Chapter 34

Chapter 34

They had almost left after collecting only the sword.

Baek Cheon-myeong took out the Blood Moon Grail and turned around.

"Come to think of it, appraise this as well."

"Ah, an Appraisal!"

Yoo Ah-rin's face brightened.

It was her specialty.

Of course she was happy.

She immediately took the Blood Moon Grail and activated Appraisal.

She was excited at the thought of being useful to Baek Cheon-myeong.

But gradually,

her expression froze.

The corners of her eyes began trembling.

Cold sweat formed across her face.

[Name: Blood Moon Grail]

[Classification: ■■]

[Rank: ■■ (■■)]

[Attributes: ■■ · ■■]

[■■■■■ ■■■ ■■■ ■■ ■■■■ ■■ ■■■ ■■.]

[■■■ ■■■ ■■■ ■■■ ■■ ■■■ ■■■ ■■ ■■■ ■■ ■■■ ■■ ■■■ ■ ■■ ■■■■■.]

Except for the name,

nothing could be read.

"W, what... what is this?"

Yoo Ah-rin looked completely shaken.

Baek Cheon-myeong understood immediately.

"You can't see it."

Yoo Ah-rin flinched.

Her eyes trembled violently.

Thud.

It looked as if her own value had just fallen inside her heart.

Her eyes grew hot.

Her Appraisal skill had definitely improved recently.

Yet she couldn't read a single word besides the name.

Tears filled her eyes.

"...Sniff."

The tip of her nose turned red.

She couldn't hold back her tears anymore.

Even Kang Ha-min felt sorry for her.

Mr. Baek Cheon-myeong, tell her it's okay first!

Kang Ha-min quickly shouted.

Baek Cheon-myeong looked confused,

but answered anyway.

"It's fine."

He took the Blood Moon Grail back and turned around.

"This is enough."

Yoo Ah-rin quickly came to her senses and raised her head.

"I, I'm sorry! Next time, I absolutely will!"

"Yes. I'll ask you again next time."

She had failed the Appraisal,

yet he still said he would return.

Yoo Ah-rin lowered her head with tears in her eyes.

Next time.

Next time, definitely!

A frightening amount of determination burned inside her eyes.

Leaving Yoo Ah-rin like that,

Baek Cheon-myeong calmly walked outside.

[Master, we'll need to find a new Appraiser.]

Aaaaaah.

Never, ever say that in front of Ms. Yoo Ah-rin!

Yoo Ah-rin's suffering continued.

They still had no idea what the Blood Moon Grail was.

But Tower rewards had already been full of mysteries.

Kang Ha-min decided to store it safely,

believing the day would eventually come when they could use it.

"Master, take it. Your sword."

More importantly,

there was the custom-made sword.

The moment Kang Ha-min received it,

he couldn't hide his admiration.

He already knew it was beautiful from seeing it through Baek Cheon-myeong's eyes.

But seeing it directly was different.

It was truly a dazzling masterpiece.

It had been made through the Fire Forge, right?

They say dwarf weapons have incredible performance.

Would he ever visit the place and meet dwarves himself?

Well,

even if that happened,

he would probably only see it through Baek Cheon-myeong's eyes.

Kang Ha-min still had no intention of personally climbing the Tower.

More importantly,

"Mr. Baek Cheon-myeong, is it really okay for me to use this?"

"This sword obviously looks like it was made for you."

Judging by Yoo Ah-rin's attitude,

she had clearly made it expecting Baek Cheon-myeong to use it.

"Master."

Baek Cheon-myeong lightly drew the wooden sword in his hand.

"Any sword this body uses becomes a masterpiece, even if it is merely a tree branch."

His confidence was overflowing.

"At this point, the value of the sword itself means nothing to me."

A true master did not blame his tools.

Baek Cheon-myeong was exactly that kind of person.

"Most swords I use in this world would only last for one attack anyway."

The Extinguishing Star Sword Style filled the sword itself with qi before unleashing it.

Almost no sword could withstand Baek Cheon-myeong's power.

Even Moon Fang would probably become disposable if Baek Cheon-myeong used it seriously.

If that was the case,

it was better for Kang Ha-min to use it.

"I guess I have no choice."

"Please take care of me, Moon Fang."

The moment Kang Ha-min greeted the sword,

Wooooong.

Moon Fang suddenly rang.

Did it just respond to his greeting?

"M, Mr. Baek Cheon-myeong, Moon Fang answered me!"

"Hmm?"

Baek Cheon-myeong approached after realizing something.

"It wasn't only dwarves who worked on this."

"Not only dwarves?"

"Yes. It seems the craftsmanship of the fairy race was added."

"When their craft reaches an extreme level, an ego sometimes forms inside an object."

That meant...

...How much did this thing cost to make?

Kang Ha-min had provided a top-grade Monster Stone.

But Yoo Ah-rin had clearly invested far more money than that.

And considering why she had spent that much,

It was obviously entirely for Mr. Baek Cheon-myeong.

A sword filled with affection for Baek Cheon-myeong.

Ugh.

This is uncomfortable.

Seriously uncomfortable!

If Yoo Ah-rin ever saw Kang Ha-min using this sword,

she might actually be hurt.

She had made it for Baek Cheon-myeong,

and someone else was using it.

"...Is it really okay for me to use this?"

"It was made for Master to use."

"Then should we sell it? It would probably be worth a lot."

"No. No! We absolutely can't sell it!"

Baek Cheon-myeong clearly had no intention of using it.

So Kang Ha-min had no choice.

"Moon Fang, sorry, but I'm your owner."

I know the feelings of the person who made you,

but we're going to have to work together.

WOOOOOOOOONG!

Moon Fang suddenly began vibrating violently.

Powerful shaking ran through Kang Ha-min's hands.

This was clearly rejection.

How dare someone like you touch me!

That kind of sharp emotion poured from the sword.

"I think this thing seriously hates me."

Honestly,

Kang Ha-min could understand the sword's position.

Baek Cheon-myeong was known as the Sword God.

For a sword,

being used by Baek Cheon-myeong would prove its value better than anything else.

Of course it would be happy.

But what about Kang Ha-min?

Unfortunately,

he barely knew anything about swords.

He understood the principles because he shared Baek Cheon-myeong's soul.

But he had only been swinging a sword for a few days.

A famous blade like Moon Fang had every reason to be dissatisfied.

WOOOOOOOOONG!

Moon Fang cried like a bride who had married the man she loved,

only to be kidnapped by some servant.

"Hmm. Its ego is quite strong."

"Master, give it to me."

"Ah, yes."

Did Baek Cheon-myeong also think this would be difficult?

Maybe he had some method for calming swords.

Kang Ha-min handed it over

and watched curiously.

CRACKLE!

Baek Cheon-myeong's qi exploded into Moon Fang like sparks.

"MR. BAEK CHEON-MYEONG!"

Kang Ha-min screamed in horror and stopped him.

Baek Cheon-myeong looked back with confusion.

"What is it?"

"You're trying to break it!"

"I don't know exactly what you're attacking, but you're trying to destroy the core or something, aren't you?!"

"A sword has no need for an ego."

"Why would a tool require a will of its own?"

He really was.

He was genuinely trying to destroy it.

Baek Cheon-myeong's mindset that everything could be solved by breaking it was terrifying.

"No! You can't do that."

"It's fine. I'll convince it somehow."

Kang Ha-min hurriedly took Moon Fang back.

Black smoke was leaking from the sword.

Moon Fang trembled in fear.

It had just realized that it had almost left this world forever.

"Moon Fang, this is your only way to survive."

"Let's get along from now on."

"I'll protect you."

Wooong...

For some reason,

Kang Ha-min could almost imagine Moon Fang shedding tears.

It was like a young bride who had been abused by her beloved husband

and had no choice but to flee with the servant.

At least Moon Fang no longer rejected Kang Ha-min.

In one sense,

the problem had been solved.

His new weapon,

Moon Fang.

It was so beautiful that he kept staring whenever he drew it.

Someday,

if he stood on a battlefield with this sword and swung it,

it would probably look incredible.

Not that I have any intention of going to a battlefield.

Kang Ha-min chuckled.

Then,

"Master, what are you doing?"

Baek Cheon-myeong opened the door to the Heavenly Spirit Medicinal Forest.

"It's time to train."

Uh.

Right.

He had a sword now.

Of course he needed to train.

"Yes. Let's do it."

He had received such a good weapon.

He couldn't just stay lazy.

Unemployed Kang Ha-min decided to train.

Only after ten straight hours of nonstop training

did he realize how terrible that decision had been.

The Second Floor Realm.

Floors 11 through 20.

Starting from the Second Floor Realm,

a Hunter who broke a floor record gained the qualifications of a Floor Lord challenger.

If a Floor Lord already existed,

the Hunter who set a new record gained the right to challenge them.

That was why the lower floors changed Floor Lords more often than anywhere else.

But the Eleventh Floor was special even among the floors of the Second Realm.

[Vajra Martial Hall (རྡོ་རྗེ་རྩལ་ཁང་།)]

It was a martial hall that every Hunter climbing the Tower passed through.

It taught martial arts to new Hunters

so they could climb the Tower more safely.

Countless Hunters had received help from the Vajra Martial Hall.

It had been created for only one reason,

to help beginners.

Because of that,

the Vajra Martial Hall had become a symbolic place among Hunters.

And the master of that hall was

[Vajra (金剛)]

[Tenzin Dorje]

A Tibetan martial artist.

A Hunter who had operated the Vajra Martial Hall for thirty years.

Countless Hunters respected him.

Tenzin was famous for his disciplined life

and his character as a true martial artist.

He was even called a living Wisdom King of Buddhism.

A man who destroyed evil beings and worldly attachments.

Tenzin.

But even he had one painful weakness.

Tibet.

The Tibetan region suffered under many forms of oppression from China.

China had used all kinds of methods to control Tibet for many years.

The reality was even harsher than what the public knew.

Tibetans had carried out large resistance movements similar to independence movements.

Those efforts had been crushed through violent suppression.

The pressure was severe enough to be called cultural erasure.

For Tenzin,

the reality of Tibet was deeply painful.

Then one day,

a man came to his martial hall.

"Tenzin Dorje. A pleasure to meet you."

"I'm from the National People's Congress."

The National People's Congress.

The highest state authority,

with the State Council, Supreme People's Court,

and other national institutions beneath it.

The man had come from there.

"You should be grateful."

"The Chairman has personally given you a special mission."

The Chairman had suddenly given him an order.

Tibet might officially be Chinese territory,

but its people had lived under constant oppression and humiliation.

And now the Chairman was directly assigning him a mission.

It was enough to make anger boil inside Tenzin.

But the man continued with a completely expressionless face.

"There is a man named Baek Cheon-myeong who will soon reach the Eleventh Floor."

Baek Cheon-myeong.

Tenzin knew that name too.

The rising star who had recently appeared in South Korea.

A man who had caused worldwide attention.

"If he appears in the Floor Lord Hall, kill him."

"What are you..."

Tenzin's expression changed in shock.

The man spoke without emotion.

"If you do, several of the restrictions currently placed on Tibet will be lifted."

Tenzin's eyes slowly widened.

Restrictions placed on Tibet.

They would remove several of them

if Tenzin killed Baek Cheon-myeong.

Destroy the future of one Hunter

in exchange for protecting his own people.

"..."

Tenzin couldn't answer.

His voice refused to come out.

"Then I'll take your silence as acceptance."

The man stood.

He knew better than anyone

that Tenzin couldn't simply refuse.

After the man left,

darkness stretched between the pillars of the martial hall.

Tenzin remained sitting there in silence.