The Martial Alliance's Interrogation

"Then suppress my blood points right now! Hurry!"

At his urgent words, Eun-wol looked puzzled but said nothing as she began pressing his acupoints to seal them.

"It's done."

The moment she spoke, Seong-il's body grew leaden. He desperately fought to stay upright, recalled Eun-wol into the ball, then hid it inside his Inventory. After reciting the activation phrase once more to close the inventory, he naturally passed out.

"Mmm..."

Seong-il opened his eyes, feeling as though his entire body had been cast from iron. An old man he had never seen before spoke to him.

"Ah... young hero, you've finally awakened?"

"Hm? Where... where am I? And who are you, sir?"

"Ah. This is the Medical Pavilion inside the Martial Alliance. I am a physician who works here. The Alliance warriors found you unconscious in the training grounds and brought you to me for treatment."

"I see... How long was I out?"

"I'd say a little over half a day..."

At the old man's reply, Seong-il scanned his surroundings. Hmm... It looks like it's around noon, so I must have been unconscious for twelve to fourteen hours.

While Seong-il sat there blankly lost in thought, the old man stood up.

"There are people who wish to see ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you once you wake. Since you're up, I'll bring them here. Please wait and don't go anywhere."

"Huh? Ah... yes, of course."

Seong-il gave an awkward reply as the old man left, his mind already racing. It's probably about the seal and what happened with the Xuanwu Hall Master yesterday. I hope my prepared excuses work...

It wasn't long after he began worrying before several high-ranking warriors and the Alliance Leader himself arrived at his bedside.

"You've awakened?"

"Ah! Alliance Leader, sir!"

As Jin Cheon-hui entered the room, Seong-il tried to rise and bow, but the leader stopped him with a gentle gesture.

"No need. This old man isn't so heartless as to demand formalities from a friend who struggled all night for our sake."

"Thank you..."

Thanks to that consideration, Seong-il sat back down on the bed. Once he was settled, the Alliance Leader savored a sip of tea before beginning his questions.

"You know that the Demon Sect attacked our Alliance last night, yes?"

"Yes. I'm aware. In fact, I ended up like this while fighting them."

Jin Cheon-hui offered a benevolent smile at Seong-il's answer.

"We are grateful for that. With that in mind, I have some questions for you. Is that all right?"

"Of course!"

"Heh heh, I like how straightforward this young friend is."

After stroking his beard, the Alliance Leader asked his first question.

"Are you aware of the massive fire that broke out in Kaifeng yesterday?"

"Yes... The night was strangely bright, so I asked a warrior about it and was told there had been a huge fire..."

"To be precise, the Demon Sect set fires throughout Kaifeng and used the chaos to launch their assault."

"!!"

"Of course, that was half our intention."

"Pardon...?!"

When Seong-il stared at him in shock, Jin Cheon-hui continued with a hardened expression.

"Exactly as I said. We anticipated that if the Alliance secured the Blood God's seal, the Demon Sect would desperately attack to take it. The assault would be dangerous, but we saw it as the perfect opportunity to root out the hidden cultists. So we deliberately showed an opening to lure them in. The plan succeeded—we drove them to the brink of annihilation. Reducing our defensive forces inside the Alliance to bait them ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was a gamble, but I was confident. The warriors who remained appeared few and vulnerable at first glance, yet that was far from the truth. Nearly all one hundred of them were experts. Not a single weakling among them. Moreover, I had placed the Azure Dragon Hall Master and the Xuanwu Hall Master—two of the Four Great Hall Masters I trust most—inside. I believed we could repel the enemy without major issues. However..."

Jin Cheon-hui took another sip of tea, closed his eyes, and continued.

"Shockingly, the Xuanwu Hall Master I trusted most was revealed to be a spy for the Demon Sect. Using the pretext of internal command, he approached the seal with a small escort, slaughtered our warriors, and stole it."

He gazed steadily into Seong-il's eyes.

"And what happened after that, you know better than I. So tell me. What exactly occurred yesterday? I can understand how the two disciples of Yuan-gak who accompanied you—Hye-won and Hye-myeong—subdued the traitors. But how did a mere third-rate warrior like yourself survive the Xuanwu Hall Master's hands? How did he die? Additionally, the training grounds showed traces of one more person besides you. The problem is that while there are signs of combat, there is no record of that person entering or leaving. Is he a ghost? A man? Anyone who survived that place should know. Can you answer me?"

The Alliance Leader's lengthy speech left Seong-il struggling to open his mouth.

"Um... First, the Xuanwu Hall Master was not a traitor."

"What...?!"

"His actions could certainly be interpreted that way, but after speaking with him yesterday, I realized he wasn't the real Xuanwu Hall Master."

"What in the world are you saying?"

Jin Cheon-hui frowned deeply as he pressed for an answer. Seong-il obliged.

"Have you heard of the Blood Cult?"

"!"

"The Xuanwu Hall Master told me he was the Blood Demon of the Blood Cult and that he had been controlling the real Hall Master with the Blood Soul Great Method."

"...He told you this himself?"

"Yes. He said it was traveling money for the road to the afterlife."

"...."

The Alliance Leader's expression remained skeptical. Seong-il sighed and continued.

"He made the blood boil inside his body, exhaled steam, and radiated an eerie red energy as he tried to kill me and take the seal. But at that moment, the Demon Sect's Young Cult Leader appeared like a ghost from behind him and launched ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a surprise attack."

The room fell into stunned silence, as if a bomb had gone off.

"...What did you say?!"

"Exactly as I said. He burst out from the shadows like a phantom and struck the Hall Master down."

"Then why are you still alive? Someone capable of killing the Hall Master must possess profound martial arts."

Seong-il answered with as much grief as he could fake.

"He said he was grateful to me."

"...?"

"Thanks to me, he was able to locate the Blood Cult's traces and even obtain the seal."

"!!"

"Then he mocked my master Cheongmyeong Jin'in and my senior brother Handan, laughing at me. He said that because my teachers and seniors were all fools, I had been used from beginning to end without realizing it."

Seong-il sighed, covered his face with both hands, and continued in the most tragic voice he could manage.

"He said someone as stupid as me was more useful alive, so he wouldn't kill me. He sealed my blood points, laughed, and vanished like a ghost once more."

"...."

"Even now, everything that happened yesterday feels like a dream. I felt so utterly powerless..."

"Hmm..."

Even after the conversation ended, Jin Cheon-hui couldn't shake his doubts. He asked for Seong-il's understanding and subjected him to two full days of intense interrogation. The Martial Alliance applied heavy pressure, but Seong-il's statements were lies built on a foundation of truth. His story remained consistent, and whenever something seemed suspicious he simply claimed he didn't know or that it felt like some mysterious sorcery. In the end, the Alliance had no choice but to release him.

"Will you truly let him go like this?"

The White Tiger and Azure Dragon Hall Masters strongly protested to the Alliance Leader. Jin Cheon-hui shook his head at them.

"Then what do you think would be right? Should we torture and imprison three young men who risked their lives to stop the traitor simply because they seem suspicious?"

"...."

As the silent men listened, the leader continued.

"In truth, we found traces of the side effects from the Blood Demon's blood arts on the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Xuanwu Hall Master's body, and the technique that killed him was indeed the Demon Cult Leader's signature move, the Black Killing Demon Palm. Moreover, the seal the boy brought back is genuine. That alone makes it difficult to brand him a spy. If anything, the loss of the item happened because we let our guard down! As for the idea of a double-agent ploy, the Demon Sect suffered catastrophic losses in this attack. It will take them at least a decade to recover their strength. That makes the double-agent theory even less plausible."

Sighing as he looked at them, the Alliance Leader went on.

"I don't understand it either. I know it doesn't add up. But all the remaining evidence clearly proves his innocence. It is also an undeniable fact that both the Demon Sect and the Blood Cult are entangled in this. And we still haven't uncovered the exact truth behind any of it! In that case, it is better to release that young friend. Investigating him afterward would be far more rational."

Hearing this, the Azure Dragon Hall Master asked, "Does that mean... you want us to continue tracking that young warrior named Muhak?"

"Isn't that the only option? It isn't persecution at that level, and I don't believe it harms the Alliance."

The Hall Masters nodded at his words.

"Then we will assign people to him immediately."

"Do so. But don't be too obvious about it."

"Understood."

After leaving the Martial Alliance, Seong-il returned to the inn where he had been staying. The moment he arrived, he summoned Eun-wol and began speaking with her.

"Haa..."

"Did everything go well, Young Master?"

"Mm... about half?"

Seong-il then gave her a detailed explanation of everything that had happened.

"So... the Alliance does suspect you, but they had to let you go because they lack evidence?"

"That's right."

"Hmm... What do you plan to do now?"

"For now, I think I'll head to another mental world."

"What...?!"

Eun-wol was visibly shocked by his bombshell declaration. Seong-il soothed her as he explained.

"I don't have a choice. Whether I like it or not, the Martial Alliance will start monitoring us. I could already feel them watching me during the week I stayed there."

"Mm..."

"In a situation like this, do you think they'll just leave me alone when I'm full of suspicious circumstances?"

"I suppose not."

"That's why, until I gain the ability or overwhelming power to shake them off in another world, I think it's best to stay out of this one for a while."

"Mm..."

Eun-wol let out a small sound, looking disappointed. Seong-il gently stroked her hair.

"Don't worry. It will feel like a long time to me, but only an instant to you. I'll be back before you know it!"

At his words, Eun-wol smiled and replied.

"Well... if that's what you want, then safe travels...!"

After receiving her farewell, Seong-il returned to reality.

"Haa....."

Seong-il had lived through a month of explosive events inside Pokso Muhyopjeon. Haa... Maybe stealing the seal at the end was a mistake.

If he had simply returned the seal to the Martial Alliance, he could have continued his adventures without major issues. But when the chance to create an alibi and claim the item presented itself, greed had won out and he had stolen it.

"No, wait! If I hadn't taken it, they might have suspected me even more for how I defeated the Xuanwu Hall Master... Maybe it was the right choice after all?"

Muttering to himself, Seong-il reflected on the past month inside Pokso Muhyopjeon. What are the strengths and weaknesses of Pokso Muhyopjeon?

He began writing the pros and cons on a sheet of paper to get to the heart of the problem.

Hmm... The returns are as big as the risks. And I'm not strong enough yet to handle those risks.

Advantages one, two, and three are definitely tempting, but I haven't even fully digested what I gained from the first one, so that's meaningless for now.

If I try for the second advantage, I'll be exposed to all three disadvantages, so that's a pass. In the current situation, only the third one holds any meaning for me...

Seong-il twirled his pen as he pondered, then began talking to himself.

"So what should I do to solve these problems efficiently and get stronger...?"

After thinking for a long time, he reached a conclusion. Ultimately, my level isn't high enough to clear Pokso Muhyopjeon yet. The best option is to go to a world where I can grow stronger without fighting. I can also steadily train the martial arts I obtained this time in that world.

After that, I'll head to How to Become an Alchemist to solve the problems there, then use the resources from that world as a foundation to clear Pokso Muhyopjeon!

Having finished his planning, Seong-il began browsing through the game list.

Let's see... What B-rank games look suitable...

Artoria Story? That's a knight story with lots of combat, so pass.

Dungeon Guardian? That one doesn't require me to fight, which is attractive... but I don't know what the returns would be, so pass.

Even after searching for a while, nothing suitable appeared. Just as Seong-il was starting to feel troubled, one game caught his eye.

"Huh? Magic City and the Famous Detective? Where have I seen this before?"

He stared blankly at the title for a moment before remembering.

"Ah! This was it! The adventure eroge?!"

It was a bizarre game set in a city where magic had developed like science. The daughter of a wealthy family becomes moved after reading popular mystery novels, pesters her father into opening a detective agency, and then runs around with a friend playing Holmes and Watson—before eventually getting fucked. Despite having a female protagonist, it featured many attractive female characters. With varied routes including combat, dialogue, and reasoning, it was secretly regarded as a hidden masterpiece.

This game... Didn't it let you learn magic?! And without needing to study at all?!

A lightning-like idea flashed through Seong-il's mind.