Chapter 41: Found Him
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 41: Found Him
[This test is the 'One-Arm One-Eye One-Leg Contest'!]
🧐 Text Summary (Chapter 41)
[This test is the 'One-Arm One-Eye One-Leg Contest'!]
The third event of the License Exam was a duel held within a four-meter diameter circle.
Participants had to cover one eye, stand on only one foot, and use their weapon with only one hand.
Victory was achieved by pushing an opponent out of the circle or knocking them down.
Touching the ground with both feet simultaneously or using both arms during the duel resulted in disqualification.
[This is a test designed to comprehensively assess improvisation in variable situations, the ability to maintain physical balance, and individual situational judgment.]
Despite Black and White's kind explanation, complaints poured out from the examinees.
"It might not matter to those who use swords or sabers with one hand, but aren't martial artists who wield heavy weapons or dual weapons unilaterally disadvantaged?"
"I've mastered martial arts where fast footwork is paramount. But now you're telling me not to use one foot?"
"Hah, there isn't a single fair test this year..."
As complaints erupted everywhere, Ki Mu-hyeok scratched his head.
'The third test is the easiest, though?'
In his previous life, Ki Mu-hyeok was a Vagrant who had survived for twenty years even after losing an eye due to the side effects of an Artificial Dantian procedure.
He had been injured so badly that he couldn't use an arm or a leg countless times.
He had experience fighting with a broken, dangling arm roughly fixed with cloth, and even anecdotes of escaping through an encirclement on one leg...
Simply put, for Ki Mu-hyeok, these conditions weren't even a handicap.
"If you're ready, can we start right away?"
Ki Mu-hyeok, who had no complaints about the test, was the first to step forward.
Then, from the opposite group, a sturdy Middle-Aged Man stepped forward with a confident expression.
"I'm Kim Cheol-woo of Iron Sword Hall. In my youth, I worked as a Vagrant and went through all sorts of hardships. You look young, have you ever fought like this?"
"A Vagrant?"
A flicker of welcome crossed Ki Mu-hyeok's eyes at the mention of him being a Vagrant.
Usually, Vagrants can't escape the Underworld, but seeing him come to take the License Exam, it seemed his life had turned out quite well.
'I'm a little expectant, actually.'
Hiding a slight flutter of excitement, Ki Mu-hyeok offered his opponent a Fist Salute.
"I am Ki Mu-hyeok. Please take care of me."
"Alright. Do your best from the start so you have no regrets."
The two, each with one eye covered by an eye patch, took up their weapons, and as soon as Black and White's command to start ended, Kim Cheol-woo let out a battle cry and charged first.
"Tah-hat!"
Perhaps not expecting such an aggressive charge from the start while balancing on one foot, the watching martial artists murmured.
Ki Mu-hyeok waited for his opponent to approach, then leaped powerfully into the air.
"How foolish! Just preventing your landing is my victory, kid!"
As if he had been waiting, his opponent swung his sword widely.
In his eyes, it was clear he thought Ki Mu-hyeok was an inexperienced rookie.
But the reality was the opposite.
Whoosh!
Performing a somersault in the air to dodge the attack, Ki Mu-hyeok, with his head pointing downwards, extended his sword and struck the ground.
With that recoil, he bounced up once more, went over his opponent's back, and kicked him in the back with his foot.
"H-huh!"
While Kim Cheol-woo lost his balance and stumbled, Ki Mu-hyeok landed lightly on one foot.
Then, with the flat of his sword, he lightly struck the back of his knee, completely destroying his balance.
"H-urgh!"
His opponent fell ungracefully onto his backside.
Ki Mu-hyeok watched him, wearing a somewhat bewildered expression.
"He said he was a Vagrant..."
Can't even block this?
Ki Mu-hyeok was unaware of one thing.
His own standards were set to his pre-regression self, who had been among the top-tier Vagrants.
'He wasn't a proper Vagrant, it seems.'
Unable to hide his disappointed gaze, Ki Mu-hyeok offered his opponent a Fist Salute.
"It was a good experience."
"Ugh... I, I'm the one who learned a lot."
And those who watched the process went beyond admiration to expressions of utter astonishment.
The martial artists who saw Ki Mu-hyeok's circus-like movements, accomplished with only one foot and one hand, blinked their eyes, then one by one began to speak.
"Didn't that just take less than five seconds?"
"He's really a monster..."
"Can't we just send that guy straight to the First-Rate License Exam?"
As protests even arose suggesting he be sent up earlier, Black-White 13 approached Ki Mu-hyeok and offered congratulations.
[Congratulations. You're the first in the group I'm in charge of to achieve Three Consecutive Wins, aren't you?]
He personally pinned the badge marked with (三) to Ki Mu-hyeok's chest.
[I'm quite proud. It's probably one of the fastest speeds among all examinees.]
"What do I do now?"
To Ki Mu-hyeok's question, Black-White 13 chuckled and replied.
[Please wait a moment and watch the other participants' duels. After all, the Second-Rate License Exam needs all successful candidates to gather before it can begin.]
Ki Mu-hyeok nodded, then glanced at Black-White 13, who naturally stood beside him, and asked casually,
"...By the way, this fog. Isn't it dangerous?"
[Is there something you're worried about?]
Ki Mu-hyeok looked at the fog, which repeatedly thickened and thinned as if it were a living creature.
Although quite some time had passed since the License Exam began, it was unbelievably quiet for thousands of people to be in the same space.
"Beyond the fog, not only sight but also sound and smell seem to be blocked. I feel like if someone died in here, no one would know."
[Huh? Hahaha-! That's a grim joke. The License Exam is thoroughly controlled by the Korean Martial Alliance, so that won't happen.]
Is that really true?
Ki Mu-hyeok had doubts but didn't ask further.
If he tried to investigate too closely and an accident happened later, he would look more suspicious than anyone else.
'It's not a situation I can do anything about right now... I'll have to wait and see until the Second-Rate Exam.'
Ki Mu-hyeok recalled an incident that would occur in the near future and watched the martial artists' duels.
"Hwaaaap!"
"I cannot accept this! I request a rematch!"
"If it weren't for the injury I sustained earlier..."
As the test, composed of an unfamiliar environment and an unusual duel format, progressed, the true worth of the participating martial artists began to reveal itself.
Martial artists who would have easily passed in a conventional test were eliminated, and upsets occurred where martial artists everyone thought would fail ended up winning.
But even if one's Internal Energy was a bit lacking, even if one had mastered Third-Rate Martial Arts, isn't winning by fighting, no matter what, the surest way for a martial artist to prove themselves?
"This is how it should be."
At the sight of Ki Mu-hyeok, arms crossed, nodding seriously, Black-White 13 grinned.
[Participant Ki Mu-hyeok seems like a very interesting person. If it weren't for this place, I'd want to build a personal friendship with you.]
"Me?"
When he looked with an expression that clearly didn't understand why, Black and White stifled a laugh, gurgling.
[How should I put it, I feel like you're one of my kind. The way you try to hide your true nature and appear like a docile Orthodox Faction Rising Star is amusing, perhaps... Oh, was that an impolite remark?]
"Not really."
Ki Mu-hyeok stared intently at Black-White 13.
The eyes shining with interest beyond the mask were too fierce to be called favorable, yet too gentle to be called hostile, as they gazed at him.
He finally understood a little why he had felt uneasy every time he sensed the other's gaze.
'This guy, of all people, was more like a Vagrant than anyone else.'
Although he grew curious about the true identity beyond the Black and White mask, Ki Mu-hyeok, as if burdened by the compliment, hunched his neck and offered a Fist Salute.
"Thank you for your kind evaluation. I will strive to improve further."
[Hahaha! To the very end... Anyway, I look forward to your future activities. Participant Ki Mu-hyeok is fun to watch, after all.]
Black and White chuckled, then turned his head to speak to the participants whose duels had ended.
[Well, most of the matches have concluded already. Losers, please follow the Black and White over there, and winners, please follow me!]
It seemed Black-White 13 was continuously in charge of only the winner's group.
He gathered the participants who had won three times, personally pinned their badges, and then spoke.
[Congratulations on passing the Third-Rate Martial Artist License Exam. Now you have two choices.]
As Black and White stretched out both arms, pointing left and right, letters appeared above them.
Following his left hand, the clear characters <Return Home> appeared in the air.
[The first is to be satisfied here and return home. Please understand that we may send back those with severe injuries based on our own judgment.]
At the tip of his right hand, the clear Chinese character <二> (Two) appeared in the air.
[The second is to stay and challenge the Second-Rate License Exam. I'll tell you in advance, it will naturally be more difficult than before, and the chance of injury will also increase.]
Most of the participants, looking left and right alternately, moved towards <二> without hesitation.
"I will stay and participate in the next test."
"I have no intention of being satisfied as a Third-Rate Martial Artist and going home!"
"Let's go take the next test!"
Most of the people who participated in the License Exam were martial artists who came to prove themselves.
Except for those with unavoidable injuries, it was rare for people to be satisfied and return midway.
[Haha! Then I'll take it that everyone here agrees to take the Second-Rate License Exam. Then let's move immediately!]
*
Following Black and White, as they walked through the fog again, they soon arrived at a wide space that looked like a Grand Training Arena.
[[Welcome. I am Black-White 1, who presides over the Second-Rate Martial Artist License Exam.]]
A figure wearing a Black and White mask with horns on its forehead was waiting on a high platform with his hands clasped behind his back.
[[Until all successful candidates of the Third-Rate License Exam have gathered, please feel free to rest here.]]
Ki Mu-hyeok slowly looked around.
Although not many people had gathered yet, as expected of those who quickly passed the Third-Rate License Exam, most possessed confident demeanors and sharp qi.
"He should have arrived quickly..."
Ki Mu-hyeok looked around, searching for someone.
He had originally intended to look for him as soon as the test began, but because the test content was completely different from last year, he hadn't even been able to make contact.
'Nothing's happened already, has it?'
Ki Mu-hyeok in his previous life, at this time, lived completely disinterested in martial arts.
Because it was when he was judged to have a Martial Arts Practitioner Unsuitable Constitution and had given up his dream.
So he didn't know the details related to the test beforehand, but he remembered that a major incident, big enough to make the news, had occurred.
'An unexpected accident occurred during the License Exam, resulting in casualties.'
As a result, one promising Rising Star of the Eight Great Sects suffered an injury from which he could never recover.
Afterwards, the Martial Alliance Leader's authority was further reduced, and he was eventually forced to resign in disgrace a few years later—this was the future Ki Mu-hyeok knew.
'At first, I thought it wasn't something I needed to concern myself with...'
After hearing about the Martial Alliance Leader from the Sword Demon, his thoughts changed a little.
"-The Leader works day and night for the Korean Martial. Thanks to him, even a good-for-nothing like me could operate in the Orthodox Faction. Even when I was framed, he tried to help me somehow..."
Choi Geon evaluated Martial Alliance Leader Yeo Pil-geuk this way.
A person who guides Martial Arts Practitioners to walk the right path, striving to create a slightly more peaceful world.
A foolish person who, to protect righteous heroes, endures the pressure of the Eight Great Sects and maintains his position.
"-I always feel sorry, as if I ran away alone."
Hearing that story, Ki Mu-hyeok judged that the Leader was at least not involved with the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, and decided to try and prevent the accident in this test if possible.
Just then, along with a new group, the person Ki Mu-hyeok was looking for arrived at the Grand Training Arena.
"...Found him."
However, just as Ki Mu-hyeok was about to walk towards his target, a massive shadow enveloped him from behind.