Chapter 974 – 974. The Ascent To Light
I didn’t leave the city recklessly.
This world is vast. Even if the city with the Manmu Tower is nearby, it’s only nearby by this world’s standards.
The moment we took even a slightly wrong turn, there was a high chance we wouldn’t arrive within the set time. And both Seong Ji-gon and I were bad with directions. We didn’t have much experience with traveling itself.
But that didn’t mean there was no way. If we didn’t know the way, we could hire a guide who did. Or, we could ask a courier company to travel with us.
‘The problem is that hiring a personal guide is incredibly difficult, and the courier service heading to Manmu City already left a week ago.’
In short, we were late.
However, that didn’t mean there was no solution. Seong Ji-gon and I found a way.
The Iron Crow Band.
We hid our skills and joined the vagabond group led by Jin Gu-eon, the Flying Bull Blade.
Vagabonds.
They were third-rate martial artists who wandered this world. Some romanticized them as a group chasing the romance of the martial world, but in reality, they were closer to mercenaries who hadn’t settled down.
The Iron Crow Band was heading to the Manmu Tower in search of opportunity. Seong Ji-gon and I would hitch a ride with this Iron Crow Band to get to the Manmu Tower. That was our plan.
“Gather!”
Jin Gu-eon, the leader of the Iron Crow Band, shouted.
The vagabonds belonging to the Iron Crow Band moved hastily and stood before him. Seong Ji-gon and I were included.
Jin Gu-eon was a man in his forties. He had a nasty impression. His skin was tanned, he had a long scar on his forehead, and his left ear was missing. His voice was also incredibly rough. It sounded like phlegm was boiling in his throat. A large cleaver on his back gleamed in the sunlight.
“From now on, we’re heading to the Manmu Tower. If there’s anyone who wants to leave due to personal reasons, step out now.”
Jin Gu-eon glared. The vagabonds in front of him swallowed hard. Jin Gu-eon’s level was at the third stage of the Will Manifestation realm. He was among the top of the vagabonds.
“…Looks like no one wants to leave.”
The vagabonds quietly focused on Jin Gu-eon’s words.
“The Manmu Tower is the last chance for us, who have no roots, to rise. We don’t even dream of conquering the Manmu Tower. Our goal is halfway, the 10th floor of the Manmu Tower. Just reaching the 10th floor will allow us to learn an ascending martial art. Also, this will become experience that will allow us to enter a decent sect. I’m risking my life on this Manmu Tower. So, I’ll say it one last time. If you don’t plan to risk your life with me on the Manmu Tower, don’t hold me back and get out now!”
Jin Gu-eon’s eyes blazed.
There was an age limit for the Manmu Tower. 50 years old. And the Manmu Tower opened every 10 years. For Jin Gu-eon, who was in his forties, this Manmu Tower was his last chance.
“We feel the same way as you, Captain! We don’t want to live as vagabonds who are only mocked! We’ll change our lives with this Manmu Tower!”
“That’s right!”
“If we can change our lives, of course, we should risk our lives!”
The vagabonds belonging to the Iron Crow Band all shouted. Their voices were filled with determination. And Jin Gu-eon burst into a satisfied laugh.
“Hahaha! Good! Let’s change our lives at the Manmu Tower! We’re departing for the Manmu Tower now! Be prepared! Those who hold me back… those who hold back the Iron Crow Band, I’ll abandon them!”
“Yes, Captain!”
Jin Gu-eon, who had raised the morale of the vagabonds to the fullest, took the lead and left the city.
The Iron Crow Band walked with a sharp aura scattered in all directions. However, after some time, the sharp aura subsided.
Seong Ji-gon and I walked at the very back of the Iron Crow Band with heavy luggage on our backs.
“Hey, newbies. You’re quite something, not getting tired even after coming this far?”
A man in his early thirties spoke to us. He had a sword at his waist.
“Even though we look like this, we’ve been training steadily.”
Seong Ji-gon replied.
“Well, looking at your bodies, I can tell you’ve been training. The captain must have accepted you because you have potential. I’m Woo Young-tae. I’ve been in the Iron Crow Band for two years.”
“Really? I’m Seong Ji-gon!”
“I’m Seong Yu-jin.”
We revealed our names right away. It wasn’t like a great power was chasing us, so there was no need to hide them.
“Woo Young-tae, the great hero.”
“Woo Young-tae, the great hero? That’s a funny thing to say. Just call me hyung.”
“Yes. Hyung. Did you also carry luggage when you first joined the Iron Crow Band?”
Seong Ji-gon asked, his eyes shining. Woo Young-tae chuckled at Seong Ji-gon’s innocent appearance.
“When I first joined the Iron Crow Band? I didn’t carry luggage back then, I carried a sword. Back then, the Iron Crow Band was fighting against another vagabond group.”
“Wow…”
Seong Ji-gon listened to Woo Young-tae’s words with his ears perked up. Woo Young-tae got excited and started rambling about his experiences.
‘Ah, damn it.’
I grumbled inwardly.
Originally, my plan was to take control of the Iron Crow Band. There was no need to enter as a newbie in the vagabond group. After beating up Jin Gu-eon, the leader of the Iron Crow Band, I could take control of the Iron Crow Band and comfortably go to the Manmu Tower while using the vagabonds like slaves.
But my plan was thwarted by Seong Ji-gon’s opposition.
‘I never thought Seong Ji-gon would have a fantasy about vagabond groups.’
It was a common story.
Vagabonds were martial artists who wandered the martial world without a place to settle. And the stories of vagabonds were packaged with 30% truth and 70% bluff, becoming chivalrous acts.
‘Seong Ji-gon, that bastard. He still hasn’t given up on his longing for chivalry.’
It was a kind of vagabond experience.
‘Trying to be a chivalrous hero while eating old hags… you crazy hag-lover.’
It was very annoying, but since I had already accepted Seong Ji-gon’s proposal, there was nothing I could do. The deal between Seong Ji-gon and me was already done.
‘How can I refuse when he’s offering me a virgin?’
Sigh.
Let’s just suffer for a while.
I sighed softly and walked.
***
“Newbies! Don’t just sit there, prepare dinner!”
A vagabond shouted at us.
“D-dinner?! Us?!”
Seong Ji-gon asked back in confusion. The vagabond frowned.
“Are there any other newbies here besides you? Our Iron Crow Band has a tradition where the newbies do the chores. That’s the tradition. You’re not thinking of saying you can’t do it after coming all this way, are you?!”
“Ah, no. Of course not. If it’s tradition, there’s nothing we can do… We’ll do it.”
“After dinner, prepare the sleeping arrangements too. Oh, and don’t forget to stand guard. You’re the last watch.”
Seong Ji-gon rolled his eyes to the side. The other vagabonds were gathered in groups, having fun. They were heading to the Manmu Tower, saying they wanted to change their lives, but not a single one of them was actually training in martial arts. It was clear why vagabonds weren’t treated well.
“It’s too much to even stand guard. We need time to rest too.”
“Tsk.”
The vagabond glared at Seong Ji-gon as if he wanted to kill him.
“Do I have to say it again? This is the tradition of the Iron Crow Band. I went through all sorts of hardships when I was a newbie too. It’s what newbies do, so don’t complain and just do it.”
“…Okay.”
“Damn it. Some clueless guys came in… Tsk.”
The vagabond grumbled, spat, and left.
Seong Ji-gon came next to me.
“Yu-jin, they say it’s tradition, so what can we do? Let’s just suffer a bit. But do you know how to cook?”
“Cook? I don’t cook for myself. You’re the same, right?”
“That’s true… There’s no choice. I’ll have to ask Hyung Woo.”
“Seong Ji-gon. It’s not too late now. Let’s quit this pointless vagabond act and turn things upside down. I’ll take care of Jin Gu-eon.”
“No. Let’s try a little more. They say it’s the tradition of the Iron Crow Band. We have to do it to be recognized by the Iron Crow Band. Hyung Woo also said so. He said that being a newbie vagabond is a bit difficult, but you can only become a true vagabond after gaining experience and being recognized by everyone.”
“That damn hag-lover.”
“What did you say?”
“Do whatever you want. But you have to keep offering me virgins.”
“Thanks. If you want, I can even give you about three women who are my type.”
“I don’t need them, you bastard. You’re probably the only one who can shamelessly stick it into that withered old tree.”
“It’s a pussy that has endured countless years. Show some respect.”
I shook my head.
After that, I prepared dinner with Seong Ji-gon. There were 35 members in the Iron Crow Band. Two people had to prepare a large dinner. We decided on a gukbap (rice soup). We just threw all the ingredients into one place. The reaction was naturally bad, and we had to endure ridicule and insults from the vagabonds.
After that, we did the dishes and even set up the vagabonds’ sleeping arrangements before we could go to bed.
“Yu-jin, it’s a bit annoying, but it’s not that hard, right?”
Seong Ji-gon’s level was at the Will Manifestation realm. In the Iron Crow Band, Seong Ji-gon was the strongest, except for me and the captain.
“It’s not physically hard. But it’s mentally fucked up. It’s not too late now. Let’s turn things upside down.”
“We’ll be recognized as vagabonds soon. Yu-jin, do you want to eat this?”
“What is it?”
“It’s a wild strawberry that Hyung Woo gave me. I’ll share it with you.”
“No thanks. I don’t want it.”
I closed my eyes. Actually, I couldn’t fall asleep easily. Seong Ji-gon seemed to be the same, as he kept chattering.
“Ah, I want to have sex. I’m usually having sex at this time… Yu-jin, don’t you want to have sex too?”
“Of course, I want to. But there are no women in this vagabond group.”
“Hyung Woo told me that the number of female vagabonds is very small. He said that one out of 100 vagabonds is a woman.”
“That many? That’s unexpected. It’s better to sell your body than to do dangerous vagabond work.”
“But I’m not really turned on by prostitutes these days.”
“That’s because there are no old women among the high-class prostitutes. No, there are no prostitutes that are your type among the ordinary ones either.”
High-class prostitutes were like freshly cooked rice. But Seong Ji-gon’s type was like rice that had gone bad and moldy. It was almost impossible to find a prostitute that fit Seong Ji-gon’s taste.
“But the women of my type will easily spread their legs if I give them money.”
“It’s natural since it’s not easy to earn money at that age.”
We chatted for quite a while. Then the chat naturally stopped.
“…Ah. I miss my mom. I miss my mom’s pussy so much since I became independent… Is grandma doing well? She can’t die until I go back… Ah, I can smell grandma’s sour pussy… “
“You crazy bastard.”
I chuckled at Seong Ji-gon’s words. The silly things he said made me laugh.
“Anyway, suffer tomorrow too.”
“Yu-jin, you’re suffering too. Why are you talking like it’s someone else’s problem?”
“Because it is someone else’s problem.”
“No. You’re doing it too.”
I had auto-progress. The one doing the hard work wouldn’t be me, but my avatar.
That’s how a week passed. Of course, it wasn’t my standard, but Seong Ji-gon’s. I secretly went to and from Nakwol Mountain every two days. I spent the nights with Namgung Rin, Namgung Seol, and Mi-ryeong, releasing the pent-up lust. But Seong Ji-gon wasn’t.
Seong Ji-gon, who hadn’t had sex, was out of energy. He had diligently done chores for a week, but the Iron Crow Band didn’t recognize us as newbies.
At this point, we couldn’t help but notice. Jin Gu-eon, the leader of the Iron Crow Band, had accepted Seong Ji-gon and me to use us as labor.
“Hyung Woo said it. He said we just need to endure a little longer. And that’s not important right now… Ugh… I feel like I’m going crazy because I want to have sex…”
Seong Ji-gon, who was addicted to sex, was tearing at his hair in agony. A guy who had sex every day hadn’t had sex for a week. He must be going crazy.
“Endure it.”
Two weeks passed.
While preparing the sleeping arrangements, we happened to overhear a conversation between Woo Young-tae and the vagabonds.
“Woo Young-tae, how long are you going to play around with those guys?”
“Haha. It’s not playing around, it’s managing them. If you push them too hard, they’ll run away. You have to loosen them up a bit and say hopeful things so they’ll work without complaining. Look at Seong Ji-gon, he’s working very hard.”
“Seong Ji-gon? That bastard is following you around like a puppy.”
“Haha. He’s a really stupid bastard. Do you know what he said last time? He said that vagabonds are chivalrous heroes. Chivalrous heroes.”
“Chivalrous heroes? Hahahaha, you crazy bastard, who says vagabonds are chivalrous heroes these days?”
“Exactly.”
They were mocking Seong Ji-gon.
I glanced at Seong Ji-gon’s condition. His face, which had turned red, was distorted with anger. Was it because of the betrayal he felt towards Woo Young-tae? Tears welled up in Seong Ji-gon’s eyes.
Then, he spat out as if chewing his words.
“Yu-jin… I’m going to fuck all of those bastards’ mothers…”
