Mountains Are Best Viewed from Afar
“Master, I’m here.”
“...Master.”
“...What is it.”
“I’ve been thinking about this for a while now.”
“If it’s something weird, you’re getting scolded.”
“It’s not weird.”
Should I believe this kid or not? Fine. Let’s assume I’m getting fooled and hear her out.
“Go on, speak.”
“I think mountains are best when you just look at them from afar.”
“...For once, you’re actually saying something right.”
Just as Iris said, mountains are best when you simply look at them. Climbing them, living on them—none of it is any good. Fuck, I hate uphill paths so much.
“Heh heh.”
Even though both Iris and I possessed well-trained bodies, the mountain climb was brutally exhausting. This wasn’t some neighborhood hill behind the house; with a bit of exaggeration, it was practically Himalayan in scale. Naturally, the difficulty was pure hell.
After barely reaching the middle of the slope, a small house appeared ahead. Behind it rose a massive peak covered in eternal snow.
“Master. Why in the world does your master live in a place like this?”
“Ask her yourself. I’m curious too.”
In truth, Iris didn’t even need to ask. The answer was obvious: the area was overflowing with natural energy, an ideal spot for an absolute being to dwell in lofty solitude. Something along those lines.
Energy my ass. After dragging myself up here, I had probably sucked up every last trace of it, whether it existed or not.
“Hoo.”
Before heading to the house, I straightened my appearance first. She had a foul temper and tended to let her fists speak before her mouth, but she was still my benefactor—the master who had taught me everything.
“Master?”
No reply came. Only silence. I subtly extended my senses to read the surrounding energy, but nothing registered. It seemed she had stepped away for a moment.
“Let’s wait a little. Looks like Master is out.”
“That’s why I told you we should send word ahead of time.”
“Disciple. Thanks to whom are we suddenly climbing a mountain to come all the way out here?”
“Thanks to me!”
“Not ‘thanks to me.’ It’s ‘because of me.’ I’m sorry, Master. Isn’t that the correct answer?”
“If it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t have come to meet Master at all, right?”
She must really miss the honey chestnuts tempered by the Heavenly Demon Divine Art. Fine. Today I’ll let her have as many as she wants. The moment I raised my hand with that thought—
Whoosh—!
I sensed something carrying tremendous power flying toward us. With no time to identify it, I threw my body forward and perfectly blocked the attack aimed straight at Iris.
Thud—!
What had flown over was a mere pebble, yet the sound of impact was closer to a boulder. I guarantee that if Iris had taken the hit, she would have ended up like an egg smashed beneath a rock.
“Eek?!”
Iris, only now realizing what had happened, clutched at my sleeve. This was not because my disciple was weak or lacked talent. Even I had only noticed the attack once it was more than halfway here.
There was only one being in this place capable of exerting power at this level.
“Your jokes go too far, Master.”
As expected, no answer returned. I was simply talking to myself like an idiot. Still, I refused to back down and spoke once more toward the direction the attack had come from.
“This child is my disciple—and at the same time, she is also Master’s disciple.”
“You may be, but a weakling like that cannot become my disciple.”
From the spot where nothing had been visible and nothing had been felt, a faint ripple appeared, and a figure materialized.
Jet-black hair streaked here and there with crimson energy. Skin as white and luminous as jade. A beauty whose age could not be guessed. And finally, the arrogance of the supreme expert radiating from her entire being.
“I greet you, Master.”
I knelt and offered a formal bow. Only then did I notice Iris still standing there blankly and quickly pulled her down beside me.
“I-I greet the Grandmaster!”
Iris performed the greeting exactly as I had explained during the climb. Her eyes darted around nervously. It was only natural.
The woman standing before Iris and me was the one once called the supreme expert of another world—the Heavenly Demon.
Heavenly Demon. The title bestowed upon the absolute ruler of the Demonic Cult in the martial world known as Murim.
Yes, Murim. The Heavenly Demon was a being who belonged in that world.
But this place was not Murim. It was a fantasy world that might exist somewhere. I had never touched so much as a single Murim novel or game before. Naturally, the game I had played was built on a fantasy foundation.
Yet this game had boldly included a character called the Heavenly Demon. More precisely, an NPC who strengthened the characters at the training grounds.
In the original story, that Heavenly Demon had taught the game’s characters. The Heroes who were now my disciples had originally all been powerhouses raised by her.
I had taken a hint from that exact point and put it into action immediately. In a situation where I had fallen into the game world, how could I survive?
Not by letting the Heroes become the Heavenly Demon’s disciples. Instead, I would first become her disciple, earn her recognition, and only then teach the Heroes—becoming their master in turn.
Satisfying Master in the beginning was damn hard.
“You’re the first one like you I’ve seen. Your will is rotten, but your body is decent.”
“Ha, this kid. You have a talent that makes me want to restructure your mind.”
“Remember it clearly. The world called this seat the Heavenly Demon.”
After enduring all of that, I had finally received recognition from Master—from the Heavenly Demon, the supreme expert of the Murim world.
“Disciple.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Come here for a moment.”
...I had received recognition, but Master was still terrifying. She had said that since I was now her official disciple, she would no longer beat me. Yet I never knew when she might suddenly revert and pummel me like a dog on a summer day the way she had in the beginning.
“Iris. Stay here quietly.”
“But…”
“If you do anything foolish in front of my master, I won’t forgive you.”
Otherwise I would get an earful about failing to manage my own disciple. And nagging from the Heavenly Demon never ended with words alone. Naturally, it came with fists and kicks mixed in.
After warning Iris, I followed Master. After walking quite a distance, a small pavilion came into view. Master plopped down inside it and brought a pipe to her lips.
I stood respectfully beside her and waited for her to speak.
“What are you scheming?”
“Pardon?”
“That little brat.”
“She is my disciple. The last one I will raise…”
“That is not what I mean.”
“...”
“Don’t do anything pointless. What do you take this body for?”
...As expected of Master. She had not reigned as the supreme of the Demonic Cult, the Heavenly Demon, for nothing. It had not even been a few minutes since she met Iris, yet it seemed she had already seen through everything—the child’s current state and every last detail of her future.
“You cannot possibly be unaware. That child has no talent. Not the slightest bit.”
“...”
“I have watched the children you have taught so far. Every one of them was exceptional. Their personalities were rather strange, but their talent was so clear that even I—this seat—could say nothing against it.”
“That is why you treated those children rather well.”
“It was because I was certain they would not cause my first and last disciple any suffering.”
Hooo—.
A thin stream of smoke flowed from between Master’s crimson lips.
“But that child is different. She will definitely make you suffer and struggle.”
“...”
“I have no intention of watching my disciple walk into hell with her own two feet. Therefore, I will stop her. Give up. That child is not the right vessel. She will surely cling to your ankles until the very last moment. Hence…”
“Master.”
“Listen properly and do not take it lightly. That child is not it. That child…”
“Master.”
When I cut her off a second time, a sharp crack rang out. Glancing over, I saw that Master had snapped the pipe with a single finger. It seemed my interrupting her twice had angered her.
“You have grown quite bold. Even cutting off your master’s words.”
Ssss—.
Red haze rose into the air. She was not about to attack, but it was clearly a warning that she was thoroughly displeased. Had this been in the past, I would have been beaten into dust immediately. But ever since I officially received her recognition, she had not done so. She did not wish to trample upon a martial artist’s pride.
“Master. Do you remember the moment you first saw me?”
“...Are you bringing up the words I said to you back then? Enough. Even though you had many problems at the time, you were clearly a being with potential. There is no comparison.”
“As you said, Master, I was indeed a being with many problems. But after meeting the greatest and strongest master in the world, I changed like this. Knowing that, I took Iris as my disciple.”
“...Foolish fellow. You really are an incomparably stubborn one.”
Master let out a sigh and reflexively reached for her pipe, then paused with an “Ah” and tossed the broken pipe roughly to the ground.
Watching her, I pulled out the spare pipe I had brought and offered it to her.
“...What is this now?”
“How could I come to see Master after becoming a disciple and arrive empty-handed? Naturally, I had to bring at least a small gift. Doesn’t the pipe always break and cause you headaches?”
Master was strong. So strong that the word “strong” alone could not express it. Perhaps because of that, small and thin objects broke on her every single day. To Master, pipes were little more than consumables. For someone whose only pleasure was smoking, having no pipe would be a serious problem. That was why I never forgot to prepare one—always the highest quality available on the market, never cheap.
“...”
Master stared silently at the pipe I offered, then let out a small “pfft” and smiled.
“Even so, as a disciple, you are the only one who takes care of your master like this.”
“It seems you like it.”
“How could I not like a gift from my disciple?”
“That’s a relief. Actually, I had a favor to ask of you.”
“...”
For an instant, Master’s expression crumpled into a complete mess. It was the face of someone who had known this was coming all along.