The Price of Failure

He had managed to unfold the Phoenix Clamp. But his inner energy ran short, and he failed to drive it properly into the Jiquan acupoint beneath his armpit.

Had the Phoenix Clamp fully deployed, he could have pinned the sword against his ribs and snapped it clean. Channel inner energy into the Jiquan point and the Qingling and Shaohai points below it, and even the thickest saber would bend like a stick of taffy.

The price of executing a supreme technique without properly guiding his inner energy was steep. Finding his blade trapped against Dokgo Ho-in's side, the Macheon Chong warrior twisted the sword and shoved it outward.

The left arm Baek Seol had been clutching went limp and dropped to the ground with a dull thud.

Clang!

Sword and severed arm hit the earth together. Baek Seol clapped both hands over her mouth and screamed.

With hands that would not stop shaking, she gathered up Dokgo Ho-in's severed arm and began to sob.

"Waaahhh—!"

Never in her life had Baek Seol wept so wretchedly. Tears and snot ran freely down her face.

"I'm fine. You think Dokgo Ho-in is going to die over one measly arm?"

As Baek Seol's shoulders heaved, still clutching the severed limb, Dokgo Ho-in went on.

"Stop that and bind the wound. I'm losing a fair amount of blood."

He said it without thinking, because she was too heartbroken to stop crying. At his words, Baek Seol's tears spilled without end as she tore another strip from her underskirt.

Seo Joo-cheon whipped his head around at Baek Seol's scream—and froze in horror.

The third brother's arm! His left arm's been cut off! Why?!

The penalty for failing the Karma Mission: loss of the left arm.

But why his arm, not mine...?

A suspicion took hold, and Seo Joo-cheon searched for Baek I-jin. The Mount Hua Sect daoists who had formed a defensive formation around her carriage all lay sprawled on the ground. A Macheon Chong warrior had slung Baek I-jin over his shoulder.

"Fall back!"

Jang Hyeon-nam tried to cut off the retreating Macheon Chong warriors and rescue Baek I-jin, but the Blood Sky Troop had already converged on that spot. Breaking through was no simple matter.

Don't tell me... Ho-in lost his left arm because I failed the Karma Mission to rescue Baek I-jin?

It clicked into place at last.

The Karma Missions are issued to me, but the rewards and the penalties fall on all of us. Fail, and one of the four takes the hit.

Until now he had assumed that he alone received a mission's rewards and suffered its failures. He had been wrong.

This isn't how I set it up in Antagonist. Why has it changed? No—it hasn't changed. In Antagonist the protagonist operated alone. Here, the four of us are a team, so we share the penalty. Because I'm the eldest of the Shaanxi Four Fiends.

Seo Joo-cheon could only stare as the Macheon Chong warriors receded like an ebbing tide. He had no strength left to give chase. He had already used Time Dilation Authority more than three times; not a scrap of inner energy remained. To use it again, he would have to draw on his innate vital essence.

Sang Ryo held Jang Hyeon-nam back, and he too abandoned the pursuit. Jang Hyeon-nam had taken no small number of wounds, and his inner power was spent; he had nothing left to give.

"It's my fault. My fault."

Jang Hyeon-nam sank to the ground, muttering. True to a protagonist, he blamed no one but himself.

He had never even imagined that Mi-u, vice commander of the Blood Sky Troop, would resort to poison. When the Mount Hua daoists' resistance proved fierce, Mi-u had kept spreading sleeping poison around Baek I-jin. And Jang Hyeon-nam, too absorbed in the fighting to notice, now felt nothing but shame at himself. In the end the daoists succumbed to the poison, their formation collapsed, and the Macheon Chong warriors waiting in the wings stormed in, subdued Baek I-jin, and fled.

Seo Joo-cheon surveyed the scene with eyes even more stunned than Jang Hyeon-nam's.

In my original setting, the Macheon Chong warriors never used poison to subdue Baek I-jin.

And yet a part of it made sense. The battle had already shifted from inside the inn to the open road—and that alone had introduced variables. Subtle, perhaps, but far from small.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

That's the problem. This fight has already left my original plot. That's why even I, the author, never saw the sleeping poison coming.

Even so, Seo Joo-cheon believed they could overcome this crisis too.

Jang Hyeon-nam is here. The protagonist. He'll come up with a solution. That's what a protagonist does.

He had created a perfect hero, after all. Rescuing Baek I-jin shouldn't be that difficult.

Ho-in is ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the real problem, though. His arm's been cut off.

The ache in Seo Joo-cheon's chest was so sharp it seemed Po Un's own grief was welling up inside him.

I can't even tell anymore whether I'm Po Un or Seo Joo-cheon.

After several battles, the boundary between them had grown even more indistinct.

Is this what Zhuangzi's butterfly dream felt like?

The Mount Hua daoists were hastily assembling a pursuit party. One among ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠them, who appeared to hold senior rank, spoke.

"We will go after Young Lady Baek. We'll leave Plum Blossom Formations along the way—follow them later. Third-generation disciples, find the Plum Blossom Swordmasters at once and report this situation."

He continued.

"Second-generation disciples, tend to the wounded here, then catch up."

There were more critically wounded than expected—men who would die without immediate treatment—so the order had been unavoidable. The six first-generation disciples, including the one who had given the command, set off after Baek I-jin at once. With no other combat-capable force besides the first-generation disciples, they were the ones who had to give chase.

Seo Joo-cheon approached a second-generation disciple who was carrying a wounded man.

"A word, if I may."

The Mount Hua disciple answered with courtesy.

"Please, speak."

From Mount Hua's perspective, the Shaanxi Four Fiends had risked their lives to render great aid. They could not afford to treat them lightly.

"Are the Plum Blossom Swordmasters nearby?"

"Yes. They were traveling with us on an important matter, but they split off to act independently before we arrived here."

"Do you know what business took them away?"

The second-generation disciple looked conflicted.

"Forgive me. That is a matter of the utmost secrecy. I cannot say."

Seo Joo-cheon nodded.

Of course. He wouldn't be able to say.

Watching the apologetic daoist, Seo Joo-cheon felt his suspicion confirmed.

I was right. The Plum Blossom Swordmasters didn't fail to come—they split from this party to act on their own, because of that matter.

Seo Joo-cheon replied,

"If the Plum Blossom Swordmasters arrive, they will be able to rescue Young Lady Baek from the enemy's hands."

"You have our thanks."

Leaving the Mount Hua daoist behind, Seo Joo-cheon looked at Jang Hyeon-nam.

Acting like a protagonist, all right.

Jang Hyeon-nam was tending the wounded, borrowing carts from nearby farmhouses to load them onto.

"Everyone, head to Namcheon Inn."

The Mount Hua daoists had little choice—Baek Seol was exhausted, and they could not travel far. Namcheon Inn it was.

Seo Joo-cheon turned to Ham Cheon-yeong and Kang Chu-mi.

"We're heading back to Namcheon Inn as well. There'll be physicians there."

Then, with pained eyes, he spoke to Dokgo Ho-in.

"Hang on a little longer, Ho-in."

"I'm fine, Big Brother."

Watching Dokgo Ho-in answer so stoutly even with his arm gone, Seo Joo-cheon said,

"I'm the one who's not fine. Me."

As his eldest brother blamed himself, Dokgo Ho-in gazed at Baek Seol, who had collapsed from exhaustion and now rode in a cart, and said,

"I saved the woman I love and only lost an arm. That's a success, isn't it? And it's the left one—won't hinder my sword work. Big Brother, you can't throw me out just because I'm one-armed."

Seo Joo-cheon looked at him with aching eyes—this man who even cracked a joke, feigning composure. He knew that when a man put on a brave face, it was to hide his pain from others.

At those words, the fear Dokgo Ho-in had been barely holding back crept out of his mouth.

"Big Brother... I... I won't be able to hold a sword, will I?"

"Why wouldn't you? You've still got your right arm. And as for the left—I'll make you a new one if I have to..."

The moment the words left him, Seo Joo-cheon flinched. He had realized he was overlooking something.

That's right. Why didn't I think of this? With the settings I have, there's no reason I couldn't regenerate Ho-in's arm.

The world of The Invincible Lay Disciple had fused with the modern fantasy Antagonist, and the two now shared their settings.

I've already gained an ability through the first synchronization. That means there's a second and a third.

In Antagonist, synchronization began the moment one obtained a single kalpa of mana, unlocking an ability. Seo Joo-cheon had rendered the unit of inner power—the Gapja—as a kalpa in Antagonist. A kalpa was a Buddhist term, the span of time from one creation of heaven and earth to the next. At one kalpa, two kalpas, and three kalpas, different abilities were granted; and the moment one reached two kalpas, the ability called Layer became available.

Like a graphics program that stacked drawings on successive layers to compose a finished image, it was the power to draw whatever one wished onto a Layer and overlay it upon oneself.

If I draw the severed left arm onto a Layer and overlay it, the arm could grow back. The problem is, I have no idea how Layer will manifest as an ability in The Invincible Lay Disciple.

The abilities had been granted with slight modifications, so even Seo Joo-cheon could not be certain.

I still can't just give up. I have to try it, at least. And if I obtain the Layer ability, there will be plenty I can do on the martial side as well.

Layer was an ability Seo Joo-cheon had prepared in Antagonist as a protagonist buff. Two kalpas of mana here corresponded to two Gapja of inner power.

But I don't even have one Gapja yet. When am I supposed to reach two?

Seo Joo-cheon rummaged through the settings in his mind.

It's not as if there's no way at all. The Plum Blossom Swordmasters' disappearance is connected to that as well. With that, obtaining two Gapja of inner power wouldn't be so hard. This isn't as bleak as it looks.

Seo Joo-cheon allowed himself a measure of hope.

If I follow the fated encounter Jang Hyeon-nam obtains in the story, gaining two Gapja of inner power wouldn't be that difficult. The problem is the Karma Missions—they constrain my movements. I can't just go wherever I please.

Seo Joo-cheon gave a bitter smile at the irony of an author bound by his own settings.

Namcheon Inn was packed to bursting—not with guests, but with the wounded. That was the problem. Physicians from all around had flocked in to treat the injured. Shaanxi was Mount Hua Sect's sphere of influence, and Weinan in particular sat so close to the mountain that any matter involving Mount Hua demanded an active response. The innkeeper himself devoted every effort to treating the Mount Hua daoists. That was how merchants survived in Mount Hua's territory.

Dokgo Ho-in received treatment and was laid in a guest room. For now, rest was the only way he could recover. Kang Chu-mi stayed behind to nurse him, and Seo Joo-cheon went downstairs. There, Jang Hyeon-nam was playing the protagonist to the hilt.

"We will soon set out in pursuit to rescue Young Lady Baek."

The reason Jang Hyeon-nam was so fired up was that he had met a wandering swordsman skilled in tracking. Outside the inn, martial artists who had heard of the attack on Mount Hua and come to help were gathering in droves. Jang Hyeon-nam had climbed onto a makeshift platform of stacked wooden crates and was rallying them.

"According to information from the pursuit party, they headed south along the Suo River. If we find boats and follow, we'll catch them soon enough."

The Suo River flowed from Weinan toward Xi'an. Hearing this, Seo Joo-cheon thought,

In the settings I wrote, Macheon Chong never operates around the Suo River.

Seo Joo-cheon had a fairly good idea of where Mi-u, vice commander of the Blood Sky Troop, had taken Baek I-jin. In the story's settings, Macheon Chong had established a single hidden safe house from which to watch Mount Hua—and it was not on the Suo River. He had only ever written one such location, so the odds were high they had taken her there.

"We cannot stand by any longer while demonic path scum run rampant in a place that is home to Mount Hua, one of the pillars of the Orthodox martial world. We will rescue Young Lady Baek and, at the same time, annihilate these demonic path villains, thereby realizing the justice of the Orthodox path. If you are fellow martial artists who walk the Orthodox way, I ask that you lend your strength to Young Lady Baek's rescue!"

The moment Jang Hyeon-nam finished his speech and stepped down from the platform, a message appeared in the air.

Seeing that the Karma ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Mission's reward was meager and the cost of failure enormous, Seo Joo-cheon felt a heavy unease.

And I think I'm starting to understand how Karma is generated.

The way a Karma Mission triggered the instant protagonist Jang Hyeon-nam took action suggested a connection to the lead. The Invincible Lay Disciple's scenario unfolded according to its protagonist—so perhaps the two were linked.

The fact that a Karma Mission to rescue Baek I-jin just appeared proves it.

Seo Joo-cheon thought it through in earnest, immersing himself in his own character.

Could I live independently, apart from the protagonist? If I avoided Jang Hyeon-nam, could I keep surviving in this world?

The Invincible Lay Disciple had become reality, and this was the genuine dilemma of a character living inside it. And he found that once a Karma Mission activated, he could no longer watch events unfold with yesterday's idle curiosity.

What frightened Seo Joo-cheon now was the knowledge that not only he, but any one of the Shaanxi Four Fiends, could die.

I have to play the supporting role faithfully, or the main scenario won't run properly.

Carrying that heavy heart, Seo Joo-cheon approached Jang Hyeon-nam.

"Young Hero Jang, I believe the Macheon Chong heading for the Suo River is a ruse. They surely left that trail knowing they would be pursued."

Jang Hyeon-nam listened to Seo Joo-cheon's words with careful attention.