Chapter 287: Martial Alliance Headquarters (1)
Chapter 287: Martial Alliance Headquarters (1)
And so, we began our trek up the mountain.
The Martial Alliance Headquarters is located on a mountain, so this was only natural.
However, calling this a "mountain" felt like a stretch of sanity.
I had even asked Han A-bin beforehand if she would be okay, considering she always struggles with her stamina. She had replied that she’d grown quite a bit and would be fine, but…
“…I’m going to die.”
Seeing her now, drenched in sweat and wheezing those words, she was likely regretting her confidence.
“Just a little more! You can do it! Just a little more!”
Un-ho, who was hanging off my shoulder, cheered her on.
To be honest, even to my ears, it sounded less like encouragement and more like taunting. What made it worse was that he was probably being sincere.
In the old days, I would have just tossed him off the cliff.
But after everything that happened in the Magic Kingdom, I’d grown a bit softer toward him. I chose a different method instead.
“Kweeek! A knot-scarf?!”
I tied his mouth and tail together so he couldn't speak properly and draped him around my neck. A peaceful, moderate solution.
With that, the surroundings grew quiet. A-bin, who looked like she was about to drop dead, swallowed her complaints and followed silently behind us, her breathing heavy and ragged.
A-bin has a tendency to overexert herself, so I kept a close eye on her in case she collapsed. As long as I stayed alert, nothing major would happen.
Still, looking at our current situation…
This mountain really was insane.
“It’s the headquarters; how bad could it really be?”
Han A-bin had said that before we set off. I bet she was regretting those words too.
If she had just looked at the landscape of the mountain where the headquarters sat, she would have understood.
There was a reason why the Management Bureau branches were located on plains, not mountains.
And there was a reason why martial artists, who imbue every single action with meaning, chose to set up their dojos on the plains instead of here.
“Wow! Master, look! I can even do this!”
I turned my head at the voice.
I saw Baek Si-hyun performing a miraculous feat of physical prowess—jamming her fingers into the cliffside and supporting her entire body weight with just the strength of her grip.
Of course, I could do that easily too, but the fact that she was doing it just to show off was proof of her mental age.
That aside.
“Si-hyun, don’t damage the cliff. Stop it.”
I had to scold what needed scolding.
This was a pristine, natural crag without any artificial supports. She shouldn't be damaging it.
Of course, I’d make an exception for life-or-death emergencies or if someone accidentally broke a piece while failing to control their strength during a climb.
But this was a pure performance. There was no excuse.
“Yes! I’ll stop!”
With that, Baek Si-hyun went back to climbing the cliff obediently.
Even Si-hyun, who usually tried to brighten the mood, was huffing and puffing as she climbed. That alone showed how absurd this mountain was.
It was in its natural state, meaning there were no proper handholds.
Because there were no handholds, you couldn't use mechanical safety gear.
It was a madman’s rock climb that permitted only bare-handed ascent.
A vertical cliff face would have been considered "cute" here.
Most of it was past vertical—an overhang. In other words, it was a crazy cliff where you constantly felt like the rock was leaning over you, or you were hanging from a ceiling.
An ordinary person wouldn't even dream of it.
Even a powerful Hero would be disgusted by this place unless they were exceptionally confident in their physical strength.
And at the very peak of such a mountain sat the Martial Alliance Headquarters.
At this point, you had to respect their dedication to looking cool.
Unless they lived and ate at the headquarters, it meant they had to climb this cliff every single day for work.
There was a reason the headquarters personnel were all top-tier powerhouses.
To put it bluntly, just commuting every day was more intense than most hard training sessions.
“Are you training your disciples?”
“Ah, yes. Something like that.”
“It looks tough for a safety officer to do alone. Shall I help?”
“No, I’m fine.”
Even now, a Martial Artist casually climbed past us, striking up a conversation.
In terms of total power, he was only about a third or half as strong as the A-Rank Si-hyun.
But his speed was several times faster than hers.
Every time something like this happened, A-bin’s eyes shook with disbelief.
Well, this was all part of the training.
As for me, I was just grabbing protruding rocks with one arm, flinging myself upward with pure arm strength, and catching the next rock mid-air. I wasn't training; I was just bored.
*
It took several hours to reach the summit.
There, just as I’d seen from below, buildings were clustered along the cliffside, though how they were built was a mystery.
Every bit of relatively flat land was occupied by massive structures.
Someone might ask how they managed to build these things here.
The answer is simple: anything is possible with enough money and technology.
And the Management Bureau had plenty of both.
Even now, heavy machinery—which made me wonder how they’d even gotten it up here—was busy with expansion work.
Seeing them work right on the edge of the cliff, they must have had nerves of steel. I’m sure the hazard pay was excellent.
Aside from the scenery, the arrival point was occupied by a collapsed Han A-bin.
Baek Si-hyun was there too, finally looking a bit tired.
And then there was one damn ferret who had fallen fast asleep the moment I untied his knots.
I gave water and towels to the two girls.
As for the one at the bottom, I balled him up like a piece of clay and stuffed him into the backpack on my waist.
He was probably tangled up with all my miscellaneous gear in a bizarre shape by now, but seeing as he stayed asleep, he couldn't have been that uncomfortable.
Anyway, we had arrived at the Alliance Headquarters.
A-bin was practically dead by The End, but she’d managed to make it without help. Even Si-hyun, whom I’d been slightly worried about, conquered it without any major mistakes.
I could feel that my disciples' stamina had truly improved.
Endurance and stamina are hard to measure through sparring alone, so this was a good check.
At this rate, A-bin might actually be able to keep up with those rat bastards sprinting through Nanjido.
“…Um, Senior?”
Han A-bin, exhausted and deserving of praise, finally spoke.
“What is it?”
She wasn't looking at me, but somewhere else.
Since I was looking at the same place, I replied without turning my head.
“We just climbed up that bottomless cliff, right?”
“We did.”
“Then… what is that?”
By ‘that,’ she meant what was at the end of her gaze.
People getting on and off helicopters.
And a group of people appearing out of thin air as if using a Teleportation Device.
In short, people arriving by means other than the cliff.
“Obviously, people who came up using other methods,” I replied, knowing exactly what she wanted to say.
“…Then why didn't we use those?”
“You need the training. Those are for ordinary people or emergencies.”
You saw it earlier, didn't you?
A Hero with strength similar to yours practically ran up that cliff.
That’s the difference in discipline.
“…I shouldn't have asked.”
Exactly.
That’s the daily life of a Hero, A-bin.
A gray existence consisting of a cycle of training, manual labor, exterminating Otherworlders, sleep, training, manual labor, and more manual labor.
It felt like there was a lot of manual labor in that cycle, but that was only because I was often dragged into foundation work since all I had was strength and stamina.
Normally, it’s a slightly less gray cycle of training-extermination-sleep.
Kids these days probably have SNS and TV appearances mixed in there.
I don’t know anything about that world. Hahaha.
Anyway.
“If you want to rest more, stay here with Si-hyun. I can go to the headquarters alone.”
One of the reasons I brought them here was for training and to introduce them, but that was secondary.
We’d be staying at the Alliance for a few days anyway, so there was no need to introduce them today.
Of course, that would mean they’d have to climb the cliff again.
“…Is there anything worth seeing here?”
“Watching the kids train is quite a sight.”
As I said, the martial artists here considered climbing that cliff a basic requirement.
When the quality of the disciples rises, the quality of the training rises too.
In the past, I used to have a lot of fun holding my hammer and shouting, “Come at me, you punks!” while taking on 108 people at once.
“…I’ll just follow you.”
Suit yourself.
Maybe she didn't want to smell the stench of sweat.
Since she said she was coming, I waited a moment for them to catch their breath.
Once A-bin stood up, signaling she was ready, we began walking down a narrow path.
The spots where buildings could be constructed on the mountain were limited, resulting in narrow paths created to maximize space.
No matter how you looked at it, the paths were too narrow for the number of people using them; collisions seemed inevitable.
However, people were jumping over each other’s heads.
Running across rooftops.
Or walking horizontally along vertical walls.
Through these bizarre actions, everyone moved forward naturally without stopping.
My disciples began to let out exclamations of awe, seemingly forgetting their recent struggle.
I’d seen this many times, so I wasn't particularly moved.
In places where Heroes gathered in large numbers without ordinary people, common sense tended to break down like this.
Especially for those whose power was based on knowledge, like martial artists or mages, rather than just inherited power. Their careers as Heroes tended to be long. Even after their "stories" ended, if they stayed in places like this to train successors or conduct research, they drifted far from the common sense of ordinary people.
The people running around probably didn't even realize they were doing something strange.
Passing through the sight of a society where common sense was in shambles, we arrived at the Alliance Headquarters.
To be precise, the entire mountain was the headquarters, but this was the heart of it.
Unlike the other buildings, this one stood out because it had almost no decorations. A well-worn main gate, currently open, stood at the front.
Inside the gate was a large Training Ground used for various events and sparring.
Unlike other places noisy with practice, this area was quiet and deserted, as no disciples were being trained here.
But right in the center of the Training Ground…
There was someone who stood out despite doing absolutely nothing.
A man in fluttering purple robes.
One arm was supported by a cloth sling around his neck.
It was Kong Jianping, that idiot whose arm had been shattered last night.
The fool stood there with his eyes closed, facing the sky as if waiting for something.
Since I was currently the ordinary Magical Girl Lee Ha-ram, not the Black Marauder…
The moment I stepped into the courtyard to give my senior a piece of my mind for acting like an idiot…
Flutter.
With the sound of robes snapping in the wind…
The Heavenly Sword descended before us, wreathed in a massive gust of air.
“Eek!”
“Huh?!”
My disciples were startled by his sudden appearance.
I had only missed the middle part of his dash. I knew he was coming, so I wasn't surprised.
“What are you doing, you idiot?”
“I was waiting for you all.”
How did you know when we’d arrive?
The subordinates must really love it when their Alliance Leader acts like this, don't they?
I wanted to snark at him, but I knew it wouldn't work on this blockhead. And even if he did understand, it would only lead to us drawing weapons for a second round right here. I kept my mouth shut.
“Ah, right. It’s been a while since the Gray Eater incident, hasn't it? Did we see each other then?”
“Eh? Ah, Lord Heavenly Sword! Hello!”
“It’s been a while, Uncle Heavenly Sword!”
The two disciples finally realized this fool was the Heavenly Sword and greeted him.
But the Heavenly Sword had a strange expression. He tilted his head, stroking his chin, and stared intently at me.
“Hey, aren't you going to greet them back? Why are you staring at my face?”
His behavior was oddly annoying, so I snapped at him.
“Ah, my apologies. I had something on my mind. It has been a while, everyone.”
Even as he said that, the Heavenly Sword continued to stare at me.
“Seriously, what is wrong with you?”
I finally lost my temper.
“…As I thought, it’s a different person.”
The Heavenly Sword finally looked away and muttered to himself.
“What is?”
“I encountered the Black Marauder last night. While we were fighting, I was certain it was you… but facing you like this, you feel like a different person. Hmm, does that mean the cloning was that perfect? As expected of our sect, even the Clone Monsters are of a different quality.”
…What?
It was such an incomprehensible sentence that I was about to ask for clarification.
“You met the Black Marauder? Where? How?!”
Baek Si-hyun, reacting to the name Black Marauder, charged forward in a frenzy.
“Ah, we met last night and had a conversation. This arm is the medal from that encounter.”
“Really? How did you fight? What was his attack style? What hit your arm?!”
“Ah, about that…”
He immediately continued the conversation without giving me a chance to cut in.
And after thinking about it for a moment, I realized there was no easy way to ask questions without revealing that I was the Black Marauder.
And so, my question vanished into thin air.