Urban Vagabond: Reload

Kim Muhyuk lay sprawled on the ground, staring up at the sky with an empty look on his face.

“...It’s been a long time since I got beaten this one-sidedly.”

It had been a crushing defeat.

Once Sunwoo Jeha started using internal energy, she became a martial artist on an entirely different level from anything he had seen before.

The paths of her blade, which he had thought he had already gotten used to seeing, turned incomparably more varied and complex the moment internal energy was added to them.

Muhyuk had taken no small shock from sparring with her.

In the end, I never once managed to meet her sword.

Unlike the other young rising stars, his match with her had allowed the use of internal energy, but that could not serve as an excuse.

Sunwoo Jeha had noticed his internal injuries and had deliberately lowered herself to roughly his level.

That woman is terrifying...

Phantom Dream’s spirit was crouched beside Muhyuk, trembling.

Opposite it, Sunwoo Jeha’s beloved sword growled in silence like a beast baring its fangs.

Their blades had never actually touched, but every time they passed each other by the narrowest margin, it felt like something was licking the back of his neck.

“Done? You’re not coming at me again?”

Without so much as a hitch in her breathing, Sunwoo Jeha stood there with her weight cocked onto one leg, looking down at Kim Muhyuk.

“...I lost.”

Muhyuk staggered to his feet, sheathed his sword, and dusted off his clothes.

Then he cleanly acknowledged defeat and cupped his fist in salute.

“I don’t think there’d be any point in fighting any longer. Not right now.”

“Not right now?”

Muhyuk failed to notice the faintly displeased look on Sunwoo Jeha’s face. Instead, he sank into his own thoughts for a moment.

So this is the level of the Strongest in Korea.

For the last several years, there had been people who mocked and belittled her because she never appeared in the World’s Strongest Sparring Tournament, but in this moment Muhyuk understood something with perfect clarity.

Sunwoo Jeha, sect leader of the Transcendent Extremity Gate, is absolutely the kind of martial artist who would hold up even on the world stage.

He did not know why she refused to participate in the World’s Strongest Sparring Tournament, but if she had entered, she would have achieved an excellent result.

That certainty was not based on empty guesswork. It came from knowing exactly what kinds of masters would make their names in that tournament over the next twenty years.

Still, there was one thing even Muhyuk could not understand.

“...Sect Leader Sunwoo. Do you happen to have some kind of grudge against me?”

Unlike when she had sparred the others, she had started using internal energy from the very beginning against him.

If he was being asked whether he disliked that, the answer was actually no. It had let him fight in a way that felt closer to real combat.

But that also meant the wall he had to overcome had become much higher.

“No.”

Sunwoo Jeha, who had been looking at him with a slanted gaze, shook her head.

“I don’t have any particular feelings about you.”

“Then who do you have them for? That person you said I resemble?”

Struck right in the center, Sunwoo Jeha flinched for the briefest instant before putting on a sullen expression.

“You don’t need to know.”

Then she turned on her heel and strode toward the young rising stars.

Watching her back, Muhyuk’s lips curved into a smile.

The Strongest in Korea had not said it outright, but he had a feeling he knew exactly who it was.

“I think I know him too. You don’t mean I literally look like him, do you?”

Sunwoo Jeha ignored the question as if she had not heard it.

Half the young rising stars were sprawled on the ground, and the other half were sitting there, staring up at her.

“That’s the end of the lesson. Would be nice if it ended there, but...”

Arms folded, Sunwoo Jeha looked down at the ground with a thoroughly annoyed expression and muttered like she was talking to herself.

“If I send them home too fast, the Martial Alliance Leader will nag me. So I guess I’ll give you an assignment.”

At the word assignment, the expressions on the young rising stars turned into a mix of worry and anticipation.

If it was an assignment from the Strongest in Korea, there was no way it would be easy. But at the same time, they all wanted to learn more.

Then Sunwoo Jeha raised her right hand and held up three fingers.

“Three days. Grow your intuition enough to make your weapon hit mine within that time. That’s your assignment, and it’s the second test.”

Then one finger folded down. It meant today counted as part of those three days.

“If you succeed, you can stay and learn the next stage. If you fail, you go straight home.”

After collecting her sword and saber and fastening them at her back, Sunwoo Jeha gave the young rising stars a glance, then turned away without a shred of attachment.

“Don’t bother trying too hard. You’ll all fail anyway.”

Contrary to her intention, it was exactly the kind of muttered remark that set the young rising stars on fire.

*****

Once the sect leader of the Transcendent Extremity Gate’s instruction ended, they were free to do whatever they wanted.

But not a single young rising star planned to rest or relax.

“Isn’t three days too short?”

“Since today counts, it’s basically two.”

“I could barely keep up with my eyes...”

Most of them were deeply absorbed in reviewing their spars with Sunwoo Jeha, while a few had already started crossing weapons and practicing with one another.

Kim Muhyuk also remained on the training ground, replaying the sword dance Sunwoo Jeha had displayed.

It was incredible.

It had been such a perfect sword dance that any swordsman could have drawn inspiration from it simply by watching.

In his mind, every movement flowed one into the next like running water.

Muhyuk carefully retraced every detail: the way the sect leader handled her sword, the order of the steps in her footwork, even how she used her gaze.

And the sword I faced up close was even more extraordinary.

To put it coldly, from Sunwoo Jeha’s perspective, sparring with the young rising stars could not have felt much different from performing a sword dance by herself.

Not a single one of them had managed even to make weapons meet with her.

...If I’d charged in ready to die, could I have touched her?

If he used Phantom Dream’s power, and if he threw away all means and methods the way he had back in his wandering days?

Muhyuk entertained the possibility for a moment, then shook his head.

That kind of thing might be unavoidable when fighting a monster like the Black Heaven Society’s society leader, but he could not afford to develop a habit of relying on sacred weapons or crooked methods.

“Intuition...”

Sunwoo Jeha was definitely not normal, but even more than that, she was a martial artist with immense pride.

She would not have given the young rising stars an impossible assignment right from the start.

The hurdle was simply incredibly high.

Muhyuk stood there with his arms folded, deep in thought, when Oh Jungmin approached him.

“Muhyuk. We sword users are getting together to study as a group. Want to join us?”

When he turned, he saw that the sword users—Bu Yeonha, Song Junho, Oh Jungmin, and the rest—had already gathered into a group.

“A study group?”

“Yeah. We figured it might help if martial artists who use the same weapon put their heads together.”

“That does make sense...”

Looking around, he saw it was not just the swordsmen. The young rising stars were naturally clustering together with others who used the same weapons.

Or else they were grouping up with people they were already close to, or those from sects of similar size.

“Unite, saber users!”

“If we don’t all pass, we die!”

“UOOOOOH!”

Shin Kangheon had already joined Kang Hyuntae and the twin saber users Hwang Mingu and Hwang Insu, and the four of them were brimming with motivation.

Their eyes met, and Shin Kangheon called out to him.

“Kim Muhyuk! Want to come over here too? You’re a worthless sword guy, but I’ll make a special exception!”

“I’ll pass. I feel like your idiot virus would rub off on me.”

Muhyuk shook his head, but then a thought suddenly came to him, and he turned back to Oh Jungmin.

“Sorry, but there’s something I want to try on my own.”

“Well, if you change your mind, you can jump in anytime. Got it?”

After Oh Jungmin returned to the swordsmen’s study group—

“A study group... It’s not a bad idea.”

Muhyuk scanned the area for a moment, then immediately started walking toward one particular person.

Yang Hayun had been talking with a friend. The moment her eyes met Muhyuk’s as he strode toward her, they went wide.

“...Wh-what?”

He walked right up to the flustered girl and got straight to the point.

“You’ve got a minute to talk, right?”

Startled by the intensity in his eyes, Yang Hayun cautiously glanced around before lowering her voice.

“You idiot! What if you make it obvious?”

She was clearly misunderstanding something again, but Muhyuk only gave her a faint smile before looking past her.

“You’re a fist fighter, right? What’s your name?”

The tall woman who had been about to excuse herself and leave the two of them alone stopped, then looked at Muhyuk and nodded.

“I’m Jeon Seungyeon of the Skybreaker Gate. Why?”

She curled one fist slightly, wary. The hand she had honed through fist-and-kick arts training was nearly the size of her face.

Muhyuk nodded in satisfaction at the sight.

“I’ve got a proposal. Just a second. Let’s talk once we’ve all gathered.”

“...Huh?”

Turning away from Yang Hayun, who looked baffled because this was not what she had expected at all, Muhyuk searched for someone else.

Before long, he spotted a man off in a corner, practicing with a spear by himself.

This time, he remembered the man’s name correctly.

“Chae Eunsu! Could you come talk with us for a moment?”

“...Me?”

The only spear user among the young rising stars looked around, then walked over with the expression of someone worried he had somehow done something wrong.

Jeon Seungyeon, who trained in fist-and-kick arts.

Yang Hayun, whose specialties were palm arts and movement techniques.

Chae Eunsu, the only spearman among the young rising stars.

And Kim Muhyuk, the swordsman.

Four people with completely different affiliations and completely different martial arts came together in one place.

Except for Yang Hayun, Jeon Seungyeon and Chae Eunsu were martial artists Muhyuk had paid close attention to when they introduced themselves.

The two of them are martial artists who’ll more than prove their talent in the future too. Not all in good ways, though...

Muhyuk looked at the three of them and spoke.

“How about the four of us form a study group together?”

They all exchanged startled looks, and Yang Hayun voiced what all of them were clearly thinking.

“Wouldn’t it be better for martial artists who practice similar martial arts to stick together?”

The other two nodded in agreement.

But then Muhyuk smiled meaningfully and asked back,

“What if you look at it the other way? We spend all our time back at our sects training with people who practice the same martial arts we do. If we came all the way here just to gather with people like that again, what would really change?”

“Ah...”

“Th-that makes sense.”

“...Then?”

The young rising stars were naturally drawn into his reasoning.

No matter what anyone said, Kim Muhyuk was one of the most outstanding young rising stars here.

A genius who had proven himself by demonstrating pinnacle-expert qualifications in his very first license exam.

And in a situation where they were about to face a test meant to prove talent, his words carried weight.

“I think we need to do what we haven’t done before. Unfamiliar opponents, unfamiliar martial arts. We need to experience those split-second moments where we have to make judgments in situations we aren’t used to. That’s how intuition grows.”

That was why Muhyuk had not formed a group with Shin Kangheon and Bu Yeonha.

Their skills were beyond question, but they were already far too familiar with one another’s martial arts.

The four gathered here, on the other hand, all came from different backgrounds and all specialized in different styles.

“I’m in. Looking forward to working with you.”

Jeon Seungyeon flashed a grin and held out her hand to Muhyuk. It was a gesture that fit her refreshingly straightforward personality.

“I-I’m in too. I’m lacking, but if you’ll have me, I’ll work hard.”

After glancing around uncertainly, Chae Eunsu nodded shyly as well.

“With just the two of us, it’d probably be hard to stay focused anyway... Fine. I’m in too.”

Yang Hayun muttered with a complicated expression, then finally nodded with a look of resolve.

And so a study group was formed—four martial artists together, one from the Eight Great Sects, one from a mid-sized sect, one with no affiliation, and one from a small sect.

Muhyuk looked around at them and began.

“It feels like Sect Leader Sunwoo wants to kick us out as fast as possible, but I want to stay here as long as I can and learn as much as possible.”

“Me too.”

“Same here.”

“Obviously. While we’re at this training camp, how about we all drop the formalities with each other?”

“Works for me. That’ll be easier.”

They all felt the same way.

If they solved the assignment, they would earn the chance to continue receiving instruction from the Strongest in Korea.

What could possibly be a greater source of motivation for young rising stars than that?

Besides, it was not a test where one person’s passing meant someone else had to fail. They could cooperate as much as they wanted.

This is exactly the advantage of absolute evaluation.

Of course, Sunwoo Jeha probably had not anticipated this kind of situation at all...

Still, she said it herself, didn’t she? Then she can take responsibility for the result.

It felt a little like being given a quest to fight a Demon King and gathering party members for it.

Muhyuk’s eyes shone as he addressed his new teammates.

“All right, then. Let’s work together and land one good hit on the Strongest in Korea.”