Chapter 18: I'd Really Like to See It
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 18: I'd Really Like to See It
A few days after the incident at the Ghost Sound Hall.
I was on my way to the Martial Alliance headquarters to attend the Competition awards ceremony.
"Seriously, who just announces an awards ceremony out of the blue in the morning? I didn't even get to pick out a proper outfit!"
"Mu-hyeok's the one getting the award, why are you worrying about clothes?"
"It's our son's first award from the Martial Alliance! Mom and Dad have to look good in the commemorative photos too, don't we?"
"Ugh, stop being so dramatic."
My father was already making a huge fuss, while my mother, though pretending to be calm, had a face full of tension.
Sitting in the back seat of the car, I deliberately spoke in a nonchalant tone.
"Don't get your hopes up too much. I only got invited to the awards ceremony; I might not actually win anything, you know?"
I had actually already heard the results over the phone, but I only told them that I'd been invited to the awards ceremony for the Competition I'd recently participated in.
"...Really? So we might just go for a tour and come back?"
"But Mom rushed to the salon early this morning..."
"Honey. Who's being more dramatic now?"
"Quiet, just watch the road."
A laugh almost escaped me at my parents' rapidly deflating spirits, but I held it in, acting nonchalant for the sake of the dopamine rush they'd get later.
"Realistically, what are the chances of a high school student winning an award in the General Division Competition for under-25s? They probably just invited us to visit."
The Competition website only listed the names of the award nominees; who would receive which award would only be revealed at today's ceremony.
"Actually, Dad would be happy just to look around and come back."
My father suddenly said, humming cheerfully with a pleased expression.
"Just a few weeks ago, my son was holed up in his room like a shut-in, but now we can go out together like this. What's a mere award compared to that?"
"Mom feels the same way. So what if you don't win an award? Let's just go, enjoy looking around the Martial Alliance, and then eat something delicious."
"..."
Just as I was about to get choked up again by my parents' thoughtful words, comforting me in advance in case I was disappointed—
"By the way, son. You mentioned that accident at the High School Division Competition. Dad looked it up, and it seems it was a bigger deal than we thought, right? Your name was even mentioned a few times."
"Ah, well..."
Before I could launch into the excuse I'd prepared, Mom shot my dad a glare and scolded him.
"Did you go on that Martial Practitioner community again? I told you not to keep going there."
"Ahem, ahem. I just pop in once in a while to skim through it."
"What good does reading those posts do? It just makes you upset."
"Exactly! Just yesterday, some brats kept saying our Mu-hyeok must have failed his Constitution Test...!"
"You didn't actually get into a fight with those kids in the comments, did you?"
"..."
"What if they find out you're Mu-hyeok's family then?!"
"No way they'll find out. I fought using total slang, like kids these days!"
"Isn't this your comment, Dad? Everyone piled on, making fun of 'the old man who showed up.'"
"Ki Mu-hyeok! You traitor...!"
"Ugh, you idiot!"
As I watched my parents, whose marital bliss was so strong they bickered every day, from the back seat, we arrived in front of the Martial Alliance headquarters before I knew it.
A site the size of Olympic Park in the heart of Seoul, with a skyscraper in its center that required craning one's neck to see the top.
It was the Korean Martial Alliance headquarters, one of the largest branches of the World Martial Alliance.
'So this is the Martial Alliance...'
I had participated in Competition awards ceremonies many times, but this was my first time visiting the Martial Alliance headquarters.
This was because awards ceremonies for the High School Division and below were usually held at the venue hosting the event on the day itself.
However, due to the accident caused by Kim Hyeon-seung, the High School Division awards ceremony that day had been canceled. So, I heard that today, exceptionally, the High School Division awards would also be held at the Martial Alliance headquarters.
"How may I help you?"
The Martial Artists checking IDs at the main gate all had sharp, piercing gazes.
I opened the entry pass I'd received on my smartphone and presented it.
"I'm here to attend the Competition awards ceremony. Here's my entry pass."
"Please wait a moment while I verify it."
The Martial Artist checked my entry pass, quickly nodded, and allowed my parents and me to pass.
"You may proceed."
As we passed through the main gate and entered the Martial Alliance, my parents, who had been tense, let out long, held breaths.
"Phew, I'm nervous for no reason..."
"You haven't done anything wrong, why are you so nervous?"
Our family, having arrived two hours earlier than the awards ceremony schedule, planned to look around various parts of the Martial Alliance.
After about an hour of exploring the vast Martial Alliance headquarters, I ran into a familiar face in the hallway leading to the awards venue.
"Ki Mu-hyeok!"
It was Oh Jung-min, a First-Generation Disciple of the Pine Moon Sect.
I greeted him as he walked towards me, his gentle demeanor just as I remembered from the Competition.
"You're here too, Oh Jung-min. I figured you'd win an award."
"Haha! Look who's talking. I was actually waiting to see when you'd arrive."
"...Me?"
"Of course."
Oh Jung-min nodded and respectfully performed a Fist Salute to my parents standing beside me.
"I am Oh Jung-min, a First-Generation Disciple of the Pine Moon Sect. I met Ki Mu-hyeok at the Competition. I was curious about the parents who raised such an outstanding Rising Star, and now I see that Mu-hyeok's musculature is so exceptional because he takes after his parents."
I'd noticed this last time too, but Oh Jung-min seemed less like a Martial Artist and more like an office worker who was incredibly good at navigating social situations.
It was rare to see a Martial Artist who knew how to flatter others so effortlessly without making them uncomfortable.
"Oh my, thank you! A First-Generation Disciple of the Pine Moon Sect, you say?"
"Thank you for thinking so highly of our son. The Pine Moon Sect is a famous Martial Sect, even we know of it..."
Seeing my father and mother grinning from ear to ear instantly brightened my mood as well.
Just then, my father, who had left the conversation with Oh Jung-min to my mother and subtly stepped back, whispered into my ear.
"Mu-hyeok. Aren't First-Generation Disciples usually really arrogant? I thought they wouldn't even look at ordinary people like us..."
I had occasionally seen such types during my Vagrant days, but this was the heart of the Martial Alliance, and Oh Jung-min wasn't that kind of arrogant person.
"He's a good-natured person. And he can probably hear everything you're whispering, Dad."
"...Gasp!"
As my father flinched in surprise, Oh Jung-min laughed heartily and said,
"Our Pine Moon Sect has an internal rule to show even greater courtesy to ordinary people who do not practice martial arts. There are no arrogant Martial Artists like the ones you're imagining, at least not within the Pine Moon Sect!"
He spoke with a gentle yet firm expression, seemingly filled with pride for his Martial Sect.
"...So, if I may ask, what are your thoughts on Mu-hyeok's future path?"
'Looks like he's here to recruit.'
He'd offered me a scout invitation to the Pine Moon Sect last time, and it seemed he was waiting for me today for the same purpose.
...I didn't know it then.
That this was just the beginning.
People who had overheard our conversation began to turn their heads one by one, showing interest.
"Ki Mu-hyeok, you say?"
"The young fellow who participated in the General Division Competition?"
"I even gave him my business card last time..."
It wasn't just the young Martial Artists in their twenties whom I'd met at the Competition venue.
Even older Martial Practitioners with graying hair slowly approached where we stood.
"Ki Mu-hyeok. May I have a word with you?"
"I was very impressed by your performance at the Competition. Your interpretation and expressiveness of the sword dance piece were extraordinary."
"Do you perhaps have a Martial Sect in mind...?"
Some of them were faces I'd seen at the Competition, others were unfamiliar, and there were even quite famous figures among them.
"It's been a while. How are your injuries from back then?"
Gu Ja-seung, the youngest elder of the Great Heaven Sect.
When an elder from a considerably large Mid-Sized Sect appeared, the gathered crowd stirred for a moment.
-...The client is the Great Heaven Sect.
Recalling what the Ghost Sound Hall Master had said, I began to see things in a completely different light than before.
I performed a Fist Salute to Elder Gu and expressed my gratitude.
At the same time, I didn't forget to observe him.
"Thanks to the Golden Wound Ointment you gave me that day, I recovered quickly."
It was true that thanks to it, I had managed to gloss over the incident with my parents by saying I'd gotten injured in an accident during the Competition.
"That's good to hear. If you ever find your training blocked or need advice, don't hesitate to visit the Great Heaven Sect. Just mention my name."
Gu Ja-seung said this to me with a benevolent expression, then turned his head and offered well wishes to my parents as well.
"I don't know the results yet either, but given the skill your son displayed at the Competition, I think you can look forward to an award today."
"Oh my goodness, thank you!"
"Our son is indebted to the Elder..."
"Not at all. We are the ones indebted to him. I wish you all the best for the results."
Unlike the others, Gu Ja-seung finished what he had to say briefly and then left immediately.
I gazed thoughtfully at Gu Ja-seung's retreating back.
It wasn't easy to discern his true intentions from the brief conversation we'd just had.
However, I could see an awkward smile on Gu Ja-seung's face, as if he was trying to hide his nervousness.
'If he's heard news of what happened to the Ghost Sound Hall... he wouldn't have time to pay attention to a Rising Star like me right now.'
On the surface, he seemed like the epitome of an upright Orthodox Faction Member, but having heard the Great Heaven Sect's name from the Ghost Sound Hall Master, I couldn't help but be suspicious.
'I'll have to look into this more thoroughly later.'
Even after Elder Gu Ja-seung left, the crowd didn't thin out.
It seemed everyone had decided to target my parents first rather than me, as the crowd surrounding them was steadily growing.
"Oh my, thank you! Our Mu-hyeok has always been handsome and popular since he was young, just like me..."
"Regarding his future path, we prioritize our son's wishes above all else, so it's difficult to say anything..."
At that moment, I subtly slipped away and started talking to Oh Jung-min, who had been pushed quite far back by then.
"It's absolute chaos. Is the Martial Alliance always like this?"
"Of course not this much. Whose fault do you think it is?"
"...Mine?"
Oh Jung-min looked at me with an expression that asked if I was truly clueless, then nodded and explained.
"Every Martial Sect is staking its life on recruiting talented individuals. The number of experts directly translates to a Martial Sect's power and influence. So, to put it a bit cynically... you're a top-tier commodity about to hit the market."
I knew that much, of course.
But I couldn't understand why so many people had gathered just for me.
"I have a Grade 4 Constitution. Isn't this a bit too much effort to recruit someone at that level?"
"Actually, that makes it even better."
"..."
"Because almost everyone with a Grade 1, 2, or 3 Constitution only applies to the major sects. And those below that are out of the question."
Hearing that, I looked around at the crowd again and realized most of them were Martial Artists belonging to Mid-Sized Sects.
Not a single person from the major sects, known as the Eight Great Sects, was visible.
'Do they think they're on a different level?'
Major sects don't even need to advertise; every year, applicants hoping to join flock to them like clouds.
This was because the support, welfare, and income they offered were all different.
It was even said that if you got a Grade 1 to 3 Constitution in the Constitution Test, you should apply to a major sect without question.
I finally understood why this situation was happening.
"...So, I'm considered a top-tier commodity among the candidates Mid-Sized Sects can recruit. That's exactly what my evaluation means."
A small laugh escaped me once I understood the reason.
Oh Jung-min cautiously asked, reacting to my response,
"Did what I say upset you?"
"Not at all. There's no reason to be."
If I had intended to pursue a career in a major sect from the beginning, I would have openly revealed my Constitution Grade or at least faked it as a Grade 3.
But joining a major sect was not part of my future plans.
'Major sects have strict rules and too many restrictions.'
As much as they offered the advantage of excellent martial arts and ample support, they also had the drawback of making it difficult to act according to my own plans, no matter what I did.
'So I don't particularly need the attention of major sects, but...'
The human heart was truly strange.
Especially when I wasn't receiving attention, these thoughts started to surface.
"I'd really like to see it."
"...See what?"
I shrugged my shoulders, smiling playfully.
"The major sects begging me to please join them."
"Hahahaha!"
Oh Jung-min laughed for a long time, apparently thinking my words were a truly amusing joke.