Chapter 15

“What sort of reward do you mean?”
“Obvious enough, the sort of prize you give a warrior. A good weapon — a treasured sword fetched out of the vault, say — or an elixir. What else would it be?”
“An elixir!”

Starved for internal energy as I was, wasn’t that exactly the thing I needed most!

“Going mad for elixirs like that — seems you’ve turned into a proper murim warrior without anybody noticing.”

Big Bro Un-cheon smiled contentedly.

“Anyway. For a lad who’s only just taken up martial arts, where the devil did you get that much internal energy?”
“…”
“With the other kids I could understand it. They’ve been steadily building internal energy through training since they were small, and they’ll have been fed good elixirs besides. But you’ve never had so much as one elixir, have you.”
“You did say the more internal energy the better, didn’t you?”
“Well, that’s true enough.”

Still not enough. Not enough.

More internal energy! More, more internal energy!

The more the better, they say, so there’s no call to turn any of it down, is there. I’m a latecomer as it is, behind on this and that, so at the very least I need to catch up fast on internal energy.

This whole business only drove it home harder. If I’d been an internal-arts master with a tremendous store of internal energy behind me, I’d never have had to hold my hand out to Big Bro Un-cheon at all.

And for that, auto-hunting — running qi circulation in my sleep — is absolutely indispensable.

Even the hours I spend sleeping feel wasted. I’d turned the ring over every which way, studying it, trying to milk auto-hunting for all it was worth, but there’d been no progress whatsoever.

Anger boiled up in me and I smacked the surface of the water.

— Sploosh!

“Dammit!”
“Now what. What’s this one getting worked up about again.”

I will find a way. I absolutely will.

More internal energy! Enough internal energy to come spilling over the brim! That is my only road to survival!

“Your temper’s gone bad since you took up martial arts, I swear. You used to be such a docile kid… anyway, how much internal energy have you got left?”
“Uh, um… about 10 percent left.”
“Ten per-scent?”
“I mean I’ve got about a tenth left.”
“That’ll do well enough. Time we headed back.”

On the way back I loped along gently to save internal energy. Even so, it’s no secret that this was faster than my flat-out sprint before I ever took up martial arts.

Internal energy really is a most mysterious sort of power. Who was the first person ever to discover it, I wonder.

Big Bro Un-cheon was walking ahead with his hands clasped behind his back, and all of a sudden he turned to look back at me. How does that man unfold the lightness arts backward? Has he got eyeballs in the back of his head?

“About that assignment. It’s actually something the Moyong Family does with every cohort. Want a tip?”
“I’m all ears, sir.”

Big Bro Un-cheon made a great show of his own generosity and handed the tip over. He’d asked me a few times what my words meant, and now he could drop the alien vocabulary in exactly the right spot.

“This isn’t an assignment you do alone.”
“Then what?”
“You’ll be put into teams. Who ends up on your team matters. Have you got friendly with the other kids?”
“Uh, um….”
“Don’t tell me you still haven’t got close to a single one of them?”
“O-of course I have.”

This is bad.

I’d been too busy training, and the only one I’d gotten close to at all was Moyong Rin.

Maybe I should invite the kids over and cook them something.

A bead of cold sweat trickled down.

The Moyong Family’s great council chamber.

The family head and the elders sat assembled, not one of them missing. Every one of them wore a grave face as they debated a matter of the gravest importance to the family.

“You mean to send Gwang-seon out on a mission as well? Isn’t that far too early?”
“Quite so. And if he goes and gets himself hurt somewhere, what then….”
“You saw what he did at the Intra-Family Sparring Tournament and you still say that?”
“Mm… no, indeed.”
“Even granting that the Danho boy threw away his sword and took him on bare-handed. That was not a level any beginner could have handled.”
“I am of the same view.”
“Then we send Gwang-seon out on missions along with this cohort’s children?”
“Let us do that. Rubbing along together is how people grow close.”
“Mm. There’s a reason we have the word ‘comrade-in-arms.’”
“Ha ha. I look forward to seeing how much they grow on this mission.”

With that, the most important item was settled. Next on the agenda came the missions to be handed out to the children.

“Tolerably well drawn up, on the whole.”
“Hm? This violent criminal — I was under the impression he had already been caught?”
“I shall look into it, and if it proves so, we’ll swap in another and redraw it.”
“Is there no decent one? It ought to be somebody who has killed at least three….”
“Hold on, why is this a Grade A mission? This ought to be dropped to Grade B.”
“My point exactly. Grade A isn’t Grade A for nothing.”

In the middle of the lively debate,

“Hm?”

one of the elders picked up a mission slip.

“Exploring a ruin site? Isn’t this far too dangerous?”
“Ah, that one. As it happens, some of the young went and explored it not long ago. They said it seemed all right.”
“You mean the Phoenix Mountain ruins, don’t you? How long ago was that discovered? Everything genuinely dangerous was cleared out of there ages since.”
“No, but they’re ruins, I say. Ruins. You mean to send children into ruins?”
“We sent them last time too, didn’t we. Such a fuss.”
“And they barely came back alive, didn’t they. In rags. That Moyong Bi grumbled no end about how he nearly died.”
“That was all playing it up. Playing it up.”
“They came back alive and well, didn’t they? And with a great attainment to show for it. That’s enough, then.”
“If not for that, who’s to say there’d be a Glancing River Sword today at all.”
“Nobody’s going to pick it anyway.”
“My point exactly. Is there anyone out of their mind enough to pick that one? Everybody knows it’s only slotted in for form’s sake, by tradition. It’s a name hanging on a slip, nothing more.”
“Just so. Only a Moyong Bi would ever have picked it.”

Moyong Jin-seong chuckled.

“Hahaha. What child without an ounce of fear in him would pick that? Set your minds at rest.”

Busy, busy.

Mornings, martial arts class (live combat) with Teacher Moyong Bi. Afternoons, drilling the basics with Big Bro Un-cheon and a lap of the neighborhood with the lightness arts. And in whatever time is left over, I’m learning the Butterfly Step from Moyong Rin.

“Like this?”
“No. Like this.”
“Ah — like this?”
“That’s not it, I said. You memorized the meridian path in one go and you’re this hopeless at footwork?”

You keep your knees slightly bent and move sideways like a crab, bringing your heels together and then your big toes. It was not nearly as easy as I’d expected. Is it because I’m a man and short on flexibility? The whole thing feels like it sits at the exact opposite pole from the Divine Cascade Step.

“Argh, this is maddening. Let it flow smoothly! Like you’re gliding! Do it like this, I said.”

Moyong Rin unfolded the Butterfly Step with practiced ease and went whirling round and round me.

“This is hard? This is?”
“…”
“What? Sour about it? If you’re sour, go ask somebody else to teach you. I’ve got my own training to be getting on with.”

But I had no friends to speak of, and she was the only one who could teach me the Butterfly Step, so I swallowed it and learned.

While I groaned and grunted my earnest way through the basic movements, Moyong Rin hitched up one corner of her mouth and said in a sly tone:

“The lightness arts are hard, aren’t they? Really hard, right?”
“Uh, yeah. This is seriously hard.”
“Hmph-hmm. Right? The lightness arts are on the harder side.”
“I never thought it’d be this hard… it looked so easy when you did it.”
“Idiot. Looking easy just means the person doing it is that good at it. You didn’t know even that?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Don’t be too downhearted. This much isn’t completely hopeless, at least. Pfahaha!”

This kid. She’s enjoying this. She is definitely enjoying this.

Had it been eating at her all this time that I’d picked up the mind arts faster than she had? Moyong Rin looked enormously pleased that I wasn’t picking up the lightness arts quickly.

Why is every last murim warrior this twisted?

And so, in the middle of learning the Butterfly Step and getting nagged at by a Moyong Rin whose mouth would not stop twitching at the corner,

— Dong, dong, dong—

the sound of a bell reached us.

“What’s that sound?”
“It’s the assembly signal. Come on!”
“Right.”

I was heading for the assembly ground after Moyong Rin when she suddenly turned and asked:

“…What are you doing?”
“For me, practice is real combat.”
“…Very diligent of you. Very.”
“Don’t mind me, go on ahead.”
“I was going to anyway!”

For all her words, she walked on well ahead of me and glanced back every so often to check that I was coming along all right.

By the time I got to the assembly ground everyone had already gathered. I came in unfolding the Butterfly Step and eyes turned my way, every face wearing the look of ‘who is that magnificent model student?’

The instructor bellowed.

“Latecomer! Push-up position!”
“Push-up position!”
“What kept you so long!”
“I was late because I came practicing the footwork I have newly learned, sir!”
“Was it necessary to practice footwork even on the way here?”
“Of course, sir!”
“Why?”
“Because for me, practice is real combat, sir!”
“Admirable! On your feet!”

The instructor pointed at me and said:

“Born with a heaven-given talent and still not slacking in his effort — this attitude! Let every one of you follow Gwang-seon’s example! Everyone, applause!”

— Clap, clap, clap—

The other kids clapped with sour faces, and among them was a face I knew. Moyong Danho, who had fought me for the win at the Intra-Family Sparring Tournament, was clapping and shaking his head.

“They do say every genius is an oddball.”

What was that, punk?

“But late is late! The diligent attitude is good, but from now on you will not be late! Understood?”
“Yes! Understood, sir!”
“If you understand, return to your place!”
“Roger!”

I unfolded the Butterfly Step and returned to my place. Envious looks came pouring in from my agemates.

“The unavoidable fate of a model student, I suppose.”
“…”

Moyong Rin edged quietly away from me.

“Now, attention! You will shortly be split into teams and sent out to carry out missions. If you understand, form up in teams of three!”

At that the kids began to clump together among themselves. It had clearly all been arranged beforehand, because the teams formed in no time. I, by contrast, was left on my own, and however hard I looked around, I couldn’t catch a single eye.

“Haaah.”

Just then I heard a small sigh, and someone came and stood beside me.

“Yong-rin…!”
“Don’t get the wrong idea. It’s not as if I especially want to be on your team.”

But even so, one place is still empty. I looked about me, and there wasn’t one friendly eye to be found.

Then a murmur went up, and one of them came over to us.

“You’re….”
“Looks like you’ve got a space. Mind if I join?”

It was Moyong Danho.

Didn’t he hate me?

What had gotten into him I couldn’t say, but thanks to him we had a team.

“Of course.”
“I’ll be counting on you.”

Once everyone had formed their teams, the instructor pointed at a wall hung with papers like a notice board and explained.

“Each team is to come forward and take a mission of its choosing! The difficulties range from the highest down to the lowest! The higher the difficulty the harder it will be, naturally, but the reward will match! Fail, and not only will you get no reward at all, it will be reflected in your evaluation — so choose carefully!”

The instructor had barely finished before everyone came swarming up in front of the notice board.

“Let’s go too.”
“Yeah.”

I squeezed in among them and looked the board over with my teammates, mission slips pinned across the whole of it.

“A, B, C, D… is that the mission difficulty?¹”
“Looks like it.”
“A is the highest and D the lowest.”

I looked from the bottom up. Grade D had things written on it like bringing back livestock that had wandered off and hauling construction materials. Grade C had guard duty at a wine house and gathering rare medicinal herbs, and Grade B had investigating a disappearance, exterminating wild boar, escorting a merchant caravan, and the like.

Even Grade B on its own sounded pretty dangerous by my standards. One slip, it seemed to me, and you could be badly hurt.

What in the world is on Grade A, then?

Brimming with curiosity, I ran my eye down the Grade A missions.

• Bring in a violent criminal
• Subjugate a mountain stronghold
• Destroy a small black-path band’s base
• Exterminate a wolf pack
• …

Nothing but missions hard enough to make you gasp.

They’re really giving these out?

The whole lot of them were dangerous enough that one slip could genuinely cost you your life.

I could hear another team chattering away beside us.

“Hey, don’t go picking Grade A carelessly.”
“If it gets dangerous the grown-ups will step in for us.”
“Not a chance. Didn’t you hear the news about the one who died going out on a team mission last time?”
“Wasn’t that just said to scare us?”
“No it wasn’t. The moment you go out on a mission the family doesn’t care one bit whether it comes out porridge or rice². We have to settle it entirely by our own strength.”

My face went stiff as I turned to my teammates and asked:

“Is that true?”
“Yeah. Every cohort has people who don’t come back, far as I know.”
“If the family stepped in every time it got dangerous, there’d be no point to real combat.”

Hold on. Why are you saying that as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“We’re picking from Grade A, right? How about bringing in the violent criminal? Looks like it’s a serial killer. Says they pay extra if you take him alive. Ah, or how about subjugating the mountain stronghold?”
“Rather than a mountain stronghold, wouldn’t it be better to smash up some black-path lot? At least the black-path kids do a passable imitation of martial arts.”

Watching Moyong Rin and Moyong Danho calmly discuss which lot to go and smash up, I felt completely lost. It isn’t as if they’re debating what to have for lunch.

Am I the strange one? Am I the strange one here?

I felt as though I had wandered into a village where every last person had one eye³.

These damn murim warriors, honestly….

And so, while everyone was cheerfully picking their missions, the instructor announced the rules.

“You have seven days and nights! Each team will be judged on the missions it settles within those seven days and nights. And the team that performs most outstandingly of all will be granted a prize!”
“What sort of reward do you mean?”
“The family head himself will bestow a treasured sword from the vault, and an elixir!”
“Oooh!”

At the instructor’s words the kids’ enthusiasm climbed another notch.

An elixir!

At the word ‘elixir’ my eyes flew open.

More internal energy! Enough goddamn internal energy to come spilling over the brim!

If it means surviving in the gangho, I have to pull this off!

I steeled myself and looked over the commissions on Grade A.

Something relatively safe. Something relatively safe….

“Huh?”

One of them caught my eye.

• Survey a ruin site

A ruin survey? Somewhere like the place I picked up the laser gun?

Without a moment’s hesitation I reached out toward that mission slip, because it looked, comparatively speaking, like the safest of the lot. Not a terrifying word like subjugate or destroy or exterminate, but survey. I couldn’t even understand why it was in Grade A in the first place.

— Rrrip—

The instant I tore that mission slip off the wall, every eye in the place fixed on me.

“He’s picking that?”
“Whoa, that’s insane. Is he in his right mind?”
“Remarkable confidence. Does that mean he’s that sure of his own skill?”

Even the instructor spoke in astonishment.

“Gwang-seon! Do you truly mean to carry out that mission?”
“Sorry? Yes. That’s right, why?”
“Everyone, applause! Gwang-seon’s team has chosen the hardest mission of all without a moment’s hesitation! If this is not the heart of chivalry, then what is?”

— Clap, clap, clap—

The moment I got back to my teammates under that drizzle of applause, I looked at their faces and realized that something had gone wrong.

“…Why did you pick that one?”
“Uh, um. Because it seemed the safest?”
“Idiot! Ruins are crawling with terrifying monsters!”