Goburin Extermination #1
I want to kill. I've never felt such intense murderous intent in my entire life. Even if I've beaten the shit out of someone, I've never once tried to actually kill a person!
"Sorry, sir!"
But this fucker apologizes now, of all times? He tried to kill me and steal my hard-earned cash, and now he's acting like a single sorry will make it all go away...!
He's spouting this bullshit and collapsing—what the hell am I supposed to do about it? You think I like living here or something!
I told him to empty his pockets and apologize properly. But the bastard immediately bows his head and slips one hand into his bosom.
How the hell do you counter dual swords with some half-assed single-sword style!
"Raaargh!"
I screamed as I unleashed the initial form of the Samjae Geombeop. There's no way he could block my sword in such a defenseless state.
I lunged forward like I was charging and slashed diagonally across him. Blood sprayed from his neck.
"Huff... huff...!"
I killed him. I actually killed him...! I sliced a man open with my sword!
"Huff! Huuuuff!"
The moment I realized it, the explosive rage I'd felt until seconds ago vanished like a lie, replaced by surging anxiety. It felt like I'd done something I absolutely shouldn't have.
"Urk!"
Nausea welled up. What happens when you kill someone? Do the government troops come after you?
"Ugh...!"
My heart felt like it was going to burst. Anxiety? Guilt? Relief? I couldn't tell. A bizarre cocktail of emotions overwhelmed me with excitement, crashing into my chest and carving terror into it. All of it poured over my mind like filthy sludge.
Is this what they call a heart demon?
I'd just danced on the edge between life and death. I'd decided to fight with my life on the line and taken the enemy's...! And I'd won. I'd survived!
I'd unleashed all my hatred and rage and murdered a man!
"Uwoooorgh...!"
Black sludge erupted from my mouth at the same time.
"Wh-what the hell?!"
This can't be real! Black sludge spewing from my mouth? But that wasn't all. From my mouth. My eyes. My nose. My ears! Every orifice gushed with the murky liquid, filling the area around me!
"Aaaaaagh!"
The moment I thrashed like a man trapped in a water tank—
—Pop.
My eyes snapped open.
"Huuuugh!"
Filthy sludge from my mouth!
"Ah!"
I frantically wiped my mouth and suddenly came to my senses. Right. This is an inn.
"Fuck, again...!"
Ever since that day, I've switched inns and taken a break from work. No government troops came chasing me. No one showed up trying to kill me for revenge.
"..."
They say in the Murim, bottom-feeder ronin dying is everyday stuff and no one cares—and it looks like that's true.
I felt relieved, but my mental state was fucked in a whole other way. The shock of murder. I'd tried not to think about it, but it hit hard. After all, I'd killed a man with these hands.
It was half bravado, but when I went all-in for life or death, those bastards backed off to avoid the loss. Fighting a nobody like me and getting hurt would just screw them over.
If I'd been a typical coward, I'd have surrendered and handed over my money. But by showing my resolve, I protected my wealth...!
And not only that—I chased down the fleeing bastard and killed him!
Terror. Fear. Relief. And thrill.
"Ooh...!"
All those emotions swirled, wrecking my daily life. One moment I'd be scared shitless, the next buzzing with adrenaline; my tension would spike, then crash into relief, only to spike with fear again. A total psycho.
"..."
I wasn't like this before... It was like a trauma.
I'd dumped all the pent-up rage in my heart onto that bandit. If he hadn't pulled that shit on me, I never would've had to kill...!
Those murdering thieves turned me into a killer!
"Hoo!"
I exhaled once and calmed my mind.
"Right."
He deserved to die. If I didn't kill him, he'd kill me. So I killed him because I had to. No guilt about it.
—Swish.
I stood up from my seat. Looks like I need to revise my view of this Murim.
I thought it was a place where people lived, but it's Murim through and through. To protect myself here, I need to be ready to kill anytime.
Think again. This is Murim. And as long as I carry a "weapon" in this world, everyone will treat me like a Murim man, exposing me to unreasonable malice and violence.
But I can't ditch the weapon. I can't go back to scraping by as a laborer for 100 mun a day.
So I have to live with the mindset that I can die or kill at any moment. Always keep that in mind. This isn't Earth. Slack off and I'll really die.
I don't wanna die!
"Hoo!"
Finally shaking off the heart demon. That nightmare actually made my resolve stronger.
"What the fuck is 'entering devil through transformation'!"
That day's experience hit me with brutal enlightenment.
"No big deal!"
If you're gonna kill, kill. To smash injustice, fight. Half-assed mindset won't cut it here.
"Let's go!"
No savings left now. Time to move.
"Auntie! Give me strength!"
I imagined my aunt's face in my mind and mustered my energy. What if she finds out later that I killed someone? Can't even imagine.
"Shrieeeek!"
A So Seong-gwi screeched as it flew at me.
"Hah!"
Just move like I trained. Focus on breathing and footwork, aim precisely, and slash.
—Slash!
Clean cut. The So Seong-gwi was bisected. With my lower body rooted firm, power naturally flowed into the sword, and swinging true maximized the blade's force—no way a puny So Seong-gwi resists that.
—Thud.
I kicked the fallen one aside and horizontally slashed another incoming one.
"Shrk...!"
Then another targeted me from the left.
"You little shit!"
Slash it? No, too far—too slow. Better punch it away. Luk Hap Kwon mixes with Samjae Geombeop anyway.
I gathered my thoughts and unleashed a Luk Hap Kwon form. Outstretched fist. My left fist flew, and the solid back of my hand smashed the So Seong-gwi.
—Crack!
I blasted it flying, then—
"Haaaaah!"
—soccer-kicked the one coming straight at me.
—Thwack!
"Kweee?!"
Satisfying impact. It rocketed like a soccer ball. I slammed my raised foot down, stamping firmly, then—
"Whirlwind!"
Unleashed the advanced spinning slash to check another one.
—Slash!
But the checked one got its waist severed.
"Ooh!"
One more down. All appeared So Seong-gwi cleared.
"Kuhahaha!"
Swords are the shit! Leagues above that retarded stick club! The lethality is insane—just a slash and they're dead!
Looking at the So Seong-gwi shredded by my martial arts, intense joy bubbled from deep inside.
"I've gotten stronger!"
Martial arts definitely make you strong. Or maybe the murder experience. Whatever—at my level now, So Seong-gwi are total cannon fodder. Trash mob shits not even worth fighting seriously. Especially after training up.
—Drip.
I collected the rewards, went back, ate big, and rested. Heart demon from my first kill? Shaken off completely.
My mind didn't break. Even in that chaos, I looted the bandit's weapon and his pouch with 120 mun.
Sold the used sword for 200 mun pocket money. Even scored a small dagger. Kill one guy and gain 320 mun plus a dagger? Killer deal.
"Should've stripped his clothes and shoes too."
That's my only regret now. Could've sold those for extra cash... Oh yeah, wasn't there another one? If I spot him soon, I'll strike first. Gotta end the grudge.
I killed his buddy—that's blood feud territory. Gotta hunt him down to eliminate future threats... Feels like I've become a psycho killer.
But first time's the hardest; after that, it's easy. In this Murim, you gotta be ready to kill anytime to survive. Sharpen my edge.
With that vibe, I headed to Dahoebang for new gigs today.
"You've become a proper Murim man, lad."
The old man who always gives me jobs at Dahoebang said that.
"Really?"
Is it that obvious? Maybe he sniffed out that I'm a killer now. Living here, he'd have the eyes for it.
"Yes. So try looking for proper Murim jobs."
"Murim jobs?"
"If you want bigger money, head to Haengdomun."
"Haengdomun? Where's that?"
"Where ronin take jobs. Like our Dahoebang, but more Murim-style."
"Ah!"
Right, that place. They said aside from laborers like us, there's work needing real Murim folk. Mostly ronin take those. When stronger yokai than So Seong-gwi show up, they handle it there.
"Hmm, but can I just go?"
"Pay 100 mun, and I'll give you a token saying you did good work here."
"Like a referral?"
"Exactly."
Looks like the old man makes side cash this way.
"I'll check it out first and decide. Buy if needed."
"Hmm... alright."
Why shell out 100 mun upfront if I'm not sure? We know each other, but no blind trust.
"Thanks for the info!"
Anyway, off to Haengdomun.
"Murim jobs, huh."
Got yokai extermination experience, learned martial arts, got a sword. Even killed an armed bandit. My resume's solid—should be fine.
Headed straight there.
"Whoa."
Bigger than expected. And packed with Murim types. Totally different from laborer-heavy Dahoebang.
All armed, rough vibes—ain't this a gangster den? Murderous thugs at that. Gotta watch my step here.
"Any warriors to exterminate yokai with me!"
"Heard the government's pissed at this bandit stronghold chief..."
"Subjugation order might drop soon."
"A Yaguja appeared! Need second-rate warriors!"
Mingling and eavesdropping, all kinds of talk. Mostly jobs. What Murim folk do.
Watching armed guys share info and recruit for hunts sparked something.
"Mercenary guild?"
In fantasy terms, this is a mercenary guild, right? Wuxia looks, but that vibe. Feels fresh—no wuxia stories like this in my memory. Whole new breed.
Check the bulletin board first.
"Huh."
The moment I stood before it, a punchy phrase grabbed my eyes.
Mass Outbreak of Goburin
Government Office Subjugation Quest
What?! Exterminate what now?!
"Goblin?!"
Goblin?! I blinked hard, but no—it was Goburin, with a pic and description: small green-skinned yokai. Child-sized. Long nose and ears, hunched back, low intelligence...
The second I confirmed, I could only claw my head.
This is a straight-up goblin!
"Eek!"
This ain't wuxia!!!