Chapter 162
Chapter 162
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 162
Chapter Title: Dragon's Stomach Cave (3)
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Just as described, the further I went toward the Dark Shadow Cave, the fewer signs of life there were.
It felt as if I had entered a place entirely separate from the rest of Dragon's Stomach Cave.
After passing through this deserted area, I reached the end, where a passage barely wide enough for one adult to squeeze through appeared.
I cautiously made my way through the passage and arrived in a small cavern.
Hearing the name ‘Dark Shadow Cave,’ I had expected it to be dark inside, but surprisingly, the lighting was decent. The ventilation was good too, as there was no musty smell.
The problem was…
“Get lost if you don’t want to die.”
…the members here didn’t exactly welcome me.
I had expected as much. An underground prison is, after all, a place where any number of dangers could be lurking.
However, things are different for the ever-prepared Jin Mujeon. This body of mine has brought an item that will surely win them over.
“Anyone want some beef jerky to go with their drinks? It’s made from high-quality dried meat, so it should be pretty good.”
Isn’t it an unwritten rule of the martial world to refuse food from a stranger?
Yes, it is. I, too, live by such rules.
However.
“I’ll prepare the table.”
“I’ll go wash the dishes.”
“I will make a soup to go with it.”
A sudden clamor.
For men who had eaten nothing but grain pills 365 days a year, such unwritten rules meant nothing.
As expected, everyone welcomed me.
“Come over here, brother!”
“…”
Like a brother.
It was a relief that they didn’t seem to have bad personalities.
Dealing with irritable people is just plain exhausting.
In no time, a modest drinking table was set with liquor and beef jerky.
But everyone was just staring at me with expectant eyes.
“…Aren’t you eating?”
“The host must drink the first cup before we can, no?”
Manners in an underground prison.
‘Are these guys really prisoners?’
The moment I took a swig, the others seated with me began to devour the beef jerky like madmen.
No, looking closely, they weren’t chewing. They were just stuffing it into their mouths and gulping it down.
‘Wait, they’re just swallowing that tough stuff?’
“There’s plenty, so why not eat slowly? You’ll get indigestion.”
*Munch, munch.*
“…”
It seemed they couldn’t hear me.
I was glad I’d brought the jerky.
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the Squad Leaders of the Outer Hall who supplied me with it under the pretext of a hospital visit.
‘Come to think of it, those bastards never showed up.’
Thinking of Yang Gang and the others frustrated me.
The CEO of Jin Mujeon Inc. was hospitalized, yet they didn't visit even once.
And I had so many questions to ask them about life in prison.
Ah, for the record, Yang Gang, Ha Jin-hyeong, and Lee Dang-pal, shocked by the death of the Green Dragon Hand they were assigned to protect, had voluntarily entered the underground prison once before.
As I inwardly cursed the Three Freaks of the Dang Clan and drank, the jerky I had laid out soon disappeared.
Only then did the gluttony of these ghouls come to an end.
“My, what an undignified display. My apologies, brother.”
“Well, meat must be a rarity here…”
“Thank you for understanding. Ah, my introduction is late. I am called First.”
He had brazenly called a stranger ‘brother,’ and his impression was as bold as his personality. Though he had lost some muscle due to the meager diet, his frame was imposing.
“Call me Second.”
A large scar running diagonally across one of his eyes caught my attention. Judging by the many scars and calluses on the back of his hands, he seemed to be a fist-fighter like me.
“Third.”
He had sharp features, long limbs, and a slender body, much like the warriors of the Red Dragon Hall.
“A pleasure. You may call this humble monk Fourth. Namo Amitabha Buddha.”
As I looked around with surprised eyes, First answered for him.
“He seemed to be the one grabbing the most jerky…”
“He’s a phony monk, don’t mind him. There’s a reason he’s locked up in here.”
“…I see.”
After greeting the monk called Fourth, a handsome young man bowed his head.
“I am the youngest here, Fifth.”
The thick calluses on the hand holding his cup gave him the feel of a traditional swordsman.
“All aliases, I see. Are they based on the order you arrived? Or by age?”
“By skill.”
So, they live in the underground prison while hiding their pasts…
‘That’s so damn cool.’
It seemed like the perfect environment for the birth of a martial arts novel protagonist.
Of course, I would never do it myself.
“But I heard there were ten of you. Where are the others?”
“They died of old age or left this place.”
Unlike First, who answered nonchalantly, I couldn’t help but be surprised.
“Left? Their sentences were up?”
“Well, they say they came here voluntarily. Warriors of the Nine Dragons Fortress, no less. Isn’t that absurd?”
“Ah…”
He was talking about Yang Gang, Ha Jin-hyeong, and Lee Dang-pal.
To think this was where those guys had lived.
I liked this place even more now.
“The more I hear, the more this seems like the perfect place for me. Can you spare a room?”
I stood up and looked around at everyone.
“We’ll give you the position of Sixth.”
“If I’m Sixth, doesn’t that mean I have to be polite to you?”
“That would be the case.”
“How about I just become First instead?”
“…It seems we have a very challenging brother on our hands.”
The atmosphere around the cheerful and豪快 First instantly shifted to that of a solitary, ultimate warrior.
“Brother, I am not one to take things lightly.”
“Is that so?”
I pointed to the center of the clearing and said.
“Then I guess we’ll have to test that.”
* * *
Seeing First’s stance, holding a massive stone blade high in the air, I immediately understood what he meant about being different from before.
‘A one-strike kill…’
I could feel his resolve to kill any opponent in a single blow.
Without a sharp weapon or internal energy, it seemed he had opted for such a method.
‘Not bad.’
A perfect stance and aura.
It was a display that radiated a warrior’s pride.
Of course, I had no obligation to play along.
*Whoosh.*
I quietly raised my War King’s energy.
*Thud, thud.*
Kicking off the ground with force, I closed the distance to First in an instant.
“…!”
His eyes widened in surprise as he twisted his body and threw a kick.
*Fwoosh.*
‘Oh ho.’
Judging by its speed and power, he could easily handle an average third-rate warrior.
*Grab.*
As I simply reached out and caught his ankle, a look of bewilderment crossed First’s face.
But it soon vanished, replaced by sheer determination.
“Watch out!”
*Vwoom!*
Uttering an unnecessary warning, First brought the stone blade down toward the top of my head.
Despite being swung from an off-balance position, it carried considerable force.
*Kooong!*
I lightly twisted my body to dodge, and the stone blade slammed into the ground with a loud crash.
Seeing it shatter the stone floor, the force behind it was clearly no joke.
The attack didn’t end there.
*Vwoom!*
“Not bad!”
Even though the rebound must have made his hands numb, he immediately swung the stone blade horizontally.
A completely unexpected attack.
Since my internal energy hadn’t accumulated much yet, I was almost hit.
When I barely managed to dodge, First couldn't hide his astonishment.
“…Impressive. To move like that without internal energy.”
“Well, anyone can do this much if they work hard enough.”
“I see.”
“So? Shall we continue?”
“If we’ve started, we should see it through, shouldn’t we?”
Even though he must have sensed he was no match for me, his reply was resolute.
“Alright. From now on, I’ll be the one attacking.”
I suppressed the War King’s energy I had raised.
His spirited display had inadvertently sparked my own fighting spirit.
Even without internal energy, the War King Arts were unparalleled in a real fight.
*Crack!*
When I struck the stone blade with my fist, a cracking sound echoed.
“…!”
Seeing his surprised expression, I landed a low kick on his lower body.
*Thwack!*
“Keuk!”
A pained groan escaped him as bone and muscle collided.
But he didn’t just take it.
*Woosh.*
He launched a completely unexpected attack—a headbutt.
It was an improvisational move that an ordinary warrior would never use.
‘He’s a brawler.’
It was a commendable move, but it wouldn't work on me.
*Papapapak!*
I twisted my body to dodge and then, like a thunderbolt, unleashed a flurry of the War King's Thirteen Strikes into his open side.
“Ugh…”
He let out a frustrated groan and stepped back.
“More?”
“I told you. Since we started, let’s see it through to the end.”
*Smirk.*
A short while later.
After twenty more exchanges, First collapsed.
I had been holding back, but he was still incredibly skilled.
‘He’s definitely at the peak level or higher.’
The elements he displayed during the fight gave me an idea of his martial prowess.
“I won, right?”
“*Pant, pant*, yes.”
“So, can I stay here?”
“From now on, I will serve you as my elder brother. No, I will serve you.”
Conceding defeat, First said with a smile on his lips.
“There’s no need for all this ‘elder brother’ business…”
I was only going to be here for a month anyway.
“It’s a tradition in our Dark Shadow Cave.”
“Well, if you insist…”
I walked to the table, picked up a bottle of liquor, and said.
“Then let’s finish the drinks we left behind.”
* * *
Through that day’s drinking session, I learned a bit about the Dark Shadow Cave.
“Only those from the Righteous Path are allowed to stay in the Dark Shadow Cave.”
“And how do you tell if someone is from the Righteous Path?”
“You can just tell by looking. The scoundrels from the Unorthodox Factions give off a sour smell just by looking at them, and the demonic bastards reek of decay. You, brother, have none of that, so I knew you were from the Righteous Path the moment I saw you.”
It wasn’t exactly a scientific method of distinction.
Since we were already drinking, I wanted to hear about their pasts, but everyone seemed reluctant to talk, so I let it go.
There was no need to spoil the mood on the first day.
“By the way, what were the prisoners who were released like?”
Instead, I asked about the Three Freaks of the Dang Clan. Apparently, that problem child Yang Gang had been Fourth here. Ha Jin-hyeong was Sixth, and Lee Dang-pal was Seventh.
Yang Gang probably got that rank because he was the most physically capable of the three.
When it comes to pure physical prowess, the tank is usually the strongest.
Anyway, as the drinking session came to a close, First recommended the name ‘Chief’ for me.
Something about me being a warrior of a different caliber than anyone before.
He also assigned me the best room in the Dark Shadow Cave.
It was originally First’s room. I declined, saying there was no need, but I had to accept his persistent offers.
Honestly, it was nice.
‘Good.’
If I had to sleep somewhere, it might as well be a nice place.
And so, two days after I settled into the Dark Shadow Cave.
A new problem arose.
“I’m bored.”
There was absolutely nothing to do.
The prisoners of the Dark Shadow Cave were here, but they all seemed busy training their martial arts, so I couldn’t talk to them.
I was so bored that for the past two days, I had been training the War King's Thirteen Strikes and accumulating my energy.
Even though I had recently developed an interest in martial arts, this was an unimaginable turn of events in the life of Jin Mujeon, a man who dreams of being a lazy grasshopper.
“Sigh…”
Seeing this, I can understand why the Shaolin Temple has 72 different ultimate arts.
With nothing else to do, they must have spent all day on R&D.
Researching how to efficiently break the bones of Unorthodox scoundrels and demonic fiends.
And that’s how the number of their martial arts increased.
Anyway, that boredom ends today.
‘It’s about time to start.’
Starting tomorrow, I have something to do.
It is common knowledge that an underground prison must have at least one divine martial art manual hidden somewhere.
I planned to find one and take it with me on this occasion.
The reason I had been diligently accumulating energy for the past two days was precisely for this.
To search for where the manual is hidden, I need to sharpen my eyesight.
‘Hehehe, I’ll sell it to the Gold Dragon Hall.’
If I find and sell a divine art… no, even a superior-level martial art would probably fetch at least five thousand nyang.
‘Ah. Come to think of it…’
I forgot I had to go to the Gold Dragon Hall Master to receive my reward.
I’ll have to collect it when I go to sell the martial art I find here.
I firmly planted the thought in my mind so I wouldn’t forget again and went to bed early.
The early bird Jin Mujeon catches the worm… no, the secret manual.
And so, the first day of my prison exploration dawned.