An Unexpected Awakening
I opened my eyes blankly.
A blurry sight came into view. My vision was hazy, as if shrouded in a thick fog.
Beyond the haze, I could make something out.
When I realized what it was, I gasped.
Corpses covered the ground.
Mutilated and slaughtered bodies packed the earth, leaving not a single patch of empty space.
Countless weapons—swords, spears, daggers, and everything in between—were scattered everywhere.
The blood that pooled from them drenched the soil.
If hell exists, surely it looks like this.
The thought arose naturally.
Where is this?
It was a place I didn't recognize.
At least, it wasn't anywhere in my memories.
Is this a nightmare?
As I looked around with that thought in mind,
I spotted someone standing atop the pile of corpses.
The only living soul amidst the dead.
A figure with a broad back stood there alone.
His entire body was covered in scars, and blood seeped from numerous deep cuts.
It looked excruciatingly painful, yet the man stood there as if it were nothing.
Who is that?
I stared at him, filled with curiosity.
There was something strangely familiar about his build.
A massive, muscular frame.
Scars that seemed familiar, though they were obscured by the blood.
I couldn't tear my eyes away.
Why was he standing here alone?
And why did he look so familiar to me?
Just as questions began to pile upon questions,
The man began to move.
Huh?!
The motionless man slowly turned his head.
He turned to face none other than me.
Our eyes met.
A blue glow shone from beneath his blood-soaked face.
The moment I met his gaze, my breath caught. A wave of sheer terror washed over me.
I began to shake uncontrollably.
Overwhelmed by emotion, my body shivered of its own accord.
I have to run.
If this is a nightmare, I need to wake up.
Instinct took complete control of my mind.
Yet, I couldn't even do that.
I wanted to look away, but my head felt bolted in place. I couldn't budge.
"……."
After what felt like an eternity of staring at each other,
the man opened his mouth and spoke.
"It is time to wake up."
The moment those words left his lips,
my closed eyes snapped open.
"Huff!"
I bolted upright, my eyes flying open.
"Haah... haah..."
Panting heavily, I wiped my forehead with the back of my hand.
For some reason, I was drenched in cold sweat.
"...What? What was that?"
I muttered, utterly bewildered.
What just happened...?
I can't remember.
Despite waking up in such distress, the details slipped through my fingers.
To leave me sweating like this, it must have been a terrible nightmare. So why couldn't I recall a single thing?
"...Seriously, what is this?"
A lingering, unpleasant feeling settled over me.
What a terrible way to start the day. Annoyed, I tried to get out of bed.
A sharp pain shot through my body, forcing me to bend my knees.
Or rather, I tried to.
This time, the pain flared in my lower body.
My entire body was throwing a tantrum.
I collapsed back down onto the bed, groaning miserably.
"Ugh... ah..."
What is going on now?
Suppressing my groans, I checked my condition.
Only after looking myself over did I realize the truth.
My torso was wrapped tightly in bandages, and so was my throbbing thigh.
How did this happen?
As the question crossed my mind, memories began to resurface.
"And where on earth am I?"
Why was I here? I was definitely...
...in that cave, wasn't I?
The day we set out to search for Sancheon-gwiin.
Shortly after finding traces of spiritual energy around the mountain, we had discovered the cave.
And then...
That bastard of a squad leader threw me in...
Inside, we had encountered Sancheon-gwiin.
I had tried to fight back somehow, but...
Pung Yeon, Yeon So-cheon's guard, suddenly betrayed us...
Yoo Hyeong-in's stomach was pierced, and he was on the verge of death.
Right. These wounds match that fight.
My thigh, my back... the places that hurt were exactly where I had been attacked.
Which meant it hadn't been a dream.
"...Then where is this?"
The place I woke up in was far from a cave; it was a remarkably luxurious room.
Unlike the cramped quarters the regular members stayed in, everything from the furniture to the wall panels was of premium quality.
It was the most luxurious place I had seen since reincarnating into the Murim.
"What is this?"
What was going on? How did I end up here?
As I struggled to sit up and look around,
The door in front of me swung open.
"...!"
I immediately tensed at the sound of footsteps.
Wondering if I had been kidnapped, I looked around for a weapon, but—
"Ah!"
A gasp cut through the silence first.
The person who entered widened her eyes in shock upon seeing me.
It was a middle-aged woman... and her face looked familiar.
"Oh."
I remembered.
She was the Chief of the Medical Pavilion, the physician who managed the medical unit at the Anhui Branch of the Murim Alliance.
Since she only treated the branch's high-ranking officials, I had rarely seen her face.
But why was she opening this door and walking in—
"Y-Young Master Bang has awakened! Q-Quickly, prepare for treatment!"
"Pardon?"
"Inform the Branch Chief immediately!"
At the Chief of the Medical Pavilion's shout, a flurry of noisy voices erupted from beyond the door.
"I will prepare warm towels!"
"Bring the medical tools at once...!"
"Hurry and contact the Captain as well...!"
"What in the world...?"
A sudden uproar had broken out.
Bewildered by the chaos, I rubbed my eyes. What is this madness? Am I still dreaming?
Convinced it had to be a dream, I slapped my own cheek.
"Ow...!"
"Gasp?!"
It hurt. It hurt a lot.
Definitely not a dream. The sharp pain made that abundantly clear.
The problem was that the Chief of the Medical Pavilion looked absolutely horrified when I slapped myself.
"Y-Young Master! Why would you do that to yourself?!"
Startled, she rushed over and reached out.
Yet, she hesitated to touch my skin, her face contorted with a mix of anxiety and fear.
"Oh dear... I should have looked after you more carefully... If you are displeased, I am truly sorry. Please, just kill me to atone for my negligence...!"
"...Chief, what is wrong with you?"
Why was this middle-aged woman acting so terrifyingly subservient?
Whenever I had gone to the medical pavilion for treatment in the past, she would snort and dump me onto the youngest apprentice.
She had done the exact same thing when I injured my head while catching that lust demon.
"I-I failed to recognize your noble status and have caused you nothing but trouble... I am deeply sorry. Please, just kill me...!"
"No...! Seriously, why are you doing this?!"
It was genuinely frightening.
It felt like the world had gone mad.
Her presence here meant I was at least still at the branch.
But what on earth was going on?
"I-I will examine you immediately to see if you have any discomfort. Please, appease your anger for a moment...!"
"..."
I wasn't angry.
Couldn't she see that I was the one trembling in fear, not anger?
As I stared blankly at the trembling Chief of the Medical Pavilion,
"Please, kill me—"
"I'll lie down. I'm lying down. Please..."
I'll lie down, okay? Just stop this...
Fearing she would throw another dramatic fit, I decided it was best to just lie back down.
I lay on the soft bedding, staring blankly at the ceiling for about an hour.
"...Fortunately, there seem to be no abnormalities. Your recovery is progressing well. You should be fully healed within two months."
The Chief of the Medical Pavilion wasn't the only one in the room; several others had entered.
Most of them were physicians, hovering around to assist her every time she examined me.
It was a bizarre sight.
Do physicians usually... cluster around a single patient like this?
Usually, a single doctor would take turns treating the wounded.
But here, four physicians were fussing over my single body. What kind of luxury was this?
The absurdity didn't stop there.
"Then that means there are no major issues."
"Yes... that is correct."
The Chief of the Medical Pavilion nodded at the man's words.
Satisfied with her response, the man nodded back.
"That is a great relief, Young Master Bang... I was deeply worried about you."
The man stared at me with eyes full of genuine concern, making it incredibly awkward to respond.
This was a man who used to look at me as if I were a speck of dust. To see him looking at me like this overnight was jarring.
...Was he even capable of making a face like that?
The man was none other than the Branch Chief of the Anhui Branch of the Murim Alliance.
In the year I had spent here, this was only my third time meeting him.
Unless you were a Captain or a Squad Leader, the Branch Chief was practically a mythical figure.
Yet, that very man...
"I was so worried that I could barely sleep at night..."
...was speaking to me in highly polite honorifics, practically walking on eggshells.
"...Ah, yes..."
How was I supposed to react to this? I had no idea, so my response was utterly half-hearted.
If this really wasn't a dream, what on earth was happening?
I couldn't wrap my head around it.
"Is there anything else you find uncomfortable? If this room is not to your liking, I can offer you my own quarters..."
"...There is no need for that."
I replied, shuddering at the Branch Chief's offer.
As it turned out, this room was reserved for VIP guests of the branch.
Right, no wonder... that's why I've never seen it before.
I had worked here for a year and never even knew such a room existed.
No wonder it felt so luxurious.
The bedding was so soft...
Wait... now is not the time to be admiring the room.
It had been so long since I felt anything this soft.
I had almost lost my train of thought. Shaking my head, I snapped back to reality.
"Branch Chief..."
"Yes, please speak."
I really can't get used to him speaking to me like this.
Suppressing my discomfort, I asked,
"Why... am I here?"
Even if I had luckily escaped the cave and returned to the branch,
I should have woken up in a standard cot in the medical pavilion or the members' quarters.
Why was I in a VIP room, and why were everyone's attitudes so bizarre?
Unable to make sense of anything, I had to ask the Branch Chief.
"What is going on here?"
"Ah... well... that is..."
The Branch Chief hesitated, looking troubled.
Did he find it hard to explain?
Or was there some other reason? I couldn't tell.
If this wasn't a dream, there had to be some explanation for all of this.
I don't even know how I escaped that cave.
Yoo Hyeong-in was wounded, and Pung Yeon had betrayed us.
Even Yeon So-cheon had been in grave danger.
In such a dire situation, how did I manage to escape and end up here?
Moreover, hadn't I been hovering on the brink of death after being attacked?
...And then, at that moment...
After Pung Yeon stabbed my thigh and went after Yeon So-cheon...
And then... and then...
As I tried to force the memory, a sharp headache flared.
I clutched my forehead, causing the people around me to flinch in alarm.
"Y-Young Master Bang!"
"Are you alright?!"
"Physician!"
"The physician is right here, Branch Chief...!"
"...I'm... fine."
They were overreacting so much that I quickly reassured them.
Their fussing was giving me indigestion more than the headache.
"Never mind the pain. Just explain what—"
"I can provide that explanation."
A voice answered from the doorway.
I turned my head to see a young man entering the room.
A handsome youth with white hair and dark eyes tinged with blue.
It was Yeon So-cheon.
However...
"...Squadmate Yeon?"
I couldn't help but stare in surprise.
His appearance was completely different from usual.
Instead of his usual martial artist robes, he was dressed like a young master from a prestigious family.
He was already ridiculously good-looking, and dressing him up like this made him look almost unreal.
He's seriously, annoyingly handsome.
"..."
Yeon So-cheon offered a faint smile at my call.
He walked over to the bed, and then, suddenly—
...Huh?
Yeon So-cheon dropped to his knees and bowed deeply before me.
"Please forgive my late introduction."
"Squadmate Yeon? What are you doing all of a sudden—"
"I am... Cheon Ui-jin of the Cheongwol Sect."
"What?"
I froze at his words.
Where did he say he was from...?
The Cheongwol Sect...?
A name prestigious enough to make anyone's jaw drop had just slipped from his mouth.
Was it the same Cheongwol Sect I knew? If so, that alone was shocking enough.
But his next words were even more mind-blowing.
Yeon So-cheon... no, Cheon Ui-jin, clasped his hands together in a formal martial greeting.
Then, he added:
"An immature descendant of our sect pays his respects to the successor of the Sword Saint."
Upon hearing those words, my world ground to a halt.
...Who is the successor of who?