Shock

"Hoo... what in the world has happened here?"

The changes had not stopped at men and women simply trading places.

"Virtual reality?!"

Less than ten years had passed since virtual reality content had first appeared before I fell into Murim—and yet here it was, not even a decade later: virtual reality that achieved hyper-realism.

"So even the Heavenly Demon could be known here."

A game set in Murim had appeared in virtual reality, and the one called the Heavenly Demon there wore the very same attire as I—carried, of all things, the very same sword.

"What a curious coincidence."

Turning this game called Mukgeomrok over in my mind: it was Murim encountered through virtual reality, not through books or comics.

"Why, it is much like my own story."

Of course, there was the great difference that mine had been a true world, not a simulated one—but those people faced no constraint upon their lives, did they?

If anything, their circumstances might be better than my own, with my life hanging by a thread. I had been granted elixirs, secret manuals, and a master—but those freed from death's limit could well be called the more fortunate.

Besides, one could hardly guarantee that a mere game would lack elixirs, manuals, or masters of its own.

And so curiosity began to stir.

Just how far had these people progressed? Could they reach First-Rate, or attain Peak? Or had any among them broken through the wall itself?

The game's creator, too, was a person of this modern age, so it might all be gilded surface with a rotten core—but better not to dwell on that possibility.

"How intriguing. Truly intriguing."

For it had been a very long time since anything had stirred my interest.

There were videos. Some people even broadcast themselves personally. Thankfully, that much remained the same.

"A wondrous thing, truly."

To think that events unfolding inside virtual reality could be captured as video. Inexplicable in principle—but of no consequence to me.

"Hmm. Not many, I see."

I searched for men who made Mukgeomrok videos and found few indeed—which meant the game's audience was largely women.

Even in Murim, apart from the disciples of the Ami sect and the heirs of the great powers, no woman had ever been seen reaching the higher realms.

"This one will do."

"Heeey! Hellooooo, Wetube viewers! Today's gaaaame iiiis—Record of the Inky Sword! Let's jump right in!"

"Hey now! 'Death montage'?! I do all this for a cause most noble!"

"'NPC'?! Apologize to Jegal Cheongmyeong right now."

"Refuse, and you're banned."

"Record of the Inky Sword is NOT a game!"

"Alright, going in right now! Cheongmyeong, your noona is coming for you!"

"Wh... what is..."

I had no words. Not a single battle had even played out, and yet I could tell at a glance. Whether this woman was merely strange, or whether the others were like her as well, I could not say—but this one was no gambler of lives. Not a fighter who staked her very life on the blade. Disappointment welled up in me, yet I resolved to keep watching.

For a poor first impression was far too slender a thread on which to judge everything.

"Assassins of the Cold Blood Faction...! Run! I may be weak, but I can at least save your life, can I not?"

"Cheongmyeong!!"

So he would die for someone as insignificant as a flea. Perhaps Jegal Cheongmyeong was just that sort of fool.

"Who are you calling a flea and a fool!"

"Cheongmyeong! Noona's going to save you! The Iron Blood Sword, Aso, is coming!"

"Take my sword! Khk...!"

"Ahh! This nerf is such garbage! Why is it a thrust THIS time?!"

"Wh... what in the world is this..."

That movement made me think even one of the dogs roaming the Shaolin courtyard would have done better. No—without question, the dog would have done better. At the very least it would not have died with a blade in its neck the instant it lunged. Seen that way, it was a dog's death all the same—but at least she had staked her life on it.

So this was this world's standard... Surely it was merely that this one person was exceptionally hopeless. Not a shred of help to be found there... In any case, better to keep searching.

"And yet this Mukgeomrok is a rather fine thing."

Judging by the assassin's skill, Second-Rate. The woman, Third-Rate. Ha. From what little I had seen—less than licking the rind of a watermelon—it captured Murim remarkably well.

Setting the woman entirely aside, Mukgeomrok itself was sound. All I had witnessed was the assassin's opening strike, yet even that alone carried the unmistakable feel of a trained killer.

"My expectations rise."

Though what I had witnessed was wretched, even that served to heighten my anticipation. Could anyone meet these now-raised expectations?

"And with that, the Masked Yaksha route is cleared! Subscribe, like, and turn on notifications! See you next time!"

"Hoo... is this not precisely the look of a street brawler?"

Far from restrained movement, she flailed entirely at her own whim, without so much as a single consistent form to be found. And yet it was not a breaking of the mold—there simply was no mold at all.

"I have seen a great many things."

Those who looked talented existed, but none who had reached the realms. Yes—none. At best First-Rate, and even then, unrefined. Of course, anyone who had trained in the martial arts betrayed it at a glance.

"Modern martial arts, lacking internal energy, can only carry one so far."

The speed of movement differed. The range of the body differed. Even from a posture from which no ordinary person could possibly move, internal energy allowed movement—from any position whatsoever. The difference born of internal energy's presence or absence was beyond what ordinary people could hope to imagine.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"As I thought, the absence of a master looms far too large..."

Even before my master's proper tutelage began, I had grasped things on my own, so I had believed that those destined to succeed would succeed without a master.

"It seems I had forgotten that I possessed the Heavenly Martial Body."

The Heavenly Martial Body was no mere legend, nor simply a physique well suited to learning the martial ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠way. It was, literally, a divine body bestowed by Heaven for the sake of the martial arts alone. Nothing in this world could compare.

"Hoo..."

What was I to do?

I had steeled my mind for this, and yet I had left so much behind. Unable to sever it entirely, I had meant to work it loose through this. Even if it amounted to nothing more than self-gratification, I had thought that would suffice—but face to face with it at last, the frustration left me utterly at a loss.

"Without a master, there is no learning... a master?"

If they could not advance for want of a master to lay ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠even the most basic foundation, then surely it would suffice for someone to fill the master's role.

"Yes—if I were to become their master. No. No, that will not do."

For I had no reason whatsoever to do such a thing.

"Not that one—I told you not to do that!"

"No, come ON! I tell you to angle your ankle thirty degrees, rotate your hips thirteen, square your wrist, and you... how are you even managing to fail that!"

"What utterly vexing disciples..."

When one deigns to teach them, they ought at least show the effort to correct themselves! Yet instead they grind me down at every turn...

"This backseat gamer's been at it for days now, and honestly? No verification badge? You know what that makes him?"

"Cut!"

Chat restriction. And on top of that, verification required?

"Verification? Ha! Verification, for me."

Twenty-five years in Murim, and never once—not even from the nameless mountain-bandit rabble who could not so much as enter the Green Forest—had I been scorned like this!

"How to stream Mukgeomrok... ah, here it is."

"What kind of introduction runs this long?"

"Far too much of it amounts to nothing... And yet—a capsule. That must be the device they spoke of."

Best to buy one. It was not as though I lacked the money, and this was no passing fancy—there would be no regrets in the purchase.