The Incompetent Hero and the Giant Root Pill

My first impression upon meeting the head of the Dan family was, Yeah, I can take him.

He was strong, no question. As the leader of an entire power, he had both the martial might and the unmistakable charisma to match. But the level of that might, I judged, was not enough to beat me.

His stats are…

Average around three hundred, huh.

About the same as the Sword King. Still, given that he had a technique called Blood Awakening, it was safer not to treat these numbers as the whole picture. Blood Awakening, like Baekryeon's beastman transformation, seemed to shift the stats when activated. And even without Blood Awakening or beastman form — take the old hag Hwang, for instance. When she revealed her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠true nature, her Technique score rose, if only by a little. Which made me wonder whether there were techniques that temporarily boosted stats, or the reverse: techniques that hid them.

If that were the case, it would go some way toward explaining why Elder- and Sect Leader-class stats only sat about a hundred points above a Rising Star's.

…Though of course, an average of a hundred isn't a small number.

Anyway, the conclusion was that if you added roughly a hundred to those averages, you'd get his real ability.

Even then, I figure I'd still win.

I'd taken his full measure. All that remained was figuring out how to run my mouth against this battle-scarred clan head in a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠way that would get people talking.

"So you are the benefactor who saved the young master's life, and my daughter's?"

"Yeah."

Whether he disliked how short my answer was, his brow twitched faintly. At the same time, Dan Seollyun, standing beside him, flinched and looked my way.

What? Why? What about it?

But the clan head said nothing further. Whether he simply didn't care to waste words, or didn't care to waste time, I couldn't say — though the mountain of documents stacked on his desk strongly suggested the latter.

As if to prove it, Dan Seolpung dropped his gaze to the papers and tapped the desk with his fingers. At that soft sound, the door we'd come through opened again, and two men stepped forward carrying a black wooden chest, setting it before me.

"?"

"Open it."

Still without looking up from his documents, Dan Seolpung spoke.

I don't know what those papers are, but when a person shows up, you at least look them in the eye and talk, don't you?

I scowled in irritation, and Seollyun hurriedly ordered the men to open the black chest. With a metallic click the lid came up, revealing a mass of gold ingots packed inside.

"…What is this?"

"Gold yuanbao."

"You know that's not what I'm asking."

"Take them. They're yours."

…A glance confirmed it was all gold. With this, you could trade freely anywhere in Yeom Kingdom — and even if you went back to the Central Continent, you could sell the ingots themselves for cash. And there were two whole chests of them. Not small chests, either — sizable ones, packed so tight you couldn't see a gap between the bars. Anyone looking at this would have their eyes spin with greed.

What pissed me off was that this was clearly meant to settle the debt for saving the young master and Seollin. These bastards, seriously — did they take us for penniless beggars?

"…"

"What is it, young sir?"

Hm. I do look like a beggar, don't I.

I'd admit that much. Maybe I should have gotten some fresh clothes and cleaned up before coming here.

But that was that, and this was this. I had money. I'd gotten it through cheats, sure, but I had plenty of it.

"Take this and get lost — is that what you're saying?"

"N-no, Great Hero Ilryong! That's not—"

"Yes."

"C-Clan Head!"

Dan Seollyun spun toward Dan Seolpung in a panic. Judging by Seollyun's reaction, whatever had been arranged beforehand was something different from this… but that wasn't my problem.

"You refuse?"

"Then what do you want? What's there alone is more money than a wanderer like you would see in a lifetime."

"Clan Head! This man is no wanderer — he is of the Yeom family—!"

"Whether he is a soldier of Yeom Kingdom or anything else is irrelevant. This is Sichuan. Sichuan, ruled by this Dan Clan. Unless the man is the Emperor himself, no one here stands above me."

Well, my Yeom Kingdom military identity is a fake anyway, so I don't care what he says about it…

Still, hearing it said to my face like that pissed me off.

"You asked what I wanted?"

"I did. As you can see, this body is busy. Busier than the likes of you could ever imagine. So speak quickly and be gone."

"Here."

"…?"

As if he couldn't have heard right, Dan Seolpung — who had kept his eyes on the documents without moving — lifted his head and looked at me.

"G-Great Hero Ilryong!! What on earth are you saying?! You want this place?! That means—"

"That's right. Hand over the entire Dan family. Then I'll accept."

"…Do you even understand what those words mean before you spit them out?"

"Why? I saved your daughter and your next clan head — that's the same as protecting the Dan family's future, isn't it? So all I'm asking for is the Dan family of the present."

I tilted my head deliberately, cocky as hell. Even coming out of my own mouth, it was such a thug's line that I was satisfied with it.

Seollyun was so rattled he raised his voice.

"G-Great Hero Ilryong! Even for a great hero, that is a statement that cannot simply be let pass! That is an insult to the Dan family—"

"Young Master, be silent."

"Ugh…"

Having shut Seollyun's mouth, Dan Seolpung regarded me for a moment without speaking. Then he fixed me with a hard stare.

"Having a mouth does not mean you may run it however you please. This is the Dan Clan. You have made an enemy of everyone here… no — of everyone in Sichuan. Can you bear that?"

"If I couldn't bear it, I wouldn't have opened my mouth. Besides, even if you and every kid in this room jumped me at once, you still couldn't beat me — so what's there to be scared of?"

"B-Baekryeon, young lady! Please stop Great Hero Ilryong at once! What in the world is he—"

"This one merely follows whatever Doryeong wishes to do."

Seollyun, gone pale, tried appealing to Baekryeon, who had been standing quietly at my side listening — only to grab the back of his neck at her answer and stare at me.

What are you looking at? Don't look. You'll get attached.

"…Insolent."

"Why's the great clan head of the Dan family so long-winded? If you've got a problem, come at me."

The title sitting next to a status window showed how the world referred to someone. The Sword King, for instance, had "Sword King" before his real name; Dan Seollin, Seollyun, and Seollan had no public epithets, so nothing appeared on their windows. But the head of the Dan family, Dan Seolpung, wasn't labeled "Clan Head of the Dan Family" — the characters read Poison Sovereign.

In other words, he had the skill to earn that name.

Honestly, I shot my mouth off because I was pissed — but it worked out for the better.

If the Heavenly Demon and his forces were preparing for war, I couldn't stop that war alone. I could kill the Heavenly Demon himself and his officers, sure — but wiping out every last subordinate one by one would be hard.

…Actually, thinking about it, it wasn't like I couldn't do it.

Either way, when the time came, I would need support from this place. Meaning I needed Yeom Kingdom's backing to raise troops, and use them to keep the war from spiraling out of control.

But Yeom Kingdom's current state is terrible.

The Yeom family, which ought to have been gathering the powers spread across the kingdom, lacked the strength and influence to unite them. Every sect and great house was desperate to grow its own power. When the pie is fixed in size, there's only one way to take a bigger slice than the next man.

Take someone else's.

So first, I would gauge each faction's strength. Then I would recruit the ones with real voice and pull, and raise Yeom Kingdom's overall cohesion.

The Dan family would be my opening act.

"Am I to take that statement as the judgment of the entire Yeom family?"

"Think whatever you like."

"…It's been a long time since I've ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠seen such an insolent bastard. Very well."

"G-Great Hero Ilryong, this isn't like you at all—!"

He rose from his seat. Seeing that, Seollyun went white and looked back and forth between me and Dan Seolpung.

The training grounds inside the Dan Clan compound.

While the clan's martial artists threw themselves into their practice, one woman of particularly striking beauty stood out among them. Even the Dan fighters approached her with conspicuous caution. Apparently displeased by that, Seollin scowled, stopped her training, and took a rest.

"Seollin unnie~"

"…Seollan?"

Another pure-faced young girl had appeared in the training grounds. Seollan came trotting over with a smile full of charm.

"What are you doing here?"

"You can see, can't you. Training."

"Big Brother Seollyun is looking for you. He says to come to Father's study."

"…I can already guess what they'll say, so I don't need to go."

It would only be another attempt to get her face in front of that man who'd just arrived — Jang Cheon-woo, or whatever his name was. From the moment she'd told Seollyun that the man seemed to have reached the realm of the Heart Sword, Seollyun's whole attitude toward Jang Cheon-woo had changed.

"Hmm… then maybe I should meet him myself? Seollin unnie?"

"…What?"

"I caught a glimpse of him earlier when ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I was passing by. He looked like such a nice person~ Seollin unnie? What do you think? You traveled with him all the way here, didn't you?"

"Well… how should I put what kind of person he is…"

Seollin's honest feeling was that she wanted to say, I don't really know.

"He didn't do any training that stood out. His whole routine was just walking, eating, and sleeping. He barely talked, so Big Brother Seollyun had to force conversations just to get a few words out of him."

"Hmm~ Is that so? I like him more and more."

"…Which part, exactly?"

"The quiet part… and the part where he doesn't do anything~!"

What was there to like about that? As always, Seollin could not understand Seollan.

"I mean~ one way or another, we're destined to marry the sons of powerful men, or outstanding martial artists, for the sake of the family, right? So wouldn't it be better to marry someone who does nothing and won't interfere with me at all?"

Is that… so?

But even if he didn't interfere, Seollin had no desire to enter a marriage contract with a man she didn't even like. That was why she was building her strength in the first place…

I couldn't even beat a single poison toad!…

It galled her beyond measure. That was why the first thing she'd done upon returning to the Dan Clan was train — but the clan's martial artists treated her as the clan head's daughter and wouldn't face her properly.

At this rate, I'm not training at all!…

She was half-considering another runaway when one side of the training grounds erupted in noise.

"C-Clan Head!"

"We greet the Clan Head!…"

"…Huh?"

"Oh my, Father's come with a guest."

It was their father and Jang Cheon-woo, entering the training grounds together.

Preparations for the duel were finished faster than expected. All it took was a single word from the clan head: Prepare a sparring match.

"Doryeong. Will you be all right?"

"Obviously."

"Is that so… If Doryeong says so, then so it must be. This one shall trust in Doryeong."

I took my sword and climbed onto the sparring platform. Dan Seolpung was already waiting there.

"You're late. Need time to prepare yourself?"

"I was a little late deciding how to beat you in the least humiliating way for you."

"Your mouth, at least, is first under heaven."

"Because I am first under heaven, so don't worry about it."

I drew my sword and settled into stance. He, for his part, produced a handful of hidden weapons.

"I'll give you three moves."

"…"

"Come at me."

Giving someone moves. In other words, treating your opponent as beneath you.

"That arrogance. I do hope it doesn't change."

"You talk too much."

Hidden weapons shot from Dan Seolpung's fingertips. It was the same technique Dan Seollin had used — and yet the completeness and power of it were worlds apart.

Pabababababababat!!!

Ting! Kakakakakakakakakang!!!

I'd seen Dan Seollin load qi into her hidden weapons to amplify their force. What I had never seen was every single projectile in a volley carrying the same charge. Seollin hadn't infused her entire technique — she'd mixed qi into only a few of the weapons she threw.

But the head of the Dan family was different. Qi rode every weapon in the technique. And the amount in each one varied: some packed so much force that you had to meet them with real strength, others so little that overcommitting would twist your own movement out of line.

That fine a control of qi, in the short time he'd had to prepare.

"But I blocked them."

"Yes. If you couldn't even manage that, I wouldn't have bothered killing you slowly."

Shwaaaaaeak!!!

This time it was quality over quantity — a single hidden weapon came flying. The sound it made was so vicious I almost doubted it came from a throwing blade at all.

Jjeoooong!!!

I angled the flat of my sword and deflected it just enough to let it skim past. Even so, my arm needed a considerable amount of strength to manage it.

"One left."

Pit.

"?!"

Something grazed me. This time there was no pause at all between the weapons — and when I looked at him, he was standing with his arms folded, watching me.

What? Myriad Heaven Flower Rain is…

No. Wait.

That last weapon… which direction did it come from?

From the front?

No — not the front…

"Above!!"

Shwaaaaaaaaaeak!! Pabababababababababat!!!

Ting! Kakakakakakakakakakakakang!!!

A rain of flowers filling the sky. True to the name, blades called flowers poured down like a cloudburst until the heavens were full of them. I had no idea when, where, or how he had carried that many hidden weapons on his person and then launched them all.

So this was what a clan's secret technique looked like.

When the rain of blades that had felt like an hour finally stopped, the floor of the training grounds was studded with weapons end to end — like looking at a mountain of thorns.

"…Then I guess it's my turn to attack?"

"Heh… heh heh hahahah!! So the talk of reaching the realm of the Heart Sword wasn't a lie! Truly entertaining!!"

Scales rose across his face, and his pupils became a snake's. At the same time, a power completely different from before rolled off him.

"Here I come!"

"Come on!"

Viridian qi gathered in both of Dan Seolpung's hands and formed into sharp, claw-like shapes.

Kang!!!

"I thought the Dan family was famous for hidden weapons and poison! Close combat?!"

"Of course our Dan Clan is skilled in hidden weapons and poison. But do not think that is all we are. When the blades run out, you fight with your own strength."

"That's something the other martial artists… don't seem able to do!!"

Kang! Chaaeng!!!

It felt like clashing with a sword. That was how dense the qi packed into those claws must have been.

"The qi a Dan martial artist releases is itself little different from a deadly poison. If you value your life, you must never let it touch you."

"Your face says you're hoping I don't dodge."

"Haha! Was it that obvious!! It's been so long since I've moved my body like this — I'm getting excited!!"

Kwang!! Kwaang!!! Kadeudeudeuk!!!

"Opening distance against a Dan martial artist, are you!!"

Shwaaeak!! Pabababat!!

"Tsk!"

Ting!! Kakakakang!!

Open the range and he threw hidden weapons. Close it and he came in with poison-laced claws. I already had bad matchups against poison, and he covered both short and long range — the pressure was no joke.

No wonder they called him the Poison Sovereign.

"Then I'll answer that expectation with something big."

"Come."

A palm technique wrapped in green qi and a perfectly straight vertical cut met head-on.

Jjiiiiiiiiing!!!

"————."

"…What did you just…?"

Kwaaaang!!!