Where Am I? (2)
Where is this place? (2) EP.30
When I entered the 2nd floor, I found myself lying on an unexpectedly firm wooden bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. What greeted me next was a bitter medicinal scent that made me instinctively frown. Seeing other cots around me and various herbs neatly arranged as one might find in a traditional clinic, I could tell this was no modern hospital.
Ring.
You have entered the 2nd Floor — Jeongmu Academy.
A mission has been assigned to the player.
『2nd Floor — Blue Out of Indigo』
Theme: Growth
Difficulty: Individual C~A
Description: What weapon do you prefer? What style of combat do you enjoy, and what kind of opponent do you wish to face? Whatever you can imagine exists here! This is the law of the jungle, where the strong reign supreme. This is Jeongmu Academy. Devote yourself to training. Attain enlightenment. Your growth lies in your own hands.
Mission: Earn recognition from three or more renowned masters (0/3)
Limit: 30 days (Failure if expelled from Jeongmu Academy)
Reward: Compensation proportional to achievements
Penalty: If unsuccessful within the time limit, all growth stats will be forfeited and you will be forcibly transported to the 3rd floor.
Ah. The more I read the mission window, the clearer it became what kind of place I was in. The martial world. An academy. It seemed this time I would have to complete some task set in a school setting.
I decided to get up from the bed and scout my surroundings. But just as I was about to move, I sensed a faint presence outside the door.
Creak.
A moment later, the black wooden door opened and two people entered the room, dressed in distinctly wuxia-style clothing. One was a gaunt middle-aged man with a white goatee that made him look like a scheming official, and the other was a small child in white robes. The moment the child spotted me, a bright smile spread across their face as they tugged at the middle-aged man's sleeve.
“Huh? He’s awake! Master! This person woke up!”
“I can see that, so stop making such a fuss.”
Rattle. Rattle.
The middle-aged man held a small mortar in one hand. Judging by his appearance, he seemed to be a physician, and the dark circles hanging beneath his eyes suggested he had quite a heavy workload.
“Wow! Your eyes are open. Eyes! Whoa! You’re even breathing!”
“People normally breathe.”
“Wow! Amazing!”
Or perhaps it was because of the child chattering nonstop beside him. The girl, who had been darting about energetically, clung to the man’s leg as he ground herbs. Paying no mind to the child attached to his leg, the man dragged over a wooden chair and sat right beside me. Then—
“Hmm… what’s this? Your condition seems different from before.”
The physician repeatedly lifted and lowered my arm, checking my state.
“Were you faking illness by any chance?”
“Ah, no… By the way, did you happen to notice anything strange about me…”
I knew full well that my attire was completely out of place in this setting. A dress shirt in the martial world… No matter how you looked at it, it was odd. Yet whether due to the Tower’s trickery or some other force, the physician didn’t seem particularly bothered by my clothing.
“By the way, my head’s a bit fuzzy right now. Where exactly am I?”
I decided to play along while observing his reaction. I genuinely didn’t know my current situation, and he didn’t seem hostile toward me, so I figured I might as well gather some information.
“Where? This is the academy’s medical hall, obviously. If you’re going to joke around, at least put some effort into it. Looks like you ran away because you didn’t want to train, but that won’t fly!”
The physician scowled and snapped at me. But a moment later, his furrowed brow slowly relaxed, and he let out an “Ah!” of realization.
“Aah… You must have hit your head during sparring and lost your memory! Well, that can happen.”
The physician nodded with a meaningful expression, as if he had something in mind.
“Ahem! Speaking of which, why don’t you try this? It’s a pill I’ve been developing recently. The effects should be immediate.”
At the physician’s words, the child beside him looked at me with sparkling eyes, as if discovering a new toy. The physician held out a round pill that gave off a foul smell and had a yellowish hue, almost like…
“Wow! It’s poop! Master made poop that’s good for the body!”
“Hey! Be quiet!”
The child had a talent for saying things that didn’t need to be said. I stared at him with a face full of suspicion. The visual alone made it impossible to believe this was edible.
“Can… Can this actually be eaten?”
“Well, it should be eaten.”
“What do you mean by that…”
As I stared in shock, the man continued with a wicked smile.
“I’ve heard about your situation to some extent. You’re being bullied by the academy students, aren’t you? That’s why you came here in such a hurry.”
I fell silent at his words. This might be the perfect opportunity to gather information about the 2nd floor.
“This is a pill I developed recently. For some reason, no one wants to test it. So I was thinking…”
The physician trailed off, glancing at me cautiously. But only for a moment.
“If you just eat this one, I’ll turn a blind eye no matter how long you stay holed up in the medical hall! And if you’re bored, I’ll even keep you company. How about it? A clean deal!”
Though I frowned at his words, I couldn’t bring myself to refuse outright. What I needed right now was information about the 2nd floor. From the looks of it, the setting assumed I had already existed here…
Twitch.
“Ugh!”
“Heh… You’ve made your decision. Say ah.”
Realizing my entire body rejected taking the pill directly, I simply opened my mouth like a baby bird waiting to be fed.
“Good!”
“Glurk.”
“How is it? Feeling any effects?”
The moment I put the pill in my mouth, the physician looked at me with sparkling eyes, clearly delighted.
Crunch. Crunch.
I forced my jaw to move, chewing the wretched pill thoroughly. A bitter and fishy taste assaulted my senses at once. My face twisted involuntarily, and my whole body felt like it was shrinking. But—
“Why bother chewing? Just swallow it. I made it small on purpose.”
“Blergh.”
It was a pill meant to be swallowed. You’d only know if you’d taken one before. And if it’s meant to be swallowed, at least give me water!
“W-Water.”
I struggled to keep my tongue from touching the pill filling my mouth, so my request for water didn’t come out properly. The child, who had been giggling while watching, clapped their hands and shouted.
“Wow! Ask for more!”
Shut up. When did I—
A desperate struggle to obtain information. The first piece of information I gained from it was, fortunately, that this physician wasn’t a liar.
You have consumed Kwaecheong-dan.
Fatigue has been restored.
Physical abilities have temporarily increased.
“Feeling refreshed, right?!”
The moment the physician finished speaking, a surge of energy rose within me. Though I hadn’t felt cheerful at all, so the name didn’t quite match, the effect was truly remarkable.
***
The moment I swallowed the pill, I wiped away tears and snot while gulping down water repeatedly. While I was still unsure whether to thank him or get angry, the physician seemed to feel guilty and answered all my subsequent questions without complaint.
“So… this is Jeongmu Academy, a school in the martial world, and this place is the infirmary… no, the medical hall?”
“That’s right.”
“I collapsed during sparring and ended up here.”
“……That’s true, but… Sorry, could you step back a bit? Your breath smells really—ugh.”
According to him, Jeongmu Academy was an educational institution where disciples of renowned sects came to learn martial arts. There were roughly 600 students. With 200 students per year across three years, it resembled a high school, but hearing that students ranged from 15 to 30 years old made me think the martial world was quite open-minded.
“You… At first I thought you were joking, but you really don’t remember anything?”
“How many times do I have to say it?”
“Still, it doesn’t make sense. Sudden memory loss… Do you at least remember what my name is?”
“Dang Huiso. Anyway, I’ll be going now. I think I had a class.”
At his words, I nodded as if to say “just accept it” and stood up. Considering how six days had passed in an instant on the 1st floor of the Tower, it seemed wise to start moving while I still had time.
I left the medical hall and walked slowly down the corridor of the grandly built building. The scenery was neat, if not flashy. Though I was walking inside a building, it felt as if I were strolling through a quiet forest.
‘A wuxia world…’
If the 2nd floor’s setting was the martial world, it had its own advantages. First, I was a reader who had experience with various wuxia novels. Second, the place I was in wasn’t just any location—it was an “academy.”
The mission given to me was to earn recognition from “three renowned masters.” And the martial world was, as the mission description stated, a place where the strong reigned supreme under the law of the jungle. In other words, the masters in the academy would include the faculty, and if I could get any three of them to acknowledge my strength by any means, I could complete the mission without issue.
“Might be easier than I thought.”
I fiddled with the sword at my side, feeling its cold touch. This seemed like a place where I’d be using my sword often.
The plan was clear. Over the next 30 days, I would attend classes, achieve good results, and demonstrate my strength so that it would leave a proper impression on them.
‘If this is an orthodox institution, attitude points will probably matter a lot too.’
I couldn’t afford to show any bad side. I just needed to become a model student… the kind of flawless model student that no one could find fault with.
But they say everyone has a plausible plan. Until they get beaten up.
While I was lost in such thoughts, I saw three young men at the end of the corridor spot me, their lips curling into smirks as they approached.
Ah… A very obvious cliché was about to hit me.
Damn it.
“Our poet was here?”
Whether due to the Tower’s harmony or not, they called my name as if they knew me right away. Were these the students who were supposed to be bullying me?
“Haha, Poet, I didn’t know you were that smart. Pretending to faint during sparring because you didn’t want to get hit—pure genius, absolute genius!”
When the most noble-looking one in the middle spoke, the two flanking him burst into snickers. Honestly, I didn’t feel particularly bad looking at them. Or rather, I was too busy assessing the situation to feel offended. Besides, my current feeling was…
“What’s your name?”
“……What?”
“I asked what your name is.”
“Has this bastard gone crazy…”
One of the guys on the right raised his fist and took a step toward me. As I watched them approach from afar, the thought that had been running through my mind kept repeating.
Whoosh!
“Oh? You dodged?”
The glaring lackey came into view. Just as I suspected—they were all talk and no substance.