328 – S6. Tumultuous (波瀾萬丈) -1

“Wuxia, huh⋯⋯.”

I thought, smoothing the borrowed robe I was wearing from a stall. As I remember it, there aren’t any NPCs with awakened self-consciousness in the wuxia sessions.

In the previous floor, I was able to clearly understand the floor’s backstory and purpose thanks to Abraham, but if there aren’t any NPCs, does that mean I have to figure it out myself this time? It’s become more troublesome, but it’s not impossible.

The hint came from the moment I entered. The Cheonmachong.

Seeing the orthodox sects, the unorthodox sects, and even the demonic cult all gathered and fighting, it seems the key material of this floor is the Cheonmachong. This evocative three-letter word is tinged with memories of Yuna.

A past conversation flashes by.

– So, Cheonmachong, you mean the tomb of the heavenly horse, right?

– It’s the tomb of a pegasus that fell from another world. The person who solves the secret of the Cheonmachong gets their hands on a heavenly horse-machine gun⋯⋯.

– ⋯⋯⋯⋯!! Hey⋯⋯!!

I almost got whacked with a fancy-poker by Yuna back then. It’s because Yuna is a bit of an old fart.

“Ah, I miss Yuna.”

Even if I murmur it to the sky, there’s no reply.

Well, what can be solved just by wishing for it. Every mountain is made by piling up grains of soil, and every task is accomplished by accumulating effort.

Let’s move forward.

First, I decided to head towards the Cheonmachong. Once I reach a crowded hot spot, the information will naturally gather.

The problem is, I’m still a trash-tier mage who can’t use mana.

My feeble physical specs are still the same. I could probably handle about ten bandits, but if it gets beyond that, my neck will be severed by a rough blade, and I’ll become a wandering spirit.

The martial world ain’t a kind place for the weak.

So, I decided to tag along with some merchant caravan. Sure, trying to freeload a ride usually gets you a harsh beatdown, but like I keep saying, if you can talk the talk, you can walk the walk.

*Shick shick shick—!*

“Caravan Leader, you’re looking so gallant today! Hehe.”

“Hmph. Is that so?”

Busting out the flattery like a buzzing fly, I managed to melt the caravan leader’s heart!

And so, we traveled for half a day with the caravan toward the location of the Thousand Demon Tomb. We were passing through a narrow valley—just wide enough for a single wagon—when…

“This here’s Black Serpent Alliance territory. Put down all your goods and become prisoners.”

Ran into something like bandits.

I say *like* because they had the same scummy, loot-hungry mindset of your typical brigand…

“These are provisions and weapons for the righteous martial clans! Aren’t you afraid of the repercussions?!”

“Listen up, the Black Serpent Alliance is part of the Demonic Alliance, and the Demonic Alliance is already in a bloody fight with the Righteous Alliance. We’re already at war, so that means no matter what, we’ve gotta loot the Righteous’ resources. You get it?”

“Ah.”

Turns out, these weren’t just some petty bandits, but the Demonic Alliance’s special forces. They were out for blood, ready to raid a supply convoy of the Righteous. With the caravan’s current forces, there was no way we could hold them off.

I took a moment to size up an escape route, but it seemed that trying to run might just get a blade in my back and turn me into a ghost, so I decided to accept my fate. I walked up to a Black Serpent warrior, who was busy tying up the others like dried fish, and held out my hands.

“Tie me up nice and gently, please.”

“……..?”

And so, I was captured by the Demonic Alliance, becoming a prisoner before I even realized it.

–

After figuring out that I was a weakling, with neither internal energy nor external martial arts skills, the Black Serpent warriors locked me up in a wooden cage—a prison for those who weren’t martial artists.

Here, there were daughters of the upper class, maids who’d come to cook for them, a whole mess of commoners. The atmosphere was like a funeral.

Is this…a change of sides?

Like a bat, I’ll go flapping my mouth to the evil faction this time and hop on their bus. My goal is to get to the Celestial Burial Mound, no matter what. I can’t afford to be picky about means.

Or, there’s also the option of wiping out the entire Black Serpent Clan and slipping away.

Yeah, they’d find it weird. A guy who can’t even use magic is talking about a massacre with such confidence. The source of my infinite confidence is…a gun.

The pistol I got from Abraham’s Floor, it didn’t disappear.

The Black Serpent Clan guys might’ve frisked the martial artists, but they didn’t search every single commoner’s belongings. So the pistol’s sitting nice and snug on my hip.

“……..”

But there’s one problem.

Are the righteous factions truly good and the evil factions truly bad? I can’t tell which side is on Yuna’s side. If I join the evil factions and it turns out the Demonic Cult is the main character, that’s a problem. Likewise, if I shoot up the evil factions and they’re the main character, I’m screwed.

The clear condition hasn’t been revealed, and this ambiguity is making it tough.

Still, I can’t waste any more time. If I rot in prison for a week, who knows what might be happening in the real world outside the Tower of Illusion? I need to pick a side and act.

I picked a flower blooming outside the prison and did a flower petal fortune. Tearing off the petals one by one, I checked which side I should join.

“Okay, righteous, evil, demonic. Righteous, evil, demonic…”

“It’s the Eccentric Hero! The Eccentric Hero has appeared!”

“Huh?”

There was a commotion outside. I grabbed the wooden bars and peered through the gaps. Looking closer, it seemed the evil faction guys were at a loss, unable to stop a woman.

“Release the commoners.”

“B-but, Great Hero Oh, those people were working for the righteous faction. If we let them go, the righteous faction’s forces will…”

“When did I say to release the martial artists? I said release the commoners. They’re just working for money to make a living. They’re not exactly loyal to the righteous faction.”

“But, please, oh Great Hero, have mercy! If you release them, the Black Serpent Lord will surely be furious…”

“Aish, wanna taste some magic?!”

I perked my ears, focusing. Who is that?

A female character who could appear in a martial arts setting, a sense of justice, and magic… Could it be Envers, the Traitorous Beast, got gender-swapped? No way. Did the Namgung clan NPCs gain sentience? Their personalities are different.

Amidst my confusion, a woman suddenly appeared before me.

I know her. I know that face…!

The woman, called the Great Hero, the Eccentric Hero, glanced at me with a somewhat crooked gaze, like a high school girl. It was a disrespectful look to give her creator.

“Boss, you’re slow. It’s been ages since the tower opened, why are you just showing up?”

She even scolded me.

“I did my best. Logically, who’d be more desperate, you or me? And why are you even here?”

“Because I have a reason to be, obviously.”

“No, your world is different… Oh Hyein!”

The one wearing the jet-black robe, commanding the evil sect warriors, was Oh Hyein, the best friend of Roderus and Lulu, from ‘Pure Light,’ the magical girl session.

–

I managed to escape from prison with the help of Oh Hyein, who seemed to have a decent standing in the evil sect. And so, I started my journey with her toward the direction of the Heavenly Demon Tomb.

“But, is it okay to just walk out like this? I think you’re part of the evil sect faction.”

“To broaden my range of movement, I decided on a concept the moment I landed here. Like, a cool guy who doesn’t distinguish between good and evil!”

For that, you sure have the ‘eccentric’ moniker attached to you.

The answer to why there’s a magical girl in a martial arts world was as follows:

“I dunno.”

“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”

Well, I guess it’s understandable she wouldn’t know. It’s not like she has casting rights for the characters.

But Yuna is the type who treasures wuxia. She’d be the type to unleash a lion’s roar if you tried to put something weird in a wuxia, but putting a magical girl in here? That’s pretty significant.

Maybe it’s a world crossover. The value of the wuxia side is comparatively lacking, so they’re beefing it up by adding resources from a different session.

“So, it’s a mishmash, right, boss?”

“Based on my deduction, yes.”

No wonder my handgun didn’t disappear. If it’s the resources from modern times where Oh Hyein lived that are being layered on, it makes sense. The handgun’s data would still exist, too.

“I met Abraham in the previous level.”

“Oh, you met the grandpa. Did the story go well?”

“Went well and all. But Abraham said because he’s treated as an NPC, he was able to get the session’s back story and clear conditions. You don’t have anything like that?”

“Nope.”

Nothing?

I looked at Oh Hyein with a jolt, but her eyes were just shining with the light of mala tang and tanghulu. She really… hasn’t received anything from the world.

Why is there this difference? Is it because of the crossover? Is it because she’s not a wuxia NPC but someone from a different session that she couldn’t receive information?

If that’s the case, to clearly understand the clearing goal… that means I have to find a wuxia NPC. It seems I need to explore this world a bit more.

But whether it’s exploring or researching, it’s a given that I have to head to Cheonmachong.

“A dazzling light that saves everyone── 『Pure Light』!”

Po-ro-rong.

I began my journey with Oh Hyein. Since my movement speed was so slow, it was mostly Oh Hyein in her transformed state carrying me and running. (She could transform, and she could use Pure Energy).

And the evil sect martial artists we met along the way…

“Halt! This is… our Hosan Sect’s territory! Those… those shameless Westerner clothes! A strange warrior! I didn’t recognize you!”

They dared not block her path, not with her glittering, flamboyant magical girl outfit, visible from dozens of meters away. They feared Oh Hyein.

“What in the world have you been doing?”

“What else do magical girls do? Vanquish evil monsters, save good people. Isn’t that right?”

Oh Hyein smiled brightly, full of conviction. Yes, this is how a magical girl should be. Satisfying.

Listening to her lines, I realized that maybe magical girls and the martial arts world were surprisingly compatible. They both practice martial arts for righteousness. Isn’t martial arts just another kind of magical girl?

“……”

“Why are you suddenly looking at the sky, Boss?”

Lest Yuna, having read my mind, get so worked up that she’d drop a lightning bolt.

We continued through the mountain path and arrived at a town near the Cheonmachong Tomb. Without hesitation, I chose an inn to enter. I was feeling a bit peckish, and this place was perfect for figuring out the genre.

“Welcome!”

To the waiter who greeted me with a bright smile, I immediately ordered.

“Hey, waiter, one carbonara, please.”

“Huh?”

“And prepare kimchi nabe and cheese fondue.”

“…Huh?”

Judging by the reaction, it seemed they weren’t mixed in this way.

To the dumbfounded waiter, Oh Hyein cleared her throat and, feigning a mature demeanor, placed an order.

“Ahem, bring us soba noodles, bamboo leaf wine, dumplings, and braised spiced pork.”

“Yes sir.”

“⋯⋯Is a high schooler drinking alcohol?”

“Boss, didn’t you say you put a ‘actually 20 or older’ tag on every single character in the session? Then even if I don’t have my ID yet, doesn’t that make me an adult too?”

That’s different from this.

I tapped the table with my fingers while waiting for the server to bring the food. Unless it’s a cultural mashup, where the heck in this wuxia world would they use magical girl session elements?

They wouldn’t have turned it into a fusion wuxia just to introduce Oh Hyein, right?

There’s something there. My gut is screaming it.

While passing the time by making all sorts of hypotheses, the server soon came to our table with several trays.

“Great Hero, your order is here!”

“Boss, I know you’re deep in thought, but… let’s eat first, yeah? Munggae said so. That even if you’re really busy, you should try to eat a proper meal if you can.”

“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”

She’s right. I picked up my chopsticks.

And just before I took a bite of a piping hot, delicious-looking dumpling…

*BANG-*!!

The tavern door burst open, and a group of people stormed in. They were wearing all sorts of outfits, and among them, I spotted the South Palace Clan’s clothing that I had designed.

One of the lackeys shouted loudly.

“Esteemed people of the martial arts world, I apologize, but please clear out your seats. The food bill will be paid. We need you to vacate the first floor. The great heroes of the orthodox sect are gathering here today, and they have a very important matter to discuss, so we must make sure no one overhears, am I understood?”

“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”

In short, they were saying they’re renting this whole place, so get lost.

The sight of them being so arrogant and mannerless made one customer with a fiery temper stand up and protest.

“What gives you the right to order people around like that?!”

“The Alliance Leader of the Righteous Sect is arriving soon. Still got something to say?”

“Hmph…!”

The lackey, flaunting the Leader’s power, glared at each customer in the restaurant. Naturally, his gaze fell on our table, and because his look was so irritating, I glared back.

Yup, definitely an inn. Trouble erupting the second I walk in – this place is definitely a reverse meeting point.

“Well… what do you wanna do? Flip the table?”

“Nah, the Faction Head is showing up too, right? Gotta bow down in times like this. Maybe stuff some dumplings in our pockets and get out… Hey, Hyein-ah. Over there, look at that person.”

“Huh? Oh.”

In the middle of the Righteous Sect group, there was a woman holding a fan, covering her mouth, standing haughtily. She seemed displeased by the Righteous Sect carelessly throwing people out; there was a slight furrow in her brow.

Oh Hyein recognized that familiar face, and covered her mouth, looking surprised.

She’s someone we know too.

“Chaerin unnie?”

“…Hyein-ssi?”

The main figure of Tempestuous Stellaris, the genius scientist who built the giant robot, Woo Chaerin.

“…Young Miss Jegal, you know them?”

“Yes. They’re close acquaintances. They’re trustworthy, and they know how to keep their mouths shut. Would it be alright for me to join them at their table? If you are going to force them out of here, I will also leave and find a place to eat with them.”

She appeared as the daughter of the Jegal Family.