The Price of a Gift
“You’re going to participate in the opening ceremony?” Bukjin asked.
Cho Heun chuckled at Bukjin’s question. “Originally, I didn’t really want to go… but now that I have these excellent new arms, wouldn’t it be a good idea to attend? Haha! Seeing your surprised face makes me want to go even more!”
Bukjin sensed that Cho Heun’s desire to attend the opening ceremony wasn’t solely due to his joy over his new arms. Cho Heun intended to be there to support Bukjin.
Bukjin felt a surge of emotion.
“Oh, right! Your master sent someone with a message. He said all the issues with the families in other regions have been resolved. And he mentioned finding a treasure in the Divine Jar Mountain of the Dongmyeong Territory. He said it’s something that could greatly help your cultivation. So, he’s heading to Divine Jar Mountain to acquire that treasure. He’ll probably be back a little later than expected, so he asked me to look after you well.”
After speaking, Cho Heun handed Bukjin a letter. Bukjin took the letter, speechless.
He felt that his master lacked any semblance of a plan. After taking a disciple, he hadn’t even taught him martial arts, instead busying himself with slaying people outside, and seemingly not caring if his disciple was doing well in Unmong City.
It was the same on Bukhwang Mountain. If his luck had been just a little worse, if Cho Heun and Ak Hong-hyang hadn’t risked their lives to protect him, he would surely have died.
And now, with the main round of the Academic & Martial Arts Competition just around the corner, his master still had no intention of returning, instead choosing to wander deep in the mountains searching for treasure. Bukjin couldn’t help but feel that his master truly had no interest in his disciple.
A bitter feeling settled in Bukjin’s heart.
When he first took Jeong Sam-seok as his master, Bukjin had certainly hoped to receive profound martial arts. And now that he had a reliable backing, he thought he would have no problems living in Unmong City. But the reality was, his master was nowhere to be seen.
‘I guess I chose the wrong master.’
With this thought, Bukjin slowly opened the letter he held and began to read. As he read, his troubled expression gradually softened.
The letter contained not only the usual comforting words Bukjin expected but also other arrangements Jeong Sam-seok had made for him. For instance, Elder Hae was looking after Bukjin at the 3rd Academy at Jeong Sam-seok’s request. In the letter, Jeong Sam-seok told Bukjin to seek out and rely on Elder Hae no matter what danger he encountered.
Furthermore, upon hearing that Bukjin had awakened his Hyeongi attribute, Jeong Sam-seok even revealed the location of a sword art called Bihye Samgeom hidden in his quarters.
“Having a master really is a good thing!” Bukjin said, his mood brightened.
Just then, Youngjuk, the beautiful female clerk from the Cheoldu Weapons Shop, returned with food and drinks. Spotting Bukjin, she looked surprised for a moment, then put on an awkward expression. This was because she had previously tricked Bukjin into selling his broken swords cheaply.
“Oh, Master Im is here too! Please, join me in what I’ve prepared!” Youngjuk said, trying to sound pleasant.
But Bukjin was eager to find the sword art his master mentioned in the letter as quickly as possible, so he politely declined and swiftly left.
Stepping out of the weapons shop, Bukjin involuntarily let out a wry chuckle as he looked at the shop’s signboard. He now realized that the original name of the Cheoldu Weapons Shop was Cheolchu-du Weapons Shop. The character for ‘hammer’ had fallen off, making it appear as ‘Cheoldu’.
Yang Chim-ju had since repaired the missing character, so the signboard now correctly read Cheolchu-du Weapons Shop.
‘Much better to look at.’
Bukjin turned and headed for the academy.
At the 3rd Academy, Jeong Sam-seok’s quarters.
Bukjin had the key to Jeong Sam-seok’s quarters. Opening the door and entering, Bukjin quickly found the secret manual for the Bihye Samgeom, hidden exactly as described in the letter.
He eagerly opened the manual and was delighted to discover that Bihye Samgeom was a 3-star sword art.
Currently, Bukjin was practicing a total of four sword arts. The basic sword technique, Close-body Triple Link, and its ultimate move, Big Dipper Descent, along with the Sawol Sword Technique, were no longer suitable for Bukjin’s current skill level. The Jesujeon Sword Technique was a balanced, moderate sword art, excellent for both offense and defense. The Hwajeon Wolha Geom, consisting of four forms, was highly aggressive. However, as a 2-star sword art, it had its limitations.
With the powerful 3-star sword art Bihye Samgeom, Bukjin believed his chances of winning the Academic & Martial Arts Competition had significantly increased.
Returning to Juk-won with the manual, Bukjin immediately used his smartphone to scan it and create an app. Inside his room, he made strange groaning sounds as he consumed a total of 40GB of data to install the Bihye Samgeom app on his smartphone, then launched the app and began his training.
Looking at his smartphone, Bukjin gazed at the many apps installed on his home screen. Besides Bihye Samgeom, Bukjin also had the Yeokhyul Haenggi Gwangjeonsul app running. Yeokhyul Haenggi Gwangjeonsul was a 3-star martial art that Bukjin had just downloaded yesterday, consuming 40GB of data.
After cultivating the Eoryong-byeon - Geumri Haengpa mental technique passed down by Elder Hae, Bukjin’s Hyeongi realm had once again ascended. He had finally broken through to the 2nd Grade Martial Warrior rank yesterday, allowing him to use a total of 45GB of Hyeongi.
“These three apps consumed the most data. One is a sword art, one is a mental technique, and one is an amplification technique. I guess you could say these are my strongest cards.” Bukjin continued his thoughts.
After the battle on Bukhwang Mountain, Bukjin felt an urgent need to continuously grow stronger as quickly as possible, regardless of whether he could find a way back to Earth. This world was far more dangerous than he had imagined. Malicious enemies lurked in the shadows, constantly eyeing him.
Because of this, Bukjin had also downloaded and installed the Baekbo Byeoksinjang app yesterday. Baekbo Byeoksinjang was also a 3-star martial art.
The Musang-geom-che Complete Edition app no longer had any effect after Bukjin reached the ‘Black Iron Sword Bone’ realm. Bukjin clearly felt that no matter how much he ran this app, he would not grow any further. Theoretically, the Musang-geom-che had already reached the highest realm of cultivation possible.
“Strange. Even the complete edition only allows cultivation up to the Black Iron Sword Bone realm. Could it be that to advance further, I need a Musang-geom-che Limited Edition, a Musang-geom-che Luxury Edition, or even a Musang-geom-che Supreme Edition?” Bukjin speculated wildly in his mind.
Just then.
‘Ding!’
A notification sound came from his smartphone. Startled, Bukjin picked up his phone and opened the new notification that had appeared on the screen.
It was an alert from the [Shopping] app. He opened the app and found a message.
Your package has arrived. Would you like to receive it?
‘The package is here!’ Bukjin rejoiced, but a moment later, doubt crept in. ‘Didn’t it say it would take ten days for delivery last time? Why is it here so fast?’
The only package that could be arriving for Bukjin was the gift from the trainee goddess Geomseol Mumeong. After a brief moment of thought, Bukjin pressed the ‘Receive’ button.
‘Ding!’
You have received the package. Once received, it cannot be canceled even if damaged. A cash-on-delivery fee of 500 nyang will be charged. Payment has been automatically processed through the [Wallet] app. Have a pleasant day!
Immediately, a flash of light burst before Bukjin’s eyes. Then, a root about half a jang long appeared in his hand. But Bukjin had no interest in the root that had just appeared. Only a huge question mark floated in his mind.
‘Cash-on-delivery fee of 500 nyang? What in the world does that mean?!’
A sinister premonition swept over Bukjin’s entire body.
‘Could it be… I’ve been tricked again?’
Bukjin’s blood pressure began to rise as he stared at the root in his hand. He threw the root aside and hastily opened the [Wallet] app. Staring at the screen, Bukjin’s vision went black.
‘It’s gone! 500 nyang has vanished!’
Bukjin then opened the [Storage] app. The money originally in the storage app was 578 nyang, but now only 78 nyang remained.
“I’m insane! Insane! I thought as long as I didn’t scan Geomseol Mumeong’s QR code, I wouldn’t be tricked! I can’t believe that petty goddess would steal my money through cash-on-delivery! Why is the shipping fee so expensive?! For a rotten root like this, it should only be around 30 nyang!”
Bukjin was furious. He immediately launched the [Messenger] app and sent a message to Geomseol Mumeong.
Geomseol Mumeong quickly replied.
Bukjin sent another message, fuming.
Geomseol Mumeong replied with an emoticon of an aggrieved expression.
“If you don’t believe me, check my shipping record! The price is written there!” Geomseol Mumeong said.
Bukjin went into the [Shopping] app. His expression went blank as he stared at the screen. Behind the product description, a warning he hadn’t noticed before was written in very small letters.
Interdimensional shipping is not free. For items under 1kg, a shipping fee of 1,000 nyang will be charged, and cash-on-delivery can be selected. For items over 1kg, the price will be determined by weight.
‘Damn it!!!’
Geomseol Mumeong replied, sounding exasperated.
Bukjin’s face instantly flushed red at the message.
Suddenly, the image of the beautiful, pure white goddess’s naked body flashed in Bukjin’s mind. His ears turned crimson, and his heart pounded fiercely. Unable to bear it, he finally closed the [Messenger] app.