Chapter 21.
The Poison Demon and the Chaebol Subordinates (1)
There are monts like that in life. When fortune cos rolling in. When the world whispers to you, 'Just reach out. I'll take care of the rest'. In my past life. Such monts never ca to — soone who had clawed their way up from hell. But I believe. Soday. Those monts will co for too. And when they do, without question.
"Straight ahead."
* * *
Three million dollars for a Frost Poison cure.
These insane bastards!
If the dicine costs four billion three hundred million won, how is anyone supposed to buy it?
Simple.
……The wealthy gentlen right before my eyes.
I asked the brothers.
"Do you happen to know who your father fought?"
"……!"
The brothers looked at each other.
"Well…… Father lost consciousness so we can't be certain, but he had recently grown close to the Bell Tower Sect."
The Bell Tower Sect.
A newly risen pseudo-religion.
A cult that worships the Murim Tower as savior and ssiah. Fanatics who believe that conquering the tower will bring salvation.
The ones who grabbed gaphones and scread when the Murim Tower turned gold.
So the Bell Tower Sect has a Frost Poison master.
The brother urgently continued.
"That's why we absolutely must obtain the Red-rank reward."
"……."
Devoted sons, these two.
They had tried to obtain dicinal herbs through their own sect, the Goryeo Sword Sect, but received only the answer that there was no way.
That was also why these brothers had been lurking around the Black Market's herb shop.
Clutching at the last straw, they had co to the Black Market in hopes of curing their father.
They said they'd already been waiting a full week with nothing to show for it.
So their fallback plan was to challenge the Red rank of the 22nd floor themselves.
For their father……
They explained.
"To earn the Red rank reward, we must kill the Lord of the Demon Wind Manor within 2 hours of entering the tower — but even getting close to that wretched wind takes a full day of struggling through it, let alone 2 hours."
The Demon Wind Manor.
A mountain manor swept by demonic winds.
A notorious evil path faction infamous for the sinister rituals conducted within.
……Damn. The Demon Wind Manor and I also share deep bad blood.
Murim Tower bastard, you're really sothing.
Anyway, new information acquired — the Demon Wind Manor appears on the 21st floor.
On top of that, 2 hours? Not 10 minutes?
The raging gale in the manor must be the reason for the ti difference.
It could also be that their target rank differs from mine, or because the Murim Tower is giving its uniquely nasty bonus missions.
Thud!
The brothers grabbed my hands.
They fell over each other pouring out their requests.
"Senior. Please……. Is there no secret? When we ask our Goryeo Sword Sect seniors they say there's no way other than just fighting through the wind for a full day."
"We barely cleared the 21st floor, but the rank we received was only Yellow."
"China gets Red rank. There must be a different path!"
"Senior, you are a Solo Climber. Surely you have so secret to your solo clear."
There is indeed a way in.
A 'secret passage' that leads directly from a cliff into the manor.
A hidden plank road concealed in that cliff.
It's a roundabout route, but one can slip into the manor unseen.
However, even if I told these two brothers about that path.
Could they kill the Demon Wind Manor's formidable lord, the Demon Wind Ghost King Myo Dan-u, within 3 hours?
……Impossible. Not with their level of skill.
I shook my head.
"Senior!"
"Please!"
They begged desperately, but there was no way.
They needed the power to kill the Demon Wind Ghost King in a single strike.
Sothing like our Tang Family's hidden weapon, the Storm Pear Blossom Needles, at minimum.
But we don't have that.
And even if we did, there's no reason to give sothing so precious to brothers I've only just t.
Even if I had it, there's no ti to teach them the Tang Family's secret hidden weapon technique.
Of course, if there were a 'Storm Soul-Crushing Needle Tube' — which allows one to use the Storm Pear Blossom Needles at close range without knowing the technique — it might be possible.
But we don't have that either.
Therefore, impossible.
"……."
When my expression darkened.
"Hic……."
"Is there…… Truly no way? Please……. Hic hic."
The brothers finally began to cry.
They must have been pinning their last hope on .
But what could I do.
Giving them false hope would only get these brothers killed.
It would be better to make them give up by telling them there's no way……
Ding!
[Mission: Help the Choi Brothers, Second-Generation Heirs, achieve a Red rank clear on the 23rd floor of the tower!]
—Upon success:
① You will forge a deep connection with 'Baekgyeong', a top-6 conglorate.
② The Choi Brothers will serve you as their lifelong benefactor.
③ Happiness Points 20,000
—Upon failure:
The CEO and the Choi Brothers die.
[Mission: Help the Choi Brothers, Second-Generation Heirs, achieve a Scarlet rank clear on the 22nd floor of the tower!]
—Upon success:
① Your Pear Blossom Needles will be upgraded to Storm Pear Blossom Needles.
② A 'Storm Soul-Crushing Needle Tube' will be granted (single-use).
③ Happiness Points 10,000
—Upon failure:
The CEO and the Choi Brothers die.
Well now.
A reason I didn't have before just appeared.
……Straight ahead.
"You two."
Swoosh.
"How are you with cliffs?"
***
We left the Black Market and headed to the parking lot.
Beep beep.
Oh. An insanely expensive sports car.
A white Porsche blinked its lights at .
I walked over, impressed.
"Wow. Does sothing like this go for over a hundred million?"
"About three hundred forty million."
Hmm.
The lives of the wealthy.
Click.
The younger brother opened the rear door. The so-called owner's seat.
"Allow ."
Our destination was their ho.
A magnificent mansion. The basent floor even had a training hall.
True to their wealth, expensive-looking swords were mounted on the walls.
Of similar quality to the sword I'd obtained from the Dark Moon Pavilion Master on the 2nd floor.
There were also bows and arrows.
Judging by the way the brothers walked.
It was clear they had primarily trained in archery rather than bladework.
I said to them.
"Do you have paper and ink?"
"……Pardon?"
"Oh, paper and a pen."
They brought A4 paper and a ballpoint pen.
I glanced at it — even the pen was a luxury brand.
Scratch scratch.
I sketched the Demon Wind Manor and the cliff.
The brothers marveled.
"That's exactly right. This is the Demon Wind Manor just as I saw it."
Conviction shone in their eyes.
Until just monts ago.
Their gaze had said 'Could it be……?'
But now they believed completely.
Of course they should.
I'm the Poison Demon.
"Here."
I pointed near the cliff by the entrance.
"There was a thicket here."
"That's right. Behind that thicket, if you go in a little further, there's a plank road made of wooden boards."
"A plank road?"
They looked as if they'd never heard of it.
Of course, they wouldn't know.
Even I only discovered it in my past life after attacking the Demon Wind Manor and finding it while collecting things on my way out.
"You can trust . Why else would I be a Solo Climber?"
"Aah!"
Admiration blood in the brothers' eyes.
[The brothers are pleased. 500 Happiness]
"Then we'll enter from here and go straight to strike the Demon Wind Ghost King."
They gripped the swords at their waists tightly.
"That won't work."
"Pardon?"
A puzzled look.
"Because the two of you cannot defeat the Demon Wind Ghost King."
"But to earn the Red rank……."
"You need to kill the Demon Wind Ghost King."
"We know. But."
I shook my head.
"It's beyond the two of you."
They bowed their heads. The older brother spoke.
"We'll get help from our sect. If we aim for the plank road on the 22nd floor with the comrades who cleared the 21st floor, it might be possible."
That was true.
You can ascend the tower but cannot descend.
For the two brothers, who weren't at the peak master level, a solo clear was impossible.
But there was a problem.
First.
"This information is sothing I'm sharing because I heard your story. It's top-secret intelligence."
"Ah……."
"I do not want the entire Goryeo Sword Sect to know about it. Absolutely not."
Information needed to climb the tower is directly linked to one's life.
Information about a way to enter the Demon Wind Manor bypassing the gale would be of imnse value.
They seed to understand this.
The brother said.
"We'll properly compensate you for the information."
Of course.
But if I accepted it too eagerly, I'd look like soone only after money.
That can wait.
"There is another problem. This plank road is very fragile. If too many people go, it will break."
"Su-such a thing!"
To clear the manor they'd want to send in at least dozens of people, but the plank road had been designed so that multiple people could not use it.
The secret plank road.
Built so that only the Demon Wind Ghost King or a handful of elder-level figures could use it.
I said with a firm expression.
"You two will carry out the clear."
"Pardon?"
"How are the two of us supposed to achieve Red rank — S-rank?"
"It's not Red."
"……?"
"For the 22nd floor, we're aiming for Scarlet — A-rank."
***
The plan was as follows.
The brothers enter via the plank road.
The plank road connects to the rear of the Grand Hall where the Demon Wind Manor's lord, the Demon Wind Ghost King, resides.
The manor's gale is a type of sorcery controlled by the Demon Wind Ghost King's treasure orb.
The location of the manor and the gale blowing from the valley.
Combined with the orb's spell on top of that.
The orb causes a raging gale for 3 days, then gathers the valley winds again for 2 ti-periods — 4 hours.
This is done by the Demon Wind Manor's elders carrying the orb out themselves.
"This is the perfect opportunity."
Tap.
I took a bow off the wall.
"Use this bow to shoot and destroy that orb."
"And then?"
"The orb will explode and clean out the Demon Wind Ghost King's subordinates entirely."
That was the only way.
"What if we miss?"
"Then everyone dies."
Swish.
I drew my finger across my throat.
Gulp.
The brothers swallowed hard. Their expressions were filled with tension.
I asked them.
"How confident are you in your archery?"
"We're decent enough……."
"Let see."
They shot the bows.
Thwack. Thwack thwack!
Oh. Quite good. Every shot hit.
Their bows and arrows in particular were of exceptional quality.
The draw weight was high, and since the brothers were tower climbers they were strong, giving their shots trendous destructive power.
I pointed at a marble statue and told them to hit it.
Crack!
The head of the marble statue shattered.
Good, this is clearly viable.
Their form was a bit unusual, though.
"That's not the archery thod of the martial world, is it?"
The younger brother answered.
"Actually, we've trained in traditional Korean archery since childhood. Our father taught us, saying it would help with focus."
So that was it.
That's why their form looked strange.
"Why do you carry swords then?"
"We learned bladework while climbing the tower."
Ah, what a ss.
I pressed my hand to my forehead.
Now I understood.
Martial arts of the martial world use energy.
Energy flows through the body, and one uses energy through an artificial dantian — but this is limited to weapons gripped directly in the hand, like swords and spears.
Of course, at my level of mastery, projecting sword energy and even executing sword force is possible, but.
For ordinary people it's difficult.
That's why a master of archery — who must infuse energy into a projectile and release it — was revered as a truly extraordinary master even in the martial world I had lived in.
In this world too, tower climbers who used archery could be counted on one hand.
Given such circumstances, they had forced themselves to learn bladework.
"If you've trained sothing precious, you should think about how to properly put it to use."
The brothers said.
"The bladework masters of our Goryeo Sword Sect are top-tier."
"I know, but everyone has a path that suits them."
Their approach was wrong.
Ti to set them on the right path.
"Abandon bladework and train your footwork. The two of you are masters of archery."
Create distance, and even without channeling energy, it will surely surpass the bladework they had forced themselves to learn.
How many masters have lost their lives to a blind arrow on the battlefield?
"We'll take that to heart."
Encouraged by being called archery 'masters', the brothers nodded.
For a mont I considered teaching them the archery I knew……
……Oh for goodness' sake.
I decided against it.
I never took disciples in my past life, and I'm not here to raise disciples now.
The brothers started shooting their bows.
Twang twang. Thwack thwack.
Watching them…… I started to feel a genuine itch inside that I couldn't suppress.
"Co here. I'll teach you footwork first."
In the past that would have been out of the question, but.
Right now I'm in a situation where I need to accumulate Happiness Points.
I steeled myself and rolled up my sleeves.
……Not just because they're heirs to a conglorate.
***
I taught them the first 9 steps of the Big Dipper Eighteen Steps.
A footwork technique based on the seven stars of the Big Dipper and the twelve surrounding stars.
It was a level of advanced footwork that so might consider a waste to share, but that was fine.
I can't use it now due to insufficient inner energy, but I have peerless footwork techniques of my own.
And if they succeeded, it would be a great gain for as well.
"Much improved."
"Thank you!"
The older of the two brothers.
Choi Jae-jun answered energetically, while.
"Thanks to your teaching, Senior."
The younger, Choi Jae-hwa, bowed his head.
[The brothers are pleased. 500 Happiness]
The remaining ti for them was one week.
I looked after them every day while running the Bungeoppang stall.
And on the day of the decisive battle.
We t in front of the Murim Tower.
I didn't even go to work that day.
Mother and grandmother had agreed to take over the stall for .
Choi Jae-jun pulled his cap down low and ca to ask .
"Is it alright that we haven't told our Goryeo Sword Sect that only the two of us are entering the tower?"
"If you tell them? Everyone will swarm in and the plank road will collapse. Then it's a failure."
The younger, Choi Jae-hwa, asked.
"They'll hold us accountable when we return."
"What does a little accountability matter? Father's life is more important."
"Well, at most they'd just expel us."
Expulsion? Please.
These two are heirs to a conglorate.
Would the Goryeo Sword Sect ever expel them?
Just before they entered, the brothers said.
"If we do get expelled……."
"Shall we form a sect with you, Senior?"
Pfft.
"I wish you good fortune on your climb."
I gave a light fist-and-palm salute.
"Yes!"
The brothers followed suit.
They disappeared.
Now it was ti to wait.
Ti inside the Murim Tower flows the sa as real-world ti.
To achieve Scarlet — A-rank — they had to succeed within 4 hours.
I waited, anxious.
"Please, please, please……!"
Crunch, crunch.
I chewed on Bungeoppang like it was iron rebar.
2 hours passed.
Nothing changed.
Red rank — S-rank — had failed.
I hadn't expected it anyway.
3 hours passed.
"……Has sothing happened?"
There should have been so reaction by now.
3 hours 30 minutes elapsed.
I had no more Bungeoppang to eat.
"What are you two doing. You have to succeed!"
3 hours 50 minutes.
"……Have they failed? No! You have to save Father, you two!"
3 hours 52 minutes…… 54 minutes……
"Haaa……."
I let out a long sigh and removed the cap I'd been wearing.
A failure then. What now.
A failure is a failure, but.
It was hard to accept that the two brothers I'd forged a connection with weren't coming back.
The imdiate reward aside, they could have beco valuable contacts.
On top of that, their devotion for their father had made even my cold heart beat again.
"Just co back alive."
I clasped my hands together and was about to pray to the gods of the martial world.
Whooom—
The 22nd floor of the tower turned orange and!
Ding!
[Mission Success!]
[The Choi Brothers, Second-Generation Heirs, achieved a Scarlet rank clear on the 22nd floor of the tower!]
—The brothers succeeded by the skin of their teeth after desperate, blood-soaked effort.
—Please shower them with praise!
—Your Pear Blossom Needles are upgraded to Storm Pear Blossom Needles.
—A device that temporarily allows you to execute the Storm Pear Blossom Needles will be granted.
—Happiness Points 10,000
Success after 3 hours and 58 minutes.
I ran toward the Murim Tower.
"Senioooor!"
The brothers ca running.
Whoosh!
They threw themselves into my arms.
[The brothers are pleased. 3,000 Happiness]
[Your heart is deeply relieved. 2,000 Happiness]
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