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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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“What in the…”
“Do you know this man?”
I placed the man I had carried over my shoulder in front of the village head and asked. He looked shocked, then stared down at the body and asked,
“Mu-sam? Where did you find him?”
“He was crossing the mountain, suffering from Qi Deviation.”
“After causing so much trouble, he finally…”
A sigh filled the quiet room.
As expected, they knew each other. It wouldn’t make sense for him to be in this remote village otherwise. It was so well-hidden that even I had to pretend to be lost before finding it.
“It seems he was a young man from this village.”
“He ran away after committing a terrible crime.”
The village head looked down at Gwak Mu-sam’s corpse with a bitter expression.
“A terrible crime?”
“He killed his own father and ran away. A wicked man.”
“He kept saying he had to go home while we were fighting…”
“He must have felt some guilt. Come to think of it, it didn’t seem intentional. His mother also died after he accidentally pushed her during a fight, and she hit her head on the corner of a cabinet… tsk tsk… Would you help me bury him?”
“If his mother were still alive…”
“It’s better not to know.”
“Understood.”
I carried Gwak Mu-sam’s body and followed the village head outside.
“Combining Aura Armor with this significantly increases aura consumption.”
“Do you have to combine them?”
“The Arrow-Swift Steps isn’t very stable on its own.”
“Hmm…”
Hye-ryeong seemed bored watching my training, resting her chin on her hand and swinging her legs.
While I had allowed her to watch, my training wasn’t very entertaining. What was there to see? It was incredibly basic.
I looked at the messy footprints on the ground and resumed my stance.
A stance I had repeated countless times, to the point of boredom. I could now transition from preparation to execution in less than a second.
However, accurately reaching my intended destination wasn’t easy.
The margin of error was still too wide. If I used it incorrectly in actual combat, it would be a one-way trip to the afterlife.
So, I had to focus on my training. I needed to minimize the margin of error and perfect the technique to the point where I could pressure my opponent even without Aura Armor.
That would be crucial for future battles against stronger opponents.
“Mister, I’ll go prepare dinner!”
“Alright.”
I watched Hye-ryeong disappear into the bushes and resumed my stance. It was just my left leg positioned behind me, but still.
Once my surroundings were quiet, I closed my eyes and imagined an opponent.
[You’re doing that strange thing again, aren’t you?]
…Tsk.
Why did I always think of the Captain at times like this?
I opened my eyes. The Captain in my imagination was holding a sword, in the Ox stance, waiting for me.
The cross-shaped design on his armor, his face covered by a thick beard, all faded memories now. His weathered face was the Captain I remembered.
[Come at me.]
I had never broken through his defense.
Would I ever be able to?
The Captain’s impenetrable defense, which had held against hundreds of enemies?
…Focus. Focus.
I didn’t have time for sentimentality.
My enemy was watching me from a place higher than the highest mountain, so I had to keep moving forward, towards the summit.
“…Captain, I’m coming.”
I launched myself forward. The distance between me and the Captain in my imagination closed rapidly. I had to stop four paces away from him.
Twenty paces.
Fifteen paces.
Ten paces.
Nine.
Eight.
Seven…
Six.
Five.
Four!
I reached my target distance and stomped on the ground, stopping my momentum with a force reminiscent of a lance charge. I immediately swung my sword.
[Your stance is unstable, lad.]
As always, my sword was blocked by the Captain’s, unable to advance any further.
[Didn’t I tell you? If your lower body is unstable, any sword technique is meaningless. Prioritize stability. And don’t put too much force into your footwork.]
…That’s what the Captain would say.
I chuckled, recalling his nagging, which was strangely vivid. If he were still alive, he would probably still be scolding me during training.
It had been almost a year since then.
…Let’s put aside these melancholic memories and focus on training.
I continued practicing the Arrow-Swift Steps.
Until Hye-ryeong called for me.
“Finally, a city! A city!”
“Don’t get so excited.”
“But we’ve been camping for four days! I want to wash up!”
“Didn’t you wash in the river?”
I thought she went to the river every day to wash up. Hye-ryeong clicked her tongue, as if I didn’t understand anything.
“Cold water and hot water are different!”
“That’s true.”
Hot water was definitely better than cold water, especially in this chilly weather. I would take a bath as soon as we found an inn.
“Let’s find an inn first…and then check if there’s a Martial Alliance branch here.”
“A Martial Alliance branch?”
“I want to see if there are any Madu worth hunting around here.”
“Isn’t that dangerous?”
Hye-ryeong looked at me with concern. Madu were dangerous. They used all sorts of underhanded tactics.
Poison was a given, and they often resorted to hostage-taking and threats.
I chuckled, remembering the despicable Madu from the original story.
“Don’t worry too much. No matter what they do, they’re no match for me.”
Were they more dangerous than the battlefield?
A place where you had to use enemy corpses as shields to survive.
I only planned to target those clearly weaker than me from the original story, so it wouldn’t be that dangerous.
It was a bit cowardly, but there was no need to risk my life.
Why throw away my precious life after struggling so hard to survive?
Besides, anyone stronger than me would be a Master, and those were usually sect leaders, untouchable by a lone wanderer like me.
There was a limit to what an individual could do…though, considering the Captain, that might not be entirely true.
I scratched my head, remembering the time the Captain single-handedly destroyed a castle gate.
“Mister?”
“Ah, sorry. Let’s go.”
We started searching for an inn.
Fortunately, it wasn’t a large city, so we found one within half an hour.
“Waiter! Bring us a simple meal!”
“Right away!”
“And a bottle of warm wine!”
“Thank you.”
Mokgyeong blushed slightly and bowed his head. His androgynous features made that expression…interesting.
Of course, I wasn’t homosexual, so it was just an observation.
“Mokgyeong really likes alcohol. I don’t like the taste…”
“It tastes good with delicious food. You just have a child’s palate.”
“I do not!”
“Says the one who couldn’t take her eyes off the candy store earlier.”
She had a serious sweet tooth. Hye-ryeong averted her gaze and chuckled awkwardly.
“Hehe…but sweets are delicious…”
“You’ll rot your teeth.”
“I brush them diligently with salt every day, so it’s fine!”
“Sure, sure.”
“…Are sweets that delicious?”
What?
I looked at Mokgyeong, surprised by his sudden question. He looked at me with a genuinely curious expression.
“Haven’t you tried them?”
“I had some sweets when I was young, but rarely after I grew older…I’ve never even tried anything from a candy store.”
“…I’ll buy you some later.”
His life had been so difficult that he hadn’t even tried sweets from a candy store.
I swallowed a sigh, thinking about Mokgyeong’s unfortunate past.
“Your food is here!”
As we chatted, the waiter started placing dishes on the table.
Noodles, dumplings, and…five-spice pork? A standard meal. I picked up my chopsticks.
“Let’s eat.”
“Okay!”
“…Thank you for the meal, Benefactor.”
I took a bite of the noodles, then a sip of the broth. The flavorful chicken broth filled my mouth, a comforting warmth spreading through me.
Hot soup was the best after a tiring day.
As I savored the broth, I heard a commotion from a corner of the inn.
“…Is there a fight?”
“I just wanted to eat in peace…”
Hye-ryeong grumbled, putting down her chopsticks.
“Pick them up and eat. We can deal with it if something happens.”
I popped a dumpling into my mouth as I spoke.
Hmm, these dumplings were rather dry. Perhaps they had more meat filling. As I savored the taste, listening to the commotion, I heard a scream.
“Aaargh!”
And then, the unpleasant scent of blood filled the inn.
“Is this inn cursed?”
It felt like something always happened whenever we stayed at an inn.
I put down my chopsticks and stood up.
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