The Incompetent Hero and the Giant Root Pill (3)

"A traitor? Are you sure?"

"I am."

A traitor, huh.

When I looked at Ilryeon, he simply nodded — as though he'd already known.

"Until now, the existence of a traitor had never been confirmed with any certainty."

"And now it has?"

"Indeed. The attack on the Dan clan members who participated in this Dragon-Phoenix Gathering made it certain. There is a traitor hiding within the Dan family who deserves to be torn limb from limb."

Dan Seolpung's aura shifted in an instant.

The emotion radiating from that presence was singular.

Rage.

Vivid, searing rage directed at the traitor — so sharp you could almost taste it.

Well. His own daughter had nearly been put in danger. Fair enough.

"But what does meeting in secret have to do with a traitor?"

"I heard you killed officers of the Beastman Alliance — Seomgae and Ogam."

"Yeah. That's right."

"Seomgae aside, Ogam was an exceptionally strong man. He carried the blood of the sacred beast Samjogo — the Three-legged Crow."

Oh... so he was a named sacred beast.

I'd heard that beastmen who inherited the blood of famous sacred beasts had it a little easier when it came to discrimination. How the hell did someone like that end up crawling into the Beastman Alliance?

"Sword-hand Ogam was said to delight in life-or-death duels against the strong — mortal combat. But in the current Yeom Kingdom, such duels are tacitly discouraged. He called the state of the kingdom rotten, and of his own free will led his followers to Cheonsan."

"What a psycho."

Good thing I killed him.

A bloodthirsty maniac itching for a chance to spill blood has no right to keep breathing.

"In other words, Ogam was at least a fairly influential officer within the Beastman Alliance. And a soldier of the Yeom family executed that officer — then entered Sichuan. How do you think the Beastman Alliance would interpret that?"

"...That the Yeom Kingdom army and the Dan family have formed an alliance?"

"Exactly. Those bastards are preparing for war. And the ideal situation for them is one where every sect and noble house fails to unite, each checking the others for their own interests. But if word reaches them that the Yeom Kingdom army and the Dan family have allied..."

"It could provoke them for no good reason?"

Certainly...

If that was the case, Dan Seolpung's behavior back then made sense.

Telling the man who'd saved his daughter and young clan head to take some money and get lost. Accepting my provocation and fighting a duel. It had all been a show — staged to clearly demonstrate to the enemy within that the Dan family and the Yeom Kingdom army were not allied.

...I hadn't thought about any of that.

Is this what they mean by a cow stepping backward and catching a rat?

"So when you act in Sichuan, I'd appreciate it if you behaved as though you and I — the Dan family — were locked in a war of nerves."

"Got it. One more thing. What exactly made you certain there was a traitor?"

"The young clan head and Seollin said that the poison toad had developed sufficient resistance to the Dan family's poisons."

Hmm... that was true.

Poison hadn't worked, and only the hidden weapons had somewhat — until the moment it underwent beastification, after which even those stopped landing.

"That is the strange part. The Dan family's poisons have been refined over long years. But opportunities to use poison have grown increasingly rare."

"You can't use poison in a sparring match."

"Precisely. Even a poison with a low lethal dose can easily take a human life if mishandled. So in sparring, the most one can use is something like a paralysis toxin that only temporarily numbs. In other words... since the Dan family has no occasion to display its poisons, no one outside can develop countermeasures against them."

"...Huh?"

Meaning...

"There is a traitor who leaked the Dan family's secret arts — our poisons — allowing countermeasures to be prepared... and who provided the information so that the ambush could be planned for the period when people were returning after the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering."

Grit.

The more he chewed on it, the angrier he seemed. Dan Seolpung ground his teeth loud enough to hear and clenched both fists until the knuckles went white.

And a green aura unique to the Dan family seemed to be slowly seeping out into the air.

"Cough! Cough!..."

"Hey, hey — that guy's dying."

"...My apologies."

When Dan Seolpung reined in his energy, Ilryeon — who'd gone deathly pale — finally managed to catch his breath and gulped down his tea in one long pull.

"I've got a handle on the situation. Time for a proper introduction. My name is Leon. From the central continent of Filgrea — what you call the Western Regions. I came to Yeom Kingdom temporarily to find the Geogeonhwan... the Taeyanghwan. I'm also known as the Incompetent Hero."

"The Incompetent Hero? You?"

"Martial talent, you mean?"

"No. Incompetent. As in useless."

Naturally, people who didn't know the real Incompetent Hero Leon from his weak days had no idea why I'd be called that. Their expressions made it painfully clear.

"Anyway, as a Hero, I can't just stand by and watch the current state of Yeom Kingdom. I'll cooperate."

"Reassuring. As you already know, allow me to introduce myself again. My name is Dan Seolpung. Head of the Sichuan Dan clan, and bearer of the title Poison Sovereign. Hero Leon — I look forward to working with you."

"Ahem... I'm hardly of a level to sit at a table like this, but... as a member of the Yeom Kingdom army, I'll participate in their stead. Ilryeon, branch chief of the Sichuan office of Haoman — the Yeom Kingdom army's secret intelligence unit."

Hero. Dan clan. Yeom Kingdom army — provisional.

The alliance of three forces was sealed in the basement of a shabby shop.

Heh heh heh. When I'd first heard about the Geogeonhwan situation at Maradang, I'd figured I was still a long way from getting my hands on one. Who would've thought things would fall into place this neatly? As expected — the world rewards those who live kindly.

"Doryeong, you seem to be in rather high spirits."

"Can you blame me?"

"Hmm..."

At least the Dan family had fed us. They clearly weren't thrilled about it, but a guest was a guest — and they'd put food on the table. No poison, either, as far as I could tell.

"Baekryeon. You free?"

"Of course. It is only natural that this one has nothing to do in a place such as this."

"Then let's hit the training grounds."

"The training grounds?"

Puzzlement rose across Baekryeon's face.

Fair enough — I'd sprung it on her out of nowhere.

But it was a necessary step.

If Baekryeon is going to travel with me from here on, her current level isn't enough to protect herself.

Of course, as I'd told her before — within the reach of my blade, I would keep her safe. I had both the confidence and the ability for that.

But outside that reach, I couldn't protect her. Only her own strength could save her then.

Which meant what I needed to do was help her grow strong enough to stand on her own.

Besides, we had to wait here until the Taeyanghwan was ready. Time was something we had in abundance.

When we arrived at the training grounds, workers were still repairing the section that Dan Seolpung and I had wrecked in our match. Barely a day had passed, and it was already nearly finished — impressive, honestly.

"That man..."

"What's he doing here...?"

"Shouldn't he just stay cooped up in his room..."

Hahaha. Exactly the reactions I'd expected.

I ignored them and scanned the grounds for an empty corner — and spotted someone I knew.

"Young Lady Seollin."

"So it is."

Dan Seollin.

She was already at the training grounds.

Come to think of it, had she been here yesterday during my duel with Dan Seolpung too? That one was a real hard worker, no two ways about it.

She'd noticed us as well. Tilting her head in mild confusion, she still came over.

"What are you two doing here?"

"I'm going to supervise Baekryeon's training. Mind if we use the grounds?"

"Mm... should be fine."

Good. Permission granted.

Time to get to work.

I picked up one of the wooden sparring swords set out on the grounds, then looked at Baekryeon — who was staring at me with a blank expression.

"What is it?"

"Doryeong... did you just say you would supervise this one's training?"

"I did. Why?"

At my answer, Baekryeon's eyes went round. Her breathing roughened slightly, as if she couldn't quite believe it.

"...Th-this one did not mishear! Y-you truly mean to oversee my training?!"

"Yeah. That's what I said. Have you ever caught me lying?"

"N-never!..."

"Well... calling it training is a stretch. There's not much extra I can actually teach you. You've got swordsmanship you've spent years learning. If I force something new on top of that, it'll be hard to absorb — and there's no guarantee it'd even improve your skill."

Technique was delicate work.

Stack technique on technique and you might get four, five, even ten instead of two — or you might get zero, negative one, negative ten.

Baekryeon's swordsmanship was something she'd learned from another master over a long time. I didn't know that style. I didn't know the intent behind it, the principles, or the form it took at its peak. Advice was out of the question.

At best, I could tell her to plant her lower body firmly. That was the absolute basics — and about all I had to offer.

"Then what do you intend to do?"

"Experience."

"Experience?"

"Hard to explain, but... I've got a pretty wide range of it."

The Sword King's memories.

The memories that king had hammered into me had helped more times than I could count — like a guidebook pointing the way, letting me experience what I needed as if I'd lived it myself. A century and more of accumulated experience. It let me stay calm and think clearly in all kinds of situations. Baekryeon had none of that.

So I was going to hammer it into her body myself.

"I won't go easy on you even if you say it's too hard. If you don't want this, say so now."

"...No. This one felt her own inadequacy keenly enough that day. For the sake of her revenge — and to keep pace with Doryeong's stride — this one will endure, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠no matter what."

"Good attitude. Then we'll keep sparring. Block, dodge, whatever — just come at me with everything you've got. Try to kill me."

"This one is using a real blade."

"Doesn't matter. You won't cut me anyway."

In a way, it was the kind of line that could be taken as pure contempt.

But Baekryeon seemed to trust those words. She nodded.

"Then — I come."

Baekryeon drew her sword and charged in a single burst.

"Tiger Hunt!"

A fierce, exhilarating strike carrying the full force of a tiger's presence.

Thud!

"?!"

"A blade without softness means nothing."

I used the wooden sword to gently parry the descending cut, broke her center of gravity, and laid the wooden blade against her throat in the same motion.

"..."

"Next time, I cut."

"Understood."

She put distance between us again.

Perhaps because her attack had been dismantled so cleanly, she didn't charge in as recklessly as before.

"Knowing your opponent's ability and not rushing in blindly is worth praising... but if all you do is watch, you'll never beat anyone."

"!!"

I closed on the passive Baekryeon and swung. She tried to cut through the wooden sword and take my attack — but I met her counter-blade with a counter of my own, and the strike meant to reverse the exchange became the sacrifice for mine.

"What I want to build in you isn't the habit of flinching from stronger enemies. I want to teach you how to fight them. Feeling them out is fine. Charging in blind is fine. But if you freeze up — I cut."

"Understood!..."

Thud! Crack! Thud! Snap! Thunk!

What followed was less a sparring match than something closer to one-sided violence.

The violence that called itself a duel only ended some three hours later, when Baekryeon finally collapsed from exhaustion.

Today marked the fifth day since I'd started overseeing Baekryeon's training at the Dan family.

Breakfast, light conditioning, continuous sparring until lunch. A short rest after the midday meal. Then continuous sparring again, finishing drills, dinner, and end of training.

Six days of that same routine, and Baekryeon's words had grown sparse.

Was I working her too hard? Maybe. But if you wanted to get strong fast, there was no other way but to push hard.

On ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠top of that, I was sparring her with a variety of weapons to put her through as many situations as possible — wooden sword, wooden saber, wooden spear, staff, a wooden crescent blade, and more. Maybe because of that, the Sword King's memories kept getting stimulated too, and new skills kept unlocking.

In the end, growing Baekryeon was growing me as well.

"So why are you fighting?"

"Baekryeon's knocked out anyway — no one left to spar with! Take me on instead!"

And then, on the fifth day, that happened.

While Baekryeon briefly blacked out from the brutal training, Seollin jumped in.

She'd been quietly watching Baekryeon and me train this whole time. The moment Baekryeon went down, she seized the opening and came at me.

Fine. Whatever. Her father was secretly crafting the Taeyanghwan for me right now — sparring her was the least I could do.

"Or so I thought. Why are there two of you at once?"

"A man shouldn't be so petty about that!!"

"I will win somehow, Doryeong!!"

Day nine of overseeing Baekryeon's training.

By now, Baekryeon and Seollin were coming at me together.

Not that either of them was a real match for me, but still...

It's only been a few days, and this is already getting rough...

The first few days they'd still been figuring out their coordination, and I'd handled them fine. But watching them lock into sync within a matter of hours and genuinely try to kill me was equal parts impressive and... something else.

Pretty soon... I might have to stop fighting with a wooden sword.

And so, on day thirteen of training — even with the two of them working together — they finally managed to break my weapon.

Dan Seolpung came looking for me again five days after that.

Deep in the night, at Maradang.

"It's finished."

It's heeeeeere!!!

What Dan Seolpung held out was a small green wooden case.

Was the thing I'd been waiting and waiting for inside this?!

I took the green case from him as carefully as if it were some priceless treasure, and opened it with equal care.

Inside lay a brown pill with a faint reddish cast.

The scent was... none. Or maybe a slight spicy note, if I strained for it.

"This is..."

"Yes. The Taeyanghwan. Take it and circulate your energy. Haoman has apparently turned up some information as well."

"Truly, one might say the spirits of heaven and earth themselves have guided us."

Right. I put the pill straight into my mouth.

The taste... same as the Great Elixir Pill. It dissolved and slid down my throat before I could even register it.

Oh. I'd expected the Qi to go up, but HP and MP rose too.

The numbers weren't as high as with the Great Elixir Pill — so even degraded, a Great Elixir Pill was still a Great Elixir Pill, huh.

Oh. New skill get.

But the change that actually mattered... didn't seem to have happened? Or had it? Maybe it'd show once I got hard?

If nothing changed, this was all for nothing...

"You— you..."

"Cheon-woo, great hero!!"

"?"

What? What's going on?

"You took it and didn't even circulate your energy! What a waste of—"

"The energy will all dissipate!!"

"I don't know how to circulate energy."

At that, Ilryeon and Dan Seolpung both stared at me like I'd grown a second head.

"Then why on earth did you ask me to make it?"

"Pearls before swine, indeed."

"Shut up! I absorbed it properly!!"

"...You absorbed it properly? Turn around. Let me see your back for a moment."

I turned and showed him my back. Dan Seolpung placed a hand against it and began channeling something like energy into my body.

"Don't resist. If you resist, I die."

"What are you doing?"

"He's simply circulating his own energy through a full cycle of your meridians to check your physical condition."

"I need to concentrate. Don't talk to me."

After a short while, Dan Seolpung let out a faint sound — half wonder, half disbelief.

"It's true... the yang energy of the Taeyanghwan is circulating through your body in perfect stability..."

"Is that really ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠so, Clan Head Dan?"

"Hard as it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠is to believe, it's genuine. I've heard of constitutions that naturally accept the energy of spiritual medicines well, but I've never seen anyone absorb one this completely."

"Heavens..."

"Could you two stop staring at me like a monkey in a zoo?"

These bastards, I swear... Anyway. The Taeyanghwan's most important effect — virility enhancement... well, that was secondary. As for the size-increasing property, I'd check that carefully later.

"So. Where is it? You said the first priority was smashing every Geogeonhwan sales route to cut off the Beastman Alliance's funding, didn't you?"

"...Hmm. Quite right. Here is a map of Yeom Kingdom. We've identified two locations so far. There may be more, but... we're certain these two are the largest. Of those... Great Hero Cheon-woo, we'd like you to head here."

That place was the Yogyeong region.

A border territory of Yeom Kingdom — and one that sat right up against Jo.