Chapter 92

Chapter 92

Chapter 92 Book Café (4)

Was it because of the protagonist buff after all? He was far too smart.

Because of the main quest with a time limit—‘Reach Hyeongang before it's too late’—I hadn't even been able to try displaying the martial arts I'd dreamed of or drawing internal energy up from my dantian.

One assumption from him like, ‘Of course he'll block or dodge,’ and I'd be sent flying straight back to reality by that hand.

“It seems you don't want to answer?”

-Swish.

The sword moved even closer to my neck.

Now only the straightforward approach remained. No matter what excuse I made, that brilliant protagonist would see through all of them.

“Don't you find something strange?”

“You are not the one asking questions.”

“It was your intention, Sect Master, to pass the imperial examination and take the insignificant post of archive keeper, but I'm talking about how the Emperor happened to come to that remote archive of all places.”

The sword aimed at my neck lowered slightly.

“Continue.”

“And that's not all. A rebellion broke out, yet by luck you escaped death, and Elder Poison Immortal, a physician comparable to Hua Tuo, treated you. What happened to you is less likely than throwing a pine needle and having it land standing upright.”

“It sounds as though you're saying someone arranged all of it.”

Someone had.

Author Seo Hanrim, the creator of this world.

If you removed the fortuitous encounters granted to the protagonist, then no matter how extraordinary his talent was, the protagonist would become nothing more than an ordinary person.

And Hyeongang had surely realized that.

After all, he was the Sect Master of Hao Gate, whose extraordinary intelligence was said to be unrivaled throughout history.

“What happens to Changbi?”

“When I leave, he'll return to normal.”

As expected of a protagonist with a good heart, his curiosity did not come before concern for Changbi's safety.

-Shing.

The lowered sword returned to its sheath.

I released the power of the Divine Eyes that had been surrounding my body.

-Thump.

Changbi was flung backward, and I returned to my original appearance.

Hyeongang helped the fallen Changbi up, then pressed various points on his body with his fingers until he regained consciousness.

“Gasp! Gasp! Sect Master?”

“It seems your training has been difficult lately. You briefly lost consciousness while we were talking. Go rest for today.”

“Y-Yes, I obey.”

Changbi left with a bewildered expression, and once again only Hyeongang and I remained in the Upper Hall.

“Would you care for some tea?”

“I would gratefully accept if you're offering.”

-Pour.

Tea that had been boiled so many times it was pale almost to the point of being plain water was poured into simple wooden teaware.

“I have a great many questions. Please drink.”

It was hospitality fitting for Hyeongang, who lived for righteousness and chivalry without chasing wealth or fame.

And we continued talking until the morning sun rose.

_________

“Then this place is merely inside a book.”

“Yes. Though of course I don't mean literally inside a physical book. It's a somewhat abstract concept.”

Most of the conversation we'd had through the night concerned the characters.

In particular, who lived and who died was Hyeongang's greatest concern.

Unfortunately, even I didn't know that.

Because this very moment was the final portion of the novel before its serialization was discontinued.

In order to destroy the Murder Sect that was targeting Hao Gate and the Martial Alliance, Hyeongang needed to attain enlightenment and ascend to the Transformation Realm.

And the novel had stopped just before he reached that realm.

If this moment had been from the early or middle parts of the novel, I would've had plenty to tell him, but the story had already progressed quite far, so Hyeongang had already figured out the identity of the Murder Sect and even the faction behind it.

-Pour.

Tea was poured once more into the emptied cup.

“I've asked everything I wanted to know.”

That meant it was my turn.

In truth, that was also a question.

Why had I come here after telling him even those things?

“There is a monster hiding here.”

“By monster, do you mean something like a spiritual creature?”

“Yes. It was born from accumulated thoughts because this world's story was never revealed to the outside world. I came here to catch that monster.”

“Hmm. With that body?”

“Pardon?”

Hyeongang suddenly grabbed my wrist and checked my pulse.

“With your internal energy and physical strength, you couldn't catch even a rabbit, let alone a monster. You've accumulated quite a lot of turbid energy as well.”

“Ah, well, that's true, but...”

It was surprisingly difficult to tell the protagonist of a novel I'd idolized as a child, ‘It's fine because I'll beat it with overpowered items.’

An awkward silence followed my trailing words.

“If that monster is powerful enough to endanger the world inside this book, then you should at least have enough strength to protect your own body. Let's go to the training ground. I'll teach you a few martial arts.”

He was completely right.

The Elder Nine-Tailed Fox had also told me that since I'd become involved with monsters, I should learn a few Daoist techniques in case of emergencies.

But how could that possibly work?

I wasn't a Daoist, nor did I have divine power in my body. If I clumsily tried to learn Daoist arts, it was obvious I'd only waste time and get poor results.

But martial arts taught by Hyeongang?

That was an offer difficult to refuse.

And so we returned to the training ground and faced each other, each holding a wooden sword.

“Don't people usually start with the basics? Like the Three Talents Sword Technique?”

“That's right. But I simply learned through actual combat from the start. It was much faster that way.”

That's because you're the protagonist of this novel.

“I'll go first.”

That was all he said.

-Whoosh.

This lunatic!

The wooden sword in Hyeongang's hand shot toward my chest with a vicious sound as it tore through the air.

-Tak.

By sheer luck, I managed to block the attack with a reflexive, clumsy motion.

My wrist went numb. If I'd taken that directly, it really felt like several ribs would've broken.

“Not bad movement. I'll continue.”

“No... wait!”

This was insane.

He ignored my attempts to tell him to stop, and the wooden sword flying toward me grew faster and faster until I could no longer even hear it cutting through the air.

-Tak. Tatak. Tak.

“Offense is not the opposite of defense. You must continue attacking and defending at the same time through movements not bound by fixed forms. Otherwise, you'll continue being driven onto the defensive, like now.”

-Tak tak.

I don't know those forms in the first place!

If I retreated, he followed by exactly that distance, and even when I wanted to say I was too exhausted to continue, I had no spare breath to speak because I was too busy blocking his relentless attacks.

How long had I been blocking them?

Only when sweat was pouring down like rain and my vision began to blur did Hyeongang's wooden sword finally stop.

“Gasp, gasp...”

“You did well. It seems this is your first time using a wooden sword, yet you somehow managed not to drop it.”

“Because you came at me like you were trying to kill me.”

“Haha, it's only a wooden sword. How could that happen? You would've merely broken a few bones. If you've caught your breath, shall we go again?”

It was true.

Normally, after that much exertion, I would've needed to lie down panting for quite a while, yet my breathing had already returned to normal.

Right.

I was learning swordsmanship from a true peak expert from a martial arts world.

In terms of fortunate encounters, wasn't this an even greater one than what Hyeongang himself had received?

And so I continued swinging the wooden sword with every last bit of strength I had until the sun finally set.

____________

And morning came.

I hadn't planned to stay this long...

I took out my phone from inside my clothes and opened it.

『00:02:16.35』

A full day had passed in this place, yet only two minutes had passed in reality.

Those two minutes were probably the time it would normally take to actually read this portion of the book.

That wasn't a bad condition.

If only two minutes passed in reality even after spending an entire day here, then it was more than enough time to learn swordsmanship.

Still, I couldn't stay too long.

Just because time passed slowly in reality didn't mean the day I'd spent here aged me any more slowly.

A week at most.

I had to learn as much swordsmanship as possible within that time.

-Knock, knock.

“It's Hyeongang. If you're awake, let's go to the training ground together.”

And so I swung the sword until I was exhausted, ate when it was time to eat, slept in Hao Gate's guest room, then woke up and swung the sword again.

For four whole days.

-Tatatak. Tak tak.

It had only been four days, yet the wooden sword felt noticeably lighter than before.

On top of that, the point at which I blocked incoming attacks was now much farther away from my body.

I no longer felt the same threat to my life as before.

Of course, that didn't mean I'd formed a dantian or could release sword energy.

And as much as I'd grown stronger, Hyeongang had prepared an even greater trial.

“Now, let's begin in earnest.”

In earnest?

The flexible sword was once again drawn from Hyeongang's waist.

-Shing.

“I've already shown you every path my sword takes. That's quite a fair life-and-death duel, isn't it?”

For some reason, his previously gentle eyes had turned razor-sharp.

It was him.

The monster hiding inside the novel, consuming the creator's vitality because it wanted to come out into the world, was none other than the protagonist of Conquest of the Martial World.

Only then did I begin to understand Hyeongang's consideration over the past few days.

What fool would readily believe a man who had suddenly entered the body of his most cherished subordinate and claimed he was here to catch a monster threatening this world?

The reason he'd taught me swordsmanship himself without showing suspicion had been to wait.

Out of caution, wondering whether I might secretly possess enough power to harm him.

And today, it seemed he'd become certain.

Certain that I had no power to kill him.

“It was around the time I realized that no matter how hard I tried, I could not reach the Transformation Realm. This place truly was a world someone had created. At first, I resented this world, where everyone moved through every day without any meaning.”

-Swish.

I narrowly dodged the sword that flew at me faster than anything I'd seen until now.

Hyeongang grinned at me and continued speaking.

“But when I thought about it calmly, it wasn't so bad. If I destroy the Murder Sect, my people will surely be hurt. I don't even know who it will be. Rather than see a future where someone dies...”

-Hummm.

This time, blue energy settled over the flexible sword as it swayed.

“I would rather remain stopped here. Even if I must scatter the creator's mind to do so.”

And then an attack containing such enormous power that it was difficult even to breathe shot toward me.

Unfortunately for him, the attack never reached me.

The approaching sword simply vanished from the blade onward, as though someone had erased it with an eraser.

“W-What!”

“Because of this. This ring blocks all energy intended to harm me. I hoped I'd never have to use it, but it seems that day has finally come.”

The attack had been blocked by the ring Elder Mago had given me.

“The person who gave me this ring said that even a heavenly god wouldn't be able to treat me carelessly. I don't know the details, but since you haven't even reached the Transformation Realm, I doubt you have any way to kill me. And thank you for revealing yourself like this. I was worried I'd have trouble finding you.”

I drew the sword the immortal elders had given me from my necklace.

The dagger, no bigger than my little finger, transformed the moment it left the necklace, becoming the perfect size for my hand.

“Then I wish you peace.”

I swung the sword toward Hyeongang, who had sunk to the ground with a devastated expression.

The blade swept horizontally through the air, passing not through Hyeongang's head, but a handspan above it.