The Incompetent Hero and the Sichuan Tang Clan
Well, of course I won.
The looks on the other clan heads, sect masters, and acting masters when they had to congratulate me as champion and hand over something resembling a trophy were so priceless that the victory felt worthwhile for that alone. Still, as expected — the Abbot of Shaolin was simply built differently. Even after I'd cracked his disciple's skull and gone on to take the championship, he congratulated me with a knowing smile.
"Congratulations. I was certain that child would claim victory at the Dragon-Phoenix Assembly… but the world is vast, and I have come to realize that both I and Shaolin still have much ground left to cover."
"…It's nothing special."
"Amitabha."
And with that, more or less, the Dragon-Phoenix Assembly came to an end.
Jang Cheon-woo of the Yeom forces. Advisor Yang informed me that, thanks to my unmatched performance — and the fact that I'd dropped every single opponent in a single exchange — people had started calling me by the moniker One Dragon.
One Dragon, huh…
It sounded pretty corny, but when I thought about it, this was a fake identity anyway. Whatever they wanted to call me was none of my business.
At any rate, free at last, Baekryeon and I headed for the home of the old woman who'd put us up all this time.
"You're leaving, then?"
"Yeah. Time to go."
"Then I shall pray that your journey ends safely."
I nodded at that. Grateful as I was for the well-wishes, I had something to hand over first.
"Here."
"What is this?"
"What do you think? Something for your boss."
At my words, the old woman's face darkened. She flicked her gaze rapidly between me and Baekryeon, then spoke.
"When did you figure it out?"
"The first night. In the dead hours before dawn, you weren't prepping the shop for the next day — you were doing something shady in a hidden basement. Who wouldn't get suspicious? I honestly thought you were trying to tip me off on purpose. More than that, someone managed to track me down even though I'd never told them where I was staying. So I just went along with it."
"…"
Granny Wang stared at me as if she couldn't believe it.
You're seriously underestimating my detection ability, Granny.
"…Then I'll ask again. What is this?"
The old woman's presence shifted. Checking the status window, I saw nothing much different beyond a slight bump in her Technique stat.
So you can alter the stats themselves. Whether she hid them on her own or borrowed some item's power, I couldn't say.
Either way, I looked at the bound sheaf of papers she was holding and spoke.
"Your boss seems pretty serious about all this, so I'm giving it to you. Not much in the way of content, but your superior will know what it is once you deliver it."
"My superior… Have you figured out who I am?"
"No? No idea. I just know you do weird stuff every night, and that your boss has been watching me."
"…"
Granny Wang let out a long sigh and tossed something my way. It was a wooden carving, its surface etched with engravings so fine they were nearly impossible to notice.
"What's this?"
"Go to Sichuan."
"Huh? I asked what this is, and you're suddenly telling me to go to Sichuan?"
"What you're looking for — the clues to the Geogeonhwan — will be there."
Clues to the Geogeonhwan, in Sichuan?
"I can trust that?"
"Yes. The Geogeonhwan is fundamentally a type of pill — medicine. Sichuan… and the Sichuan Tang Clan that has long held its seat there have, from ancient times, excelled at poisons and the medical arts of neutralizing them. Their assassination techniques are nothing to scoff at either, of course."
I understood. So if it was the Sichuan Tang Clan, they might know the manufacturing method for the Geogeonhwan — or at least the sales routes?
It was a plausible lead, no question.
"Once you arrive in Sichuan, seek out Mara Hall and show that wooden carving to anyone there. They will assist you."
"Alright. Sounds good."
I stowed the carving Granny Wang had given me into my inventory and rose from my seat.
"We'll be off for real this time. Take care of yourself."
After Leon and Baekryeon had left, Granny Wang simply stared in the direction they'd gone.
"So he noticed after all."
"Indeed."
Advisor Yang and Dongho stepped into Granny Wang's shop. Receiving the book from her, Advisor Yang slowly skimmed its contents — then burst into roaring laughter.
"What on earth is written in there to make you react like that?"
Dongho asked, addressing Advisor Yang with formal respect.
"Truly… truly, this is exactly what we needed. A swordsmanship manual."
"Swordsmanship!… Don't tell me — the techniques he displayed at the Dragon-Phoenix Assembly?!"
"No. As I said then, every sword technique he performed was nothing more than basic swordsmanship. This, too, is merely a diagram of basic sword forms — nothing particularly special in itself."
"A… diagram of basic swordsmanship, you say?"
Dongho repeated, unable to grasp it. What was so remarkable about basic swordsmanship that someone would produce a diagram of it and hand it over as if it were something extraordinary?
Advisor Yang smiled at Dongho's bewilderment. Had he not seen this himself, he would have thought the exact same thing.
"Basic swordsmanship is, in essence, the foundation of everything. And this book… with the Yeom Kingdom's forces currently lacking a representative martial art of their own, this provides the very foundation upon which such a representative art can be built."
"A foundation… you say?"
"Yes. It lays out the fundamentals of every weapon type."
The importance and power of basic swordsmanship had already been proven by Leon himself. And by leaving this book behind, he was asking a question:
Just how far can you go?
In that case, answering was only proper.
"We're going to be busy from here on. Young Master Dongho, would you send word to him?"
"Yes. Understood."
"…Perhaps that man… might even be able to break through the secret palace left behind by the First Emperor of Yeom."
"Achoo!"
"Are you all right?"
"My body's fine… but is someone talking about me?"
We left the city of Shinhyeon and set out on the road to Sichuan. Finding the way wasn't hard — I already had a full map of the Filgurea Continent that I'd picked up long ago in the Roman Kingdom.
Whether it was thanks to the status window's abilities or because that map was something special, the moment I'd obtained the Filgurea Continent map, a minimap function had activated based on it. That was how I'd managed not to forget the way home and get there just fine. And thanks to it now, we could push straight ahead without getting lost.
If I ever have reason to visit the Roman Kingdom again, I definitely need to stop by that general store.
"At the rate we walked for days on end when we went to the Prynn Kingdom, we should get there pretty quick. What do you think, Baekryeon?"
"Mm… that is a memory this one would rather not revisit…"
She really did look like she didn't want to think about it — Baekryeon stared at me with a face gone pale, as if to say, You're not seriously about to do that again, are you?
"We burned more time than expected with that whole Dragon-Phoenix Assembly thing, so we might need to hurry a bit~?"
"Ugh…"
When I said it teasingly, Baekryeon puffed her cheeks out slightly in protest.
"Doryeong… that is too much… When this one asked to be taught the sword, you taught nothing at all… and yet you left those people a secret manual… Are you tormenting this one now…?"
Apparently, handing them the basic sword diagrams before we left had stuck in her craw that badly. She'd kept it to herself until now, but the moment I started teasing her, she got petty about it…
"How many times do I have to say it? It's not a secret manual — it's just a diagram of basic swordsmanship!"
"That is a secret manual! Do you have any idea how much influence a diagram of sword techniques left by a master has on lesser practitioners?! Of course you don't! Because Doryeong is strong!!"
"Oh, you little—! And you use a hwando!! Our weapons are completely different!!"
The hwando Baekryeon used was a single-edged curved saber. Mine, on the other hand, was a double-edged straight sword.
You could ask, Aren't they both just swords in the end? — but no. They're different.
A double-edged sword needs a broader blade and thinner profile to maintain its keenness, making it lighter than a single-edged saber. A single-edged saber, by contrast, keeps the thickness of the spine to secure the blade's weight and durability, making it heavier than a double-edged sword. That subtle difference produces a massive divergence in swordsmanship.
Of course, the fact that the three-hundred-year tradition of the Sword King's memories includes an understanding of single-edged saber techniques is a separate matter entirely.
No need to tell Baekryeon that. Revealing your advantages and concealing your disadvantages — wasn't that just the way of the world?
"Anyway, quit sulking and hurry up."
"Hmph… Had Doryeong known how to ride a horse, we might have arrived already."
"I know how to ride a horse, though?"
"…?"
Well, sure — the Sword King's memories gave me the horsemanship skill.
…Huh? This line. Why does it feel like déjà vu?
But it was true. Before I'd transmigrated into this game world, the only time I'd ever been on a horse was a riding experience on a Jeju Island trip. Even then, I'd just sat there while the trainer held the reins — I hadn't actually ridden and steered the thing myself.
But thanks to the Sword King's Memories, the moment I laid eyes on a horse, the skill Horsemanship had appeared.
Raising that skill's level by riding a horse wouldn't have been a bad idea, but…
"If you ride a horse, you don't get any training in."
"Training?"
"No matter the circumstances, humans are creatures who ultimately live with both feet on the ground. In the end, every human action originates from the lower body that plants itself against the earth. When you swing your sword, there's a subtle wavering in it. Your lower body is weak, isn't it?"
"That would be because my chest is large."
"…"
Her chest… is big, yeah.
Mm. It is big. Feels good to grab, too. Soft, springy dough with just the right give.
"Pfft… Heh, ahaha. That was a joke. So… Doryeong has been watching this one properly."
"We're traveling together. Of course I keep an eye on you."
"Mm-hmm."
Suddenly in high spirits again, Baekryeon strode ahead with renewed vigor.
But up ahead, some kind of commotion was starting to carry on the air.
Picking up my pace to match Baekryeon in front, I found her stopped in her tracks — and further off, a carriage locked in a standoff with several people. The unusual part was the appearance of the men who seemed to be ambushing the carriage.
"What the hell are those? Toads?"
Their build, the exposed skin — something about them distinctly called toads to mind.
"Beastmen."
"Beastmen…?"
There are beastmen that look like that…?
I felt bad saying it, but they looked less like beastmen and more like yokai.
"That aside… that crest belongs to the Tang Clan. And the woman facing them — she is the girl we saw at the Dragon-Phoenix Assembly."
"Huh? Really?"
She remembered all that. Impressive.
So someone from the Tang Clan was under attack?
…Why? The Tang Clan was one of the thirteen powers that founded the Yeom Kingdom. Their standing should have been high, not low — so why were they getting jumped out here in the middle of nowhere?
"Who can say… the reason eludes this one. But the situation does not look favorable."
As Baekryeon said, the Tang Clan's numbers were woefully insufficient compared to those toad beastmen.
I didn't know murim fiction in exhaustive detail, but the Tang Clan was famous for poisons and hidden weapons. Granny Wang's words had confirmed this place was no different. Poisons and concealed weapons were optimized for one-versus-many — and yet they were still losing ground…
"What will you do?"
"Where are we headed right now?"
"Sichuan."
"And what's in Sichuan?"
"? In Sichuan… ah. The Tang Clan."
She seemed to grasp my meaning. Smiling faintly, she adjusted her grip on her sword.
"In that case, Doryeong — would you leave this matter to this one?"
"You sure?"
"Mm. No — rather, this may be something this one must handle."
"?"
What's that supposed to mean?
I looked at Baekryeon, completely lost, and she shrugged as if she'd expected exactly that reaction.
"Doryeong. Do you remember what this one asked of you after arriving in the Yeom Kingdom?"
"Huh?… Uh… right, it was…"
Ah. I remembered.
"You told me not to get involved with beastmen if I could help it?"
"Correct. If a pure human like Doryeong becomes entangled with beastmen in this land, things may grow complicated. Of course… honestly speaking, for someone like Doryeong it may be a trivial matter hardly worth fretting over — but please bear with this one, just while we are here."
I didn't fully understand why fighting beastmen was off-limits, but if Baekryeon said so, then so be it.
"Alright, got it. Go wild."
"…Heh. This one is grateful that you heeded her words, Doryeong."
So saying, Baekryeon slowly adjusted her grip on her sword and walked toward the battlefield ahead.
"This one's skill is still lacking — she cannot yet cut down everything she sets her mind to, as Doryeong can."
Her steps were utterly unhurried, utterly light —
"But the sword that once sought to sever all things under heaven has not grown dull."
— and exceedingly sharp.