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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Simzy
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I wanted to kill him.
I had never felt such intense killing intent in my entire life. I might have beaten people up, but I had never once tried to kill someone!
“I apologize, sir!”
But this bastard was apologizing now, this son of a bitch!
This murderous robber, who tried to kill me and steal the precious money I worked my ass off for, was trying to get away with a simple apology…! He was spouting such unbelievable nonsense, what did he expect me to do?!
Did he think I lived here for fun?!
I told him to give me everything he had and apologize. But then the bastard immediately bowed his head and put one hand inside his coat.
How could he try to counter dual-wielding swordsmanship with single-sword techniques!
“Haaaaaaaaaagh!”
I screamed and unleashed a move from the Three Talents Sword Technique.
There was no way he could defend against my sword in such a vulnerable state.
I lunged forward and slashed him diagonally, and blood spurted from his neck.
“Huu, huu…!”
I killed him.
I really killed him…!
I killed a person with a sword!
“Huu! Huuuuu!”
As that realization hit me, a wave of anxiety washed over me, as if the explosive killing intent from moments before had been a lie. I felt like I had done something I shouldn’t have.
“Ugh!”
Nausea welled up.
What happens when you kill someone?
Will the authorities come to arrest me?
“Urgh…!”
My heart felt like it was about to explode.
Anxiety? Guilt? Relief? I didn’t know. All sorts of emotions mixed together, creating a strange feeling that became an overwhelming excitement, converging into a single point and carving fear into my chest.
All of it washed over my mind like murky sewage.
Is this what they call a demonic disturbance?
I had just completely gone back and forth between life and death.
I decided to fight for my life and took the enemy’s life…!
I survived and won there!
I had killed a person, venting all of my hatred and resentment!
“Uuwwaaargh…!”
At the same time, black liquid spewed from my mouth.
“Wh, what is this?!”
It was unbelievable!
Black liquid was coming out of my mouth? But that wasn’t all. From my mouth. From my eyes. From my nose. From my ears! Murky liquid gushed out of all my orifices, filling the space around me!
“Aaaaaaaagh!”
I thrashed around like someone trapped in a water tank. At that moment…
SFlash.
My eyes suddenly opened.
“Huuurgh!”
Sewage was coming out of my mouth!
“Ah!”
I frantically touched my mouth, then suddenly came to my senses.
Right.
This was the inn.
“Oh, shit, again…!”
Since that day…
I’ve changed inns and taken a break from work. There’s been no pursuit from the authorities. No one has come looking to kill me.
“…”
They say no one cares when a lowlife vagrant dies in the martial world, and it seems to be true.
I was relieved, but in another sense, my mental state was a mess.
The shock of killing.
I tried not to think about it, but it was incredibly intense. After all, I killed someone with my own hands.
It was half a bluff, but when I actually showed my resolve to fight to the death, they didn’t want to risk any losses and left. They knew they would only lose if they got injured fighting the likes of me.
If I had been a typical coward, I would have surrendered and given them my money.
But by showing my fighting spirit, I was able to protect my possessions…! Not only that, I chased after the despicable bastard who was running away and killed him!
Fear.
Dread.
Relief.
And thrill.
“Ooh…!”
All those emotions swirled around, greatly disrupting my daily life.
I would be scared, then suddenly thrilled, my tension would rise, then suddenly I’d feel relieved, then terrified again.
A crazy lunatic.
“…”
I wasn’t like this before… That was nothing short of an accident. I ended up pouring out all the pent-up resentment in my heart onto that robber.
If he hadn’t done that to me, I wouldn’t have killed anyone…!
Those murderous robbers turned me into a killer!
“Haa!”
I exhaled and calmed myself down.
“Right.”
He deserved to die.
If I hadn’t killed him, I would have died.
So, I had to kill him, so I killed him.
It’s right not to feel guilty.
Whoosh.
I got up from my seat.
It seems I have no choice but to revise my assessment of this martial world. I thought this was a place where people lived, but it truly is a martial world.
I must be prepared to kill anyone to protect myself.
Think again. This is the martial world. And as long as I carry a “weapon” in this world, I will be treated as a martial artist by everyone, and I will be exposed to unreasonable malice and violence.
But I can’t discard my weapons.
I can’t live as a laborer earning only 100 mun a day anymore.
So I have to live with the mindset that I can die at any time, and I can also kill at any time. I must always keep that in mind. This isn’t Earth. If I act carelessly, I’ll really die.
I don’t want to die!
“Huu!”
I think I can finally escape this demonic disturbance. Having that terrible nightmare actually made my heart stronger.
“Demonic disturbance, my ass!”
This experience became an intensely powerful realization for me.
“It’s nothing!”
If I decide to kill, I must kill.
To overcome injustice, I must fight.
I can’t survive here with a half-hearted attitude.
“Let’s go!”
I have no savings left.
I have to move again.
“Auntie! Give me strength!”
I imagined my aunt’s face in my mind and boosted my energy. What would happen if my aunt found out I killed someone later?
I don’t even want to imagine it.
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“Ushhiiiiik!”
A Soseonggwi shrieked as it flew towards me.
“Haap!”
I just had to move as I’d learned. Focusing on my breathing and lower body movements, I aimed at the enemy and precisely cut it down.
Swish!
A perfectly clean cut.
The Soseonggwi was bisected.
With my lower body firmly supporting me, my sword was imbued with power, and by swinging it accurately, I channeled all that force into the blade.
There was no way a mere Soseonggwi could resist.
Thud.
I kicked the fallen demon aside and dispatched another one flying towards me with a horizontal slash.
“Ushik…!”
At that moment, another one targeted me from the left.
“You bastard!”
Should I cut it down?
No. At this distance, it’s too late. It’s better to strike it with my fist. Six Harmonies Fist was a martial art meant to be used in conjunction with the Three Talents Sword Technique, after all.
Collecting my thoughts, I executed a Six Harmonies Fist move.
Strike.
My left fist shot out, and the back of my hand slammed into the Soseonggwi.
Whack!
After knocking that one away…
“Haaaaaaaap!”
I delivered a soccer kick to the one coming straight at me.
Pow!
“Kweeek?!”
A satisfying impact.
The Soseonggwi I kicked soared like a soccer ball.
I then brought my raised foot down hard, stomping on the ground, and…
“Whirlwind!”
I unleashed the high-difficulty Spinning Slash, checking another Soseonggwi.
Swish!
But the soseonggwi caught in the check had its waist severed.
“Ooh!”
That took care of one.
I had defeated all the Soseonggwi that appeared.
“Khahahaha!”
As expected, the sword is the best!
It’s on a completely different level from that stupid stick, the Tagu Bong! Its killing power is in a league of its own; they die with a single cut!
Looking at the demons sliced apart by my martial arts, intense joy erupted from deep within me.
“I’ve really gotten stronger!”
Martial arts definitely make you stronger. Or maybe it’s the experience of killing.
Whatever it is, these are now truly pathetic at my level.
They were never a real match for me, being just trash mobs. Now that I’m getting stronger through martial arts training, they’re just food.
Clink.
I collected my rewards, went back, ate a hearty meal, and rested.
The demonic disturbance stemming from my first kill?
I completely shook it off.
It wasn’t like I lost my mind. Even in that situation, I took the robber’s weapon and his coin purse containing 120 mun.
Thanks to that, I sold the used sword for 200 mun and got some pocket money. I even got a small dagger.
Killing one person netted me 320 mun and a dagger; it was quite a profitable business.
“I should have taken his clothes and shoes too.”
That was my only regret now.
I could have gotten some money selling those… Oh, but wasn’t there one more? I plan to attack first if I see him soon.
I have to sever the grudge.
I killed his friend, which means I’ve become his sworn enemy. To eliminate future trouble, I have no choice but to find him and kill him… This feels like I’ve become some kind of crazy serial killer.
But the first time is always the hardest; the next time is easier. In this martial world, you have to be prepared to kill at any moment to survive. I must sharpen my resolve.
Something like that.
I headed to the Dahwehbang again today, looking for new work.
“You seem to have become a proper martial artist,”
the old man who always gave me work at the Dahwehbang said, looking at me.
“Is that so?”
Was it that obvious?
Maybe he noticed I’d become a killer. An old man living in this place would probably have that kind of discernment.
“Yes. So, it might be good to look for work that martial artists do.”
“Work that martial artists do, you say?”
“If you want to earn more money, go to Haengdomun.”
“Haengdomun! Where is that?”
“It’s a place where vagrant warriors take jobs. It’s similar to our Dahwehbang, but they do more martial arts-related work.”
“Ah!”
Now that he mentioned it, I remembered.
There was something like that.
They said there were jobs that required martial artists, not just laborers like us.
I heard that vagrant warriors usually worked there.
Apparently, when monsters stronger than goblins appear, they’re dealt with there.
“Hmm, but is it okay to just go there?”
“If you pay 100 mun, I’ll give you a token that says you worked well at the Dahwehbang.”
“A kind of letter of recommendation?”
“That’s right.”
It seemed the old man was making some extra income this way.
“Then I’ll go and decide whether to buy it after I get there. I’ll buy it right away if I need it.”
“Hmm… Is that so?”
How could I pay 100 mun right away without knowing if I’ll need it? I knew the old man, but I shouldn’t just hand over money without thinking.
“Thanks for the information!”
Anyway, let’s go check out this Haengdomun.
“A martial artist’s work, huh.”
I had experience in monster extermination, I learned martial arts, and I had a sword. I even killed a robber with a sword.
My experience points were sufficient; it should be fine to take a look.
I immediately went to find the Haengdomun.
“Wow.”
It was bigger than I thought.
And it was full of martial artists.
It was completely different from the Dahwehbang, which was mainly populated by laborers. Everyone here was carrying weapons and exuded a menacing aura. Wasn’t this just a den of thugs?
Murderous thugs, no less.
I’d have to be careful in a place like this.
“Is there a warrior who will go with me to exterminate monsters?!”
“I hear the authorities aren’t happy with the current leader of the Noklimchae…”
“A subjugation order might be issued soon.”
“A Yaguja has appeared! Second-rate martial artists are needed!”
As I moved around, taking in the atmosphere, I overheard all sorts of conversations.
Most of them were about work. The kind of work martial artists do.
But watching people carrying weapons share information and talk about going to hunt something down brought something to mind.
“A mercenary guild?”
Wasn’t this like a mercenary guild in a fantasy setting?
It looked like a murim, but it felt exactly like that, right?
This felt quite novel. I don’t think there was anything like this in the murim stories I remember. Wasn’t this a completely new kind of murim?
Let’s check the notice board first.
“Oh.”
The moment I stood in front of the notice board…
A very striking phrase caught my eye.
[Large Outbreak of Gobulin]
[Subjugation Request from the Authorities]
What?!
Subjugate what now?!
“Goblin?!”
Goblins?!
Startled, I rubbed my eyes and checked again, but it wasn’t goblin, it was Gobulin, and next to it was a description of a small monster with green skin, along with a picture.
The height of a child.
Long nose and ears, hunched back, and low intelligence… The moment I confirmed all this, I couldn’t help but grab my head.
These were really goblins!
“Ugh!”
This wasn’t murim!!!!
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Goblin?
Ohh, a fusion fantasy, huh?