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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: TushChen
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Suddenly, I had this thought.
How pitiful are men as creatures?
“Huaaah! Fierce Dragon Broad Sword! Blazing Flower Beheading Stance!!”
“Haaaah! Shooting Star Sword!! Twelve Heavenly Palaces!!!”
“Kyaaaaah! Lotus Difficult Horns!! Hundred Eight Continuous Strikes!!!”
The ambition of Sacheon outcasts was genuinely remarkable.
This was by no means an empty statement.
Most of the current Sacheon outcasts endured unfavorable gazes and curses from the martial arts ignorant crowds because becoming a Sacheon outcast was a path to raise their realm as outcasts.
I was also an outcast, but most outcasts were human trash.
Outcasts in other regions were just blade-wielding day laborers.
Their skills were pathetic, and they blew all the money they earned on alcohol and gambling.
Regardless of requests or whatever, as long as it benefited them, they wouldn’t hesitate to backstab others.
In secluded places, they also moonlighted as bandits.
Since most outcasts lived like that, martial artists treated outcasts no different from how they treated wild beasts.
Those who called themselves martial artists looked down on outcasts and didn’t treat them as fellow martial artists.
Ignoring challenge letters was the norm, and if an outcast left a challenge letter, it wasn’t uncommon for the sect’s disciples to swarm and crush them.
The biggest problem outcasts faced was that even if they defeated their opponent if the opponent’s sect took revenge, they had no countermeasures.
Because an individual would be swept away by the power of a group.
On the other hand, in Sacheon, even if they ate all sorts of insults on the surface, at least they wouldn’t face group attacks or have their challenge letters ignored.
Revenge from sects could also be defended against through anonymity and the outcast community, the Outcast Inn.
Although they had to endure curses from the crowds every day, if they could bear it, being active as a Sacheon outcast was an excellent environment to enhance martial arts.
Those who left their hometowns and roamed Sacheon wearing black hats with only their passion for martial arts.
Guys who could gladly dive into the mud for the sake of martial arts were Sacheon outcasts.
And those guys…
They all became clowns just because Black Cat appeared in the training hall.
“Crooked Moon Sixty-Four Stances!!”
“Kun Yeo Hae Il!!”
Looking at Jeong Sam, whose face was bright red from performing continuous breathless strikes, and Yeo Jin-sang, who was twisting his whole body and swinging his sword with all his might, as well as the outcasts who were squandering their internal energy from the morning to display secret techniques, one couldn’t help but ponder, ‘What the fuck are males?’
What’s the point of shooting out precious secret techniques into the air just to look good in front of Black Cat?
Especially that bastard Jeong Sam, even though his face was about to explode, he didn’t stop his breathless continuous strikes, making me worry if someone would die or not.
“Let’s go eat.”
“Let’s watch a bit more before going? Senior, it seems like your body isn’t fully warmed up yet either.”
No, it’s too pitiful, I can’t bear to watch any longer.
“Come quickly.”
“Alright.”
The outcasts glared at me with expressions saying, ‘That bastard.’
Hey, I took Black Cat away for their sake, and they’re all repaying kindness with enmity?
How will you handle requests if you use up all your internal energy in the morning?
So I responded with a fist of potatoes and fled to the cafeteria.
Breakfast was simple noodles.
Black Cat also had noodles.
The Black Shadow Qi Technique concealed what was underneath the black hat.
For a moment, I was curious about her bare face, but the current state was better.
What if there was a peerless beauty underneath the Black Shadow Qi Technique?
Then, some outcasts might go crazy with jealousy and try to kill me.
“By the way, Senior Ho.”
“Yes?”
“Did you perhaps give enlightenment to that guy named Gang Jun yesterday?”
“…What? Why would I? To a bastard like that?”
I reflexively asked back, dumbfounded.
“Hey, hey, the rumors about me giving enlightenment to Yeo Il-ye are all false! I don’t know why they’re saying I did this and that when she did everything herself!”
“So did you give enlightenment to Gang Jun or not?”
“What did you hear? First of all, I don’t have the ability to give it!”
Even if I was an old-timer, at best, I would have memorized the enlightenment of second-rate characters.
I did memorize some first-rate experts whose characteristics were crazy enough to compete with higher realms to some extent.
“So you didn’t give it, right?”
“I didn’t give it! Satisfied?”
“Yes, senior. Why are you beating around the bush so much when you can just say it clearly like that?”
Black Cat’s admonishment made my head spin, but since mentioning this topic was a loss for me, I took a deep breath and gathered my thoughts.
“Phew…”
“By the way, senior. Please explain about the current Sacheon outcasts.”
“Why? It’s not necessary.”
Black Cat’s sedge hat tilted slightly.
“You explained the history of Sacheon outcasts in such detail, so why aren’t you explaining about the current Sacheon outcasts?”
“Well, you can experience it from now on and understand it, so why do I need to tire my mouth and give you preconceptions?”
“…That’s true.”
“We can’t do requests today, so keep that in mind.”
“Why?”
I pointed to the scar that had grazed my face.
The gold creation medicine in Murim Cheonha was just absurd when I entered this world, even though I hadn’t given it much thought while playing the game.
Expensive gold creation medicine heals even considerable external injuries without leaving a scar just by applying it.
Wounds usually heal by drying the skin and pulling flesh up to the injured area, so suturing is essential to attach the skin together and prevent the flesh from protruding.
But just by applying the gold-creation medicine carried in one’s bosom, does it heal without a trace?
Of course, injuries caused by attacks imbued with internal energy still leave distinct scars even with this gold-creation medicine.
“In principle, Sacheon outcasts shouldn’t take actions that would reveal their identity. An outcast with a scar on his face? It directly identifies the individual. Anyone who knows about the Gyeongsu Market incident would immediately know I’m the outcast from that market the moment they notice my cheek healing.”
“Wouldn’t it be fine if it’s covered by a black hat?”
“That’s true, but it’s best to lay low for a bit after causing a big scene like yesterday.”
Although Black Cat seemed clearly dissatisfied, eager to learn something as soon as possible, she nodded as if there was no choice.
“And I said we’re not doing requests, not that we’re playing around.”
“Then what are you planning to do today?”
“Collecting payment.”
Properly receiving the payment for a completed request is just as important as completing it.
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“Hoho, as expected of Sir Ho. The client was very pleased.”
Of course, it was a really unprofitable job for me.
“So what about the additional compensation? Did you properly collect the sword price? The post-processing was all handled well on your side, right?”
Intermediaries.
What are intermediaries?
Although Sacheon outcasts are necessary, the perception of Sacheon outcasts within Sacheon could be improved.
Those with social status would suffer just by associating with outcasts, so a communication channel was needed for Sacheon outcasts, who couldn’t be directly sought out, to receive requests.
Those were the intermediaries.
Most intermediaries come from renowned figures or bloodlines in Sacheon.
Of course, they wouldn’t do this intermediary work if they were great themselves.
Anyway, the intermediaries were from such renowned figures or prestigious bloodlines, and those who wanted to request Sacheon outcasts made contact with them under the pretext of visiting those renowned figures or prestigious bloodlines.
The intermediary, Hwang Geum-go Bu-rin, jumped up and down.
The goblin, no, Hwang Geum-go Bu-rin, a descendant of the [Hwang Gold Clan] with a name meaning guarding and cherishing gold, was one of the most exploitative among the intermediaries, as if to show he was a goblin.
The intermediary system was necessary, but from the outcasts’ perspective, it was frustrating.
How much did the intermediary receive as a request fee from the client, and how much did they pocket before passing the request to the outcasts?
As seen yesterday, the situation in the field is ever-changing, and accordingly, additional costs may arise, or the entire framework of the request fee may change.
All matters negotiated with the client must rely on the intermediary’s capabilities.
Bu-rin coughed and put on airs.
“Of course! I even got the sword price set at the highest level and personally inspected the Gyeongsu Market to assess the situation. And the client was very satisfied and paid an additional amount too.”
“You better think carefully.”
Bu-rin, who had his hand in his bosom, flinched.
“Those bastards are still contemplating whether to put their names on the blacklist.”
The blacklist.
Yes, the blacklist.
The Outcast Inn is selective about its customers.
Sometimes, there are really ignorant fools who think outcasts are truly disposable just because they accept requests.
Such fools are put on the blacklist, and with the agreement of the outcasts, challenge letters are issued to eliminate their sects.
In Sacheon, fools who don’t care about the outcasts’ feelings cannot survive.
Outcasts don’t actively destroy sects because of the anecdote about Jeong Cheol and because recklessly destroying sects like that leaves nothing and changes nothing.
Most of those sects are just more of the same anyway.
So this is what I said to the greedy Bu-rin.
‘If you don’t properly spit out what you’ve skimmed in the middle, the sect that expects you to serve as a long-term source of money will be ground to dust, and your profits will become zero.’
Gulp.
Bu-rin swallowed his saliva.
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