***
“Follow me, this is the 7th Squad's barracks.”
We were being guided to the 7th Squad's barracks, following Squad Leader Seol Poong and Deputy Squad Leader Na Seo-yu.
In the squad assignment that had just taken place, after many twists and turns, Young Lady Cheong-yeon, Young Lady Cheon Ju-eun, and I were all assigned to the 7th Squad.
In the worst-case scenario, I thought it would be a relief just not to be placed in Ma Yu-gyeom's 4th Squad, so being placed in the 7th Squad was a surprising and unexpected achievement.
The 7th Squad's barracks, which we arrived at shortly after, was exactly as it was in my memory.
The place where I had lived for seven years in my previous life, the place that had made me a martial artist, and the place where I had gained and then lost many friends.
Suddenly, my heart felt a poignant ache.
The long, rectangular barracks was structured with a common waiting area in the center and male and female quarters at either end.
As Deputy Squad Leader Na Seo-yu took Young Lady Cheong-yeon and Young Lady Cheon Ju-eun to the female quarters, Squad Leader Seol Poong spoke to me.
“There will surely be those among the squad members who try to haze you. I hope you won't take it too much to heart.”
A bit of worry was etched in Squad Leader Seol Poong's eyes as he spoke.
There was no way I didn't know what he was worried about.
I had already experienced it harshly in my previous life.
Suddenly, the memory of the first time I entered the quarters back then came back vividly.
‘What is this? Puhahaha! Is that a pig or a human? Should we just throw him to the demons to eat? Surely he wasn't brought here to fight alongside us?’
‘The third son of the Sunwoo Clan? Ah! I remember now. The one called the shame of the Sunwoo Clan. But to bring such a disgrace to our squad, is the squad leader in his right mind?’
‘Get lost! You disgusting pig! Just looking at your face brings bad luck!’
I didn't know if that could be called hazing, but back then, I used to secretly shed tears every night due to the horrific hatred and ostracization I received from strangers in a strange place.
How painful it had been.
Of course, I eventually managed to rise above all that suffering and change myself, but it was true that at that moment, I was so miserable I wanted to die.
But thinking about entering that place again now made me feel a surge of new emotions.
As I opened the door to the quarters with a pounding heart, they immediately came into view.
“Oh, Squad Leader! Is this a newcomer?”
“Uhahaha! Looking at your build, friend, you must eat as much as I do! Welcome!”
There were the welcoming faces of Bi Sa-yeong and Bae Jong-gwan, friends from my past life who greeted me in their own way.
“What? What kind of pig has arrived?”
“What did you expect? Is there any way a proper newcomer would join? Not with our squad leader.”
“Hehehe, that’s true.”
And the "Three Stooges"—Ha Mu-jin, Ji Man-geum, and Man Gu-in—who were huddled together and mocking me exactly as they had in my memory.
Still, seeing that their reactions were much milder than in the past, I thought again that it was a good thing I had lost weight.
As I looked around at them with an emotional expression, Squad Leader Seol Poong introduced me.
“Now, now, this Young Master Sunwoo Jin is the third son of the prestigious Sunwoo Clan of Guizhou. The front will still be unfamiliar to him, so please help him out a lot.”
“Huh? The Sunwoo Clan?”
The expressions of the three—Ha Mu-jin, Ji Man-geum, and Man Gu-in—turned peculiar upon hearing my introduction.
Since they were from the Ha Clan of Guizhou, the Mando Sect, and the Ji Family Manor respectively, they knew the Sunwoo Clan well.
Ha Mu-jin approached me with an oily smile.
“What? Are you that bastard who was called the shame of the Sunwoo Clan? The one they said was a pig instead of a human?”
Then, Ji Man-geum laughed despicably and joined in.
“That’s him, all right. It’s the third son of the Sunwoo Clan. I remember seeing him before. That idiot who lived while being beaten even by his younger brother. But you’ve lost some weight since then? Back then, I really wondered if you were actually a person of a martial family.”
Hearing that, Ha Mu-jin came forward, poked my chest, and spoke.
“Hey, was it hard getting all the way here? For a pig to lose all that weight. You’d better fatten up again quickly, right? That way you can at least play the role of attracting the demons' attention. Hehehe.”
At their rude behavior, the smile vanished from Squad Leader Seol Poong's face, and Bi Sa-yeong and Bae Jong-gwan also frowned deeply and were about to step forward.
But I was still smiling brightly.
First of all, the level of their insults was much lower than in my memory, and to me, these were all people who had already died.
There were friends who died to save me, and there were bastards who died while running away to save themselves, but regardless, they were all people who had died; thus, even this behavior of theirs couldn't help but feel incredibly welcoming.
With a bright smile, I gripped Ha Mu-jin's hand firmly and spoke.
“It’s good to see you, Ha Mu-jin.”
Then, he flinched in surprise and asked.
“Huh? You know me?”
I nodded and answered cheerfully.
“Yes, I know you well. But first, take a hit.”
“What?”
In the next moment, his body went flying through the air! He spun once and was slammed directly into the ground.
Peo-ok!
“Ke-heok!”
It was a move from the Gale Eighteen Strikes performed as a grappling technique.
He foamed at the mouth from the massive impact.
“Ke-re-re-re!”
Ji Man-geum, who had been laughing in the back, cried out in surprise.
“W-what are you doing?!”
I lunged at him as well, smiling brightly.
“What am I doing? Didn't you call me an idiot?”
“Y-you!”
He hurriedly stood up and thrust his fist at me.
Shu-shuk!
But his fist, belonging to someone who was still merely a second-class saberist, was laughable to me.
Even if my body was still second-class, wasn't my spirit already at the highest level of the first-class realm?
Furthermore, the Gale Eighteen Strikes was a first-class close-combat art that was second to none. My hand, which easily parried his fist, snatched him by the neck.
Kwak!
“Keok! Keok!”
Then, I pulled him sharply and struck his abdomen with my knee.
Peo-ok!
“Ke-he-e-ok!”
Finally, I spun him lightly in the air again and threw him down onto the ground.
Peo-eo-ok!
“Ke-e-e-e-ok!”
The feeling of paying back a debt that had been suppressed since my previous life couldn't have been more refreshing.
Ah, how satisfying.
It was truly a good thing I returned.
With a heart full of satisfaction, I vaulted into the air and landed lightly on top of the fallen Ha Mu-jin's body.
Peo-eo-ok!
“Ke-e-e-e-ok!”
Sorry, I’m still a bit heavy.
I haven't lost all the weight yet.
When I looked at Man Gu-in, who was still sitting there with a blank expression, he quickly shook his head with a terrified face.
“I-I didn't say anything!”
Certainly, he was a bit slow-witted and wasn't despicable enough to actually do anything.
So, just as I was debating whether to leave him alone or beat him up fairly, the door suddenly opened and a man entered the quarters, speaking.
“What is the meaning of this?”
Upon seeing his face, a welcoming smile appeared again.
The leader had finally appeared.
Ha Mu-jin, Ji Man-geum, and Man Gu-in. The "Three Stooges" (Ha-Ji-Man). And the cancerous existence within the 7th Squad who used to lead them and constantly pick fights with Squad Leader Seol Poong: Ju Tae-gyeong, the Beetle of Jeomchang. He had entered the quarters belatedly.
Seeing his two followers sprawled out miserably, he asked me with a sharp gaze.
“I asked what the meaning of this is.”
I clasped my hands with a bright smile and answered.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Brother. I am Sunwoo Jin, who joined the 7th Squad today. As soon as we met, these fellows kindly called me a pig and an idiot, so I expressed a bit of friendliness in return. And who might you be, Brother?”
He narrowed his eyes at my words but soon answered coldly.
“I am Ju Tae-gyeong of the Jeomchang Sect.”
He was a man with immense pride in being a disciple of the Jeomchang Sect.
How immense was it? It was immense enough that he couldn't stand being a squad member under Squad Leader Seol Poong, who was a nameless dreg with no background, and yet he was also immense enough that he would never join in the low-level antics of the "Three Stooges," despite them being his followers.
Therefore, once he heard that they had mocked me as a pig and an idiot, he seemed to have decided not to involve himself.
That could be considered a relief for me for now.
His current martial prowess was roughly at the mid-level of the first-class realm, making him a burdensome opponent for me, who still had a second-class body.
So, I was going to just let him walk away arrogantly after leaving only his name, but Squad Leader Seol Poong suddenly smiled and spoke to him.
“Two female squad members have joined as well. Would you like to have dinner together and introduce yourselves?”
Then, Ju Tae-gyeong glanced at him with a look of contempt without answering and simply walked past.
It was an attitude as if he wasn't even worth answering.
At that rude attitude, I suddenly felt a surge of anger.
‘That bastard?!’
In my previous life, he had constantly responded in that manner to Squad Leader Seol Poong, who tried to lead the squad by encouraging everyone, and he had set himself against the leader at every turn.
And eventually, he caused us to lose someone we should never have lost.
Only after that did Squad Leader Seol Poong lose his patience and change his way of handling things, but by then, it was already too late.
Recalling that memory, I hesitated for a moment.
If I left that fellow alone, he would inevitably become a cancerous presence anyway.
So, it was certain that trampling the bud now was the best course of action.
‘The problem is that his martial prowess at the mid-level of the first-class realm is a bit burdensome for me to touch right now.’
But after deliberating, I finally made my decision.
Even if I didn't trample him myself, I could use Squad Leader Seol Poong to do it, and if that didn't work, couldn't I just provoke him now and trample him later?
In any case, my judgment was that a human like an infected wound would only fester if left alone.
Furthermore, I was already in a state of having experienced the highest level of the first-class realm; therefore, if my physical body could just cross the wall of the first-class realm, I felt I might have a chance of winning somehow.
Now then, shall I provoke him a bit?
What was it that he hated the most?
Smiling at a memory that suddenly came to mind, I spoke in a mocking tone.
“Ah, now that I think about it, you are the Young Hero Ju Tae-gyeong. I have heard many rumors. They call you the Sword Beetle of Jeomchang, right?”
Beetle. It meant insect or snake.
Among the disciples of Jeomchang who were referred to by nicknames of animals like the Sword Dragon, Sword Tiger, or Sword Eagle of Jeomchang, he was merely a snake; that was Ju Tae-gyeong's current position and his source of inferiority.
Ju Tae-gyeong snapped his head toward me with a murderous gaze and asked.
“What did you just say?”
I asked back with a bright smile, as if I had no idea why he was angry.
“Sword Beetle of Jeomchang. Wasn't that your nickname, Brother? That’s what I understood it to be.”
Then, he gripped the hilt of his sword and spoke coldly.
“You investigated too poorly. That is the reason you will die.”
I pretended to be startled and quickly hid behind Squad Leader Seol Poong's back, saying.
“Whoa, what are you doing?! Young Hero Ju Tae-gyeong, the Sword Beetle of Jeomchang!”
Now realizing that I was openly mocking him, he shouted with an enraged face.
“Move, Seol Poong! How dare he mock a disciple of the Great Jeomchang Sect, I can never let him live!”
But Squad Leader Seol Poong still answered with a smiling face.
“Is it not because he just arrived and doesn't know better? Please endure it just this once. Furthermore, if you don't let go of that sword hilt, you will be crossing the line. You don't truly want to do that, do you?”
It was a comforting tone, but a heavy pressure was slowly being emitted from Squad Leader Seol Poong's body.
He faltered and gritted his teeth.
He also knew well what kind of person Squad Leader Seol Poong, a peak-level master, became when he acted in earnest.
I clicked my tongue slightly at the sight.
I had tried to enrage him and make him clash with the squad leader, but to tuck his tail just because the leader frowned once.
As expected, a snake was just a snake.
However, perhaps because he was concerned about the gazes around him, he didn't back down just like that.
“If a mere second-class has deceived a first-class warrior, shouldn't he pay the price?! Are you going to block even that, Seol Poong?”
I immediately replied to those words.
“Ah, I have been rude. My apologies. Since you were treating the squad leader, a peak-level master, so carelessly despite being a mere first-class, I thought Young Hero Ju Tae-gyeong, the Sword Beetle of Jeomchang, was a generous person who didn't care about such trivial things.”
“W-what did you say?!”
His face was now completely flushed red.
Bi Sa-yeong, a friend from my past life who was watching with great interest from the side, burst into laughter and clapped his hands.
“Uhahaha! What a character! A real character has joined us!”
Bi Sa-yeong, who had been on bad terms with Ju Tae-gyeong from the start, seemed to be enjoying himself immensely.
I gave him a smirk and spoke again.
“Furthermore, from what I can see, it seems there is no possibility at all for Young Hero Ju Tae-gyeong, the Sword Beetle of Jeomchang, to catch up to the squad leader's martial prowess. In contrast, with the difference between me and you, Young Hero... I think I could catch up soon? Maybe in a month or two?”
“…What did you say?”
Ju Tae-gyeong, who was now trembling all over, asked me with a gaze that looked as if it would devour me.
“Can you take responsibility for those words?”
I smirked and asked back.
“And what would you do if I could?”
Then, Ju Tae-gyeong spoke to me with a gaze overflowing with venom.
“Three months. I will give you three months. After that, fight me and prove it. I will take the price with your life. Since they are your own words, you won't feel it’s unfair, right?”
“Very well. And what will you do if I win?”
At my expression as I smiled broadly as if I could never lose, he answered with an appearance that looked as if he would explode at any moment.
“Ha! Then shouldn't I also just die?!”
It was a solemn answer, but I shook my head while clicking my tongue.
“Ah, that won't do. How can we let a precious comrade who will fight the demons die like that? Let’s do this. If I win, from then on, you will serve me as your Big Brother. How about it? I think that will be enough for me.”
Then, after glaring at me as if to kill me for a moment, he shouted toward Squad Leader Seol Poong.
“He brought this on himself! You won't stop this as well, will you?!”
Then, without even waiting for an answer, he kicked the door open and left.
Bang!
The "Three Stooges"—Ha, Ji, and Man—who had been holding their breath and watching the situation from the side, quickly followed him.
“T-Tae-gyeong! Wait for us!”
“Let’s go together!”
“M-me too!”
Even after they left, Bi Sa-yeong did not stop laughing.
“Uhahahahaha! How refreshing! So refreshing! You said your name was Sunwoo Jin, right? Let’s be close. I think I’m going to end up adoring you. Khahahahaha!”
Bi Sa-yeong was a disciple of the Bi-jong Sect, which was now almost extinct.
And the reason the Bi-jong Sect was destroyed was because of the Blood Incident of the Martial Emperor’s Tomb, which was caused by the greed of the Jeomchang Sect.
So, Bi Sa-yeong, who already disliked the Jeomchang Sect, particularly hated the arrogant and despicable Ju Tae-gyeong.
To him, this situation couldn't have been more refreshing.
Then, Bae Jong-gwan, another friend from the past who was beside him, also laughed heartily and spoke.
“Khahaha! I liked this friend from the moment I first saw him! I felt we would somehow get along well. Friend, do you have any intention of becoming harder than the demons?! I think if you train that sturdy flesh of yours, it will become an excellent suit of armor!”
The muscular giant Bae Jong-gwan, the only practitioner of external arts in the 13th Unit, also seemed to find what just happened refreshing.
My heart felt choked up at the warm welcome from those who had been my friends in my past life and who had died while saving me.
Only Squad Leader Seol Poong asked me with a worried expression.
“Will you be alright? Although he is called the Beetle, Ju Tae-gyeong is not such an easy opponent. From what I see, you are at the tail end of the second-class realm, so to be honest, I think it will be impossible to catch up to him, a mid-level first-class, in three months.”
I smirked at his concern and replied.
“Then can't you just train me, Squad Leader? Just push me to the point where I don't die. I’m already prepared. And please speak comfortably to me. I’m a squad member now, and you’re older than me, aren't you?”
At my refreshing attitude, he gave a hollow laugh and then spoke in a hearty voice.
“Very well. I shall do so, Young Master Sunwoo. No, Sunwoo Jin. Since you’ve gone that far, you’d better be prepared. I’ll push you until you feel like you want to die.”
“Yes! Thank you!”
Then, Bi Sa-yeong, who was watching, exchanged a look with Bae Jong-gwan and cut in with a reluctant face.
“Hey. You’re going to join the squad leader's training? That’s really not a good idea. You probably say that because you haven't seen it yet, but that’s only possible for a peak-level master, friend.”
I’m sorry, but I’ve already done it with him before.
And this time, I have no intention of doing it alone.
Now then, shall I do some fishing?
I smiled and asked the squad leader.
“Only possible for a peak-level master. Is that truly so, Squad Leader?”
“No, I’ve been doing it that way since I first practiced martial arts.”
As soon as I heard the squad leader's answer, I looked at Bi Sa-yeong with an expression of great disappointment and spoke.
“So he says. Then it seems it’s not training that only a peak-level can do, but training that can make one a peak-level. You looked like a real man at a glance, Brother, but it seems you have less confidence than I thought?”
Bi Sa-yeong, whose skills were still merely second-class but whose pride reached the heavens, hated being pitied or ignored by others more than death.
So, the way to move someone like him was very simple.
And I was in a state of having already mastered that method in my previous life.
At my provocation, Bi Sa-yeong immediately flared up and lunged.
“No way! I am a person who has no such thing as a lack of confidence in this world!”
At his strong protest, I gave a half-hearted answer with an expression that said I didn't believe him but would let it slide.
“Ah, is that so? Hmm.”
Then, the enraged fish jumped out of the water on its own.
“Eek! I’ll show you myself! I’ll join you in that kind of training as much as you want!”
As expected.
The way to pull in Bi Sa-yeong, the epitome of being easily provoked, was far too simple.
Now the problem was this fellow, the muscular giant Bae Jong-gwan beside him.
For this fellow, who moved steadily on his own path with his own convictions regardless of what others said, I needed to approach a bit more indirectly.
He laughed heartily and spoke.
“Hahaha! I would also like to join you, but I have a grand dream. A dream of crushing the demons with external arts trained to the limit. So, the time for me to do other training is….”
At that moment, I cut him off and spoke with an emotional gaze.
“Ohhh! That’s wonderful! To crush the demons with extreme external arts! I also definitely want to learn that! Brother! Could you also teach me some external arts?”
“Huh? What? Is... is that true? Are you serious?”
Bae Jong-gwan, who had always been ignored for practicing external arts that only medicine sellers supposedly learned, was startled by my request and grabbed my hands firmly.
Then, Squad Leader Seol Poong, who was watching from the side, added a word.
“Now that I think about it, this friend said something similar to you earlier. That he wanted to compete to see whose skin was tougher, his or the demons'?”
“What did you say?! Was that really true?!”
It really was true.
Even though it was a lie.
It was something I had said earlier during the squad assignment to avoid Ma Yu-gyeom, who was trying to put me in his squad.
But Bae Jong-gwan, who didn't know that, was in a state where he looked like he might even kiss me out of emotion if I went a bit further.
Fearing that, I pulled my hands away slightly and answered.
“Of course it was. However, my goal is to fly like a hawk with that tough body and deliver a body-slam to a demon. Wouldn't it be truly wonderful if I could fly like a cannonball and shatter the demons to pieces?”
“To fly like a cannonball... and shatter the demons to pieces?”
His eyes grew hazy as he repeated my words.
Thinking I had almost caught him, I threw in one more word.
“Then wouldn't the martial world call you something like the 'Iron God Meteor' or the 'Vajra Flying Star'?”
“Iron God Meteor... Vajra Flying Star?”
There was no need to explain what his now-burning gaze meant.
In the past, I had no intention of learning the close-combat arts Squad Leader Seol Poong offered to teach, let alone the external arts of this friend.
In fact, I had even thought of this fellow as a bit pathetic.
Back then, I realized too late.
That a moment comes when you must continue to fight even after your weapons are all broken.
That I should have trained every possible means.
It was the same for Bae Jong-gwan's external arts.
The fellow had always practiced only external arts day and night and had been ignored by people as a medicine seller, but he eventually proved its value by holding off ten Wild Dog Ghosts by himself.
And eventually, he stayed behind and did not return.
That was why I intended to learn all of it in this life.
Furthermore, I intended to never let my friends, who died miserably, die like that again.
‘To never lose my precious people again.’
Because that was the final goal I had set for my second life.
Compared to this goal, my decision to do my best to become strong and to fight the Blood Cult properly were merely processes to achieve that goal.
Of course, since my strength was still weak, there wouldn't be much I could do yet.
For now, I would have to devote myself to training as if I were dead.
Suddenly, I recalled memories from my previous life.
The front collapsed in the seventh year, but it began to collapse in the fifth year, from the time the 'Blood Demon Humans' began to appear.
Therefore, before then, I had to regain the martial prowess of my previous life as quickly as possible and, furthermore, enter the realm of the peak, which I had never stepped into.
A peak-level realm where I wouldn't have to fear demons like the Owl Ghost or the Spider Ghost; that would be the minimum condition for me to be able to do something proactively.
If that happened, then this time for sure....
I gritted my teeth and burned with fighting spirit.
I vowed firmly once again that this time, things would never turn out like my previous life.
The squad leader's training began the very next day.
The dawn training was to run across the trees in the dense jungle like a flying squirrel.
“Now! Let’s go!”
The squad leader first climbed onto a tree as nimbly as a cat and flew across the branches.
He was even wearing a steel vest that would weigh at least ninety kilograms and had his eyes covered with a cloth.
Bi Sa-yeong, who watched the sight with a ghastly face, gritted his teeth and vaulted his body.
“Hmph! For me, a disciple of the Bi-jong Sect, this much is nothing!”
About thirty kilograms of steel were hanging from the vest he spoke of.
I, who hadn't lost all my weight yet, and the muscular giant Bae Jong-gwan were bare-bodied. But even so, Bae Jong-gwan had a ghastly expression and was unable to start easily.
So, having already experienced this training in my previous life, I laughed gallantly and started first.
“This is nothing. I’ll go first!”
Then, I climbed onto a tree and was about to start lightly....
U-ji-jik!
Until the branch I stepped on broke easily.
Kudang-tang!
“Keok!”
“Jin! Are you alright?!”
As I sprawled out like a frog on the ground, a thought suddenly occurred to me.
Ah, was it after I lost weight that I did this training?