The Rising Star Guild
Only after we'd slogged through every pointlessly convoluted piece of paperwork did the guild application finally go through.
Assuming nothing went wrong, the guild would be officially founded in about three days.
“Hmm……”
“Hyung, are you still sulking?”
“Do I really come across as that petty?”
Fine. A guild was being established under my name.
Not a F-rank Guild — a Shinseong Guild.
“No matter how I think about it, isn't the name Shinseong hopelessly old-fashioned?”
“It's a hell of a lot better than F-rank Guild, so pipe down.”
The two people who had pushed hardest for the name Shinseong had flat-out steamrolled my objection.
“Tch.”
There was a reason for it, though.
In some ways, this guild could be seen as a subsidiary of Cheonseong — and frankly, that arrangement was the only one that let us draw on Cheonseong's support without anyone raising an eyebrow.
Which was why it was the Shinseong Guild of the Cheonseong Group.
“F-rank Guild was way better….”
My argument wasn't even debated. It was simply dismissed.
Because I'd declared that if I had to be in an F-rank Guild, I'd rather quit guilds altogether.
Fine, then.
Being the good-natured soul I am, I decided to let it go.
A guild leader humoring his members' opinions. What could be more ideal than that?
Anyway.
With the founding settled, what remained was the guild war.
We had roughly a month and a half left until it began.
Honestly, that wasn't much breathing room.
It's a relief that everyone's individual stats are high, but.
The other major guilds would undoubtedly be preparing hard for this guild war as well. Word that this one would be a grand, lavish affair must have spread ages ago.
So what we needed right now was—
Intensive training.
Between now and the preliminary rounds, we would reinforce our strength as much as possible.
“Hmm… so.”
Baek Seo-ha tilted her head as she stared up at the towering gate before us.
“Why are we here?”
“I told you. Intensive training.”
I walked up to the gate and called out naturally.
“Master. Your disciple has come to pay his respects.”
“Your master?”
Before Shin Min-woo could finish his question—
KUGUGUGUGUNG!
A tremendous tremor shook the ground from beyond the gate.
It felt like a hundred bulls charging straight at us. Then the massive doors swung wide, and a muscle-bound middle-aged man greeted us with booming cheer.
“Welcome, disciple!”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa! I-It's really the Fist King!”
Shin Min-woo toppled over in shock and rolled across the ground.
“You… don't tell me your master is….”
“Yup.”
Korea's current number one ranked hunter.
Fist King, Kang Hyuk-jin.
“This man is my master.”
When I'd first been strong-armed into discipleship, it had thrown me off a bit — but the more I thought about it, the more it seemed like an offer I had no reason to refuse.
I'd have to make the pilgrimage through every sect eventually to complete Gwimangmugeuk anyway.
The Hyeonmu Fist Sect was naturally on that list. If a visit was inevitable, the method hardly mattered.
Besides, getting trained directly by the Fist King himself? Only an idiot would pass that up.
“I've been waiting for you! But who are these two flanking you?”
The Fist King's eyes rolled our way as if only now noticing, sizing up Baek Seo-ha and Shin Min-woo.
“One's a scrawny-looking boy… and your face, I've seen it somewhere before.”
“This is my first time greeting you properly, sir.”
Baek Seo-ha clasped her hands together and bowed with impeccable courtesy.
“My name is Baek Seo-ha.”
“Baek Seo-ha…? Baek Seo-ha….”
The Fist King murmured the name over to himself, then raised a finger as if recalling something.
“Ah! You're that Sword Judge's disciple, aren't you.”
“…That's right.”
A flicker of bitterness crossed Baek Seo-ha's face, then vanished just as quickly.
Truly, a woman long past the novice level when it came to hiding her emotions.
“Looks like there's a story there.”
The Sword Judge's direct disciple, wandering about outside the sect walls — and showing up at a fist sect of all places. Even the Fist King, arrogant as he was, could tell something unusual had happened.
“Well then, good luck to you!”
Not that he'd do more than that, of course.
“Come on in, disciple!”
“…Excuse me?”
“Then what about the two of us—”
“They're not my disciples, are they? The only disciple I've taken is this one.”
He pointed at me.
“Taking on a whole crowd of disciples isn't to my taste.”
That much was true.
The sect grounds were practically empty even now.
At this point in time, the Fist Sect has maybe five or six disciples.
And all of them were out working in the field, so in practice it was a space the Fist King used entirely on his own.
Put kindly, he ran a small elite unit; put unkindly, he was the type who found disciples too much of a hassle to bother with. Kang Hyuk-jin only personally took in and raised the ones who caught his eye.
The money needed to keep the sect running?
He simply earned it himself. A hunter ranked first in the nation could pull in tens of billions of won a month from gates alone, without counting any of the side ventures.
“If you understand, then go home. I have some ve~ry important things to discuss with my disciple.”
…Something about that felt off.
“…….”
“…….”
Two pairs of eyes bored into me.
The message was clear: fix this somehow.
Sigh.
I let out an internal breath, then squared my shoulders.
“Master. I apologize, but I want to join the sect together with them.”
And so the real negotiation began.
To stand among the favorites for the guild war title in only a month and a half—
I need the Fist King's help.
Those two had potential to spare; they'd soak up everything the Fist King taught them. To grow strong quickly, the guidance of a great master was essential.
It certainly had been for me.
“All three of you, together?”
The Fist King's brow creased in annoyance.
“Refused. More disciples means nothing but trouble.”
“Then I refuse to join as well.”
“…Are you playing games with me right now?”
The mood had stayed light the whole time, so it was easy to forget — but this man was Korea's number one ranked hunter.
In other words, the strongest person in this country at this very moment.
“It seems I'll have to teach you a lesson the rough way.”
The pressure radiating from him made the air itself feel dizzying against my skin.
I forced a smile and shook my head.
“That's not what I meant.”
“Then what do you mean?”
“My wish to join together with them isn't mere stubbornness, sir.”
Kang Hyuk-jin. A man who, ever since awakening at a young age, had written history without pause.
One of the absolute strongest — not just domestically, but on any stage the world had to offer.
“What exactly are you getting at?”
“The reason I want them beside me is this.”
Among that man's hobbies, one stood out above the rest.
Reading wuxia novels.
“Because they want to become your disciples, sir.”
“My… disciples, you say?”
“Yes. Which would make you their Grandmaster, sir.”
“……!”
At that single word, the Fist King's frozen expression melted like spring ice.
“……Huh?”
Baek Seo-ha's face, on the other hand, curdled in a hurry.
“Where in the world is there a master who abandons his disciples? You of all people know that the bond between master and student isn't something formed lightly.”
“Your words are true. The ties between people are tougher than anything else in this world.”
“And so it is my heart's wish that they receive your teachings alongside me. Please, become their Grandmaster.”
“Ahah! Grand… Grandmaster, you say….”
I could see him fighting tooth and nail to keep the corners of his mouth from curling upward.
After martial valor, the things the Fist King loved most were chivalry and righteousness.
Nothing pleased him more than the man who saw his own people through to the very end.
And conversely, that's exactly why he's so reluctant to take disciples.
Which was precisely what made him the most reliable ally imaginable, once he was on your side.
“Splendid, my disciple! Already gathering followers and bringing them under your wing.”
“You flatter me, sir.”
KHAHAHA!
The Fist King laughed heartily, then turned to Baek Seo-ha and Shin Min-woo.
“Now then. Why do you follow my disciple?”
“…….”
While Baek Seo-ha was still caught flat-footed—
“I owe Hyung more than I can ever repay.”
Shin Min-woo rose from the ground and spoke.
“If it weren't for Hyung, I know I'd still be chasing an impossible dream.”
“Ohh?”
“He's the one who made me leap over a wall that seemed endlessly high — the one who made my wish come true. How could I not respect him and follow him!”
Perhaps because it rang with such unguarded sincerity, the Fist King stroked his beard with a smile of deep satisfaction.
“I see. And you?”
“…Me.”
Baek Seo-ha pressed her lips tightly shut. Then, quietly, the words slipped out.
“Lee Tae-hyun… taught me the truth about reality.”
It didn't glitter the way Shin Min-woo's answer had — but her voice carried a gravity all its own.
“That things which looked stubborn could shatter in an instant. That the answer I believed in might have been wrong all along. I never understood that, all this time.”
She had lived her entire life for the Sword Sect — and the Sword Sect had cast her aside.
Without even a sliver of a chance.
“It was Lee Tae-hyun who pulled that version of me out into the world and let me fight again. He's taught me more than I can name. That's why I serve him as my master—”
Our eyes met for an instant.
I flashed her a grin, deliberately.
“…And I will stand by him for the rest of my life.”
Thankfully, she caught the cue and played it perfectly.
She understood that the only way out of this unscathed was to become my disciple.
“KHAHAHAHAT! Yes, that's it! I had no idea my disciple had such virtue!”
The Fist King shot a thumbs up.
“Come in, all of you!”
“Hey.”
Baek Seo-ha swung at my ribs, and I slipped it with a fluid sidestep.
“Slow, disciple.”
“Grrh!!”
She stamped her foot in place, then shot a glare toward Shin Min-woo.
“Why are you so perfectly content?!”
“Huh? Because I genuinely do think of Hyung as my master, of course.”
“You Lee Tae-hyun fangirl of a….”
When Shin Min-woo let out a happy little hehe, Baek Seo-ha pinched the bridge of her nose, thoroughly fed up.
I was planning to warn them ahead of time, honestly.
But the moment we arrived at the Fist Sect, my mind had changed. Call it curiosity — about how my guild members actually saw me.
“Besides, this got you the Fist King's tutelage, didn't it? For one bruised ego, that's a hell of a return.”
“That's…! But still….”
His teachings, if anything, were worth a fortune that no amount of money could buy.
Only those who earned the Fist King's favor ever got to hear them.
“We have to win. Spare no expense — water, fire, whatever it takes.”
“I never did, actually. I'd just have liked a little warning, that's all—”
“A little what?”
“…Nothing.”
Clearly nursing some grievance, she spun on her heel and turned away.
Come to think of it.
It was probably about time I gave her that.
She'd need a period to adjust, after all.
“Baek Seo-ha.”
“What.”
“Catch.”
“Catch wha— Whoa!”
I drew a single sword wreathed in a bluish aura from my subspace and tossed it to her, scabbard and all.
“What is this?”
“Benefits.”
Where I'd poured every skill book imaginable into Shin Min-woo, this was my investment in Baek Seo-ha.
«Chanryonggeom (S) — Dragon Slayer Sword»
The final treasure from the medicinal hall of Yaksun — and the S-rank sword the Baek Seo-ha of my previous life had wielded.
“This is—… Gah!”
The moment she checked the grade, Baek Seo-ha hiccupped mid-breath.
“Start practicing with it today.”
Originally, I'd meant to hand it over the instant we cleared the gate. But handing it over out of nowhere felt like it would raise suspicion — and knowing her temperament, I half expected her to refuse outright. So I'd put it off until now.
Shrung.
I eased the blade partway from its scabbard, and a gleam of uncanny spirit welled off the steel. Even someone like me, who knew next to nothing about swords, felt admiration well up unbidden. A true masterpiece.
“……!”
Baek Seo-ha stared at the blade for a long moment — then hugged the scabbard tight to her chest.
“…Thank you.”
“Hm? What was that?”
“Thank…… you. I'll put it to good use.”
“Gratitude isn't something you say with words.”
Anyone could talk. The real thing shows itself in action and results.
“Win that Sect Leader's seat with that sword, no matter what. That's how you repay its worth.”
“Obviously.”
She declared it with every ounce of confidence she had.
“I'm going to win. For certain.”