoon with wide, wild eyes.
"Interesting!"
It was the moment Ma Sa-Yoon was about to rush at her once again.
Suddenly, thick smoke began to roll into the room.
"!? It's a gas attack! Summon gas masks!"
Park In-Hyeok, Ma Sa-Yoon, and a few subordinates quickly covered their faces with gas masks.
But the beastkin who were too slow to react just stiffened up and dropped where they stood.
"Paralyzing gas…! Is it an ally of this tiger bitch!?"
But actually, Yi Rang was also caught in the gas, now making a foolish expression.
The wild look from just before was nowhere to be found.
"…I guess not an ally? Whatever."
At that moment, laughter was heard from somewhere.
[Hello, everyone at the Cheon-Rang Center? I am Yu-Han, an animal lover and an expert in slaughtering and deboning!]