Chapter 36
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: I Definitely Gave You a Chance
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As the host Yul-ryeong suggested starting the battle for the nameless talisman, the gathered attendees at the event slowly revealed their desires.
The man wearing the bread bag might possess the nameless talisman.
That single fact was reason enough to kill an unknown fixer.
Most of the spirit sorcerers assembled here had devoted their entire lives to obtaining a nameless talisman.
Moreover, in this place, it didn't matter what sins they committed, whether leaking heavenly secrets or blaspheming the gods.
The Sul-ye Hall, where the New Talent Academic Festival was being held, was currently shrouded in "Heaven's Blindfold," concealing it from the eyes of heaven.
Even if crimes were committed inside—even murder—the information would never leak to the outside.
The fog that blanketed the Sul-ye Hall and spread across the entire Twin Gates Women's University would obscure everything and swallow it all.
In Yul-ryeong's view, the fixer's situation was truly that of a "rat in a trap."
Just kill or capture and torture him before he could escape the Sul-ye Hall.
Seize the nameless talisman, and their long-cherished wishes would come true.
Obsessions, attachments, longings, cravings, missions, duties, ideals, and ambitions intertwined with lingering desires, giving birth to wishes.
Yul-ryeong smiled.
Their eyes were already glazed over.
Every one of them wanted to kill that man and take the nameless talisman.
The desires of over a hundred spirit sorcerers entangled, leading to one inevitable outcome. Their fervor filled the event hall.
"Now then, please make your choice. Return the nameless talisman to the Talisman Gate Society willingly, or have it confiscated. We hope everything proceeds peacefully."
At Yul-ryeong's confident words, the fixer with the bread bag over his head looked around and addressed everyone.
"Is there really no one willing to buy it for its proper price? Are you all planning to kill me and take the nameless talisman? I'll ask one last time."
There was no response.
Everyone was gauging each other's intentions, waiting for a chance to claim the nameless talisman in the end.
For that, they were willing to kill anyone.
Including the fixer with the bread bag, and even the girl beside him wearing the granny mask.
"Fine. Then, those who don't want to get involved, I'll give you this chance now—go into that storage room. Last chance."
At the fixer's words, the shamans and various spirit sorcerers gathered in the hall mocked him or snorted derisively.
Daring to act so boldly here?
And from some no-name rookie whose face and reputation were unknown?
A hollow shell who had grown rapidly in a short time by borrowing the power of the nameless talisman.
Where did he think he was, showing such arrogance?
To even enter the Talisman Gate Society, they were all renowned experts in the field, and those attending today's New Talent Academic Festival were all active professionals.
A fresh-faced newbie was getting ahead of himself.
Public opinion quickly formed to teach this novice spirit sorcerer a lesson, and the attendees openly displayed their greed without hesitation.
Then, revealing their killing intent, they took another step toward the fixer.
That explained everything.
They intended to fight. They'd kill the fixer first, then turn on each other for the nameless talisman.
As Yul-ryeong had said, this was a battle royale.
A slaughter-filled scramble for the nameless talisman.
No one would hesitate to kill, and if you didn't strike first, you'd be the one dying—a scene of utter tragedy.
If left alone, they'd surely try to kill Nam Yu-ha too. They couldn't leave any traces or clues about what happened here.
Indeed, they were worthless scum not worth sparing.
"Understood. You're all too greedy. I definitely gave you a chance. I announced beforehand if anyone wanted to buy or trade. I even told those who didn't want to get involved to run. Don't complain later."
As the fixer shouted his final warning, Kang San-jung, standing beside him, raised his hand.
In terms of fame and reputation, no one among the spirit sorcerers here surpassed Kang San-jung.
Everyone fell silent, waiting for his next move.
The course of the battle would change depending on his actions.
"I've thought it over carefully."
"What have you decided?"
"Truth be told, I don't really need something like the nameless talisman."
"Is that so? Then, Mountain Lord, you can head to the storage room."
"No, no. Hiding in the storage room like a coward feels off. At least hear me out first."
Kang San-jung grinned.
He didn't want the nameless talisman.
Joining the Talisman Gate Society was merely to gather the latest information and build camaraderie.
He was strong enough not to obsess over some mysterious foreign object like the nameless talisman.
Then why wasn't he retreating to the storage room and still standing by the fixer?
"I want to fight you. Purely, just you and me."
When Kang San-jung had grabbed the fixer's hand earlier, he felt an intense fighting spirit.
True to a man who had spent his life wrestling monsters in the mountains, he had aspects that made it hard to call him entirely sane.
By his standards, he had an obsession to swiftly eliminate anything that disrupted balance.
This trait now strongly awakened his desire to fight the fixer.
"Without anyone else interfering. A fair one-on-one duel. I don't want you dying here at the hands of these scum."
"What are you trying to say?"
"So you can fight without worrying about the kid, I'll protect Yu-ha. Then, later, come find me in top condition. And fight me at your absolute best."
Was he telling the truth?
To gauge Kang San-jung's intentions, the fixer checked his status.
[Status: Fighting Spirit, Passion, Sincerity]
A genuine desire for an honest fight.
Confirming Kang San-jung's sincerity, the fixer nodded and raised a finger to propose a condition.
"Fine. Then that's a 'request' to fight me with your life on the line, sincerely?"
"Hahaha! A request, eh? Yes, call it a request. In return, fight me one-on-one with everything you've got later. Win or lose, I'll prepare a separate reward for you."
Not to win, but just to fight—win or lose—and get a reward.
This was no reason for the fixer to refuse such an easy request.
"Fine. As long as the reward is fair, I'll take any request. I accept, Mountain Lord."
"Excellent! I like people who communicate well. Hahaha!"
Kang San-jung laughed heartily and looked around. Then he addressed the other spirit sorcerers in the hall.
"Truth be told, I have no interest in the nameless talisman. What I wanted from joining the society was camaraderie with the strong and the occasional fun of coming down from the mountains to mingle in the world."
The spirit sorcerers who had been approaching to harm the fixer flinched under his gaze and stepped back.
Kang San-jung, whom they thought was an ally, had sided with the fixer.
"Frankly, I'm quite disappointed in all of you today. This isn't some Joseon-era banditry. Threatening one person like this? And trying to kill an innocent child who hasn't even grown up yet? Such depraved behavior is unacceptable. If people like us discard our honor, only corruption remains. So, I'm sitting out this battle royale."
With that, Kang San-jung withdrew from the center of the scramble.
He wasn't some disaster-level anomaly that required everyone to gang up on, nor a sinner who needed to be eradicated.
Charging so viciously at a rising star spirit sorcerer and a girl not even of legal age over a mere talisman went against decency.
"You there, Ah-maya."
"Y-yes, Mountain Lord!"
"From now on, stick right by my side. If you get caught in that mess, you'll definitely die. Call your possessing spirit immediately and get your head straight. Some things are dangerous just to look at."
Kang San-jung yielded the stage to the fixer and retreated with Yu-ha.
He had sensed the rage boiling within the fixer.
He realized the fixer would mercilessly crush these scoundrels without mercy.
Kang San-jung decided to protect the Taoist master's prized disciple and watch the fixer's battle.
"Well now. The Mountain Lord is stepping out..."
Yul-ryeong on the platform felt a trickle of cold sweat down his back at Kang San-jung's actions but forced a smile without showing it.
He couldn't show panic to the others.
Besides, he had already anticipated Kang San-jung might withdraw.
The old man was like that by nature, so it didn't matter if he stepped out.
If Kang San-jung had joined the fixer in fighting, it would have been troublesome, but he chose to merely protect the fixer's companion.
That was the most appropriate "balance" Kang San-jung had selected.
Tormented by his obsession to maintain balance, Kang San-jung wouldn't cross that line and would only protect the girl in the granny mask to the end.
Victory was still possible.
No, with Kang San-jung staying out entirely, their chances had even improved.
So Yul-ryeong thought.
"Fine. Then, let the battle for the nameless talisman begin now."
With the announcement of the battle's start, Yul-ryeong immediately vanished.
Like the others, he wanted the nameless talisman but lacked the caliber to lead the charge.
His role from the beginning was to ensure a certain group—the "Black Claw Society"—successfully infiltrated the Sul-ye Hall.
Most of the white-masked observers were Black Claw Society members.
They were the type who would do anything to obtain the nameless talisman.
Of course, few knew this. Most saw them as mere weak observers.
'In the big picture, it's a three-way battle...'
The society's spirit sorcerers seeking the nameless talisman for personal desires, the Black Claw Society members plotting something with it, and that lone fixer.
Yul-ryeong didn't even consider the possibility of the other two factions losing to the fixer.
One fixer would be easy to kill and gut.
Naturally, he assumed the fixer had already used the nameless talisman to gain power, so he even had plans to extract it from his corpse after death.
The real issue was the brawl between the Black Claw Society and the society's spirit sorcerers after they seized the talisman from the fixer.
That was what worried Yul-ryeong more. He endlessly pondered which side to align with to more easily claim the nameless talisman.
'The Black Claw Society will try to awaken that thing with the nameless talisman... To survive, I must betray them...'
He knew well the Black Claw Society's tenacity and terror, so betraying them wasn't easy.
Moreover, Yul-ryeong had conspired with some society spirit sorcerers to nearly independently let the Black Claw Society into the festival hall. He couldn't predict how the surviving society members would retaliate afterward.
For Yul-ryeong, the best outcome was for them to annihilate each other in mutual destruction, then for him, lurking and waiting, to kill the survivors and swallow the nameless talisman whole.
No matter what, as long as he got the nameless talisman, everything else was secondary.
He had an ultimate reason and goal that absolutely required obtaining it.
"Kuaa—"
"This madman!"
"Gahk—!"
As Yul-ryeong crawled along the floor into the shadows, screams began reaching his ears.
The gruesome sounds of bones breaking and flesh tearing echoed endlessly.
Had those who killed the fixer and seized the nameless talisman already turned on each other? He peeked out cautiously...
But the scene unfolding was utterly different from his expectations.
"Wha...?"
The bread bag man was supposedly a total rookie who had just entered the scene, right?
Could a newbie pull off something like this just from one nameless talisman?
Countless spells flying from all directions disintegrated in midair without even touching the man.
That alone was an excessive miracle, yet the bread bag man stood with spears, axes, and countless blades embedded in his body—without spilling a single drop of blood.
Was that even human?
Possible with just one nameless talisman?
No matter that it was said to grant wishes, it wouldn't create such a side-effect-free state of "invincibility."
Only then did Yul-ryeong realize.
Perhaps he hadn't grown strong solely because of the nameless talisman.
Perhaps... from the start, it was a non-human entity that had acquired the nameless talisman?
If it was already powerful without needing it, then maybe it had truly come to trade it.
The assumption itself was wrong. He'd thought the fixer had already used it. That killing him and extracting the absorbed talisman for reconstruction was the way.
But what if not?
What if he hadn't used it and had brought a genuine one separately to trade?
Yul-ryeong stopped thinking.
Something was wrong.
Only now did terror surge over him.