Chapter 22

Chapter 21. Accepting the Mission (1)

Seohui moved to the building with the yellow roof.

Judging by the brightness of the sun, two people should be fighting at the entrance of the first floor right about now.

Sure enough, it was as expected.

"Missing the rumor that the notorious Taehwang Pavilion's martial artists would come to Mungan Island is a regret that will last a thousand years."

The young man was spewing insults at the man opposite him.

And the conversation flowed just as it used to.

"Don't get too excited. Before I met you, I obtained something. I'll definitely take you with me to the afterlife with it."

"Boastful talk."

The man immediately lunged at the young man.

After that, it was the same.

With a grumble, the man, Jegoh, punched the young man's head.

Of course, it only went that far.

[A golden opportunity! You have discovered a weakness in Jegoh, the Blackened Chief. How will you respond?]

Although Jegoh staggered for a moment, he didn't neglect to be on guard.

Still, the choice text appeared much faster than before.

▶ Attack.

▷ Use martial arts.

▷ Use the tool box.

▷ Approach the opponent.

There would inevitably be a difference from his previous life.

His stats were far higher than before.

['Approach the opponent' has been selected. Which direction will you move to: [East][West][South][North]?]

There was no need to think too much.

Seohui chose the west, behind him.

Pfft!

He immediately moved behind Jegoh.

"Huh!"

Seohui saw Jegoh's startled expression as he realized what had happened.

"If I wanted to kill you, I would have done it already."

Seohui, unconcerned with his opponent, slightly lifted the young man's collar to check if the Heavenly Silk Armor was there.

'Sure enough, it reappears.'

As expected.

The Heavenly Silk Armor he wore when he died was now accurately recreated.

Unlike the items in the tool box, the items reappeared according to the flow of the past when he regressed.

"Tsk!"

Thud.

Jegoh's shoulders slumped.

Judging by his expression, he had already lost his fighting spirit.

He must have realized that Seohui was far superior to him.

"What do you want?"

Jegoh asked.

"Just to have a chat."

Seohui recovered the two bamboo pieces and the Heavenly Silk Armor from the dead young man.

When he looked up at Jegoh, he saw his stats, which he hadn't noticed before.

[State, Status]

Jegoh [Blackened Chief of the 7th Organization of Taehwang Pavilion]

Body: Light internal injuries

[Value, Stats]

Health: 2,311/2,902

Internal Energy: 1,120/1,630

"Are you from Taehwang Pavilion?"

"......Yes."

"Are you the Blackened Chief?"

"......"

The opponent didn't answer readily.

Seohui threw the two bamboo pieces to Jegoh.

"......?"

Jegoh's expression changed subtly.

It was a natural reaction.

Seohui had given him two bamboo pieces used for passing the test for no reason.

Seohui himself had already collected all the pieces, so the rest were unnecessary.

"I'll give you these if you answer my questions."

At this, Jegoh seemed to ponder for a moment, then nodded.

"Ask away."

"Yun. Pan. What do you know about the remaining three tests?"

The reason Seohui didn't kill Jegoh was that he wanted to know more about these tests.

The man named Geun, who guided him to Mungan Island, wouldn't explain, so he had to find out himself.

"Did you come here without knowing what this place is?"

"Isn't it just a place to take the test?"

"......Huh."

Seohui's response made Jegoh laugh in disbelief.

"How can you take the test without knowing its content?......Now that I think about it, it makes sense. Seeing the reason why a person of your caliber chose to enter by selecting the body (身) first."

Seeing Seohui's puzzled expression, he continued more seriously.

"Are you going to let me live?"

"......If you answer well, I will."

"......Hmm."

Jegoh looked at him again, puzzled.

Then, as if he had made up his mind, he spoke.

"Fine. I'll tell you what I know. Each test in Mungan Island has a set order. If you don't follow the order, you can't pass."

"Order...?"

"Yes. Body (身), Speech (言), Judgment (判), and Writing (書). There are four tests in total. Of course, I don't know the order in which the tests should be taken. All I know is that this is the final test of Mungan Island."

"What? The final test?"

Seohui tilted his head.

He had never heard of this.

Choosing the body (身) was supposed to be the end of the test.

Then, in his previous life, what was the test he took after choosing speech (言)?

"I only found out after I came here that the body (身) is the final test. The reason is that the structure is designed to prevent the organizer from monopolizing the treasures in advance."

'Ah!'

Now it made sense.

The test of the body (身).

This place is full of treasures.

But the strong didn't enter from the beginning.

The reason was to make them take this test last.

'The Omada leaders said they would enter at dawn tomorrow.'

Using the treasures inside, they would make the strong fall.

The test of the body (身) in Mungan Island is a mechanism to make even those with weak martial arts fight for their lives.

A true slaughter.

The strong gain more.

"Alright, I'll believe you. Then, why don't you just run away now?"

"......If I don't get the treasure I want by midnight, I will."

"......?"

Jegoh looked up at Seohui, puzzled.

"At dawn tomorrow, those who have completed the three tests will enter. If I can't find a treasure to fight them, I'll leave."

'Those Geun mentioned.'

Jegoh also seemed to know about their existence.

So, he asked out of curiosity.

"How strong are they?"

"They are recognized for their potential even within the Five Corners and Nine Halls of the Demon Sect. In our Taehwang Pavilion, Shin Birang, the Black Gold Chief, will come. He is one of the promising young talents representing the seven organizations of Taehwang Pavilion."

At that moment,

A window suddenly appeared before his eyes.

[A major mission has been discovered.]

Do you accept the request to 'eliminate Shin Birang'?

※ Reward: [Thousand Dragon Pill]

'What?'

The sudden status window.

If it was a major mission, it would be similar to when he dealt with the Red Star in the past.

'Why doesn't Shin Birang have a life value......? Thousand Dragon? Could it be the same Blue Dragon Pill I know?'

Seohui doubted his eyes.

If his guess was correct, this was not just any ordinary elixir.

[Do you want to view the detailed information of the Thousand Dragon Pill?]

Seohui naturally agreed.

○ Thousand Dragon Pill

Description: A high-grade elixir said to be created by a junior scholar from India.

Simultaneously increases a large amount of health and internal energy.

Effect: Health +16,000, Internal Energy +17,000

'Wow, incredible!'

Seohui's eyes sparkled with joy.

A massive increase in internal energy and health, over one jia.

It was an incredible elixir that he couldn't have imagined in his previous life.

'I have to choose this.'

There was no need to hesitate.

He had to take it.

<You have accepted the major mission. The existence of 'Shin Birang,' trusted by the Taehwang Pavilion leader, has been activated.>

○ Taehwang Pavilion Black Gold Chief

Description: The leader of the Black Gold Corps, the strongest martial arts organization among the seven organizations of Taehwang Pavilion.

Deployed to Mungan Island on a mission from the Taehwang Pavilion leader, Sima Gui.

<The status window has been activated.>

[State, Status]

Seohui [Low-Rank Squad Leader]

Body: Normal

[Value, Stats]

Health: 7,306 (↑300) / 7,708

Internal Energy: 3,600 (↑270) / 7,070

Combat Power: 30,000 (New)

Perhaps because his mind-reading skill had improved, a new window showing his status and combat power appeared naturally.

[State, Status]

Shin Birang [Taehwang Pavilion Black Gold Chief]

Body: Normal

Martial Arts Level: Near Perfection (New)

[Value, Stats]

Health: 15,000 / 15,000

Internal Energy: 12,000 / 12,000

Combat Power: 70,000 (New)

A daunting stat, over 10,000, appeared.

'Tough.'

To be precise, it was a crazy stat.

However, while he wouldn't have dared to fight in his previous life, with his current abilities, it was a fight worth trying.

Still, it was a fact that he was at a disadvantage.

He could fight by luck, but a moment of carelessness could cost him his life.

"Do you have any more questions?"

Jegoh, about to leave.

Seohui asked his last question.

"Do you know more about the test content?"

He looked around cautiously before continuing.

"Judgment (判) is about making a judgment. I heard that if the time limit passes, poison is released. If you survive until the set time, you pass; otherwise, you die."

"......Speech (言)?"

"Someone poses a question. If you don't give a satisfactory answer, you die. And Writing (書) is......"

"......"

"I don't know the details, but they give you a book. They pose questions based on what's in the book, and you submit your answers in writing."

"......"

"Alright, I'll leave now. I need to secure as many treasures as possible."

He moved stealthily and disappeared from view.

From the way he collected the two bamboo pieces Seohui gave him, it didn't seem like he had given up hope of living.

'Anyway...... that Geun......'

After Jegoh left, Seohui thought about the spy who was the fourth disciple's subordinate.

He probably knew.

That not knowing the test order meant disqualification.

He had already set up a plan to ensure Seohui wouldn't pass.

"I will definitely become stronger. I must......"

[Do you want to open the tool box?]

Seohui put the Heavenly Silk Armor in the tool box.

With the treasure map in hand,

He couldn't afford to waste any more time.

* * *

Seohui's treasure hunt continued.

He had almost exhausted the treasures from the yellow-roofed building.

However, unfortunately, no useful treasures appeared.

Many weapons other than swords came out, and the healing potions were inferior to the Golden Wound Pills.

There was one thing he managed to get, though.

[You have obtained a Thunderbolt Bomb.]

He unexpectedly got a big catch.

[Tool Box]

<Medicine>

Lotus Root Cake 1 (one bite taken), Golden Wound Pills 2, Iron Blood Toxin Antidote 1

<Equipment>

[Armor] Heavenly Silk Armor

[Weapon] Moon Fragrance Dart 1

[Accessory] Thunderbolt Bomb 1 (New)

<Secret Manual>

Four Great Extreme Demon Arts: Wind (風)

<Miscellaneous>

Mungan Island Treasure Map (7/7)

There were still many treasures left, but Seohui soon gave up.

Now was the time to prepare.

As the day grew darker,

It was more important to recover his depleted internal energy through meditation.

'I wish I had a powerful internal energy cultivation technique right now.'

Swish.

He hid in one place and meditated for quite a while, and it was effective.

He could see his stats gradually increasing.

And when it was past midnight,

Under the moonlit roof, Seohui checked his status.

[Value, Stats]

Health: 7,426 (↑120) / 7,708

Internal Energy: 4,490 (↑890) / 7,070

It was disappointing that his stats didn't increase as much as he hoped, but there was nothing he could do.

Now, the experts Jegoh mentioned would soon enter in large numbers.

He needed to prepare to face them.

Crouching low in the red-roofed building,

He saw someone.

'That's him.'

Seohui instinctively knew that one of them was the Black Gold Chief.

The reason was that the words above the man's head were clearly visible.

<Goal>

It was Shin Birang.