Chapter 9

Chapter 8: Creating a Tool Box (1)

Midday. At the main gate of Taehwang Pavilion.

It was the information that Gonma had brought after a day had passed.

And perhaps the divine machinations had started again.

As soon as the words ended,

something new was projected before his eyes.

<You have obtained your first mission.>

The status window is activated.

Seohwi was not surprised.

The unfamiliar term "status window" did not even raise a question for him.

He could understand the subsequent text that appeared as the "status window."

[State, 상태]

Seohwi [Low-Rank Squad Leader]

Body: Right arm disabled (movement restricted)

[Value, 수치]

Health: 105/105

Internal Energy: 240/240

[Skill, 기술]

Core Martial Arts: Machienyun, Heumachilgeum, Sohima

Attack Techniques: Weak Sword Wind (劍風)

However, what stimulated Seohwi's nerves was not just his own status.

It was the fact that the other's status also appeared.

[State, 상태]

Jeongmyeong [Upper Agency Squad Leader]

Body: Normal

[Value, 수치]

Health: 1,404/1,404

Internal Energy: 1,560/1,560

[Skill, 기술]

Owned Martial Arts: Muhyeongshinma (無影神魔), Yukgakshintae (六脚迅腿), Gwiyeongjabo (鬼影刺步)

Attack Techniques: Sword Wind (劍風), Circular Wind (回線風), Leg Wind (脚風)

Defense Techniques: Yunhoibo (雲回步)

“I have a question.”

Seohwi grabbed Gonma, who was about to turn away.

He had something he wanted to ask.

“Before you came to Cheonil Pavilion, where did you live, Gonma?”

“…Why are you curious about that?”

“Because it’s important to me. More than anything.”

Gonma, who had switched to a formal tone, silently looked down at Seohwi.

He seemed to be trying to gauge his intentions.

“Well, when I have nothing special to do, I’m usually at the top of Cheonil Pavilion. Is that satisfactory?”

Then, perhaps seeing no reason to hide it, he said:

“Thank you. Then I will kill him and come back.”

“Alright.”

With that, Gonma left.

Seohwi, who had been standing in the empty room for a moment, moved his hand toward his sword.

“Gonma… You must think I can’t kill Jeongmyeong, right?”

As a squad leader of the Biakjo, a low-rank among the low, he must have been certain that Seohwi couldn’t bring down the leader of the Black Moon.

“So, you must have sent me to fight him to get rid of me.”

To a Heavenly Horse disciple, everyone might seem the same, but the ranks themselves are different.

The Biakjo is a temporary group of low-ranking warriors, while the Black Moon is a formally affiliated unit within Taehwang Pavilion.

“However, you have a major misconception.”

The text that appeared before him caught his eye.

Seohwi focused on one of them.

“There is definitely a way for me to survive this fight.”

[Value, 수치]

Health: 1,404

The lowest value among Jeongmyeong’s abilities.

Of course, it is much higher than his own, but that is not the point.

What health represents.

If his understanding is correct, if this value is gone, he will die.

And the way to kill him is.

It seemed like a stroke of luck, but it was actually a skill he had obtained as if guided by someone.

Core Martial Arts: Machienyun, Heumachilgeum, Sohima

Seohwi gripped his sword.

The curse that was on him.

However, this curse shows him a path.

He doesn’t know where it will lead, but the many characters that have appeared before him.

They tell him not to give up on life.

“I will definitely survive. Survive to…”

Seohwi turned his head.

The empty door that Gonma had left open.

He clenched his teeth as he looked at it.

“I will rule over you all!”

* * *

Seohwi remembered the changes that occurred when he used Sohima.

The shadow it created seemed to generate something akin to sword qi.

Of course, he couldn’t perfectly manifest this energy.

But it was enough.

If he could accurately hit Jeongmyeong’s vital points with this energy…

“Ha! Hap!”

Seohwi extended the energy toward the wall.

Crack! Crack!

Cracks began to form in the stone wall. After gathering his focus and thrusting his sword again,

Pak! Bang!

The cracks became more visible.

“It’s definitely different from sword wind.”

Seohwi, who had been practicing for quite some time, looked down at his sword.

It was a power he had never experienced in his previous life.

The mist-like energy spreading from the tip of the sword showed him a different world.

‘If I could squeeze out all my internal energy at once…’

Then it would be even more powerful.

If he was lucky, he might even be able to generate an energy similar to sword qi.

“Now… it’s time.”

Seohwi said as he walked out of the door.

A long stick was visible in front of the door, used to measure time.

The long shadow.

It was getting close to the time Gonma had mentioned.

“Seohwi. No need to be scared.”

He called out his own name.

He tried to think it was no big deal, but that didn’t make the fear go away.

“After all, I’ve died many times. Even if I just disappear… that’s all.”

He pulled the sword to his chest.

He attached it to his chest, not his waist, for a one-strike kill.

Not only for a surprise attack, but also because he wouldn’t have the time to draw his sword when he met Jeongmyeong.

Pfft.

Seohwi moved toward the main gate of Taehwang Pavilion.

It was the moment of destiny.

* * *

When do people relax?

When they eat?

Or when they meet their loved ones?

If not, when they go to bed?

“Hell, when they take a shit.”

Seohwi could confidently say.

And what made him even more certain of this method was:

“He takes a long time on the toilet.”

That was Seohwi’s thought.

In fact, he had observed Jeongmyeong for a long time.

He got beaten when he was bored, when he was annoyed, and when he was just in a bad mood.

The more he got beaten, the more he thought about ways to bring him down.

And the answer was always the same.

Crawl under the toilet and eliminate him when he’s most relaxed.

In any case, his goal was to kill him.

“This is the best place.”

After passing a few buildings, Seohwi arrived at a small hill.

Hyangnakshil (享樂實).

Under the strange sign.

A few outhouses were set up between roughly placed zelkova trees, the exclusive back area of the Black Moon.

“When I find him, I’ll take off my clothes first.”

Jeongmyeong is a higher-level martial artist.

To deal with someone who reacts to subtle movements or sounds, he had to take off his clothes.

Additionally, entering the toilet would reduce his presence even more.

‘After all, I just need to kill this guy.’

Seohwi clenched his teeth.

It was dirty and painful, but this one time would be enough.

One time to kill him.

He crouched in a place where he could see the bottom of the hill and waited for the right moment.

For Jeongmyeong to come up.

* * *

Night fell.

Seohwi was hiding and waiting for the right moment.

A few Black Moon members passed by, but he hadn’t come yet.

He wanted to go find out what he was doing, but he stopped himself.

There was no need to raise suspicion.

‘Huh?’

Thump, thump.

A figure passing through the narrow path caught his eye.

The yellow lights between the buildings were visible, but Seohwi could tell who it was just by his appearance.

‘He’s here!’

Pfft, pfft.

Seohwi quickly took off his clothes and buried them in the ground he had dug earlier.

He rushed into the Hyangnakshil, opened a door, and threw himself into the outhouse.

“Ugh!”

He covered his nose as he came down, but the unimaginable smell made him groan.

‘I need to get used to it.’

Plop!

Seohwi pushed his face into the sticky feces.

He had to be prepared.

He couldn’t miss this one chance just because of the smell.

Swoosh.

Seohwi, grimacing, lifted his head again. He gripped his sword and waited for him to come.

Creak.

‘He’s here.’

The sound of the door opening made Seohwi’s nerves tingle.

The smell that had been piercing his nose was gradually fading due to the tension.

“Hmm.”

Swoosh.

As the sound of Jeongmyeong lowering his pants was heard, Seohwi’s eyes scanned the surroundings.

‘Where? Where is he defecating?’

In the pitch-black darkness, Seohwi strained his ears to find the target.

And a moment later.

Plop.

‘The far right.’

Seohwi’s eyes gleamed.

At the same time, caution flashed through his mind.

‘Slowly. Move so slowly that the opponent doesn’t notice.’

Swoosh, swoosh.

Plop, plop, crack!

Jeongmyeong, perhaps feeling unwell, continued to defecate. The more he did, the more excited Seohwi became.

The louder the fart, the more it would mask his presence.

After some time had passed,

‘Almost there.’

Seohwi’s gaze moved upward.

Two faint half-moons were faintly visible.

‘One… one time.’

Seohwi gathered all his internal energy.

Just one time.

He had to pour everything into this one strike to kill him.

As Seohwi slowly raised his sword,

Squish!

Something heavy fell on his face.

Shiver, shiver.

‘Ah…’

Seohwi silently trembled.

This time, it was really… dangerous.

It was a crisis that could have cost him his life.

‘I must kill this guy!’

But the determination to kill him at all costs held onto his sanity.

Swoosh.

Seohwi, readjusting his grip on the sword,

gathered all his internal energy in his dantian and infused it into the sword.

Just as he was about to thrust the sword straight according to the Sohima technique,

Boom.

A long, thick piece of feces fell.

‘Damn it!’

A curse slipped out, but Seohwi used his wits.

He tilted his head back and drew a semicircle to avoid it, then quickly swung his sword.

However, unexpected and strange text appeared before his eyes.

[Using the Great Sword!]

‘What?’

Not only that,

the following text was also new to him.

[A golden opportunity! You have found a gap in the enemy. Inflicting massive damage!]

As he accepted it, Seohwi’s body moved out of his control, and the sword moved.

‘No—no!’

Seohwi was filled with despair.

He had tried to throw the sword, but something blocked him, and he ended up just swinging it.

He had failed to ambush and had made a presence that the opponent could notice.

“Keh!”

Despite that, there was a satisfying feeling.

The sight of Jeongmyeong’s buttocks splitting like a watermelon was visible.

Seohwi, shocked, looked at his sword in the feces.

The faint energy coming from the tip of the sword due to divine machinations.

It was, surprisingly,

sword qi (劍氣).