Living as a Strong Man
【You are entering 10th floor of the Murim Tower (Republic of Korea).】
That was the end of the notification message.
"No first-entry reward or anything like that?"
I rubbed my eyes and waited for a notification message, but it was futile.
Instead—
Woooong-.
Another door had appeared.
A door to go straight back.
【You can return to the Medicinal and Poisonous Herb Field.】
:Entry to 11th floor is available in one month.
What's this.
I can go straight back to reality?
Then what was the point of unlocking 10th floor?
I hesitated in front of the door before deciding to look around first.
10th floor began with a mountain path.
A mountain lush with greenery as far as the eye could see.
"Let's go."
I walked without any particular destination.
The space would be limited, at any rate.
As I walked, I reviewed the rewards earned from conquering the Blue Dragon Gate.
【Treasure: Dark Tortoise Armor Lv1 — Light yet sturdy, it will not shatter even when struck by a boulder.】
It was a heart-guard plate, protecting the upper body—especially the chest area.
Its nearly pitch-black surface shimmered with a soft jade-green radiance.
Engraved upon it was a pattern resembling a tortoise's shell, and at its center, an intricately carved figure of the Four Divine Beasts' Dark Tortoise—tortoise and serpent entwined as one.
The moment I put it on, it fit as though tailored just for me.
It was light as if I wore nothing, and it didn't hinder my movements in the slightest.
In my past life in Gangho, I had worn a robe made from the threads of the Heavenly Silkworm—impervious to blades and swords—and while this Dark Tortoise Armor fell short of that, it was still of quite excellent quality.
"It's cool."
True to a treasure bearing the name of the Dark Tortoise, the divine spirit of the north, it exuded a deep and frigid energy.
There may not be any enemies threatening me right now, but there's no harm in being careful.
Ah, would it block bullets outside the Murim Tower as well?
Outside was more dangerous than inside the tower.
If they came at me with hundreds of machine guns and tanks, even now, at a level below the Absolute Master realm of my past life, I still wasn't confident.
Tuk tuk-.
I tapped the Dark Tortoise Armor.
"Reassuring."
It'd be nice to have a good sword, too.
The best weapon I'd obtained so far was the Blue Dragon Spear, acquired from the Blue Dragon Gate Masters of 8th and 9th floors.
But unlike the Dark Tortoise Armor or the Dark Moon Mask, it bore no treasure marker, so it seemed to have no unique properties.
I could use a spear, but it wasn't my main weapon.
"It's fine."
For now, my fist and kick techniques were still more than enough.
After walking for quite a while like that—
"Huh?"
There was no end.
There should have been some kind of invisible wall I could sense by now, yet I could keep walking.
On top of that—
Chirp chirp chirp-.
The sound of mountain birds, and—
Tap tap tap.
A rabbit was visible, scurrying by.
"What on earth……"
I kept walking, wearing a puzzled expression, and then—slash-and-burn farmers appeared.
People tilling the land and living in the mountains.
"Should I kill them?"
I immediately took hold of my spear, about to throw it—
……They don't look like Gangho people.
I lowered my hand.
I watched them from a distance.
"Hmm."
I'm certain. They aren't Gangho people. Genuine farmers, through and through.
I approached them.
"Hieek!"
They recoiled in fright at my appearance.
I was covered in blood, and both arms were loaded with weapons including the Blue Dragon Spear.
"W-we have nothing, my Lord!"
The slash-and-burn farmers prostrated themselves, trembling all over.
"Don't be alarmed. I haven't come to harm you."
I stepped back.
They raised their heads.
"T-then……?"
"I'm simply passing through and looking around. May I ask you something? Where is this place?"
The farmer answered with a puzzled expression, shuffling nervously.
"This place is…… Dayao Mountain."
Dayao Mountain.
A mountain in Guangxi Province.
The southernmost edge of Gangho.
It had been Sichuan Province all along, but suddenly Guangxi Province.
I asked them again.
"Have you by any chance seen any strange people? Gangho practitioners with swords?"
The slash-and-burn farmers shook their heads.
"You are the first Gangho person to have come around lately, my Lord."
I'm the first?
"And those who came before me?"
"They were simply folks crossing over the mountain."
Hmm.
I couldn't make sense of it.
For now, I decided to step back and look around further.
And so, I wandered until deep into the night.
"Nothing."
Walk as I might, it was nothing but mountain.
I focused and spread my energy outward, but I couldn't sense anything that could be called the presence of martial artists.
"Those slash-and-burn farmers are the answer."
Let's go back.
The farmers' field I had seen earlier came into view, and climbing the mountain revealed a small village.
Too humble to even call a village—just a cluster of ramshackle huts.
"Hiiick!"
They reacted with shock again upon seeing me.
I made a quiet request.
"Might I have some water?"
A slash-and-burn farmer, trembling, handed me a gourd of water.
I gulped it down.
Haa.
Right. This is it.
The sensation of cool clarity spreading all the way to my chest.
Not the taste of filtered water—this was the taste of water from Gangho.
As my expression brightened, the farmers spoke up again.
"Why have you…… Come here?"
"I know it's shameless to ask, but might I get something to eat?"
I made a simple meal of it by asking for their help.
A lump of cold rice, a gourd of water.
I paid with silver coins gathered from the Blue Dragon Gate.
Still wary of me, they offered up one of the huts.
"I wonder."
What 10th floor's purpose was.
I bundled the spears together as a pillow and lay down to sleep.
I spread my energy outward as a precaution against any possible ambush.
Early the next dawn.
Clank. Clatter!
I opened my eyes at the sound of metal.
……An ambush?
I quietly lifted the hut's flap and stepped outside.
"Mom! You startled me!"
A slash-and-burn farmer's wife let out a shriek of fright.
A pickaxe in her hands.
She had been heading out to work in the fields.
"My apologies. I didn't mean to startle you."
"A-absolutely not, my Lord. Please, rest."
She set down a gourd filled with a lump of cold rice in front of the hut and quickly disappeared.
It seemed she had been on her way to bring rice before heading to the fields.
Sniff sniff.
There was no trace of poison in the rice. Not that it would have mattered.
I put it in my mouth and chewed as I followed after them.
Pak! Pak!
The sound of the slash-and-burn farmers' pickaxes tilling the land.
They were clearing boulders from the mountain to create a field.
I watched them for a moment before approaching.
"Why do you approach us, my Lord?"
"Might I join in with you?"
"Join in with what, if I may ask?"
"The fieldwork."
The farmer reluctantly held out a pickaxe to me.
I could hear them murmuring among themselves.
—What in the world is he doing?
—No idea, I suppose he wants to do fieldwork.
—A Gangho man who lives by the blade, swinging a pickaxe.
—Never seen anything like it in my life.
—You think he's got some ulterior motive?
—Don't know. I just wish he'd be on his way……
—Let's just keep an eye out for now.
I stood in the field, pickaxe in hand.
—Shouldn't we stop him now?
—If he handles the pickaxe wrong, the whole field will be ruined.
—Are you going to stop him?
—Me? Are you trying to get me killed?
They were worried.
But—
Peo-eok! Peo-eok!
—Well, would you look at that.
—He's incredibly good.
—The ground caves right in with a single strike.
—He's no different from an ox.
—A human ox, he is!
They marveled at my pickaxe work.
Heh heh heh. My friends.
Humble as I may look, I am the direct disciple of Shennong, the Divine Farmer.
Through my efforts, the boulders embedded in the mountain disappeared one by one.
The larger ones I cracked apart first with the newly acquired Dark Tortoise Armor.
Kwajik!
When armor cannot be shattered, it is the boulder that breaks instead.
The shattered boulders I then cleared out with the pickaxe.
And by the time the sun began to set—
"Oh my, my Lord! Thank you so much."
The slash-and-burn farmers came over and took my hands.
"You've finished in a single day what would have taken a full week."
"It's all thanks to you, my Lord."
They bowed their heads in gratitude.
Tting!
【The Slash-and-Burn Farmers Are Overjoyed +2,000 Happiness】
Oh, it applied here too?
The farmers, grateful for my efforts, even brought out their prized liquor. It was makgeolli.
"Kkeuu!"
"My goodness! You drink remarkably well, my Lord!"
"Here, have another cup."
【The Slash-and-Burn Farmers Are Pleased +50 Happiness】
Another cup, and another.
Having drunk for the first time in a while, I was in good spirits.
I deliberately refrained from dispelling the intoxication with my energy.
As the drinks made their rounds, one of the farmers rose and began to sing.
"Oh, brilliantly bright moon. Moon. Shine upon the place where my beloved dwells."
"Eol-ssu!"
A song drifting across the mountain ridges.
How nostalgic.
……How peaceful.
Could this have been it?
What the Murim Tower wanted to show me on 10th floor.
Not Gangho, where blood and scraps of flesh fill the air—
But the true lives of the common people.
Outside or inside, Gangho or the Republic of Korea.
They were all places where people lived.
And then—
Tting!
【10th floor Mission Complete! A reward will be given.】
……Huh?
—10th floor Completion Rewards:
① Golden Key Fragment 1/10
② Silver Key Fragment 1/2
Light flashed before my eyes, and something like two fragments appeared—
Then they were absorbed into my body with a soft sssrr.
"Oh no!"
I patted myself down, but there wasn't a trace left.
Wooong-.
A door immediately opened before me.
【You can return to the Medicinal and Poisonous Herb Field.】
:Entry to 11th floor is available in 29 days.
The return door.
The slash-and-burn farmers were making merry all around, and the door seemed invisible to them.
I thought about saying farewell before leaving, but—
I quietly rose from my seat.
I gathered the spears and the Dark Tortoise Armor, took the makgeolli bottle I had earned on 10th floor in hand.
But instead—
I left the coin pouch full of silver coins right there in my place.
***
Back in my room after setting down all the rewards obtained in the Medicinal and Poisonous Herb Field.
【Having cleared 4th floors at the Gold Rank, the Tower's time has been extended by a total of 8 months.】
【The people rejoice greatly. +200,000 Happiness】
Just as I had expected.
When I slowed down my conquest of the Golden Tower, the incoming happiness points doubled.
The greater the anticipation, the greater the happiness.
【Current Happiness Points: 767,278/999,999,999】
The total points I had accumulated had surpassed 767,000.
【Heavenly Poison Blood Divine Art Lv5 has been acquired.】
【Ten Thousand Streams Return to Origin Divine Art Lv2 has been acquired.】
And the martial arts had risen alongside them. The Soul-Crushing Drum, Heavenly Kick, and Flying Cotton Palm likewise.
Not only that—
【Treasure: Dark Moon Mask Lv3 — The wearer's concealment of presence now applies to electronic screens such as CCTV.】
The Dark Moon Mask had leveled up as well.
I decided to test it immediately.
I put on the Dark Moon Mask and recorded myself with my phone.
Then I checked it!
"It's blurry!"
When I watched the video, my form appeared distorted and unrecognizable—crackling with static, just as it looked to the naked eye.
Wow, if I put my mind to it, I could even rob a bank with this.
No need to, and no intention to, right now.
But then again, you never know.
I clenched my fist.
Ttiriririring!
My phone rang.
It was Choi Jae-jun, the second of the three Choi brothers.
"Jae-jun, what is it?"
"Senior, it's just that……"
Straight to the point—requests were flooding in for information on how to clear 21st floor through 23, the Demon Wind Manor.
"Our Goryeo Sword Sect is threatening to excommunicate us if we don't reveal it. And also!"
"Yes."
"The Gukmubon is staking out in front of our house. They've come to our company as well and won't leave from in front of our father Chairman's office."
Just as expected.
Sure enough, 'we were lucky to get through it' wasn't going to cut it.
The brothers' home sect, the Goryeo Sword Sect, and the Gukmubon, which manages the Republic of Korea's Murim Tower—
Both were demanding that the Choi brothers reveal the method for clearing the Demon Wind Manor.
Two people alone had achieved the Red rank and Scarlet rank. In a row, at that.
On top of that, the brothers' energy had grown substantially.
A tremendous achievement.
The value of that information was immeasurable.
"What should we do? Of course, since we made a promise with you, senior, we haven't opened our mouths."
From over the receiver, the youngest—Choi Jae-hwa's—voice could be heard as well.
"But, senior, the Gukmubon is threatening us."
"Threatening you?"
"Yes……. The thing is……"
"Hey, don't say it!"
"But, Brother."
"I told you not to burden senior with this!"
The sound of the brothers bickering. It seemed a difficult situation had arisen.
I spoke to them.
"Please tell me."
"It's nothing. Please don't worry about it."
"Tell me."
After a brief silence—
Choi Jae-hwa opened his mouth.
"I'll speak honestly. The thing is…… About that high-end apartment in Cheongdam that we were going to give you, senior."
Right. The one with a listing price of 15 billion won.
I was waiting for the move-in date.
"That apartment was actually…… Set aside to create a slush fund for our group."
"Ah."
No wonder they so easily offered to give away a 15-billion-won place.
"We're sorry, senior……. We didn't know either. Please believe us. We absolutely had no intention of harming you."
"That's all right."
"We found out later from our eldest brother, but in any case, the Gukmubon still doesn't know that the apartment was going to be given to you, senior."
Fortunately, only the attempted circumstances of making it a slush fund had been detected.
Choi Jae-hwa said,
"We'll give you a different apartment. It may take a bit of time, but otherwise, we could even hand over the house we live in—"
"That won't be necessary."
"Pardon?"
"You really don't have to do that."
I'm the one who already read the promotional brochure for that 15-billion-won apartment three times over.
In my heart, I've already moved in!
So everything else is a pass.
I said to the brothers,
"I'll come over. Wait for me."
"What? Right now, Goryeo Sword Sect and Gukmubon members are all camped out around our house, so if you come, you'll be caught straight away—"
"I'll handle it myself."
Click.
I hung up.
Goryeo Sword Sect? Gukmubon? Ha!
Let a thousand of them come. I'd like to see them try to catch me.
Ssseuk.
【Equipping Treasure: Dark Moon Mask Lv3.】
***
"Senior!"
"How did you get here?"
The Choi brothers were startled out of their wits.
"Open a window, would you."
Entry through the window: complete.
The brothers were astonished, unable to figure out how I had slipped through the Goryeo Sword Sect and Gukmubon and made it into their home.
There was no need to tell them, of course.
"I was on my way here in a taxi when I heard an interesting story on the radio."
"What was it, senior?"
"We don't say we're happy because we're happy. We become happy because we say we're happy."
"……Pardon?"
It must have sounded out of nowhere, as the brothers looked bewildered.
I said to them,
"Let us make the suffering Goryeo Sword Sect and Gukmubon happy."
"What do you mean by……?"
"And furthermore, let me make you brothers happy as well."
"Please give us the answer."
Their eyes lit up.
Eyes full of anticipation—wondering what brilliant scheme would be used this time to conceal the method for clearing the Demon Wind Manor.
"We—"
I slowly stroked my chin.
"Reveal everything."
***
That evening.
Chief Han of the Gukmubon, and Goryeo Sword Sect Leader Kim Guk-bong, sat face to face with the Choi brothers.
Choi Jae-jun spoke.
"There is a secret to clearing the Demon Wind Manor."
"I knew it!"
Goryeo Sword Sect Leader Kim Guk-bong slapped his knee.
Chief Han of the Gukmubon asked,
"Please tell us that secret."
At that, Kim Guk-bong said to Chief Han,
"Aren't you trying to obtain this secret a little too easily? Chief Han, no matter that it's the Gukmubon……"
"It is for the national interest, Sect Leader Kim."
"National interest! It's true that I'm a patriot who loves this great nation of ours, the Republic of Korea."
Tang tang!
Kim Guk-bong struck his chest.
"But this is information of tremendous value. Choi Jae-jun and Choi Jae-hwa are disciples of our Goryeo Sword Sect."
He pointed to the two brothers.
"The secret they hold is therefore also that of our Goryeo Sword Sect."
At that, Chief Han struck back.
"That's different from what you said earlier, Sect Leader Kim."
"How so!"
"Earlier you were talking about excommunication."
"W-when did I say that!"
The two began raising their voices, and Choi Jae-jun said,
"Please, there's no need to fight, you two."
The pair fell silent.
Choi Jae-jun continued.
"I will tell you. Both the Gukmubon and the Goryeo Sword Sect."
The expressions of the two brightened.
"However! There is a condition."
"Say whatever it may be."
"Our Gukmubon will accept it all as well."
Choi Jae-hwa opened his mouth.
"Please appoint us brothers as elders of the Goryeo Sword Sect."