I Became the Genius Mage of the Martial Academy

Chapter 88 : Blood Fiend Seo Muk-ho (3)

A moment later, Namgung Bihwa, who had revealed her appearance, was surprisingly fine.

Other than a partially pierced mark on her side, she was standing in her usual aloof manner.

Her breathing was a bit rough, so it seemed she had internal injuries, but Baek Hasin, who had received her sword until now, was similar.

“Let’s call it a draw.”

At my words, Namgung Bihwa pouted her eyes and then asked this way.

“…Did you control your strength at the end?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

She was sharp, as expected.

I answered appropriately so as not to reveal my inner thoughts and then looked at Namgung Bihwa’s pierced side. Seeing as she was hunched over with her shoulders down as if uncomfortable, it seemed there was a shock.

The reason why I hadn’t put all my strength into my magic was precisely that.

Because unlike a sword, once a magic was shot, it was extremely difficult to stop it in the middle.

And what’s more, in a situation where there was no one to stop me, if I were to recklessly pour out all my firepower, the risk of injury would also increase.

I couldn’t hospitalize her for about a week like Baek Cheong, could I?

We had dueled to see each other’s skills and compatibility, but if this were to happen, it would be a complete waste.

As if she had noticed my expression, Namgung Bihwa frowned slightly.

“Unnecessary concern…”

She, who had been quietly touching her injured area, finally let out a sigh.

“I lost. The ‘two of you’ are really strong. So how am I?”

A strangely pointed remark. But I didn’t care about such things.

“You passed.”

She had pushed us this much against our combination, so there was no way she wouldn’t pass.

Baek Hasin was also expressing his agreement from the side.

“Do you have any injuries?”

“No, it’s an internal injury that will heal after one session of qi circulation.”

Namgung Bihwa answered, looking over her body nonchalantly.

She wasn’t the type to bluff or lie about something like this. So it must be true.

I nodded my head and then concluded.

“No matter how strong Seo Muk-ho is, I think it will be fine if the three of us stick together. Let’s wait for the support personnel until tomorrow and then leave for Anhui Province right away.”

There was no rebuttal to my words. Everyone just nodded their heads or remained silent as if they agreed.

“Then let’s do that. Let’s meet again at the intermediate student building after tomorrow morning.”

We came to a proper conclusion and then dispersed from our spots.

* * *

“To think they wouldn’t provide support…”

I clicked my tongue, looking at the rejection seal stamped on the support request form.

I had thought they would at least attach an instructor-level person, but to think they would just leave us be.

‘Do they not care if we get hurt?’

The funny thing was that even if they left us like this, if a student were to get hurt or die, they would definitely take revenge.

What should I say, it was like a parent who usually neglects you but gets angry like fire if you come back beaten up from somewhere.

Thanks to that, the students who had failed during their missions were often kidnapped and had a ransom placed on them.

Because if they were to recklessly kill a student of the Martial Academy, the professors and instructors dispatched from the Martial Academy and the support troops of the Martial Alliance would sweep the area.

As a result, the survival rate of the students who had failed their missions had increased significantly, so it wasn’t a bad policy, but that was something you could only hope for from an opponent with whom you could negotiate.

If it were a blood fiend, a slaughtering demon who acts without thinking, they would deal with this side first without any questions.

‘That’s why I was expecting more support.’

I said, shaking the paper with the rejection seal stamped on it at the two people standing behind me with a look of disappointment.

“This is how it turned out. We have no choice but to go by ourselves.”

Still, since they were all individuals who were at least at the level of a peak master or higher, they were not pushed back in terms of power.

Of course, it was a martial world where you didn’t know what kind of anomaly would happen in a real battle.

We got on the carriage bound for Anhui.

“So how are we going to find him?”

When I was sitting squeezed in on one side with Baek Hasin, Namgung Bihwa asked from the opposite side.

More than half of a bounty hunt is finding the opponent. Since the battle is quick, the tracking process usually took longer.

And the fact that a bounty had been placed on a large scale, even up to the surrounding regions, also meant that they had not been able to find the opponent until then.

I asked her back in reverse.

“Since you applied first, I thought you would have a separate method.”

“Because you’re from the Zhuge family. I was wondering if you had a scheme to play with the opponent like in the last friendly exchange match.”

Ah, come to think of it, among the reasons why Namgung Bihwa might be wary of me, there was also the misunderstanding of the friendly exchange match.

At that time, I had deliberately inflated the gossip for the sake of the stage I wanted, but looking back, I had done something I was sorry for.

But forgiveness is something you can ask for. I decided to resolve her remaining grudge with my competence. I calmly rummaged through my bosom and opened my mouth.

“There is, of course. A very standard and effective method.”

“……?”

And then I took out a bundle of bills from inside.

“I’m talking about the Haomun.”

Since mankind has been accumulating capital, there is a saying that is valid in any era.

If there is something that cannot be done with money, you should consider whether it is because you don’t have enough money.

At my appearance, Namgung Bihwa showed a look of doubt.

“Don’t you think it might be cheating?”

“Of course not. The Martial Alliance also gets information in this way.”

It’s like the black cat, white cat theory. It doesn’t matter what the rabbit is like, as long as you catch it.

Even in modern times, students build up their specs with money and connections, so why couldn’t they do it in the central plains?

The Martial Academy was flexible in areas other than combat. Getting information was also one of those methods. In that sense, the Haomun was, so to speak, like an entrance exam consultant.

Of course, just because there was flexibility didn’t mean that everything was allowed. During combat, you could not receive help from outside personnel.

External activities were, after all, to gain experience in the martial world and to evaluate those achievements. You should not covet anything beyond your individual performance.

Because if that were possible, those who had the backing of a sect or a clan, who could receive help from the martial forces under their family, would have been overwhelmingly advantageous.

To put it simply, it was even possible to do the monstrous act of just entrusting the hunt to the family’s employees and earning credits.

Of course, after the student returned and the external activities were over, the details of how they had acted were all investigated, and they were even subjected to a second and third cross-verification with the sword marks left on the corpse.

If there was a suspicious part in that process, they would even distinguish the lie with a pulse diagnosis during an interview with a super-master like a professor, so there was no room for manipulation.

Because if you were caught having manipulated your credits, you would be expelled without any reason.

“But the information fee will be quite high, won’t it?”

In the rattling carriage, this time Baek Hasin, who was sitting next to me, asked.

“It doesn’t matter.”

The money I had received from the family earlier was quite a lot. To think that being born in one of the five great families would be this helpful.

I raised my voice in the carriage so that even Namgung Bihwa could hear.

“None of us are in a hurry for the bounty, are we? I’ll pay for the information for now, so you guys just block them well in the front.”

Of course, since it was dangerous information, the information fee could sometimes be higher than the bounty.

Although it was a case where the belly was bigger than the baby, I was also a person for whom credits were more important than money.

And so, we spent our time discussing our future plans, our deployment in battle, our strategies, and so on.

On the second day, the carriage that had been running finally came to a stop. It was finally our first destination.

Although I didn’t know if we would move to the center of Anhui Province or go to another province later, it was better to go by boat from here.

The door of the carriage opened, and we stepped onto the hill. Beyond the open view, Gangju revealed its appearance beyond the wide river at the border entering Anhui Province.

Gangju, a trading city where dozens of ships were docked along the main stream of the Yangtze River. We entered its interior.

‘I hear there’s a Haomun branch here.’

The last place where Seo Muk-ho’s whereabouts were witnessed was right around here. Since he had been heading south from the north, where the center of Anhui Province was, there was a high possibility that he had passed through Gangju, the center of logistics.

The Haomun also had a high possibility of knowing this.

‘But they must have left him alone because there was no reason to take on that much manpower and sacrifice.’

Blood fiends, that is, monsters who had barely set foot in the unstable super-peak from the extreme of the peak through the rampage of blood, were a dangerous force in themselves.

Although the Haomun also had a martial force that matched its scale, it was a losing business to call in a master of the peak-level extreme for just about 2,600 nyang, which was the price of a low-grade elixir.

Because if one or two peak-level martial artists were to be seriously injured or even permanently disabled in that process, it would be a greater loss.

Come to think of it, you could say that the bounty was low compared to the danger of Seo Muk-ho, but in the martial world, the price of a life is cheap.

Especially since figures of the unorthodox and heretical paths, such as blood fiends, were ostracized and sought to be killed by any righteous path, they were bound to be killed by those who were seeking fame or doing good deeds.

So the bounty system was a strong means of making the public’s achievements known to a slightly larger number of righteous path people. And in that process, they also gave a bounty as well.

In the first place, since the central plains was overflowing with evil people and people to be killed, it was even more so. There were overflowing people to be caught and killed, but the land was so damn wide that you didn’t know when they would be caught, and even so, you couldn’t just leave the evil people alone, so in most cases, they had formally placed a bounty, saying, ‘This guy is a bad guy.’

So there were many cases where they came to receive the bounty a few years after the government or a group had registered them as a wanted criminal.

We, who had changed our clothes, hid our student status and went around the shopping street, which was bustling with people, and then headed to the branch of the Haomun.

Perhaps because it was a commercial city that prospered along the river, the Haomun branch was in a three-story wooden building.

Although there was a minimum of camouflage, it was interesting that it was in a prime location, openly.

‘Did they hide a tree in a forest?’

When I spoke the secret language according to the procedure, a servant came out from inside and began to guide us.

And so, when we entered the interior, what was revealed was the front of a door that was blocked by a cold iron lattice. I could feel a hardness that could not be easily broken.

I handed 50 nyang to the servant who was politely holding out his two hands in front of the lattice door. Then the lattice door opened smoothly.

“Welcome. You’re looking for information.”

I looked at a woman who seemed to be in her mid-30s, who was sitting inside. A being whose price was worth just one visit.

She was the branch manager of the Haomun in Gangju.

“What are you looking for?”

“Specific information on the current whereabouts of Seo Muk-ho.”

I stated my business briefly. I could have used honorifics, but it’s not like they would lower the price for that. It’s better to just use informal speech.

“It’s 2,200 nyang.”

Then the answer came back.

“It’s too expensive.”

As much as I had braced myself for some financial loss, I could just pay it, but to think that the information fee was as expensive as the bounty, I couldn’t help but protest.

“The price is fixed.”

The opponent answered nonchalantly. Still, she was a branch manager-level figure. It meant that she wouldn’t rip me off with something like this.

But there was a contradiction in those words.

The price of information changes. And even more so in a situation like this.

‘It’s not a good idea to just pay the money obediently like this.’

I was lost in thought for a moment.

‘If it’s this price, it means that it’s a very close and up-to-date information among the information of the Haomun.’

After a short calculation, I asked an additional question.

“If it’s this price, the whereabouts must be very accurate, right?”

At my question, the branch manager answered as if it were a matter of course.

“It’s accurate.”

“The location and the time too?”

“I’ll tell you if you pay the price.”

“You want to receive 2,200 nyang without even giving this much of a definite answer?”

“Please trust the Haomun. That’s why you paid the entrance fee and came to visit, isn’t it?”

As expected of a branch manager, her way of speaking was skillful. She stared this way nonchalantly. But with just the previous reaction, I had already gotten half the answer.

After organizing my thoughts, I started with a light common sense.

“The price of information changes depending on the situation.”

“…That’s about right.”

“What if I already know his whereabouts and only need the exact location?”

At my question, her lips twisted, and she rolled the corner of her mouth.

“That’s a play on words. In any case, it’s the same as asking for the location.”

“No. If it’s that amount, it might be better to just hire a tracker and find him myself.”

At my words, she was silent.

Although she had said that the price of information was fixed earlier, since information is volatile, it also changes depending on the situation.

In the midst of the silence, I threw an additional blow.

“The position and the situation are different.”

“What kind of?”

“Because we know his last whereabouts. It’s right around here.”

At my words, she narrowed her brow.

“That’s a conjecture.”

There was a good reason for that. I brought out the story I had prepared in my head.

“Seo Muk-ho was spotted south of Gangju. In terms of time, it’s information from ten days ago. It must be the busiest time for the Haomun’s manpower. Then if you’re saying you’re still tracking his movements, it means he hasn’t gone that far.”

In the midst of the branch manager’s silence, my reasoning continued.

“Since it’s this time, it won’t be the south, so Seo Muk-ho must be in this vicinity or in the north.”

“……”

In the tense silence, I spat out a line of triumph.

“If it’s narrowed down this much, it would be cheaper to just go to the beggars in each city and make a request. I’m sure I can find a decent clue for about 500 nyang. You don’t think the only information agency in Gangju is the Haomun, do you?”

At my words, the branch manager finally let out a sigh.

“Let’s make it 1,200 nyang.”

The price dropped significantly. I thought about haggling more, but I felt a certain will in the branch manager’s eyes, so it seemed there was no chance.

Realizing that words can repay a thousand nyang debt, I soon took out a bill and placed it on the table.

“I’ll hear where Seo Muk-ho is now, whether he’s alone or with others, and if so, who he’s with, and what his physical condition is.”

“I never thought I’d be cornered by students like this.”

‘So she knew.’

I had deliberately changed my clothes and hidden my identity to avoid being ripped off, but it seemed it was obvious.

With a faint sigh, the branch manager soon began her explanation.

Perhaps because she was trying to earn her money, the information about Seo Muk-ho’s past evil deeds and the reason for his escape was detailed.

And so, the continuous information stopped for a moment at the part where he was trying to escape from Anhui Province and flee to another province.

“He tried to go to Jiangxi Province by boat, but he failed because the various sects from all over the country gathered one after another.”

“The various sects gathered?”

Baek Hasin, who had been listening quietly from behind, made a questioning voice, and I immediately cut off his question and asked the information dealer.

“Then where did Seo Muk-ho end up going?”

“He didn’t go.”

The branch manager’s short answer. I reacted sharply to it.

“Then…”

“It’s right here. The place where he’s hiding.”

Under the luminous pearl, the branch manager’s eyes, which had completely pocketed the bill, shone faintly.

“Seo Muk-ho, he’s still here.

(End of Chapter)