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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Simzy
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Jaemison never showed up.
Resigned, I returned to my inn and slept. I woke up early the next morning, went to Haengdomun to casually browse for work, and then went to find Jaemison again. I finally found the bastard.
“Hey! I’m back!”
“Presents…”
This guy, presents are the first thing on his mind.
“I had some jerky, but I ate it all on the way here.”
“Kek…You’ve got a bottomless pit for a stomach.”
“Hehehe, the Namgung Clan is quite a distance. Hey, let’s grab a drink.”
“Your treat…”
“Why should I be paying?”
“Look at how you’re dressed…”
Ah.
“Guess I have no choice.”
“Kkuk, you look like a proper young master. So, what happened?”
“I’ll tell you everything.”
I sat down with Jaemison and ordered some drinks and snacks.
“Before that, anything interesting happened to you? Did you get back alright after that day?”
“Not really…oh, wait. There was one thing.”
“What is it?”
“A swordsman called Nachalsal appeared…”
“That’s me.”
“No way, you already figured it out…How boring. More importantly, I’m dying to know…what happened at the Namgung Clan?”
“Hehehe, well…”
My lips were sealed no longer.
I poured a glass of strong liquor, took a bite of a dumpling, and began.
“I did make a pretty big contribution, after all. So the Namgung Clan rewarded me.”
“No way, that sword…?”
“Yeah, this one. It’s called the Cheonroegeom(Sky Thunder Sword).”
I unsheathed the sword and handed it to Jaemison.
“Oh, oh…! Amazing!”
Jaemison, rarely impressed, examined the sword carefully.
“This is an incredible sword.”
“Hey…I also contributed by throwing the Isangjego, so what about me? Seriously…”
You were support, and I was DPS, buddy.
“You got paid in silver then, didn’t you? Anyway, I even met Namgung Cheon, the head of the Namgung Clan.”
“What…!”
Jaemisohn’s hair stood on end.
“You met Geomwang (Sword King) Namgung Cheon?! He’s said to be a Transcendent Realm master…!”
“What?!”
A Transcendent Realm master!
“How strong is that?!”
“A Sword King like him can even face the Cheonha Sipdae Yoma (Ten Great Demons of the World)…Kkuk, you didn’t know? I knew you were crazy, but not this crazy.”
The Ten Great Demons of the World!
They were far stronger than the Hayagriva, practically the tier just below the strongest monsters, absolute beasts.
Namgung Cheon was that strong?!
Well, that explains why his daughter was a Peak master.
“What was he like? What did he look like?”
“He looked young. But just greeting him made me feel like I was standing before some immensely powerful being.”
“Kek…It’s a wonder you didn’t faint.”
“Right? Anyway, I greeted him, received this Sky Thunder Sword, and The Jade Flower Sword, as thanks, taught me some martial arts. They treated me well for a few days.”
“What…!”
Jaemison clutched his head.
“I’m speechless…You learned martial arts from The Jade Flower Sword, the prodigy of the martial world.”
“Yeah. She taught me well for a few days. Hehehe.”
“K…Kkuk, Kkukuku!”
Jaemison clutched his head and laughed loudly.
“I’m overwhelmed with jealousy…It’s agonizing.”
“Cut it out. Oh, and I also ate the Hayagriva’s core, and the doctor there said there were no problems.”
“That’s still strange…”
It could be possible.
But there were no other cases to compare it to. They said it’s highly likely I have a unique constitution, so there wasn’t much to discuss. Still, something bothered me. My internal energy had increased, which was expected, but my morning wood had become overwhelmingly powerful. Was this a real side effect?
“Hey, let’s drink. I’m dying of boredom.”
“After bragging all day long…”
“You asked, didn’t you?”
“I didn’t think I’d hear such an irritating story…”
So, I drank with Jaemison, telling him the story of how I defeated the Hayagriva.
It was a time to reminisce about how brave and martial-artist-like we were, and how we upheld justice and camaraderie.
In the story, we were peerless heroes.
“Kkuk…If you learned martial arts from The Jade Flower Sword, your skills must have improved. The next monster hunt will be easy.”
“Hehehe, I can’t wait to test out my swordsmanship.”
“With my Isangjego and your Cheonroegeom, we’re invincible…Let’s ditch nicknames like Nachalsal and become the Anhui Twin Swordsmen…”
“Yeah, I’m never giving up that name.”
“Don’t joke around, dude…”
Anhui Twin Swordsmen, my ass.
Nachalsal is way cooler than that lame nickname.
“Kha!”
We drank a bit more and then parted ways.
“Hey! See you tomorrow at Haengdomun!”
“Alright…”
We’d find work together at Haengdomun tomorrow. Making concrete plans like this puts me at ease. Work should be done with someone you can trust. The thought of working with Jaemison was already reassuring.
I was on my way back to my inn when…
“Hmm?”
Suddenly.
I felt a presence.
“…”
I wondered if I was just being paranoid, so I looked back, but there was nothing there.
Was this PTSD?
Last time, I was attacked on a night like this, cried like a madman, and committed my first murder in that state, so I was feeling anxious.
I was stronger now and had more real-life experience…but fighting for my life against other people was still dangerous.
Uneasy, I quickened my pace, and…
Thud.
At that moment, I realized my worries weren’t unfounded.
A figure emerged from the darkness, calling out to me.
“Hey.”
As I turned around, two more people appeared from the other direction.
I was surrounded by three people!
“Who are you?”
Sensing I was screwed, I drew my sword.
Three enemies? Why were they attacking me? Could it be…because of my clean clothes? Did they think I was rich and decided to gang up on me? To rob the young master?
“Huh? Look at this guy, drawing his sword right away? Hey, you fucker, did your mother teach you to draw your sword at the sight of anyone?”
One of the men behind me spoke menacingly.
“Hey, wait. What’s with this guy? He’s a swordsman, right? But what’s with that sword?”
One of the two men in front of me spoke.
They knew I was a swordsman?
They had information about me?
“W-Well…”
As soon as I saw the stuttering one of the duo, I realized.
That familiar build.
“Ah!”
That bastard was the guy who attacked me before!
“You son of a bitch! It’s you!”
I shouted happily, but…
“Son of a…? Y-You bastard! I am Oh Su-man!”
“Who the hell is Oh Su-man?”
“I am Chang-sam’s friend, and the swordsman who will kill you! I’ll avenge my friend Chang-sam, whom you murdered!”
“And who’s Chang-sam?”
Oh Su-man, Chang-sam…names I’d never heard before. Of course, I was an intellectual who aspired to be a method actor. Judging from the circumstances, this Chang-sam must be the guy I killed back then.
But feigning ignorance here would give me the upper hand.
“Chang-sam is my friend, whom you killed! Don’t play dumb!”
“Hehehe, ah, that guy? He was wailing so pathetically, I thought he was a ghost, not a human. Is killing ghosts a crime these days?”
“Y-You son of a bitch!”
Oh Su-man seemed to have taken the bait, throwing a fit.
And then…
“…”
“…”
The other two, sensing something was off from my relaxed demeanor, created some distance, showing caution.
My choice was right.
Showing fear wouldn’t get me anywhere.
Thump-thump!
Honestly, I was terrified and thought I was screwed, my legs trembling. But I couldn’t show weakness to these thugs. I had to appear calm and collected.
Or exude extreme killing intent and fighting spirit!
“But a thug like you talks about avenging a friend? Don’t you have any shame? Huh? If you died while robbing someone, that’s natural causes, what grudge are you holding? Are you stupid?”
“I-I can’t take it anymore! Brothers! It’s him!”
Brothers?
“…”
Oh Su-man yelled, but his “brothers” seemed to have lost their nerve. They had acted all tough when surrounding me, but as soon as I gained the upper hand, their heads drooped.
“Brothers? This fucker. You brought your brothers for revenge? Hey, brothers, if you don’t want to die, leave this guy and get lost. Got it?”
“This bastard…”
One of Oh Su-man’s “brothers” spoke.
“Are you not afraid of our Amtobang?”
Amtobang?
What the hell is Amtobang?
“Your arrogance will be short-lived. Drop your weapon if you don’t want to end up screaming with your limbs severed.”
“Ooh, are you from a black path faction?”
They reeked of the black path.
Calculate.
Calculate.
Wooo.
I silently circulated my internal energy, weighing my options.
Oh Su-man, fueled by his grudge, had brought these Amtobang thugs to kill me. I might be able to deal with Oh Su-man, but could I sever the newly formed karmic tie with the Amtobang?
No.
Probably not.
Moreover, I was surrounded. Judging from their tone, they were definitely going to use violence against me. Death or disability was guaranteed.
Unacceptable.
To survive, I had to kill them all or kill some and escape.
After that, I’d become enemies with the Amtobang, and we’d be at each other’s throats until one of us was eradicated.
“…Fuck.”
It was so unfair that I was in this situation. Just because I fought back against a thug, I had to become prey for these black path bastards?
I wouldn’t accept it.
“These motherfuckers, as if things weren’t shitty enough…!”
“What?”
If a fight was inevitable, I’d fight.
I had to end this by killing every single one of these bastards!
Whoosh!
Rhyming Flow Movement Technique.
Like flowing clouds, I turned and dashed towards the “bastard” behind me.
The sudden attack startled the Amtobang martial artist, who hurriedly drew his sword. But I was already charging towards him with fierce momentum.
My spirit and fighting will were overwhelmingly superior!
Hwaak!
My internal energy surged from my dantian throughout my body, following my meridians. I felt power coursing through me. I had trained diligently at the Namgung Clan. Serin would laugh if I lost to these small-fries!
“I’ll slice you to pieces!”
I unleashed Great Flow Sword Technique at the Amtobang martial artist.
“H-Huh?!”
My sword, which wouldn’t stop until one of us was dead, rushed towards him!
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oooooh shittt lets goo! Thanks Simzy!