Strongest in Murim Through Gacha – Chapter 7
5. Sparring
They were at an age where, if they had been on Earth, they would still be in middle school. Yet, perhaps because they were martial artists, they exchanged attacks and defenses of such a high level that it felt like watching a professional fighting tournament on TV.
So Jongcheon stole a sideways glance, sizing up Murong Seolho.
‘This guy is stronger than the ones fighting over there? Tch… I wonder if I’m just going to get beaten like a dog.’
The thought of having to fight that intensely deflated his spirits slightly.
It was true that he, too, possessed a body trained in martial arts, but that experience wasn’t something he had accumulated himself.
Though he shared the memories, he honestly lacked confidence in whether he could wield them with the proficiency of someone who had learned them firsthand.
‘Tch, no point whining about it now. Nothing’s going to change.’
After a moment’s hesitation, So Jongcheon opened his inventory window and tapped the appraisal scroll.
He hadn’t wanted to waste an appraisal scroll on just anyone, but he was curious about his sparring opponent’s information.
[Appraisal successful.]
The moment he designated his target, the opponent’s information window immediately popped up before his eyes.
[Name: Murong Seolho]
[Alias: None]
[Talent]
[Comprehension 6.89]
[Physique 9.01]
[Perception 7.04]
[Internal Energy 1.98]
[Martial Arts]
[Geongong Cheongang Heart Method ?-Star]
[Cheonun Three Swords ?-Star]
[Ilyeopnak 4-Star]
[Bilyeo Fifteen Swords ?-Star]
[Byeokpa Fist 5-Star]
[Hyeonmungu Sword 2-Star]
‘These are martial arts with names I’ve seen before. The Murong family did appear a few times in the martial arts novels I read. His stats are definitely higher than mine, around Han Sahye’s level, I suppose.’
Having checked Murong Seolho’s information, So Jongcheon clicked his tongue inwardly.
‘So that’s the level of the top rankers among our peers, both Han Sahye and him. My stats probably place me in the lower ranks. Still, my Perception stat is higher than either his or Han Sahye’s, but I don’t even know exactly what ability that is.’
The sample size was too small.
If he wanted to properly understand what these stats meant, he would likely have to use appraisal scrolls on other people as well.
‘Money is the problem, as expected. If appraisal scrolls cost around 10 silver, I’d use them freely, but at 100 silver each… I wish more quests with rewards would appear, but I don’t even know the principle behind how quests are generated, damn it.’
While he was checking the information window, the first group finished, and the second group’s sparring began.
While the sparring continued in order, So Jongcheon sifted through Murong Seolho’s information window for anything useful.
‘The appraisal cost isn’t cheap, but being able to know which martial arts my opponent has mastered is helpful.’
He couldn’t see all the proficiency levels, but at least up to half—5-star—was displayed.
Anything marked with a question mark meant a minimum of 6-star or higher.
And among Murong Seolho’s martial arts, the only one that appeared to be a fist art was the Byeokpa Fist at 5-star.
‘His fist art is at 5-star while my Chuyeong Fist is at 8-star. I have the advantage in fist art proficiency? Maybe this is worth trying after all?’
Of course, it would be difficult to place the fist art of the Murong family—a prestigious clan of the martial world—on the same level as the hereditary martial art of a nameless martial family, but even so, a faint hope arose that he wouldn’t be defeated too easily.
While he was thinking this, a notification popped up.
[Quest: The Path of Learning has been completed.]
[Acquired 300 silver.]
“Huh?”
Flustered by the sudden quest completion, he quickly regained his composure.
‘The condition was to attend the class, right? It’s not my turn yet, but it seems attending was acknowledged since some time had passed since the class started.’
There was no reason to refuse when rewards were being offered.
With the additional 300 silver, he now had 1,100 silver.
So Jongcheon immediately used the treasure draw.
[Would you like to open 1 Human-grade Treasure Chest?]
‘Of course. Spin! Spin the wheel!’
A circular disc visible only to him appeared.
Silver like cracks, a small amount of copper, and large sections of blank space.
‘Silver is probably out of reach, but at least hit copper if nothing else!’
Had his prayers been answered?
The needle stopped on a copper section so small it couldn’t have occupied even one-tenth of the whole.
‘Ooh!’
[Acquired a copper-tier martial art!]
‘Hm? It’s a martial art this time, not a miracle elixir?’
After checking the notification, he immediately opened his inventory and tapped the appraisal scroll.
The copper sphere floating with a question mark transformed into the shape of a book.
[Appraisal successful.]
[Acquired Chuhontoe Secret Manual.]
‘Hmm…’
Since he had been racking his brain trying to learn the Prajna Divine Skill, seeing the book gave him an unwarranted sense of reluctance.
But this was a game item that required no study or effort.
Clearly, simply using it would allow him to learn the martial art, just like a miracle elixir.
‘Chuhontoe, a kicking technique. Something like this should be used immediately.’
Though the class focused primarily on fist arts, that didn’t mean he couldn’t use his feet.
Foot techniques, palm techniques, finger techniques, kicking techniques, and so on.
Since it was a class that taught unarmed combat without weapons, gaining another move he could use in addition to the Chuyeong Fist was a plus.
He figured it would definitely help given that he was about to spar.
[Would you like to use the Chuhontoe Secret Manual?]
He accepted without hesitation.
Then, another notification popped up.
[You have an ongoing quest to acquire a martial art. Would you like to complete the quest through a secret manual?]
“Ah.”
He had forgotten in his eagerness to try out the gacha result.
Had the kind notification not appeared, he wouldn’t have thought of it.
‘So can I use the secret manual separately from the quest?’
Upon checking, it wasn’t limited to only acquiring the martial art and completing the quest; there was also an option to learn the martial art via the secret manual but not reflect it in the quest.
The confirmation alert was also unexpectedly considerate for a game notorious for being trash.
Of course, there was nothing wrong with completing the quest here and receiving the reward.
However, the reward was distributed differentially depending on which martial art was acquired, which gave him pause.
‘It’s a copper-grade martial art. Tch… I don’t know what color the Prajna Divine Skill would be if graded like this, but surely the reward would be greater than a copper one.’
After deliberating, So Jongcheon chose to delay the quest.
Though he wasn’t making progress on it, he had no intention of giving up on the Prajna Divine Skill just yet, so he decided to wait a bit longer.
After delaying the quest and using the secret manual, knowledge of the martial art called Chuhontoe began flowing into his mind.
It was a far more peculiar sensation than when he had used a miracle elixir.
After a brief moment, a notification appeared.
[Acquired Chuhontoe, 3-Star.]
“Three-star?”
He had naturally expected it to start from 1-star, so it was unexpected.
But perhaps it was true that human greed knew no bounds; upon learning it didn’t start at 1-star, he somehow found the value of 3-star lackluster.
‘If they’re giving it anyway, it should’ve just been 10-star from the start.’
Anyone hearing that would click their tongue and point fingers at his shamelessly thieving mindset.
So Jongcheon reviewed the knowledge of the now-his Chuhontoe in his mind.
Chuhontoe was a single move leaning towards a counter-attack technique. It was extremely simple yet contained considerable power.
‘Since it’s composed of exactly one move, I should treat it as a martial art for a hidden trump card.’
The martial art obtained through the gacha had a rather unique feel to it.
Though he fully understood in his head what the realm of 10-star was like, what his body could actually execute was 3-star according to the notification.
‘The gap between 10-star and 3-star is like heaven and earth, but it’ll still be a big help for now. In any case, since I know the correct path through knowledge, raising the proficiency through training should be much easier.’
Compared to the Prajna Divine Skill, whose basics he couldn’t even grasp, a martial art acquired through gacha was definitely much easier to raise in proficiency.
Since he was about to spar soon, he was also glad that a martial art he could put to immediate use had come out.
The preceding groups’ sparring all ended, and finally, it was So Jongcheon and Murong Seolho’s turn.
The two faced each other and cupped their fists in greeting.
“Murong Seolho of the Murong family. I’ll face you with the Byeokpa Fist.”
“So Jongcheon. I’ve learned the Chuyeong Fist.”
Since he wasn’t obligated to reveal every martial art he knew, he didn’t bother mentioning the Chuhontoe.
After exchanging greetings, the two put distance between them and took their stances.
‘Whew, standing here like this is making me quite nervous.’
Having been an ordinary citizen who lived in a peaceful world, he felt tension creep in and his shoulders stiffen.
It wasn’t a life-or-death struggle, but there was still the risk of injury, which was a natural reaction for someone unaccustomed to violence.
“Hoo, hoo…”
[Quest initiated!]
“Huh?”
A new notification appeared before So Jongcheon as he was regulating his breathing.
‘At a time like this?’
[First Sparring]
[Successfully complete the sparring.]
[Reward: Distributed differentially based on sparring results.]
‘So I get a reward just for sparring? Well, much obliged.’
A quest where he could obtain a reward regardless of victory or defeat.
However, since it stated the reward was distributed differentially based on results, obviously winning would yield a greater reward than losing or drawing.
Regardless of the sport, concentration was bound to differ between doing something casually and doing it with a reward on the line.
‘I don’t know about winning, but I’ll grit my teeth and endure so I don’t go down without a fight!’
Thanks to the quest popping up, he steadied his wavering mind and escaped the tension that had nearly overwhelmed him.
A voice reached So Jongcheon’s ears as he steeled his will to fight.
“If you are prepared, begin.”
It was Chu Omyeong’s command.
With that, the sparring began.
“Come.”
Murong Seolho flicked his hand with an arrogant expression.
As the saying goes, the early bird catches the worm; even in a match like this, the one who moved first could easily seize a favorable position.
It was because Murong Seolho completely looked down on So Jongcheon that he conceded the first move like a master facing a novice.
‘Bastard… he’s got the face of someone who thinks he absolutely can’t lose.’
He had confirmed through the information window that the opponent’s talent and level of learned martial arts were higher, but being ignored to his face like this made his blood boil slightly.
‘Scratch just enduring. I want to somehow land one proper hit on top of that.’
So Jongcheon steeled his resolve and moved first.
“Haht!”
He kicked off the ground, letting out a ki shout as he threw a straight punch.
It was a familiar form ingrained in his body through consistent training since childhood.
Due to the disconnect between his mind and body, trivial memories still felt awkward, but when it came to performing martial arts, he had apparently absorbed the experience properly; it came quite naturally.
“Hah.”
Murong Seolho snorted and moved half a step to the side, evading the punch.
To not give his opponent room to counter, So Jongcheon continued with a chain of attacks.
Renzhong, Lianquan, Shuiyue.
Attacks aimed at the vital points along the centerline of the human body.
But not a single one landed; they continuously missed by a hair’s breadth.
‘No, it’s not that I’m narrowly missing. He’s leisurely dodging with minimal movement. Damn… it means he’s reading all of my attacks.’
The Chuyeong Fist was a basic martial art created for training, composed solely of straightforward, orthodox moves.
If the user were a seasoned martial artist, they would be able to appropriately mix in variations and feints, but So Jongcheon had only ever trained alone, so his actual combat experience was extremely lacking.
As such, there was no way Murong Seolho, who had received proper education from a prestigious family, would be hit by such simple attacks.
“They are so obvious that it’s almost surprising.”
Murong Seolho deflected several attacks with light footwork and began his counterattack.
As Murong Seolho struck toward his face with a knife hand as if to gouge his eyes, So Jongcheon reflexively raised his arm to block.
“Simple.”
Murong Seolho changed his motion and struck with his opposite fist at So Jongcheon’s flank.
Thwack!
“Kuh!”
As he tried to retreat from the throbbing pain, Murong Seolho’s attacks followed faster.
“Slow.”
Sting.
He felt a pain as if pierced by something sharp near his right pectoral muscle.
Murong Seolho held a pose with a lightly clenched fist extended.
He had been struck by the technique Seomjeon Byeokpa, the fastest technique of the Byeokpa Fist.
Had he not seen it directly, he might have mistaken it for a spear thrust rather than a fist.
“Ugh!”
Perhaps because a major acupoint had been struck, his right arm felt momentarily paralyzed. So Jongcheon gritted his teeth and swung with his left fist with all his might.
An attempt to break the opponent’s offensive.
Loading his fist with every ounce of internal strength he could muster, he felt his dantian flare up with heat.
“Pathetic.”
Yet despite So Jongcheon’s all-out attack, Murong Seolho met it with a fist strike that seemed to move slowly, his face looking as if he found it trivial.
Fist met fist.
Boom!
The collision between strikes brimming with internal energy produced a sound unlike what one would expect from fists made of mere flesh and blood.