A Walk in the Frozen Woods
We climbed up to a wide clearing near the summit of the massive mountain behind the main headquarters of the Alliance.
A dense crowd had gathered. With so many martial artists packed together, the air felt suffocatingly heavy.
White puffs of breath escaped our mouths with every exhale, a stark reminder of the freezing season.
Yet, every single person gathered here seemed completely unfazed by the cold.
Except for me.
Shiver.
I crossed my arms to hide my trembling fingers. These absolute lunatics. Are they seriously not cold?
The tree branches around us were frozen so stiff they looked ready to snap. How could they not feel this?
Watching them stand there looking perfectly comfortable was downright absurd.
Ah, damn it all.
Times like this were exhausting. Ah, I forgot again. I should have learned how to regulate my body temperature with internal energy.
...Blast it.
I should have learned it sooner. Because I hadn't, I was stuck shivering like a wet dog.
And where the hell did that damn old man go?
The one person who should have taught me how to regulate my temperature was nowhere to be found.
He had vanished ever since we had that massive fight yesterday—well, more like after I unilaterally chewed him out.
Is he sulking?
No way. A man of his age, who was once the World's Greatest, wouldn't sulk over something so trivial.
Besides, if anyone had the right to be upset, it was me.
Damn it. He has no idea how much he scared me.
When I suddenly came face-to-face with the Sword Phoenix during my late-night training... I nearly jumped out of my skin.
I specifically told him to warn me if anyone approached.
But he was spacing out instead, and we almost had a disaster on our hands.
Of course... the Sword Phoenix was the one acting weird.
Yoo Chun-gil was at fault for not paying attention, but the Sword Phoenix was just as bizarre for creeping up that close and practically offering her neck to my blade.
Seriously, what is her deal?
I looked toward the front of the crowd, where the Sword Phoenix was standing.
I could only see the back of her head, but that didn't matter.
What is she up to?
I couldn't make heads or tails of it.
Does she know me?
She had written a note asking if I really didn't recognize her. That meant she definitely knew who I was.
...But I have no clue.
I had absolutely no memory of her. No matter how much I racked my brain, nothing came up.
That shouldn't be possible.
If there was one thing I was good at, it was remembering faces. I rarely forgot anyone I had met even once.
Yet, no matter how many times I thought about the Sword Phoenix, the result was the same.
She's a stranger.
I didn't know her, but she knew me.
Did she mistake me for someone else?
Mistaken identity. That seemed like the most plausible explanation.
Tsk.
As always, my only wish was to avoid any annoying complications.
Just as I was about to look away,
Huh?
My eyes caught something. It was a group standing near the far left of the Sword Phoenix.
I felt a gaze burning into me from that direction. It was Seo Pyeong.
That bastard.
At it again. I barely suppressed a sigh.
I hadn't looked over because of him, though. My attention was drawn to the person standing right next to Seo Pyeong.
They had a remarkably slight build. Quite small for a martial artist—roughly my height, in fact.
Since they were a full head shorter than Seo Pyeong, that was a safe guess.
I stared quietly at the figure.
What is that?
That familiar back of the head... What was it? Who was that?
I narrowed my eyes, feeling like the answer was just on the tip of my tongue, when—
"Thank you all for gathering."
"...!"
A representative of the Alliance stepped forward and spoke, instantly drawing my attention away.
"We will now explain the rules for the second preliminary round and distribute the necessary items. Will one representative from each two-man team please step forward?"
I felt a presence stir beside me. It was the Thunder Dragon.
"I'll be right back."
"Sure."
When the Thunder Dragon returned, he was holding two black stones that looked like Go pieces.
Once the Alliance official confirmed that every representative had received their items, he immediately began his explanation.
"As the strategist explained yesterday, the rules for the second preliminary are simple."
Clack.
The official dropped a pair of stones from his hand—one black, one white.
"We have just distributed two stones to each team. However, by the end of the preliminary, you must possess a total of four."
The atmosphere shifted instantly. A heavy, competitive energy began to swell among the crowd.
"Specifically, two pairs of different colors. Two white, and two black. As long as you do not kill, any method of acquiring these stones is permitted."
To pass, a team had to hold two black stones and two white stones. Which meant...
At least half of us are getting eliminated.
They had already weeded out seventy percent in the first round, and now they were cutting the remainder in half.
And the reason it was at least half, rather than exactly half, was simple.
"Furthermore, there is no limit to how many stones a single team may hold."
"..."
You could hoard as many as you wanted. That was the catch.
It means you can steal as many as you want.
If you liked fighting and stealing, you could go wild. I let out a dry laugh.
How brutal.
Ah, I really don't want to do this. The thought crossed my mind instantly.
"This is going to be fun. Hahaha!"
Oblivious to my misery, the Thunder Dragon grinned widely. He was dead serious. I could see the genuine excitement in his eyes.
Sigh.
I just gave him a half-hearted nod.
This was exactly why I had teamed up with him. One of the Seven Great Talents was bound to be better than the other options.
Though teaming up with Do-hyeong would have been the most comfortable.
But I had ruled that out because it would leave Cheon Ui-jin in a tough spot.
And as for Cheon Hye-in...
She wasn't someone I could trust, so I figured the Thunder Dragon was the lesser of two evils.
...Though I might have made a mistake.
It was a bit ridiculous to say I trusted him either.
Still, Yoo Chun-gil had personally vouched for his strength, so he would do.
At the very least, we won't fail.
As I was steeling my resolve,
"Now,"
the Alliance official shouted,
"the second preliminary round begins! You have until sunset!"
He raised both hands, bringing his palms together.
Clap!
He struck his hands together, channeling his qi into the sound.
"Begin!"
At his shout, the gathered young martial artists scattered in all directions. The second preliminary had officially begun.
Once the round started and everyone began to move, I naturally followed suit.
The Thunder Dragon and I began scouting various parts of the mountain.
The boundary is the entire mountain, and we have until sunset.
The area was vast, and we had plenty of time.
What's more, losing our stones doesn't mean instant elimination.
Even if we lost everything in a single fight, we weren't out. We just had to make sure we had two pairs by the deadline.
...Which means people will fight like cornered dogs.
It meant the violence would only escalate as the sun began to set.
None of these martial artists were the type to gracefully accept defeat and go home. They would fight until the very last second.
And it's not like we can just talk things out over tea.
Since I had never met a martial artist who preferred words to fists, it was best to just brace myself.
Just then,
"Oh! Look at this, Young Sword Saint."
The Thunder Dragon, who had been trailing behind me, suddenly called out.
"What is it?"
I turned around to see him crouching down, staring intently at the ground. What is he looking at? Did he find something?
I narrowed my eyes and focused.
"A flower! Look at this flower."
"...Ah. Yes, it certainly looks like one."
"Isn't it marvelous?"
"...Which part of it is supposed to be marvelous?"
It was just a flower. Why was he making a fuss? No matter how I looked at it, it was just a common blue wildflower.
The Thunder Dragon stared at me, his eyes wide with disbelief at my lack of enthusiasm.
"You think this is just a regular flower?"
"Is it not?"
"This is a Frost Plum Blossom!"
What the hell is that, you lunatic?
"It only blooms for a single month in the dead of winter. It's incredibly rare and hard to find. To think I'd see one here... Ha! Today must be our lucky day."
"..."
He was practically weeping with joy, showering the tiny plant with endless praise. I had no idea how to respond.
"...Young Master Thunder Dragon. Do you... like flowers?"
That was the only question I could manage.
"Of course!"
He beamed, looking genuinely delighted.
"How could anyone not love something so beautiful blooming from the cold earth?"
"...Ah. I see."
His sincerity caught me off guard. I didn't think someone who looked so much like the Little Green Sword could smile like that.
It was surprising enough that he liked flowers, but the real problem started after that.
"Look over there! That one is called a Willow Blossom!"
"Oh! And that one...!"
"Wow! This is another rare find...!"
Every time we took a step, he would spot another flower and launch into an excited lecture. By the time we reached the halfway point, I was thoroughly sick of it.
"Young Sword Saint, this flower is—"
"Aargh!"
I finally snapped.
"Forget the flowers! We have a preliminary to pass! Keep your voice down, the whole mountain is going to hear us!"
With him shouting like that, we might as well have announced our location to the entire forest. He clearly had no concept of stealth.
"I believe your shout was much louder than my voice, Young Sword Saint...?"
The Thunder Dragon looked at me with wounded, puppy-dog eyes.
"...Ugh..."
A headache throbbed at the base of my skull. Ah, maybe teaming up with him was a mistake. If I had known he was like this, I would have just held my tongue.
"...Fine, whatever. I'll listen to your flower lectures later. For now, let's just focus."
Flowers could wait. We needed to find the stones first.
"We need to get two white stones, right?"
"Indeed."
Since we had been given black stones, we had to hunt down a team that held white ones.
Where are they hiding?
Although the mountain was large, there were plenty of participants. We were bound to run into someone soon.
As I scanned our surroundings,
Hummm.
I channeled my qi into my eyes.
The Moon Eye flared to life, casting a blue glow as I surveyed the area.
I felt my field of vision expand.
The more I used the Moon Eye, the more I realized it wasn't just for seeing in the dark; it actually enhanced my overall visual perception.
Or perhaps... I just didn't know how to use its full potential until now.
As my cultivation realm progressed, my understanding of the technique had deepened, allowing me to unlock this wider perspective.
I kept my eyes peeled for a while longer, when—
"Excuse me, Young Sword Saint."
The Thunder Dragon called out from behind me. I ignored him. He was probably going to point out another weed.
"Young Sword Saint?"
"..."
"Young Sword Saint? Can you hear me? Young Sword Saint?"
I kept ignoring him, focusing entirely on scouting the terrain.
"YoungSwordSaintYoungSwordSaintYoungSwordSaintYoungSwordSaint?"
"..."
"YoungSwordSaintYoungSwordSaint—"
"Would you shut up already?!"
I spun around, ready to rip him a new one.
"Look over there. We have guests."
The Thunder Dragon pointed toward a clearing with a bright smile.
Standing there were—
"Oh, look at our luck!"
The Black Great Blade, grinning like a brute at the sight of me.
Shring.
And the Sword Phoenix, quietly drawing her blade.
"Ah, fuck."
The curse slipped out before I could stop it.
Of all the people to run into right at the start, it had to be these two.