Chapter 14

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

The instant Lee Seogeun shouted those words in fury—

Ding.

System

Quest

Duel

Your debauchery has finally caught up with you!

You must deal with your own mess. To protect the tiny scrap of honor you have left and escape the wrath of the Mount Heng Sword Sect, only one option remains.

Type: Sudden Quest
Grade: First Rate
Restriction: Jin Taekyung
Mission: Win the duel (Incomplete)

Reward: Title: Gambler

• A large amount of EXP
• Fame 50

Failure: Title: Sex Fiend

• Injury

Would you like to accept the Duel Quest?

Accept / Decline

“……”

Seriously? I hadn’t even dated anyone since high school, and now I had to be called a sex fiend?

I spent half my day running raids and the other half passed out in my goshiwon¹. Now I had to clean up a mess I hadn’t even made, inside a game.

At least give me a decent Quest.

How was I supposed to fight a Level 30 like Lee Seogeun?

This is insane. His Level is more than twice mine…

This was a fight I absolutely couldn’t take.

I declined the Quest. Or I was going to. But Lee Seogeun beat me to it.

“If you run away from this place… the Jin Family of Taiyuan will pay the appropriate price.”

Ding.

System

• Quest information has been updated.

• If the Quest is declined, the Mount Heng Sword Sect will declare war on the Jin Family of Taiyuan. In addition, Jin Taekyung will be designated a public enemy of the sect.

…I knew it.

I’d wondered why the System was giving me a choice for once.

As I let out a deep sigh, the assembly hall began boiling like a cauldron over hot coals.

“How dare you!”

“That young punk thinks he can say whatever he wants just because he has his family behind him!”

“Even if the Third Young Master did something lower than a dog, how dare he look down on our family!”

“……”

The first two were fine, but who the hell was that last guy?

As the atmosphere turned hostile, Jin Wikyung, the Lesser Family Head, stepped in.

“Everyone, calm yourselves. And you, Young Hero, that is enough. We will consider it a slip of the tongue and let it pass this once.”

Seated in the place of honor, he delivered the warning in a low voice. His presence was no joke. He truly had the bearing of the next Family Head of an old and prestigious house.

Perhaps cowed by his aura, Lee Seogeun answered in a noticeably quieter voice.

“Understood. However…”

“However?”

“It was not a slip of the tongue. Do you think I came here today merely as a private individual?”

At those words, Jin Wikyung’s expression hardened, along with everyone else’s.

Right. Lee Seogeun was an official envoy of the Mount Heng Sword Sect.

“My father—no, the Sect Leader—has entrusted me with full authority.”

“……Then what do you want?”

“As I have already said, I want a duel with the Third Young Master.”

No. I don’t want that.

Judging by how things were unfolding, those bastards from the Mount Heng Sword Sect had come here specifically to pick a fight.

They intended to squeeze everything they could out of this incident, and even if that failed, they were at least going to wreck me. Being targeted so blatantly sent a chill down my spine.

“There must be another way. Tell me what you truly want.”

“Withdraw from every commandery and county outside Taiyuan. That should be an appropriate price for ruining my sister’s prospects of marriage.”

The instant he finished speaking, shouts erupted throughout the assembly hall.

From the bits and pieces I could make out, he was basically demanding they strip us of everything but our underwear. Jin Wikyung’s answer was obvious.

“Impossible.”

“Then accept the duel—”

“That too, I must refuse.”

Jin Wikyung was a complete pushover when it came to his youngest brother. There was no way he would send me into a duel that was obviously dangerous.

At Jin Wikyung’s answer, Lee Seogeun smiled triumphantly.

“Then there is only one path left.”

War.

I wasn’t the only one who thought of that word. The assembly hall fell silent beneath its weight.

Amid that silence, I looked up at the empty air.

System

Would you like to accept the Quest?

Accept / Decline

• If the Quest is declined, the Mount Heng Sword Sect will declare war on the Jin Family of Taiyuan. In addition, Jin Taekyung will be designated a public enemy of the sect.

I read the System message, looked at the floor, looked at the ceiling, then read it again.

Fuck…

There was no choice. Only one way remained.

“I’ll do it.”

For once, everyone reacted the same way. Eyes wide. Mouths open. Lee Seogeun, who had proposed the duel. Jin Wikyung, who had refused it. Everyone in the assembly hall looked as though they couldn’t believe their ears.

“W-wait. Taekyung?”

Ignoring Jin Wikyung’s frantic attempt to stop me, I spoke to Lee Seogeun.

“Come out. Let’s have a go.”

The corners of Lee Seogeun’s mouth curled into a cruel smile.

The winter wind was cold. I looked up at the cloudy sky and took a deep breath.

“Whoo.”

Lee Seogeun and I stood facing each other in the Jin Family of Taiyuan’s Grand Training Ground. About fifty people sat some distance away, watching us.

The Jin Family people looked like they were wondering what the hell I had eaten, while the Mount Heng Sword Sect’s goons looked like they’d come out for a day of entertainment. All they were missing was popcorn.

Ah. Someone was sending me a Sound Transmission, too.

“Youngest. Take deep breaths. Deep breaths. In. Out. In. Out…”

I’m already doing that, man.

Jin Wikyung had a solemn expression, but he kept shifting his hips like a puppy that needed to poop. If Wipeng hadn’t been holding him down by the shoulder, he looked ready to charge into the training ground at any moment.

“Don’t worry. If it looks dangerous, this eldest brother of yours will jump in. What? If that bastard so much as lays a hand on our youngest brother, I’ll—fuck! Got it? Don’t get worked up. Take it slow and stay safe. You can do it, Jin Taekyung!”

……I get it, so calm down.

He had radiated such overwhelming authority in the assembly hall, yet Jin Wikyung was once again living up to my expectations.

Still, he’s a hundred times better than having no one.

At least someone would save me before I became a half-crippled wreck.

With Jin Wikyung and Wipeng, I had two life insurance policies. Great.

But the moment I looked at Lee Seogeun with a slightly lighter heart, I immediately took that thought back.

What’s so great about this? Fuck.

Now I understood why the Mount Heng Sword Sect’s people had been so confident.

Lee Seogeun abruptly whipped off his shirt, and my breath caught at the sight of muscles writhing like mollusks.

System

Lv. 30 Lee Seogeun

My hands and feet began to tingle at the sight of the blood-red Level window.

A gap of sixteen Levels. It was overwhelming. As if to drive that fact home, the System chimed.

System

• You have been afflicted with the Status Effect Intimidation!

I’ll die three times before anyone gets here to save me.

Perhaps he noticed my reaction, because Lee Seogeun gave me a cruel smile.

“Do you understand the situation now? Your breath catches, and your hands and feet start tingling, don’t they?”

Now he could read minds, too?

But momentum was half the fight.

I deliberately composed my expression before answering.

“Bullshit.”

“Your voice is trembling. Of course you’re afraid. Fine. Answer my questions honestly, and I’ll go easy on you.”

……To be honest, I almost wavered.

“Cut the bullshit.”

“Oh? Putting on the airs of a martial family’s son, are you?”

Lee Seogeun laughed scornfully.

“Let me ask you one thing. What made you accept the duel? Your martial arts are pathetic, and you’re notorious for being a coward. I want to hear your reason.”

“The reason?”

No matter how much I thought about it, this was the only way.

If war broke out, I would become a public enemy of the Mount Heng Sword Sect.

Hunting? Leveling up? I could forget about it. The moment I stepped outside the protection of the Jin Family of Taiyuan, assassins would catch my scent and come running.

As long as I stay alive, there’ll be another chance.

I had magic. The recovery magic of leveling up.

My mind eased slightly.

“I figured I could handle someone like you.”

“Pfft! You’re just a wet-behind-the-ears pup.”

It was a mild provocation, but it didn’t work. He was confident in his own abilities, and it showed in his relaxed manner.

“Is it my turn to ask a question?”

“I never said I would answer… but I’ll indulge you as if these were your last words.”

“This whole incident. You fabricated it, didn’t you?”

Perhaps the question caught him off guard, because Lee Seogeun’s face stiffened awkwardly.

That expression was answer enough.

So I was right.

I’d suspected as much. No wonder the whole thing had stunk from beginning to end.

“You petty bastards. You should’ve just declared war.”

“……I’ll tear that mouth apart.”

Lee Seogeun raised his massive greatsword and muttered ominously.

I raised the Sharp Spear I had drawn earlier.

All right. Let’s do this.

I had learned martial arts. I also had instincts honed through seven years of real combat.

An F-rank Hunter and a second-rate Murim martial artist. Don’t underestimate the skills I’d honed working two jobs!

“Graaah!”

Lee Seogeun was more agile than I had imagined. He closed the distance in an instant, and I caught the greatsword crashing straight down with the shaft of my spear.

Kra-kra-kraang.

“Urgh.”

I’d been afraid it might cut me in half, but the Sharp Spear was sturdy, made of solid steel. Even so, the force behind the greatsword began driving both my feet into the ground.

“Die, you insect!”

“Hup!”

Up close, his aura was even more suffocating. Was this what a monster’s Fear felt like?

“Kneel and beg forgiveness now! Then I’ll let you off with just one arm!”

“Youngest!”

Over Lee Seogeun’s shoulder, I saw Jin Wikyung shoot to his feet. The Mount Heng Sword Sect’s people watched with snickers, while the Jin Family people turned their heads away as if they couldn’t bear to look.

I have to hold out.

At least until Jin Wikyung gets here!

“Graaah!”

Lee Seogeun’s greatsword came at me from every direction, one blow after another. The weapons were clearly clashing, iron against iron, but all I could hear was cannon fire.

Boom! Boom! Boom! I blocked them.

“Graaah!”

“Hup!”

Boom! Boom! I blocked them again.

“Graaah!”

“Haaah!”

Boom! I blocked another.

“Graaah…”

“Haaah…”

“……?”

“……?”

The next moment, Lee Seogeun and I locked eyes.

The instant I saw the bewilderment and confusion in his gaze, I knew he was thinking exactly what I was.

What the hell is this?

Lee Seogeun was strong. He possessed the brute strength of a giant monster, moved with surprising agility for someone so muscular, and swung his massive greatsword like a matchstick.

And that wasn’t all. He was a Young Master of the Mount Heng Sword Sect—a sect that could actually throw its weight around. The martial arts he used had to be quite advanced.

And yet…

This is… doable?

Even now, I was blocking every swing of his greatsword. More than twenty attacks, and more than twenty blocks.

I could see them. That was why I could block them.

I cautiously lifted one of my legs, which had sunk into the ground up to the ankle. It slid right out.

Could it be…

No way. Surely not.

Ssshwip!

At that moment, a greatsword swept toward my waist. I deflected it with the shaft of my spear, then reflexively kicked Lee Seogeun in his wide-open chest.

Whack!

“Urgh!”

……Huh?

Clutching his stomach, Lee Seogeun skidded back five or six steps. Then he casually rubbed the bridge of his nose as though nothing had happened.

“You’re not bad. For trash, you have a trick or two.”

“……”

“Heh. But I’m done going easy on you.”

“……Hey.”

“With my next strike, I’ll smash your head—what?”

With a queasy look, I raised a hand and pointed at his mouth.

“You’re bleeding.”

A beat later, a thin line of blood ran down from the corner of Lee Seogeun’s mouth. He had probably bitten his tongue. That had to hurt.

“Ah! Eeng! Eek! Hup!”

Lee Seogeun wiped away the blood with a series of ridiculous yelps.

“Don’t wipe it. Leave it.”

“……?”

“It’ll be easier to wipe it all off at once later.”

Because from now on, I was going to beat the absolute shit out of him.

System

• The Status Effect Intimidation has been removed!