Hidden Blade in the Moonlight

I wandered the Jeongmu Academy all day long, stepping into every classroom that looked like it might have people in it, and carefully read through every quest the System displayed.

Another C-rank.

Yet another C-rank.

C-rank after C-rank. I had visited more than twenty different places by now, but I couldn’t find a single class ranked higher than C. On top of that, most of them were second- or third-rate martial arts accompanied by phrases like “branch sect of such-and-such faction.” I had zero desire to waste my time and opportunities on half-baked techniques.

“Ha… maybe I should have picked at least one?”

There was no strategy guide for this place. I had been given a total of three chances to receive instruction. Waiting for some special event while attending one of them might be one way to go.

“Hmm…”

I shook my head once to shake off the complacent thoughts. It was still far too early to give up. I still had twenty-nine days left. If I was truly desperate, I could cram all three classes together on the final five days, like rushing through overdue summer homework.

The sun that had hung high in the sky was now sinking low, disappearing beyond the mountains. Thus ended the first evening of my aimless wandering.

Feeling a hollow emptiness rising from within, I headed back toward the dormitory…

“Wait.”

Did I even have a dormitory?

A wave of panic crashed into my mind. It was something I hadn’t considered until now. In a facility this enormous, there naturally had to be dormitories, but the real problem was that I had no idea whether a room had been assigned to me.

“Damn it… am I going to have to sleep outside?”

I could probably slip into an empty classroom and catch some sleep. But another option had just occurred to me.

“I should head to the Medical Hall.”

It was the first place I had woken up in. Besides, I had already built some rapport with the academy’s physicians, so they probably wouldn’t throw me out too harshly.

Step. Step.

Walking down the already darkened corridors relying only on moonlight made me realize just how brilliant modern streetlights truly were. It was dark. I kept my eyes fixed ahead, wary of tripping over any stones.

As time passed, my pupils dilated and began adjusting to the darkness. And then—

Swish…

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

A sharp cutting sound came from somewhere.

I had scoured every inch of the Jeongmu Academy since morning. Thanks to that, I could clearly picture what lay in the direction of the sound.

‘It’s coming from the training hall.’

A spark flashed in my mind, and I felt a refreshing clarity as I realized what I had been missing. That’s right—this was the Murim. A world where people worshipped martial arts and pursued strength. A so-called nation of warriors. So it wasn’t strange at all for someone to be training at this hour.

I changed direction and ran straight toward the training hall without hesitation. This might become a crucial hint for progressing through the story. Like a hidden class quest you stumble upon in an RPG. Meeting a special NPC master in a hidden location at a specific time was more than possible in a place like this, where fortuitous encounters were practically baked into the setting.

Crunch! Swish— Bang!

The sound of blue jade tiles scraping against each other was followed by the noise of air being torn apart. The closer I got, the clearer the sounds became. Even though I was a complete novice when it came to martial arts, I could vaguely sense just how extraordinary those clean, consistent sounds were.

“……”

When I arrived at the training hall, I saw a single silhouette gleaming under the moonlight. Shorter than me. The body, toned as expected of a martial artist, moved with every swing, the sword displaying beautiful form and catching the light. And at that moment, a familiar notification appeared before my eyes.

It ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was the most special message I had received since arriving on the second floor.

Srrrng— Crunch—

Upon closer inspection, the martial artist named Hwayeong appeared quite young. At most, mid-twenties? Moreover, while all the academy instructors I had seen so far wore green martial uniforms, Hwayeong was dressed in the blue uniform worn by Jeongmu Academy students.

‘A student of the academy…’

It was too early to be disappointed just because my counterpart was a student. Wasn’t there a saying in the Jianghu to beware of children and the elderly?

I quietly repeated the name Hwayeong to myself and waited for the training to end. Or rather, it might be more accurate to say I was admiring the sword dance unfolding beneath the moonlight.

‘Beautiful…’

The silver trails left by the sword delighted the eyes. The fantastical sight sent chills down my spine and filled me with overwhelming emotion at the same time. Eventually, all the dance steps came to an end and the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sword returned to its sheath. Only then did I approach the martial artist before me, feeling as if I had just woken from a dream.

“Huu…”

“Hello—”

“Kyaa!”

Huh?

Hwayeong let out a scream at my sudden greeting. The important part wasn’t that her voice was surprisingly high-pitched, but that in that instant, a sword strike had flown toward me.

“What the—!”

Swish!

I didn’t even have time to draw my sword. The best I could do was take a minimal step backward. Fortunately, the distance between us hadn’t been that close, so escaping the attack’s path wasn’t difficult.

“S-sorry!”

The name Hwayeong had a somewhat neutral feel, but hearing her voice confirmed that this mysterious expert was female.

“I’m not hurt anywhere. It missed, luckily.”

“If you’re injured, I’ll compensate you. But…”

Hwayeong trailed off, hesitating and fidgeting. It looked like she had something she wanted to say but was too timid to speak up.

“If you have something to say, feel free to say it.”

“Um… then…”

She seemed to gather her courage as she looked at me, then finally spoke the words she had been holding back.

“It is rude to secretly watch someone else’s training.”

She looked a little angry. Or more precisely, she was pretending to be angry, which made her seem rather cute instead.

Stealing a glance at another person’s training in the Murim. For martial artists who revered strength, that could lead to exposing one’s full power or leaking secret techniques. It was by no means a trivial matter. Yet the fact that she had needed several moments of resolve just to state such an obvious right…

This person seems like she’d fall for scams easily.

“Ah, I’m sorry. I didn’t expect anyone to be training in the hall at night. By the way, do you train like this every day?”

At my words, Hwayeong’s face flushed red as she nodded. But she offered no further reply. It seemed she wasn’t used to conversing with others.

“My name is Kim Siin. May I ask your name, miss?”

The basic exchange of names. In response to my question, Hwayeong lowered her gaze, avoiding my eyes, and answered in a tiny voice.

“……Yeong.”

“Pardon?”

“My name is Hwayeong. By the way… what brings you here at this hour, Young Hero Siin…?”

Perhaps feeling bad for giving only short answers, she finally asked me a question in return.

Why had I come here… My eyes fell on the jade-tiled floor where she had stepped during her training. Droplets of sweat and the faint traces of sword marks left from swinging her blade remained.

“I heard a clear sound.”

“……Pardon?”

“It was a very clear sound. The kind of sound I imagine would ring out if moonlight itself became a sword.”

I honestly conveyed the impression I had felt while watching her sword.

“I haven’t been learning the sword for very long, but I’ve never seen anything like it before.”

It had only been about ten days, but to me, swinging a sword had been nothing more than a tool for protection or harm. In all that time, I had never once thought a sword could be beautiful. Of course, the sword was a romantic symbol that stirred the hearts of many men, but when you’re running for your life, such thoughts rarely cross your mind.

Yet my words seemed to have struck her in a particularly special way.

“M-moonlight? Could you explain a little more specifically?”

Hwayeong stammered, seemingly greatly moved. On the contrary, I was the one who became flustered. The person who had been so passive that she could barely respond to me suddenly leaned in close. I instinctively took a step back.

“Uhh… how should I put it? It wasn’t exactly soft, but firm. Warm yet simultaneously cold… Um, it’s really hard to describe…”

“Ah…!”

Listening to my vague explanation, Hwayeong swallowed a soft gasp and continued in an excited voice.

“D-did you not notice any shortcomings? Was there anything that felt lacking or insufficient…!”

“Uh… not to that extent?”

Her reaction left me unsure how to respond. Still, I didn’t want to spout nonsense just because she was showing such strong interest and drawing close.

“While I’m hardly qualified to judge, there was… one thing that felt a bit disappointing.”

“What was it?”

“Well, over there…”

I gently pushed back the girl who was now practically glued to me, her eyes sparkling, and pointed at the sword marks on the blue jade floor I had noticed earlier.

“I don’t know much about your forms, but it felt like the sword caught on the ground once in a while, interrupting the flow.”

“……”

“Also, since you’re on the shorter side… ahem. Your stride ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠is rather narrow, which probably contributed to that feeling. And also…”

The more I spoke, the wider Hwayeong’s eyes grew. She looked genuinely shocked. Naturally, I was only speaking from my subjective perspective. Thanks to the Quick Understanding skill, it had become easier for me to read people and grasp situations. I had simply voiced what felt right to me. Of course, I knew nothing about swords.

But.

“Have you considered using a slightly shorter sword?”

I simply spoke my thoughts.

“Exactly! How could you notice the parts that made me feel uncomfortable with just a single look…!”

“I-is that so?”

Right after that, Hwayeong began explaining her thoughts about her sword in great detail. So much so that her earlier comment about how it was rude to secretly watch someone else’s training lost all meaning.

“I didn’t know there was someone at Jeongmu Academy I could talk with so comfortably.”

She gazed up at the sky with an expression of deep satisfaction. It seemed she hadn’t had anyone around her to have this kind of conversation with until now. I felt a pang of sympathy for her. I knew all too well the loneliness that came from having no one around.

“Um…”

I was about to ask if I could come here again tomorrow. Setting aside learning the sword, I wanted to meet her again. But surprisingly, Hwayeong spoke first.

“Will you come again tomorrow?”

For the first time since reaching the second floor, a quest I felt I absolutely had to accept had appeared before me.