NOVEL NEXT WORLD “When will you keep doing this?”
A voice floated through, suggesting that even just vlogging could easily bring in 100,000 subscribers on YouTube.
Currently, the Masked Woman was gathering the attention of the Sacheon Outcasts. It’s only natural for a beauty so rare to grab attention wherever she went.
If I weren’t the one being pressured right now, I might have leisurely admired the Masked Woman’s beauty and been left in awe.
In fact, on the first and second days of the strike, more than a few Outcasts tried to talk to the Masked Woman. Each of them ended up fleeing after getting blindsided by Yu Sa-yeon.
After sticking together for five days, the Masked Woman was bound to catch my eye, and her every gesture was so mesmerizing that there were times I gasped without even realizing it.
If you ask whether the situation was good, I could only respond that it’s indeed a good situation. However, the problem was that my heart felt eerily unsettled. Just looking at her, who is an overwhelming beauty, I couldn’t fathom why she was so fixated on me.
“What on earth is the reason for this?”
“Because I’ve heard that there’s no one better than you as a master.”
“I have more than enough reasons to reject you. First, the Innkeeper nagged me to no end. Second, the Intermediaries pressured me into a corner. Third, your beauty is so overwhelming that I find it burdensome to be seen with you. And fourth, you’ve been using the Black Shadow Qi Technique, a technique meant for Assassins, for the last five days without showing your face at all.”
No matter how much Black Rib might cover his face, it’s just not possible for this woman’s small face to hide all her features and only reveal her jawline.
The Black Shadow Qi Technique is a martial art that amplifies power when learned in the shadow category or improves stealth techniques. It’s already suspicious just by its description, and you’re using it in front of people for five days? It’s almost exuding an aura of mystery with every move.
The kicker is that it seems neither the Masked Woman nor Yu Sa-yeon looks like they’ll give up anytime soon. I can’t just keep enduring this forever.
“Alright then, let’s hear your purpose. What do you desire?”
“I want to be the best among the Sacheon Outcasts.”
“To do that, you’ll need to acquire martial arts or spiritual medicine.”
“The strongest martial artist is not necessarily the best Outcast.”
Somehow, I felt like the Masked Woman was smiling.
“Since I appeared in Sacheon seven years ago, I’ve had a success rate of 93%. Yet, you’re still the only one alive and active. Even looking through the short history of the Sacheon Outcasts, there’s no one like you, Ho Cheon-an.”
“The title of ‘the best’ is given only to those who deserve it. If you’re not the best in martial arts, it’s impossible to be the best Outcast.”
“That’s true. But improving martial arts isn’t something effort alone can resolve. I always strive, but achievements lie in the hands of fate. As people, don’t we have to do what we can?”
After five days of doing nothing and just letting my mind wander, I had plenty of time to think.
By the third day of the strike, I realized that this situation couldn’t be resolved merely by staying on strike.
Both Yu Sa-yeon and the Masked Woman didn’t seem like they’d give up, so I had to come up with a plan.
The Masked Woman’s determination was something else.
Based on how she’s applying the Black Shadow Qi Technique and her aura, she’s likely already at the peak level. From a typical martial artist’s perspective, if a mere Iryu martial artist were to roll around ignoring their intentions, it would normally be expected for them to unleash a huge outburst right there.
Yet, she held on for five days without losing her rational attitude… I’m not sure what’s so special about reaching the summit of the Sacheon Outcasts that makes her behave this way.
If she’s willing to adjust so much for me, becoming comrades isn’t out of the question.
As long as she follows my orders, I can manage my fame value to some extent.
It may sound like I’m backtracking on what I said earlier, but among the Outcasts in this Inn, no one really believes I can win in a confrontation. After all, Yu Sa-yeon and I are stuck in a vertical relationship. Just like there can’t be employees who outperform their boss, my actions were basically just a form of resistance.
After stirring up this ruckus for about a week, I hope the Outcasts will at least evaluate me as having fought valiantly even if I lost. Of course, I’ll probably be the target of some teasing for a while, but that’s unavoidable.
What can I say? This is the sob story of the underdog.
If I’m destined to be the defeated underdog, I might as well be the underdog with a breathtaking beauty by my side.
At this point, isn’t that like winning?
My precious thoughts attempted to dominate my brain, but I shook my head to suppress them.
“Hmm…”
I had already lived as Ho Cheon-an for eight years.
Just one year after falling into the Martial World, I reached the limit of Iryu, and for two years afterward, I tried every possible means to surpass that barrier but failed miserably every single time.
So I lived quietly, honing my gambling technique.
However, after meeting Miss Yeo Il-ye, that quiet life has come to an end.
They warned me that if my fame value rose above a certain point, I’d die, but it’s not like I’d die as soon as I hit that threshold.
Should I compare it to a game? I don’t know when I’ll die. It could be a few days, or I might last ten or even twenty years. But if I had to choose a loading point where I’d have to restart because of a bad ending or game over, it would definitely be before meeting Miss Yeo Il-ye.
Right now, I’ve just crossed that threshold.
Now the name Ho Cheon-an has started being mentioned somewhere, and people who know of my existence have started to pop up.
The Masked Woman in front of me, and Yu Sa-yeon who introduced her, are no exceptions.
My name carries fame, and as a result, those who desire something from me have begun to appear. The Masked Woman must have come to me because she needs something or wants to find something out, and Yu Sa-yeon likely holds different expectations or adjusted her view of me after this incident.
Such people will continue to emerge, and somewhere down the line, I might find myself embroiled in dangerous situations.
And while overcoming those dangers, I might ultimately fail and face an undesired ending.
If I hadn’t rolled the snowball, everything might have gone smoothly, but now that snowball has rolled down the slope. Even if I try my best to slow down its speed, that snowball that has started rolling will eventually grow to a size I cannot manage and crush me.
To avoid being crushed by that snowball, I had to soar beyond Iryu.
So, I’ve been thinking I need to take a decisive gamble sooner or later.
And perhaps now is the time for that gamble.
Although I’ve mobilized every trick I could think of for two years as an Outcast, it’s true that I haven’t found a way to break through Iryu. However, the current situation is different from back then. I hold Yu Sa-yeon’s Gratitude Plaque and will likely be working alongside the Masked Woman for a while. If need be, I might even be able to call on Yu Sa-yeon’s strength.
In a situation where I’m still at the Iryu level, I can’t pass up this chance to move such skilled individuals.
The issue, however, lies in the cost.
How much does the Masked Woman think Ho Cheon-an’s value is in serious mode?
Can she afford to stake something worthy of this life-changing gamble?
“Alright. How do you propose to settle this?”
“What would you like?”
“I have demands, but why don’t you try guessing first?”
The thirsty soul digs the well. Proposing? That’s for someone starving. While I do have a price in mind, I still need to hear her proposal first.
“I can offer you the Summoning Pill.”
“That’s insufficient.”
The Masked Woman fell silent.
The Summoning Pill.
There are many types of spiritual medicines in the Martial World, but if I were to investigate the popularity of spiritual medicines sold by various sects, the top contenders would likely be from the Wudang or Shaolin. It’s not simply because they were made by them that they are preferred.
Both Wudang and Shaolin possess a remarkably high level of elixir-making techniques, regardless of their sect’s fame. And most importantly, they can create spiritual medicines closest to the natural essence that don’t discriminate against energy characteristics.
No matter how good a spiritual medicine is, if I can’t use it, it’s merely an unattainable dream.
The Summoning Pill and Taiji Pill, which are close to nature, possess an inherent stability and versatility that hold value beyond just boosting one’s energy.
Vital Life Elixirs like the Great Revitalizing Pill aren’t sold outside, thus the best medicines available for purchase with money are the Summoning Pill from Shaolin or the Taiji Pill from Wudang. In fact, these two are the highest-grade potions you can buy in-game.
To purchase a potion beyond the Summoning Pill, you’d need to contribute to that sect. In simple terms, you need to become a benefactor to the sect.
Anyway, returning to the discussion about the Summoning Pill, anyone consuming it, even a mediocre two-star martial artist, could become a top-tier one. Exactly, everyone but me.
With my current state, even if I were to consume the Great Revitalizing Pill, I still wouldn’t become top-tier.
It’s far better to ask for cash than to take the Summoning Pill, given my circumstances.
“That’s of no interest to me. The only thing you need to pay for the contract is my past.”
“…What do you mean?”
“My birth. My bloodline. Finding that out is my condition.”
The reason my maximum achievement stops at Iryu is due to my ‘Mixed Blood.’
Final Level -?
At least, it must have reduced my potential significantly. So I’d likely reach peak martial artist status.
Mixed Blood, a fate guaranteed by the heavens. That’s the greatest barrier preventing me at present. What exactly is this Mixed Blood? I don’t believe I know everything about the Martial World, but it’s utterly absurd that such a quality would severely diminish my final potential.
After playing this game for over ten years, it’s impossible not to have encountered such traits. This Mixed Blood must have something significant behind it.
I need to comprehend and neutralize this trait.
Yet, I know nothing about Ho Cheon-an’s past. One day, I simply got hit by a truck and became a character known as fifteen-year-old Ho Cheon-an.
The Masked Woman remains quiet. Well, from her point of view, she probably never anticipated I’d demand information.
The way she stares at me seems to say, ‘How did he know I’m from an information organization?’ And she appears quite flustered.
However, when she’s even demonstrating techniques like the Black Shadow Qi, which deals in darkness, and claims to know secret information about the Sacheon Outcasts’ current requests, isn’t it reasonable to suspect I’d guess her past?
The true intentions of the Masked Woman, who has perfectly obscured her eyes with the Black Shadow Qi, remain incomprehensible, and after a rather lengthy pause, she nodded.
“Though I cannot guarantee anything, I promise to do my utmost.”
“Alright, let’s consider this agreement settled.”
For now, we nodded.
If that woman truly cannot discover my past, I doubt I’ll ever be able to teach her everything, so she better make it work.
“Then let’s speak comfortably from now on. What should I call you? At the very least, you should let me know what to refer to you as.”
“….Call me Myeo (Cat).”
“Perfect. From today onward, I shall call you Black Cat. I will hear no complaints.”
“The sound of it doesn’t quite please me…”
“You chose the name, didn’t you? Anyway… yeah… I hope we’ll get along for a while.”
I extended my hand. In a gesture not seen in the Central Plains, the Black Cat stared at my hand for a moment before finally grasping it.
Well, I just became companions with a woman named Black Cat, whose true nature I know nothing about.