Otaku Accident
Dang Un-hwa was the classic small-minded man who refused to admit his own incompetence and blamed everything on the role he had been handed at birth.
Second son of the Sichuan Dang Family’s main line.
Those nine characters had ruled every aspect of his life.
Denied the seat of Family Head, he had joined forces with the Council of Elders, picking at every flaw in his elder brother’s work to slowly strip him of influence, then planned to oust him with the Elders’ backing and claim the position for himself.
It had looked like a perfect plan, and it had been working—until about five years ago.
Now everything had changed.
Thanks to Hwi-yeom’s exploits, the Dang Family had begun raking in enormous amounts of money. City gossips even joked that the Sichuan Dang Family was no longer a martial house but a merchant house in all but name. The clan was effectively one step away from freedom from debt, and the collateral branches had lost most of their old leverage.
And that was only the beginning.
Money was one thing, but Un-hwa could feel the family’s influence swelling by the day. He chewed his nails in agitation.
“This can’t go on. At this rate… I have to do something… anything…”
Assassination was out of the question. He had already watched an attempt fail thanks to some unknown force.
Pacing his room in frustration, he finally sprang up and strode outside. Walking wherever his feet took him in an effort to order his tangled thoughts, he suddenly realized he had arrived within sight of the Innovation Hall.
His face crumpled.
“…Yes. That place is the root of every evil.”
With that faintly chilling mutter, he began walking slowly toward the Innovation Hall.
The Innovation Hall.
Every recent reformist invention of the Dang Family had come out of there. Un-hwa ground his teeth as he glared at the wide walls that were steadily devouring large stretches of the mountain the clan called home.
Looking back, the moment that brat first came out with that All-Purpose Salve—or No-Purpose Salve, whatever it was—I should have stopped him by any means necessary…
But it was far too late to stop him now.
A string of successes had won Hwi-yeom the unwavering support of the Family Head’s faction, the leadership of the Emei Sect, and even the Sichuan Provincial Administration Commissioner.
Just a twelve-year-old brat—what’s so special about him…!
Even as he half-admitted the truth in his heart, he refused to accept it. Turning his eyes away, Un-hwa approached the Hall.
Security was airtight. At Hwi-yeom’s request, Dang Un-sang had even stationed troops from the Poison Bee Unit there.
Two Poison Bee guards at the entrance stepped forward as Un-hwa drew near.
“Second Young Master. Good day to you. Please present your entry permit.”
“Entry permit? What entry permit? I’m a direct descendant of this house—is there any place inside the clan I’m not allowed to go?”
As Un-hwa blustered, the guards’ expressions stiffened awkwardly.
“From this point on, no one may enter without the Family Head’s or the Young Master’s authorization. An entry permit is required.”
“You damned bastards dare block my way? State your names and units. I’ll have that brat Hwi-yeom discipline you properly. How dare you act so insolent—”
“My name is Dang Jin-il. Since this is the Family Head’s order, take your complaint to the Family Head rather than the Young Master.”
“…You little— a mere junior of the direct line…”
Though only a warrior, Dang Jin-il also bore the Dang surname and belonged to the direct bloodline. Un-hwa knew further tantrums would get him nowhere; his face flushed crimson.
The moment I become Family Head, scum like this will…!
Seeing his body tremble lightly with suppressed rage, Jin-il and the other guard exchanged a glance. They were ready to restrain and eject him if necessary.
Sensing the shift in their presence, Un-hwa could hold back no longer.
“You insolent dogs dare—!”
“What’s all this racket?”
A voice arrived half a beat ahead of Un-hwa’s shout and cut them off. He turned to find Hwi-yeom staring at him and the Poison Bee Unit with that shameless face of his.
Un-hwa ground his teeth.
“…You little brat.”
“Young Master.”
“Young Master.”
“You’ve worked hard. Uncle, what exactly were you doing here?”
Hwi-yeom first acknowledged the guards’ salute, then asked Un-hwa his business. There was not a trace of affection or respect for an uncle in his manner—more like he was looking at a bothersome peddler. (In truth Hwi-yeom was simply exhausted, but to an inferiority-ridden Un-hwa it looked that way.) Un-hwa’s teeth ground harder.
“You brat! How do you train your subordinates?! These dogs are blocking me from entering! Is this not an insult to me—a direct descendant and the Family Head’s own brother?!”
Hwi-yeom regarded his fuming uncle for a moment, then sighed quietly.
“It isn’t an insult to you, Uncle. Even the Family Head himself may not enter without a permit. Those are the rules Father established.”
“What?”
Even the Family Head couldn’t enter?
While Un-hwa stood momentarily dumbfounded by the unexpected answer, Hwi-yeom pointedly drew an entry permit from his robes and handed it to the guards.
“Here. Today’s permit.”
“All in order.”
“Good work, then.”
About to step inside, Hwi-yeom paused as if remembering something, produced a second permit, and held it out to the guards.
“Let my uncle through with this one as well.”
“Are you certain, Young Master?”
What went on inside was confidential to the Family Head’s faction, and everyone knew Un-hwa was cozy with the Council of Elders even if he belonged to the main house on paper. Despite the guard’s worry, Hwi-yeom only grinned.
“I’ll handle it. Thanks for your concern.”
“But you don’t have an afternoon permit, do you?”
“I’ll just eat lunch inside and not come out until quitting time. I always grab two, but I usually only need one.”
“Please look after your health, Young Master. You’re far too much of a workaholic.”
“Good grief, you sound just like my father.”
Hwi-yeom laughed and turned to Un-hwa.
“Shall we go, Uncle? I don’t know if you’ll find what you hoped to see, but this nephew will at least guide you as far as the place I have business.”
“…Fine.”
Letting Un-hwa in was no mere whim.
When people grow curious, they will find a way to satisfy that curiosity. Build an iron wall and inflate their questions, and they may lash out in unexpected directions later.
Better to let him cause trouble inside the range I can control and watch.
Besides, the department Hwi-yeom was visiting today was one where a leak would be meaningless.
Once inside the Innovation Hall, Un-hwa’s anger melted away. The strangely shaped buildings everywhere piqued his curiosity.
“All the trees look like gray rectangular boxes turned upside down.”
“They’re concrete buildings. Stronger against impact than wooden ones, and above all far more fire-resistant. We use a lot of fire here, and important research materials are everywhere, so we switched to concrete.”
“Is that why the buildings are spaced so far apart?”
“Yes—to keep any fire from spreading easily.”
There was also the matter of eliminating blind spots for better security, but Hwi-yeom saw no need to mention it.
Just then—
BOOM!
A small explosion echoed not far away. Un-hwa spun around in alarm.
“What was that? A building collapsing? Or sparring?”
“An explosion. Coming from the place we’re headed.”
“?”
All hostility toward Hwi-yeom had vanished; Un-hwa now stared at him with pure curiosity. Looking at the man who resembled a dog begging for a bone, Hwi-yeom stifled a wry laugh.
Is this guy a little slow? Well, that simple-mindedness is probably why the Elders thought they could egg him on and use him… tsk tsk.
“Let’s hurry.”
“Right!”
They entered the building from which the blast had come.
The moment they stepped inside, every gaze in the place stabbed into Un-hwa as if it could pierce him through. The open space resembled an archery range: scarecrows stood at a distance, and the firing line was lined with concrete blocks that served both as safety barriers and cover.
The people standing on that range were none other than members of the direct line. A dozen or so who bore the Dang surname looked at Un-hwa as though he were a foreign contaminant.
Stung by the open hostility, Un-hwa was about to step forward when a woman emerged from among them.
She was a beauty whose provocative features called to mind a single perfect rose in full bloom—yet the instant Un-hwa saw her, his face twisted.
“Dang Su-jeong?”
“What are you doing here?”
Hwi-yeom’s aunt—younger sister of Un-sang and Un-hwa—glared with her phoenix eyes full of open enmity. Un-hwa clicked his tongue in discomfort.
Unlike the eldest brother, who had become Family Head merely by order of birth, the third sibling had become a renowned heroine of the martial world on talent alone. Su-jeong never bothered to hide her contempt and hostility toward her older brother; she was one of the most awkward people in his life.
“Why are you here?”
“I’m a direct descendant of this house too. Where can’t I go?”
Un-hwa puffed out his chest and blustered. Su-jeong answered flatly.
“Here. Get lost. Vanish from my sight. Right now. Before I thrash your backside until it’s bright red.”
“You’re old enough to know better than this childish—! How dare you speak to your older brother that way!”
“Shut up. I’ve never had an older brother who’s a direct descendant yet sleeps with the Council of Elders. Stay away from our Hwi-yeom before you infect him with stupidity.”
Su-jeong crushed him with words; all Un-hwa could do was clench his teeth. His pride stung, but he could not defeat her—not with words, not with martial arts, not with reputation.
He whirled around to leave in a rage, only for Hwi-yeom to stop him.
“What?”
“Since you’re already here, stay and watch what happens.”
“Hwi-yeom. Is that all right? That bastard is practically a spy for the Elders.”
“It’s fine. This much is okay to show.”
“…Hmph. If you say so.”
Su-jeong snorted and turned back to Un-hwa.
“Try any funny business with Hwi-yeom and I’ll marinate you in paralysis powder, strip you naked, and tie you up in the Seongdo marketplace.”
“Get lost already.”
Grrrind.
Un-hwa ground his teeth. The earlier spark of curiosity had long since cooled to ash.
I must have been crazy. What was I even hoping for?
He considered simply leaving—then shook his head.
He had already been insulted. The price had been paid; he couldn’t leave empty-handed. He decided to brazen it out and salvage something, anything.
“Fine. What exactly do you do here?”
“You’ll see if you watch. Is there an empty lane?”
“Young Master, not at the moment. You’ll have to wait about half a ke.”
“Understood. Everyone, carry on. I’ll just observe for a while.”
“Hwi-yeom, if you’re going to watch, watch mine.”
Su-jeong snagged Hwi-yeom and pulled him onto the range with her. Both of them donned ear protection with practiced ease and slipped on translucent eye shields—apparently carved crystal guards.
“Any progress?”
“Watch this.”
Su-jeong drew a small brass butterfly-shaped hidden weapon from her robes.
It was called a Butterfly Blade—once one of the most famous hidden weapons of the Sichuan Dang Family, now little more than a trinket.
What’s she planning?
While Un-hwa watched, Su-jeong steadied her breathing and flung the Butterfly Blade.
In the past, Butterfly Blades thrown by Dang masters had fluttered like living butterflies, changing trajectory at will before burying themselves in an enemy’s vital points. The one Su-jeong threw simply flew in a slow, straight line.
Figures.
Un-hwa, who had briefly hoped for something new, sneered.
Then Su-jeong brought her hands together and swung them sharply.
Shaaa—!
A stream of green poisonous energy shot forward like a throwing star. It struck the slowly flying Butterfly Blade dead-on; the blade spun in place from the impact to its tail.
At that exact moment the green energy turned transparent as water, then erupted into light, flame, and a thunderous roar.
—KRAAAAANG!!!
Un-hwa leapt backward without thinking.
“Wh-wh-what was that?!”
“Well?!”
“Let’s check the scarecrows.”
“Right!”
Su-jeong’s eyes sparkled like a child expecting praise. On the other lanes, other direct descendants of the Dang Family were creating explosions in similar or different ways.
The experiment had begun with one of Hwi-yeom’s ideas.
Having confirmed that the Green Dragon Divine Art could convert inner energy into poisonous energy of every nature, Hwi-yeom had reasoned: among poisons there were acidic ones, so it should be possible to create nitric-acid- or acetic-acid-like energies, and by mixing those, one might produce an explosive energy similar to nitroglycerin.
The direct descendants had all tilted their heads at the suggestion.
Synthesizing acidic poisonous energy was easy enough. But the next step—creating a qi that mixed with the acidic poison and acquired explosive properties the way fats mixed with nitric and acetic acids to become nitroglycerin—proved as difficult as finding a pearl in the desert.
After countless trials, errors, experiments, and a little luck, Su-jeong had finally discovered the combination. She named the energy Explosive Poison, and from that day Hwi-yeom had begun seriously considering how to put it to use. That was why a dedicated testing range had been built and experiments were underway.
It was also why Hwi-yeom had so readily decided to show Un-hwa the place. Collateral branches who could not cultivate the Green Dragon Divine Art would gain nothing by watching, and the method of handling Explosive Poison was a secret known only to Su-jeong and a handful of direct-line researchers.
Once every lane had finished firing, people checked the condition of the scarecrows near their own explosions. The scarecrows within a one-jang radius of Su-jeong’s blast were hideously shredded, riddled with large and small brass fragments.
Hwi-yeom spoke.
“Excellent lethality. You scored the butterfly wings beforehand so they’d shatter cleanly on detonation, right?”
“Yeah. Butterfly wings are covered in pollen, right? I applied that idea.”
“Mm, good, but a pity. Having to throw the hidden weapon and then shoot poisonous energy to hit it again might be tricky in real combat. Isn’t there a way to load the energy into the weapon first and then delay the conversion to Explosive Poison until a set time has passed?”
“That thing you’ve mentioned before? I’ve been researching it, but it’s not easy. How about this instead? Deliberately scatter Butterfly Blades all over, then pretend to attack the enemy while actually hitting those blades to set them off.”
“Ah, like laying land mines?”
“Land mines? What’s that?”
“Something I’m designing right now.”
Un-hwa could no longer follow their conversation. He simply stared blankly, replaying the brass fragments embedded in the ruined scarecrows and the dazzling butterfly wings scattering in the moment of explosion.
Even if it never reached the fantastical hidden-weapon techniques of their ancestors, the brilliance and destructive power of that explosion had clearly elevated the art of hidden weapons to the level of pure spectacle.
“…What is this?”
His heart began to pound madly.
Before he knew it, Un-hwa was striding toward Su-jeong.
“What. You’re still here?”
He looked at his prickly, hateful little sister—and abruptly seized both her hands in his.
Before she could break his wrists with her pressure-point strike, he spoke with an expression and voice of pure, desperate pleading.
“Please… I beg you… could you show me that one more time, little sister?”
“Hwah?”
Su-jeong made a strange noise without meaning to and froze solid.
Hwi-yeom stared blankly for a moment at Un-hwa’s eyes, which were sparkling at a dangerous intensity, then murmured quietly to himself.
“…An otaku accident? Is he a military fanatic?”
The Council of Elders’ plot to overthrow the Dang Family was now in danger of collapsing from its very foundation.