Chapter 4
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Goodbye, Murim Alliance
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After pulling an all-day shift, he was just about to head home when he was unluckily snagged.
The cause was a single man who was now trailing behind him.
"Whoa!!!!!!"
The man exclaimed in constant awe, as if he were seeing the world for the first time.
‘Sigh. Who is this country bumpkin?’
"There's a building inside another building! Are you seeing this?"
I see it every day. I have no idea why that's so amazing.
In Henan, where the Murim Alliance is located, this kind of architecture is standard.
"Th-th-that's!"
His fuss was different from before, so I turned my head, thinking something major had happened.
"You have to crane your neck this far back just to see the top!"
Because it's tall! Can't you tell by looking? Or are you just slow?
The warrior couldn't fathom how this man had received a recommendation pass.
"Keep quiet and follow me."
"Ah! I suppose I was making too much of a scene. My apologies."
The kid talks like a grumpy old man.
‘Thinks he’s undergone some grand rebirth, does he?’
Working at the Murim Alliance, you meet all sorts of people. The warrior figured this man was just another one of them. He’d seen plenty.
‘Talking like that, he must think he's someone special.’
This was especially true the younger they were. The warrior scoffed, indulging in a fantasy of this being over quickly so he could go home, wash his feet, and get a good night's sleep.
It was then.
"Uh, excuse me."
The man asked cautiously.
It hadn't been long since he'd been warned.
He had planned to ignore him, but the recommendation pass held the uncomfortable truth that this man could one day become his superior.
‘Ugh. Filthy connections, nepotism, and cronyism.’
Who was it that said the martial world was all about skill?
If I had gotten in with a recommendation pass, I wouldn't be on guard duty and giving tours right now. I'd be in the Ten Great Units, a hero among heroes.
Of course, this was just the warrior’s own thought.
"What is it?"
The warrior replied, his voice tinged with a petulance he hadn't intended, as if complaining to a man favored by the world.
"Could you tell me how the entrance exam works?"
The warrior turned back, puzzled.
He saw the man looking at him with bright, clear eyes.
‘He looks just like a newborn fawn, seeing the world for the first time.’
The kind of face that gets swindled in a heartbeat.
He couldn't understand how someone with a recommendation pass could have set foot in the Murim Alliance without even knowing that.
Come to think of it, there were a few strange things about this man.
If one practiced martial arts, they would invariably have a specific breathing pattern and gait. Yet, he felt none of that from him.
On the surface, he didn't even seem to be third-rate, but at times, he gave off an unnerving feeling.
"Hm?"
Yes! Just like right now. The moment he harbored any strange thoughts about the man, the man would immediately pick up on the atmosphere.
‘He must have good instincts. I'll have to be especially careful with my conduct around him.’
He didn't know if this man would survive in the Murim Alliance or be kicked out before long—though in his opinion, he wouldn't last—but he was still someone with a recommendation pass.
That meant he had entered the Murim Alliance with the endorsement of someone far greater than he could ever imagine.
He must have some special quality that I can't see… right?
If not, he might go mad with resentment.
I want a recommendation pass too!
"Ahem! The entrance exam is broadly divided into two parts."
"Oooooh! Two whole parts!"
Could you please not do that "Oooooh!" thing?
Can't he feel the people passing by staring at us?
"Ahem. For the sake of fairness, I can't give you a detailed explanation, but there's a practical and a written exam."
"Oooooh! Practical and written!"
Dammit! Please stop! It's so embarrassing I can't even explain!
He could see others snickering as they walked past.
"The building ahead is the examination hall. Well then, I hope you pass."
Ha Yuseong gave the man who guided him a cupped fist salute and bowed his head respectfully.
"I thank you for tolerating my every rudeness and for kindly guiding me here."
His attitude, different from before—or perhaps consistent all along—was filled with sincerity.
The warrior found himself returning the salute.
"Well then, I'll be on my way."
"R-Right."
Watching Ha Yuseong walk away, the warrior found himself smiling for the first time in a long while.
"So earnest. So earnest."
There was a time when he, too, had been like that.
When he first entered the martial world and joined the Murim Alliance, he had been just like that man.
But the walls of the martial world were high, and at some point, he naturally came to accept that ideals were nothing more than ideals.
The blank canvas that he once was became stained the longer he partook of the martial world's fare, and now, the dreams he once held had been pushed to the back of his mind.
He was just standing guard, just passing the days meaninglessly.
An untainted, pure heart.
How long had it been since he'd felt such a thing in the labyrinthine halls of the Murim Alliance?
A flutter in his heart he hadn't felt in a very long time.
That man, too, would one day become like him.
After all, the Murim Alliance was a place where all sorts of heroes and champions gathered.
A world for beings who lived in a different reality from an ordinary person like himself.
"Dammit! I thought I'd forgotten all about that!"
The warrior knew.
No matter how much more he trained here, nothing would change.
"Fuck."
With a sharp curse, the warrior started walking.
His destination was the training grounds.
"Guess I'll go train."
It doesn't take much to change a person.
***
Entering the examination hall, Ha Yuseong's jaw dropped.
*Drip!*
He quickly wiped the drool from his lips with his sleeve.
"It's huge!"
He had thought it was big when he saw it from the outside, but stepping inside, it surpassed his imagination.
It was too big.
He couldn't see the end in front of him, to his sides, or behind him.
"Damn, it's huge!"
He hadn't meant to be so crude.
And.
"So many!"
This vast space was packed with people.
"Damn, there's a lot!"
"Amazing! This is amazing!"
It was the first time in his life he had seen so many people gathered in one place.
Ha Yuseong didn't know it, but the people here were subtly staring at him.
They were all thinking something similar.
‘A country bumpkin.’
‘That one's going to fail.’
‘Well, that's one less competitor.’
‘I can definitely beat that guy.’
Unaware of the gazes upon him, Ha Yuseong continued to look around, letting out a barrage of exclamations.
After some time, the atmosphere in the hall suddenly shifted.
And the first one to notice it was Ha Yuseong.
"Hm?"
The examination hall was still bustling.
From the direction of the entrance, which was out of his line of sight.
It felt as if not a person, but something enormous, was approaching.
*Thud, thud.*
Amidst the surrounding chatter, he heard the faint sound of footsteps.
Along with the sense that something colossal was drawing near.
The being revealed itself.
At first, Ha Yuseong thought a monster with three heads and nine arms had appeared, but what came into view was a person, just like him.
‘Hah! How can two people have such a different presence?’
In that moment, an aura emanating from the newly arrived man silenced the entire examination hall.
A single person had overwhelmed the countless people present.
To be more precise, it was the illusion of a sword being pointed at one's throat. It felt as if one would be cut down for daring to open their mouth.
This was the Murim Alliance!
The greatest orthodox faction in existence.
*Thump, thump!*
The pounding of his heart hammered in his ears.
"Welcome. I am Ho Yeongeol, Unit Leader of the Murim Alliance's Guardian Unit."
As soon as the man introduced himself, the silence erupted into a massive cheer.
"Holy crap! It's the Fierce Tiger Sword!"
"To think I'd see the Fierce Tiger Sword in person! I can die happy now!"
The Fierce Tiger Sword, Ho Yeongeol.
A title and name so famous that even Ha Yuseong, who had lived the life of a third-rate ronin, had heard of it.
The hero who single-handedly entered Mount Nammak to save a mere ten allies surrounded by over a hundred enemies!
A grandmaster he never thought he would have any connection with in his entire life was standing right before his eyes.
This was unbearable.
No! To hold back now would be the mark of a fool.
"Woooooah!"
Ha Yuseong joined the others, letting out a tremendous cheer of his own.
"Quiet."
With that single word, the Fierce Tiger Sword silenced the commotion in the hall and continued.
"The Murim Alliance entrance exam has two main parts. It is divided into a practical and a written exam. You will now take the written exam, so please follow the instructions of the proctors. Be advised that the supervisors, myself included, will be observing you in real-time. Anyone caught cheating will be automatically disqualified and banned from ever entering the Murim Alliance, so conduct yourselves accordingly."
As the Fierce Tiger Sword finished speaking, a great noise echoed from the far end of the hall.
*Thump, thump, thump, thump!*
Simultaneously, what he had thought were just walls at the north, south, east, and west ends of the hall opened, revealing themselves to be massive gates. From them, countless supervisors and proctors emerged.
"Please form single-file lines according to the instructions!"
Soon, the randomly standing applicants formed orderly lines.
Ha Yuseong's spot was somewhere in the middle.
The proctors handed out papers densely covered in text to the applicants.
Apparently, these were the exam papers.
Ha Yuseong received his paper.
After a moment, the Fierce Tiger Sword spoke again.
"You have two hours, starting now, to complete the written exam. Everyone, take a seat and begin!"
Ha Yuseong immediately sat down and began to read the exam paper.
"Hmm…"
As expected of the Murim Alliance.
Whether to call it formidable or challenging, it amounted to the same thing.
[1. The first Alliance Leader, the Heavenly Sword Emperor, was a great man who established law in the lawless world of Murim for the first time. Now, what is the 3rd special provision of Article 13, Section 10 of the first legislative act established by the first Alliance Leader?]
For Ha Yuseong, who had only ever lived the life of a low-class, third-rate warrior, this sort of thing was completely outside his realm of interest.
He boldly skipped the first question. He quickly scanned the rest of the paper.
‘Multiple choice is…’
Nonexistent.
It was all short answer.
Truly, the Murim Alliance! I admit it. This is the level needed to properly distinguish candidates!
[2. When the Murim Alliance was established in Henan, the Scripture Pavilion from the Shaolin Temple was moved into the Alliance headquarters. This signified the support of the Shaolin Temple, the greatest orthodox sect before the Alliance, and also served as proof that the Murim Alliance represents the orthodox faction. Now, who was the person who ordered this?]
Heh! They've severely underestimated me.
Even if I am a third-rate, low-class warrior, as a martial artist affiliated with the orthodox faction, there's no way I wouldn't know about the famous relocation of the Scripture Pavilion!
Ha Yuseong confidently prepared to write down the answer.
‘Huh?’
[...who was the person? It was Great Monk Heomu. Now for the question! Describe the martial arts, techniques, and the essence thereof that Great Monk Heomu frequently used!]
As expected of the Murim Alliance. An attack that reads the flow of a person's complacency!
Ha Yuseong passed on question 2 as well.
As he was concentrating on the exam, a voice was heard.
"Two hours have passed. Everyone, put down your brushes."
Eh?
"Anyone still holding a brush from this point on will be considered disqualified."
T-Truly, the Murim Alliance.
The only thing Ha Yuseong had written down was the answer to the last question, about the Battle of Cheonsan Fortress, which was related to ronin.
"Haha. It was fun, Murim Alliance."