Chapter 24

He ran. It was the only thing he could do.

Even as his father and the people of the Sakju Branch who had been like family to him died one after another, there was only one thing a fourteen-year-old boy could do: run.

“Oppa, I’m cold.”

His little sister whimpered in his arms. The boy, Socheon, blew warm breath onto her hands, stiff with cold.

“We’re almost there, so just hold on a little longer. Okay?”

“When are we going home? Soyul wants to see Mom…”

“She visited yesterday, too.”

“You’re lying. Did you see her?”

“Of course I did.”

In my dream.

Socheon swallowed the words that followed.

His mother had appeared in his dream the night before, exactly as she had three days earlier. She had spent a long time stroking and gazing at Soyul, who had fallen asleep from exhaustion, before speaking.

Survive. You must survive.

Her voice still rang in his ears, and the sight of her back as she led the others away still shimmered before his eyes.

What happened to Mother? Could she have…? No. That can’t be.

It was then, as he struggled to suppress his ominous feelings, that he heard something.

Rustle.

“Who’s there?”

The sequence of movements came naturally: pulling his little sister close while drawing the dagger from inside his clothes.

After the night when his home had burned and he had witnessed countless deaths, the cheerful boy had gained the eyes of a wild beast.

“I’ll count to three. One, two…”

“It’s me.”

The dagger slowly lowered when a face suddenly appeared from the darkness.

“Uncle Gong?”

“Shh. Keep your voice down.”

Uncle Gong was a weary-looking middle-aged man. He had been an old friend of Socheon’s father, the Branch Leader of the Sakju Branch, and was now the young siblings’ guide and protector.

“I was worried because you hadn’t returned for more than half a shichen.¹”

“I had to be careful. We have a tail.”

“Already?”

“Yes. Every moment counts.”

Socheon stood without hesitation. Uncle Gong hoisted the bewildered Soyul onto his back and led the way through the brush.

“Where are we going?”

“Honju. No matter how vicious those bastards are, they won’t pursue us that far.”

Will they really not chase us that far?

Socheon had his doubts.

The Sakju Branch had already fallen. The building had burned, and everyone was dead. He did not know who the attackers were, but their purpose was clear.

Massacre.

He blew the word away with his breath and started walking again.

How long had they walked?

The white snow that drifted down like sleet had piled up to their calves when—

“Quiet.”

Uncle Gong stopped. Socheon held his breath as well.

The howling wind. Bare branches clattering against one another…

Nothing else.

But Socheon knew instinctively.

“Is it them?”

Uncle Gong answered, his face rigid.

“At least ten. They’ll catch up soon.”

The situation was bleak. Yet strangely, Socheon’s heart settled into a calm stillness.

“This is my fault. I should have hurried before the snow began… I can only blame the heavens.”

“You did everything you could, Uncle.”

Socheon drew the dagger from inside his clothes. It had been handed down to him by his father a year ago—the only trace his father had left behind.

“I’ve learned a little martial arts myself. I’ll fight and die like a martial artist.”

“…It’s too soon to give up.”

That was all Uncle Gong could say. They summoned what little strength they had left and started moving again.

But their stamina, pushed to its limit by days and nights of nonstop flight, dragged at their feet. Their steps grew slower, and their breathing became labored.

“There!”

“We’ve almost caught them!”

Now Socheon could hear them, too. The pursuers’ voices and their torchlight were drawing closer.

At that moment, Uncle Gong handed the soundly sleeping Soyul to Socheon.

“I’ll be right behind you.”

“Uncle!”

“Don’t worry. This Gong Yacheong isn’t such an easy man to take down.”

“But how can you…”

“Go!”

Socheon left Gong Yacheong behind and started up the mountain again. His stamina was at its limit, but he did not stop.

When he reached a hill on the snow-covered mountain, the clash of weapons and someone’s scream rang out.

Uncle Gong.

Socheon gritted his teeth. He wanted to draw his dagger and leap down there immediately. But…

Hold on. I have to hold on.

He had repeated those words hundreds, thousands of times over the past five days. He had sworn that he would survive, protect the little sister in his arms, and take revenge on the murderers.

From the hilltop, Socheon stared at the flickering torches with eyes that seemed to pour fire.

I will survive.

Then he turned his back and climbed the rest of the hill. The next moment, his body shook as if struck by lightning.

“A-ah…”

Ten men in navy martial uniforms were looking at Socheon from the wide clearing atop the hill.

A single large character, 陳—the character for Jin—was embroidered in silk thread across their chests.

I sensed something strange just as we were about to begin training.

A sound carried faintly over the howling wind. When I raised my internal energy, the sound grew clearer.

A human voice?

There had to be more than ten people. They were close enough that I wondered how I had failed to notice them until now.

That many people in this weather…

All right. I’d made up my mind.

“Pack your things.”

“Huh?”

The squad members, who had been preparing for training with their weapons in hand, stared at me, baffled.

“Pack up, quickly. One of you, go inside and get Hyuk Mujin—”

“Squad Leader. There’s a kid over there.”

Damn it. There really was one.

A little boy carrying an even smaller child on his back was staring blankly at us.

“Who’s that?”

“I don’t know. Is he the owner of this cabin?”

Please let that be it.

But why did I find it so hard to believe that the people following him were members of one big, happy family?

“He’s crying.”

As someone pointed out, the boy was crying. He was running while sobbing his heart out.

The problem was where he was headed.

“Uh, he’s coming this way… Squad Leader, where are you going?”

Suspicious gazes turned toward me. I had already retreated a good distance.

“I’m going to ride a horse. We should get moving.”

“In this weather? The horses won’t even be able to move.”

“Really? Then we’ll leave them behind.”

“What?”

“That’s how missions work. Snow or rain, we still have a job to do. Shut up and pack your things.”

“But still…”

“Pack your things! Wake Hyuk Mujin!”

The admiring looks I’d enjoyed barely fifteen minutes ago had now turned into the sort reserved for a lunatic.

“What’s gotten into you all of a sudden?”

What’s gotten into me?

I had a really bad feeling about this.

By now, I knew the signs. The closer the kid got, the stronger the stink of a huge shitshow grew.

I could see exactly how this would play out. There was only one way out.

“Then I’ll head down first by my—”

At that moment, the uninvited guests appeared over the hill amid a chorus of shouts.

A good twenty men.

Oh, fuck.

Ding.

System

• Sudden Quest has been created!

Quest

Survivors of the Sakju Branch

You have encountered survivors from the Sakju Branch of the Jin Family of Taiyuan.

Rescue the survivors from the Mount Heng Sword Sect’s merciless pursuers!

Grade: Sudden Quest Limit: Jin Taekyung
Task: Rescue the survivors — Incomplete
Reward: Chain Quest
???
Failure: ???

“…”

“…”

We looked at them. They looked at us.

A deathly silence settled over the frozen clearing.

I knew it. I knew this was how it would turn out.

But it was too late for regrets. What could I do about my cursed luck?

I let out a deep sigh and shouted.

“Attack formation. Form up!”

Clack-clack-clack.

Despite being caught off guard, the squad members moved as they had been taught. By the time they had formed up, the enemy had realized who we were and started shouting.

“They’re brats from the Jin Family of Taiyuan!”

“There aren’t many of them! Wipe them out!”

Brats. Outnumbered.

They’d pinpointed the two facts that tore at my chest.

I hadn’t even finished teaching these guys. Their martial arts were weak, they had no real combat experience, and they were complete rookies.

If things go bad, should I bolt by myself?

Feeling utterly hopeless, I used Qi Sense. Blue waves of qi, visible only to me, swept over the enemies charging forward with shrieks.

Ding. Ding. Ding.

System

• Level 12
• Level 11
• Level 12

“…Huh?”

The reconnaissance squad members turned deathly pale.

“What do we do?”

“They’re coming! They’re coming!”

“Squad Leadeeeer!”

The enemies rapidly closed the distance—thirty meters, twenty meters…

I opened my mouth.

“Don’t worry. The enemy is nothing but simple EXP… I mean, a rabble. But!”

“But?”

“Stop them with everything you have. Just hold them back.”

“What? What do you mean?”

What do I mean?

Don’t get the last hit.

“Defensive formation. Form up!”

Yep. All the EXP was mine.

“Squad Leader!”

“No! Squad Leadeeeer!”

“The squad leader went to commit suicide!”

That wasn’t what I was doing, you lunatics.

Leaving the reconnaissance squad members’ screams behind, I charged straight at the enemy.

Internal energy surged from my dantian and coursed through my entire body.

“You crazy bastard.”

The enemy at the front grinned, baring yellow teeth.

I grinned back.

“Pretty boy.”

“What?”

Slash.

The man clutched his throat and collapsed. As I passed him, the voice I had been waiting for rang out.

Ding.

System

• You gained EXP.
• You gained 50 Merit!

“W-what?!”

“How dare this fucking bastard…”

The enemies were a magnificent bunch. Facial scars came standard, and their hygiene was so atrocious that the stench stabbed at my nose.

And yet…

“Ah, this is great.”

I felt like I was in a flower garden.

Twenty flowers filled with the sweet honey of EXP.

I charged into them with a blissful expression and sucked out the honey.

Stab. Stab. Stab.

Ding. Ding. Ding.

System

• You gained EXP.
• You gained 50 Merit…
• You gained EXP…
• You gained 50 Merit…

I tore through their ranks without pause.

Their front line collapsed in the blink of an eye, and the enemies instinctively began to falter.

That works for me.

The Jin Family’s Manoeuvre Technique and Spear Technique were martial arts built around advancing.

I stepped forward with the Manoeuvre Technique, drove into their center, and swung my spear.

“Gaaah!”

“Aaaargh!”

The spear was razor-sharp and massively heavy, and the technique was domineering to boot. On top of that, the enemies were steadily backing away.

It was time for the Jin Family’s Spear Technique to show its true worth.

First form.

I began swinging my spear in step with my footwork. Every swing and thrust brought forth a scream and a burst of blood.

“Ghk.”

“Grrrgh.”

Second form. Third form. Fourth form.

At some point, I surrendered myself to the flow.

The ripples became waves, and the enemies were swept away by them. Every nerve in my body stood on end.

More. More. More…

“You fucking bastard!”

Stab. Stab-stab.

Throat. Chest. Abdomen.

I stabbed and slashed through them in turn. The System alerts confirmed each death for me.

How much time had passed?

Only one person remained standing.

“Our boss will find you no matter what…”

I didn’t wait.

A wave is flow.

And the final wave erupted from the tip of my spear.

The final form of the Jin Family’s Spear Technique:

Sky-Piercing Strike.

Splurt!

The last man—the one with the narrow, birdlike eyes—stared at the shattered pieces of his sword before dropping to his knees.

The center of his chest had burst open as if struck by a cannonball.

Ding.

System

• You defeated Level 32 Black Mountain Blade!
• You completed the Survivors Quest!
• A Chain Quest has been created!
• You gain a large amount of EXP!
• You gain a large amount of Merit!
• You have leveled up!
• You have leveled up!
• You have leveled…

As the System alerts continued without pause, I rubbed my stomach.

“Buurp.”

Ah, I’m stuffed.