Chapter 47: Demonic Alliance (1)
‘The room is big and spacious.’
The furnishings were antique as well.
At a glance, it was clear the room’s owner—himself—held a fairly high status.
And there was one more peculiar detail. Empty liquor bottles were scattered all over the floor.
He looked in the mirror.
His appearance hadn’t changed at all.
The skills and stats in his status window were intact as well.
‘Hmm…’
First things first, he needed to get a read on the situation. He gestured for Hayangi to stay hidden and report back, then Kim Minwoo turned to the door and shouted.
“Anyone there?”
“Oh dear! Young master, did you cough?”
The door slid open smoothly, and a servant-looking fellow bowed his head in greeting.
“I’ll bring breakfast right awa—”
“Never mind that. Close the door and come over here.”
“Y-Yes…?”
“Hurry up!”
The man scrambled to shut the door and rush over when Kim Minwoo glared at him.
“F-Fifth Young Master. Wh-What’s the matter?”
Fifth Young Master, huh.
It was obvious he held some high status in the family.
“What’s your name.”
“…I’m Jang Sam! Jang the Third! It’s almost been a full year since I’ve served you, Young Master! How could you forget my name…”
“My memory’s fuzzy.”
“…Pardon?”
“Must be from all the drinking yesterday.”
Jang Sam tilted his head at that.
Then he spotted the bottles littering the corner of the room and nodded with a troubled expression.
“Give me the rundown on my situation and this place. Anything simple will do.”
“Um… well… This is the Demonic Alliance.”
[You have acquired the keyword ‘Demonic Alliance.’]
Jang Sam continued his explanation.
Demonic Alliance.
A coalition of unorthodox factions.
He himself was Baek So-cheon, the Fifth Young Master, the hidden son of the Demonic Alliance Leader.
“The Leader had been searching for you nonstop, and he found you exactly a year ago. That’s how you ended up here in the Demonic Alliance.”
“So I just tumbled in out of nowhere one day. Guess my position here isn’t so great, then?”
“Er… well…”
“Be honest.”
“After you arrived, Young Master, you haven’t exactly shown much promise… Well, there is one thing…”
“What’s that? My drinking skills?”
Nod.
Jang Sam nodded.
“Yes. Your martial prowess isn’t all that high, and… you’ve been pretty indolent the whole year, so now everyone just accepts it as who you are.”
The type who was so pathetic that no one even bothered to guard against him?
Not bad, actually.
“Jang Sam.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
“This is an unorthodox faction, right?”
“That’s right.”
“So even if I raise some corpses, they’d just shrug it off?”
“Corpses? Oh, you mean things like corpse manipulation or ghost summoning arts?”
“Something like that.”
“Of course. The righteous sects might care, but no one in the unorthodox factions bats an eye. Even the Demonic Cult would just go along with it.”
His class here was necromancer.
In a murim world like this, getting hunted down just for summoning skeletons wouldn’t be strange at all.
‘Is that why the start landed me in an unorthodox faction?’
At least that was a relief.
If even the unorthodox factions treated it as a crime, skeleton summons would’ve been completely sealed off.
Let’s sum up the situation.
He’d become a highborn young master of the unorthodox factions.
Baek So-cheon by name, but overlaid with his own skin.
‘Eh, pretty common in gates.’
He could live with that.
Either way.
From the looks of it, he was being treated like a total wastrel.
‘So what?’
What did he need to do next to clear this gate?
He recalled the gate’s name.
‘B+, War of the Stars.’
Seemed like it wanted flashy big shots to duke it out.
Fight the other four young masters and climb the ranks?
Get recognized as heir?
Or maybe there were other clear conditions.
“Jang Sam.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
“Anything big going on lately?”
“…Big events?”
“Yeah. Anything that comes to mind.”
“If you mean that… it’s gotta be the Dragon-Phoenix Tournament.”
[You have acquired the keyword ‘Dragon-Phoenix Tournament’!]
“Dragon-Phoenix Tournament?”
“Yes. All the top young experts from the righteous, unorthodox, and demonic sides gather for a showdown. Happens once every century.”
Oh ho.
This had some real potential.
“What counts as ‘top’?”
“The Demonic Cult, Martial Alliance, and our Demonic Alliance each select ten. That’s your stamp of approval as a top young gun.”
“And I’m not on the list, right?”
“…Obviously?”
“How do I get on it?”
“You’d have to show something worth seeing.”
Aha.
He was starting to get the picture.
That was when Jang Sam hesitantly asked.
“Uh, no way you’re thinking of entering the Dragon-Phoenix Tournament, Young Master?”
“What, I can’t?”
“N-No, you could, but… getting nominated now would be pretty tough…”
“Why?”
Jang Sam scratched his head.
“Well… our Demonic Alliance runs on a point system.”
“Points?”
“Yes. The Alliance posts mission bounties. Complete one, and your score goes up. Been like that since a year ago.”
“So some guys have racked up a ton already?”
“…Yeah. First Young Master’s already over 10,000, locked in first place.”
“What’s mine?”
“…Zero, obviously?”
What a mess.
“What’s tenth place got?”
“Fourth Young Master’s tenth with 3,800 points.”
“I see.”
“Yeah. Everyone’s been grinding missions like mad since a year ago. Catching up would be impossible…”
Jang Sam glanced at him cautiously before speaking up. He nodded.
‘Well, this is B+ level at least.’
This gate was even harder than the one where he took down that apostle. He hadn’t expected it to be a cakewalk.
Of course, he could probably bail without doing the Dragon-Phoenix whatever.
There was always the mid-zone escape hatch.
‘But…’
No reason not to join the tournament.
If he was the type to give up easy, he wouldn’t have attempted a first clear in the first place.
‘Dorim kept all this intel under wraps, huh.’
He recalled the Dorim Guild Master’s words.
Right after the clear.
He’d explained this was a murim stage.
‘But not details like this.’
Dragon-Phoenix Tournament?
Not a peep about even the Dragon-Phoenix heroes. They’d just said they took on murim faction missions, rallied the guild, worked hard, and cleared it.
No way that was all it took to snag a ring like that.
‘They definitely participated.’
Probably scored something notable and got rewarded.
“Just to check.”
“Yes.”
“If I beat Fourth Young Master, do I get his points or whatever?”
“…Pardon?”
“If I prove I’m stronger than the point leaders, can I just swipe their scores?”
“Uh, no? That’d make points meaningless…”
“Gotcha.”
“…Young Master, if I may speak from the heart as your loyal servant Jang Sam. That level of self-delusion is…”
“Stop. Don’t say it.”
“…Yes.”
Jang Sam deflated instantly. Not Kim Minwoo’s problem.
“Anyway, they’re not running a tournament like that with no prizes. What’s up for grabs?”
“Third place gets rare materials. Second gets a prized martial art. And first…”
Jang Sam’s eyes turned deadly serious.
“First place?”
“…It’s just a rumor to me. Ascension. They say it comes with a clue to Ascension.”
“…Ascension?”
Kim Minwoo’s eyes narrowed slightly.
He’d heard that word before.
He had heard it when he entered that orc-infested gate.
—Chit! You fools! How dare you forget the name of the one who underwent the Ascension ritual!
One of what the shaman Bektar had said. Mutakta ascended to the heavens, dooming the orc kingdom.
Same name.
High chance of a connection.
“Ascension means, what, flying off to immortality or something?”
“I wouldn’t know. But there’s one thing every martial artist knows.”
“What’s that.”
“Whoever gets the clue to Ascension inevitably reaches the pinnacle of the world. That’s why it sparks blood tribulations…”
“…Blood tribulations?”
“The Dragon-Phoenix Tournament only gets real at the end. That’s when the massive blood war kicks off. Simple reason. Who wouldn’t covet the clue to Ascension?”
“Hold up.”
He raised a hand.
“Speak, Young Master.”
“Something that amazing, why would the righteous, unorthodox, or demonic put it up as a prize? Who’s handing it out?”
“Heaven itself bestows it.”
“And they hold the tournament to claim it?”
“Yes. No tournament, no prize.”
He frowned.
This was trickier than he thought.
“Something that precious, even the Demonic Alliance Leader would want it, right?”
“Naturally. But Young Master, the young experts entering the Dragon-Phoenix Tournament aren’t there to claim the clue.”
“Then what?”
“They offer tributes to the higher powers and join to reap greater rewards in return.”
“…Do second and third offer up their prizes too?”
“No. They don’t covet those. Only the clue is like that. But no need to feel hard done by. Offer up the clue, and your faction gives you rewards grander than second and third combined.”
Aha.
So first place gets yoinked no matter what.
“Then even First Young Master would hand over the prize if he wins?”
“Yes. He’s already talked it over with the Leader. Same for you, Young Master. If you make top ten and get in… the Leader will make you an offer.”
Fascinating structure.
“Fine, whatever. Point is, first place triggers all-out war between the three factions.”
“Probably this time too.”
“…How do you survive that?”
“Haha. No need to worry about that, Young Master.”
“Our unorthodox side wins, and the righteous and demonic gang up on us. You look worry-free to me?”
“It’s a risk all three accept to hold the tournament. Besides, first place isn’t the target.”
“Because they offer the prize up top?”
“Exactly. So second and third prizes end up getting swarmed instead. Not many lunatics gunning for the Demonic Alliance Leader, Martial Alliance Chief, or Heavenly Demon.”
“Any word on what the clue to Ascension looks like?”
“Rumor says it’s a round orb, about this big?”
“Got it.”
He had a sense now.
Dorim Guild Master definitely didn’t take first.
He was sure.
If he had, one of two things: offered up the clue, or bolted from the gate without.
‘Neither makes sense.’
Bolt without offering?
The clue to Ascension or whatever.
Said to make you unrivaled under heaven. No way future Dorim Guild Master would be that weak if he had it.
Offered it up?
He’d have scored massive rewards. Yet Dorim’s skills were lackluster.
‘Didn’t use any standout martial arts either.’
Not first prize, the clue.
Not second, the martial art.
‘So third prize materials for the ring?’
Scraped together rare materials to craft it.
‘If third prize is that good…’
Second and first went without saying.
Insane rewards.
‘I’m taking the clue.’
Hand this treasure to some higher-up?
No such programming in Kim Minwoo’s brain.
Good things were for hogging.
No exceptions.
‘First…’
Secure entry quals. Time to dig into what those missions entailed.