ML Chapter 33

“Please kill me.”

With disheveled hair and covered in blood and dust, the young man knelt. His name was Lee Sogwang, elder brother of the deceased Lee Sogun and Lesser Sect Master of the Hengshan Sword Sect.

“Report. With your own mouth.”

At that cold voice, everyone in the tent froze. Each person present was a senior member of the Hengshan Sword Sect, masters who had roamed the martial world for years.

But even they had to bow their heads before this one person.

“Father…”

“That’s not the answer I want.”

Blood Wolf Sword Lee Cheon-baek didn’t even turn around. Lee Sogwang forced out his trembling voice.

“Only twenty-three survivors, including myself. The fate of the rest is unknown.”

Heavy silence descended upon the gathering.

Two hundred troops dead or captured, and three masters lost. This alone would be hard to escape punishment for, but there was an even bigger problem.

“What were your orders?”

“…To destroy the Taiyuan Jin Family branch and advance to Zhengyang.”

“And then?”

“Block the road and wait for the main force to join us.”

“Why did you advance to Hunzhou?”

“I received… I received information.”

“Information?”

“Yes. That One Strike One Kill Jo Pil had pursued and captured Jin Tae-kyung at Hunzhou. However…”

“And he asked for help because the Taiyuan Jin Family’s pursuit force was chasing him, correct?”

Lee Sogwang lowered his head, and Lee Cheon-baek let out a hollow laugh.

“Who delivered this information?”

“A vagrant under Jo Pil.”

“Do you still believe that?”

“…No.”

SLAP!

Lee Sogwang’s face snapped to the side. Above him, Lee Cheon-baek’s flame-like gaze poured down.

“Be grateful you were born my son.”

The matter was settled with Lee Sogwang being ordered to return to the Hengshan Sword Sect. Now it was time to look at reality coldly.

“What’s the current situation?”

“Though we lost two hundred troops, over half were hastily gathered vagrants, so the damage isn’t as severe as it seems. The problem is…”

“That we lost three masters.”

Lee Cheon-baek’s stomach churned. The Twin Ghosts of Hengshan who’d been with him for twenty years. And Jo Pil, hired at great expense, was dead too.

Masters can change the tide of battle. Their empty positions must be filled somehow.

“Gather more. Buy vagrants from the black market, hire bandits, whatever it takes.”

“The expenses are too high. Now that word of what happened at Hunzhou has spread, they’ll demand higher prices.”

“And they’re not trustworthy. Especially the bandits—they’re human butchers. Hiring such people would damage our sect’s reputation even after…” But Lee Cheon-baek didn’t bat an eye.

“Perfect. Hire them all.”

“Sect Master!”

“The forces gathered here number five hundred. We’re outnumbered more than two to one, and even our master count is lower.”

“My son thought the same way. And ended up getting slaughtered at Hunzhou.”

“That’s…”

“Don’t worry about human butchers or whatever—put everything into this. If we lose this war, we won’t lose our reputation, we’ll lose our lives!”

At Lee Cheon-baek’s thunderous command, the senior members realized persuasion was futile. But that wasn’t the end of the discussion.

“The warriors’ morale is terrible.”

“Not just the defeat at Hunzhou—they’re shaken by news that Jin Tae-kyung killed One Strike One Kill Jo Pil.”

Jin Tae-kyung. Lee Cheon-baek’s insides twisted at his enemy’s name.

They believe such stupid rumors?

Not content with poisoning his son, that pathetic Jin Tae-kyung now supposedly killed a master? The scheme was transparent. Lee Cheon-baek’s teeth ground at the Taiyuan Jin Family’s vileness.

“Find who’s spreading these baseless rumors. Every last one!”

Making examples of a few by beheading them might lower morale, but it would prevent collapse. Now was the time to suppress and advance.

“Four days! In four days, we march on Taiyuan!”

Such is the nature of grudges in the martial world. Until one side falls, the chain of grudges cannot be broken.

I’ll take everything from you. Just as you did to us.

“Remarkable recovery power.”

The physician clicked his tongue. It was my second day since regaining consciousness. Overnight, the scabs had fallen off and fresh pink skin had grown.

“In ten years of practice, I’ve never seen anything like this.”

Even to me, the recovery speed was amazing. The flesh melted by the Divine Flame Palm’s heat, fractured bones, and deep sword wounds were now nowhere to be found. Oh, and the internal injuries too.

Probably the effect of leveling up.

In reality, there’s exactly one method with similar effects.

The healing magic used by the extremely rare hunters called “Healers.”

Complete healing must be too much?

It was somewhat disappointing, but perhaps better this way.

If all wounds had healed with one level up, it would have been hard to avoid suspicion.

Even now, the physician was side-eyeing me like I was some monster.

“Hmm. Most peculiar. Too extreme to be just the effect of the Hundred-Year Snow Ginseng…”

“Hundred-Year Snow Ginseng?”

I remembered seeing it in martial arts novels. Hundred-year-old wild ginseng. Something like that?

Why bring that up suddenly?

The physician explained to my puzzled self. He was one of the few NPCs who knew about my supposed memory loss.

“Around this time last year, the Medicine King Sect’s storehouse was robbed.”

Ah. I get it immediately.

The Hundred-Year Snow Ginseng must have been among the stolen medicines, and the thief was obviously…

“The Medicine King Sect Master was furious.”

The physician gave an awkward smile.

“Well, the Hundred-Year Snow Ginseng isn’t something you can get just by having money. You stole a miracle medicine that could grant twenty years of internal energy at once.”

“Twenty years of internal energy?”

Something suddenly occurred to me. That third internal energy that wouldn’t follow my control.

So that’s what it was.

Regret washed over me at the same time. In that final moment, using the skill had consumed most of the twenty years of internal energy from the Hundred-Year Snow Ginseng.

It was a disaster caused by uncontrolled rampage rather than following my direction.

To use it as a one-time thing.

The physician, misinterpreting my crumpling expression, hurriedly said:

“Of course, Lesser Family Head must have had grand intentions for making such a decision.”

Grand intentions my ass. I probably just ate it for health.

Though I survived thanks to the ginseng’s power, it’s still such a waste. Makes me want to die from regret.

“You’ve almost recovered, so movement shouldn’t be a problem. Then I’ll take my leave.”

As soon as the physician hurriedly left, I opened the system window.

Open status window.

Ding.

[Lv.30 Jin Tae-kyung]

• Class: Second-Rate Martial Artist
• Fame: 410
• Titles: 4 (Title effects active)
• Strength: 115
• Health: 120
• Agility: 116
• Intelligence: 15
• Charisma: 15
• Inner Force: 15 years

Remaining Points: 0

• Scion of a Noble House (All abilities +5, Fame +50)
• Family’s Disgrace (All abilities -5, Fame -50)
• Novice Practitioner (Training speed +10%)
• Duelist (Combat-related abilities +10% in one-on-one battles)

Pride washed over me at the sight.

I’ve grown a lot.

Feels like yesterday I was trembling before mere bandits, but now I’m quite the master in my own right. My level jumped after taking down Jo Pil, and I gained massive fame.

That’s not all. Thanks to absorbing some of the remaining Hundred-Year Snow Ginseng’s power, I gained an additional 4 years of internal energy. And on top of that…

[One Flash]

• Grade: Master
• Level: 2-star
• Restriction: Jin Tae-kyung
• Effect: Consume health and internal energy to unleash a powerful strike. Causes temporary weakness depending on degree used.

A new martial art—no, skill—had appeared. But there was a big difference from skills in reality.

I can control how much is consumed and its power.

Stabbing with all my might. This skill, now named One Flash, couldn’t be spammed. Though it could produce destructive power several levels higher for an instant, it consumed all strength in that one strike.

No, maybe it was always a controllable skill.

In reality, I’m an F-rank hunter. Both physical abilities and mana are negligible. But in this game, this martial world, it’s different.

I’m a martial artist with 15 years of internal energy and physical abilities superior to NPCs 20-30 levels above me. With a different vessel to contain power, the original versatility has emerged.

Got stronger again.

Feels like just yesterday I was getting thrashed by Hyeok Mujin and learning martial arts, but now I’ve taken down a master.

Outside, they chant my name several times a day.

Calling me the Hidden Dragon of Shanxi, the hero of the family, and such.

A hero, huh.

Never thought I’d hear such words in my life. They were words with no connection to me, a mere F-rank hunter whose life motto was safety first.

Lying still, I wiggled my fingers. The once white and soft young master’s palms were now densely packed with calluses.

With these hands, I defeated Jo Pil.

All those I’ve defeated number over several dozen. From bandits to vagrants, even those rated first-rate, but I survived.

Even One Strike One Kill Jo Pil, a master who seemed impossible to defeat, I brought down.

Suddenly Wi-peng’s words came to mind.

He said the one who survives is strong.

If he’s right, I’m definitely strong. I survived against all the enemies I’ve faced so far and am being called a hero.

Yeah. To be honest…

It doesn’t feel bad.

The real me is pathetic.

A head of household who lives and eats in a tiny three-pyeong goshiwon room while supporting family. Can’t become a hero, don’t want to become one either.

Just Jin Tae-kyung, the lowest-grade hunter who fights while praying for survival each day.

That was me.

But it’s different in this game.

F-rank hunter Jin Tae-kyung accomplished many things he couldn’t do. At least… I can protect those who trust and follow me from enemies. I’m acknowledged by people and called a hero.

Even if everything here is virtual and the people I see are NPCs, that fact doesn’t change.

Thinking this, I suddenly laughed.

This is why games are scary.

Game addiction phenomenon?

I found myself enjoying living as the martial artist Jin Tae-kyung. Because this is a game. Because it can turn all impossibilities into possibilities.

But now it’s time to leave.

To that place full of impossibilities—reality. My family is there, and my true self.

Check quest window.

Ding.

[Log Out]

You must now navigate this perilous martial world.

Become stronger and more renowned.

For that day that will eventually come…

• Grade: Main Quest
• Restriction: Jin Tae-kyung
• Task: Achieve [First-Rate] level (Incomplete)
• Reach Lv.30 (Complete)
• Achieve 500 Fame (410/500)
• Reward: [Log Out]

Log Out. My breath caught seeing those four glowing characters.

Two conditions remain for logging out. Fame can be solved with time. It will keep rising as rumors about me spread. The problem lies elsewhere.

“First-Rate.”

What exactly is needed to become First-Rate?

If not level, abilities, or fame, then…

Internal energy? Or do I need to raise my martial arts realm further?

Just then, a respectful voice came from outside the door.

“Young Master. The Lesser Family Head seeks you.”

“Ah.”

Right. When in doubt, asking is best. In that sense, Jin Wi-gyeong, being a master, is the best tutor.