Another month went by.
During that time, I remained solely in the training chamber.
Whenever the magic power in the magic stone filled up, I absorbed it as is.
While waiting for it to recharge—
“Haaap!”
Whoosh— Bang!
I swung my sword.
Just refining my swordsmanship made the time fly by.
‘I’ve already surpassed the basics.’
The level of sword energy contained in my blade had risen considerably compared to a month ago.
‘Shingirae Sword!’
In the technique that pursues the ultimate in slashing with speed,
Woooong— Woooong—
I managed to blend more than ten variations into a single sequence of moves.
My opponent would have to respond to all ten changes in one strike.
If they couldn’t read it, that would be the end for them.
“Still, what I like most is definitely this one.”
Fwoosh—
In a split second, the thrusting sword extended forward in a long line.
It looked light, but the force it carried was equivalent to over ten years’ worth of internal energy.
It was the One-Finger Steel Sword.
Among all techniques, I favored this one, which thrust forward with extreme force.
It suited my temperament.
Even among the Jeogal Family Method, there were quite a few Mugong related to thrusting.
Aside from the sword, in the early days of the Jegal Clan, they also used the silk fan.
Among them, the Pan Gwan Brush was particularly unique.
It was a brush made of iron instead of hair, often used to suppress an opponent’s pressure points.
And then there was Geumna Hand.
The Geumna Hand Method, which used the hands, was one of the Jegal Clan’s proudest techniques.
Its essence also lay in instantly striking the opponent’s pressure points.
All in all.
Techniques related to thrusting excelled at seizing the moment and subduing opponents swiftly.
‘Our clan members always had slightly unusual physiques for Murim people.’
Perhaps that’s why the Jegal Clan developed special Mugong that sought strength beyond their natural bodies.
Later on, they adopted the endlessly-changing sword using the internal energy from Hyeonwon Dan Shingong.
In the face of extraordinary intellect, they fought with extremely calculated methods.
Before that, though, there were quite a few Mugong that aimed for a single decisive strike.
The One-Finger Steel Sword was one such trace.
Perhaps that’s why there were so many Mugong and techniques related to thrusting.
Though I learned the thrusting techniques late, they suited me perfectly.
“Right on time.”
When not swinging my sword, all that was left was cultivating internal energy.
“Huuuup…”
Over the course of a month, I had improved a step further in extracting magic power from the magic stone.
‘Good.’
The Singijin I used for cultivation was very effective with the magic stone as well.
Just keeping it inside the formation drew in the natural energy, increasing the magic stone’s recharge rate.
Once the magic stone filled up, all I had to do was ascend.
My job was to use the Ma Na Seokeul to awaken the magic power within the magic stone atop the training array and absorb it directly.
Just cultivating while holding the magic stone made my training speed increase several times over.
It was like taking elixirs every session, so it would have been strange if my progress was slow.
‘Already half a gapja…’
The internal energy that had taken me ten years before had reached half a gapja in just a month.
Half a gapja is thirty years.
In just one month, I had created the equivalent of thirty years’ worth of internal energy.
If Murim’s practitioners heard of this, their eyes would pop out at such speed.
It was more than impressive—it was miraculous.
Given enough time, I could soon reach a full gapja.
But there was a problem.
“…Is it over?”
Crack-crack-crack—
The issue was the durability of the magic stone.
“It’s not infinite.”
The magic stone in my hand looked like it might shatter at any moment.
If I applied just a little more force, it would snap.
For the first two weeks, it wasn’t like this.
I simply absorbed the magic power that the magic stone accumulated.
But after that—
Crack—
It started with a single, sudden crack.
As each day passed, more cracks appeared that hadn’t been there before.
By the third week, deep fissures spread, leading to its current state.
“What a waste.”
With magical processing and engraved magic circles, a magic stone can change.
It’s said that, with proper magical attunement, a magic stone can be used as an eternal power source.
But in practice, that wasn’t the case.
It only worked if the stone was attuned with delicate magical treatment.
‘It must be possible by limiting output.’
For example—
If a magic stone has 100 total magic power and its daily recharge rate is 50, even if it’s depleted, it’ll recharge in two days.
But what if you magically adjust it so that only 20-30 units are consumed per use?
Its durability will hardly be damaged.
Even if there is damage, the stone’s natural regenerative power can keep up.
As long as it’s not overused, you can practically use it forever.
But I pushed this magic stone to the absolute limit.
I even forced its regenerative capacity by using formations.
It was a mistake, thinking it had nearly infinite properties.
“It’s a miracle it lasted a month.”
Still, I’m not disappointed.
Thanks to it, I gained half a gapja of internal energy.
I didn’t get to cultivate my mana circle because I focused on internal energy, but it doesn’t matter.
With greater internal energy, I can accelerate building the circle.
What’s more important is something else—the problem of the Spiritual Land.
“Father really is so inflexible.”
I still have no other information channels.
But I had my ears.
To keep tabs on the Black Snake organization, I’d occasionally roamed the territory gathering information.
From what I heard, Father’s situation in the North had become quite dire.
***
After ratmen and lizardmen, now hordes of Goblins had started swarming.
Compared to his casual declaration during a meal that he’d leave to defend the North, things had gotten serious.
Even my master went up because of that.
If Father had requested help, I would’ve forced myself to help him.
The same went for my older sister, who, though frustrated, stayed behind to train.
‘Yet, there wasn’t a single request.’
Father chose to resolve it himself rather than borrow our strength.
It’s like he took on the duties of those of us left in the castle as well.
Rumor has it he always leads at the vanguard.
A Count of the Earl’s Territory personally taking up his sword to protect his land…
It’s admirable for the people, but as his family—
‘He needs to be careful.’
It’s too much.
I’m plenty worried.
Even our gentle mother is said to be preparing a whole arsenal of nagging for when he returns!
And when my eldest brother—the Spiritual Land’s new guardian along with Father—comes back, he’ll probably suffer as well.
The one bright spot is that the bandits in the Eastern Region have disappeared.
They never gave themselves a name, but people called the bandit group the ‘Blood Red Stalks’.
They left blood wherever they went, hence the name.
No one knew who their leader was or why the group was formed.
The lower ranks were unknown, and information about the core members was even scarcer.
The crucial thing is, they didn’t just rampage in our territory—they struck all over the Royal Palace.
There weren’t any truly formidable experts.
There must have been territories, like ours, that successfully repelled them.
The problem was that not all territories were so fortunate.
‘I heard the damage was considerable.’
They succeeded in plundering countless territories.
And then they disappeared, taking enormous wealth with them.
Even if they managed to seize only a portion, it would still be a huge amount.
Such wealth must be intended for something significant.
‘There’s definitely something behind this. What are they aiming for?’
Their whereabouts remain unclear.
Since there are bandit groups, there must be a cause, but that remains unknown.
The real problem came after the territories were looted.
It would be better if they simply squeezed their own people to make up for lost assets.
Some lords, claiming the neighboring territory was behind the bandits, even prepared to wage war.
‘Utter nonsense.’
No lord in their right mind would organize such a large bandit group next door.
The scale was too great for that.
Their filthy intent was obvious—to replenish their losses by taking from others.
Thanks to that, chaos was spreading everywhere.
Even high lords of Count rank and above were too busy handling their own affairs to intervene.
Things had gotten quite complicated.
‘It doesn’t matter for our territory.’
What matters is that, in this tangled situation, I need to resolve at least one thing.
I, too, must fulfill my role.
If Father and my brother are pacifying the North, then it’s time for me to bring order to the inside.
With the half-gapja internal energy coursing through me, it’s more than enough to put the sinister Black Snake to rest.
Clack. I picked up my sword.
“I’m heading out.”
The last place I burned down was the Red Rose.
It’s now completely destroyed, leaving not a trace, but it was once a massive establishment.
Had the magical reinforcement been even a bit tighter, it would have been a tough nut to crack.
‘I was lucky to hit its weak point head on.’
The Red Rose was a critical base for the Black Snake.
It generated funds by running the brothel, and they obtained information from the mercenaries passing through.
Sometimes, it even served as their main base.
In other words—
‘It’s like a fox digging multiple dens.’
It was due to the Black Snake’s peculiar nature.
Despite the protection of corrupt nobles, the city guard was relentlessly hunting Black Snake.
Since Father had ordered their purge, they were constantly on the run.
Endlessly.
As a result, Black Snake kept multiple main bases.
It was a measure to hide themselves.
‘What a hassle.’
Because of this, now that the Red Rose was gone, I had to go through their remaining bases.
Thanks to the information I obtained after killing the assassin Keldin, I knew there were at least five bases left.
With the Red Rose, there were six in total.
So I had no choice but to roam all over, searching for the enemy.
Whoosh— Thud!
Using Heavenly Qi Movement and a jump spell, I flitted over rooftops.
The detection speed wasn’t fast, but it was an annoying job.
The first place I found was the roof of some nameless gambling den.
“This isn’t it.”
The energy I sensed was weak.
There was no presence of someone with aura, nor a magician’s magic power.
“Still, I should burn at least one of their burrows.”
Since illegal gambling dens usually have no set name, people call them the Red Gambling Den after the color of the roof—but I don’t care about that.
‘They’re everywhere, no matter where you go.’
No matter the world—whether it was Kim Seong-geon’s Earth or Jegal Hyeon’s Murim—there were always gambling dens.
Even in Murim, there were sects filled with gamblers.
‘Hao Clan…’
Gamblers, pickpockets, courtesans.
Hao Clan was created by those at the bottom.
They dealt in information and took on all kinds of dirty and trivial work.
There were always those in the Hao Clan who dreamed of stepping into the sunlight.
And there, Jegal Hyeon—
Thump-thump—
“Hmm… I get it.”
Even with a frail body suffering from blocked meridians, my heart could race as if I’d trained for hours.
It’s a memory not only old, but carried over from my previous life.
“But that’s all in the past now. The important thing is that this sort of thing is no help to the territory.”
Anything that doesn’t help should be erased.