Chapter 3
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: Decalogue for Vagabond
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“I’m going crazy……”
I kicked a stray can rolling down the street into a trash bin and muttered to myself.
Let me sort this out.
While on a commission, I was ambushed by Demon Cultists and suffered a fatal wound that left me dying. That’s when I met Son Ha-rin, and I woke up back in my childhood body from over a decade ago.
The events lacked any logic, and the timeline was a jumbled mess. It felt exactly like a tiresome dream from an exhausting day, but this damn dream just wouldn’t end.
If this wasn’t a dream but reality, the only explanation for how it was possible was the ‘Return Bead’ that Son Ha-rin had shoved into my mouth.
After wandering the streets aimlessly until evening, quietly mulling over everything that had happened to me, I arrived at an unbelievable conclusion.
‘Did I really… go back in time? To when I was seventeen?’
If so, it was utterly absurd. Regression? That was the stuff of novels!
Even if it was a divine treasure of the Demonic Cult with heaven-defying powers, could it really heal a fatal wound like that? Apparently, this Return Bead held far more profound mysteries than I’d imagined.
‘If I really went back in time, what should I do first? Bitcoin…? Does that even exist right now? All I know about is that coin everyone who bought it jumped into the Han River over…’
Lost in such thoughts as I walked, a horn blared beside me—beep beep.
I turned my head and saw a sleek black car keeping pace with my steps. It was elongated.
Wondering if this was the legendary limousine I’d only heard about, I stared at it curiously. Then, the heavily tinted rear window whirred open.
Beyond the open window appeared the face of a middle-aged man who seemed oddly familiar.
I asked in a wary tone.
“…Who are you?”
“No time to explain. Hop in first?”
But instead of answering, the man winked and opened the door.
I swallowed hard and thought.
‘Mom… Wait, I don’t have a mom. Anyway, Director Kim Sung-tae at Yeager Orphanage always said not to get into strangers’ cars.’
Recalling Director Kim Sung-tae’s teachings from Yeager Orphanage, I replied firmly.
“What the hell. Let’s give it a shot.”
Just moments ago, I’d been deep in serious contemplation about the possibility of time reversal and the existence of cryptocurrencies, but to this guy, that kind of offer wasn’t something you turned down.
The interior of the car I stepped into was even more astonishing than the exterior.
For starters, I could sit facing the man in the rear seat.
The only other time I’d ridden in a vehicle like this was during a commission escorting a martial arts public enemy. That one was more like a truck than a limousine, but anyway.
As I buckled up in the seat, the limousine glided forward smoothly, without the usual engine noise or vibrations of a car.
“Well, first off, thanks for accepting my invitation. Nice to meet you. I’m the guy who becomes Chan’s dad. Feel free to call me ‘Uncle’ or whatever.”
Hit with this sudden info dump, I first had to figure out who ‘Chan’ was.
After a moment’s thought, I realized it referred to Baek Chan, and thus recognized the man before me, who’d introduced himself as Baek Chan’s father.
Baek Kang-mu, chairman of Tae-san Group—one of Korea’s top conglomerates.
He was also one of only five S-rank masters in Korea, where martial arts infrastructure was well-developed. In the past, he’d reached a realm so profound with martial subtlety that it was called the Manifestation Realm.
Excluding the three EX Ranks in the world—the pinnacle beyond all ranks—he was essentially the strongest human possible.
I recalled why his face seemed strangely familiar. Just this morning, I’d fought his son Baek Chan, who looked just like a younger version of him. And I’d even seen Chairman Baek Kang-mu himself up close.
In my memory, it was a few years ago… which would be about ten years from ‘now’.
But I hadn’t recognized him at first glance because the man before me looked about twenty years ‘younger’ than the Baek Kang-mu I’d met in person.
To ordinary eyes unfamiliar with the world of martial arts, that sounded ridiculous.
Maybe a side effect of regression? My thoughts got tangled when recalling past and future, but in absolute time, this man was at least ten years younger than the Baek Chairman I’d met.
But masters like Baek Chairman occasionally obtained miracles.
‘Rejuvenation…!’
I’d known it existed, but seeing both before-and-after versions of someone who’d undergone it was a first, so it felt pretty amazing.
Without showing it, I scrutinized his face and asked.
“Yeah. So, what business do you have with me…?”
“Oh, nothing much.”
Baek Kang-mu waved his hand dismissively with a laugh.
“I’m just curious how you beat my son.”
His question sent a chill down my spine for a moment.
How did I beat Baek Chan?
There were surely multiple factors at play.
Baek Chan’s blatant carelessness. His Aura Shield, not as sturdy as his reputation suggested. Or his footwork, not exceptional enough to compensate for those flaws.
But the biggest reason? The over ten years of experience I’d gained, unlike the real seventeen-year-old Baek Chan.
Without the memories of reaching higher realms and the seasoned vagabond experience I’d accumulated, even if I died and came back to life, I couldn’t beat Baek Chan.
In that spar earlier, if my initial strike had failed and it dragged into a prolonged fight, I’d have lost nine times out of ten.
Baek Chan could gain in two days from a single elixir what I’d built up in my dantian over a lifetime.
In fact, after the spar ended and I came down, I’d even felt dizzy from minor internal energy depletion.
So, embarrassing as it is to admit, my attacks slicing his Aura Shield and heel were all-out strikes thrown without thought for what came after.
Thus, logically explaining my victory was impossible no matter what excuse I made. I couldn’t very well mention my regression, the primary reason I could win.
But surely he didn’t come all this way just for that—
“—You came here for that?”
“Something like that.”
Inside the car as it smoothly rounded a corner, I had to focus on keeping my expression neutral.
My feelings were complicated.
What can I say… I was a bit pissed off. Yeah, that’s it.
No. Me getting my ass kicked by that Baek Chan punk and staying memed online for over a decade was just physics, but the reverse warranted the chaebol chairman hauling his heavy ass over personally?
But I was a seasoned vagabond who wouldn’t show such displeasure.
I’d struggled with self-awareness until my death, but I still had principles.
One of the Decalogue for Vagabond—universal rules for vagabonds worldwide—was ‘Never mess with Manifestation Realm masters (Never mess with S-rank)’.
It might sound laughable, but it was a code etched into every vagabond’s bones.
The martial world was vast, full of crazies, and cocky rookies occasionally picked fights with Manifestation Realm masters. Yet, the absolute truth of this ancient principle never wavered.
A vagabond who messed with a Manifestation Realm master ceased to be a vagabond. Maybe a corpse, though.
Though my body had reverted to that of a fresh high schooler, my mind—still a vagabond until last night—remained in that era.
Separate from the comfort of the limousine’s luxury seat cradling my back, sitting across from a Manifestation Realm master who could crush my head anytime, harboring awkward feelings, made this feel like sitting on a bed of nails.
When I didn’t respond, Baek Kang-mu waited quietly before bursting into hearty laughter.
“That’s a face that doesn’t buy it, huh? Might be rude to say, but isn’t it natural for a dad to be curious about his son’s school life? So my question isn’t that unreasonable, right?”
Maybe because I’d never experienced such ‘normalcy’ in my life, I twitched my eyebrow and shot back.
“I don’t think your son sees me as a friend.”
“He could become one. Wouldn’t it be great if my antisocial, short-tempered boy made a peer friend? They say even tigers are raised with retrievers in the same pen when young.”
Tiger cub raised with a retriever. Straight-up calling him a dog bastard.
But instead of rashly showing offense, I stared straight at Baek Kang-mu’s face.
His eyes brimmed with a leisure born of either wealth or power—or both.
In my past life, I’d witnessed those eyes crumple and deflect bullets with the cornea alone, without even blinking.
If I tried the same, my eyeball—not to mention the back of my skull—would have a hole punched through. But Baek Kang-mu’s eyes showed no issues, not even a speck of keratitis.
That’s what an S-rank was.
‘Yeah, better not mess with him.’
As a vagabond, not a hero, I could overlook injustice when it suited me.
Injustice toward me was a tad harder to ignore than toward others, so in my past life—pre-regression—I’d once fired a gun right in his face.
I’d confirmed firsthand it was pointless, so no random provocations now.
“Actually, separate from my son, I have some questions about you too. Yeah. For example……”
As Baek Chairman trailed off, his lips curving into a sly smile, an overwhelming killing intent poured from his skin.