This Is Namgoong
Namgoong Min brought his sword down and thought.
'I believed this was a heavenly curse.'
Ever since he first crossed the threshold of the Namgoong Sega at seventeen.
From the moment he claimed the Namgoong sword and the Namgoong name.
He had accepted it without complaint, because it was the price demanded for inheriting the revered name of Namgoong.
Shwaaak—
As Namgoong Min swung his sword downward, memories surfaced.
That first strike at seventeen.
In spring he loved training beneath blooming flowers. In summer he loved how his blade carved through shafts of sunlight. In autumn he loved the falling leaves that danced to his rhythm, and in winter he loved the snowflakes shattering like crystal under his descending sword.
'Did I really think it was a curse back then?'
No. He had not.
In those days, Namgoong Min had simply been happy to swing his sword.
Just as he was now.
Shuk—
He had been glad the sword family did not collapse the following year.
He had been glad his sword form grew more beautiful the year after that.
He had been glad his strikes became stable the year after that.
'Did I truly call this simplicity a heavenly curse?'
Every single year, Namgoong Min swung his sword. Three hundred and sixty-five days, without missing a single one. The moment he regained his senses, it would be dawn, and he would already be swinging again as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
Even when blisters burst across his palms, he rejoiced that he had learned to swing properly.
Even when barely healed wounds reopened and festered, he felt no pain because he had successfully executed a thrust.
Not once had he asked “Why?”
There was a sword. Namgoong Min simply took hold of it. The next step was to swing it down, exactly like this.
Shuk—!
He was right.
It was exactly as Lee Shin had said. This simplicity was neither curse nor flaw.
It was simply natural.
Like the sky. Like the clouds. Like this sword he had swung his entire life.
Lee Shin had been right. There was nothing complicated about it.
“This… is Namgoong.”
The delusion that had clouded his eyes lifted away.
We are not fools. We are honest.
Our swords are not simple. They are concise.
Our martial arts are as natural as the sun hanging at the tip of that blade.
“Hahahahahahaha!!”
Namgoong Min brought his sword down.
Today. Tomorrow. Until the day he died.
That was his home—the one he respected and loved.
It was Namgoong.
“We congratulate you on your achievement, Family Head.”
“We congratulate you on your achievement, Family Head!”
At the congratulations from the two priests standing guard, a simple, pure smile bloomed on Namgoong Min’s face.
“Thank you.”
“……!”
“……!”
The pair froze.
How long had it been since they last saw their senior brother smile?
He had always worn a stiff, expressionless mask, but the Namgoong Min they remembered was exactly like this—a warm man who purely enjoyed the sword and looked after his juniors first.
Though the heavy burden of being family head had stolen his smile, he was still a man capable of smiling so innocently.
He’s back…! Overcome with emotion, the two disciples bowed their heads. Namgoong Min gently patted their backs.
“It’s already this late. Let’s talk business over a meal. For dinner… let’s have egg porridge. Your junior sister likes that.”
“Y-yes!”
“I-I’ll prepare it right away!”
The junior sister dashed out using her movement technique. Soon, steaming bowls of egg porridge were ready, and the three of them sat together at the table, spoons in hand.
“How is the joint formation coming along?”
“Yes! That’s exactly what I wanted to talk about!”
“We’re already seeing results, Sen— I mean, Family Head!”
“It’s fine. This is a meal. Speak comfortably.”
“Yes, Senior Brother! You won’t believe it! It’s only been three days, but the kids are visibly transforming!”
After learning the joint formation from Lee Shin and verifying it through the night, the first thing Namgoong Min did was gather every member of the family and teach it to them.
They had been dragged out at the crack of dawn, still half-asleep, but Namgoong Min held them there and taught Lee Shin’s instructions without missing a single syllable.
The results were astonishing.
“Look at this. It’s our public scrim win rate. It rose ten percent in a single day, fifteen percent after two days, and by the third day it had shot up twenty percent!”
“The biggest factor was the dramatic rise in combat win rate. Everyone says their decision-making—their greatest weakness—has become impossibly fast.”
“And the lessons Brother Lee Shin gave? Are the children following them exactly??”
Of course, the joint formation was not the only gift.
Lee Shin’s one-point lessons had been just as crucial.
If you sensed the angle, go in. If a comrade threw their body forward, follow without hesitation. Live together, die together.
A sword drawn from its sheath needed neither doubt nor retreat.
Fight gloriously. Like true martial artists.
“Brother Lee Shin told them not to half-heartedly become hunters, but to become real martial artists.”
“‘Real martial artist’—so simple, yet it struck the core. Because of those words, hesitation vanished from the children’s blades.”
“I liked this one even more: ‘We don’t look for fights we can win. We fight to win.’ He’s right. Since when have we ever avoided battle? Honestly, when it comes to power or bravery, the Namgoong Sega doesn’t lose to anyone.”
“Well said.”
The individual martial strength of the Namgoong Sega stood equal to the Five Great Families, the Nine Great Schools that included Shaolin and the Beggar Clan, the North Sea Ice Palace, the Southern Savage Beast Palace, and even the Heavenly Demon Cult.
“But Senior Brother, I’ve been thinking while watching all this.”
“What is it?”
“Don’t you think Representative Lee Shin deliberately matched us against the Mets Guild?”
“You mean Brother Lee Shin?”
“Yeah… maybe I’m overthinking it.”
“No. Junior Baek-hee, finish what you were saying. What about Brother Lee Shin?”
“Well…”
The phrase that defined the Mets Guild was Mets Time.
Finishing the match within twenty-five minutes by any means necessary…
“In the process of stopping that, it seems our family members realized something. Instinct? Fighting spirit? It’s hard to put into words, but when the joint formation was added on top, the synergy exploded.”
“Isn’t that a bit of a stretch?”
“That’s why I called it just a thought.”
“No. It’s probably not a stretch at all.”
“!!”
“!!”
“Charging in alone is a mistake. Charging in together is a calculated gamble. From what I’ve seen, the Mets Guild is a guild that knows how to take those gambles. They will be good teachers for us.”
“Ah…”
“Conversely, the Mets Guild will learn from us just how important lane battles and individual strength truly are.”
“We will learn from each other.”
“Yes. We will be good teachers to one another.”
Having risen one full stage in realm, Namgoong Min could now faintly sense it.
A man who contained far more than what appeared on the surface.
Lee Shin was a true giant whose very vessel was enormous.
“If that’s really true, it’s a shame. The kids still don’t fully understand the principles of the joint formation, yet they’ve grown this much purely because of this camp.”
“Indeed. We should have taken fuller advantage of this opportunity. With more samples we could have raised the joint formation’s completion rate even higher… If I had known, I would have brought every last family member from the main house.”
“That’s a good idea. Bring them.”
“Bring them… Yes?”
“Senior Brother?”
“Don’t overcomplicate it.”
Simply. Concisely.
Don’t worry. If it feels right, do it.
“Act like a Namgoong.”
That evening, private jets rose into the sky from Anhui Province.
Four hundred and twenty-seven martial artists of the Namgoong Sega, along with over two thousand family members.
All of them joining the training camp.
“…So that’s why there were so many people.”
Ta-da!
Park Su-bin spun around while holding his selfie stick. Even though it was a weekday, Mir City was packed with people.
The training camp, which had eased the off-season boredom of league fans, was now racing toward its final days.
Having begun with unprecedented attention, the camp had produced countless stories.
That was why Park Su-bin’s V-log title was exactly this.
Filming location: Yeonu Tteokbokki. Sponsored by the tteok-sundae-fry combo.
Cameo appearance by…
The dutiful son in question was Baek Yeon-woo, wearing an apron with “Yeonu Tteokbokki” printed across it in huge letters.
Park Su-bin popped a piece of sundae into his mouth and continued.
“Where were we again?”
“Ah… I remember now! It was because of the video sponsorship. Anyway, you absolutely have to watch the Namgoong Sega match. Strong recommendation! You’ll be shocked. They really move like a single body with the joint for—”
“Sunfish. Watch your mouth.”
“…mation. It was seriously wow. The lane fights, the rotations, the team battles—they had a completely different flavor from Korea. Now I get why they’re called ‘martial artists.’ We learned a ton too. I’ll recommend it one more time. Really, really! You must watch the Namgoong Sega opening match. They’re going to do something huge this season!”
“Next up is the Mets Guild. There’s so much to say here too! Before I get into it, did you guys see the photo I took with Uncle MK? He styled me for that one. I loved it.”
“Going back to the camp, the Mets Guild also gained a lot, though in a slightly different way. On the gameplay side, it was lane management know-how and how to handle lane pressure during those relentless team fights. But the real takeaway was the mindset.”
“Maybe because they’re American, their practice time was surprisingly low. Less than half of ours or the Namgoong Sega’s. If your practice time is short, the density has to be high, but their concentration was lacking too. So we fixed that during this camp.”
The method was nothing fancy.
High-class shock therapy.
Or crudely put, they beat the arrogance out of them.
Who?
The two people smiling brightly here—Park Su-bin and, over there, Baek Yeon-woo with his business smile. The pair had trampled the Americans completely.
As if to say, We train like this every day. Who the hell are you?
Of course, American-style hunters wouldn’t fold from mere hardship. So they also brought a realistic blade, delivered in the most American way possible.
“Sister Selena and Uncle MK pulled off a massive signing.”
“Hey! You weren’t supposed to say that!”
“He said it was fine to talk about. They created a huge signing from Asia. Everyone got serious and started training like their lives depended on it after that.”
Besides that, the two guilds had promised massive investment in Busan because of the training camp.
“See that construction over there? That’s the future Namgoong Sega building. Uncle Namgoong Min said they’re going to build the tallest one. The Mets Guild is also constructing something near Busan Station, and it’s no joke either.”
The three major guilds’ squads were now complete, and the Mets Guild and Namgoong Sega had held secret scrims with them.
“Representative-hyung connected them, apparently. They signed nondisclosure agreements so I couldn’t get the details, but they said it was insane.”
They talked about many things related to the training camp, and as expected, the inevitable question finally appeared.
“Ah, hyung told me exactly what to say if this question comes up.”
Park Su-bin spread both hands toward the camera.
Smiling brightly, he delivered the line.
“You guys remain.”
Wasn’t it fun? Wasn’t it enjoyable?
As long as the fans kept showing interest, that was enough. We are satisfied with that. At Park Su-bin’s words, the chat exploded with an emotional waterfall.
·
·
But would Lee Shin really be the kind of person to take a loss?
At the airport gate, on the day of farewell.
Having just seen off the Mets Guild, Lee Shin was now bidding farewell to the Namgoong Sega.
“Then let us meet again next year, brother.”
“What are you talking about? We’ll see each other in the Asia League.”
“Hahaha, this older brother’s thinking was too shallow. Oh, right. Take this.”
“You really don’t have to give me anything.”
“Take it. We’ve sworn brotherhood. If I give you less than that MK fellow, this older brother’s face won’t survive. You mentioned needing an elixir related to poison before, yes?”
“Ooh—! This is incredibly valuable!”
“The misers from the Sichuan Tang Family drove a hard bargain. Take it, my hand is getting tired.”
Neither the Lee Shin who had taught them the joint formation nor the Namgoong Min who now offered the secret elixir of the Sichuan Tang Family expected any words of gratitude.
That was what it meant to be brothers. The two men had grown close enough to take responsibility for each other’s families.
“Then I’m off.”
“Contact me when you arrive.”
“I will.”
As Namgoong Min turned with his martial robes fluttering, the thousands of Namgoong Sega family members who had filled the airport all extended their hands at once, then brought them together.
A fist salute of utmost respect.
Expressing infinite gratitude to their benefactor.
Even their farewell was simple and straightforward, in true Namgoong fashion.
·
·
“They’re all gone?”
“Yes, they’ve left.”
“Let’s head back.”
◈ An elixir developed by the first patriarch of the Sichuan Tang Family. Refined from tens of thousands of poisons, it was originally created to slay those immune to all toxins but was later improved to elevate the user’s own mastery over poison.
Yup! Ehehe! Yes sir!