Chapter 1508 – 1508. Gwangmyeong Ascension Diagram
I returned to the Demonic Cult after finishing my mission.
A monotonous daily life continued.
If Yeon-hwa were here, this boring routine would be somewhat fun, but she was out on a mission. I didn’t know what kind of mission it was. Missions of the Extinction Unit were basically confidential.
“Agh, damn it! Those Yama Unit bastards!”
Oh Bong burst through the door. His expression was full of anger and annoyance.
“Did the Yama Unit say something again?”
Yama Unit (閻魔隊).
It was always one of the top units within the Demonic Cult. It was the unit where So Cheonma, Cheon Yu-un, and the future ‘Demon Brain,’ Je Gal Mo-sun, belonged.
The Yama Unit was a unit with the authority to audit directly under the Cult Leader. Therefore, its authority was the highest among the Demonic Cult’s units.
The Extinction Unit and the Yama Unit did not get along. Although, the Extinction Unit didn’t get along with any other unit besides the Yama Unit.
“No, they didn’t say anything. They’re just annoying.”
“……”
I was also annoyed by Oh Bong’s words. Why the hell was this bastard coming to me to whine? I wanted to commit an act of insubordination.
“Anyway, a mission has been assigned this time. It’s a solo mission for you this time.”
Oh Bong took out a letter from his pocket and handed it to me. I calmly accepted the letter. After receiving it, I checked the contents and narrowed my brow.
This mission was to go outside the Demonic Cult’s territory and recruit a master craftsman (器匠士) who specialized in making magical artifacts.
“Does the Extinction Unit do recruitment missions?”
“Maknae, what did I say our 6th squad was?”
“…Errand squad.”
“Right. Errand squad. A squad that does whatever the higher-ups tell us to do.”
He then placed a small wooden box on the table.
“Don’t think of it as a trivial mission. Recruiting a master craftsman is a big deal. Oh, and the support supplies have arrived.”
“Is that by any chance a spatial box (空間函)?”
“Yeah.”
In game terms, it was an item similar to an inventory. Of course, I already had one.
“The spatial box contains mission funds and information related to the recruitment. You can use the mission funds as you please. And…”
Oh Bong became serious. He continued in a very earnest voice.
“If you fail to recruit, kill the master craftsman. If a talent like a master craftsman works for another faction, the Cult will have a hard time. If the Cult can’t have the talent, it should be destroyed.”
“Understood. Is there anything else you want to tell me?”
Oh Bong relaxed the atmosphere.
“The mission period is three years. You can play around a bit.”
“…You’re giving me three years?”
“It’s a mission outside the Demonic Cult. This is normal.”
I realized the concept of time in this world once again. This world was on a different scale in many ways.
“If you succeed in the mission, you’ll receive a spiritual medicine that will help you. Do your best.”
He patted me on the shoulder and disappeared.
***
Before leaving the Demonic Cult, I met Cheon Yu-un and Je Gal Mo-sun of the Yama Unit. They had come to find me.
“I heard you received a recruitment mission.”
I narrowed my brow.
“Aren’t Extinction Unit missions confidential?”
“Haha. It wasn’t difficult to find out since it was a low-level classified mission. Yeom Gu-seok. I have a favor to ask.”
“A favor? Tell me.”
“Do you know about the Mukjilyeon?”
“I encountered a Mukjilyeon monster on a mission not long ago. I know roughly about the Mukjilyeon.”
“I want you to investigate the Mukjilyeon this time.”
I stared at Cheon Yu-un.
I didn’t know what Cheon Yu-un was up to with this request. He probably knew more about the Mukjilyeon than I did. After all, the owner of the Mukjilyeon was Cheon Yu-un.
‘Is this Je Gal Mo-sun’s scheme?’
No. If Je Gal Mo-sun was curious about the Mukjilyeon, he wouldn’t ask me but would have investigated it personally.
“Is this a mission from the Cult?”
“It has nothing to do with the Cult. It’s a personal request from me to you.”
“It’s hard to understand. If you’re curious about information about the Mukjilyeon, you can ask the Cult, right? I don’t have the talent to investigate anything.”
Cheon Yu-un crossed his arms and spoke in a serious tone.
“Recently, the Mukjilyeon has been active in the Cult’s territory. Do you think this is a coincidence?”
“Are you saying they’re connected to the inside of the Cult?”
“I suspect the elders.”
He said it so confidently that it was a bit absurd. If I didn’t know that Cheon Yu-un was the owner of the Mukjilyeon, I might have been tricked by him and suspected the elders as well.
“I see. You can’t trust the Cult’s intelligence department. But… even if you ask me to investigate the Mukjilyeon, I don’t know what to do.”
Je Gal Mo-sun, who had been silent, stepped forward.
“Yeom Gu-seok. Your mission location this time is near Mount Jongnam, right? We have information that one of the main branches of the Mukjilyeon is near Mount Jongnam.”
“Where did you get that information?”
“We have a double agent. We got the information through him.”
“So, what do you want me to do?”
“Investigate the Mukjilyeon. Simply put, spy and gather information. It wouldn’t be bad to raid them and steal important data from the Mukjilyeon.”
“…Turn the Mukjilyeon into an enemy? That’s a bit too much of a burden. It’s not something I can do alone.”
“Yes, I know. I was just saying. You just need to gather information about the Mukjilyeon as much as possible.”
“And it would be even better if you assassinated a key figure in the Mukjilyeon.”
Cheon Yu-un interjected. Je Gal Mo-sun protested.
“Even so, that would provoke the Mukjilyeon too much.”
“The Mukjilyeon is growing too fast to be dangerous. Before it gets any bigger, we need to curb its growth at least once.”
“We don’t necessarily have to do it. The Mukjilyeon has more enemies than just us. We can check them as much as we want by using the orthodox sects.”
“That would make things too big. Is there a need to bring in the orthodox sects in the current situation?”
Cheon Yu-un and Je Gal Mo-sun’s opinions clashed. It was a rare occurrence. I understood their intentions. They were trying to use the Mukjilyeon in different ways.
Before the conversation got any longer, I looked at Cheon Yu-un and asked.
“Is your request absolutely necessary?”
“It’s necessary.”
“Okay. I’ll grant that request.”
***
I hid Yeom Gu-seok’s identity and headed to Mount Jongnam.
It was because of the Jongnam Sect, which managed the Mount Jongnam area.
The Jongnam Sect was part of the Martial Alliance, an orthodox martial arts group centered around the Nine Great Sects. If I, a member of the Demonic Cult, openly roamed around, various problems would arise. So, I planned to hide Yeom Gu-seok’s identity for now.
I became a wandering traveler and headed to Mount Jongnam.
Mount Jongnam and the Demonic Cult were very far apart. It was a distance that would take about three months or more to walk. It was so far that I couldn’t help but laugh.
‘This is why auto-travel exists.’
I could reduce the three-month distance to three minutes.
Baewol City (拜月市). It was a city near Mount Jongnam. It was also the city I was aiming for.
After entering Baewol City, I first went to an inn to check the city’s atmosphere. I looked around the inn. It had three floors and was bustling. There were many commoners on the first floor, and from the second floor, there were martial artists with weapons on their waists.
‘There are hardly any people here who can be called martial artists. They’re all third-rate or lower.’
I went up to the third floor.
The higher the floor, the better the view.
I found a spot I liked. The problem was that everyone had a similar eye for good spots. Someone had already taken the seat.
I walked towards them. There were six young men and women. They were all carrying weapons, probably the children of martial families. They had been chatting happily, but they stopped talking when I approached. Their expressionless faces turned towards me.
One of them, a cheerful-looking man, spoke to me.
“Young hero? Do you have any business with us? If we were too loud, we apologize. It’s been a while since we met with our friends, so we got carried away.”
“I am a master.”
“Uh, yes?”
“I am a senior in the martial world with a higher seniority than you.”
“…What is your name?”
“You don’t know me?”
I frowned. He tensed up. His Adam’s apple moved up and down.
“We are ignorant and did not recognize you, senior. Please tell us your name.”
“I am Joseon’s Greatest Swordsman, Mujuk Yu-jin.”
“Joseon’s Greatest Swordsman, Mujuk Yu-jin…!”
He was shocked. At the same time, his eyes rolled around. He seemed to be desperately trying to figure out who I was.
“W-What brings Joseon’s Greatest Swordsman to us….”
“I like this spot. Give it to me. Right now.”
“…There are other seats next to us.”
“I said I like this spot. As a junior, you should give up your seat to a senior in the martial world. Serve a master. Isn’t that the duty of you underlings?”
“……”
The atmosphere turned cold. Their eyes were filled with hostility.
“…Where are you from? We’ve never heard of the name Joseon’s Greatest Swordsman, Mujuk Yu-jin. Where is Joseon? Is it a sect? Like the Joseon Sect?”
“Are you daring to treat me like a Joseon person?”
“Didn’t you say you were Joseon’s Greatest Swordsman?”
“Ha…. You’re impossible to talk to. I’ve lost the will to talk to you. Shut up and move, you martial world scrubs.”
“This crazy bastard…!”
I released my killing intent.
The condensed killing intent spread out and began to pressure their bodies. Their complexions turned pale in an instant. They trembled and sweated profusely.
“You have died 322 times.”
“…Huh?”
“There were 327 opportunities to kill you, but I showed mercy and let you live.”
“……Didn’t you say 322 times?”
“333 times. I can still kill you right now. My patience is running out. If you don’t disappear within 5 seconds, I will kill you.”
I grabbed the hilt of the sword at my waist and pulled it slightly.
Crackling!
A blue lightning aura flashed along with the blade that protruded from the scabbard. Upon seeing the lightning aura, they jumped up from their chairs and started running away.
The man who had been talking to me immediately knelt down and bowed his head.
“We were ignorant and did not recognize the great senior of the martial world! Please forgive us!”
“I forgive you. Get lost. As a master of the martial world, I must worry about the future of the martial world.”
“Y-Yes, understood…!”
I sat down on the chair and looked out the window. As expected of a big city, the view was great. Then, the food on the table caught my eye. They were greasy dishes. Just looking at them made me feel nauseous.
I grabbed the table and pulled it out of the window, shaking it vigorously. The window shattered, and the dishes and food on the table fell to the ground.
Clang, clang, clang, clang!
The table was clean. On the contrary, something was missing. I spoke to the waiter, who was staring at me with his mouth open.
“Waiter! Bring me bamboo leaf wine for Joseon’s Greatest Swordsman, Mujuk Yu-jin! If you don’t bring it within 30 seconds, I’ll cut off your arm.”
“Hic! I-I’ll bring it!”
The waiter’s actions were swift. He brought the bamboo leaf wine and a wine cup. I poured the bamboo leaf wine into the cup and took a sip, looking out the broken window with melancholy eyes. I didn’t forget to worry about the future of the martial world.
“These days, the juniors of the martial world treat their seniors like trash. Is the future of the martial world really okay…! Sigh, it wasn’t like this in my time….”
Shudder!
My body trembled.
It was the pleasure that came from deep satisfaction.
‘This is what a martial arts master is!’
I was practicing the coolness of a master with my whole body.
“Hehe. Great hero. You seem bored. This humble one will be your drinking companion, Joseon’s Greatest Swordsman.”
It was a sweet female voice.
I didn’t know who the woman was, but she must have had an amazing eye for people. I turned my head with anticipation.
“Fox?”
It was Mi-ryeong.
