The Sword Moves on Its Own
A feeling of being utterly alone in the world.
He wanted to escape that reality. That's why he'd poured every ounce of his strength into becoming a carrier.
By some stroke of luck, a path to becoming a raider had opened up. Passing the awakening test, he'd thought he'd follow in his father's footsteps down the raider's path—but that had been his delusion alone.
Ju Shin's intent was crystal clear.
We will never acknowledge a punk like you as a raider! We'll crush you by any means necessary!
Kim Jun nearly burst out laughing.
As the son of a raider, he was attacked by ordinary folk. As a talentless civilian, he was attacked by raiders.
Caught between both sides.
He hadn't chosen this position willingly... but fine. Just like the old days, anyone who messed with him would get it back—with interest.
Any admiration he'd held for Ju Shin was gone.
Now he understood why Yoo Min-jeong had no choice but to leave them.
A thug stood before him.
Beyond the thug, the squad leader postured dramatically, watching this way.
Deal with the thug first.
How does he control that knife? If I figure that out, maybe I can counter it somehow.
If it were transparent strings, Yoo Gwan-ho wouldn't be standing there like a spectator.
Was it just mental control? Like Jeong Taek-su's item Spitera, was that Jackknife linked to Yoo Gwan-ho through some magic circle?
If so, there might be a magic circle tattooed somewhere on his body as a weak point. But where?
The key was the Jackknife.
Externally, no machinery or mana emanated from the Jackknife. Instead, it felt like a heavy, profound mass of magical power lurked deep inside.
Curiosity stirred, but Kim Jun didn't forget what mattered now.
What I need to do is buy time.
Kim Jun glanced at Yoo Min-jeong and Choi Muhyun.
Their bodies were rigid, like wax dolls. Angry Roots writhed faintly across their shoulders and backs.
Turning his head, Kim Jun checked on Go Cheolmin.
The guild master, gnawing his lips in deep thought, would find a way to save them somehow.
The Jackknife sped up, but Kim Jun's handling of Spitera was growing more adept.
"Wanna play around?"
Kim Se-wi said.
Yoo Gwan-ho stared at him with a blank face. Suddenly, a mischievous grin pierced through the mask-like expression.
In that instant, Yoo Gwan-ho vanished without any preparatory motion, reappearing beside Choi Muhyun.
Slap.
Staring at Kim Jun, Yoo Gwan-ho backhanded Choi Muhyun's left cheek. His head snapped around.
Slap.
This time, a forehand to the right cheek. Scratches bloomed across the skin.
A smile curled at Yoo Gwan-ho's lips as he eyed the flustered Kim Jun. Think you can stall now?
"Hey!"
Kim Jun shouted.
Yoo Gwan-ho, now beside Yoo Min-jeong, stared at Kim Jun and raised his hand. With her body locked by acupoint strikes, all Yoo Min-jeong could do was squeeze her eyes shut.
"Stop!"
Kim Jun bellowed.
As Mokhon Gong exploded through his meridians, Mokhonbo Tan unfolded.
Yoo Gwan-ho thrust his hand forward at the approaching Kim Jun, who skimmed the floor like flight. The Jackknife flew toward that hand. Yoo Gwan-ho's legs twitched insect-like, left and right.
He vanished from the spot, burrowing through space to appear right in front of Kim Jun's nose.
The Jackknife plunged for his throat.
Spitera couldn't match the speed. Kim Jun barely raised the Cheonroegeom.
Boom!
The thunderous crash hurled Kim Jun back on a shockwave. He smashed a bronze statue and slammed into the wall. A massive dungeon raid mural crashed down from its hook.
Kim Jun hit the floor, his whole body throbbing.
Yoo Gwan-ho vanished again, reappearing right before him with a grin, stabbing at his chest with the Jackknife.
Thud.
The floor cratered under the tiny pocketknife. The infused inner power had pulverized it.
A chill ran through him; Kim Jun rolled aside instinctively. Seeing the power, he was speechless.
Yoo Gwan-ho's eyes gleamed as he turned to Kim Jun. He vanished once more—or seemed to, moving too fast for the eye.
This time, diving in from the left.
Kim Jun raised Cheonroegeom in a desperate block and flew back five meters, tumbling.
The Jackknife's force nearly tore his grip away, shredding his hands.
Yoo Gwan-ho gave no respite, pressing relentlessly—like a lion hunting an antelope, his focus immense.
He dodged the blade cleanly, yet razor winds shredded his clothes and split his skin. His Armani special suit was long since rags. Long gashes scarred his chest, back, arms, thighs—countless.
"Hah, hah... hah, hah."
Only Kim Jun's gasps echoed in the Honor Hall. Yoo Gwan-ho moved like a shadow in the silence.
In under three minutes, Kim Jun was exhausted enough to collapse. His style differed utterly from Medici's tanker, Jeong Taek-su.
Jeong Taek-su fought with ruthless efficiency. His goal was item acquisition, not battle itself.
This dealer, though... he was a beast.
No—a monster.
Kim Jun felt the other's killing intent with every heartbeat, a raw desire to pierce his heart. Murder was Yoo Gwan-ho's very purpose.
Yoo Gwan-ho accelerated further.
In under a minute, the Jackknife buried into Kim Jun's left forearm. Bone cracked; the already swollen arm now bled profusely.
Kim Jun staggered back.
Insanely fast. Is this Tiger Beetle Walk?
Tap-tap, tap-tap.
Blood-smeared Jackknife in hand, Yoo Gwan-ho stepped lightly left, right—like a boxer shuffling. His speed made it seem like teleportation.
Heels slightly raised.
Licking the Jackknife, Yoo Gwan-ho lunged again.
Clang!
Luckily blocked this time. Predicting the Jackknife's position before he vanished, Kim Jun swung Cheonroegeom—and it struck the flat of the blade.
Sizzle!
Sparks blinded him momentarily.
Kim Jun swept Cheonroegeom horizontally. Yoo Gwan-ho was already five meters away, still tapping his steps.
Kim Jun's eyes narrowed amid gasps.
That bizarre footwork reminded him of a fascinating documentary.
About the world's fastest animal. Its tiny insect body moved too fast for eyes to track—equivalent to 600 km/h in human scale.
Half the speed of sound.
Its name... Tiger Beetle.
A gloriously armored bug—and its motion matched Yoo Gwan-ho's eerily.
Tiger Beetles pause mid-motion sometimes. Their brains can't process the massive visual input all at once.
Clinging to faint hope, Kim Jun moved toward the statues and bronzes on display.
Yoo Gwan-ho charged ferociously.
Thrusting Cheonroegeom, Kim Jun couldn't withstand the Jackknife's force and crashed into a statue. Suppressing near-fainting pain, he shattered it with Cheonroegeom, scattering debris across the floor.
Yoo Gwan-ho, lunging to end it, slipped on the shards, lost balance, and hit the wall.
Seize the moment!
Kim Jun manipulated Spitera, wrapping Yoo Gwan-ho's ankle in earth. Imagining wringing a wet towel, he clenched his fist—the soil tightened.
Crack.
Bone ground audibly.
Yoo Gwan-ho's face twisted in pain as he swung the Jackknife at the Spitera on his ankle.
Kim Jun hastily recalled it.
Staggering up, Yoo Gwan-ho checked his ankle.
Then, applause from the opposite side.
Clap-clap-clap.
Kim Se-wi.
"Truly... impressive the more I watch. Scattering obstacles on the floor in that situation, sealing off Tiger Beetle Walk. Speed creates vision issues, sure. Spotting that instantly, luring him in, neutralizing it—such a waste of talent. If you'd been born a raider, I'd take you into Medici Team right now."
Only then, hearing the explanation, did Choi Muhyun, Yoo Min-jeong, Yeom Sang-taek, Lee Taeseop, and the others grasp what Kim Jun had pulled off against Ju Shin's monstrous dealer.
Kim Jun eyed Go Cheolmin.
Go Cheolmin ignored the fierce battle entirely, focused solely on Choi Muhyun and Yoo Min-jeong. His expression seemed almost serene.
Found a way? Then I just need to buy time. I've shaken Yoo Gwan-ho—now talk him down...
Yoo Gwan-ho gnashed his teeth and stabbed his twisted ankle with the Jackknife. Yanking it out tore flesh; blood poured.
Kim Jun was speechless.
Then, bluish-gray metal oozed from beneath the skin, plating his ankle like scales. From mid-calf to sole, dense metallic scales formed—pain vanished from his face.
Bouncing lightly, testing his ankle.
"P-Plantem!"
Lee Taeseop cried.
Items implanted in the body, activatable at will—called Plantems. No risk of loss, and they absorbed the owner's mana or inner power over time, far surpassing normal items.
The issue: side effects.
The immune system attacked them as impurities; retaliation harmed the body. Only a rare few raiders, pre-approved for compatibility, could implant Plantems.
Yoo Gwan-ho flashed a dark smile—then vanished from sight.
Kim Jun dodged sideways, but the Jackknife grazed his earlobe. Flesh split, blood flowed—ear intact, thankfully.
Damn, even faster. Same trick won't work...
Yoo Gwan-ho charged again; Kim Jun trusted instinct.
Boom!
Cheonroegeom and battle sense barely parried; Kim Jun flew back again. Stamina waning.
Then Yoo Gwan-ho vanished once more.
Instinct pulled Kim Jun back—he spotted Yoo Gwan-ho by Yoo Min-jeong.
"No!"
Yoo Gwan-ho glanced at Kim Jun and slashed Yoo Min-jeong's cheek with the Jackknife.
Blood dripped to the floor.
Approaching slowly. Clear message: Run, and she dies first.
Yoo Gwan-ho vanished from Kim Jun's eyes.
Beyond him, only Yoo Min-jeong—frozen like a mannequin, bleeding, face too rigid for pain, eyes trembling with her heart.
I'm fine.
Don't push yourself.
Escape while you can.
Realizing it, strength surged into his Cheonroegeom grip. Cheonnoe Heart Technique, inert in his dantian, stirred—rushed through arm to hand. The hilt softened, merging with his flesh.
Hand and sword as one, yet unfelt. His gaze fixed on Yoo Min-jeong.
Flash. Light filled his vision.
As it faded, lines appeared. Slow at times, fast others—etched into space itself.
Familiar lines.
Kim Jun's eyes widened.
That time... that...
The day he'd rescued kidnapped Choi Muhyun, an unstoppable arrow had flown. Impossible to dodge or block—yet Kim Jun had deflected it.
No—Cheonroegeom had moved itself.
Those were the lines he'd seen.
Yoo Gwan-ho vanished in Tiger Beetle Walk, but nearby lines traced his path for Kim Jun.
The lines converged to a point—Cheonroegeom moved Kim Jun.
Regardless of his will, left foot pushed smoothly forward; right knee bent naturally. Shoulder opened, right hand thrust—Cheonroegeom's tip pierced the point precisely.
Clang!
Cheonroegeom repelled the Jackknife.
It even targeted Yoo Gwan-ho's brow mid-lunge. Startled, he dodged sideways—Cheonroegeom effortlessly severed his ear.
Sparks from Cheonroegeom cauterized it.
A shriveled black lump hit the floor.
Yoo Gwan-ho recoiled in shock; the embedded Jackknife flew from the wall to his hand.
Astounded by Cheonroegeom's power, Kim Jun was speechless.
Then, skull-splitting pain—eyes clenched shut. The surroundings changed.
Not the Honor Hall.
No monstrous Yoo Gwan-ho, no mannequin-still friends, no guild master, no others.
Instead of ceiling, azure sky with drifting white clouds.
A low stone wall caught his eye; before it, a majestic cherry tree bursting with pink blossoms. A breeze scattered petals like rain.
Kim Jun checked his body.
Broken left arm painless. Right hand skin flawless. No burn scars from Po-noe Strike.
Then, under the cherry tree: a boy swinging a sword, an old man watching.
Seeing the boy, Kim Jun realized where this was.
Yeon Ga's inner courtyard? The place I saw last visit. That boy... Yeon Chung-jae? Yes—the face from when I learned Po-noe. So this is Yeon Chung-jae's memory?
How to escape? As he pondered, the boy's extended sword stroke caught his eye.
The exact form Cheonroegeom had used: blocking Jackknife, slicing Yoo Gwan-ho's ear.
Curiosity piqued, Kim Jun walked toward the cherry tree.
