“We should head south for about three more days.”
“That’s soon.”
“There’s no need to rush, though.”
After coming outside, I immediately read the coordinates. The result showed that we had moved about four days’ distance to the north.
‘A four-day distance in a straight line. That’s considerable. It was an incredible amount of mana.’
The distance we had teleported was significant.
This meant the mana used for the teleportation was also substantial.
He had sent an undead to utilize the mana in that location for the teleportation.
‘It was an extraordinary idea.’
It certainly wasn’t a conventional method, but the effect was undeniable.
He extracted mana to gather what he needed for his resurrection, turned the deceased into undead to send them out, and used them as bait to find new sacrifices.
‘It’s extremely efficient.’
Leaving aside the fact that he had abandoned his humanity, it was a quite efficient method.
If he hadn’t met me, his resurrection might have actually succeeded.
A disaster would have been unleashed upon the northern part of the Earl’s Territory.
Since he was a Black Mage and a Necromancer with considerable mana, that was a certainty.
For a plan carried out somewhat carelessly, it was quite the catch.
‘I suppose you could say I hooked a big one.’
I had caught a bigger fish than I expected.
I had prevented a disaster that would have befallen the Spiritual Land in advance.
Moreover, even if they weren’t big fish, there were others I had caught who weren’t just small fry either.
Specifically, those three.
Gajei, Hoden, and Sian.
Though they were quite exhausted from traveling for two days, they followed behind me faithfully.
“What should we do from now on?”
“We have to go back. And you need to do as I said.”
“You mean the story about us going on an adventure to find a Dungeon, and the Young Master coincidentally obtaining power there?”
“Yes. That’s it.”
They were already halfway to becoming my people. It might seem like I was carelessly sharing a secret, but in this situation, they had nowhere else to go.
‘I threw them the bait, after all.’
Naturally, if you catch fish that aren’t quite big enough yet, you have to raise them.
It was a form of cultivation, so to speak. There was no way all three of them would betray me. They would keep an eye on one another.
Even if only to obtain the bait I offered, they wouldn’t leave my side.
It was a method of making them grow while following me of their own accord.
“Will that work?”
“I’ll have to make it work.”
“Umm… if they search using Magic, won’t we be caught?”
“The traces were completely erased during the battle. Don’t worry.”
“If you say so…”
Look at them. All three of them were anxious, yet they didn’t have the slightest intention of running away.
“This spot seems just right.”
It was the second day of travel. The sun was ripening, and the sky was turning into a sunset. As soon as I stopped, Gajei looked at me with a burning gaze. It was a subtle look.
‘Well, it makes sense.’
If the daytime was for traveling, the nighttime was for the four of us.
If we used lightfoot techniques to run, we could reach the Village of Villad in no time, but there was a reason we didn’t. It was for this very moment.
*Thud.*
Settling down in a suitable clearing, I looked at the three of them and asked, “Is it about time we get moving?”
“Yes!”
“Ugh… I don’t think this suits me, but…”
“Please go easy on me.”
The reactions of the three were varied. Gajei was filled with enthusiasm, Hoden was filled with dread, and Sian was terrified.
Still, if there was one commonality, it was that not one of them tried to back out.
“Quiet. Sian first.”
“Ah…”
“Let’s start with you. Watch closely.”
*Thud. Thud. Thud.*
I bounced my body. The start was the Samjaebo.
Three steps.
A footwork technique that forms a formation through precise calculations within those steps.
Depending on the user, the Samjaebo could be a third-rate technique or a peak-level footwork.
Its power and speed changed depending on how one matched their steps to the opponent.
*Thump.*
The moment I stood on the ground, enjoying the rhythm of the Samjaebo.
“Wow…”
“How is that even happening?”
Beneath my feet, the form of the Samjaebo was carved into the dirt.
“Did you remember the order?”
“I’m… sure about half of it.”
“Follow that first. You can only move to the next stage once you’ve mastered the form.”
“Yes!”
Sian began to move along the grooves I had made in the dirt. There was no set time. It was simply until the deep grooves became even deeper.
“Phew.”
“Good. Breathe like that.”
She stepped and moved according to the breathing method I had taught her yesterday.
The Samjaebo was a footwork technique and, at the same time, a form of active cultivation that built up power while moving.
The more she moved, the more the earth’s energy would travel up her body and accumulate in her Danjeon.
If she could even just master this footwork, she would become several times stronger.
‘She has great natural sense, so it’s definitely possible.’
Sian had quick movements and a good sense for combat. Her somewhat timid personality could be tempered through training. She was good material who would become strong once disciplined.
‘She’ll become as strong as Jegun.’
The subordinates I had raised during my time in Murim.
Among them, Jegun had reached the peak through lightfoot and footwork.
The image of the warrior who followed me until death overlapped with Sian.
Sian certainly had talent.
‘I hope he’s doing well.’
Even if he died, I held a bit of hope that he might have been reincarnated like me.
Regardless, there were two people left. Next was Gajei’s turn.
“Using twisted mana for the function… Shield! Armor! Armor!”
*Shhhhh—* The mana glowed, and a transparent barrier formed around him. It trapped Gajei.
“Ugh…”
“Endure it.”
A space allowed for only a small gap, barely enough for Gajei’s body to squeeze in. Inside, Gajei was…
*Creeeeak—*
“Guh…”
“Follow the breathing I told you yesterday.”
“Guh. I understand. Hooo. Haaa…”
He endured with his body and breathed.
He felt the pressure and forcibly straightened his hunched body to overcome it.
A mindless pressure squeezed him so hard that his breathing became ragged in an instant.
Originally, this pressure should have been obtained through a Jinbeop, but I substituted it with Magic. However, it was more efficient.
*Squeeze. Squeeze.* The Magic did more than just block Gajei from all sides; it increased the pressure even further.
“If you can just endure this, you’ll become stronger.”
“Hoooo…”
If what Sian was learning was footwork, what Gajei was learning was an external art to discipline the body. Even without internal energy, a hardened body becomes a weapon in itself.
Cheoljisampogong.
That was the name of the external art he would learn.
From the moment he fully mastered the Cheoljisampogong, he would be able to throw away the shield in his hand.
It was an external art that, if mastered, would allow him to withstand even sword Qi cutting his body.
However, it was only possible if he endured training that was painful enough to kill him.
Out of 100 people, 90 would give up as soon as they started, nine would die during training, and it was uncertain if the remaining one would ever reach mastery.
There was a reason why the Cheoljisampogong was widely known in Murim but rarely mastered.
‘He’s doing quite well.’
But Gajei was carrying out such training through sheer grit.
I had already seen in my past life how strong someone who mastered all of the Cheoljisampogong could be.
If he just survived, he would definitely become strong.
And finally, only one remained. Hoden.
He faltered and took a step back.
For every step I took forward, he took another step back.
“Is… is it my turn now?”
“Yes. A saber technique suits you better than a sword, so I’ll teach you accordingly.”
I drew my sword, and it felt comfortable in my grip.
“Can’t I… learn like they are?”
“Why insist on a different way when there’s a more efficient method?”
“Ugh.”
“Hurry up and grab your sword. Or else…”
“I-I understand! Please wait just a moment!”
Perhaps yesterday’s training had been effective. Even yesterday, he had hesitated to draw his sword, but today, Hoden drew it with a clean motion.
“Good job.”
“I only did it because I don’t want to get hit!”
“Whether it’s this or that.”
The last one, Hoden, had to learn Mugong through his body.
In terms of pure talent among the three, Hoden was the most gifted.
Yet, he was lacking in one thing.
‘His grit is rotten. He’s never had to train deeply because he gets results with just a little effort.’
It was grit.
He only believed in his talent.
He didn’t believe in the training that came through hundreds or thousands of efforts.
In Murim, the lifeline is not talent, but the effort ingrained in one’s callouses.
Those who move believing only in their talent account for a large percentage of those who die in Murim.
It is a hollow death.
I had no intention of losing the subordinate I had worked so hard to gain in such a hollow way.
“Right side.”
“Aaaack!”
*Thwack. Thwack.*
There was no better way to fix a rotten attitude than this.
“S-Stop! You hit my bone!”
“It was just the flat of the blade. Again! Your chest is open!”
*Wham—*
I had to make him realize that there was talent above talent. Even nonexistent grit can be forged if one endures.
“Cough…”
“Again!”
“Ugh!”
Look at that. Wasn’t strength naturally flowing into the hand Hoden used to grip his sword?
“Haaah!”
“Aaaaaagh!”
“Guh…”
Under the screams echoing from the three, the second night passed in a flash.
***
Today marked exactly the tenth day since the Young Master had left the Village of Villad.
At first, Gedren had only made a pretense of searching. But as the days went by, he grew anxious.
‘This is going to drive me crazy… sigh…’
He had already sent a report to the Count on the first day.
At first, the Count had laughed it off as a young child’s whim.
However, things changed after about a week had passed.
He had even hurriedly dispatched a messenger, urging them to find him quickly.
Rayrn was now a 13-year-old.
He had proven his abilities.
He was a genius.
At the same time, he was a Mage.
He could go on an excursion for a day or two; that was within a range Rayrn could take responsibility for. But ten days!
According to the plan, it was time for him to return immediately for the Harvest Festival.
Yet, Rayrn was nowhere to be found even after searching the entire Village of Villad.
Five days ago, there was a witness who claimed to have seen him go to the Dungeon, so they searched the Dungeon as well.
‘But there was no news.’
They couldn’t find even a trace.
There were very few cases where no traces were found in a natural Dungeon, especially one that had already been fully explored.
From then on, Gedren was frantic.
He ordered all the Knights and soldiers under his command to search the surrounding area as if their lives depended on it.
“Sir Gedren! Over there!”
“Hmm? This is…”
Then, in a place they hadn’t expected, they discovered a single Stone Wall. Behind the Stone Wall, the area was filled with debris and traces of battle.
“Oh. It seems they found a new section of the Dungeon. But isn’t this not what’s important right now?”
“There are traces of battle, but no bodies.”
“Hmm… we’ll have to investigate separately… but for now, let’s keep looking for the Young Master.”
It was a trace of Rayrn they had found by chance.
However, the Knights, wondering if those traces could really be related to Rayrn, postponed the exploration of the new section of the Dungeon for a moment.
Right now, finding the Young Master was the top priority before they faced the Count’s wrath.
“He’s not here. Not here… just where…”
But even up to the tenth day, they couldn’t find a single hair.
‘Young Master… it’s today. Today. Phew…’
It was the Knights and soldiers who were becoming desperate. Even if it felt meaningless, the investigation had to continue.
He was in the middle of dividing the people for today’s search.
Just as he was talking to assign each person their area.
“Today, let’s focus the investigation on the north…”
“Uh? Sir Gedren!”
“Hmm?”
“There, over there! Isn’t that the Young Master? But… something’s…”
The sharp-eyed Knight, Edren, pointed in one direction.
“Y-Young Master!”
The Young Master they had seen only in their dreams was standing right there.