Chapter 111 - The New Beginner's Sword

"What did the Heaven-Splitting Tyrant Saber say?"

The Weapon Monster spoke as he walked into a corner piled high with weapons. He had guessed that Eulji Tae, with his considerable interest in Dong Bongsu, must have said something to him.

"He said we would meet again later."

RUSTLE, RUSTLE.

"Did he really need to say that in secret? He's become a dull fellow, and a sneaky one to boot. Tsk, tsk, tsk."

The Weapon Monster grumbled as he rummaged through the heap of weapons. He was looking for the article he had made from the 'divine iron.'

He pulled out an oddly shaped suit of armor—no, something closer to clothing than armor—and approached Dong Bongsu.

It was not what Dong Bongsu had originally ordered. He had requested a full suit of armor with every section separated into individual pieces. Whenever an enemy attacked, he intended to pull only the piece covering the targeted area out of his Inventory to defend himself. The pieces were also supposed to serve as hidden weapons in place of sword fragments when necessary.

But the garment the Weapon Monster had made and brought over was entirely different.

Pieces of iron were woven into it here and there, but stretchy cloth connected the sections at the major joints, giving it a very unusual appearance...

'It looks like a bulletproof vest.'

A bulletproof vest for martial artists. That was Dong Bongsu's impression.

The Weapon Monster had developed equipment that would not look out of place in this world several centuries from now.

"It isn't the shape you asked for, but I thought this would be better, so I put my skills to work."

With that, the Weapon Monster offered him the garment. Dong Bongsu smoothly took it.

A tingle ran through him.

A strange sensation spread from his fingertips throughout his body. It did not feel like a static shock. It was something different—a tingling sensation, but not an unpleasant one.

"By the way, why didn't you answer earlier?"

The Weapon Monster spoke without releasing the edge of the garment.

The question was a little abrupt, but Dong Bongsu knew perfectly well what he meant.

"Because there was no need to answer."

"The Heaven-Splitting Tyrant Saber might have gotten the wrong idea because of that, you know."

"He wouldn't have. He already knew."

"I doubt that."

"No. If he had misunderstood, he would not have bothered speaking to you through Sound Transmission."

"Well, that's true. But, you see..."

Uncharacteristically, the Weapon Monster let his words trail off.

"You'll have to give me an answer."

His tone became utterly solemn, and a piercing light blazed from his eyes, bearing down on Dong Bongsu's entire body. The pressure crushing him was greater than what the dozens of assassins had exerted on him before.

"Will you become my disciple?"

He tightened his grip on the garment made from the [Beginner's Sword], as if he would not hand it over unless Dong Bongsu agreed. His gaze was as intense as his tone, but Dong Bongsu brushed it off as nothing.

What occupied his attention instead was the bizarre current racing from his fingertips through his entire body.

Unlike his dealings with the Weapon Monster, which were proceeding just as calculated, this had been entirely unexpected.

"I told you earlier. I already have a master."

Dong Bongsu answered as he felt the peculiar current roaming freely through his blood vessels.

"Heh heh heh. You mean this world?"

"Has the Eight-Technique Weapon Madman been beaten out by the objects lying around here, then?"

"No. You, too, are this world."

"An interesting answer. Then that means I am your master as well, doesn't it?"

At the Weapon Monster's words, Dong Bongsu's expressionless mask secretly smiled.

"Yes, yes. That's good enough. You're saying you'll learn if I teach you, aren't you?"

He had obtained what he wanted.

Had he immediately acknowledged himself as the man's disciple before Eulji Tae earlier, it might actually have produced an unfavorable result. That was the kind of man the Weapon Monster was.

In the worst case, he might have become only half a disciple—or failed to become one at all.

The brief one-act play had reached its conclusion, and Dong Bongsu's mask had gained a master who was not quite a master.

"But have you never heard of the Heaven-Splitting Tyrant Saber or the Eight-Technique Weapon Madman?"

"I have."

"Then how can you show so little reaction?"

"You, too, are merely things beneath heaven. Nowhere in this world is there any reason to be astonished by a thing."

"... Heh heh, hahahahahaha!"

The Weapon Monster laughed like a madman at Dong Bongsu's answer.

"Yes, yes. That's it. That's exactly it. That's why I like you, you brat. Hah, hahahahaha!"

Who else could remain so composed while receiving the attention of the Ten Absolute Supremes and the Ten Eminent Wanderers? Surely Dong Bongsu was the only one in all the Central Plains. More important still, there was not the slightest falsehood in his words.

Yet the Weapon Monster did not know that the reason differed from what he imagined, nor did he know the truth beyond that sincerity.

He probably would not know until the day he died—no, not even after his death.

After a hearty laugh, the Weapon Monster fell silent, gave Dong Bongsu a couple of pats on the shoulder, and walked toward the door. As he went, he said,

"Listen. We'll continue this conversation once I've dealt with the job that old geezer gave me. Dong Gwangcheon... my disciple."

"Hah—gives me goosebumps. To think the Eight-Technique Weapon Madman has a disciple now."

With that, the Weapon Monster left and went up the stairs.

Dong Bongsu waited until he had completely disappeared from view before closing the door.

BANG.

Now Dong Bongsu was alone.

He felt and examined the garment the Weapon Monster had made for him. The current was still flowing into him through it, tingling yet refreshing.

He only thought of it as a current for convenience. It certainly was not electricity. Had this energy been electrical, he could never have held it so comfortably.

He would have to put it on to find out. Testing it on someone else would be pointless. Judging by the Weapon Monster's expression and reactions earlier, he clearly could not feel this current at all.

That meant the garment was still being treated as an Item, just like the [Beginner's Sword].

It did not matter why the New Murim Online System still regarded something that had been destroyed and recreated in a completely different shape as an Item.

What mattered was its effect.

One thing was certain: its effect would be distinctly different from that of the original [Beginner's Sword].

This bizarre current.

The [Beginner's Sword] had never possessed anything like it.

Besides, he had felt something like this current once before.

Dong Bongsu stood holding the garment for quite a long time before finally slipping it on.

If his memory was correct, this current could never...

[Critical Error detected! Critical Error detected! Critical Error detected! The Item currently equipped by the player is an illegal Item without a serial number! The player must immediately unequip the Item... plea... BZZT! BZZZT! Forced logout....]

The holographic message was broken and torn in places.

He had experienced several critical errors before, but this was a first.

"Ghk—!"

The current that had felt refreshing until a moment ago now tore through his body like a storm, while the program's error messages ravaged his mind along with it.

As though they would tear his very soul apart.

While Dong Bongsu's soul teetered on the brink of being torn to shreds, the Weapon Monster had cheerfully left Weapon Stipend Pavilion, his residence within the Murim Alliance, and was passing through Martial Harmony Gate.

Whether people saw him or not, he employed his movement technique and headed for Zhengzhou's bustling district. No one paid him much attention, either. Martial artists were hardly a rare sight in Zhengzhou these days.

The Weapon Monster arrived in front of Nangnang Inn.

Before beginning his investigation into yesterday's incident in earnest, he intended to inspect the scene and examine the bodies. Such basics were the starting point for solving any case.

"What brings you here?"

One of the Murim Defense Corps members guarding the scene approached him.

On Eulji Tae's orders, members of the Murim Defense Corps were stationed throughout the area to conduct a preliminary investigation into yesterday's events.

Keeping uninvolved people from wandering in indiscriminately, so as to preserve the scene, was part of that preliminary investigation. That was why the man was checking whether the Weapon Monster had any business there.

The Weapon Monster glanced at him and said,

"Buk Gunggi."

"Ah, Master Buk! We've been expecting you."

Apparently forewarned by Eulji Tae, the Murim Defense Corps member welcomed his arrival.

"This way, please."

He briefly cupped his fist in salute, then led the Weapon Monster into Nangnang Inn. Although the inn itself was not the actual scene of the incident, it was right nearby, and the bodies of those killed the previous night had been temporarily laid out there.

The innkeeper, his family, and the cooks had apparently already been sent outside. Only Murim Defense Corps members stood within, radiating a menacing air. The drinking tables, chairs, and other furnishings had all been cleared away. In their place, dozens of corpses greeted the Weapon Monster with the thick stench of blood.

The man who had first guided him in continued explaining the incident, apparently being in charge here.

"These are the people who died just outside there last night."

With his hands clasped behind his back, the Weapon Monster swept his gaze over the bodies laid out in a long row on the floor, then approached the one at the far left.

Like every other corpse beside it, its head had been severed and left lying about haphazardly.

He nudged the corpse with his foot, then casually tossed out a remark.

"One fellow."

He then walked all the way to the right along the long row of corpses, giving each one a little kick as he passed.

"Two for you, three for me..."

He was counting the bodies.

His behavior was absurdly playful, yet it made him look all the more like an expert. That, too, must have been a peculiarity of this merciless world of Murim.

Forty-three.

The number of heads scattered on the floor beyond the corpses' necks matched the number of bodies.

"Well, that confirms how many of them died."

Next, the Weapon Monster examined the condition of the corpses.

Since they had all been decapitated, it was difficult to tell exactly which head belonged to which body.

But as for the condition of those severed necks...