novelraw Chapter 25 : Chapter 25
Chapter 25 : Chapter 25
Chapter 25 - Murim Alliance (5)
‘Hnng.’
Jaun, lying on a bed in the Medical Hall located deep inside the inner court of the Murim Alliance, tossed and turned in discomfort.
He had clearly said he was fine multiple times, but the Murim Alliance officials were unyielding.
“I truly feel fine, but…….”
“What a dangerous thing to say! Didn’t you receive Elder Tak’s sword! Even if you are fine now, we need to observe for another day or two. Don’t even dream of leaving here for the time being.”
At the words of the doctor with a long beard, Jaun let out a small sigh.
Since it was a problem that occurred during the entrance exam, it seemed all related personnel were on edge.
Since they showed no intention of letting him go until they were sure there were no major issues, Jaun eventually let go of his insistence.
‘Since it’s come to this…… I have no choice but to rest a bit.’
Jaun, lying flat on the bed, relaxed his body and closed his eyes, recalling the clash with Tak Mu-bin.
‘It was tremendous speed.’
Along with the feeling that something flashed, he felt Tak Mu-bin’s internal energy at the tip of the sword.
At the moment of the final collision, if Tak Mu-bin hadn’t withdrawn his internal energy, he could have suffered serious internal injuries.
The Diancang sword, containing the essence of a sure-kill strike, was certainly fierce.
Even if the opponent was an Elder of the Murim Alliance, he thought he could withstand it to some extent, but he realized that was great arrogance.
It was absolutely not a level he could handle with his Middle Dantian closed.
‘……I wish I could exchange swords just once more.’
Jaun smacked his lips in regret, but he didn’t think such an opportunity would be given again.
‘People like this must be swarming in the Demonic Cult too.’
With a stiff expression, Jaun slowly recalled the spar with Tak Mu-bin from the beginning again and organized his thoughts.
While Jaun was reflecting on the spar with Tak Mu-bin for a long while like that, a loud voice reached his ears.
“Move!”
Along with a thud-crash sound, Ice Rakshasa, Eun-wol, and Mad Beggar burst open the door of the medicine room and entered.
“Jaun Young Hero!”
“Un-a!”
The three people who barged into the room hurriedly examined Jaun’s body here and there.
“Everyone, please calm down. I am fine.”
Checking Jaun’s appearance which was more intact than expected, only then did the party let out sighs of relief.
“How on earth did this happen?”
At Mad Beggar’s question, Jaun scratched his head and briefly explained what had happened at the exam site.
“You mean Elder Divine Wind Sword came? And…… he used the Sun Shooting Sword?”
Mad Beggar approached with a surprised expression and roughly shook Jaun’s body.
“G-Great Hero! Un-a is still a patient…….”
Mad Beggar, seemingly coming to his senses at Eun-wol’s restraint, coughed dryly in embarrassment.
“Ahem. I am sorry. Elder Divine Wind Sword is someone I respect greatly. How did someone who rarely comes out of the Council of Elders…….”
“……Divine Wind Sword, and Diancang’s Sun Shooting.”
Ice Rakshasa, retracing her memories after hearing Jaun’s words, clapped her hands as if something came to mind.
“Ah! Tak Mu-bin, the Butcher of Diancang. You’re talking about that person, right?”
At Ice Rakshasa’s words that burst out suddenly, Mad Beggar turned his head with a look of absurdity.
“To call Elder Tak a butcher right in the middle of the Murim Alliance……. I knew from long ago that you weren’t in your right mind, but…….”
Without caring about Mad Beggar muttering in disbelief, Ice Rakshasa continued speaking.
“Ten years ago, leading twenty members of the Waning Moon Sword Squad of Diancang, he annihilated a total of eight sects including the Gold Clothes Sect, a large sect of the Unorthodox Faction, leaving not even a single ant alive. Isn’t it fair for our side to call him a butcher?”
At Ice Rakshasa’s words, Mad Beggar shook his head from side to side.
“Th-that person with not even a speck of manners……”
Without pretending to hear Mad Beggar’s words, Ice Rakshasa asked Jaun again.
“Well, anyway, you fought with someone quite skilled? The Murim Alliance must really have nothing to do. For the Divine Wind Sword to oversee an entrance exam.”
Mad Beggar, whose face was changing colors between red and blue while watching Ice Rakshasa speak nonchalantly, looked back as if sensing something.
Mad Beggar’s face, which had been flushed red, turned pale this time.
“E-Elder.”
At Mad Beggar’s words, the party looked back simultaneously.
Tak Mu-bin, who was slowly pushing the door open from outside, coughed dryly with a bitter expression.
“Ahem…… Butcher. It’s been a while since I heard that.”
Ice Rakshasa’s body stiffened instantly upon discovering Tak Mu-bin entering the room.
She had sensed someone’s presence, but she hadn’t expected it to be Tak Mu-bin himself.
‘I never thought a person holding the position of Elder in the Murim Alliance would come all the way to the medicine room to see a mere applicant……!’
Ice Rakshasa hurriedly took a step forward with a surprised face.
“That…… G-Great Hero, I have no personal feelings. Our Sado Alliance originally doesn’t pay attention to matters unless they are related to us……. Upon hearing the name Divine Wind Sword, the content I heard before came to mind…….”
Perhaps quite flustered, Ice Rakshasa rambled and then bowed her head deeply.
Watching Ice Rakshasa standing without knowing what to do, Tak Mu-bin smiled broadly.
“It is fine. It was my lack of virtue in not being able to hold back boiling anger, and a mistake of my youth, so what can be done. Do not mind it too much.”
Bearing a bitter smile and glancing down once at the sword at his waist, Tak Mu-bin turned his head back towards Ice Rakshasa.
“Listening to the conversation, it seems you are Miss Ice Rakshasa Pan Bing-yeong, who came as an envoy of the Sado Alliance this time……. Is my thought correct?”
“Yes. That is correct. I will greet you formally. I am called Pan Bing-yeong, Great Hero Divine Wind Sword.”
Ice Rakshasa bowed her head towards Tak Mu-bin.
“Nice to meet you. Your spirit exceeds the rumors. The Murim Alliance should be tense as well.”
Tak Mu-bin, glancing once at the people standing around, nodded his head.
“Excellent people are bound to be together by the side of a good talent. It seems my eyes were not wrong.”
Tak Mu-bin looked around once again and then turned his head towards Jaun.
“You said your name is…… Jaun, right?”
When Jaun tried to rise from his seat, Tak Mu-bin approached quickly and laid Jaun down again.
“It is fine. Consider the greeting received. How is your body?”
“I am fine. Thanks to your care at the end…….”
“That is a relief. I was very worried wondering if I had hurt a rising star with a bright future.”
Tak Mu-bin, examining Jaun here and there with eyes full of curiosity, opened his mouth again.
“May I ask you one question.”
“Of course.”
At Tak Mu-bin’s question, Jaun nodded his head.
“At that time, did you see my sword?”
“Not at all. I couldn’t verify anything with my eyes.”
Tak Mu-bin, who was fiddling with his sword upon hearing Jaun’s words, nodded quietly.
“Then it means you instinctively flowed the sword away……. Hah. To think I would meet such a talent at a place I went for amusement.”
Tak Mu-bin looked at Jaun with warm eyes.
“You have a sense for the sword. Such a sense is not created by diligently practicing martial arts. You were born with the talent.”
Tak Mu-bin looked down at Jaun’s hands, which were full of calluses.
“Furthermore, you didn’t settle for your innate talent but have made efforts to reach the First-Rate realm at that age……. I am looking forward to seeing how far you will grow in the future. Watching you grow will make my later years not boring.”
Tak Mu-bin, staring intently at Jaun’s face with a satisfied smile, continued speaking.
“Ah, right. I came to deliver news and was just babbling about other things. The result of the Murim Alliance entrance exam is a pass. Since you wanted the Anti-Demon Squad, you will be assigned there.”
“Thank you.”
“Rest sufficiently, and when your body is fine, go visit then. You just need to find Squad Leader Yeon Seung-il of Squad 30 of the Anti-Demon Squad. Since I gave him a hint in advance, Squad Leader Yeon will also be preparing to receive you.”
Instantly, Mad Beggar squinted his eyes.
Mad Beggar, who hesitated as if pondering for a moment, bowed deeply at the waist and opened his mouth.
“Elder. If it is Squad 30…….”
Tak Mu-bin, glancing at Mad Beggar who trailed off, nodded with a bitter expression.
“Squad 30, the reconnaissance squad. That is correct. Elders including the Strategist held a meeting for a long time, but eventually, it was decided so. I am equally regretful, but…… it is a decision already made. It can’t be helped.”
“However…….”
“I know well what you are worried about. But under Squad Leader Yeon, he will be able to learn many things. Use it as an opportunity for growth and do your best, and there will be another opportunity, so do not be too disheartened.”
When Tak Mu-bin finished speaking, Mad Beggar glanced at Jaun with a slightly frustrated expression.
The Anti-Demon Squad consisted of a total of thirty squads, and among them, from Squad 25 to Squad 30 were classified as reconnaissance squads.
Their mission was to check the movements of the Demonic Cult at the forefront, and in case of emergency, engage with the Demonic Cult right there to buy time.
Since it was a squad that did the hardest and most difficult work that no one recognized, it was a place everyone avoided.
‘Why the reconnaissance squad of all places…….’
Mad Beggar looked at Jaun with eyes saying it was pitiful.
From Squad 16 to Squad 24 were named support squads, tasked with moving as quickly as possible to provide combat support while the reconnaissance squad bought time, and the combat squads, where Squad 1 to Squad 15 belonged, were ultimately deployed to the battlefield to finish the situation.
Consequently, most children of the Nine Great Sects and One Beggar Clan and the Five Great Families were positioned in the combat squads where they could secure merits most safely and brilliantly, and the position most rising stars wanted was also the combat squad.
Inevitably, children of small and medium sects or nameless families had to belong to the reconnaissance squads and support squads, which received relatively less light.
‘A dangerous and difficult but unglamorous position.’
Among them, Squad 30 was the squad deployed first to the most dangerous areas.
The one comfort he could have was that the Squad Leader Yeon Seung-il was a master who had reached the Peak Realm.
Considering that most other squad leaders were at the First-Rate level, that part alone could have a positive influence on Jaun.
‘Just what is the Strategist thinking.’
Since he had been thinking that with Jaun’s martial prowess, he could secure a position as a combat squad leader within the Anti-Demon Squad, Mad Beggar sighed at the result different from his thoughts.
Tak Mu-bin, watching Mad Beggar’s reaction, spoke first.
“Future Beggar. You said you spent quite some time with Jaun Young Hero, right? I understand that you, having watched Jaun Young Hero from the side for a long time, have no choice but to think this is an inappropriate personnel appointment.”
“Elder.”
“However, since the decision from above came out like that, just watch for a little while. Still, it is a place where Squad Leader Yeon Seung-il, the only one in the Anti-Demon Squad who has reached the Peak Realm, is present, so wouldn’t it be better than other reconnaissance squads?”
“But…….”
“Enough. It is a decision already made. After some time passes, I will make a suggestion again. I also feel sufficiently that he is not an ordinary child. Naturally, I must support this child as much as possible so he can go on the right path.”
Ice Rakshasa, who alternately examined Tak Mu-bin’s sparkling eyes and Jaun’s calm eyes, bit her lip tightly.
‘Listening to the story, it doesn’t seem like he was assigned to a very good place……. But Jaun Young Hero himself doesn’t seem to mind much.’
Ice Rakshasa, who had inwardly hoped that Jaun would feel the limits in the Murim Alliance and move to the Sado Alliance, became anxious.
‘Besides, if it’s Yeon Seung-il, it seems to be that person, the Sword Ghost of Hainan. If it’s a martial artist of that level, that person will also notice Jaun Young Hero’s true value soon.’
Ice Rakshasa, watching the scene where Tak Mu-bin and Jaun continued their small talk, chewed her lip.
“It seems I have unnecessarily disturbed a patient’s rest. Let’s let the patient rest now…… Mad Beggar, how about you talk a bit more with me? I am curious about that child’s track record that you have seen with your own eyes.”
“Of course, Elder. Then let us move rooms. Since we saw that Jaun Young Hero is safe, let us also vacate the place so he can rest a bit.”
Mad Beggar spoke looking at Eun-wol and Ice Rakshasa, and then guided Tak Mu-bin and moved his steps out of the medicine room.
Following behind Mad Beggar and Tak Mu-bin who left first, Eun-wol and Ice Rakshasa exchanged brief farewells with Jaun and moved their steps.
Ice Rakshasa, about to leave the door of the medicine room, turned her body and looked at Jaun’s figure for the last time.
Ice Rakshasa clenched her fist tightly without anyone knowing.
‘It’s a situation where even an Elder of the Murim Alliance has taken notice in just one day. I can’t leave it like this.’
Leaving the medicine room, Ice Rakshasa separated from the party and began to walk alone in a different direction.