Chapter 74: The 20th Squad, Selling a Story
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 74: The 20th Squad, Selling a Story
“I never imagined I’d see a player bringing modern firearms into a place like this.”
“I know, right? Though in the end, even those guns lost to a bow.”
Seo-un offered a thin smile as he stowed his bow back into his subspace.
Once the situation settled, the players, still flushed with the adrenaline of victory, broke formation and swarmed around him.
“Junior, did you really master such archery all by yourself?”
“Yes. It just… happened that way.”
“Mr. Jin Seo-un, that was incredible. At this rate, you could rival the Divine Archers of the Continent,” Juriel added, her voice full of genuine admiration.
Seo-un didn't give a specific reply to Juriel’s praise, merely maintaining his polite smile. It was already a circus with just this; if he told them he had fought those so-called Divine Archers until he was sick of them—and eventually ended one with an arrow between the eyes—they would undoubtedly make an even bigger fuss.
The mages, in particular, were relentless. They approached him, explaining their buff spells in exhausting detail and offering to cast them on him. It sounded like a kind gesture, but their underlying motive was transparent: they wanted him to stay in the rear with them, using his arrows to pick off any enemies that managed to break through the front-line shielders.
As Seo-un continued to handle them without letting his smile slip, Juriel stepped in to reorganize the group.
“Let’s move out. We still have a long way to go.”
As they resumed their positions in the formation, Seo-un stepped forward to walk alongside Kaien.
Annoying pests.
He couldn't help the thought. There was a fine line between people who had expectations of you and people who simply wanted to lean on you, and the feeling they gave off was vastly different. A line from a movie villain came to mind: “If you keep doing them favors, they start thinking it’s their right.”
But I have to squeeze every bit of utility out of them that I can.
That was the reason he maintained his public image and avoided drawing a hard line between himself and his teammates. His goal for this game wasn't just simple survival or reaching the top ranks.
The Mad Demon’s Insights. That is definitely a locked item.
Though it was only his fifth round, Seo-un was starting to feel his limits. Since his primary class was a martial artist, those limits felt even more pronounced. Getting stronger through items was fast, but items didn't provide everything. Having felt those limits while deepening his understanding of martial arts through training, he had realized intuitively the moment he saw the item called the Mad Demon’s Insights.
I have to have it.
Given the nature of locked items, no one could guarantee what could be gained from it. However, for now, it seemed to be the only thing capable of quenching the thirst Seo-un was feeling.
“Magic, martial arts, and even archery. You truly possess a vast array of talents,” Kaien remarked.
Seo-un played humble. “What use is breadth if it lacks depth?”
In a world where people were judged by the level of their martial arts, this answer greatly pleased Kaien, a man who fought against evil for the peace of the common folk. A wide smile broke across Kaien’s usually stoic, expressionless face.
“My master always said that sometimes being broad is more beneficial than being deep and narrow.”
Seeing Kaien’s expression, Seo-un decided the time was right. He began to prepare his pitch.
“Sigh.”
Seo-un stopped in his tracks and looked up at the sky with a heavy, theatrical sigh. Naturally, Kaien stopped as well. Since the scout had stopped, the entire squad following a distance behind naturally came to a halt.
“What is the matter?”
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
Seo-un glanced back at the teammates who had stopped, then started walking again. Kaien quickly caught up, a worried expression on his face.
“You seem deeply troubled.”
“I just happened to think of something unnecessary. Please, don't mind me.”
With his voice trailing off and his energy looking as depleted as a man who hadn't eaten in days, there was no way Kaien wouldn't mind.
“I am no one of great importance, but I have studied the Taoist arts quite a bit. It is said that the dark energy in one’s heart can be brought into the light just by speaking it aloud. Why don't you tell me?”
After another deep sigh, Seo-un opened his mouth as if he couldn't help himself.
“The truth is, I have a younger sibling. A brother who is only eight years old. We lost our parents early, and he’s a young child who looks only to me.”
Orphaned at a young age. It was a classic trope used worldwide to garner sympathy. It seemed to work across dimensions as well, as Kaien’s face darkened with pity.
“My brother has been exceptionally weak since birth. In the world I lived in, they couldn't even find a name for his illness. There was nothing I could do for him as he spent his days lying in a cramped hospital room.”
As Kaien imagined a brother living diligently for his only sibling, his heart grew heavy. The foundation of any drama is empathy and immersion—immersing the audience in the story through a character they can relate to. Kaien was becoming increasingly immersed in Seo-un’s drama.
“In our world, medical expenses are incredibly high. Before I became a player, I had to work with less than two hours of rest a day just so my brother could receive treatment.”
Because Kaien lived closer to the lives of the common people than other martial artists, he could empathize with those words even more.
“Then I became a player, and I saw hope. I thought that if I did well, I might find something here to make my brother healthy again.”
The Climax.
Kaien, now in the mindset of a viewer hoping for the protagonist’s conflicts to be resolved, nodded fervently.
“With that hope, I played incredibly hard. I played with the determination to put my life on the line, and in just four rounds, I was able to jump to a regular position with high scores.”
The moment the background of why such brilliant play was possible was explained, Kaien couldn't help but nod. Hearing that such a powerful motivation existed behind a player everyone looked up to made everything click into place.
“But even after using all sorts of recovery scrolls and items, there was no significant improvement in my brother’s condition. After learning martial arts, I think I’ve come to understand his illness a little better.”
“Wh-what kind of illness is it?”
Seeing Kaien, who had forgotten all suspicion and was now hanging on his every word, Seo-un spoke with a sigh.
“Do you know of… Severed Meridians?”
Severed Meridians—a trope commonly used in martial arts novels. As a martial artist, there was no way Kaien wouldn't know it.
“Ah!” A pained exclamation escaped his lips. “What is his condition?”
Seo-un’s lips twitched for a moment as he fabricated a non-existent brother and a non-existent illness. Various names of Severed Meridians he had overheard, like the Nine Yin Severed Meridians or Seven Yin Severed Meridians, flashed through his mind.
“Nine Yin Meridians, and two of his Yang Meridians are…”
“Good heavens! It’s a miracle he’s survived until the age of eight.”
Seo-un quickly added to that. “It’s likely because he’s been bedridden and barely active…”
Fortunately, Kaien nodded. “If it were a girl, she would have already… It’s a relief he’s a boy.”
Seo-un hadn't specified a gender, but Kaien had made the assumption. It was virtually impossible for a girl with nine severed Yin meridians and damaged Yang meridians to survive past the age of five.
“But then I saw an item called a Dragon Heart. I remembered an alchemist I know saying that unless I brought back something like a Dragon Heart to make medicine, it would be difficult to cure my brother…”
“So that’s all you need to save him!”
“Yes. But 200 kills… As you know, that is by no means an easy condition. It’s practically impossible. Unless every teammate funneled their kills to me… Sigh. I’ve spoken of useless things. It’s just that you, Kaien, felt like an older brother I’ve known for a long time… I suppose I leaned on you without realizing it.”
In Korean society, this was a common sales pitch that had been popular since the eighties. “You remind me of my father… my brother…” In the now-cynical Korean society, saying someone was "like family" was a line that no longer worked. It was a phrase usually translated as: “Since we’re like family, I’m going to rip you off a little.”
But for Kaien, it worked more than enough.
“There must be a way. I will—”
Just as Seo-un thought he had him completely hooked, something unexpected happened.
-Master! A strange energy is approaching.-
At the same time, Seo-un gritted his teeth and raised his hand, stopping in his tracks. Seeing the sudden change in his atmosphere, Kaien, returning to his role as a scout, also scanned the surroundings with sharp eyes, his tension rising.
“Do you feel something?”
“A sense of dissonance that I can't quite put my finger on…”
At that moment, the surrounding scenery began to shimmer.
“It’s a formation! Fall back!”
As Kaien shouted and quickly retreated, the other players began to fall back as well.
“Do you know what kind of formation it is?”
“I’m not certain, but it’s definitely a Killing Formation!”
At the mention of a Killing Formation, the martial artists’ expressions darkened.
“Tsk! Someone’s quick on the uptake.”
A monk wearing loose Buddhist robes and a white paper sash over his shoulder clicked his tongue, furrowing his brow. Beside him, a player holding a delicate statue that fit in one hand smiled and spoke.
“Well, no need to worry. They’re already like fish in a net.”
A regular quad consisting of fifteen people. Though the squad was composed only of Taoists, formation masters, and alchemists, they had absolute confidence in their skills and the experience they had gained surviving this far. They were watching the players struggling to escape the formation being generated from a distance.
Through a flexible magic spell cast by one of the players, the distant players appeared as if they were right in front of them.
“Hmm. At this rate, they’ll escape the formation.”
A player wearing a red Taoist robe with the Eight Trigrams on the back pulled nine coffins out of his subspace, his lips curling into a smirk. After sprinkling an unknown powder and water over the nine coffins lined up on the ground, the Taoist pulled out a wooden sword and peeled off the talismans attached to the coffins one by one.
“Rise.”
As he commanded, holding the wooden sword with the nine talismans aloft, the coffin lids flipped over, and nine Jiangshi rose from within.
Among the nine Jiangshi, each of which had the appearance of a player, one particularly stood out. Unlike the others, its eyes shone with vitality.
“Is it necessary to use a Living Jiangshi? We should keep it for protection…”
“I’ll retrieve them as soon as we drive them into the formation.”
Having said that, the Taoist pointed his sword at the players who were desperately retreating.
“Seize them!”
The nine Jiangshi dashed forward at high speed, charging toward Seo-un’s squad.
-Master! Enemies with strange energy are approaching!-
While retreating to avoid the shimmering formation that seemed ready to swallow the group, Seo-un frowned and shouted in the direction Hamit indicated.
“Enemies coming from the right!”
As all the players’ gazes shifted to one spot, they saw players charging with pale complexions. Four martial artists and five knights. Eight of them had strangely pale faces.
As soon as Kaien saw the approaching players, he shouted.
“They’re Jiangshi!”
The complexions of everyone hardened at the word that the enemies who looked like players were actually Jiangshi. The memory of being tormented by Jiangshi in the Simu not long ago was still fresh.
Gritting his teeth, Seo-un turned and charged toward the nine approaching enemies. Kaien and Jin Long followed closely behind him.
“The rest of you, avoid the formation and provide support!”
He said this, thinking that avoiding the approaching formation was the priority. Juriel seemed to agree, as she nodded and focused on retreating.
First, a knight with a spear charged, thrusting his weapon toward Seo-un’s chest. A weirdly twisted hand coiled around the spear like a snake, sliding up to strike the knight’s head.
Crack!
He had intended to crush it in one blow, but the knight’s scalp only tore slightly and dangled, as if he had struck a durable stone. The skull remained intact. As the knight fell backward, other Jiangshi thrust their weapons toward Seo-un.
Clang! Clang!
Jin Long’s sword, shimmering with a haze, skillfully slashed and stabbed at the Jiangshi’s bodies, but not a single one of them collapsed or spat blood.
“These aren't ordinary Jiangshi! They’re Iron Corpses controlled by a Taoist!”
After a brief clash to pin the Jiangshi down, Seo-un retreated and asked, “What’s an Iron Corpse?”
“They are Jiangshi manufactured using special drugs. You can't kill them unless you completely sever their heads.”
“Sword Qi doesn't work well either. Striking those thin necks won't be as easy as it sounds,” Jin Long added.
Kaien, who had pushed back a Jiangshi while narrowing his eyes, replied, “There is a way.”
Finishing his sentence, he pulled a fairly large gourd from his subspace and poured its contents onto his wooden sword. He then tossed the gourd toward Jin Long.
“Coat your blade with the blood in the bottle!”
Jin Long quickly followed his instructions, pouring and smearing the blood from the gourd onto his sword before tossing the bottle to Seo-un.
-Master, don't put that strange thing on my body…-
Ignoring Hamit’s words, Seo-un smeared the dark, murky blood onto his hands. The expressions of the Jiangshi who had drawn close changed. Baring their teeth and showing blatant hostility, they hesitated to attack recklessly, unlike their previous behavior.
“Kaaaa!”
“Kyaaaa!”
As they bared their teeth and made strange noises, magic accompanied by a powerful surge of mana flew from behind. As the ground flipped over and the magic approached like a wave, the three of them leaped over it. The Jiangshi also tried to jump, but sharp rocks and jagged stones erupted from the ground, blocking them.
Boom!
The moment the Jiangshi faltered, the jagged stones exploded from within, sending sharp rock fragments flying in all directions. Through the dust kicked up by the explosion, the Jiangshi emerged, their clothes and armor in tatters.
“The formation is no longer pursuing us! We fight here!”
At Juriel’s order, everyone focused their attention on the Jiangshi chasing the three men.
-Master! Behind you!-
The moment a faint, white silhouette appeared behind where the teammates had stopped, Seo-un shouted.
“Behind! Enemies in the rear…!”
Before his order could even finish, a player dressed as a strange monk, who had been holding the rear, pressed his palms together. At that moment, the surrounding environment turned pitch black and began to transform.
Thump!
Thump!
Thump!
Thump!
“We’ve fallen into a formation!”
At the sound and vibration that shook the unknown ground, the tense players followed Kaien’s lead and shot spheres of light into the sky to illuminate the surroundings.
As the area brightened, the source of the sound revealed itself.