The old blacksmith blinked at Chun-bong and Seo-jun's confident replies, then slowly shuffled back to sit on a chair.
"Oh..."
Seo-jun, who had expected a confrontation, looked at Chun-bong with a dumbfounded expression.
"What are you looking at?"
"Nothing, it's not a big deal."
So this is how normal conversations go in the martial world? Seo-jun followed Chun-bong with a strange realization.
Chun-bong stood in front of the few swords on display and carefully scanned them with her eyes.
"Hmm... They're not completely useless. Go ahead, pick one."
"Me?"
What do I know about picking a sword? Seo-jun looked at Chun-bong with eyes asking for help, and she clicked her tongue.
"Just pick one already! If you choose something terrible, I'll stop you."
"You're so foul-mouthed, what will you do about that?"
Chun-bong glared at him.
"If it weren't for you—"
"Just die."
Ignoring the irritated Chun-bong, Seo-jun examined the swords.
Most of them were similar in length, about what you'd expect from a typical longsword.
They were Chinese-style double-edged swords, and as he lifted each one, the balance didn't seem too bad.
"Not bad."
At least by my standards, they seemed okay.
Among the fairly similar swords, the one that caught his eye was...
"I'll take this one."
After Seo-jun chose a sword, Chun-bong, who had been inspecting it closely, nodded.
"Your eyes aren't too bad."
Chun-bong snatched the sword and walked over to the old blacksmith, slapping it down on the counter.
"Let's settle the price."
"Hmm..."
The old man squinted, leaned back, and then finally seemed to focus, nodding in agreement.
"One nyang."
"Silver?"
"What else would it be, if not silver?"
"Is this old man crazy? Half a nyang. I can't give you more."
After a brief negotiation, Chun-bong managed to cut the price in half. Seo-jun clapped at her impressive bargaining skills, and Chun-bong clicked her tongue.
"That was the real price to begin with, idiot."
"Ah, I see."
On their way home from the blacksmith, with just a small amount of money left to buy food, Seo-jun was humming a tune, feeling the weight of the sword at his waist, while Chun-bong scoffed.
"Are you happy?"
"Very happy."
"You're ridiculous."
Chun-bong grabbed his wrist, stopping him. She looked into his eyes, then furrowed her brows and asked seriously,
"Do you understand what it means to step into the martial world?"
"Isn't it just about swinging a sword and possibly getting killed?"
"If that's all it was, I wouldn't even bother talking to you."
Chun-bong stepped closer and tapped the sword hanging at Seo-jun's waist.
"The grudges in the martial world are like tangled threads that can never be undone. You've already taken your first step into that world."
She's referring to when I smashed those criminals' heads in. Seo-jun nodded, and Chun-bong, who had been staring directly at him, let out a deep sigh.
"Anyway, do well. If you're going to do this, don't stop. The moment you stop, someone behind you will stab you."
"Why do you talk like I'm about to die?"
"When did I say that, you idiot?"
Seo-jun put his hand on Chun-bong's head, who was making a grumpy face.
"You little brat. I'll succeed and take good care of you."
"You bastard...! Get your hand off my head!"
As Seo-jun playfully ruffled her hair, Chun-bong seemed to enjoy it despite herself.
What a cute little thing.
When the day comes that I see Chun-bong off to be married, I might actually feel a bit sad.
Back at home, just as Seo-jun was about to inspect his sword, Chun-bong stuck her head in, glaring.
"So, you said you'd tell me when we got home."
"Tell you what?"
"How to do the finger blast technique, you jerk!"
"Oh."
It was just something I said to keep her quiet.
Seo-jun, after thinking for a moment, spoke honestly.
"It just felt like it would work, so I tried, and it did."
"Just die already. If you don't want to tell me, just say so."
"No! I'm serious!"
Seo-jun, after some consideration, tried gathering qi at his fingertips again and explained the vague sensation.
"You just gather it at your fingertip, and then... bam! Like that."
"That technique isn't supposed to be so easy!"
"But it works, so what do you want me to say?"
Like how we don't consciously vibrate our vocal cords to make sound, I just did what felt right, and it worked.
After a long explanation, Chun-bong finally seemed to accept it, resting her chin in her hand.
"This shitty world. Do you think everything's easy just because you have a bit of talent?"
"Why are you mad at me again?"
"Just because, you idiot!"
Seo-jun, who had given up resisting her cat-like punches, straightened his posture.
The rhythmic taps on his back were oddly satisfying. What a filial little sister. While getting a back massage, Seo-jun decided to examine his sword.
With a swish—
The blade gleamed slightly as it slid out of the scabbard. Was that oil? He touched it lightly and confirmed it was.
“Come to think of it, I also got a whetstone and oil, didn’t I?”
Chun-bong probably knows how to use them. I'll ask her later.
"Hey, it's dangerous, so cut it out, you idiot."
Stopping Chun-bong’s massage, Seo-jun stood up and fully drew the sword from its sheath.
"Oh..."
This is serious. A real sword carries its own kind of intimidation.
That crude machete those criminals used? I don’t even consider it a sword. Whether sword or saber, I never used anything so clumsy, even in games.
Swish—!
The sound of the sword slicing through the air was menacing. It was close to a one-handed sword, so it wasn’t too heavy, though it felt a bit long for my child-sized body.
"Hey! Swing it outside! Are you trying to break everything in here?"
"What stuff? Since we're talking about it, why don't we move?"
"...Move? Where to?"
Seo-jun thought for a moment before speaking.
"To those guys' place?"
"Guys? You have friends?"
"No, those guys. The ones whose heads I bashed in."
"Oh..." Chun-bong sounded impressed.
"Are you seriously dumb? If you wanted to get stabbed, you should’ve said so. Come here, you idiot."
"Geez, what's with you now?"
Seo-jun spread his right hand wide. It meant that he wasn’t completely thoughtless.
"Even if they gang up on me, I could take them out one by one with a finger shot. If I keep my distance, I’d probably win, right?"
In the early game, melee fighters can’t beat ranged ones. As long as I manage the distance.
"Idiot."
Chun-bong dismissed him with a single word and stood up with a sigh.
"Follow me. Since we're talking about it, let's see what you can do."
Following Chun-bong, Seo-jun arrived at an unfamiliar location.
It’s not like I know many places around here, but the atmosphere was gloomy, not somewhere I'd want to visit often.
"Shoot it over there. From what I can tell, it's not a proper qi technique anyway. It's questionable whether finger blast even qualifies as a real qi technique."
"Really?"
"It's closer to something derived from martial arts, like a fist or finger technique."
Hmm. Seo-jun tilted his head, then aimed at a piece of wood lying some distance away.
Whish—
The qi shot from his fingertip hit the wood.
Click—
And the wood wobbled slightly.
"Huh?"
Is that all the power it has? It seemed to disperse a bit in mid-air.
This time, Seo-jun concentrated more, gathering the qi at his fingertip like a small orb.
Whish— Crack—!
This time, the wood split in half, and Seo-jun puffed out his chest with pride.
"How about that?"
"...Impressive."
Fixing a flaw immediately after noticing it? Easier said than done, especially with martial techniques.
This kind of adaptability is what you’d call the talent of a grandmaster. Amazingly, this dimwit has that talent.
"Do it again."
Seo-jun followed Chun-bong's command and aimed at another piece of wood.
If I just flick my finger right...
"Huh...?"
Seo-jun suddenly wobbled and collapsed on the spot. His vision spun. Looking at Chun-bong through his dizzy eyes, she nodded.
"So that's your limit."
"Why do I feel like this...?"
"It's only natural. You haven't had your dantian for long; how much internal energy could you have?"
"Oh, I guess I'm out of mana."
This feels pretty terrible. The world spins like I’m seasick, and I feel like I’m going to throw up, but nothing comes up, so it’s just nauseating.
Meanwhile, Chun-bong, familiar with Seo-jun’s weird mutterings, nodded as she ignored him.
"I get it now."
"Get what?"
"That you're weak? Don't show off for a while and focus on training. Don’t go picking fights with those Black Path guys."
"Okay."
I decided to do as she said.
No matter how much lighter the sword is than I expected, a sword is still a sword. It’s much heavier than the wooden stick I used to swing around.
With no smartphones or computers in the martial world, Seo-jun, unable to stand the boredom, began to immerse himself in martial arts, and his body began to grow stronger day by day.
"Hmm, not bad."
As he posed shirtless, Chun-bong looked at him like he was an insect.
"You’re just skin and bones, what are you bragging about?"
"Hey, lean muscles are what’s cool."
Seo-jun, after setting down the sword, sat on the ground and played with the qi in his hands.
At first, he thought the novelty of handling qi would wear off after a day or two, but the more he explored it, the more he realized there was no end to it. The fun seemed endless.
"Is that fun? Aren’t you tired?"
Chun-bong looked puzzled.
"Why would it be tiring? It’s just fun."
"To control qi like that, you’d need mental fortitude... Never mind, forget it. What am I even saying?"
Chun-bong clicked her tongue and flopped down.
"Ugh! Idiots like me without talent should just die!"
"Don’t worry. This big brother will take care of you."
"What do you know, you bastard!"
"...What’s your problem? Are you going through puberty?"
Chun-bong, after glaring at Seo-jun, squatted down and started lamenting her fate.
"Do you know, huh? In the past, people called me a genius, a prodigy. You could fall from grace any time, so watch yourself."
"Are you cursing me?"
BOOM!
The wall exploded. Seo-jun blinked and looked at Chun-bong, who was frantically waving her hands.
"It wasn’t me!"
Cough—! A coughing sound came from the cloud of dust. As the dust settled, a few figures became visible, men who clearly looked like professional criminals, leaving their shoe prints all over the floor.
"Hey, are these the guys? They’re just brats? Did you even check properly?"
"I-I’m sure, boss! Ah! Look over there!"
The lackey pointed toward the two machetes lying on the floor.
"Oh, really?"
The man’s sharp gaze fell on Seo-jun, who thought to himself,
"Take your shoes off before you come in, you bastards!"