Outside it was a dim dawn. The winter air was ice-cold, and frost crackled underfoot with each step in the training ground.
Jin Mu-gyeong, who had been warming up, grinned at me.
“Well, mentally prepared?”
Obviously not. But I hid my churning stomach and nodded.
Someone once said if you can’t avoid it, enjoy it. Thinking of it as part of getting stronger made me feel more at ease…
Swoosh.
“Then let’s see this amazing skill of yours.”
Is this bastard Korean? Why so impatient?
No time to dodge. I hastily swung my spear shaft at Jin Mu-gyeong as he closed in instantly.
CLANG! CLANGCLANGCLANG!
His breath flowed over our crossed weapons.
“Your form’s not bad.”
Of course. I survived seven years in the gates with just a spear. My accumulated experience with it is totally different from hand-to-hand combat.
I glared into his eyes and answered.
“It won’t be so easy this time.”
One syllable at a time. Clearly enunciated.
“You… Did you sense my extraordinary aura?”
Jin Mu-gyeong’s pupils trembled.
“Can’t you keep your eyes straight?”
“Ah.” Swish. THUD!
Jin Tae-kyung collapsed. Not particularly surprising. It was his fifth blackout already. The truly surprising thing was something else.
To think he’d last two hundred exchanges against me.
Five sparring matches over two hours—any normal person would naturally tire. But Jin Tae-kyung was different. He got up like a roly-poly doll and kept getting stronger. By the end, even Jin Mu-gyeong had to face him seriously.
What exactly is this guy?
A brother who stumbled around like an eighty-year-old when empty-handed. But everything changed when he grabbed a spear.
The coward who sweet-talked his way out of getting hit was gone, replaced by a seasoned spearman.
Like a vagrant. One who’s survived countless brushes with death.
Movements so simple they seemed crude, irregular attacks and evasions relying on instinct. There are no set patterns in a vagrant’s fighting. That’s exactly how Jin Tae-kyung appeared to Jin Mu-gyeong’s eyes.
Which made the question even bigger.
How the hell?
Countless young masters from prestigious clans who grew up with swords in their hands barely reach First-Rate. Yet this guy stood before the wall of mastery in just three years.
And not reeking of courtesans’ powder, but exuding the scent of a seasoned vagrant. The more he thought about it, the more astounding it seemed.
Is this even possible?
Well, it is possible. Using a master’s cultivation method, improving physique with miracle medicines.
Then gaining combat experience while shitting blood from swinging a spear. Every single day for three years!
“…That’s nonsense.”
Jin Mu-gyeong muttered dejectedly while scratching his head.
Then there’s only one answer left.
Genius.
This one word neatly resolves all questions.
Why? Because he’s a genius. Heaven-blessed. Born with talent.
A genius surpasses in every aspect. They start from a different starting line.
“Zzzz. Phew.”
But of all people, to think this guy is a genius?
That can’t be. It shouldn’t be! Suddenly overcome with rage, Jin Mu-gyeong kicked his brother’s ass.
“Mmmmmphhh…”
Jin Tae-kyung rolled around and shuddered.
“Ah, Sister Wol-hwa. Not there.”
“…”
“Suddenly doing this… Ah. Aah!”
Snap.
The last thread of patience broke.
Beep!
-Sleep Mode forcibly terminated!
Oh, so it can be forcibly terminated.
The joy of discovering a new feature was brief. Why was Sleep Mode terminated? Because someone woke me up.
“In the sacred training ground, what? ‘Not there’? ‘Not there’?”
BAM! BAM! BAM!
Curled up like a shrimp, I spoke in a dying voice.
“Please spare me…”
“‘Not there’!”
BAM BAM BAM!
I’m not sure exactly how many hits I took. I lost consciousness twice in between.
My last memory was using my final strength to leave a dying message in the training ground before collapsing, and when I opened my eyes, it was already night.
What did I do that it’s night already?
Feels like I became a time traveler. Since meeting Jin Mu-gyeong, days just fly by. Feeling pain throughout my body, I muttered:
“Jin Mu-gyeong, he’s strong as hell.”
Excluding Jin Mu-gyeong, I’ve faced two masters so far. The Grand Elder and Jo Pil.
The Grand Elder doesn’t count.
In the Grand Elder’s case, I got lucky. Without the sacrifice of Taiyuan Jin Family’s warriors and Lee Cheon-baek’s surprise attack, he was someone I couldn’t beat even if I died and came back.
Then comparing Jo Pil and Jin Mu-gyeong?
The deliberation wasn’t long.
Having experienced both, the choice was easy.
Jin Mu-gyeong is stronger.
Jo Pil was certainly a monster.
Just remembering the overwhelming heat from his Flaming Divine Palm Arts still gives me goosebumps.
But how to put it—though he was strong as a master should be and used the deadly Flaming Divine Palm Arts, that was all.
More precisely, it’s the difference in martial arts application.
Jin Mu-gyeong is different from Jo Pil. Even during sparring, he used at least ten different martial arts to thoroughly block my attacks.
For martial artists, martial arts are another weapon. Jin Mu-gyeong knows how to use the right weapon at the right time.
Compared to him, what about me?
Excluding the Jin Family’s Cultivation Arts I had from the start, I only learned two martial arts in this world: the Jin Family’s Spear Arts and Jin Family’s Footwork Arts.
Though both are undoubtedly First-Rate martial arts… in other words, they’re only useful at the First-Rate level.
The limitation of martial arts. Jin Wi-gyeong must know what I’ve realized.
That’s why he paired me with Jin Mu-gyeong. Ugh.
Pain makes me frown involuntarily.
Just slightly raising my upper body made every bone ache and skin burn.
Seems there’s a limit to recovery even through Sleep Mode.
Well, after getting beaten like that.
To complete the quest by gaining Jin Mu-gyeong’s acknowledgment, I’ll have to endure days like today—no, worse than today.
Maybe I’ll just get thoroughly beaten and fail the quest too.
Mountains beyond mountains.
And that makes me happy.
As an F-rank hunter, I wasn’t even qualified to climb mountains. But everything’s changed.
There are mountains to climb, and I’m qualified to climb them. Faster than anyone else!
This isn’t the time.
I got up, forgetting the pain. Every minute and second felt too precious to waste.
Jin Mu-gyeong was in the underground training ground.
Minimizing my footsteps, I descended the stairs leading underground and saw him.
“Ha!”
With a short kiai, his sword moved.
SWISH! SWOOSH SWOOSH!
Wind split along the blade. Jin Mu-gyeong’s movements were relentless as he stabbed and slashed through the air at lightning speed.
After about a quarter hour passed—
Lowering his sword, Jin Mu-gyeong exhaled deeply.
“Phew.” Wiping sweat with his sleeve, he turned his head toward me.
Seems he’d noticed my presence for a while.
“Tell me.”
An abrupt command.
Caught off guard, I blurted out:
“W-what?”
“About the martial art I just demonstrated.”
“Uh, well, it was really fas—”
“By the way, say something stupid like ‘fast’ or ‘strong’ and you die.”
Damn, he’s psychic. I wracked my brain to survive.
What was Jin Mu-gyeong’s martial art like? Thinking carefully, a vague impression came to mind.
“Rough?”
Jin Mu-gyeong’s eyebrow twitched. Is that right?
“Did you just drop honorifics with me?”
“…It seemed rough, sir.”
“Even a three-year-old could say that. More detail.”
The image in my head became clearer. The blade strikes and movements unleashed toward an imaginary enemy came to mind. Fast, relentless movements. And the pressure bearing down in all directions.
It was like…
“A waterfall?”
What, is that right?
After staying silent for a while, Jin Mu-gyeong suddenly swung his scabbard.
THWACK!
“Ow! Why’d you hit me?”
“Just because.”
He stared at me with a strange look.
“How did someone like you come about?”
Is that an insult or praise?
Though I don’t know his real meaning, I need to hear the answer to my question, if only out of indignation. Rubbing my throbbing forehead, I asked:
“So, was that correct?”
“The Heavenly Martial Academy has thousands of martial arts manuals. The arrangement of our predecessors thinking of nurturing future orthodox martial artists.”
“And?”
“The Falling Stream Sword[1] you just saw is one of them. I found it buried deep in the library.”
Falling Stream. In other words, a waterfall.
I just said what came to mind, but who knew it’d be right?
“Oh, ohhh.”
Maybe I really am a genius? Getting this far after just two months of martial arts—even I’m scared thinking about how strong I’ll become.
“You’re not having embarrassing thoughts like ‘I must be a genius’ from just this much, are you?”
He really is psychic. But I still think I have some talent.
Unable to let it go, I carefully asked:
“Can everyone normally do this much?”
Jin Mu-gyeong flinched for a moment at my question.
“O-of course. Anyone with eyes should get this much right.”
“No way.”
“‘No way’? Want me to pluck out one of your eyes?”
“…I’ll pass.”
This bastard’s unusually serious today. Did something piss him off? Even after I backed down, Jin Mu-gyeong couldn’t suppress his anger and kept growling.
“It’s basic, basic! Everyone can do it!”
“I got it already. Why do you keep getting angry? It’s scary.”
“Are you talking back? Going through puberty and want to taste my Gale Twelve Fists?”
Don’t know what Gale Twelve Fists is, but it probably hurts.
Though I shook my head vigorously, Jin Mu-gyeong’s anger wouldn’t subside.
“What do you know about martial arts? Huh?”
“N-nothing, sir.”
“How long have you been learning martial arts?”
The answer came out reflexively.
“Two months, two months sir.”
“Right, someone who’s only learned for two months… What? Two months?”
Jin Mu-gyeong glared at me with bloodshot eyes.
“Not three years but two months?”
Critical situation. Time for my social skills honed through seven years of work to shine. I quickly opened my mouth, making sure to emphasize certain parts.
“Three years AND two months, sir!”
Jin Mu-gyeong’s trembling fist, which had looked ready to strike, stabilized. For some reason, his voice even seemed slightly gentler.
“Fuck, you scared me.”
I was more scared. You bastard…
Does he have anger management issues?
Though asking Jin Wi-gyeong would expose me quickly, at least I’d avoid the immediate misfortune of experiencing the Gale Twelve Fists.
Anyway, Jin Mu-gyeong’s anger had subsided meanwhile.
“I’ll say this once. Listen well.”
“I’ll engrave it in my heart.”
As I bowed my head deeply, he declared with an imperious attitude:
“I teach, you obey.”
What is this, dog training school?
“No arguments. Why? Because I’m stronger than you.”
Can’t argue with that truth.
Money, power, force. Though the forms differ, the world revolves around the strong. I want to stand at that center.
“What will you do?”
For a very long time, my answer had been decided.