Nightmare of the Past
'Really, that level of skill and you're a Peng?'
'Wow, he's really weak. What a waste of good bloodline.'
Images I'd desperately tried to erase from my mind now replayed frame by frame, as familiar as ever. Was I dreaming right now? It felt like the stories from my childhood were looping again.
'Talent's influence is infinite, and effort can't overcome its domain.'
'...This child has no talent for sword arts. No, it seems he has no aptitude for martial arts at all.'
From a young age, I'd built powerful external martial arts through physical training, layering internal energy onto my blade for devastating strikes. It was the alpha and omega of the Northern Hebei Peng Family—but not for me. No, not for Yujin. I had zero talent for sword arts.
Actually, it wasn't the sword arts themselves. The root problem was more fundamental: internal energy. Yujin had a body that couldn't use it.
'I just can't understand how he can't use martial arts.'
'Isn't he just some mongrel? The Peng Family head stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the undefeated sword of the Moyong family, Moyong Hwi, but it seems even good blood can't overcome dirty veins.'
It always boiled down to criticism turning into outright condemnation. The cause of my Absolute Pulse remained a mystery.
Even drawing from game knowledge, there was no special mention. But who cares about the process? The result was clear: in the wuxia world, a body unable to cultivate internal energy meant you were doomed to be culled.
'Why? Why can't I do it?'
Head knew it, but Yujin couldn't let go of that lingering attachment. He threw himself into external arts. Luckily, not all his efforts were in vain. As a member of the Northern Hebei Peng Family—known as the hell-spawn race of the wuxia world—his bloodline shone through where internal energy failed. He achieved massive success in external arts, unmatched by anyone.
...Of course, that very effort only proved the unbreakable limit of his body without internal energy.
As a kid, he thought relentless training would improve things eventually. But years passed. Losing to a family outsider disciple in sparring was a year ago now, and lately, even low-tier Sapa warriors beat him. Those were the fragments of Yujin's daily life in my memories.
"What a fucking shitty experience."
Straight-line heir getting beaten by Sapa street trash? His siblings had cut ties long ago. Even his mother and family head, who used to comfort his dejected younger self, now deliberately looked away.
But it was okay. 'Yujin, you worked hard again today, didn't you?'
He had his childhood friend and lover from way back, Namgung Yeona. She was his mental pillar.
'Good job.'
Her gentle touch on his calloused hands, acknowledging his efforts, hugging him—that dissolved all the pent-up sorrow welling in his eyes.
Yeona accepted Yujin as he was, even when everyone else shunned him.
In his isolation, talking with her melted away all worries.
— 'It's perfect dusk—prime stargazing time. Hurry, Yeona!'
'Okay!'
One day, he'd dragged her by the hand to an empty lot on the village outskirts.
Yujin had prepared an event to show his gratitude: fireworks.
Gunpowder was strictly controlled by the court, but weak civilian fireworks for play were quietly overlooked. Kids handling it? Not so much. But stumbling on this beautiful sight outside town, he couldn't resist showing Yeona—risking punishment later.
'I hope Yeona likes it.'
Yujin lacked martial talent, but his hands were skilled. He crafted gifts for her. This fireworks show was handmade too.
Of course, as reality crushed him and perceptions soured, they drifted apart. Now it was a distant memory. But one thing was certain.
At least back then, he was happy. His beaming smile in the memory proved it.
'Ready?'
Light the fuse on the bamboo tube packed with powder.
It burns short, then bangs—exploding outward, painting the night sky with fireworks.
Lost in the harmony of light and dark, they stared.
'Wow, so pretty.'
Talentless, no standing in the family—he could only offer this. Her pure joy washed away his hardships like flowing water.
But the smuggled materials were scant, so the show ended too soon.
'This is my first time experiencing something like this.'
Yet the afterglow lingered in her eyes, holding the moment long after.
A gentle breeze closed it with pleasant laughter.
'The most beautiful flower I've ever received. Thank you, Yujin.'
Her smile was so radiant he stared, entranced. 'When I grow up great, I'll show you an even bigger, flashier fireworks show.'
'Really?'
'Of course. I'll learn and master more, and definitely show you.'
'Promise!'
Childhood Yujin, making a promise he could never keep.
Yeah, at least until then, they had solid trust. An old, hazy memory from who-knows-when. Now a hated bond he'd carve out, but he didn't want to taint even those pure days.
But the memory twists, confirming the shattered trust—like a final nail.
'Y-Yujin? Wh-what is this place?'
Thud.
'...How.'
The turning point that plunged Yujin into abyss: witnessing his fiancée's affair at the post-game gathering.
Crack—like shattering glass, cracks spread from the memory's edge.
Yeona with Moyong Shin, fragments piercing, quickening his breath.
Noise floods his vision like vertigo, mind reeling.
Why, why?
The clinging pair looks filthy, repulsive.
'...Yeona.'
Answer me.
'Yeona!'
Answer!
— "You fucking bitch!"
Hah, hah.
I bolt awake, gasping. Memories mashed into a nightmare projection. Too vivid for a dream, blending real events.
Body slept, but mind didn't—nauseating fatigue hits late. Soaked in cold sweat, shivering.
The target feels a sense of kinship with you.
Favorability has increased by 10 (100/16)
[You alright there?]
Hendrick eyed me worriedly.
[Did I talk too much yesterday? If that's why you slept poorly, sorry. I'll hold back from now on.]
"No, just a nightmare."
Stripping off my sweat-soaked clothes chased away the nagging grime. Tried thinking of other things to forget the bad dream, but thoughts circled back to her betrayal.
What to do? I rub my face against the wall, dry-wiping.
One thing's sure: in this shitty worldview, Yujin isn't the only victim. And those two aren't the only perpetrators.
Game illustrations' silhouettes flash by.
This world ain't trustworthy. Especially relationships.
Staring blankly at ceiling cracks—sun not up yet, still early.
Leaning on the wall for invisible fatigue relief, Hendrick—who'd been circling—piped up, considerate.
[Sorry if it feels pushy. Still, prepping against those bastards ASAP seems wise, but condition management's key too. Rest today?]
"Nah, one sleepless night won't kill me. Gotta do what needs doing."
Surviving on this uninhabited island—most details faded, but one stuck: the Rule of 333.
Humans last 3 minutes without air, 3 days without water, 3 weeks without food.
Day two with zero supplies stocked? It'll get rough. Move while there's leeway.
Hendrick said wild berries on the trail outskirts, shellfish on beach rocks near the stern, fish too. Problem: no freshwater.
Must secure drinking water somehow.
Body tired, mind sharp—no more sleep coming.
Checked my state again, forced my weary body up.
—The target feels a sense of kinship with you. Favorability increased by 10 (100/16)
'Huh?'
Dazed, I belatedly noticed the system alert.
Something weird with favorability—tied to Hendrick.
Me, what'd I do? Just slept and woke—yet it rose. I glance at him slyly.
[What's up? Something wrong?]
"Oh, nothing."
Hmm, what gives? Good's good, but feels off.
[Seems those bastards retreated to the forest. Safe to move now.]
"Ah, yeah."
Hendrick looks unchanged—I just scratch my head.