Chapter 6: A Friend's Friends
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 6: A Friend's Friends
The blacksmith elder blinked at Chun-bong and Seo-jun’s audacious responses. Recovering his wits, he sauntered back to his chair and plopped down.
“Oh…”
Seo-jun, who honestly thought they were about to throw down, stared at Chun-bong with wide eyes.
“What are you looking at?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
So this is what a normal Murim conversation is like? Having reached a somewhat bizarre realization, Seo-jun trailed behind Chun-bong.
“Tsk…”
Chun-bong clicked her tongue at him and stopped in front of a display of swords.
“Hmm… Well, they aren’t completely useless. Pick one.”
“Me?”
He knew absolutely nothing about swords. When he looked at Chun-bong, silently asking her to choose for him, she clicked her tongue again.
“Just pick one already! If you grab something stupid, I’ll stop you.”
“How can a kid have such a foul mouth?”
Chun-bong glared at him.
“If it weren’t for you…”
“If it weren’t for me?”
“…Just drop dead.”
Seo-jun casually ignored the fuming Geum Chun-bong and examined the weapons.
Most were of a similar length—the exact size that came to mind when one pictured a standard longsword. They were traditional double-edged blades. As he picked them up one by one, the balance didn't seem too bad.
Wait, is it bad?
Well, by his amateur standards, they seemed fine. Among the mediocre options, the one that caught his eye was…
“I’ll go with this one.”
As he made his choice, Chun-bong inspected the blade closely and nodded.
“You’ve got a decent eye.”
Chun-bong snatched the sword, stomped over to the blacksmith elder, and slammed it down on the table.
“How much?”
“Mmm…”
The old man squinted, leaning his head back until his vision finally seemed to focus. He nodded.
“One tael.”
“Silver?”
“What else would it be?”
“Are you crazy, old man? Half a tael. I’m not giving you a single copper more than that.”
After a brief, heated exchange, Chun-bong successfully haggled the price down by half.
“Ooh…”
As Seo-jun clapped at her incredible bargaining skills, Chun-bong clicked her tongue.
“That was the actual market price anyway, you idiot.”
“Aha.”
After leaving the forge, they bought some food with the pittance they had left and headed home. Seo-jun hummed a tune, enjoying the weight of the sword hanging at his waist. Chun-bong snorted.
“You like it that much?”
“I like it very much.”
“Bullshit.”
Suddenly, Chun-bong grabbed Seo-jun’s wrist, bringing him to a halt. Their eyes met. She frowned for a moment before asking in a dead-serious tone, “Do you even know what it means to set foot in the Murim?”
“Is it that big of a deal? You run around swinging a sword, you might get stabbed and die. Isn't that it?”
“If that were all, I wouldn't even bring it up.”
Chun-bong stepped closer and tapped the sword at his waist.
“The grudges of the Murim are like a ball of yarn so tangled they can never be unraveled. And you’ve already stepped one foot inside.”
She was talking about him cracking the skulls of those criminal 'friends' of his.
When Seo-jun nodded, Chun-bong stared deep into his eyes and let out a sudden sigh.
“Anyway, do it right. If you’re going to walk this path, don’t stop. The moment you stop, you’ll get a blade in your back from the guy behind you.”
“Why are you talking like someone who’s about to die?”
“When did I ever say that, you brat?”
Seo-jun placed his hand on the sulking Chun-bong's head.
“You little shrimp. Once your big brother makes it big, I’ll take good care of you.”
“You son of a—? Gyaak! Get your hand off my head!”
As he grabbed her tiny head and ruffled her hair vigorously, she looked like she was dying of joy.
What a cute kid.
He felt like he might actually shed a tear the day he finished raising her and sent her off to get married.
* * *
Back at the house, Seo-jun was just about to examine his new sword when Chun-bong suddenly shoved her face into his personal space, glaring.
“So. You said you’d tell me once we got home.”
“Tell you what?”
“About the Tanji-gong, you bastard!”
“Ah.”
He had only said that to appease her at the time.
After a moment of thought, Seo-jun answered honestly.
“I just felt like I could do it, so I did?”
“Just die. If you don't want to tell me, just say so.”
“No, I’m serious!”
After some deliberation, Seo-jun gathered Qi at his fingertips once more and tried to explain the vague sensation.
“You gather it at the tip, and then… you just go bam! And then pow! See?”
“That is not a technique you can just do like that!”
“I mean, it works, so what do you want me to say?”
Just as one didn't consciously vibrate their vocal cords to speak, he just did it because it felt natural.
After another long, convoluted explanation, Chun-bong finally seemed to accept it, resting her chin on her hand.
“What a shitty world. You think the world is a joke just because you have a little talent, you bastard?”
“Hey, why are you taking it out on me again?”
“Just because! You brat!”
Seo-jun surrendered his body to her flurry of Meow-Meow Punches and adjusted his posture.
Thud, thud, thud!
The sensation of her little fists pounding against his back was actually quite refreshing.
While receiving a complimentary back massage from the filial Geum Chun-bong, Seo-jun drew the sword from his waist to inspect it.
Shring—
The blade gleamed as it slid partially out of the scabbard. Was it oiled? He touched the metal lightly and confirmed his suspicion.
‘I got a whetstone and oil too, right?’
Chun-bong probably knew how to use them. He could just learn from her later.
“Miss Geum, it’s dangerous, so stop for a second.”
Seo-jun made Chun-bong halt the massage, stood up, and drew the sword completely from its sheath.
“Ooh…”
It definitely looked cool. A real sword possessed a certain undeniable intimidation factor.
The broad blades those criminals used? He didn't even consider those ugly hunks of metal to be real weapons. Whether it was a straight sword or a curved blade, he never used clunky builds, even in games.
Seo-jun went ahead and swung the sword through the air.
Whoosh!
The sound was fierce.
Since it was close to a one-handed longsword, it wasn't overly heavy. Although it felt a bit long for his current childlike body, it wasn't a major issue.
“Hey! Swing that outside! Are you trying to break all the furniture?!”
“What furniture is even in here? But now that you mention it, let’s move.”
“…Move? Where?”
After thinking for a moment, Seo-jun replied.
“To those guys' house?”
“Friends? You actually have friends?”
“No, those guys. The ones whose heads I cracked.”
“Oh…” Chun-bong looked genuinely impressed.
“Are you actually an idiot? If you wanted to get stabbed, you should have just said so. I’ll stab you myself. Come here, you brat.”
“Now, now, why are you acting like this again?”
Seo-jun spread his right hand wide. He wasn't acting without a plan.
“Even if their friends attack, it’s one guy per finger. If I just go pew pew from a distance, wouldn't I win?”
In the early game, melee builds could never beat ranged builds. Not as long as you managed the distance properly.
“Dumbass.”
Dismissing him with a single word, Chun-bong sighed and stood up.
“Follow me. Since you brought it up, let’s see what that technique actually is.”
* * *
Following Chun-bong, they arrived at a desolate area he had never seen before.
Not that he knew many places in the vicinity, but the atmosphere here was so eerie that it wasn't somewhere he’d ever want to visit on a regular basis.
“Shoot at that. From what I saw, that isn't a proper Qi Art. In the first place, it’s a bit ambiguous to even classify Tanji-gong as a Qi Art.”
“Is that so?”
“It’s closer to an application derived from fist or finger techniques.”
Hmm. Tilting his head, Seo-jun aimed at a piece of firewood placed a fair distance away.
Pew—
The internal energy fired from his fingertip and struck the wood.
Clack—
The firewood wobbled slightly.
“Huh?”
Is that all the power it has? It seemed the energy had dissipated significantly while flying through the air.
This time, he focused more intensely, condensing the internal energy at his fingertip into a tight bead.
Pew— Crack!
Seeing the firewood cleanly split in half this time, Seo-jun puffed out his chest.
“How was that?”
“…Impressive.”
Chun-bong’s eyes darkened.
Realizing the flaw and fixing it immediately? It was far easier said than done. Martial arts weren't that simple.
Usually, people called this the quality of a Great Grandmaster.
It meant he had the potential to create his own martial arts and establish a sect.
Incredibly, this absolute moron possessed that very talent.
“Do it again.”
Following Chun-bong’s command, Seo-jun aimed at another piece of firewood.
If he released it like a finger flick…
“Huh…?”
Seo-jun staggered and collapsed on the spot. His vision was spinning wildly. When he looked at Chun-bong through his blurred sight, she nodded.
“So this is your limit.”
“Why am I like this…?”
“It’s only natural. You just formed your Dantian; did you think you’d have boundless internal energy?”
“Ah, my mana’s tapped out.”
This feeling was absolutely terrible.
The world was spinning as if he had severe motion sickness. He felt like he was going to throw up, but nothing came out, which somehow made the nausea even worse.
Meanwhile, Chun-bong habitually ignored the strange gibberish Seo-jun kept muttering to himself and nodded.
“I think I get it now.”
“Get what?”
“That you’re a weakling. Don't act out for a while and just focus on training. Don't go around getting cocky and running into those Black Path bastards.”
“Okay.”
He decided to do exactly that.
* * *
No matter how much lighter it was than expected, a sword was still a sword.
A solid hunk of iron was much heavier than the tree branches he used to swing around.
Since there were no such things as cell phones or computers in the Murim, Seo-jun, unable to bear the sheer boredom, began to immerse himself in martial arts. Day by day, his physical body began to grow more solid.
“Hmm, I look pretty awesome.”
As he posed with his shirt off, Chun-bong shot him a look like she was staring at a repulsive bug.
“What are you talking about? You’re nothing but skin and bones.”
“Ahem, lean muscle is what’s actually cool.”
Setting the sword down, Seo-jun sat on the floor and played around, rolling internal energy over his hands like a toy.
He had thought the novelty of handling internal energy for the first time would wear off in a day or two, but the more he explored this 'internal energy,' the more endless its applications seemed. The fun showed absolutely no signs of fading.
“Is that fun? Isn't it exhausting?”
Chun-bong didn't seem to understand.
“Why would this be exhausting? It’s just fun.”
“To manipulate internal energy like that, your mental energy would naturally… No, never mind. Why do I even bother?”
Tsk. Clicking her tongue, Chun-bong flopped down on the floor.
“Aigo! A talentless moron like me should just go out and die!”
“Now, now, it’s okay. Your big brother will provide for you.”
“What do you know, you bastard!”
“…What is it? Are you going through puberty?”
After glaring at Seo-jun with all her might, Chun-bong crouched down and began to lament her fate.
“I’m telling you, okay? Back in the day, I was worshipped as a genius, a prodigy. You never know when you’ll lose it all too. Watch yourself.”
“Are you cursing me right now…?!”
BOOM──────────!!
The wall shattered and flew apart in an explosion of debris. When Seo-jun blinked and looked at Chun-bong, she waved her hands frantically.
“I didn't do it!”
Cough!
The sound of coughing came from within the thick cloud of dust.
Soon, several silhouettes became visible through the settling debris. A few men—who looked like professional thugs in every conceivable way—stepped inside, leaving vivid footprints on the room's floor.
“Hey, it’s these brats? They’re just kids. Are you sure you looked into this properly, you fucker?”
“I-I’m certain, boss! Ah! Look over there!”
The lackey pointed toward the corner where the two broad blades were lying.
“Well, well.”
Under the man’s fierce gaze, Seo-jun only had one thought.
“Take off your shoes before you come in, you sons of bitches!”