The Incompetent Hero and the Dragon-Phoenix Tournament
The Eastern Continent of Filgurea.
Beyond the golden desert known as the Gold Road that stretched from Filgurea's Central Continent — or by way of the sea routes — lay a land that had once been a patchwork of countless tribes, large and small, forever turning their weapons on one another.
Each tribe fought with everything they had for better land, for wider territory. Blood rarely had time to dry. It was an age of great wars, an age of utter chaos.
Into that era rose a man who would one day be called the Emperor of Yeom. He took up arms and gathered eight martial sects scattered across the land, along with five lesser factions that had been little more than footnotes beside the powers of the day, and together they spread through the chaos of the battlefield like a single spark catching dry grass.
In the crucible of war they honed the martial arts of their respective sects and factions, growing stronger with every battle.
And so they unified the fractured Eastern Continent and founded a single nation beneath the character for Flame — Yeom. That nation was the Yeom Kingdom.
"Getting into Yeom Kingdom was the easy part."
"Mm..."
"Getting locked up like this, though? Didn't see that coming. Right, Baekryeon?"
"Hahaha... Doryeong, as I told you then, this one had no idea either."
Having taken the fastest route — the sea — into Yeom Kingdom, Baekryeon and I had promptly been seized by the military.
【Approximately one hour before being seized by the military】
The defining feature of this place called Yeom Kingdom was firepower.
As if someone had been worried the country's name might not have enough flame in it, fire held a prominent place in the local diet.
Most of the cuisine fell into one of three categories: grilled, fried, or steamed.
Of course there were exceptions, but anything that could reasonably be called a main dish tended to follow that pattern. The result was food that some people found a little greasy — which was why the aggressively aromatic spices used to cut through that richness were another hallmark of Yeom cooking.
"Aitneng."
"Finish what's in your mouth before you speak, Doryeong."
I'd always been partial to greasy food — fried chicken, pork cutlets, that sort of thing — so Yeom cuisine suited my palate even better than anything I'd eaten on the Central Continent. I'd overdone it a little as a result... but this body had a higher basal metabolic rate than my old one, so I could eat as much as I wanted without putting on weight. No risk of getting sluggish. Small mercies.
"Whew. Finally feels like I'm living like a human being again."
"Heh. Glad to hear Yeom food agrees with you."
"Tch. A food tour wouldn't be the worst idea, but we didn't come all this way just to eat."
"I know that as well."
There was only one reason we'd walked all the way to the sea and crossed into Yeom Kingdom.
For the Geogeonhwan.
To fix this damn Leon body's pathetic little problem, we'd come all the way out here.
A good meal improved the mood, sure — but it wasn't the goal.
"This is one of the places in Yeom Kingdom where merchant caravans gather and disperse. Especially Shinhyeon City, where goods from the Central Continent pour in by the cartload."
"Hmm."
"If there's anywhere we can find a Geogeonhwan — or at least a lead — it's here."
She was right. Merchants of every stripe were haggling, loading, and unloading goods all around us.
Not just Eastern faces, either. People from the Central Continent like me were mixed in, and also...
"...Elves?"
"Hm? Ah, you mean the Woodfolk."
"Woodfolk? That's what you call elves here?"
"Indeed."
Pointed-eared men and women with golden hair that looked like it had been spun from sunlight itself.
Elves. Actual elves, right here in the open.
Had elves come here in the game? I didn't think I'd ever seen any.
"What are elves doing all the way out here?"
Elves were a race that mostly clustered on Filgurea's Western Continent. They spent their lives dealing with the powerful monsters of every stripe that flocked to the World Tree's mana, so they rarely left the West unless something serious forced their hand. If elves were outside the Western Continent, it meant one of two things:
Either the world was ending — or one of their own had been taken as a slave.
"Well... this one is no Woodfolk, so I couldn't say for certain... but I have heard they visit this place on a regular schedule."
"Hmm..."
Looking at the Woodfolk — the elves — they didn't seem to be here for any dire reason.
If anything, the vibe was light. Almost like... a school field trip?
"Eh, not my problem."
"Ah, yes. There is one thing I ought to tell you, Doryeong."
"?"
"There are those here called beastmen. Most of them are fiercely competitive by nature... so I would ask that you avoid clashing with them if you can help it."
Beastmen.
In essence, they were people who carried the blood of the Sacred Beasts — the mysterious creatures that dwelled on the Eastern Continent.
Their distinguishing traits were slight physical differences from ordinary humans.
Animal ears, for instance. Or a tail. Or, failing that...
Unusual hair color counts too.
I glanced at Baekryeon's hair.
Black, but shot through with white flecks that stood out here and there.
She didn't know it herself, but she was a beastman who carried the blood of the Sacred Beast Baekho. The entire Baek family she belonged to was a clan descended from the White Tiger — and Baekryeon, among them, was one who carried Baekho's blood directly.
In other words, her mother was Baekho herself. Red Oni had attacked the Baek family to steal the White Tiger's power and taken Baekho captive.
Baekho had surrendered herself to Red Oni to save her daughter. The surviving daughter, Baekryeon, now wandered in search of Red Oni for revenge... that was the rough outline of the story.
"Got it. Don't pick fights with beastmen."
After finishing a rough meal, Baekryeon and I got up and started wandering the city.
We checked ordinary apothecaries and medicine workshops, but there was no Geogeonhwan — nothing that even looked like one.
"Guess I'll have to ask directly. This is going to be embarrassing."
"Is there any other way? Asking outright is the only option left."
"Tch..."
...No matter how I turned it over, asking for a Geogeonhwan was going to be deeply, profoundly awkward.
I was seriously mulling over how to handle it when Baekryeon looked at me and asked,
"By the by, Doryeong — is this not your first time in Yeom Kingdom?"
"It is, actually."
"And yet you speak Yeom so well? It sounded so natural I was quite surprised."
"Ah."
Yeah. I didn't really know either.
If I had to guess... it was probably the Sword King's memories.
The way it just came out of me without thinking...
"Just learned it from my master."
"A master, is it?... Well, unless Doryeong is some kind of monster, you would not have been born wielding a sword. Of course you had a teacher. Was your master from Yeom Kingdom?"
"No, not that."
As we walked and talked, I spotted a rather promising-looking shady shop in the distance.
The things you were looking for usually turned up in places like that... I set our destination and headed inside.
"Excuse me."
The moment we stepped in, the distinctive smell of medicinal herbs hit hard — the particular scent of a place where countless ingredients were mixed and compounded. Somehow, it inspired a strange sense of trust.
Thinking that, I walked a little farther in, and a young page came scurrying over.
"What business brings you here, Young Hero?"
"I'm looking for a certain medicine. Is the proprietor in?"
"Medicine, you say? Please wait just a moment!"
The page nodded quickly and disappeared into the back of the shop.
A short while later, an elderly man emerged with the page in tow.
"Looking for medicine, are you?"
"Yes. We've been all over and couldn't find it anywhere."
"Hmm... What sort of medicine has you searching so hard?"
"Well... I need something called a Geogeonhwan."
I forced the words out past the embarrassment.
"...?"
"W-what did you just say...?"
The old man and the page both stared at me in open shock.
What? Had I said something weird?
"I said I need a Geogeonhwan..."
"E-enough! The boy's lost his mind! If you want to die, go die alone! Get out of here this instant!"
"???"
The old man exploded the moment the words left my mouth. Why was he so angry?
I turned to Baekryeon in confusion. She just shrugged — she didn't know either.
"I said get out!"
"Hold on, why are you suddenly like this?! At least tell me the reason before you throw us out!!"
"You truly don't know?! That thing you're looking for is—!!"
Before he could finish, a large contingent of soldiers poured in from outside.
"Wh-what?"
"I was told there were people here seeking a Forbidden Pill."
"Th-these ones right here, sir!!"
The old man and the page pointed straight at us.
...Forbidden Pill?
Was the Geogeonhwan banned? Seriously?
I shot a look at Baekryeon. She looked just as startled, staring back at me with a slightly flustered expression.
"...Hey."
"Doryeong. Think for a moment. How much would a woman like myself know about a Geogeonhwan? Simply knowing that such a thing exists was already the full extent of this one's contribution."
"You could've at least said something..."
"Seize them!"
"Haa..."
And that was roughly how we'd ended up locked in a cell.
Afterward, from what the guards told us, the Geogeonhwan had been designated a Forbidden Pill. It did, in fact, enlarge a man's equipment — but the side effect was that it converted the user's entire life force into sexual vitality, draining them dry. The kingdom had banned it for that reason.
"...Think they'll let us go? Or more to the point — if I break out of here by force, does that cause a diplomatic incident?"
"As expected of Doryeong. You could escape something like this with ease? I ought to take notes. This one, unfortunately, will have some difficulty escaping on account of these manacles."
"These manacles, huh..."
[UNUSABLE]
Manacles devised to restrain murim practitioners. When equipped, they distort the flow of qi, preventing the wearer from properly exerting their power.
...I never would have guessed that putting on manacles counted as "equipping" them.
Which meant these were basically just ordinary iron cuffs to me — the whole "prevents the wearer from properly exerting their power" part didn't apply.
Whether I should be happy or sad that this body couldn't use items...
Clomp. Clomp. Clomp.
"Someone approaches."
"Yeah. Hopefully someone we can actually talk to."
Beyond the iron bars, I turned toward the sound of approaching footsteps.
A man came into view, flanked by his subordinate soldiers, wearing an arrogantly self-satisfied expression.
"So you're the foreigners who were looking for a Forbidden Pill?"
"We are, but... we didn't know it was forbidden... any chance you could cut us some slack?"
I had no intention of causing an international incident by rampaging across an entire continent, so I decided to try talking it out first.
He seemed open to conversation as well. He nodded and spoke.
"Merely seeking a Forbidden Pill is a capital crime. I cannot simply let you go."
"..."
Nope. No slack after all.
"Are the two of you strong?"
"?"
But then he looked us both over carefully and opened his mouth again.
"If you grant me a favor... I might be willing to overlook this."
"A favor? What kind of—"
"One week from now, the Dragon-Phoenix Tournament will be held. If you enter under the banner of the government forces and take first place, I can look the other way regarding your offense."