WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Ceaseless
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Martial Arts Survival Guide ◈
Chapter 19: I'll Go
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The Abyss Entry Station bustled with hunters full of hope. Most of them had reached a certain level but had yet to gain any powers. They hoped this cull might change their lives.
“Are you crazy?”
This wasn’t the first time the employee had seen something like this. But surely there had to be a limit. The employee stared at Baek Hyun in disbelief. Having no powers was one thing. Plenty of hunters were in that position. But shouldn’t he at least have a level?
“You want to take part in the cull when you haven’t even made a contract? Listen, Mr. Baek Hyun. You seem to have the wrong idea. You don’t get death benefits if you die during a cull.”
“I know.”
“Don’t tell me you’re doing this because you want to die. If that’s it, die in the Abyss. In the Abyss! If you die here, someone has to clean up your body.”
“I’m not going to die.”
“Or do you want to experience something spectacular before you die? What is wrong with you? You only became a hunter a few days ago, and now you want to join a cull... Without even making a contract!”
The employee snapped at him.
“What would your parents think if they knew?”
“I’m an orphan.”
Baek Hyun’s answer left the employee speechless.
“And I told you, I’m not going to die. I’ve thought this through.”
“...Wait, are you one of those people? An online streamer?”
The employee frowned.
“Filming isn’t illegal, but you should still value your life.”
“So there are people who do that?”
“Of course there are.”
“But aren’t you banned from taking recording equipment into the Abyss?”
“There are plenty of ways around that. Some of High Lord’s powers include magic that stores visual information, which you can then bring back to the real world... No, that’s not the point. I’m telling you to go home.”
“Hunters are free to take part in the cull, aren’t they?”
“That’s true, but letting someone who’s obviously going to die...”
“It’ll be fine.”
Baek Hyun gave a small smile. His voice was calm, but the emotion on the employee’s face slowly faded upon hearing it. It was strange. A hunter who hadn’t made a contract with a monarch wasn’t really a hunter at all. He was just an ordinary person who could enter and leave the Abyss. Yet the moment Baek Hyun said it would be fine, the employee felt that it really would be.
“Thanks for worrying about me.”
He wasn’t offended. The employee’s tone had been harsh, but everything they had said came from concern for his life. In a good mood, Baek Hyun grinned.
“Huh...?”
The employee let out a startled sound. The pen and paper on the desk floated into the air. They passed in front of the employee’s eyes and flew toward Baek Hyun. Making a show of it, he caught them both. Then he signed the paper on the spot.
“Here.”
“What... is this?”
“My autograph.”
“Why are you giving me...?”
“It’s just a gift. Don’t throw it away. Hold on to it.”
Baek Hyun answered with a smile. The employee blinked blankly at him, but obediently put the autograph in a drawer instead of throwing it away. Then they quietly filled out his registration form for the cull.
“...Please go inside and wait.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
He walked down a long passage. The Abyss Entry Station also served as a barrier against the monsters that crawled out of the Abyss. To reach the opening they emerged from, he had to pass through that barrier. Four years had passed since the walls were built. Not once had monsters broken through them.
The gate facing the Abyss was already open. Beyond it, hunters sat resting in a field of overgrown weeds. Baek Hyun took out his phone and checked the time. It was past ten in the morning. Monsters crawled out of the Abyss when the sun crossed the standard meridian. In other words, they would emerge at noon, two hours from now.
Baek Hyun looked up. News helicopters hovered overhead. Beyond the glass wall surrounding the round dome, where he had stood before first entering the Abyss, broadcast cameras were packed together.
Some hunters had gathered in groups. Heavenly King was the largest guild taking part in the cull, but several small and medium-sized guilds had also joined. Hunters who hadn’t managed to join a guild were gathered off to one side, hoping to work together. They wanted to distinguish themselves somehow, catch the monarchs’ attention, and get caught on camera.
Baek Hyun showed little interest in them. They showed little interest in him, either. It was because of his clothes.
He carried no weapon and wore no armor. He was dressed for easy movement in a short-sleeved shirt, shorts, and sneakers. To the other hunters, he looked like someone who hadn’t even prepared the basics. If he had no powers, he should at least make an effort to make up for it. Earn coins to buy a good weapon or some armor, for example.
Why had he come here when he hadn’t even done that? A few hunters shot fierce looks at Baek Hyun. He sensed their open hostility but didn’t react. He went to an uncrowded spot at the back and sat in the lotus position. Then he slowly began circulating his qi according to the Heaven-Shattering Divine Transformation Art.
Very discreetly.
His enormous internal energy remained hidden within his dantian. If Baek Hyun wanted to conceal his strength, no one could detect it. He had reached the stage of Return to Simplicity and Truth, where his martial arts no longer showed on the outside, long ago. Breathing comfortably, he kept his true qi moving without pause.
“How many?”
“Six small and medium-sized guilds, with a total of 117 members. There are 213 unaffiliated hunters.”
Lee Seok-cheon had even set up a parasol and was sitting cross-legged in a folding chair. The July heat was so fierce that simply standing still left people pouring with sweat.
“Gangwon Province is a damned awful place. Hot in summer and cold in winter. Damn it, if I’d been born just ten years later, the Abyss would’ve saved me from military service.”
Grumbling, Lee Seok-cheon crooked a finger. The man delivering the report immediately came closer and summoned a wind elemental spirit. As the cool breeze swept away the heat, Lee Seok-cheon made a great show of enjoying it.
“Ah, that’s the stuff. A natural breeze. You can’t compare it to artificial air-conditioning. If I’d known, I would’ve made a contract with Tempest myself.”
“How did the talks go?”
“Not well. I wasn’t expecting much to begin with, so let’s settle for having made our position clear. They don’t understand how serious things are. Will it take a few walls collapsing for them to come to their senses?”
Still grumbling, Lee Seok-cheon glanced back. Dozens of layers of walls stood there, each dozens of meters high.
“Or a mass slaughter.”
Muttering those words, Lee Seok-cheon took out a large pair of sunglasses and slipped them on. Heavenly King might be an influential guild in Korea, but it couldn’t force the Administration Bureau to grant it a monopoly. Lee Seok-cheon knew that very well. Even so, there had been a reason for going out of the way to visit the entry station’s director.
Korea was a small country. This was probably true of most professions, but hunters ultimately competed over who could claim a bigger slice of the pie. Since Korea’s best hunter, Park Jun-hwan, had begun his apostle’s trial, his guild, Blood Alliance, hadn’t taken part in a monster cull for several months.
The same went for Seo Min-sik. There had been no word that he had been chosen as Tempest’s apostle candidate, but considering his absence from the culls for several months... it seemed certain that he, too, could no longer earn much of a reward from Tempest through them. And Jeong Su-a was probably in the same position.
‘Once they pass level 200, they rarely join the culls. At that level, a cull isn’t enough to catch their monarch’s attention.’
For Lee Seok-cheon, this was a perfect opportunity. If Park Jun-hwan, Seo Min-sik, and Jeong Su-a didn’t take part, Lee Seok-cheon and Heavenly King could effectively monopolize the Abyss in Hwacheon, the only one in Korea. The original plan had been to make the most of that opportunity, raising both Lee Seok-cheon’s own level and those of every guild member, and turning Heavenly King into a world-class guild.
Just in case, Lee Seok-cheon had wanted to secure exclusive rights from the Bureau as well. But that had only been a feeler, not an attempt made with any certainty of success. Getting them would have been great, of course, but if not, there was nothing to be done. As long as Blood Alliance stayed out of the culls, no hunter or guild in Korea could keep Heavenly King in check anyway.
“Should we stay out of the culls for a few months?”
“We can’t just do other people a favor. If we don’t take part, the other bastards will split everything among themselves, won’t they? Why couldn’t they just take the money and do what we asked?”
“What about recruiting Jeong Su-a instead?”
“That arrogant bitch would never come crawling to work under me. I wish she’d just bury herself in the Abyss. And that old guy Park Jun-hwan still hasn’t answered.”
Lee Seok-cheon smacked his lips. It had already been a month since the offer of an alliance was sent to Park Jun-hwan’s guild, Blood Alliance, but no answer had come.
“Well, there’s no hurry. Let’s make sure this cull goes well first.”
Lee Seok-cheon laughed heartily and put a cigarette between his lips.
Jeong Su-a came through the gate after eleven. She frowned as she glanced at the Heavenly King members gathered to one side. Seeing the cameras beyond the glass wall focused on them made her feelings even more complicated. Whether they lobbied the broadcasters was none of her business, but with hundreds of hunters gathered here, it didn’t feel good to see only Heavenly King getting attention.
‘Someone who’ll make it...’
Lee Seok-cheon’s mocking words troubled her. Jeong Su-a let out a short sigh and looked around. Whatever else might be true, she was famous. And, as Lee Seok-cheon had said, she was “someone who would make it.” When she appeared, the cameras turned away from Heavenly King and toward her. The hunters also looked her way, murmuring among themselves.
It was only natural. Along with Park Jun-hwan and Seo Min-sik, Jeong Su-a was one of Korea’s most famous hunters. Her level was an impressive 213, higher than Heavenly King’s guild leader, Lee Seok-cheon. On top of that, she was the only hunter in Korea who had made a contract with the Serpent of Regeneration and received her powers.
She was used to looks filled with admiration and envy, but they still weighed on her. Clearing her throat quietly, Jeong Su-a put on the sunglasses hanging from her collar. The sunlight was too strong. Justifying it to herself that way, she looked for some shade.
She spotted a man sitting in a quiet area. At first, she thought he was resting before the monsters crawled out of the Abyss, but his posture didn’t look particularly relaxing. A little puzzled, she approached him. He had neither armor nor a weapon. Not every hunter wore armor and carried a weapon, of course, but even Jeong Su-a couldn’t help assuming that hunters without powers would do so.
The lotus position wasn’t simply a comfortable way to sit. If anything, to someone watching, it looked uncomfortably straight and rigid. Jeong Su-a studied Baek Hyun with a curious expression. His clothes were casual enough for a trip to the neighborhood convenience store, yet his posture looked uncomfortable. Monsters would emerge from the Abyss before long, but his face was perfectly peaceful.
“...Excuse me.”
Unable to resist her curiosity, Jeong Su-a spoke to him. He looked thoroughly unremarkable, yet something about him made him seem strangely capable.
“Yes?”
Baek Hyun opened his eyes and glanced up at her.
“...What are you doing here?”
“Meditating.”
“...Now?”
Jeong Su-a’s lips parted at his answer.
“Yes.”
“...Uh... You must be used to the culls. You don’t seem nervous...”
“No, this is my first.”
“...Oh... Then are you meditating to calm your nerves...?”
“No, I just don’t have anything else to do. I’m passing the time.”
Unable to think of a suitable response, Jeong Su-a simply stood there. Her thoughts grew a little tangled. Was he acting like this because he was confident in his abilities? Could he be someone powerful she didn’t know about?
“...May I... ask your name?”
“Baek Hyun.”
She had never heard that name before.
“Why?”
“...Oh, it’s nothing.”
Did he not recognize her?
Jeong Su-a lowered her sunglasses a little for no real reason, but Baek Hyun showed little interest in her. Instead, he asked something else.
“What time is it?”
“Sorry? Uh... Eleven twenty.”
“They’ll be out soon.”
“...Yes. Oh, my name is Jeong Su-a.”
“Oh, that Jeong Su-a?”
When Baek Hyun recognized her, she nodded without letting her feelings show.
“Yes.”
“No wonder you seemed pretty strong.”
“...What?”
Jeong Su-a looked puzzled at his muttering. Baek Hyun said nothing more and simply grinned.
‘What’s with him?’
Jeong Su-a studied him with an odd feeling. He was strange. He didn’t look very strong, but he was completely at ease. He knew who she was, yet he wasn’t surprised. Despite this being his first cull, he wasn’t nervous like the other hunters. Baek Hyun... She searched her memory again, but she still had never heard the name.
More time passed in silence, neither speaking to the other. Jeong Su-a stood idly beside him, waiting for noon. Baek Hyun closed his eyes again and circulated his qi according to the Heaven-Shattering Divine Transformation Art. At half past eleven, the gate in the wall closed. At eleven forty, the waiting hunters got up and prepared for the cull. At eleven fifty, even the leisurely Lee Seok-cheon stood, and the parasol and chair were cleared away. Heavenly King’s one hundred guild members fell back a little and got into position.
“Excuse me.”
Unable to bear the stifling silence any longer, Jeong Su-a spoke.
“They’ll be coming out soon.”
“I know.”
Baek Hyun opened his eyes as he answered.
“Su-a.”
“Yes?”
“Are you strong?”
“...What do you mean?”
“Everyone says it. The three best hunters in Korea: Park Jun-hwan, Seo Min-sik, and Jeong Su-a. How strong are you?”
It was a sudden question, asked without any context. Jeong Su-a blinked at him before slowly answering.
“...That’s more praise than I deserve.”
“Was the question too vague? Then how about this? How strong are you compared to Park Jun-hwan?”
Jeong Su-a’s eyebrows twitched.
“...I have no idea why you’re asking me that, but don’t you think you’re being very rude?”
“Oh... Sorry. I was just really curious.”
“...Park Jun-hwan... That man is an apostle candidate. He’s so strong I can’t compare to him.”
Jeong Su-a answered quietly. Baek Hyun stared at her for a moment.
“I see.”
With that answer, he stood up and brushed off his backside.
Noon arrived.
Rrrrrumble!
A great noise rang out from within the Abyss.
They crawled out.
When Baek Hyun first heard those words, he had thought monsters literally crawled out of the hole.
But the reality was a little different. Strictly speaking, the monsters were “summoned” through the Abyss.
Black lights shot up from within it. They fell to the ground directly in front of the Abyss, and hideous monsters rose within them.
“They’re here.”
Jeong Su-a spoke in a cold voice. The lights kept rising without pause. The number of monsters summoned from the Abyss increased every time. How many people would die this time? She watched the hunters shouting at the front with pity in her eyes. If possible, she wanted to keep the casualties to a minimum. Green light wrapped around both her hands.
“I’ll go on ahead.”
Baek Hyun spoke cheerfully as he passed her.
“What?”
By the time Jeong Su-a let out that startled response, Baek Hyun was already flying through the air.
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