You Have Chosen to Stay on the Second Floor

Right after the duel ended, I scanned my surroundings and assessed the situation. New alerts replaced the old ones based on my choice. The remaining mission time had been reset, leaving me with exactly two days.

I’d expected to have more breathing room after earning the recognition of high-level experts so quickly, but I never imagined my remaining time would be taken away like this.

Well… two days should still be enough.

When I thought about why I’d chosen to stay on the second floor in the first place, I realized I didn’t actually need that much time. My only goal had been the “duel with a high-level expert” that the Plum Blossom Sword Examiner and the Namgung second son had mentioned.

Of course I was curious about exploring Jeongmu Academy and discovering any events I might have missed, but trying to take everything would have been pure greed.

“The winner of the duel tournament is Kim Siin of the Cheonwol Sect!”

The crowd roared. While I’d been lost in thought, the referee approached and raised my hand. The arena seemed to have been tidied up somewhat.

“As you all know, the winner of the duel tournament is granted one special privilege!”

Here it comes. At the referee’s shout, the spectators who had gathered ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to watch the tournament fell silent, hanging on his every word.

“The right to challenge any one person here in Jeongmu Academy! It doesn’t matter who! Whether it’s a fellow student you trained with, the master who taught you, or even myself—I’m included too!”

His half-joking explanation drew quiet chuckles from the crowd. But most of the people here understood exactly how priceless this opportunity truly was.

Ordinary spectators who weren’t martial artists might not have grasped it, but I wasn’t exactly an ordinary person.

“The duel will take place tomorrow at noon! Anyone interested in facing the tournament winner may submit a challenge directly. However, the final decision rests with the winner, and only one duel will be permitted. Keep that in mind!”

The referee’s warning struck me like a hammer. Though it seemed directed at the audience, it was really meant for me—a piece of advice to use this golden chance wisely instead of wasting it on some mediocre martial artist.

When I looked around, I saw the sparkling eyes of the high-level experts who had acknowledged me. The C-rank instructors I’d met on my first day here while searching for missions. There was zero chance I would waste this opportunity on some nobody from an obscure sect who went by half-baked titles like the Flowing Flower Sword or the Rising Sword.

“I will announce the opponent tomorrow at this very spot. Until then, I hope everyone who came to watch the tournament today returns home safely!”

Applause erupted. Surprisingly, there was no clichéd winner’s speech. These martial artists simply said what needed to be said and went on their way. Seeing their unapologetic individualism and self-centeredness actually felt refreshing.

Yet while everyone else was dispersing, one woman approached me.

“Young Hero Siin.”

“Ah, Lady Hwayeong.”

She had been standing awkwardly ever since the duel ended, listening to the referee’s explanation. Now she extended her hand for a handshake.

“It was an excellent match.”

“Ah, yes… for me as well.”

Her smile left me momentarily flustered and stumbling over my words. The person she had taught had now surpassed her. She had spent over ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a decade refining her martial arts, only for me to catch up in less than a month. It would have been strange if she didn’t feel any resentment.

“I learned so much thanks to you, Lady Hwayeong. Truly.”

Even someone like me who had never experienced this before could sense how bitter the situation must be for her. Yet Hwayeong didn’t voice any grievance.

In fact, she said the opposite.

“Thanks to you, Young Hero Siin, the sword of the Cheonwol Sect shone even brighter.”

“……”

I stared at her blankly. Even with her hair slightly disheveled from the recent duel, she still looked neat and composed.

“You’re incredible. Are you truly not disappointed at all?”

When I asked with genuine respect for her remarkably calm demeanor, she smiled brightly and continued.

“What could I possibly be disappointed about when my own student has achieved such remarkable growth? If anything, I’m happy. Watching your sword from now on will help me grow even further.”

I averted my eyes, feeling a pang of unnecessary guilt. From the beginning, I had only been a passerby on the second floor. Or perhaps “thief” or “industrial spy” would be more accurate, since I’d planned to extract every technique and martial art I could before running away.

But that wasn’t the end of it.

Rustle.

A bundle that seemed to have appeared from nowhere was now in Hwayeong’s hands. Her expression suggested she had something to say, and her fingers fidgeted restlessly. When the mission with Hwayeong that had cleared alongside the main second-floor quest came to mind, I felt like I had one more thing to feel sorry about.

“Hmm…”

I lay on the bed in the Jeongmu Academy’s medicine hall that had somehow become my personal quarters. I stared at the worn book in my hands, recalling what had happened earlier.

“Please take this.”

When Hwayeong had offered the bundle, I pretended not to know what it was and accepted it.

“What is this?”

I already knew exactly what it was. Inside the bundle was the final reward for the “Master and Disciple – Hwayeong” mission: a manual containing the exclusive techniques of the Cheonwol Sect that I would have received upon clearing the quest.

“It’s a manual for the Cheonwol Divine Art. The more difficult parts have illustrations, so you can refer to those. Also…”

I kept nodding as I listened attentively to her explanation. What puzzled me was how incredibly old the manual looked.

“Lady Hwayeong… is this the original copy?”

“Yes. It’s the one I read when I first learned the Cheonwol Divine Art.”

“Why would you give me the original…”

Her straightforward answer left me speechless.

The four characters written elegantly at the end caught my eye. To a martial artist, a technique manual was as precious as life itself. Once I realized that, I began to understand why Hwayeong had given me the very manual she had studied from.

“I see…”

I sat up on the bed and opened the manual, reading through the part about the Moonlight Sword Art’s Third Form that I still hadn’t fully understood.

Thanks to the Tower’s consideration, the manual’s contents were written in Korean rather than classical Chinese. Crude illustrations of a person performing the techniques were drawn on the aged paper.

But what truly captured my attention wasn’t the drawings of some long-departed practitioner.

Page after page was densely filled with Hwayeong’s personal accounts of what she had experienced while learning the Cheonwol Divine Art.

“Fascinating.”

I had always assumed enlightenment was something dramatic. While there were a few extraordinary events recorded, most were simple everyday moments like “I saw the moon reflected in a well” or “While training, I looked up at the sky.”

I carefully closed the book. Of course I would read it while training, but just as Hwayeong had said, martial arts were about manifesting one’s own mental imagery through personal experience. Expressing my own story through the sword.

It might have been greedy, but I wanted to engrave my own imagery into my blade before anyone else’s.

“Huu…”

I sat in the lotus position and began circulating my energy. Whether it was to prepare for tomorrow’s duel or for all the days that would follow, recovering my stamina and magic power came first.

A day passed like that.

Even though the duel tournament had ended, the number of spectators at the arena hadn’t decreased at all. If anything, the crowd had grown even larger. And the main topic on everyone’s lips was obvious: who the tournament winner would choose as his opponent today.

“Who do you think the winner will pick?”

“Hmm… surely he’ll choose someone from the Nine Great Schools, right? Receiving guidance from an absolute expert isn’t exactly a common opportunity.”

The crowd’s speculation and attention were focused entirely on the Nine Great Schools. After all, the winner of this tournament was already being called the greatest rising star in Jeongmu Academy’s history, so many famous figures had shown up to watch.

And among them was one person who had taken a particular interest in Kim Siin.

“We greet Elder Hyun-nam!”

“Ah, yes. It’s Jongak, isn’t it?”

The elder of the Hainan Sect—Hyun-nam, known as one of the Hundred Great Sword Masters—smiled with his eyes as he looked at Jongak, who had come to greet him. Hyun-nam had grown interested the moment he heard that a boy named Kim Siin had defeated Jongak, his disciple’s disciple.

Although Jongak was only a third-generation disciple, the boy had broken through the Hainan Sect’s South Sea Thirty-Six Swords—performed by the head disciple himself—before they could even exchange more than a few moves.

The sword of Hainan is complex.

Jongak had shown exceptional talent from a young age. Moreover, the Hainan sword style used the left hand, which differed from conventional swordsmanship. The fact that Kim Siin had identified and countered it in such a short time meant the boy possessed enough talent to learn the Hainan sword style.

“You think that boy Siin will choose me?”

“Yes, that is correct!”

“Hmm…”

Hyun-nam found the young ones’ words suspicious, but he didn’t think they were entirely wrong. The Hainan sword was beautiful. Simply facing it was enough to captivate an audience. Wasn’t it only natural for a warrior to want to see the end of such a sword?

Once the duel is over, I should invite him to join the Hainan Sect. He’ll be ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠thrilled, no doubt.

While Hyun-nam was busy drinking his own kimchi soup of anticipation, Jongak spoke up.

“Elder, it looks like it’s about to begin.”

At those words, Hyun-nam’s gaze fixed on the duel stage. A single man was slowly walking out. Though he had only taken a few steps, his spirit was clearly extraordinary. His balance was perfect. His body wasn’t overly large but agile—ideal for learning the Hainan sword.

“Young Hero Kim Siin, have you decided on your opponent?”

Even from a great distance, the words reached Hyun-nam’s ears perfectly. He had already approached the absolute peak. The winner nodded at the referee. The audience began to stir with excitement and cheers.

“Waaaaah!”

Kim Siin slowly looked around the arena before his gaze settled—whether by coincidence or fate—on the seating area where the Hainan Sect disciples were gathered.

Those are the eyes of a tiger…

Those weren’t the eyes of a challenger. They were the eyes of a predator staring at a mountain it intended to overcome. Hyun-nam picked up his sword and slowly gathered his energy. He never imagined that at nearly seventy years old, his heart would race with anticipation at the prospect of dueling a mere greenhorn.

Kim Siin whispered something to the referee. The referee tilted his head, double-checking the chosen opponent.

“Then I shall now announce the opponent chosen by tournament winner Kim Siin!”

At the referee’s shout, the crowd naturally fell silent. Everyone’s attention was on the opponent of the tournament winner, Kim Siin. And when the referee opened his mouth—

“Will the… Jeongmu Academy Medicine Hall Master, Dang Huiso, please step forward!”

Every head in the arena turned at once.

“This rotten brat… I told him I didn’t want to…”

The martial artist from the Sichuan Tang Clan—and current medicine-brewing grandfather from the medical hall—had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠made his appearance.