Chapter 11
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: Murim Tournament (2)
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The referee, watching her movements, tilted his head.
He grasped her wrist like he was examining a sword and furrowed his brow. After concentrating for a while, he nodded.
"Third-rate, confirmed!"
The crowd erupted in cheers at the referee's declaration.
"Woooaaah!"
She and Si-woo faced each other. She cupped her fists in a salute.
Her voice was neutral, mismatched with her face.
"I am... Hwa Mu-rin."
Si-woo returned the salute toward Hwa Mu-rin.
"Choi Si-woo."
No more words were needed.
Dung-!
The drum resounded.
Si-woo pointed his sword at her. She wasn't someone a surprise attack would work on, so he planned to exploit an opening. But he couldn't spot any gaps.
Hwa Mu-rin stared at Si-woo with unshakable poise.
'Heavy.'
He converted his entire body's Mixed Origin Qi to heaviness and charged. His thighs, amplified by [Low-Grade Body Reinforcement], kicked off the ground.
If there were no openings, he'd force one.
Paat- Klang!
A straightforward overhead strike.
But the moment their swords clashed, he amplified the weight.
Hwa Mu-rin, who had blocked Si-woo's sword, grimaced slightly.
Hwa Mu-rin's balance faltered a bit. The unexpected impact created several openings.
Si-woo's sword strikes, honed through real combat, followed.
Hwa Mu-rin's hands busied themselves.
"Ngh...!"
Her initial fluster passed, and Hwa Mu-rin's defense stabilized.
Klang! Klang!
'This won't work.'
The hard-earned openings were closing one by one.
Heavy alone couldn't pierce that defense.
'Fast.'
When heavy failed, Si-woo switched his Mixed Origin Qi to fast. It was his first time changing attributes mid-battle, but his heightened senses made it seamless.
Si-woo's sword quickened by a beat.
"Hup!"
Chaeng! Chaeng!
Their swords met with sharp clashes echoing fiercely.
Si-woo swung his blade, sinking deeper into a trance.
It was an even match.
But his inner power was lacking. Over half his Mixed Origin Qi was already gone.
Fast wasn't enough either.
'Fast, Heavy.'
The Mixed Origin Qi rapidly alternated between the two attributes.
Massive power began infusing his swift strikes.
Hwa Mu-rin's relaxed expression grew serious.
Klang- Klang! Kaang!
In an instant, they exchanged dozens of blows. Si-woo's senses sharpened further.
At some point,
he couldn't even distinguish if the Mixed Origin Qi held fast or heavy.
He ignored the Mixed Origin Qi entirely.
Pouring all his focus into Hwa Mu-rin's final remaining opening.
A thrust with everything he had.
Squeezing out his remaining strength and inner power, he thrust his sword.
Sheeek!
Hwa Mu-rin, face hardened, thrust back. Her motion seemed to skip steps; her sword was already coming.
Ching-!
Their sword tips met, sending a fierce rebound through his arms.
'Ah...!'
A sharp pain shot through his arms, snapping Si-woo from his trance.
Stinging agony. His inner power had bottomed out.
It was a shame. If only he had more inner power, he could have swung once more before this sensation faded...
'No helping it.'
His body was utterly spent. His sword tip trembled.
Si-woo stepped back, catching his breath. Freed from the trance, his ragged breathing hit him.
"Hoo..."
A month of good food and training, but he was born a rich young master. His stamina fell short.
Hwa Mu-rin nodded at the exhausted Si-woo and raised her sword to middle guard.
Her sword pointed at Si-woo.
In that instant.
The distant blade suddenly loomed large.
'Urk!'
Si-woo barely reacted, blocking the sword inches from his face.
Then, Hwa Mu-rin's blade curved like a snake,
and slithered past his guard to rest against his throat.
"Hah...!"
A complete defeat.
It was the first proper martial art he'd witnessed.
Like seeing a technique from the wuxia novels he'd imagined.
"Haha..."
Si-woo laughed unwittingly.
Hwa Mu-rin admired him in turn.
"You're impressive... You'll become a master someday."
Whiiiistle-!
The crowd whistled and cheered.
"Woooaaah!"
"Uwaaaah!! Nooo!!"
Si-woo dragged his weary body off the stage. Exhausted, but having poured everything out, he felt refreshed.
Hwa Mu-rin stood motionless on stage.
The referee counted out, but no challenger appeared.
In the end, the prize—the 100-Year Hwasu Root—went to Hwa Mu-rin. She accepted the elixir with an awkward smile.
Seeing the elixir up close, Si-woo felt a twinge of regret. But he brushed it off. The growth from the bout mattered more.
As he watched Hwa Mu-rin salute the crowd,
a raspy voice came from behind.
"Ah... Ah...!"
Turning at the weird noise, Si-woo saw
Bi Seong-ja trembling with bloodshot eyes.
*
After the tournament ended, he tried consoling Bi Seong-ja.
"D-don't be too down. Money comes and goes, right?"
"Agh... Th-this is a scam... Sniff..."
Only strange noises came from Bi Seong-ja. Tears streamed down; it was a pitiful sight.
But Si-woo understood a bit. Losing what you'd gained was the worst, and back-to-back defeats after his windfall had broken him.
Like winning the lottery, only to realize it was a previous draw?
He felt oddly sorry, though he'd done nothing wrong.
"Aw... Take care. I'm off."
He left Bi Seong-ja shivering on the ground.
*
He headed to the inn to rest.
But someone called out, running up.
"Young hero!"
It was Hwa Mu-rin.
"Young hero! Good, you haven't left. I have something to say."
"Huh? What is it?"
"Well... I feel a bit sorry."
"Sorry for what? We fought fair and square; that's all."
Hwa Mu-rin flinched at Si-woo's words.
"Ur... Saying that makes me feel worse. Anyway, take this."
Fidgeting awkwardly, Hwa Mu-rin handed over a rectangular box.
The tournament prize: 100-Year Hwasu Root.
"Hwasu Root...? Why give this?"
"Well... Anyway! It's yours now. It wouldn't work on me anyway."
Si-woo scratched his cheek, accepting it. Grateful, but taking a free elixir felt off.
"Nah... Feels weird taking it for free. Here, take this at least."
Si-woo rummaged in his pocket and pulled out a chocolate.
Hwa Mu-rin stared oddly at Si-woo as she took it,
tilting her head and fiddling with it.
"...What's this? It's hard."
"Like candy? Sort of. It's a snack called chocolate."
"Snack...? Fancy packaging."
Hwa Mu-rin peeled off the foil seriously and inspected the chocolate.
Sniff sniff.
She sniffed it and tilted her head.
"Doesn't seem poisoned..."
"Of course not. What do you take me for?"
Glancing at Si-woo, Hwa Mu-rin's red tongue peeked out.
Lick-
After tasting a bit, her eyes widened. She cautiously bit into it.
"Eek! Sw-sweet! How long's it been..."
A high-pitched squeal rang out. Hwa Mu-rin bit again.
Like a squirrel nibbling an acorn.
"Mmm...! Ack! Ahem... Th-thank you. So sweeet."
The high tone vanished with coughs. Si-woo chuckled dryly.
"Anyway, how long you planning to keep up that clumsy male disguise?"
"M-male disguise...? H-how...?"
'Anyone can tell, idiot...?'
Obvious she was a woman, yet clueless. Si-woo shook the Hwasu Root box.
"Ah, sorry. No big deal. Anyway, thanks for it. See you."
"W-wait...!"
*
He reached the inn, but Hwa Mu-rin followed inside.
She muttered.
"Amazing... How'd she know? Hey, waiter."
The waiter approached smiling.
"Yes, welcome!"
Hwa Mu-rin stroked her chin, striking a model pose.
"How do I look?"
The waiter hesitated, then forced a grin.
"Ah... Haha! Like a handsome rogue, milord."
"Right...? Thanks. Two portions of decent food, then. Oh! And Bamboo Leaf Liquor."
"...Yes! Right away!"
The waiter scurried off.
Hwa Mu-rin stroked her green bracelet with mysterious runes, muttering.
"Working well...?"
Si-woo, watching, felt uneasy. A strange energy emanated from the bracelet. But too late now; he ignored it.
"Well, looks pretty to me, so that's that."
"Wh-what...? P-pretty?!"
Flustered, Hwa Mu-rin touched her face. Then sighed in relief.
"Weird... Pretty?"
Average at best, but her pale skin made her quite beautiful.
'Casual speech now?'
"Yeah, pretty."
"Really? Hehe! Silly me... Pretty, huh? Hee-"
She giggled cutely, then composed herself, staring at Si-woo's face.
"Hmm...?"
Then the waiter set down Bamboo Leaf Liquor and simple sides.
Food arrived incredibly fast, yet high quality.
"Oh... Bean sprouts?"
Si-woo ate, impressed.
Good, she wasn't prying.
Watching him, Hwa Mu-rin licked her lips, hesitating before speaking.
"By the way... When you pulled that chocolate from your pocket earlier..."
Si-woo paused mid-chopsticks.
"You took it from your pocket... But no way it fit. Shape was different too."
Si-woo wiped his mouth with his sleeve, mumbling.
"Must've misseen."
Hwa Mu-rin pouted, pondered, then said.
"Fine. Let's trade."
"Trade what?"
She spread her pale palms. Long, pretty fingers drew the eye.
"Watch."
Si-woo watched closely—and was shocked.
Shick-
"See?"
In a blink, a dagger appeared in her hand.
"Whoa... Cool."
"Hehe. Cool, right? I'll teach you; you teach me. Deal?"
Impressive, but not tempting. With [Inventory], Si-woo didn't need it.
'Can't share [Inventory] anyway.'
Curious, he checked the [Shop] for 'subspace' items.
One decent option.
[Inventory (Lv.0) Grant Scroll]: 1,000 Karma.
- Grants a backpack-sized [Inventory (Lv.0)] to the target.
'Ugh, ridiculously expensive. Something else.'
[Space Expansion Pouch (Ultra-Small)]: 100 Karma.
- Pouch with backpack-sized space expansion.
'Exists... But can't give free.'
Back from the [Shop], Si-woo pondered. Her smooth skin appealed.
"How's this? I'll show your trick once a day. You get what you make of it."
"Yeah, the chocolate one?"
Hwa Mu-rin nodded, eyes sparkling. Beautiful eyes.
Si-woo nodded slightly, scheming.
'Start with spars...'
"Yeah. In return, spar with me each time. Deal?"
"Spar...? Sure! Great for me. But don't get mad if I figure it quick?"
"Haha, you too."
Si-woo and Hwa Mu-rin smiled at each other.
Each thinking they'd won.