Chapter 66: Great problem of Martial arts(武) And Chivalry(俠) (1)

It took exactly three days for Ye Sa-hye to quit from her department of hunting supporters and sign for Yoo Seodam’s Guild. She spent those 3 days sorting through her department and family affairs. She was craving for a job called Hunter much more than she ever thought, and was filled with aspirations.

Some speculation flashed through Yoo Seodam’s mind, but if Ye Sa-hye had originally joined Dharma, based on her talent and passion, she could have acquired Mugong at a rapid pace and become a powerful force for Lee Dong-joon.

Yoo Seodam felt relieved that he could snatched her in advance.

-You already have three guild members?

“Yeah.”

Ryu Jin-soo was also actively helping Yoo Seodam establish his guild. Yoo Seodam still couldn’t grasp his intention. Did he help because he had some business with Yoo seodam or because of their 16 years old friendship?

-How’d it go with Wi-Hoon?

“I’m not sure. I think we’re on good terms, but it seems he didn’t think so.”

-You should get along with your friends.

“Are you talking about me?”

-I’m getting along just fine with all of my friends.

Ryu Jin-soo was polite to everyone. Rumor was that he even spoke formally to the cat he raised at home. But this was unbelievable even for Yoo Seodam who knew him for 16 years. In any case, it was true that Ryu Jin-soo approached everyone in a friendly manner, but he did not get any closer to his colleagues.

Taylor had been reluctant to see his sly smile from the beginning, and the woman who now active under the name ‘Helloni’ seemed to have a story with Ryu jin-soo. And for Wi-hoon, well, he was simply blinded by jealousy.

It could be said that Ryu Jin-soo’s social skills were pretty poor. Ryu Jin-soo still didn’t know that every gentle smile and a compliment didn’t mean that they could have a good relationship. He would have been in big trouble if his guild had gone into business, and not a guild that valued ‘tradition.’

-Anyways, I want to talk to you more about the equipment industry, so do your best.

“Do you have any good tips? Like a way to get some more equipment.”

-I don’t know because our guild hasn’t received any support from the industry.

“······”

Ryu Jin-soo awakened his supernatural powers and made a fortune by taking advantage of it. Even now, he probably had so much money that there was no reason to get sponsored by the equipment industry. Unlike Yoo seodam who waited for sponsorship from somewhere else, he probably had a contract with a private workshop. In many ways, Yoo Seodam’s guild was far from catching up with Leyton One.

-Anyway, good luck. I’ll contact you next time I have time for the union case.

“Okay.”

Ryu Jin-soo, in many ways, was a gritty and burdensome friend. But it was no exaggeration to say that he was the most helpful person for Yoo seodam in the process of establishing his guild. No, actually, It seemed that Wi-hoon was more helpful.

Yoo seodam almost had all the essential elements for establishing a guild. Not long ago, the Hunter’s Association had given him their approval regarding this matter.

However, that was not the most important part.

“Huh? Aren’t you supposed to make the guild right away?”

“No, I planned to hold it back for at least two years.”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t have a building..”

“Ah…”

Ha Sun-young couldn’t help but be stunned after hearing Yoo Seodam’s words. It was understandable since the person who was recruiting people for the guild didn’t even have anything to do with it. 

During the last Great Rift, Yoo Seodam earned quite a lot of money, and now that he didn’t have to rely on expensive equipment, there were still a lot of places where he had to spend money.

One of the most important points for the headquarters of a guild was a facility that could test or train superpowers separately. It would cost quite a bit to find a building that is able to withstand a superhuman’s power output.

“What am I supposed to do for two years, then?”

This was the problem. In the case of Ye Sa-hye, Yoo seodam could teach her swordsmanship in his old Dojo, and Shin Hye-ji would grow stronger by accepting her father’s Mugong. But Geom-hee was banned from using her Mugong and could not do anything. There was nothing Yoo seodam could do for her.

“What were you doing before?”

“I was working part-time at a PC room. I got fired from a part-time job at a cafe last time. The customers kept pestering me and I couldn’t stand it, so I got a little bit violent. Man, it’s hard to make ends meet, it’s so hard.”

“…..”

She said it in a joking manner, but Yoo Seodam couldn’t laugh.

It is said that people from Murim who got their Mugong sealed and couldn’t make good use of their abilities were working around at the construction site and part-time jobs. They had been away from society for so long, it was hard for them to adapt to modern times.

How wonderful would it be if they could use their ability to hunt?

“What? Why are you staring at me like that?”

“I just looked at you normally.”

“Fyuuuhh…..”

She clicked her tongue as if she knew what Yoo seodam was thinking.

“What can I do? I don’t want to die because I used Mugong for some dumb reason. It’s a bit frustrating not being able to use it, but it’s kinda okay these days.”

Ha Sun-young and Yoo seodam were at the Geumgang Gymnasium right now. They were there to confirm her ‘ban’. The Geumgang Gymnasium was also a training place for both superhuman and wannabe Hunter students. But today Yoo Seodam was renting the whole place.

“Can I see the ban myself?”

“Of course you can. There’s a tattoo on the right side just below my nape.”

With that in mind, Ha Sun-young undid her top and rolled it down slightly. When she pulled her hair aside and let it flow down, the line of her white neck was clearly visible.

On her white skin, a foreign red tattoo was carved.

The tattoo, unlike the usual  Mugong, had some trace of ‘mana’ on it. It seems Mugong also uses some sort of mana. However, the method itself was completely different from the magic that Yoo Seodam knew.

‘White Witch’s Library. Search it.’

[Skill ‘White Witch Library (E)’ is activated.]

[Searching……]

[Search Results: None]

[Shall I search for something else?]

‘No, thanks.’

First of all, it doesn’t seem like magic. If so, was it witchcraft or sorcery or something else?

“It was a Tao art.”

“I see.”

Well, the only thing that could be inferred from the martial arts world is a martial arts. The basic framework of the tattoo was very similar to magic, but unlike magic, which used all kinds of circuits to systematically control natural phenomena, Tao arts seemed to have given meaning to the mana itself.

In other words, to sum up.

‘There’s nothing I can do.’

Too bad. If Yoo seodam had successfully lifted her ban here, Ha Sun-young could have started working as hunter of the C-rank by wearing a mask and hiding her strength just like Lee Dong-joon. 

That would give Yoo seodam another power he could use except for Shin Hye-ji, who was not an ally, Ye Sa-hye, who was still an aspiring student, and Celeste, who was a business partner.

No matter how much he thought about it, he felt undoing the ban right now would yield him a great benefit.

‘Should I go to another world which is related to magic?’

-Hey, Witch~

‘I’m busy now, so later.’

-I know about that thing.

‘What?’

At the perfect timing, the pot spoke directly in Yoo seodam’s mind. It turned out that even if he couldn’t get the Library of White Witch to think, speculate, and research, there was another intelligent creature who knew magic very well.

“You know something about this Tao Arts?”

-Yeah. It’s a technique used by masters.

‘How did you know?’

-I don’t know. I just know~

Come to think of it, even when we first met, that silver spirit flower recognized magic and called me witch. It seemed that she was born with some kind of knowledge.

‘Can you interpret it?’

-Uhhhhhhhhhm.

‘I’ll buy you some alcohol once we finish, so do something.’

-I’ll try!

After escaping from inventory, the silver spirit flower bloomed over Yoo Seodam’s palm. As soon as she began to draw a magic circle in the air, Yoo seodam put his finger on the tattoo.

“Heuk.”

Ha Sun-young groaned as mana started to flow in towards her tattoo.

[The central processing unit has begun to interpret type of magic outside the White Witch’s Library.]

[A new kind of magic has been identified.]

[Estimated to be a magic from the alarm and detection series.]

[Recording the magic in the White Witch’s Library.]

Yoo seodam burst out laughing at the message from the White Witch’s Library. He knew that the silver spirit flower was connected to the library, but he never thought that she was functioning as a ‘CPU’. A combination of witches and spirits. It really didn’t match.

[If you disabled them  the caster will be alarmed.]

‘Can you erase that function?’

[You can turn off the alarm when the central processing unit finishes its magic interpretation completely.]

[3 hours and 17 minutes remaining before completely interpreted.]

Perhaps the system was conveying the message instead of the silver spirit flower, who was now analyzing with full concentration. The little girl, blooming on a silver flower, had her eyes closed as she frowned without saying a word.

“Somehow I feel comfortable.”

“What?”

“Showing my back to some random man was unthinkable back then you know.”

“……”

It wasn’t something modern people would say, but if you were someone from Murim, that would become a different story…

“How is it? Can you do it?”

“Yes. I think I can undo it in about four or five hours.”

“You’re not lying, are you? Can you really do it?”

“Why would I lie? I’ll get caught in four or five hours if I lie.”

“That’s true. Then, can I use my Mugong?”

Somehow she seemed excited and asked like a child running to the playground. Yoo seodam had no choice but answer her with a smile.

“Yes, so stop wriggling and stay still.”

“Yes!”

After that, silence followed. 

Yoo seodam steadily poured his mana while the Spirit was conducting an interpretation of the magic. It was something that White Witch or Yoo seodam couldn’t do.

After some time had passed..

Ha Sun-young opened her mouth.

“You know what?”

“······.”

“Is it 40 years ago, or 20 years ago by modern standards? I was a beggar in Murim. The other earthlings showed their talents and became great warriors. But me, even if I tried to join some old dojo and learn martial arts, I could only wield a sword on the streets.” 

“I see.”

“That’s why my nickname was a little bit sloppy compared to the likes of.. ‘Taeguk Sword Jennie’ or ‘Yellow dragon Kwon Hwang’. Mine was just ‘Sword princess’. Which literally meant a woman who was good at sword. Sigh, I should have thought of a cool nickname, too. Now I regret it, really.”

“It’s cool, but isn’t it a little bit of modern sentiment?”

“Look at you, you clearly don’t know anything. Nickname can only be used if the whole world acknowledges it. Do you know how honorable it is? Oh, yeah. Do you want me to give you a nickname?”

“You just said it’s something that can only be used if the world admits it, right?”

“If I admit it, then the world admits!”

She laughed as she told me more stories.

Since then, Ha’s story had been going on for a long time.

The struggling story of a penniless girl who fell into Murim.

There was a lot of time left before the pot finished interpreting the ban tattoo.

But it was far from enough time to fully unravel the story of a girl who falls into Murim.

* * *

Himalayan Mountain, a mountain range that ran through the southern part of the Asian continent.

The 2,400-kilometer-long mountain that remains as one of the lost lands that monsters have occupied since the Great War 31 years ago. Humans were yet to retrieve this land despite their constant effort of sending expedition teams from India, Nepal, and China to wipe out the monsters.

There was a small hut located somewhere in the Himalayan Mountains, which was once called the roof of the world.

In that hut, a woman called Seol Jungyeon lived.

No, to be exact, she was locked up there.

Whooooosshhh!!

In the Himalayas, snow rages for 365 days a year. The snow falls ceaselessly, melts and becomes a cloud again. The cause was unknown. But humanity believed that this phenomenon occurred due to the fusion between reality with some dungeon that occurred right after the Great War.

Seol Jung-yeon stared at the falling snow. She didn’t feel cold thanks to the barrier around the hut. But she couldn’t go out.

“…..”

Once upon a time, there was an era called the Age of underworld. It was the Age where demons opened up a path towards the earth.

At that age, she was someone who commanded the whole world. The head Of Cheonma Sect, Cheonma Seol Jung-yeon.

She had a grand dream that she shared with her disciples and her servants.

But now, nothing was left.

When she was first transported to such a strange world no one accepted her. Except for Cheonma Gal Hyeok-jun. A man who was called the absolute power of Mado. A man, who was aggressive towards everyone,  was warm towards her. For her, a born orphan, Gal hyeok-jun was like her father.

‘Looking at your eyes, they look like lotus flowers in the snow. From now on, your name is Seol Jeong-yeon.’

Since then, the Cheonma Sect had become everything for Seol Jung-yeon.

‘From today on, the Cheonma Sect will no longer be able to say its name in the face of heaven.’

Until the moment when Dharma came and destroyed the sect.

The hut’s door opened as someone came in. It was Dharma, Lee Dong-joon.

Seol Jungyeon’s pink eyes slowly turned to the center.

“It’s food.”

“…..”

Seol Jung-yeon looked at Lee Dong-joon. Why did he save her while exterminating the whole Sect?

“I found your favorite Aewol meat(Pork of the moon.). It’s hard to find on Earth, so try to save it.”

The reason why Lee Dong-joon came back to Earth despite facing opposition from Earth Dharma was for the sake of the Cheonma Seol Jung-yeon.

Cheonma Sect was the absolute evil of Moorim. So, she as the sect leader would no longer have the right to live with her head raised in Murim. If she was exposed to people from Murim, she would live a life where it might be better to die.

So, Lee Dong-joon brought Seol Jung-yeon to Earth. A world where no one knew that she was the leader of Cheonma Sect. And it was a world where she had not committed any evil deeds or crimes.

It was the only world where Seol Jung-yeon could survive.  However, for Seol Jung-yeon, it was a world with nothing.

Seol Jung-yeon couldn’t resist him. She was defeated by him in a duel. All of her inner qi were blocked, and now she was nothing but an ordinary woman. Did the world know that the reason why she couldn’t get out of this hut was because she was afraid of the heavy snow?

Lee Dong-joon gazed at Seol Joong-yeon.

[The Protagonist Lee Dong-joon’s skill ‘Charm(SS)’ has activated.]

[Supporting Character Seol Jung-yeon uses ‘Cheonma Absolute mind(SS)’ skill to resist.]

A battle of nerves happened for a brief moment. Of course, Lee Dong-joon wasn’t aware of this battle, because his skill was a passive skill. But for Seol Jung-yeon, it was a very difficult and precarious situation.

“You, what is that wound?”

Suddenly, Lee Dong-joon realized that blood was flowing from Seol’s finger and tried to get closer. But, before he could get close, Seol Jung-yeon opened her mouth.

“If you come closer than that, or if you dare to touch my skin, I will kill myself.”

“…..”

Even Lee Dong-joon was forced to stop at those words. Everything in this world had always been easy for him, but Seol Jung-yeon was a very difficult gateway. Seol Jung-yeon comed her fingers through her platinum hair, which once shone brighter than anything else in the world, and hid her face into her lap.

“Get lost.”

She didn’t want to talk anymore.

Lee Dong-joon was forced to turn around after putting the food down.

“I wanted to show you a world where you can live.”

Seol Jungyeon bit her lips as Dharma disappeared after repeatedly saying a word that shook her heart. In the past, she would have yelled at him for spewing nonsense, but for some reason, as time passed she couldn’t do it.

Swoooooosshh!

Shake Shake Rattle!

It was a snowy night like usual. Seol Jung-yeon stayed up all night staring blankly at the white world in front of her.