The Strongest in Murim Through Draws, Chapter 6
4. The Hwangryong Association's Recruit of Interest (2)
[Reward: 50 gold won!]
"Gold?"
Thinking he might have seen it wrong while still half-asleep, So Jongcheon rubbed his eyes and checked the text again.
Though it was only the number 50, looking again, it was indeed gold.
'So gold comes from the daily reward too. Then maybe even that Cheonggang Stone?'
You can draw Earth-grade treasures from the Treasure Draw for 100 gold.
He would have to try it himself to know for sure, but he expected it was a draw tier higher than Mortal-grade.
'It's nice getting rewards steadily without doing anything, but I'd prefer to get stronger quickly.'
[Mission triggered!]
"Oh?"
As if reading So Jongcheon's thoughts, a mission appeared at the perfect time.
[Martial Art Acquisition]
[Acquire a new martial art.]
[Reward: Scaled based on the value of the mastered martial art.]
It was the perfect mission.
'I was already in the middle of learning the Banya Singong. But scaled rewards? Hmm... Though the Banya Singong is treated as a pie in the sky here, it's definitely a great martial art, so will a good reward come out?'
Since it was a martial art called a supreme divine art, high-tier rewards were expected.
'But it's not something easily learned.'
Since he had an energy foundation built from the Cheongmyeong Tonapgong learned since age five, he didn't need to create a new foundation; he had to merge the energy gathered by operating the Banya Singong into the existing one.
'Changing the nature of my existing internal energy isn't easy, and learning the Banya Singong is difficult too, so there's no knowing when this will succeed.'
So Jongcheon checked the schedule and committed the mandatory class times to memory.
For the time being, it seemed he would have to focus all his efforts on learning the Banya Singong to at least 1-star without any time to spare for other lectures.
'The basics of dismantling demonic cult martial arts at the Byeong hour, and tomorrow, accurate understanding and training of eye techniques? I only need to attend these. First, I'll circulate my energy a bit and then go eat breakfast.'
"Then shall I start the day with training?"
"Jongcheon. What are you always muttering about?"
Jang Jagun, who was in the room together, spoke to So Jongcheon, who was seated.
"Ah... I just think to myself sometimes and words come out without me realizing."
"Hahaha! You really are an oddball. Come to think of it, what martial art have you learned, friend? You don't seem to have a weapon, so fist arts?"
"Yeah, something like that."
"Ooh! True fist artists are quite rare. Could you tell me the name of your martial art?"
"It's called the Shadow Grasping Fist. It's nothing special, just a basic martial art."
"Hm... My knowledge is lacking, so it's my first time hearing of it. Will you give me a chance to witness it sometime?"
It couldn't be famous, so it was natural he didn't know.
It seemed his clan had never produced a martial artist renowned as first-rate in the first place.
"If the opportunity arises."
"Haha, I'll look forward to it."
Jang Jagun flashed a friendly-looking smile and left the room.
The other two were nowhere to be seen; it seemed they had already gone to start their daily routine.
'He's an unusual guy.'
From yesterday onward, So Jongcheon had become a famous figure in the Hwangryong Association.
The perception had spread that he was a clown-like fellow who had acted outlandishly because he craved attention.
Perhaps they thought there was nothing to gain from getting involved with someone who wasn't right in the head, because every member he passed gave him looks as if they'd seen something unsightly and walked past him.
'But that guy has kept being friendly to me, just like when we first greeted each other.'
He could understand Han Sahye, who looked like she didn't want to interact with others at all, but it was a bit unexpected because he thought Cho Yeongho would look down on or ignore him.
'Whether he's a good person or has some ulterior motive.'
He didn't really care either way.
Right now, the most important thing was learning the Banya Singong and completing the mission.
'Since there was no mention of mastery, just reaching 1-star will count as having learned it, right? I'm curious what kind of reward it'll give.'
Hoping for a reward that could make him an expert in one go, So Jongcheon began training the Banya Singong.
* * *
"This is shit. Really."
Three days had passed since he'd devoted himself to training.
The progress of the Banya Singong was still going nowhere.
There didn't seem to be anything particularly wrong with his energy circulation, but the new energy wouldn't fuse at all with the energy foundation where his internal energy had accumulated.
It had only been three days, but he should have seen at least a speck of progress. Yet even when he drew in qi through breathing, it didn't condense and just leaked right back out, so his internal energy showed no change whatsoever.
'What a headache.'
Reading his body's memories, when training the Cheongmyeong Tonapgong, internal energy had gathered in his dantian little by little, forming an energy foundation before ten days had passed.
Having focused for about three days, there should have been at least the faintest hint of change, but since nothing had changed, he felt impatient.
'If it were just a difficult martial art with slow learning speed, that'd be one thing, but since there's no change at all, I'm really uneasy about whether I'm training correctly.'
Scratching his head irritably, So Jongcheon opened the door and left the room.
Since he hadn't yet memorized all the mnemonic formulas of the Banya Singong, he was in a situation where he practically commuted to the Manryong Pavilion every day.
'Do I really need to recall the formulas continuously while training the mental technique? It seems it'll take a few more days to memorize them accurately... The Cheongmyeong Tonapgong was simple with nothing much to memorize, but this one claims to be a divine art and is stuffed with difficult characters, jeez.'
Filling his days cramming secret manuals and training mental techniques made him feel suffocated, as if he'd returned to his exam-cramming days.
He wanted to do a draw to change his mood, but the total currency gathered from daily rewards so far was only 800 silver.
It was still not enough to do a draw.
'I don't know when the Banya Singong will reach 1-star, so naturally I can't clear the mission either. My growth is completely stalled.'
It had only been three days, but he wanted to feel even the slightest development; since there wasn't any, he felt incredibly impatient.
And as if reading So Jongcheon's thoughts, a new mission appeared.
[Mission triggered!]
"Ooh?"
[Path of Learning]
[Attend one class excluding mandatory subjects.]
[Reward: 300 silver]
Moreover, it wasn't difficult.
'300 silver just for attending any class? That's sweet. I have 800 silver now, so I can do a draw today.'
In a good mood thanks to the easy mission practically telling him to take free money, So Jongcheon hummed and checked the schedule.
'The nearest class is... Introduction to Battle Formations? This seems like a headache-inducing subject. Isn't there something else? Ah!'
As So Jongcheon scanned the schedule, the class "Practical Fist Arts Instruction" caught his eye.
He thought, this is it.
Wasn't it better to take a class on fist arts that his body remembered rather than something he knew nothing about?
Having made up his mind, So Jongcheon headed to the lecture location.
And he immediately regretted his decision.
"To think you'd come here. Right, come to think of it, you also learned fist arts."
'Oh, fuck!'
Practical Fist Arts Instruction.
The instructor for that class was Samjeolgwonho Chu Omyeong.
'I should've checked who was in charge before coming! Why did it have to be this guy?'
Thinking about it, it was only natural that the instructor for a fist arts class would be a fist artist.
There couldn't be only one fist-using instructor, but it was his own mistake for not realizing this situation might happen.
'Ugh, I walked right into my own grave.'
The way Chu Omyeong glared with ominous eyes while grinning didn't look like he'd let this go nicely.
Even if he said he'd go to another class now, it didn't seem like he'd be let off.
'Nothing to be done.'
So Jongcheon suppressed his desire to flee and forcibly joined the ranks of the attendees.
"Pair up in twos and form groups."
Chu Omyeong's Practical Fist Arts Instruction proceeded with participants sparring, after which he pointed out problems and areas for improvement.
Someone approached So Jongcheon, who was standing there blankly.
"Hey, So Jongcheon! Let's pair up."
When he turned around, a man came into view with a clearly sneering smile on his lips.
One shouldn't judge by appearances, but he somehow gave off a rather sly impression.
"I don't mind, but you know my name while I don't know yours?"
"What? You really are a funny guy. You don't know me, a group leader? Or are you pretending not to know?"
Hearing the word "group leader," he thought hard and recognized that he had indeed seen the face before.
He was one of the four who had been selected as group leaders on the first day.
"Aah! Was it Moyong Seolhun?"
"It's Moyong Seolho!"
"Ah, it was close."
"Kuh... You're putting on quite the airs just because you made a name for yourself with some bizarre antics."
"It's not like I wanted to become known that way. Anyway, you were the fourth group leader in last place, right?"
Words spat out without any particular meaning.
But Moyong Seolho took them differently.
"You bastard... Are you looking down on me?!"
"...?"
The group leader positions were filled based on the entrance exam results.
If they were selected in order from first place, then the number 4 could be taken to mean the lowest among the group leaders.
Of course, there was no such intention, but So Jongcheon's use of the word "last" offended Moyong Seolho.
"Let's see what kind of skill you have!"
At Moyong Seolho's furious appearance, So Jongcheon pondered slightly and looked around.
'I don't know why he's going off, but anyway, he was chosen as a group leader so he must be way stronger than me. The fact that someone like him singled me out... is he planning to humiliate me in front of others?'
Looking around, the others seemed to have already formed pairs.
Including the instructor Chu Omyeong, everyone was watching this direction with great interest, so it seemed there was no option to back out.
His wandering gaze stopped at the sword scabbard hanging at Moyong Seolho's waist.
It couldn't be just for decoration, which meant he had definitely learned the sword.
'Why is a sword guy attending a fist arts class? Tsk! But if his main focus is the sword, he probably isn't good at fist arts, right?'
If he only took interest in fist arts as a supplementary martial art, then even if he was a skilled group leader, he should be beatable, So Jongcheon thought.
After all, this body had trained in fist arts for ten years.
"Fine."
In the first place, finding a trainee weaker than So Jongcheon would be difficult no matter who the opponent was.
Since there was a reward on the line, he didn't want to give up and back out, so he decided to try as much as he could.
'Right now I'm a nobody with nothing, so even if I lose face, it can't be helped. Since it's an unarmed sparring match, it shouldn't be too dangerous.'
Fist arts weren't very popular among the trainees, so there were only sixteen participants, but even so, they couldn't all spar at once.
The sparring order was determined by groups according to Chu Omyeong's designation, and So Jongcheon and Moyong Seolho were last.
"Instructor, why is my order last?"
Moyong Seolho expressed his displeasure as if he didn't like the order, and Chu Omyeong answered simply.
"Because it looks the most interesting."
"Pardon?"
"I'm the type who saves the tastiest part for last."
"..."
He couldn't argue when the instructor said that was his preference.
"The time limit is half a gak. I will give the stop signal when time is up. You don't necessarily have to decide a winner. Just do your best. If a dangerous situation occurs, I'll intervene, but if your skill difference becomes obvious, you may concede on your own."
With Chu Omyeong's words, the sparring began.
"Hahp!"
"Cha!"
Though there were clear skill differences among the trainees, since they were all just fifteen years old, the gap wasn't enormous yet.
Watching spars between others of similar level was a form of study in itself.
Of course, even if not, few things were as entertaining as watching a fight.
'Ugh...'
However, So Jongcheon couldn't focus on watching with peace of mind.
'Isn't this too intense for a kids' fight?'
It wasn't the kind of spar he had taken lightly.
Even without weapons, they were still martial arts meant to injure people.
As he watched the sparring, So Jongcheon seriously considered whether it wouldn't be better to just quit before his turn came.