WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Ceaseless
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◈ Martial Arts Survival Guide ◈
Chapter 18: Because It's What I Do Best
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Hunger and thirst reminded Baek Hyun that the Peach Blossom Realm and reality were different. There, he had been a soul without a body, so he had never needed to eat or drink. Naturally, he had never felt hungry or thirsty.
“This is a bit of a pain.”
Eating, drinking, shitting, sleeping. Of course, Baek Hyun’s body was far more efficient than an ordinary person’s. He could move a great deal on very little food, and he hardly needed to relieve himself. His body burned up what he ate, and he could completely expel even the toxins produced in the process. Even if he didn’t bother, his body was close to having immunity to all poisons, so leaving them alone wouldn’t cause much trouble.
That was a huge advantage when living in the Abyss. Most hunters were used to life in the real world. They were accustomed to clean toilets and convenient meals, so they found life in the Abyss uncomfortable without those things.
In truth, Baek Hyun wasn’t all that different. He had spent twenty years without eating, drinking, or relieving himself. Relieving oneself took up a major part of human life. If he chose, he could avoid doing it altogether. When he got hungry, he could simply pull up some grass nearby and eat it without much trouble.
Many plants in the Abyss were poisonous enough to kill a person, but that wasn’t a problem for Baek Hyun. He chewed on some roots as he unfolded his map.
Three days had already passed since he entered the Abyss and started running without much of a plan. Whenever he found a return point, he went back to reality and sent Seo Min-sik a few texts telling him not to worry, since he was in the Abyss. He spent the rest of his time running.
Thanks to that, Baek Hyun was now incredibly far from Pandemonium. In four days, he had covered a distance that took ordinary hunters several months to travel.
‘At this pace, I’ll still need a few more days.’
He was beginning to understand just how vast the Abyss was. Baek Hyun spat out the grass he had been chewing. The sharp, tingling sensation in his mouth made it clear that it was poisonous.
He could have kept running as long as he wanted, but instead, he headed back to a gate he had located earlier. Today was July 31. It was the day monsters crawled out of the Abyss.
After passing through the gate and returning to reality, he checked his phone. It was six in the morning, and he had a missed call from Seo Min-sik.
[You out?]
“Just got out.”
[Are you really going?]
There was a little concern in the question. Baek Hyun chuckled as he opened the fridge and took out some milk.
“I told you I am.”
[...Fine, go. Just so you know, I’m not coming.]
“I never asked you to.”
[I really am busy. ...Or do you want me to come along?]
Seo Min-sik really was busy. Baek Hyun hadn’t seen him in several days, either. They only spoke on the phone now and then. Baek Hyun poured milk over a generous heap of cereal and stirred it with his spoon.
“What would you even do if you came?”
[If someone picks a fight with you, having me beside you might... Well, it might help.]
“Forget it, man. I don’t want you getting dragged into something I started. Besides, if someone picks a fight with me, I can handle it. Why should you have to come along because of me?”
[Because I’m worried.]
“Hey, I’m strong as fuck. So stop worrying and take care of yourself. Don’t push yourself for no reason.”
[I’m strong as fuck too, you bastard. Nothing I do here can get me killed, so don’t worry.]
Seo Min-sik chuckled as he replied.
[Hearing you say that makes me feel a little better. All right, but be careful... Especially around the Heavenly King guild. I looked into it, and they’ve been doing a lot of lobbying this time. They’ve laid out a feast for themselves. They’ll be pretty pissed if someone else swoops in and eats it.]
“What feast? Do they own the monsters?”
Baek Hyun gave a mocking laugh. After hanging up, he ate his cereal. Then he sat cross-legged in the middle of the living room and began circulating the Heaven-Shattering Divine Transformation Art.
Even after leaving the Peach Blossom Realm and returning to reality, he hadn’t neglected his training in the Heaven-Shattering Divine Transformation Art. Yet the next stage remained out of reach. There was no helping it. Moving from the fourth stage to the fifth alone had taken years, and the insight he had gained during that training had concerned his “return,” something he had kept refusing to face. Now that he had faced it and found his own answer about the direction of his martial arts (武) and martial path (武道), there were no longer any walls within his mind.
That was precisely why Baek Hyun felt lost. His master, Ju Han-o, had already ascended to immortality. There was no one left to teach him. From now on, Baek Hyun would have to think for himself and keep advancing. The problem was that he had no particular problems to solve.
Through bodily rebirth, he had achieved perfection in mind, qi, and body. He lacked nothing in internal energy, his body was strong, and his mind was unshakable.
‘What I need in a situation like this is obvious.’
He needed a worthy opponent.
As the Heaven-Shattering Divine Transformation Art circulated, a faint black light wrapped around Baek Hyun’s body. He opened his eyes and looked ahead. He recalled the voices of the monarchs he had heard at the end of the tutorial.
There was nothing wrong with him. At least, that was what Baek Hyun thought. Then he needed to clash with something and discover his flaws. If there were none, he could create them. If he broke during the clash, he could strengthen whatever had broken. He could think about why it had broken and find a way to keep it from breaking again. Then clash again, and again, and again, until I no longer break. Keep clashing until the opponent breaks instead.
No, until the opponent shatters into pieces.
When his thoughts reached that point, Baek Hyun realized he was smiling. He stopped circulating the Heaven-Shattering Divine Transformation Art and touched his face. A broad grin. It had been a long time since he had smiled like this. When had he last smiled this way in the Peach Blossom Realm? He didn’t think he had since defeating the forty-year-old Ju Han-o.
Hyun.
He remembered what his master had said when he defeated the forty-year-old Ju Han-o.
Watching you always gives me such a strange feeling.
It makes me wonder whether what you were born with was something other than the Heavenly Martial Star.
At first, I thought it was simple grit. That you were born stubborn and relentless... No, that isn’t it.
Hyun, no matter how many times you lose, you never grow used to defeat. You never accept it as something natural.
No matter how often you feel pain, you never accept that as something natural, either. It always hurts you, yet you never fear it.
Even when you finally win, victory doesn’t satisfy you. You repeat it over and over until victory itself leaves you unmoved, yet you still crave it. What a contradiction.
Madness (狂氣).
Hyun, you don’t seek victory above all else. This is different from a fighting spirit (鬪爭心). Hyun... You are simply... enjoying it. Victory and defeat alike. You enjoy martial arts itself. Obsessively so.
What an incredible talent and blessing that is.
Heaven granted you the Heavenly Martial Star (天武星), and gave you Martial Mania (武狂) as well.
“It’s fun because it’s what I do best.”
Muttering those words, Baek Hyun got to his feet.
* * *
Cars crowded the Abyss Entry Station in Hwacheon. Half belonged to television stations there to film the coming monster hunt, while the other half belonged to hunters taking part.
Bus tickets were sold out, starting with the first departure of the day. Any hunter could participate in the monster hunt. Each hunter was responsible for their own life, and a hunt like this was the greatest opportunity to show what they could do.
There were many hunters.
The number fell sharply if only those with powers were counted, but even hunters without powers could physically overwhelm ordinary people once they reached a certain level. Large numbers of those hunters were taking part as well.
“Most of them are meat shields.”
Lee Seok-cheon, the leader of Heavenly King, ground out his cigarette as he spoke.
“Isn’t it obvious what they’re thinking? They want to stand out during this hunt and get lucky enough to receive a power from a monarch... Or get recruited by a decent-sized guild.”
Lee Seok-cheon. At thirty-five, he had been working as a hunter ever since the Abyss first appeared four years ago. He had contracted with Blood Lion, one of the monarchs, and received a power. After that, he had founded Heavenly King and built it into one of Korea’s two leading guilds, alongside Blood Alliance. He was a giant in the field.
“But do you think that’s easy? If they’ve reached that level and still haven’t received a single power, they’re just not going to make it. That’s how everything in the world works. What was it called, the 10,000-hour rule? That turned out to be bullshit too, didn’t it? Some people just won’t make it. It doesn’t matter what they do.”
“Then are you saying that you, the leader of Heavenly King... are one of those people who will?”
“Doesn’t the fact that I’m sitting here prove it?”
Lee Seok-cheon laughed heartily. Sitting across from him was Jeong Cheol-u, the director of the Abyss Entry Station.
“I’m not saying we have no use for them. Meat shields... They’re useful to have. If they die on the front line, fewer talented people whose lives actually matter will have to be sacrificed.”
“I don’t care for the term ‘meat shields.’”
“But isn’t it an accurate comparison? Besides, it’s a role they’ve chosen for themselves.”
“We can’t give you exclusive rights to the monster hunt.”
Jeong Cheol-u shook his head.
“The monsters that crawl out of the Abyss on the last day of every month are a natural disaster.”
“All the more reason to leave them to Heavenly King, whose abilities have been proven.”
“That would inevitably shut out hunters who haven’t been able to join a guild.”
“What can we do if they weren’t good enough to get in? It’s not as though the Abyss Administration Bureau pays out death benefits for fallen hunters, either. Don’t you feel sorry for all those people dying because they’re blinded by their desire for glory?”
“...I believe everyone should have a fair chance.”
“Look, Director. There’s no such thing as a fair chance in this world. Opportunities should only be given to people with the talent to seize them. And these days, it’s very easy to tell who has talent and who doesn’t. The tutorial. Those who received a power there, and those who didn’t. How much clearer could it be?”
“...”
Jeong Cheol-u couldn’t answer. Lee Seok-cheon wasn’t entirely wrong. The number of hunters dying in the monthly monster hunts was increasing every year.
“In the end, you’re just being greedy.”
The door flew open. At the sudden voice, Lee Seok-cheon’s eyebrow twitched.
“Your daughter could use some manners. Eavesdropping like that.”
“You’re so loud, I could hear you whether I wanted to or not.”
Jeong Su-a. At twenty-five, she had the third-highest level of any hunter in Korea. She glared at Lee Seok-cheon without hiding her hostility.
“Just be honest. You want to monopolize the monster hunt, don’t you?”
“What’s the point in saying it?”
Lee Seok-cheon put a fresh cigarette between his lips as he spoke. He might have been the leader of Heavenly King, one of Korea’s two leading guilds, but even he couldn’t afford to take Jeong Su-a lightly. His own abilities fell short of hers.
“You know this too, Miss Jeong. The monarchs take a great deal of interest in these hunts. That makes it easier to gain levels, and the chances of receiving a power are higher too.”
“And that’s why the Bureau doesn’t restrict participation. To give more hunters a chance.”
“Well, well. Aren’t you going to spare a thought for the insects dying because they’re blinded by that chance? Then again, I suppose you wouldn’t understand. You’re one of the ones who’ll make it, just like me.”
Lee Seok-cheon laughed loudly and sneered. Jeong Su-a’s shoulders trembled at his words.
“Mr. Lee...!”
“Don’t act like you’re so kind, Ms. Jeong. You could never understand how those powerless pieces of trash feel anyway, sitting outside in the blazing sun, hoping, ‘Please, let me gain lots of levels in this hunt... Let me receive a power...’ and praying, ‘Please, don’t let me die...’”
Lee Seok-cheon laced his fingers together and looked at Jeong Su-a as he spoke. Her eyebrows twitched under his mocking gaze. He continued.
“A fair chance. What a lovely phrase. But the reality is that people who aren’t qualified fall for those words and die at the end of every month. One funeral after another, and only the funeral service companies thrive. Think about it. A monopoly... Is it necessarily a bad thing? Heavenly King is a guild of qualified hunters. Every one of us has a power, and we’re experienced in hunting monsters. We can carry out the hunt with minimal losses.”
“We can’t give one guild special treatment.”
Jeong Cheol-u answered. Lee Seok-cheon smiled, showing his teeth.
“Think of it as helping each other. If you give Heavenly King special treatment, we can do a great many things for the Bureau in return... Especially for the Korean branch. Clean jobs and dirty ones alike.”
“Mr. Lee!”
Jeong Su-a shouted with a deep frown. Lee Seok-cheon shrugged and got up.
“I’m not trying to throw a tantrum and demand you do it. I’m just asking you to think about it. Look. Everyone’s busy, aren’t they? Park Jun-hwan of Blood Alliance is in the middle of his apostle trial and hasn’t left the Abyss. Thanks to that, his guild isn’t taking part in the hunt either. Seo Min-sik seems to have been busy in the Abyss lately too. At least you seem to have some free time, Ms. Jeong... But what’s the difference between one exceptional individual taking all the best rewards from the hunt and Heavenly King sharing them among its many members?”
“I don’t intend to take everything for myself!”
“Do I need to grease some palms?”
Lee Seok-cheon sneered at her protest.
“If that’s what it takes, please contact me anytime. I’ll launder the money so no one can hold anything against you, and make sure you receive more than enough. I’m no amateur. I know very well how to make this a win-win.”
With that, Lee Seok-cheon left. Once he was gone, Jeong Cheol-u let out a heavy sigh and loosened his tie. Jeong Su-a glared at the closed door before sitting across from him.
“...Of course we can’t let Heavenly King monopolize the hunt, but he isn’t completely wrong.”
“Dad.”
“It’s been four years. Four whole years. How many people do you think have died in that time?”
“...”
“The hunts are certainly an opportunity for hunters who haven’t received a power. They can gain a lot of levels, and their chances of receiving a power are fairly high... But it’s true that many hunters die because they’re blinded by that.”
“...”
“It’s true that the hunts themselves string people along with hope.”
Muttering those words, Jeong Cheol-u took out a cigarette.
“And opportunities should go to people with the talent to seize them... Cruel as it is, that’s true too.”
“Dad.”
As Jeong Cheol-u was about to light his cigarette, Jeong Su-a gently spoke up.
“I thought you said you were quitting.”
He had only meant to smoke one, given the mood.
Jeong Cheol-u put the cigarette away again.
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