Chapter 13

The five horses galloped hard. They crossed mountains, fields, and rivers, finally reaching their destination around noon.

“Where have you come from?”

At the tension in the Jin Family of Taiyuan gate guard’s voice, the young man in the lead smiled. His lips curled crookedly, unable to hide the hostility behind them.

“Mount Heng.”

Fifteen minutes later, Jin Wikyung summoned the family’s senior members.

Hyuk Mujin was endlessly versatile. All I had to do was picture him in my mind. Spear, sword, saber, bow… Sometimes I won, and sometimes I lost, but one thing was certain.

“I’ve got the hang of it now.”

The martial arts had become second nature. At first, I had focused on executing them from beginning to end, one form after another. But things were different now.

Forms changed depending on the situation. Martial arts didn’t have to consist of one form flowing into the next in a fixed order. I had reached the point where I could skip the prescribed sequence and link the forms together.

Like this.

Whoooosh!

By the time I heard the wind, it was already too late. Hyuk Mujin, his abdomen pierced through, let out a rueful sigh.

“You’re improving quickly.”

“I spent seven years doing nothing but using a spear, you bastard.”

I closed my eyes. When I opened them again, the empty training hall came into view. As if celebrating my victory, the System notification rang out.

Ding.

System

• Jin Family’s Spear Technique has risen to the Fourth Stage!

• Jin Family’s Manoeuvre Technique has risen to the Fourth Stage!

• The forms have become more refined, and their destructive power has increased.

• Level up!

“So I’m Level 14 now?”

I had gained three Levels in three days.

That was a steep rise for someone who had spent those three days holed up in the training hall.

On top of that, the Jin Family’s Cultivation Technique had reached the Third Stage, while the Manoeuvre Technique and Spear Technique had reached the Fourth Stage.

“Open Status Window.”

After distributing my remaining points, my nose prickled with emotion.

System

Status Window

Lv. 14 Jin Taekyung

Occupation: Second Rate Martial Artist

Fame: 10

Titles: 3 (Title effects active)

• Scion of a Prestigious Family: All stats +5, Fame +50

• Shame of the Family: All stats –5, Fame –50

• Novice Trainee: Training speed +10%

Strength: 51
Stamina: 61

Agility: 61
Intelligence: 10

Charm: 10
Internal Energy: 10 years

Remaining Points: 0

“Beautiful. Just beautiful.”

Look at those perfectly balanced stats.

These were stats of combat, by combat, and for combat.

And that’s not even counting the martial arts.

I wasn’t the same person I had been before. Hyuk Mujin? I was confident I could beat him now.

The F-rank Hunter Jin Taekyung, who hadn’t known the first thing about martial arts, was dead. I was now a Murim martial artist who had learned a Peak cultivation technique and two first-rate martial arts.

It starts today.

Everything was ready. Once I left the training hall today, I would gather the things I had in mind and leave the Jin Family of Taiyuan.

I might even be able to get Jin Wikyung’s help.

Just dealing with idiot bandits like the Heavenly Axe would let me reach my target quickly. Two days at most. After that, I could return to the warm embrace of my family.

Mom. Hayeon. I miss you.

My eyes were just beginning to redden when—

Grrrrrr—

“O-oh! Ohhh!”

This was the moment I had been waiting for. The iron door blocking the entrance to the training hall was opening. That ugly, heavy chunk of metal looked as beautiful as the gates of heaven.

“Finally! I’m getting out!”

My face alight with joy, I ran toward the entrance to heaven.

The angel who would free me from this place appeared from behind the door.

“Third Young Master. It’s been three days.”

He wasn’t exactly a welcome sight, but I was too happy to care.

“You came to let me out, right? Huh? You did, right?”

Wipeng, an angel who resembled a desert fox, answered in a strangely qualified tone.

“Yes. For now.”

“…What?”

“You will be leaving. But there’s somewhere we need to stop by first.”

“Somewhere we need to stop by?”

A chill ran down my spine. My survival instincts kicked in.

“Where are we going?”

“The main assembly hall. The Lesser Family Head is waiting there as well. And…”

Wipeng added,

“Senior members of our family and an envoy from the Mount Heng Sword Sect have also arrived.”

“The Mount Heng Sword Sect? Why the hell are they here?”

Wolhwa had told me at Honghwaru that the Jin Family of Taiyuan and the Mount Heng Sword Sect were sworn enemies. So why were those bastards here?

Things are going wrong.

This was ominous. Very ominous. I had to find some way out of this.

“Then could I stop by my residence and change clothes first?”

“No.”

“It seems like an important occasion, and I can’t show up smelling like this…”

“Are you thinking of running away?”

He looked like a desert fox, but his instincts put a meerkat to shame. Before I could say anything, Wipeng’s hand pressed down hard on my shoulder.

“Third Young Master. From now on, answer my questions truthfully. Understood?”

His voice was dry, and his eyes were cold. The aura coming from him left me unable to speak. All I could do was nod.

Jin Taekyung.

The three-syllable name flashed through my mind.

There was no doubt about it. This bastard was responsible. He had dumped a load of shit without me even knowing.

And then…

“Is it true that you tried to violate a woman of the Mount Heng Sword Sect?”

That shit was far bigger than I could have imagined.

As I followed Wipeng toward the main assembly hall, my mind went completely blank.

Attempted sexual assault?

Even if it had only been an attempt, it was a sex crime so vile that beating the culprit to death wouldn’t have been enough.

I remembered how I had always said that, as a human being and an older brother with a younger sister, sex offenders should be executed.

That crazy son of a bitch.

My palms were slick with cold sweat. I said it again, no longer knowing how many times I had repeated myself.

“I really wasn’t the one. Please believe me.”

Without turning around, Wipeng replied,

“Has your memory returned?”

“No, that’s not what I mean. I’m telling you, it really wasn’t me. Do I look like the kind of guy who’d do that? The kind of guy who’d go around committing trash like that?”

“Yes.”

No, fuck.

He answered without even taking a breath.

“Look, then let me stop by the bathroom. Or the privy, I mean.”

“No.”

“You have to let me take care of business!”

“Just go where you are.”

Son of a bitch. I gave up and immediately spun around and ran, drawing up all my internal energy and concentrating it in my feet.

A hand clamped around the back of my neck.

“Third Young Master.”

I had been caught in three steps. Wipeng looked down at me with cold eyes.

“If you keep this up… I might have to stop being polite.”

Resistance was pointless. Wipeng was a master whose Level I couldn’t determine even with Qi Sense.

No choice.

I walked on with a sinking heart. After what felt like ages, a towering pavilion came into view.

Several warriors stood guard outside. I recognized the Jin Family of Taiyuan’s distinctive navy uniforms, but some of the men wore red clothes I had never seen before.

Those must be members of the Mount Heng Sword Sect.

Considering the usual relationship between the two sects, they should have been at each other’s throats. Yet right now, they were united in glaring at me.

“Fuck…”

Wipeng turned his head at my mutter.

“The Lesser Family Head believes in you. Don’t forget that.”

Right. Jin Wikyung was there. My greatest hope and my shield.

As I reminded myself of that fact, Wipeng threw open the doors to the main assembly hall.

“I’ve brought the Third Young Master.”

I took a deep breath and stepped into the pavilion, repeating the same words over and over in my head.

Even if a tiger carries you off, you can survive if you keep your wits about you. Even if a tiger carries you off, you can keep your wits—

The moment I entered the hall, the low murmuring abruptly stopped. A dozen men, young and old, stood arrayed along either side, while Jin Wikyung occupied the seat of honor.

And in the center stood a young man.

“It’s been a while, Young Master Jin.”

The instant I met that unpleasant smile—

Ding.

System

• Killing intent detected!

…At least use your blinker before cutting in.

Killing intent.

I knew it well. Monsters were literally bundles of malice and killing intent. I had felt it countless times and thought I had grown used to it.

But this guy…

He was different.

This was on an entirely different level from anything I had experienced.

If I had to compare it to something, it was like the difference between a low-level monster and a mid-level monster. His killing intent was far more refined, more furtive, and more chilling.

“I believe I caught a glimpse of you in the marketplace last time. I don’t know whether you remember me.”

Lee Seogeun bit off each word. Above his head, a System window floated in the air.

System

Lv. 30 Lee Seogeun

That was the Level I had seen with Qi Sense the instant I detected his killing intent. It was more than twice my Level.

This is insane.

Even worse were the looks from everyone else.

Dozens of menacing gazes from men young and old were fixed on me. My knees went weak. In that tense atmosphere, Lee Seogeun spoke again.

“What a shame. If you had come a little earlier, we could have had a deeper conversation. We were discussing something interesting until just now.”

“…Were you?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know what we were discussing?”

“N-no, I’m fine.”

I only hoped it hadn’t been a discussion about whether to cut off my head or my balls. And if that miserable guess was correct, I would rather they cut off my balls than my head.

If I’m lucky, a Level Up might restore them… Why am I even having to think about this?

This was beyond grim. Lee Seogeun studied my expression for a moment before speaking again.

“I heard you returned to the family a few days ago. Where have you been?”

“Honghwaru.”

“Then where were you before you went to Honghwaru?”

I was at a goshiwon¹, you bastard.

I wanted to tell him everything honestly.

I got fired from my Guild that day, had some soju² with the hyung³ from my goshiwon¹, then climbed into the capsule and fell asleep. When I woke up, I was at Honghwaru, and now I’m working hard so I can Logout. Something like that.

It’d be a miracle if he didn’t draw his sword.

As I hesitated, unable to answer, Lee Seogeun pulled something from inside his robes. I thought he really was drawing a sword, but it turned out to be a bundle of papers.

“Since you don’t seem to remember, I’ll tell you. The night before you went to Honghwaru, you visited Myeongwollu. You went to the deluxe room you had reserved.”

“Myeongwollu?”

“Isn’t that the pleasure house you used to frequent? Don’t try to claim you’ve never heard of it. I have the statements and signatures of the people who saw you there that day.”

In other words, it was a list of witness statements. I read through the papers, figuring I might as well see what they said.

Then I noticed something strange.

“What is this?”

“You don’t know even after seeing it yourself?”

This bastard was dropping the formal speech now, too.

“I’m saying that because I read it. There isn’t a single proper testimony here.”

I read every one of the dozens of statements, but not one of them contained decisive testimony.

They all said roughly the same thing: Jin Taekyung had gotten thoroughly drunk, gone to the wrong room, and found that the room belonged to a woman of the Mount Heng Sword Sect. Then someone had heard screaming.

“For a bastard who tore my sister’s clothes and tried to rape her, you have some nerve acting so shameless. You really are exactly as the rumors say.”

“No, that’s not what—”

“You bastard!”

Flutter!

“Ah.”

The bundle of papers smacked me in the face and scattered across the floor. Lee Seogeun spat a glob of phlegm onto them.

Well, look at this asshole.

I wasn’t annoyed. I was simply suspicious.

How should I put it? This whole chain of events—especially the witness statements—felt incredibly contrived.

But I had no time to dwell on that unease.

“Come out with me, you bastard! I’ll make you pay for what you’ve done!”

The instant Lee Seogeun shouted—

Ding.

System

• The Duel Quest has been generated.

What’s this now?