Chapter 36

System

Quest

Logout

You must now make your way through this harsh Murim.

Become even stronger, and become famous.

For the day that will one day come…

Grade: Main Quest

Restriction: Jin Taekyung

Objective: Reach the First Rate realm (Complete)

Reach Lv. 30 (Complete)

Reach Fame 500 (475/500)

Reward: Logout

I closed the Quest Window. It was the middle of winter, but I felt a cold sweat coming on.

If this keeps up, I’m completely screwed.

My Fame had been climbing little by little, only to suddenly stop dead. That had been half a day ago. I’d bolted from my quarters and gone around shaking hands like a presidential candidate until my arms nearly fell off, but the notification I was waiting for never came.

No, I did get a notification.

System

— There is no one in the Jin Family of Taiyuan who does not know your Fame.

It was the System’s way of telling me I’d already milked Fame to the limit and should knock it off. Even the System seemed to find me pitiful.

And so an entire day slipped away with nothing to show for it. Today was the long-awaited departure ceremony.

“Fuuuck…”

As I muttered the curse under my breath, Jin Wikyung was climbing onto the platform.

Hundreds of pairs of eyes followed him—the martial artists of the Jin Family of Taiyuan and those from the small and mid-sized sects that had recently joined us. More than five hundred stood in formation across the main training ground.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

At some point, a tremendous rumble spread through the air. Some stamped their feet; others struck their weapons. When five hundred martial artists with internal energy moved as one, the earth shook and a roar filled heaven and earth.

What is this…?

I had never seen anything like it. No longer individuals, they had become a single army, waiting for one man’s command.

At last, Jin Wikyung spoke.

“I will not deny it. The enemy outnumbers us in both troops and Peak masters.”

Silence dropped over them in an instant. But Jin Wikyung wasn’t foolish enough to kill morale from the opening. The presence pouring off his entire body was proof of that.

“However.”

His usual good-natured smile was gone without a trace. Right now, Jin Wikyung was both a Peak martial artist and the head of the Jin Family of Taiyuan.

“They are nothing but jackals with numbers on their side. Marketplace ruffians, wandering martial artists blinded by gold, and a pack of mounted bandits who have plundered the common people!”

The air crackled under a shout that spat fire. Even I felt my blood boil, if only for that moment.

“They have neither cause nor justice.”

Cause. Justice.

The Mount Heng Sword Sect had lost the two most important things in any war.

That was also why the small and mid-sized sects of Shanxi Province, which had only been watching which way the wind blew in the war between two powers, had sent reinforcements.

“This war will be over within three days.”

Fifteen hundred martial artists would clash on the same day, at the same hour.

It would be a hellish battle of killing and being killed.

“No one here can guarantee whether they will live or die. However…”

Jin Wikyung’s flashing eyes took them all in.

“We will surely win.”

The next moment.

A roar burst out, loud enough to leave my ears ringing. With the mood at its height, Jin Wikyung stood towering like a giant.

“Survival of the fittest! Put your lives on the line, fight, and survive!”

The cheering went on for a long time afterward.

Our five hundred troops were divided into a vanguard, center, and rear guard. Most of our core fighting strength had been assigned to the vanguard and center, so the rear guard under my command consisted of only a few dozen martial artists.

Some of the faces were fairly familiar.

“Squad Leader!”

They were members of the reconnaissance squad. Half glad and half puzzled, I asked, “Why are you guys here? Weren’t you at Medicine King Hall?”

“This is a battle with the fate of our family at stake. We can’t sit it out just because we’re a little injured.”

Last time I’d snuck over to visit, some of them had still had cracked bones in their arms and legs. Murim people really were tough as hell.

“We asked to be placed under your command, and the higher-ups readily approved. We’ve been walking around with our chests puffed out ever since that day, haha.”

“Well, look at you.”

A short laugh escaped me.

I’d spent several days with them on the reconnaissance mission, but there were still a few whose names I didn’t know. Even so, I felt close to them. We’d been through life and death together.

They say three raids are enough to make sworn brothers.

I smiled at the eight reconnaissance-squad members as I recalled the old Hunter saying. Then a thought struck me.

No, wait.

Eight? Had I counted wrong?

I started counting again from the end, one by one. There had originally been nine of them, not counting me. Hyuk Mujin and Han Yeop were both seriously injured, so neither should have been here. That meant there should have been seven…

“…What are you doing here?”

Even looking at him, I wasn’t sure it was the same guy. His face was puffed up like a steamed bun, and the skin showing past his clothes was red and blotchy.

“Can’t you tell by looking?”

He was right. There was only one rude bastard like this on the reconnaissance squad.

“Hyuk Mujin?”

“Yes. Why? What?”

“Are you really Hyuk Mujin?”

“You can’t even recognize my face anymore?”

Looking like that, even your parents wouldn’t recognize you…

No. Before that—why was this bastard here?

“Did you volunteer too?”

“I did.”

Then he added, “They wouldn’t take me, though.”

“Huh?”

“I told the physician, and he got angry and asked if I’d gone insane, wanting to die. So I just snuck out.”

I spoke seriously.

“Have you gone insane, wanting to die?”

“I want to live.”

Hyuk Mujin answered with a sour expression.

“Then why did you come?”

“I know my own condition. I can fight well enough.”

“Your face looks ready to burst.”

“The swelling is going down. My internal injuries have all healed, so there’s no problem.”

“What about the external injuries?”

“They’ll heal on the way.”

“…”

“A few bones are cracked, but I can handle i—kh!”

Hyuk Mujin suddenly doubled over. Startled, I shouted, “Hey! What’s wrong?”

“Sometimes my chest hurts whenever I breathe… Ah, it’s fine now.”

“…”

Was this guy completely insane?

As I stood there speechless, Hyuk Mujin continued.

“Ah, Han Yeop couldn’t come. His internal injuries haven’t healed, so he’d only be a burden. Squad Leader? Squad Leader, you are listening to me, right?”

There was only one thought in my head.

Logout. Logout is urgent.

Night came early in winter. The sun went down, and after we had walked for who knew how long, the order to make camp finally came once we entered a wide basin.

“Ugh, every bone in my body hurts.”

Hyuk Mujin groaned. Since he clearly wasn’t fully recovered, the march seemed to be too much for him.

“It’s not too late. Want to turn back even now?”

“Are you saying that again?”

“I’m saying it because you look like you’re struggling.”

“You’re mistaken. Does Hyuk Mujin, a man among men, look like someone who’d get tired after walking for a mere half day?”

I nodded without the slightest hesitation.

“Yep.”

“Absolutely not!”

“Hmm. You’re really not tired? You’re fine?”

“Yes.”

“Then go help the others set up camp.”

At that moment, Hyuk Mujin, man among men, snapped his eyes wide and sank to the ground.

“Ugh, the internal injuries Jopil gave me…”

“…”

You said your internal injuries had healed, you bastard.

I was wondering whether I ought to hit him when a voice cut in.

“Is he injured?”

A massive shadow stretched under the moonlight. Hyuk Mujin cautiously lifted his head to see who it was, then his eyes flew open.

“Gasp! Lesser Family Head!”

If Jin Wikyung was a division commander, Hyuk Mujin was a private.

The next moment, Hyuk Mujin sprang to his feet like lightning and stood at attention. Jin Wikyung burst out laughing.

“You still don’t look fully recovered. Lie back down. Ah, the internal injuries do seem fully healed. I’ll vouch for that.”

“Ah, I, that isn’t…”

Jin Wikyung lightly patted the flustered Hyuk Mujin on the shoulder, then turned to me.

“Shall we walk for a bit?”

I followed him to a secluded corner. He spoke first.

“How’s your condition?”

“Good.”

I’d reaped the full benefits of leveling up. My body had recovered at a terrifying speed, and allocating my points had made it even stronger.

The problem was something else.

My Fame isn’t going up.

No, it was going up. Really, by about a rat dropping’s worth. Little by little. Very, very little.

At this rate, there was no guarantee I’d be able to log out before the fighting began.

At least, not if things kept going like this.

Jin Wikyung’s arrival was perfect timing. I brought up the idea I’d been mulling over.

“I want to take on a mission.”

His eyes went round at how bluntly I’d come out with it.

“Hm? A mission?”

“Now that I’ve recovered, I want to distinguish myself for our family.”

I was proud of myself. To think I could deliver a line like that—a lie like that—with a straight face.

“I-is that truly what you think?”

“Yes.”

The corners of Jin Wikyung’s eyes trembled. He looked like a wave of emotion was running through his whole body.

This is actually making me feel kind of guilty.

The reason I was putting on this unconvincing act was Fame. If I went out on even a reconnaissance mission and distinguished myself, Fame would come in.

It would be even better if I ran into a reconnaissance unit from the Mount Heng Sword Sect. Not only would that be excellent EXP, I’d be able to fill all the Fame I had left.

Once the real battle starts, it’s over.

I had to log out, and fast, before then. I spoke in a voice full of resolve.

“Just leave it to me.”

“How did you come to have such an admirable thought? Thank you, my youngest brother.”

Jin Wikyung wiped the damp corners of his eyes with his sleeve and went on.

“But no.”

“Then please give me a reconnaissance mission—what?”

“I appreciate the thought. Keep guarding the rear as you are now.”

What is he talking about?

I barely suppressed the urge to grab him by the collar and shake him.

“I-I really want to distinguish myself.”

“You’ve already done more than enough.”

“No, that’s not what I mean.”

“The merits you’ve earned so far have already been a great help to our family. So don’t trouble yourself over it.”

“I’d like you to give me even one reconnaissance mission. There could be enemies lying in ambush ahead…”

Jin Wikyung laughed softly.

“This is a battle with our family’s fate at stake. Do you think I wouldn’t have accounted for something like that?”

“Couldn’t there be a one-in-ten-thousand chance we missed something?”

“That is, quite literally, one in ten thousand.”

Damn it.

Nothing was going my way. What if I really failed to fill my Fame at this rate? Then I’d have to fight a large-scale battle with fifteen hundred people committed.

I’m fucked.

Something large and warm settled on my dejected shoulder. Jin Wikyung’s hand.

“Youngest.”

His voice was heavy and lonely. At the sudden change in mood, I fell silent and listened.

“Your mission is graver than anyone else’s among us.”

“What’s my mission?”

After letting it hang for a long time, he forced out a single word.

“Survive.”

“Huh?”

“Survive however you can. If our family loses, run without looking back.”

“…”

“If the roots live, the tree will grow again. Second Brother and you could become better roots than I.”

I was speechless. For a long while, I could only stare at his face.

Survive. Become roots.

His voice and eyes hit home with more seriousness than ever before.

“That is your mission.”

The palm resting on my shoulder slid slowly down. I stared after Jin Wikyung’s departing back, unable to look away.