Chapter 9: Obtaining a Fortuitous Encounter-1
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 9: Obtaining a Fortuitous Encounter-1
Inside the cavern, the tunnels were divided into roughly four sections.
Sun-woo began by examining the first tunnel.
It appeared to be a storage area for food, as it contained about five large jars filled to the brim with Fasting Pills.
Sun-woo took one out and tasted it.
Even though Fasting Pills were considered the ultimate survival food—providing perfect nutrition during closed-door meditation—he had to consider the possibility that they might have spoiled after twenty years.
Crunch.
The texture of the pill as he chewed was surprisingly excellent.
Smack, smack.
After a few chews, it even had a pleasant softness as it broke down.
Of course, it tasted absolutely terrible, but it lacked the sourness typical of spoiled food.
Once he confirmed the Fasting Pills were fine, Sun-woo began to count the remaining stock.
In the novel High School Senior Goes to Murim, Fasting Pills were described as a complete food source. A single pill provided enough calories and nutrients to maintain one's muscle mass and body weight for an entire day.
Assuming he could survive on one pill a day, he began a rough calculation of how long he could hold out.
'About 200 pills per jar, and there are five jars... so I can easily last about three years.'
Fortunately, the supply of Fasting Pills was more than abundant; it was overflowing.
This was, of course, assuming they hadn't all gone bad.
Lee Jae-won had spent about two months in this hideout.
True to a novel that threw narrative logic out the window in favor of being a "power fantasy," the protagonist had leaped from the Super-Peak Realm to the Transcendent Realm in just two months.
Thanks to that, the consumption of Fasting Pills had been minimal.
For the first time, Sun-woo felt a spark of gratitude toward the author.
If the author had forced the protagonist to rot here for years, Sun-woo would have starved to death.
Relieved that his food concerns were settled, Sun-woo felt a sense of peace.
Since Lee Jae-won would return for him in a couple of months after finishing his travels, he just needed to survive on Fasting Pills until then.
Living on nothing but Fasting Pills for months would be torture for someone with a modern palate, but it was certainly better than dying.
After checking all the pills, Sun-woo left the first tunnel and headed for the second.
The second tunnel was unusual; its entrance was blocked by an iron door.
It was a stark contrast to the wide-open entrance of the first tunnel.
Creeeeeak.
Squeak.
As he pushed the door, the rusted hinges groaned and slowly gave way.
Before his eyes lay a vast array of weapons—swords, sabers, spears, bows, halberds, whips, rings, gauntlets, and even suits of armor—all organized by type.
The weapons were further categorized by size.
It seemed the iron door had been installed specifically to turn this area into an armory for the preservation of metal armaments.
Sun-woo’s jaw dropped at the magnificent sight of so many weapons lined up in perfect order.
It felt as if someone had prepared everything because they didn't know what he would like.
'Talk about an obscene display of wealth...'
He couldn't even fathom how much money had been poured into this collection.
Closing his mouth, Sun-woo—acting like the swordsman he now was—first approached the rack of swords to check their condition.
Shring.
Unlike the scabbard, which showed the passage of time, the blade inside boasted incredible sharpness.
At this level of craftsmanship, it would easily be considered a masterwork in the outside world.
"This is a jackpot!"
Sun-woo set the sword down, already planning to take a few with him to sell later.
After a brief inspection of the second tunnel, he moved on to the third.
The third tunnel was also blocked by a door, much like the armory, but strangely, the material was wood rather than iron.
Unable to hide his curiosity, Sun-woo opened the door.
The moment it swung open, he was greeted by a cool temperature and a fragrant aroma.
'Could it be... elixirs?!'
With a racing heart, Sun-woo quickly began to scan the interior.
Inside the wooden door, numerous boxes that looked like storage containers were lined up in rows.
Sun-woo picked one up and hurriedly flipped it open.
Click.
Inside the box lay a single Fleeceflower, still smelling strongly of the earth.
Sun-woo couldn't contain his excitement at the sight.
His hunch had been right.
The third tunnel was a storehouse for elixirs.
Sun-woo examined the Fleeceflower closely.
Fleeceflowers were one of the representative elixirs commonly found in Murim novels.
Their age was usually determined by their size, and judging by the one in the box, it was clearly at least a hundred years old.
Sun-woo quickly closed the box containing the Hundred-Year Fleeceflower and, with eyes gleaming, turned his attention to the other boxes.
There were still many left.
With a persistent grin, he began opening them one by one.
Click.
To his disappointment, the next box was empty.
'...Right. The protagonist must have eaten some, so they can't all be full.'
His expectations dipped slightly, but looking at the sheer number of boxes, he remained hopeful.
The protagonist had only been here for two months; surely he couldn't have devoured all of this?
Click.
Click.
Click.
But no matter how many boxes he opened, there wasn't a single elixir to be found.
"Wait, what the hell?! Did he eat everything?!"
Click.
Click.
Click.
By the time he had opened every single box, Sun-woo was in despair.
Aside from the Hundred-Year Fleeceflower from the first box, there were no other elixirs to speak of.
"That crazy bastard! He ate all of this by himself?! And logically, if you eat it, shouldn't you replace it?!"
Sun-woo screamed, hurling justified insults at the protagonist. He felt like he would burst if he didn't say something.
He finally understood how the protagonist had achieved such nonsensical martial progress.
The guy was a total drug addict.
"You junkie bastard. I hope you get erectile dysfunction and go bald."
After disparaging the "junkie," Sun-woo grabbed the Hundred-Year Fleeceflower and prepared to leave the third tunnel.
However, in the bottom corner where the Fleeceflower box had been, he spotted a very small container.
Hoping for the best, Sun-woo pulled it out and opened it.
Inside was a small jade bottle.
"What's this?"
Sun-woo pulled the stopper.
Pop.
With a refreshing sound, the seal broke, and a crisp, cool fragrance began to envelop his nose.
"Stal... Stalactite Fluid!?!?"
To his shock, the liquid inside the jade bottle was indeed Stalactite Fluid.
Though Jang Sam was a mere MacGuffin, as the eldest disciple of the Alliance Leader, he had a history of consuming numerous elixirs in his youth.
Even though it had been a long time, he had once been given a single drop of Stalactite Fluid, allowing him to deduce the identity of the liquid in the bottle.
"Holy shit!!!!!"
The curse word escaped Sun-woo's lips out of pure joy.
Stalactite Fluid, which was said to build explosive internal energy with just a single drop, wasn't just here in a drop—it was an entire bottle.
He realized that there truly was a way out of every desperate situation.
He felt a tiny speck of gratitude toward the author he had wanted to kill—a speck no larger than a flea's toenail.
It seemed Lee Jae-won's "clumsy" character trait had brought him an unexpected stroke of luck.
"Author, thank you. If we ever meet, I'll kill you painlessly."
Sun-woo promised a painless death as his way of showing gratitude.
He resealed the jade bottle of Stalactite Fluid and carefully placed it back in its box.
He set the two boxes side-by-side in the same spot and stepped out of the tunnel.
He wanted to consume them immediately to boost his internal energy, but exploring the tunnels came first.
Besides, he had plenty of time.
Sun-woo headed straight for the fourth tunnel.
The fourth tunnel was sealed with a heavily rusted iron door.
Creeeeeeeeeak.
Unlike the other doors, this one was severely warped and wouldn't open easily.
"Hnnngh!"
When the door refused to budge despite his straining, Sun-woo circulated his internal energy.
Whirrr.
He felt power surging into his limbs.
Creeeeeeak!
Finally, the door gave way, revealing the secret of the fourth tunnel.
As he threw the door open, the scent of old paper, typical of an ancient bookstore, wafted out.
Peering inside, he saw rows upon rows of books packed tightly together.
The fourth tunnel was apparently a library of secret manuals.
Sun-woo pulled a few out at random and scanned the titles.
He couldn't help but be stunned.
Mount Hua's Twenty-Four Move Plum Blossom Sword Technique, Shaolin's Hundred-Step Divine Fist, the Diancang Sect's Sun-Shooting Sword Technique, the Beggar Sect's Dog-Beating Staff Technique, the Namgung Clan's Ten Thunders of Heaven Sword, the Moyong Clan's Galaxy Sword Art... Numerous secret techniques of the Orthodox Faction were gathered here.
Sun-woo stood there with his mouth agape.
He had guessed there might be some decent martial arts here, but this was way beyond the limit.
What exactly was a "secret manual"?
Wasn't it called a secret because it was meant to be passed down only to one's descendants in total secrecy?
And yet, these sects had handed over their core secret manuals to the Murim Alliance? He felt that the narrative logic was beyond broken.
In the world of martial arts, if the forms or characteristics of a technique were leaked, it was easy for others to find a counter.
Therefore, a martial artist would rather die than reveal their secrets.
For the sake of their sect or family, they would never let their techniques be taken.
At least, that was the kind of world Murim was supposed to be, according to Sun-woo's knowledge.
But it seemed the author of High School Senior Goes to Murim had absolutely no respect for the setting of a Wuxia novel.
"What a lunatic."
Sun-woo spat out a curse.
However, looking at the manuals again through the eyes of Jang Sam, a feeling of gratitude toward the author resurfaced.
From the perspective of Jang Sam, who was already a Peak Martial Artist, simply reading the secret manuals of various sects could lead to immense enlightenment.
Even if they weren't from the same lineage of martial arts, the core principles of enlightenment written in those manuals ultimately shared the same root.
Every sect and clan had its own interpretation and commentary on enlightenment.
Some were abstract, like grasping at clouds, while others were realistic and based on actual combat.
Descendants would then add their own notes, refining the martial arts over time.
Making them easier to understand, more efficient to use.
As history accumulated through the study of martial arts, the techniques evolved, and the sects and clans flourished.
Therefore, it was no exaggeration to say that Sun-woo, having obtained the secret manuals of these great families, had encountered the ultimate fortuitous encounter.
He could steal the history they had built over hundreds of years without any effort at all.
The author of High School Senior Goes to Murim possessed writing skills and a sense of logic that were not just terrible, but borderline nauseating.
Yet, now that he was actually inside the novel, it was thanks to that garbage logic that he could save his life and even obtain elixirs and manuals to become stronger.
The conflict between Sun-woo the reader, who felt disgusted, and Jang Sam the martial artist, who felt grateful, created an ever-growing sense of dissonance.
"At this rate, am I going to end up kissing the guy if I ever meet him?"
Sun-woo worried about the possibility.
If the advantage of merging with Jang Sam was martial prowess and knowledge of the world twenty years later, the disadvantage was this emotional dissonance.
Since the two had become one, it was only natural to feel this way, but he had no intention of forgiving the author, who was his sworn enemy.
"I'll make sure to slit his throat before this hatred fades."
Having made his resolve, Sun-woo began to dig through the manuals on the shelves again.
The library didn't just contain Orthodox martial arts.
From sexual arts to heterodox arts, demonic arts, dark arts, immortal arts, and even techniques from the Outer Murim—everything was there.
It was truly the pinnacle of "convenience-based setting" by an author who had clearly eaten his own sense of logic for breakfast.
He couldn't even bring himself to laugh anymore.
He decided to just enjoy this trashy narrative logic.
Though he desperately wanted to nitpick every detail, he chose to let it go.
As long as he was possessed by this novel, he was a martial artist, not a reader.
The opportunity to access so many martial arts manuals was, without exaggeration, the chance of a lifetime for any martial artist.
As his thoughts settled, his mind felt clearer.
To survive.
To return home.
"I'll even make use of this garbage setting."
Sun-woo began searching for useful techniques.
He planned to read most of the Orthodox manuals, but for demonic or heterodox arts, he intended to approach them cautiously, as the risks of simply reading them were high.
Part of him wanted to learn a demonic art that was fast to master and incredibly powerful, but doing so would undoubtedly make him an enemy of the Cheonmu Alliance.
The Great Demon Emperor's Divine Art of Transformation, the Soul-Slaying Qigong, the Traceless Killing Method, the Heavenly Slaughter Qigong... many terrifying names lined the shelves, but Sun-woo tossed them aside without regret.
That was when a very tattered book in the corner caught his eye.
Sun-woo picked it up.
Phew—
Since it was covered in thick dust, he blew on it before checking the title.
Yin-Yang Harmony Divine Art.
From the title alone, it gave off a strong vibe of being a sexual art.
Driven by curiosity, Sun-woo opened the book and began to read.
I am the one known as Lee Ho-seon.
The world calls me the Yin-Yang Demon and trembles in fear.
I was born with a body that was neither woman nor man, and I grew up facing all sorts of contempt...
"What?! The Yin-Yang Demon!?!?"
Upon seeing the author's alias, Sun-woo's eyes widened like saucers.