Tutorial Cleared! The Sword Immortal's Recognition

As the messages appeared, I felt the internal energy stored in my dantian rapidly increase in volume. It wasn’t as if I had swallowed some miraculous elixir, yet my qi had grown this much. Such a thing could never happen without an extraordinary fortuitous encounter. Who would have thought growth could come from a single line of text? So this was what games were like.

The messages did not stop there.

Proficiency? Bonuses? What was all this? The amount of progress one gained from sword training should depend on oneself. The power one could display with martial arts should also be up to the individual. How could the system intervene in such things? Was it some kind of correction effect?

The viewers were making a huge fuss, so it seemed like an impressive title, but I felt no particular emotion.

The moment the alarm appeared, a single blade dropped in front of me. It was an ordinary sword similar in shape to the one Geomseon had used. You stubborn old man. You still haven’t given up on trying to drag me down the path of the sword?

I considered throwing it away, but it felt wasteful to discard something given to me, so I hung it at my waist. It wasn’t as if I couldn’t use swordsmanship myself; there was no reason to throw it away.

Even after the final message appeared, nothing was given to me. It said I acquired the Immortal’s Fragment, yet why did nothing drop? I wondered if this was normal and checked the chat window, but the viewers were just as confused as I was.

It seemed they knew nothing either. Oh well. I would find out eventually while playing the game. If nothing happened, that was fine too. If something did happen, that would be fun in its own way. I decided to leave it alone.

The moment I thought it was time to continue the game, a new window appeared before me.

Hwaeum. I definitely remembered hearing that name before. If I recalled correctly, it was a city near the foot of Mount Hua. An arrow was showing me the way, so I just had to follow it, right?

I took a slow step forward, then remembered this place was far removed from the modern world. No one would find it strange if I used light footwork. I pushed off the ground and folded the earth beneath my feet.

Ha-rin had not missed a single day of Hwaryeong’s streams since she first turned on her broadcast. Every single action Hwaryeong took purified her eyes and filled her with admiration, so she simply could not look away. That was why, even though Hwaryeong had started streaming late at night today, Ha-rin was still watching.

The fact that it was late and she had school tomorrow was not important. What mattered was that the moment Ha-rin recommended Hwaryong Muin, Hwaryeong had immediately started playing it. In a world without a single wager, she had done impossible things. Ha-rin was dying to see just how impossible her feats would become in the martial world.

The game she had played most seriously in her life had combined with the person she liked and admired. How could school or classes possibly matter in comparison?

As expected, Hwaryeong was still Hwaryeong. From the very tutorial of Hwaryong Muin, she had performed absurd feats. With a tutorial body that had only just reached second-class, she had destroyed Geomseon’s formation, forced him to draw his sword, and even succeeded in drawing out his true heart.

“What on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠earth is the Falling Sun Swordplay? Wasn’t that the one Lady Hwaryeong used last time?”

Wasn’t that the technique she used when she dropped a dragon from the sky in Sky’s End? Why was Geomseon using it now?

The Falling Sun Swordplay Geomseon displayed was nothing short of a miracle. The moment he swung his sword, the sun in the sky fell and complete darkness descended. Even Ha-rin, who had played since Hwaryong Muin’s launch, was seeing it for the first time. Her admiration went beyond amazement and reached the point of speechlessness.

Lady Hwaryeong. If you show something like that right from the start, what does that make all the people who have faced Geomseon in Hwaryong Muin until now?

Geomseon was an incredibly popular character in Hwaryong Muin. The setting that he had seen the end of the sword was already overpowered, and anyone who had watched him display his martial prowess during the story could not help but admire him. Every user who wielded a sword dreamed of becoming his disciple and did everything possible to earn his recognition.

That was not all. Among other users, there were countless people who tried to prove their skill by defeating him. Numerous players challenged Geomseon and were defeated instantly. Most never even saw him draw his sword. Even those who did witness the draw were defeated before they could properly witness his martial arts.

After countless challenges, some had seen him use his martial arts, but not a single one had ever seen him employ the Falling Sun Swordplay. Despite the long time since Hwaryong Muin’s release, Hwaryeong had witnessed it the moment she started the game.

That alone was astonishing, but the truly shocking part was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠something else. While facing Hwaryeong with his sword drawn, Geomseon had said he would take her as his disciple. Until now, no one had ever heard those words from him. Many wanted it, but no matter what methods they used, becoming Geomseon’s disciple had been impossible.

Everyone had simply assumed the system prevented it. But that common sense had been shattered today. Hwaryeong had proven that if you could capture Geomseon’s interest, you could become his disciple.

Thanks to that, the group chat of the Hwaryong Muin sect that Ha-rin belonged to was in complete chaos. Discussions ranged from whether becoming his disciple would grant his protection, to needing to verify the conditions, to forming a trial party immediately. Maybe meeting him during the tutorial was the condition. And so on.

Even though most members were over thirty, they were all burning with the desire to stay up all night. Uncle, what are you going to do tomorrow if you stay up like this? These were the same people who always complained about suffering for days after one all-nighter. Was this really okay?

“Ha-rin!”

The door burst open and Yu-ryong entered.

“Dad, you weren’t sleeping?”

“How could I sleep?! They said there’s a way to become Geomseon’s disciple!”

“We know it’s possible, but we still need to figure out the exact method.”

“That’s enough! Let’s start verifying it. We can’t fall behind the others. We don’t know how many disciples he’ll accept!”

Yu-ryong had been feeling a sense of crisis as their sect’s influence gradually weakened lately. He seemed to believe that becoming Geomseon’s disciple would increase their sect’s power, and his eyes burned with enthusiasm.

“What exactly are you doing?”

At the low, menacing voice, Yu-ryong’s shoulders flinched. Ha-rin’s mother was glaring at him with terrifying eyes from behind.

“You have to prepare for business at dawn tomorrow, and you’re saying you won’t sleep?”

“N-no, honey, that’s not—”

“Sure. Do whatever you want. But if you doze off tomorrow afternoon, I’ll make sure you sleep for the rest of your life.”

The moment Ha-rin’s mother left, Yu-ryong chased after her, desperately making excuses. Watching her father’s pitiful retreating figure, Ha-rin posted in the sect group chat that the sect leader would be absent. The uncles who had first complained about proceeding without the leader fell silent and offered condolences for Yu-ryong once Ha-rin explained the situation. Most members had families of their own, so they understood the sect leader’s circumstances.

Ha-rin watched the uncles debate among themselves for a while before turning her gaze back to the screen. At some point, Hwaryeong had arrived at the city.

“Never seen your face before. New here? Be careful. This place is crawling with all kinds of martial artists. If you overestimate your own skill, you’ll end up badly hurt before long.”

The guard at the city entrance gave me advice after seeing my face but did not block my path. It was a strange experience. Whenever I had entered cities in the past, I had always needed to use disguise techniques to change my appearance. My notoriety had spread across the entire continent, making it impossible to enter without doing so.

But now it was different. No one tried to stop me. In fact, no one even recognized me. How long had it been since I entered a city without causing any commotion? After thinking back carefully, I realized I had never entered a city quietly. By the time I first appeared in the world, I had already become a public enemy of the murim.

The ordinary experience of leisurely looking around a city was, for me, a first.

The quest told me where to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠go, but I did not follow it immediately. The place called the Beggars’ Inn was not going to run away, so there was no harm in moving at a leisurely pace. More than that, I wanted to look around the city first.

As I took in the city’s scenery, memories of Hwaeum surfaced. They were not good memories. The last time I had set foot in this city, I had been in the middle of my relentless revenge against the righteous sects. I had destroyed this city while criticizing Mount Hua’s weakness. I had repeatedly committed evil deeds, shouting that it was all the fault of Mount Hua’s sins against innocent civilians.

Even now, all I could remember was the sight of screaming citizens and a burning city. This could very well be my first time entering a peaceful Hwaeum. Come to think of it, given the timing, this city must have already been burned down once and then rebuilt. The people living here must all carry resentment toward me.

It was fortunate I had come with this game body. While quietly observing Hwaeum, my eyes caught the tallest building in the city center. It looked like a good spot to view the entire city if I climbed it. I walked over with light steps and found several guards standing watch at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the entrance. It seemed an important person lived there.

“Can one enter this place normally?”

In that case, it seemed I could not enter through the front door. The guards’ level was not particularly high, so I could break through if I wanted, but doing so would probably make me a fugitive in this city. That did not matter. After all, going up to the roof was not the only way to climb a building, was it?