Chapter 316
Chapter 316
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 316
Chapter Title: Preliminary Survey (2)
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Of course, it wasn't something he could just join on a whim, even if he wanted to.
After all, Hugo was currently nothing more than a guest freeloading off the clan house.
"Hmm, we're in the middle of selecting personnel ourselves. As you know, it's quite dangerous. Are you sure about this? We can't predict what accidents might happen. There could even be targeted ambushes."
"In a world like this, we can't just avoid danger forever. We can't stay holed up in safe places like this indefinitely, can we?"
So the first priority was to get permission from the person in charge to join them...
"...An admirable mindset. Indeed, in this chaotic world, diverse experiences are essential to properly respond to change."
"Exactly. There's no better opportunity to see the wider world and broaden our perspectives."
"I understand your intentions. I'll make arrangements for you separately."
He requested a meeting with Zhuge Gunak, the former clan leader who had allowed him to stay at the clan house, and easily obtained permission.
Of course, if Hugo had been the type to just get in the way, they wouldn't have agreed so readily. But as he was now, he was a martial artist fully capable of handling himself, so it wasn't a big issue.
'They might even think Harris will step in if things get dicey.'
Having a transcendent realm expert secretly watching over them was an immense reassurance for the delegation.
Whether that would actually happen or not, giving up one spot wasn't a huge deal, so approving it like buying insurance wasn't a bad idea at all.
But what he hadn't expected came right after.
"I want to go too."
Zhuge Hyemi, who had first told him about the gathering, stepped forward saying she wanted to join as well.
"My treatment isn't fully complete yet, right? What if something happens while Young Master Ha is away? Wouldn't it be better if I went with you?"
She asserted her opinion with what she thought was a reasonable excuse, but of course, such nonsense wasn't going to be accepted.
It wasn't a pleasure trip, to begin with.
Who would send a delicate young lady, like a flower in a greenhouse, into a dangerous wilderness full of confirmed threats just to prepare for some hypothetical emergency that might not even happen?
Honestly, she'd just be a hindrance if she came along.
"...Ah, that's too bad. I had a feeling, but it really isn't possible."
Zhuge Hyemi gave a wry smile and shook her head regretfully, reflecting all those circumstances.
Hugo eyed her with narrowed eyes at her reaction.
'As I thought, she told me about the gathering on purpose?'
He had thought it was just idle chatter, but seeing her now, it seemed calculated from the start.
It felt like she had probed tentatively because something felt off, like it wasn't fully wrapped up.
'...Well, I can't blame her for feeling that way.'
Having spent her whole life confined to this closed-off clan house, unable to wander freely due to her frail health and only staying near her quarters, she had just barely recovered. Her feelings were understandable.
But it was like trying to run a marathon right after taking her first steps—it was too much.
"Ugh—can't be helped. Then I'll stay here and train hard, so Young Master Ha, tell me all about what happens there instead. You can live up to that, right?"
"That much is no problem. I'll even bring back souvenirs if I can."
"Wow! As expected of Young Master! Promise?"
With Hugo's participation settled...
The delegation's expedition plans, which had already been partially prepared well in advance, quickly took shape.
The Zhuge Clan selected their top elite martial artists and sorcerers, led by an elder, and appointed Zhuge Jung-hyuk—the second son of the current clan leader and one of Zhuge Hyemi's brothers—as the overall commander.
'I thought it'd be just one elder since it's dangerous, but this is more serious than I expected. Even a direct descendant of the clan leader is going personally.'
It might be unavoidable to avoid pointless conflicts as much as possible and uphold the clan's prestige.
The distance wasn't too far, so they might have judged it relatively less risky.
'...Then I need to focus on training until preparations are complete.'
The gathering location at Shaolin Temple was relatively close compared to other places, but even by straight-line distance, it was a bit less than Seoul to Busan, so there was plenty to prepare.
Thus, even though planning was already underway, it took about half a month longer.
Time flew by while Hugo immersed himself in training to get used to his newly acquired abilities.
Finally, the day of the delegation's departure arrived.
At the Zhuge Clan's main gate, lined with numerous carriages and horses.
"Take care on your way. You know our promise, right?"
After greeting her brother Zhuge Jung-hyuk and the elders, Zhuge Hyemi trotted over to him and spoke brightly.
Beneath her cheerful voice hid unmistakable worry that he might regret letting her come, but it was a concern that meant little to him.
"Don't worry, Lady Zhuge. I have the skills to escape with my life somehow. Of course, it's best if it doesn't come to that."
"...Then I'll be waiting for my gift."
And so, the delegation—including Hugo, or rather Ha Seung-hun—left the clan house and headed north.
*** Clop-clop—clatter—
While the delegation's horses and carriages traveled along the road, Hugo sat motionless in a carriage packed with various supplies, eyes closed in silence.
"Hoo—."
It just so happened that right before leaving the clan house, his training was on the verge of bearing fruit, so he couldn't afford to stop.
'Tsk, just a little more and it'd click.'
He repeated several heavy deep breaths, sinking deeply into himself.
Breathing was the most crucial element in handling internal energy.
It was true for any living being, but in the mysteries of martial arts—refining and manipulating qi—it was especially emphasized.
'Whether accumulating qi, refining it into internal energy, circulating it through the body, or unleashing martial arts—breathing is involved in all of it.'
It wasn't for nothing that internal energy cultivation methods in this Kanghwan Realm were also called breathing techniques.
So, what if one could control that breathing at will?
「Underwater Breathing」 was a skill that allowed breathing through the skin instead of nose and mouth underwater. If he could twist it cleverly to work on land too...
It would enable precise control of internal energy through full-body pore breathing, not just nose and mouth.
He had already experimented extensively in the bathtub at the Zhuge Clan over days and nights, so he was confident in its effectiveness.
One problem, regrettably—humans in this world were land-dwellers, not aquatic creatures.
'Of course, without normal breathing too, efficiency wouldn't be great.'
Hugo shook off the memories of people constantly checking on him during his bathtub sessions, worried he might have drowned, and refocused his mind.
No matter how flexibly a skill could be adapted based on proficiency, there were limits.
Naturally, modifying a skill explicitly named for 'underwater' use wasn't easy.
'But it's not impossible.'
He had experienced it several times before.
The evolution that occurred when multiple skills merged into one.
So, what he was focusing on now was harmonizing 「Qi Circulation Meditation」 and 「Underwater Breathing」 into one.
Mobilizing everything: his otherworlder bonus, the avatar's growth potential, 「Versatility」, and the elixir's effects.
'Harris gathered all those spirit herbs that haven't fully digested yet, piled up inside. Once full-body breathing is complete, absorption speed will skyrocket...!'
But just as he entered a trance...
Boom!
Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—!
The anticipated event occurred.
"Ambush! Everyone dismount and form defensive formation!"
Neigh—!
"Reactions detected from northeast and northwest—both directions!"
Swoosh—!
"Arrows incoming! Protect the horses!"
The sudden commotion shattered his focus, and a bloody melee began.
Up to that point, it wasn't bad.
He had expected ambushes anyway, and observing the Zhuge Clan's martial artists and attackers in real combat would help him grasp 「Mimicry」.
But...
Screee—!
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"
"Everyone, to arms!"
Even in the dead of night while camping and sleeping.
"Waaah!"
"Charge—!"
"You bastards! Do you even know who we are?!"
"Kuhaha! Aren't you the cowards who hole up like turtles in your shells? How brave of you to come out!"
Even while traversing disorganized roads.
"These cowards attacking while we're eating...!"
"Argh! Dust! I just took a bite!"
"You worried about that right now?!"
Even during meal breaks.
The chaos was relentless, preventing any focus-intensive activity.
'...I never imagined it'd be this bad.'
As it dragged on, Hugo couldn't help but seethe.
When he first came to this world as Harris, he flew through the skies with wind spirits, and on the ground, no one dared approach easily, so he hadn't felt it much...
'I've been too sheltered in safe places all this time, blind to reality.'
He knew it intellectually, but experiencing it firsthand was new.
Now he truly grasped the state of this Kanghwan Realm.
Security was in utter shambles.
'No wonder they prepared so thoroughly for the delegation. It wasn't just to scare me.'
From rival faction elite combat units to bandits, ronin, and even commoners dragged along as arrow fodder.
Even the Zhuge Clan, hegemons of their region, couldn't take the outside world lightly—it was a madhouse of swirling insanity.
'...This preliminary survey was a success.'
Achieving one goal of the trip was good, but he couldn't rejoice now.
The stress from the situation was boiling up to his head.
'Ah, just... a bit more leeway, and something would click...!'
The elusive undercurrent of enlightenment, just out of reach.
Whenever he neared a breakthrough through focus, an interruption came; fixing it brought more chaos.
It rapidly eroded his patience, igniting an unquenchable thirst—
"Kuhaha! Those damn scholars trying to pass through our turf without permission! Time for an initiation ritual?"
"Hey! Slave scum! If you don't wanna die, run forward! Survive, and you'll eat till your bellies burst!"
"Ugh... Uwaaa!"
The moment he saw the emaciated wretches in rags charging with rusty spears, and the martial artists cackling behind them.
His last thread of patience snapped.
'Come to think of it, why did I come to this world... to Kanghwan Realm?'
In the midst of the madness, he sank into contemplation.
Why?
To secure a new source of karma.
And to repair the world ruined by the Heaven-Defying Society Leader, thwarting his plans.
In other words, to lead the normalization of this world.
'So, between intervening and observing, what should I do now?'
To gather karma immediately, intervening was best.
But for world normalization, better to observe faction relations and situations carefully without rash action...
'No, that's not it.'
Would leaving those human scum alone hinder the plan?
Was normalizing the world even possible while such trash roamed freely?
'Right, you can't work in a filthy room, so clean out the obvious garbage first. Like tidying up before studying.'
Hugo closed his eyes tightly and nodded heavily.
The analogy felt off, but now wasn't the time for nitpicking.
What mattered was his resolve.
'So, who should be the janitor?'
Harris, the veteran... He didn't feel right exposing him to this.
He had already shown a brutal side against the numerics, and the way his personality twisted with environment felt unsettling.
'Then...'
Several candidates flashed through his mind.
After careful deliberation, he finally selected one.
"Uwaaa—!"
"Kill!"
"S... Spare m..."
In a battlefield filled with the stench of blood, screams, rage, and madness.
Far from where Hugo was.
Whoosh—
About an hour earlier, at a roadside the Zhuge Clan delegation had passed.
"Hee, pfuhuhu!"
The madman who would devour the insanity filling and swirling through this world... no.
"Ah, this is great! Kuhahaha—!"
The Mad Demon opened his eyes.
[Preliminary Survey (2)] End