Chapter 8
Chapter 8
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: The Body Remembers! (2)
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“Branch Master! Didn't you see what that bastard did to me?”
“He did nothing wrong.”
Everyone here knew that the man named Jung-gon had started the trouble.
“Branch Master!”
Jung-gon couldn't control his temper and yelled.
With two of their comrades dead, the branch members were on edge, so there was a certain understanding for Jung-gon's actions.
The Branch Master looked at me and said calmly.
“Pay him no mind and continue your meal.”
I put down my chopsticks.
*Clack!*
“I can't eat. It's bothering me.”
“This bastard!”
Enraged, Jung-gon took two steps forward, bellowing as if ready to swing his saber at any moment.
The Branch Master was a man who rarely showed his emotions, but my reaction seemed to have been unexpected.
“What would you like to do?”
“I'd like to see his attitude corrected.”
“Is that so?”
“You! You son of a bitch! Today's your funeral!”
The Branch Master stood up and walked outside.
“Both of you, come outside.”
Yang-rim grabbed my sleeve with a worried expression and whispered.
“Be careful. Jung-gon is highly skilled and cruel.”
Yang-rim saw the corners of my lips curl into a cold sneer.
A mere low-ranking warrior from the branch. How skilled could he possibly be?
I wasn't scared in the slightest.
“Fight with your bare hands.”
At the Branch Master's decision, Jung-gon twisted his lips into a cruel smile and stood before me.
“This bastard, can I beat him to death?”
His words twisted my insides.
“Jung-gon, this is a spar. The match ends when one person falls or admits defeat...”
I cut the Branch Master off.
“Let's agree that killing is on the table.”
Something inside me, whether it was courage or recklessness, growled. Honestly, right now, I felt like stomping a bastard like him to death.
I had mastered one hundred and eighty-nine types of martial arts, so I had a vague belief that I wouldn't lose to a guy like him. I hoped my body remembered something.
No, even with just the skills I had as a low-ranking warrior in the Martial Alliance's Sure-Victory Hall, I could have given a guy like him a thorough beating. Even back then, I was a pretty skilled low-ranking warrior.
That was all I could cling to now. If I couldn't, then dying at his hands was another option. Carrying the bitter wish to not be reborn as an orphan.
At my words, not just Jung-gon, but everyone else looked as if they'd been slapped.
Still, Jung-gon seemed the most shocked. I clearly saw him flinch.
“Hahaha! Did you hear what that bastard said?”
He had a strong rebellious streak and a warped personality.
“Branch Master! Let's do as the bastard said and make it so killing is allowed! Huh?”
“Silence. Fight with your bare hands, and the fight is over when one admits defeat.”
“Hahaha! Fine! I'll make you a complete cripple!”
As I tucked the Fire Dragon Sword I carried into my belt, Jung-gon sheathed his drawn saber on his back, only to suddenly charge at me.
“You bastard!”
*Whoosh!*
It was a cowardly move, aiming to strike while I was off guard. Besides, wasn't this a spar between comrades?
Jung-gon underestimated me and launched a surprise attack, as if to end it in a single blow.
He lowered his upper body, rushed right up to my face, and swung his right fist with all his might, aiming for my chin.
Anyone would be caught off guard by such a preemptive strike from two paces away, especially without having taken a stance.
But in a situation where I couldn't remember my martial arts, I should have been tense or at least a little scared, yet I wasn't at all. Instead, my mind was calm.
No, I found my opponent laughable.
‘What is this? This feeling?’
That wasn't the only strange thing.
Jung-gon's approaching fist was so slow, and his intentions so clear, that it felt like I could have gone to the latrine and come back with time to spare before dodging.
I didn't retreat, simply tilting my head slightly where I stood to easily evade the punch.
“Uh...”
As his power-packed fist missed, Jung-gon staggered in great surprise, revealing more than ten openings.
However, I didn't counterattack, waiting for him to regain his posture and attack again.
It wasn't out of mercy. I wanted to confirm if what I had just experienced—his fist seeming incredibly slow and his intentions transparent—was real.
Since I hadn't moved back, the distance between us was just over two feet, close enough to strike each other with a fist or a foot.
Jung-gon corrected his staggered posture, then realized I was standing there silently watching him. He flinched in surprise and hastily backed away.
I smiled faintly.
“Are you done?”
“Shut your trap!”
Jung-gon gritted his teeth and swung his right fist, once again aiming for my face.
*Whoosh!*
This time, too, I could clearly see everything at once: his right fist approaching slowly, the twitch in his left fist as he tensed it, and the footwork he was using. I knew exactly what he would do next.
I started to feel good.
‘It wasn't a delusion!’
When I easily dodged Jung-gon's right fist by tilting my head back, his left fist shot toward my side as if it had been waiting.
When I dodged that as well with a slight twist of my waist, Jung-gon unleashed a relentless barrage, his fists flying like a downpour.
*Whoosh! Fwing! Vwoom!*
The sound of his two fists cutting through the air differed depending on their direction and angle.
So, just by listening, I could predict where his fists were aiming.
Jung-gon must have learned a reputable fist and foot technique, as his attacks were quite fierce and systematic.
But compared to the fifty-eight renowned fist and foot techniques I had mastered, his was too shabby to even be mentioned.
When I dodged eight of his punches just by twisting and turning my upper body and head, my feet seemingly nailed to the ground, Jung-gon became thoroughly enraged.
“Hiyah! Yah! Hah!”
By this point, the Branch Master and the other members realized that I was toying with Jung-gon, and that I could easily defeat him whenever I chose to counterattack.
I had confirmed it enough: my body was automatically dodging Jung-gon's barrage of fists.
Even though all I had was the will to dodge his attacks, my body moved on its own.
It was a strange phenomenon, but in any case, I decided not to dodge anymore.
Just then, Jung-gon, seething with venomous rage, finally drew his saber.
“You son of a bitch! I'll kill you!”
*Shing!*
This bastard was showing the depths of his cowardice and cruelty.
“Jung-gon!”
“No!”
The Branch Master and his comrades cried out urgently, but Jung-gon's saber was already slashing diagonally toward my neck.
*Swish!*
But his attack was so slow, and his openings so obvious, that I couldn't help but laugh.
The games end here.
I bent my waist slightly and easily dodged Jung-gon's saber.
*Swoosh!*
Then, as the saber grazed past the back of my head, I took a step forward and closed in on him.
*Fwip!*
I wasn't worried about whether my body would remember how to attack just as it remembered how to dodge.
I just trusted my body.
In this situation, it seemed attacking would also go smoothly.
Very simply, I kicked both of Jung-gon's shins in succession with the tip of my foot. *Thwack! Thwack!*
*Crack! Snap!*
“Aaargh!”
Jung-gon's pathetic scream echoed through the air.
I had only kicked him lightly, but I knew by the feel of it that his shins had snapped as easily as reeds.
That meant my internal energy was also intact.
I could even tell that I had used about thirty percent of my total power.
Just how immense was my total power, that I could dodge all of Jung-gon's attacks and break his shins with a mere thirty percent of it? It was hard to even fathom.
In any case, before I could even strike the bridge of his nose with my fist, he let out a desperate cry and collapsed backward.
“Gaaah!”
Jung-gon's legs were bent at odd angles, like broken chopsticks. Anyone could see that both his legs were broken.
I slowly approached and raised my right foot, intending to crush his face.
Jung-gon's face went pale as he begged, tears and snot streaming down his face.
“Hnnng... sp... spare me...”
“Why should I spare you?”
“Ughhh! I lost, so please, spare my life...”
I looked down at him for a moment, then lowered my foot.
When I then walked slowly toward Yang-rim, he recoiled as if he had seen a ghost.
It seemed Yang-rim hadn't expected me to be this strong.
I placed a hand on Yang-rim's shoulder and spoke to Jung-gon.
“You. What should you call this man?”
“Uhhh...”
I had seen how disrespectfully Jung-gon had treated Yang-rim earlier, and I wanted to set things right. Yang-rim had been kind to me in many ways.
I repay kindness and enmity in full. That's who I am.
“Don't you know what to call him? Shall I teach you?”
In situations like this, a calm voice and a gentle smile are far more terrifying than any harsh threat.
Jung-gon, his face filled with terror, glanced back and forth between me and Yang-rim, then realized what answer I wanted.
“E... Elder Brother!”
“And me?”
“...”
“Not enough of a beating, was it?”
“Aah! Elder Brother!”
Jung-gon shrieked.
I looked at the Branch Master and said calmly.
“If there's nothing else, I'll be returning to my room.”
“Mm. Do so.”
The Branch Master and everyone else were surely watching my back as I walked away.
* * *
I hurried back to the annex that served as my temporary quarters.
I thought that my memories of martial arts might have returned after the fight with Jung-gon.
‘Hmm. Still no good.’
But after trying to perform my martial arts a dozen times in my room, I felt my energy drain away.
I still couldn't remember any of the martial incantations.
I couldn't understand why my body had reacted on its own when fighting Jung-gon, but wouldn't do anything when I tried by myself.
Discouraged, I flopped onto the bed.
“May I come in?”
Yang-rim's voice came from outside the door.
Just a while ago, he would have barged right in. The reason for his new caution was likely because I had defeated Jung-gon.
“Come in.”
Yang-rim entered the room, clasped his fists in a salute, and bowed his head to me as I lay on the bed.
“Thank you.”
It seemed to be his thanks for me punishing Jung-gon for his disrespect, but I couldn't be bothered to reply.
“What is it?”
“The Branch Master is summoning you.”
* * *
As I entered the office, the Branch Master, sitting behind his desk, gestured with his chin toward the chair in front of him.
“Sit.”
The Branch Master waited for me to be seated before speaking.
“Do you intend to stay here?”
“I'd like to impose on your hospitality until my memories return.”
In truth, it was until my martial arts returned.
“While you're here, you can work as a member of the branch.”
It was probably because he had seen my skills.
“Very well.”
“The stipend is two silver taels.”
At the Martial Alliance headquarters, I received five silver taels as a low-ranking warrior. Two taels wasn't even half of that.
But I didn't think he was giving me only two silver taels while the other members received more.
The Branch Master wasn't that kind of person. It was likely that the stipends for regional offices and branches were set lower than at headquarters, or that the Martial Alliance was worse off than it had been thirteen years ago.
In any case, the stipend wasn't that important.
As I gave a slight nod, the Branch Master spoke.
“We need a name to fill out the paperwork. Since you can't remember your old name, think of a temporary one to use.”
“You can put down Ak Bi-ryong.”
“A fine name. I'll do that.”
Ak Bi-ryong was my real name, but the Branch Master thought it was an alias.
“I'll assign you to Team Three. Follow Yang-rim and receive your supplies.”