WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Satori
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Wanderer of the Martial World ◈
Chapter 5
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I rose in the morning, loosened up with some light stretching, and practiced my inner-energy method.
The increase in my internal energy was so slight I could barely feel it compared to how boring it was, but not doing it would have been foolish.
Once I was done training, I left the house.
I took a quick look toward Seoryeong's house to see if she was home, but there was no sign of anyone. She must have gone to work.
A little disappointed, I stopped by the smithy to sell yesterday's spoils, filled my stomach with a simple meal from a street stall, then followed the familiar road to the Wanderer Inn.
Since it was a place where sword-wielding men gathered, the Wanderer Inn stood some distance from the market.
There was nothing nearby, only a lone building standing in the open.
Those who wanted commissions but had not yet even reached Third Grade huddled outside, wearing fierce expressions.
As I approached, the noise was nearly as loud as the market.
The unranked wandering martial artists bragged loudly, like the delinquents from my previous life.
When I approached, they glared at me as though looking for trouble, then quietly looked away when our eyes met.
It happened every time, so I ignored them and entered the Wanderer Inn.
The moment I opened the door, an even louder clamor washed over me.
The seasoned wandering martial artists were drinking more noisily than the unranked ones.
Those who made a living killing people seemed to be trying to wash away the blood with alcohol. It suited their rough nature.
I nodded to the people I knew and walked toward a table in the corner.
“Ah. You’re here.”
An old man whose left arm was missing from the elbow down greeted me.
I had heard he used to be a first-grade wandering martial artist.
“Any decent commissions?”
“There is one. You came at just the right time. A commission came in from the Azure Balance Gate.”
The old man flipped through some papers.
“It’s for the wandering martial artists who worked together on the previous commission, along with those who did not participate at all.”
When a follow-up commission like this came in, the wandering martial artists who had been on the enemy’s side were naturally excluded.
Working with people who had recently been enemies could cause needless trouble.
Most wandering martial artists were not like that, but sometimes one would lose a close friend or brother in battle and lose all reason.
“You know the Blue Chivalrous Sword’s son, right?”
I nodded at the old man’s words.
He was the man who had caused the dispute with the Black Sword Gang last time.
He was known throughout Yeongheung County as the biggest wastrel among wastrels.
“It seems the Azure Balance Gate’s gate master is still furious over what happened.”
He had every reason to be.
The Azure Balance Gate’s young gate master’s eldest son had been beaten by the Black Sword Gang’s martial artists.
“So this time, he told that brat to hunt yokai.”
“Yokai…”
By ascending strength, such creatures were classified as Yo, Goe, Ma, Hyung, Hae, and Jae.
The weakest and most numerous were the Yo and Goe, which were generally grouped together as yokai.
“It looks like one of the gersu around here has become a sanhwi. They’re going to hunt it.”
Simply put, a gersu was a dog with tough scales, while a sanhwi was an evolved gersu.
One was a Yo beast, while the other was a Goe beast.
A few third-rate martial artists, or one second-rate martial artist, could handle a Yo beast. The Goe beast was the problem.
We would need several second-rate martial artists or a first-rate one.
Still, it was not an especially difficult opponent.
After hunting yokai several times, I had learned that gersu were among the weaker kinds of Yo beasts.
“You know, right? The Azure Balance Gate takes all the yodan. Still, whoever hunts it gets the meat. Ah, and since this Yo beast is a gersu, the Azure Balance Gate will purchase its scales directly and pass them on to the authorities.”
When a yokai with hard scales, especially a gersu, was caught, the government authorities bought all its scales.
They called it a purchase, but it was closer to requisition. There was nothing to be done about it.
This was one reason the authorities and the martial world maintained a mutually beneficial relationship.
The authorities did not interfere in the martial world’s affairs, while martial artists were forbidden from carrying long spears, bows, shields, or armor.
Gersu scales were used to make soldiers’ armor.
That was why martial-world factions could not take the authorities lightly.
A large number of properly armed and trained soldiers possessed frightening military strength.
“The commission fee is ten silver coins for you, since you’re Second Grade. With the meat as well, it should be quite good.”
Edible Yo beast meat was considered a high-end ingredient, so as the innkeeper said, I could expect a substantial profit.
The commission fee alone was twice what I had received last time.
“So, will you take it?”
“When is it?”
“Tomorrow.”
That was rather soon.
Still, I nodded.
The Azure Balance Gate’s young gate master was well known for cherishing his son, so the gate would likely provide ample support. It seemed like it would be an easy commission.
“I’ll take it.”
“Good. Put your mark here.”
And so the contract was made.
“The time is nine tomorrow morning. Go to the Azure Balance Gate. We’re leaving early because it takes about half a day to get there, so I hope you understand.”
“I understand.”
As the contract was settled and I turned around, I spotted a familiar face leaning by the inn’s entrance and smiling at me.
“Hey! Jeong-un! You decided to take it, right?”
The one speaking warmly to me was Yi Pyeong.
He was a third-rate martial artist and someone I considered my benefactor.
“Yes.”
When I approached him, Yi Pyeong’s expression brightened.
“We decided to take it too. Let’s travel together.”
It seemed Yi Pyeong’s group had all accepted the commission.
“Sounds good.”
“Ha ha ha. Let’s go. We should have a drink and talk about tomorrow.”
He grabbed my arm and led me outside.
The reason for traveling with them was simple.
Since this commission took us out of town, it was safer to travel with people I could trust.
And although it had been a while since I had left their group, we had fought in step together for years.
Coordination in battle was extremely important, so they were a far better choice than anyone else.
After all, one plus one often became minus one.
Led by Yi Pyeong, we arrived at a tavern.
Perhaps because it was not far from the Wanderer Inn, it was packed with wandering martial artists.
“Let’s go upstairs. They’re up there.”
When we went up to the second floor, familiar faces came into view.
“Oh! Jeong-un’s here! Ha ha. Brother Yi Pyeong was waiting for you so eagerly that we took turns watching the Wanderer Inn!”
“Is that so?”
“Good to see you.”
Jang Wi and Yi So-gang, who had been with me since I was part of their group, welcomed me.
I sat down and looked around.
There were six of them including Yi Pyeong, and I had never seen three of them before.
“Ah. You haven’t met these people, right?”
“No.”
“From this side, Jo Man-sik, Yu Sam, and Baek So-ok.”
Jo Man-sik looked like a fairly experienced wandering martial artist.
I could tell from the natural pressure he gave off and his sharp gaze.
Yu Sam, on the other hand, was obviously a beginner. He was probably unranked.
Just as he had done for me, Yi Pyeong seemed to be looking after an unranked wandering martial artist.
Lastly, Baek So-ok was a woman.
Women living as wandering martial artists in the martial world were rare, but they did exist.
Women were naturally at a disadvantage in strength and reaction speed compared with men, but that did not mean someone stabbed by a woman’s sword would not be hurt.
And if a female wandering martial artist accumulated enough experience to reach Third Grade, her martial ability would not differ much from that of other third-grade warriors.
You could not kill someone through strength alone.
The tricks used by experienced female wandering martial artists were often dangerous and vicious.
“I’m Jo Man-sik.”
“I’m Hwang Jeong-un.”
We exchanged greetings.
As I had expected, Jo Man-sik was Third Grade, while the other two were unranked.
The problem was that Yu Sam, who looked about my age, kept glaring at me.
He was probably bothered by the fact that someone his age was Second Grade and treated quite well by his seniors.
And the fact that the rather pretty Baek So-ok kept smiling brightly and talking to me seemed to have soured his mood further.
“Since we’re dealing with gersu and a sanhwi… the martial artists from the Azure Balance Gate will handle the sanhwi, and we only need to deal with the gersu. Everyone has blunt weapons, right?”
Gersu scales were tough enough that it was difficult to wound them with swords or sabers.
A first-rate martial artist who could infuse qi into a blade and make it hard and sharp, or a peak master who could project sword qi, could fight one easily with a weapon like that. But no one here was that skilled.
That was why maces or iron clubs were used against gersu.
“I have one too.”
“Of course you do. Huh? Don’t tell me it’s that old mace from before?”
“Yes.”
Yi Pyeong chuckled.
It was the mace I had bought after spending all my money while I was still unranked.
My straight saber had broken during the next commission, and I had not had enough money to buy a new one, so there had been a time when I carried only that mace.
It was a fond memory now, but it had been quite nerve-racking at the time.
Still, it was how I became used to the mace.
“I… I don’t have one.”
“Me neither.”
The two unranked warriors raised their hands.
“You don’t even have money to buy one?”
“…No.”
Yu Sam’s face reddened as though embarrassed.
“There are some very old blunt weapons in my home’s storage. Use those, at least.”
“Ah! Thank you.”
“Thank you!”
Their faces brightened.
I knew exactly what those old weapons were.
Solid iron clubs covered in rust.
Yi Pyeong had bought them long ago for some training, and apparently he still had them.
Before I bought my mace, Yi Pyeong had suggested the same thing to me. But after seeing those things, I had immediately spent every coin I owned on a mace instead.
I had taken one to the smithy to have the rust removed, but even that cost a fair amount. So I had simply bought the mace.
Still, it was good to have a senior willing to offer something like that.
It was only possible because Yi Pyeong was such a good man.
Anyway, we checked what everyone needed to prepare and discussed how we would move.
Just as the discussion was coming to an end,
“Hey. I want to see what you can do.”
Yu Sam suddenly spoke to me.
“Hm?”
An unranked warrior?
I barely managed to keep myself from laughing at the unexpected situation.
“No, we have to fight together anyway. Let’s spar and see each other’s skills.”
Bang!
Yi Pyeong slammed the table and glared at Yu Sam.
“You little bastard. Who do you think you are, asking to see his skills? Do you want to die?”
For the record, Yi Pyeong being a good person was by wandering martial artist standards.
Someone who had lived as a wandering martial artist for a long time could hardly be a pushover.
Still, Yi Pyeong was indeed a good person.
He was yelling like that partly to spare my feelings, but also to warn a foolish beginner.
I owed Yi Pyeong, so I could let it pass. But if Yu Sam acted so arrogantly toward another second-grade warrior, or even a third-grade warrior, he could die without anyone knowing what happened.
“Uh… uh… I just…”
The boldness Yu Sam had shown while provoking me moments ago was nowhere to be found. His shoulders shrank.
“Brother Yi, it’s fine. Let’s do it once.”
“What?”
“Setting everything else aside, I think confirming each other’s skills is a good idea.”
“Hoo… Tch… Fine. Do what you want.”
Yi Pyeong waved a hand as though annoyed.
I smiled faintly at him before speaking to Yu Sam.
“Let’s go outside.”
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