Flying Dragoon Thirteenth Unit (1)

“Follow me. This is the barracks for Platoon Seven.”

We trailed behind Captain Seol Pung and Vice-Captain Na Seoyu as all three of us—Lady Cheong-yeon, Lady Cheon Jueun, and I—were led to Platoon Seven’s quarters.

After a bumpy assignment process, we’d all been placed in the same platoon. I would have counted it a win just to avoid Captain Ma Yugyeom’s Platoon Four—ending up all together in Seven was an unexpected stroke of luck.

When we arrived, the barracks were exactly as I remembered.

This was where I had lived seven years in my past life—where I was forged into a warrior, and where I met many friends… only to lose them.

A dull ache stirred in my chest.

The long rectangular barracks had a central common room with the male and female dorms at either end.

Vice-Captain Na Seoyu took Lady Cheong-yeon and Lady Cheon Jueun to the women’s quarters. Captain Seol Pung looked at me and said,

“Some of the lads will try to throw their weight around. Don’t take it too hard.”

There was genuine concern in his eyes.

I knew exactly why. I’d survived it the hard way once already.

Memories surged—my first time stepping inside.

“What’s this? Puhahaha! Is that a pig or a person? Toss him to the demons for feed? Don’t tell me he’s here to fight alongside us.”

“Third son of the Seonu Clan? Oh, I remember—the Seonu disgrace. And our captain brings him to our platoon? Has he lost his senses?”

“Get lost, you disgusting pig! Just seeing your face ruins my day!”

Whether you called it hazing or not, their raw disgust and ostracism in a strange place among strangers had driven me to silent tears at night.

How wretched it had been.

I rose above it in the end and changed myself—but at the time, I’d wanted to die.

And now I was walking back into the same place. The feeling was… strange.

I opened the door, heart thumping—and there they were.

“Oh, Captain! New recruit?”

“Wahaha! Judging by that build, you eat like me! Good to meet you!”

The familiar, welcome faces of my past-life friends—Bi Sayoung and Bae Jonggwan—greeting me in their own way.

“What’s this, a pig wandered in?”

“What did you expect? Good recruits don’t come here. Not with our captain.”

“Heh-heh, true enough.”

And the same three fools as before—Ha Mujin, Ji Manggeum, and Man Guin—bunched together and sneering.

Still, their barbs were much milder than before. I was suddenly glad I’d lost weight.

As I took them in with a moved expression, Captain Seol Pung introduced me.

“This is Young Master Seonu Jin, third son of the renowned Seonu Clan of Guizhou. The front is new to him—help him out.”

“Huh? Seonu Clan?”

The looks on Ha Mujin, Ji Manggeum, and Man Guin turned peculiar.

Each hailed from the Ha Clan of Guizhou, the Mando Sect, and the Ji Family Manor—they knew the Seonu Clan well.

Ha Mujin slouched over with a nasty smile.

“So you’re that Seonu disgrace, huh? The one they said was a pig, not a person?”

Ji Manggeum snickered and piled on.

“Yeah, that’s him. I remember. The idiot who got beat up by his own younger sibling. You’ve slimmed a bit since then, though. Back then I wondered if you were even from a martial family.”

Ha Mujin tapped my chest and said,

“Rough road getting here, eh? A pig that’s gone skinny… We’ll have to fatten you back up. Then at least you can draw the demons’ attention, right? Heh heh.”

Captain Seol Pung’s smile faded; Bi Sayoung and Bae Jonggwan scowled and started forward.

But I was still grinning.

Their jabs were lighter than in my memory—and to me, these were the dead. Some died saving me; some died fleeing alone like cowards; but they were all gone. Even this rudeness felt… precious.

I caught Ha Mujin’s hand in a bright handshake.

“Good to see you, Ha Mujin.”

He flinched.

“You… know me?”

I nodded, cheerfully.

“Sure do. But first—take a hit.”

“What?”

His body flipped through the air and slammed into the floor.

THUD!

“Ggeuhk!”

One move from the close-quarters set I executed with Golden Hook Hands inside the Eighteen Storm Beats.

The impact made him froth at the mouth.

“Grrrk!”

Ji Manggeum yelped, startled.

“W-what are you doing?!”

I bounded at him, still smiling.

“What? You called me an idiot, didn’t you?”

“Y-you—!”

He lunged with a punch.

Swish—swish!

But as a mere second-rate saberman, his fists were laughable to me.

My body might still be second-rate, but my mind—my timing—was first-class peak.

And the Eighteen Storm Beats was a genuine first-class grappling art. I slipped his punch, hooked his neck—

CLAMP!

“Ghk! Ghk!”

—yanked him in and smashed my knee into his gut.

WHUMP!

“Gwaaah!”

Then I spun lightly and spiked him to the floor.

BAM!

“Gueeerk!”

It felt unbelievably good to settle this old debt.

Ahhh, refreshing.

Coming back was the right choice.

I hopped and landed gently atop the sprawled Ha Mujin.

THUMP!

“Guaaah!”

Sorry—I was still a bit heavy.

I hadn’t finished cutting weight.

When I looked at Man Guin—sitting dumbly, stunned—he shook his head fast, terrified.

“I—I didn’t say anything!”

He was slow-witted and not really nasty enough to act. I debated letting him off for fairness’ sake when the door opened and a man strode in.

“What’s going on here?”

Seeing his face, I couldn’t help smiling again.

At last, the ringleader.

With his three stooges—Ha, Ji, and Man—he’d picked fights with Captain Seol Pung over everything: the Diancang Sword Viper, Ju Taegyeong. He had arrived late.

Taking in his two followers laid out on the floor, he fixed me with a razor gaze.

“I asked what’s going on.”

I bowed with a sunny smile.

“Pleased to meet you, Senior. I’m Seonu Jin, newly assigned to Platoon Seven. The moment we met, they kindly called me pig and idiot, so I returned the kindness. And you are?”

He narrowed his eyes slightly, then answered coolly,

“I am Ju Taegyeong of the Diancang Sect.”

He took immense pride in being Diancang.

So much pride that he couldn’t stomach serving under a “nobody” like Seol Pung. Yet he wouldn’t stoop to join the crude antics of the three stooges, even if they followed him.

So—he decided to ignore their insults to me.

Lucky for me: his current level was about mid first-class. With my body still second-rate, he would be a handful.

I was going to let him pass—but Captain Seol Pung smiled and said,

“We’ve two new women joining. Care to dine together this evening and say hello?”

Ju Taegyeong gave him a contemptuous side glance and walked on without a word.

As if Seol Pung wasn’t worth answering.

Heat flashed through me.

That bastard…

In my past life, he’d answered Seol Pung’s patience with constant provocation—until we lost someone we should never have lost.

Only then did even Seol Pung change his approach—but it was too late.

I hesitated. If I let him go, he’d rot this unit from within.

Best to nip it now.

Problem was—mid first-class is a lot for me to poke at head-on.

I made up my mind.

Even if I didn’t break him myself, I could use Seol Pung. And if not now, I could needle him and finish it later.

Letting an abscess fester only makes it worse.

Besides, I’d once stood at first-class peak; if my body crossed that wall, I’d have a real shot.

All right—time to provoke him.

What did he hate most…?

I grinned and said, voice dripping with innocence,

“Oh, so you’re Young Hero Ju Taegyeong. I’ve heard so much—‘Diancang Sword Viper,’ isn’t it?”

Geom-bi— “viper.” Among Diancang disciples nicknamed for beasts—Sword Dragon, Sword Tiger, Sword Hawk—he was a mere “viper.” That was his station—and his sore spot.

He spun, eyes murderous.

“What did you say?”

I blinked, guileless.

“Diancang Sword Viper. Isn’t that your epithet? That’s what I heard.”

His hand slid to his sword.

“You did a sloppy job of asking around. That sloppiness will be why you die.”

I yelped theatrically and ducked behind Captain Seol Pung.

“Whoa there! What are you doing, Young Hero Ju, Diancang Sword Viper!”

Now he knew I was openly mocking him. He roared,

“Stand aside, Seol Pung! He dares make sport of a disciple of the great Diancang Sect—I will not spare him!”

Captain Seol Pung’s smile stayed, but his tone firmed.

“He’s just arrived. Let it go once. And set that sword grip down, or you’ll cross a line. You don’t want that.”

Gentle words—but a heavy aura seeped from Seol Pung’s body.

Ju Taegyeong hesitated, grinding his teeth.

He knew what Seol Pung became when he acted in earnest.

I clicked my tongue.

I’d hoped to enrage him into clashing with our captain; instead, one stern look and the viper tucked his tail.

A snake was a snake.

Still, mindful of eyes on him, he didn’t back down entirely.

“If a second-rater mocks a first-class master, he pays a price! Will you shield that too, Seol Pung?”

I answered first.

“My apologies—my mistake. It’s just that you treated our pinnacle-level captain so rudely that I assumed the Diancang Sword Viper was too magnanimous to fuss over trifles.”

“You—what?!”

His face went crimson.

Bi Sayoung, watching with glee, burst into applause.

“Wahahaha! A gem! We’ve got ourselves a gem!”

He and Ju Taegyeong were lifelong enemies; he was loving this.

I flashed him a grin, then added,

“Besides, I don’t see you catching up to our captain’s skill—ever. But the gap between you and me? That I might close… in a month or two?”

“…What did you say?”

Shaking with fury, Ju Taegyeong glared.

“Will you stand by those words?”

I smiled.

“And if I do?”

“Three months. Prove it in a duel. You’ll pay with your life. Your own vow—no complaints.”

“Agreed. And if I win?”

As if certain he wouldn’t lose, he snapped, trembling,

“Ha! Then I’ll die too!”

I clicked my tongue.

“No—that won’t do. We need every hand to fight demons. If I win, you’ll call me ‘big brother’ from then on. That’s all I want.”

He glowered at me, then shouted at Seol Pung,

“He brought this on himself! You won’t stop this, will you?!”

Without waiting for an answer, he slammed the door and left.

BANG!

The three stooges scurried after.

“Ta-Taegyeong! Wait!”

“We’re coming!”

“M-me too!”

Bi Sayoung was still cackling.

“Bwahahaha! That was cathartic! Hey, Seonu Jin, right? Let’s be friends. I think I’m falling for you—hahaha!”

Bi Sayoung belonged to Bijong Sect, now almost annihilated.

That annihilation traced back to the Diancang Sect’s greed in the Muhwang Tomb Blood Incident.

He’d never liked Diancang to begin with—and he loathed the arrogant, petty Ju Taegyeong. No wonder he was over the moon.

Bae Jonggwan boomed with laughter too.

“Hahaha! I liked you on sight! We’re going to get on. Tell me—you want to be tougher than the demons? That sturdy frame of yours, tempered right, would make a fine suit of armor!”

The platoon’s sole external-arts specialist, the burly Bae Jonggwan, was just as delighted.

Their warm welcome—friends who had once died to save me—left my chest tight.

Only Captain Seol Pung looked worried.

“Will you be all right? He’s called the Sword Viper for a reason. You seem at the high end of second-rate; catching a mid first-class in three months is… a stretch.”

I grinned.

“Then you can train me, Captain. Grind me—just not to death. I’m ready. And please, speak casually to me—you’re my captain, and older than me besides.”

He gave a helpless chuckle, then laughed big.

“Fine. So be it, Young Master Seonu—no, Seonu Jin. You asked for it. I’ll grind you until you wish you were dead.”

“Yes, sir! Thank you!”

Bi Sayoung traded a wary look with Bae Jonggwan and cut in, uneasy.

“Hold up. You’re joining the captain’s training? Don’t. You haven’t seen it yet—it’s the sort only pinnacle experts can handle, friend.”

Sorry—we’d done it together before.

And this time, I wouldn’t be the only one.

Time to fish.

I smiled and asked the captain,

“Only pinnacle can do it? Truly, Captain?”

“No. I’ve trained that way since my very first days.”

The instant he answered, I looked at Bi Sayoung with exaggerated disappointment.

“You hear that? It’s not training only pinnacles can do—it’s training that makes pinnacles. You looked like a real man to me, but maybe you’re less confident than I thought?”

Bi Sayoung’s pride soared to the heavens; he’d rather die than be pitied or dismissed.

Which made him easy to move. I’d mastered that in my past life.

He snapped,

“Ridiculous! There’s nothing in this world I can’t do!”

I put on a face that said I didn’t quite believe him but would let it slide.

“Mm. If you say so.”

He took the bait, flopping ashore like an angry fish.

“Why you—! I’ll show you! I’ll do that damned training with you!”

As expected.

Now for the hard one: the stalwart Bae Jonggwan—who walked his own road, deaf to others. He rumbled,

“Haha! I’d like to join, but I have a grand dream: to smash demons with external arts honed to the limit. I can’t spare time for—”

I cut him off, eyes shining.

“That’s incredible! Smashing demons with ultimate external arts—I want to learn it too! Senior, would you teach me?”

“Huh? R-really? You mean it?”

He’d long been sneered at for practicing an ‘apothecary’s’ external arts. He grabbed my hand, thrilled.

Captain Seol Pung added,

“He said something similar earlier—wanted to see whose skin was tougher, his or a demon’s.”

“What?! Did you really?”

I had said it. A lie—told earlier to avoid being placed under Captain Ma Yugyeom.

Bae Jonggwan didn’t know that. Two more words and he might kiss me.

I gently slipped my hand free.

“Of course. My goal is to fly like a meteor with that iron body—and body-slam demons to pieces. Wouldn’t it be glorious to blast through them like a cannon shell?”

“Fly like a cannon… smash demons to pieces?”

His eyes went hazy with a dream.

Almost there. I tossed one more lure.

“Then the martial world would name you—Iron-God Meteor, or Adamant Comet.”

“Iron-God Meteor… Adamant Comet…”

His blazing eyes said the rest.

In my past life, I’d ignored the captain’s grappling—and my friend’s external arts. I’d even looked down on him.

Too late, I learned.

There were moments when your weapons were wrecked and you must keep fighting.

You should train every tool you can.

Bae Jonggwan proved his path when he single-handedly held off ten Gangwi. He didn’t return—but he proved it.

In this life, I would learn it all.

And I would not watch my friends die miserably again.

Never lose my precious people a second time.

That was the final goal I’d set for this second life.

Getting stronger; taking the fight to the Blood Demon Cult—those were just means to that end.

My power was still small; there wasn’t much I could do yet.

For now, I would train as if dead.

I remembered: the front collapsed in year seven—but it started crumbling in year five, when the Blood Demon Humans appeared.

Before that, I had to reclaim my past strength—and step further, into the realm I’d never reached: the pinnacle.

A realm where Hyogwi and Spider Ghosts no longer inspired fear. Only then would I have the minimum freedom to act.

If I could reach it this time…

I clenched my teeth and burned with resolve.

This time would not repeat the last.

I swore it again.

---

The very next day, the captain’s training began.

Dawn practice was to sprint along the treetops of the dense jungle like flying squirrels.

“Move out!”

The captain flowed up the trunk and skimmed along branches like a cat—wearing a steel vest weighing thirty gwan (one gwan ≈ 3 kg) and a cloth blindfold.

Bi Sayoung watched, aghast, then hurled himself up.

“Hmph! I’m a disciple of the Bijong Sect—this is nothing!”

His vest held about ten gwan of steel.

Still overweight and with Bae Jonggwan’s burly mass, the two of us went without vests. Even so, Bae looked pale and couldn’t launch.

Having done this regimen in my past life, I flashed a bold grin and went first.

“No big deal. I’ll go ahead!”

I sprang up—light as air—ready to bound off the branch—

CRACK.

—until the branch snapped under me.

KR-THUNK!

“Guhk!”

“You all right, Jin?!”

Flat on the ground like a splatted frog, I remembered:

Ah. I started after I lost weight last time.