Chapter 108

In an instant, I was surrounded by dozens of swordsmen who had rushed out of the mansion. All of them had grim expressions, with at least one scar carved into their faces. Even if an uninvited guest had intruded upon their stronghold, this felt like a bit much—even if that guest had bypassed their formation using an unknown method they could neither replicate nor understand.

Had this been when I first joined the Special Unit, things might be different, but the days of me being treated like a rookie were long gone. I puffed out my chest confidently and spoke.

“Calm down, gentlemen of the The Old Gods’ Wound. I am not an intruder.”

“Then what are you?”

“It’s a bit embarrassing to say it myself, but I have no choice. I am… Sae Hayan, the Light Mage.”

“What?”

“Who’s that supposed to be?”

Wait, they don’t know? The “Light Mage” Sae Hayan?

Quite some time had passed since I reached the Middle Realm and earned my moniker. I had been spreading the name “Light Mage” everywhere I went, yet it seemed the news hadn’t reached the depths of these mountains yet.

“The Mage of Debt?”

“Light! I said Light!”

“What kind of ‘light’ comes from a guy who looks pitch-black from head to toe?”

“In this day and age, that kind of talk could be seen as discriminatory. Besides, don’t you guys watch internet broadcasts or anything?”

I was truly embarrassed to bring this up, but I had to. I needed to calm these swordsmen who looked ready to slice me open just to check if I was a mage of light or a mage of red.

“You know, the Awakened who recently wiped out the ‘Hand of Oblivion’ when they returned to Seoul targeting a Special-grade artifact.”

“Internet broadcasts? What’s that?”

“No clue. We don’t even have a TV here, so what ‘broadcast’ are you talking about?”

“If it’s the ‘Hand of Oblivion,’ those are the Black Mage bastards.”

“Ah, I’ve got it! That guy is a Black Mage! Look, his robe is black!”

These guys are stupider than a tentacle!

I felt this back in the Thirteen Palaces of the Void too, but those from the Old Gods’ Wound who shut themselves in the mountains to do nothing but swing swords are all muscle-brained idiots. Compared to them, the Unit 3 members—who are usually looked down upon by Unit 4 for having nothing in their heads—might as well be super-elites working in the Yeouido financial district.

Giving up on persuading those who didn’t know my moniker, I simply pulled out the smartwatch on my wrist to show them. There were others in Unit 3, including Yoo Se-byeol, who hailed from the Old Gods’ Wound. No matter how stupid they were, they couldn’t possibly fail to recognize the watch only worn by the Special Unit.

“Look, look at this. I’m from the Special Unit!”

“Hmm? That object is…”

“Do you get it now? I have an appointment with the Sword Immortal, so please let me in.”

“Now I know! You’re one of those Red Magic Tower punks who trespassed and tore up our mountain earlier this year claiming you were ‘training’!”

Of course, the Firepower Support Unit they hated so much also wore smartwatches. It seemed they were still bitter about losing to Unit 4 during the joint intensive training.

“Everyone, draw your swords!”

“Yes, sir!!”

It looked like a peaceful entry was out of the question. I began to channel my mana toward the surrounding swordsmen. Just as I was about to show these overconfident fools the power of Endless Outer Path—the same power that had swept away the elite raids of giant guilds in an instant—

“Everyone, calm down! What is all this racket?”

The mansion door opened, and a familiar face appeared.

“Hayan, what are you doing here?”

“Vice Commander Yoo Se-byeol, what are you doing here?”

Today wasn’t the weekend. I was the only one who had taken a day off, so why was she here when I had just seen her this morning? At my question, Yoo Se-byeol let out a deep sigh. Walking through the well-manicured garden, she truly looked like a lady from a noble household.

“I’m here on business, obviously.”

“Business?”

“Think of it as an extension of a business trip. If the Special Unit needs to cooperate with the Old Gods’ Wound, it’s better for me to be the one talking than anyone else, right?”

“Aha…”

So, she was visiting the mansion to handle Special Unit affairs. However, unlike usual, she wasn’t in uniform or training gear; she was dressed in somewhat elegant, refined clothing. Was an important guest coming? As I stared intently at her snow-white socks as she stepped onto the wooden porch, Yoo Se-byeol changed the subject with a flustered look.

“M-More importantly, you said you had an appointment with my grandfather?”

“Ah, yes. The Sword Immortal said he would teach me internal arts.”

“What? Really?”

“It might be hard to believe, but it’s true. He said he’d give me about 50 of the secret techniques passed down through the Old Gods’ Wound.”

Having arrived at the guest room, she offered me milk and snacks. When I playfully tossed out that lie while eating, she gave me a look that said my nonsense was transparent.

“Even if you combined every single internal technique in the martial arts world, there aren’t that many.”

“…”

“But what should we do? Grandfather isn’t at the mansion right now.”

“When will he be back?”

Did he run away because he didn’t want to keep his promise? A rude thought flashed through my mind. I shook my head while watching the swordsmen swinging their blades in perfect unison in the large training ground visible through the tea room window.

The Sword Immortal had his quirks—like secretly checking his granddaughter’s search history, or firing a sincere sword strike at me and telling me not to dodge, or saying we must kill the Outer Gods while simultaneously being willing to take their power—but surely, he wouldn’t break a promise he made to me.

After all, isn’t he the head of the Old Gods’ Wound, South Korea’s strongest guild that spans this massive mansion and the entirety of Mount Cheonsan?

The blade hidden behind a smile is always the sharpest. Regardless of his strength, one could never let their guard down when dealing with him.

“Hmm, Grandfather said he was leaving for a hot spring trip to Japan… so maybe around next spring? As soon as his fingers were reattached, he packed his bags and left as if something were chasing him.”

At this point, I could only laugh.

Apparently, even Seol Si-heon was too busy with work to visit the mansion. I had taken a vacation only to end up doing nothing but hiking in the fresh mountain air before heading back.

As I stuffed snacks into my mouth out of a sense of petty compensation, Yoo Se-byeol asked cautiously, “But you aren’t lying, right? About him saying it was okay for you to learn our techniques.”

“I’m telling you the truth. Seol Si-heon—the old man himself—said he’d teach me personally. He said even someone like me, who has no talent for martial arts, would be able to learn it.”

“…….”

“What’s wrong?”

“O-Oh, nothing! It’s just that, you might not know this, Hayan, but internal techniques are secret methods passed down through generations. Among those who learn martial arts, we only teach them to people we can trust like family. Yes… like family.”

I figured as much. It seemed he never really had any intention of passing down the family’s secret visions to an outsider like me from the start. Just as I was resolving to pluck out the Sword Immortal’s beard in the name of the Apostle of an Outer God the next time we met, Yoo Se-byeol stood up first.

“S-So, what I’m saying is…!”

“Yes?”

“If Grandfather really gave his permission, I could be the one to teach you… what do you think?”

“It’s here. Inside, we keep the secret manuals containing the training methods for our internal power techniques.”

“Ooh.”

The place she led me to was the secret archive located in the mansion’s basement. Books and artifacts were piled high in a room nearly the size of a training hall. Judging by the walls and ceiling, the space had been carved out of solid rock. Given that this was Mount Cheonsan—where the density of wood and stone is several times stronger than a normal mountain—it felt like it would remain intact even if a bombardment dropped directly on top of it.

Even more surprising was the fact that there was a space even further down than this archive.

“What’s down those stairs?”

“Huh? Th-That?”

“Yes. It looks like it was newly built recently. There are many locks, and it’s connected to electricity and water. Is it a training space?”

“Th-That’s not it, but…”

When I showed interest in the basement level below the archive entrance, Yoo Se-byeol hurriedly blocked my path. Her pretty eyes blinked rapidly as she reflexively engaged all seven locks with one hand in an instant.

“You can’t look in there!”

“Pardon?”

“The preparations for moving in—I mean, the construction isn’t finished yet. There are dangerous materials scattered everywhere, so it would be troublesome if you went in.”

Troublesome, indeed. I shouldn’t make things difficult for her. She seemed quite flustered, with beads of sweat forming on her forehead. I took a step back from the door to reassure her.

“I was just curious about what kind of place it was.”

“It’s a normal place. Just big enough for one person to live comfortably…”

“I see.”

“If you’re curious, I’ll definitely take you there later, Hayan. Yes… definitely.”

For some reason, the rubber band around my neck felt tighter than usual. It must have been the high humidity of the basement.

Stepping into the archive, I slowly browsed through the manuals. Among them were a few I had heard of or seen before.

“This is the Manual of Ten Thousand Antidotes.”

“Are you interested?”

“Well, it’s not bad, but the training method is a bit…”

The method involved building resistance by alternately consuming poisons and their neutralizing herbs. The complex combinations were organized clearly enough that one could likely learn it just by following the book, but the effort required to gather the ingredients was immense. Since it appeared to take at least several years to master, it wasn’t practical for me.

Though it was the most tempting, I decided to look for something else. Picking up another book, I found a familiar name.

“Disguise Mastery…”

This was the internal technique Seol Si-heon had used on me when we entered the Thirteen Palaces of the Void. It provided no combat benefit, but it was an unexpectedly essential skill. Especially for when I act as the Apostle of an Outer God, and because I can’t keep Patel’s face hidden forever. Since Velada remembers Patel’s face, if the mask ever slipped, the secret would be out immediately.

“Do you want to learn that?”

“Yes. How do you do it?”

“The principle is simpler than you’d think. You use internal energy—or ‘mana,’ in terms you’re familiar with—to manipulate the muscles and blood vessels of the face…”

Yoo Se-byeol opened the book and explained the art of disguise in detail. Since the book was compiled for swordsmen rather than mages, it used many difficult terms, but I understood the core of it. The keys were internal mana control and the sensitivity of the fingertips.

“Look in this mirror and try to get a feel for it while I guide your mana.”

Yoo Se-byeol placed my hand on her face, pointing out the pressure points and meridians one by one, letting me sense the mana flowing beneath her skin. Afterward, she adjusted my expression, the position of my nose, and the shape of my eyes, teaching me the knack of how small changes could instantly transform an impression.

After nearly two hours of study, I realized this technique was quite difficult for me. Fine mana control wasn’t the issue, but my manual dexterity was lacking.

“That’s strange. Is it not working?”

“No. How can I get the hang of this?”

“Think of it like drawing a picture. Imagine you’re holding a brush made of mana with your fingertips.”

“I’ve never held one.”

“Never?”

“No, not once.”

Forget a brush; I could count the number of times I’d drawn anything in my life on one hand. There was the tentacle graffiti on Alexei’s back, or the time during my first mission at Ground Zero when I drew a “Black Snake’s Slough” tattoo on my hand to scare off the annoying Old Gods’ Wound—no, the Wings of the Blue Sky guild members—who were pestering Noh Yeon-hwa.

“I-It’s okay. It’s hard for everyone at first.”

Yoo Se-byeol’s expression stiffened for a moment, but she soon smiled softly and began explaining again from the beginning. Just as she was in the middle of explaining the text, a servant opened the archive door and appeared.

“Excuse me, Young Miss.”

“Yes?”

“It is time for you to come up. A guest has arrived.”