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Light brown short hair, clear ruby-red eyes. Instead of the confident smile that was always etched in his memory, an unsettled anxiety and melancholy settled over her.
"Woo, Woo-jin."
Though her voice was unsteady and shaking without confidence, Baek Woo-jin could easily recognize her.
"Ye-hwa."
He didn't know what was making her so anxious that she was trembling, but he was genuinely pleased to see her.
And for good reason - one of the reasons he had picked up this cursed novel back when he was on Earth was because her illustration on the cover was stunningly beautiful.
"It is nice to see you.”
He felt a slight pang of regret that she was his ideal type, but he quickly dismissed it. It's hard to say that they're blood-related, but he couldn’t feel anything for someone who might become his brother's companion.
“Are, are you okay…?”
"Yeah, I'm fine. I almost died, but I was saved by a passing herbalist.”
“Y-you almost died?”
Something felt strange about the atmosphere. He had almost died, but he tried to speak as lightly as possible, feeling that there was no need to worry since he had returned alive and well.
“I-I'm sorry….”
Baek Woo-jin tilted his head at her sudden apology and searched his memory once again.
'There's nothing?'
No matter how he looked at it, she had done nothing wrong to him. Even if she had, it wouldn't have mattered. All those things belonged to the 'Baek Woo-jin' who had left this world.
“What are you apologizing for? Did you do something wrong?”
“I, I… ugh! I should have taken better care of you……!”
So that was it.
Come to think of it, in the days leading up to the mission, she had spent more time apart from him meeting Baek Mu-hyuk than she had with him.
As a result, Baek Woo-jin had been in a daze all by himself, neglecting even his meals, and ended up getting a hatchet to the side in the ensuing mission.
'Isn't that what was supposed to happen in the first place?'
Even if they were childhood friends who had been together for years, it was only natural that they would spend more time apart than together, since they weren't sharing a body.
"Hey, you're not my nanny, so how can you take care of me all the time? You didn't do anything wrong, so stop it.”
"Sob…, ugh! Woo-jin-ah….”
Shin Ye-hwa ran over, sniffling and stretching out her arms and Baek Woo-jin smoothly sidestepped, pulling Ye-hwa into an embrace with one arm draped over her shoulders.
“Huh?”
"Hey."
He whispered softly in her ear, and her body seemed to tremble for a moment, “Did you make any progress with brother while I was gone?”
"W-what are you talking about….”
It seemed like there had been no progress at all, just by looking at her.
What a frustrating girl. She has good hardware, so why can't she use it?
"Hey, just go for it.”
"W-what do you mean…!”
"I mean just go for it.”
Baek Woo-jin showed her the most destructive seduction a woman could use.
"Men will fall for it once a pretty girl like you goes for it.”
“P-pretty? Me…?”
Her face turned even redder, as if it was approaching its boiling point, at the first compliment she had ever received from her childhood friend.
"Constantly seducing without any warning. Highlight the strengths you possess... No, make sure they're indelibly imprinted."
"What, what strengths do I have?"
Baek Woojin chuckled mischievously and leaned in closer to her ear, "Your chest."
"Yaa, yaa!"
Her chest was indeed sizable.
* * * * *
Over the weekend, the professors teaching first-year students and the vice-principal gathered to discuss the commotion that happened yesterday.
"Professor Yeom Cheol-jin."
"Yes."
"Report."
The one who stood up from his seat was a stern-faced man sitting in the center of the conference room.
Yeom Cheol-jin.
He was a first-rate intelligence martial artist who used to work for the Murim Alliance, but he retired from the front lines after suffering a major injury while carrying out a mission. In recognition of his past services, he is currently working as a theory professor at the academy.
"As a result of investigating the bandits that Baek Woo-jin captured yesterday, it has been determined that they are all bandits from a nearby mountain. Retracing their route based on the order of their capture, it is estimated that they traveled here to the academy by crossing over mountains instead of flat ground, starting from Yeongam Mountain where they had gone missing."
A slight sound escaped from the vice-principal's mouth.
It made sense now why even a search party of over ten first-class martial artists failed to find Baek Woo-jin. It was none other than himself who had instructed them to focus the search around the villages near the entrance to Yeongam Mountain.
"The exact number of bandits was 66, and eight hideouts were confirmed to have been destroyed. As for any peculiarities..."
Yeom Cheol-jin's voice trailed off. He seemed to be contemplating whether or not he should say this, even though he was looking at the report he had written himself.
"Don't hesitate and tell me."
"Yes... Most of the 66 bandits are third-rate and not very skilled, but one of them is a first-rate novice who is wanted by the nearby authorities."
First-rate.
In fact, it was a very weak level to survive in the Murim, where there were many first-rate people. However, if the person who fought him was Baek Woo-jin, the story was a little different.
The vice-principal, who had been silent, opened his mouth, "I heard that Baek Woo-jin is a second-rate."
"Yes, that's right."
"Did he gain even a small enlightenment in the process of almost losing his life?"
"That is the most likely possibility."
If he had risen to the first-class, it would not be impossible. There was an undeniable gap between a systematically trained first-class martial artist and a first-class level bandit who learned martial arts haphazardly.
The vice-principal recalled Baek Woo-jin's appearance that he had briefly encountered yesterday.
'He's a strange guy.'
Even with the face and gestures of one who had just finished an exciting affair, his eyes remained calm, concealing his true thoughts.
It was hard to believe that such a person had remained at the second-rate level until now.
"Yesterday, Baek Woo-jin made a request to me."
"Yes? What was it...?"
"He said he wanted to be credited for his work in capturing the bandits and receive performance points."
"The majority of the bandits captured were third-rate or below, so it is a bit of a stretch to say that it is a merit. However..."
Yeom Cheol-jin paused for a moment to look at the vice-principal's expression before continuing.
"Since he deserves credit for capturing a first-class bandit, I think it's appropriate to award him four performance points, which is the level of an intermediate-grade mission."
"Hmm."
The vice-principal tapped the table with his index finger and seemed to be lost in thought, before opening his mouth, "Call student Baek Woo-jin."
* * * * *
The first thing martial artists do when they wake up in the morning is practicing qi circulation and absorption.
Qi circulation and absorption is the foundation for martial artists. It builds up their internal qi and removes accumulated impurities from the body, allowing them to always maintain peak condition.
So Baek Woo-jin started off his morning by opening a bottle of liquor.
"Hah, since I need to build up my internal qi, I have no choice."
The Drinking Immortal Technique he learned from Juseon followed a different path than other inner cultivation methods. It involved circulating the energy contained in alcohol and accumulating it in the dantian. So he had to drink alcohol as a necessity.
'Ugh, this is tough.'
He hated drinking during the day the most in the world, but he had to force himself to drink.
As Baek Woo-jin shook his head, a lingering smile remained on his face.
As the alcohol entered his body, the energy contained within it seeped out and circulated through his body according to the principles of the Drinking Immortal Technique, accumulating in his dantian bit by bit.
"Mmmm.”
He finished the bottle of alcohol in one go, but he still felt unsatisfied.
It wasn't that he didn't have enough alcohol, but that the amount of internal qi he had accumulated from the alcohol he had drunk was the problem.
The Drinking Immortal Technique could extract energy from any kind of alcohol. The only difference was that the amount of energy extracted would vary depending on the type of alcohol.
“Where can I find some good spirit herbs or spirit essence?”
Baek Woo-jin sighed as he recalled what Juseon had told him. The best alcohol for cultivation was made with the inner cores of spirit creatures, spirit herbs, or spirit essence. Mixing these ingredients into alcohol would allow the drinker to safely absorb the potent energy within, and if the alcohol was aged properly, the effects would be even greater.
The problem was that spirit creatures, spirit herbs, and spirit essence were incredibly rare. Even if one searched every mountain range in the world, it would be a stroke of luck to find just one. As for spirit essence, it was only produced by the grandmasters of the Nine Cauldrons Sect, who kept it for themselves.
Protagonists who get transported into novels usually reminisce about the story's contents to gain insight, but...
"What did I even read to reminisce over..."
The novel he had been reading was so frustrating that he had to put it down. He tried to remember the details, but all he could recall was that the protagonist participated in a martial arts tournament called the Dragon Festival that took place in late autumn.
“Wasn’t there a prize for winning the Dragon Festival…?”
This was information lingering in Baek Woo-jin's memory — the Dragon Festival was held at the end of the first year and those who earned the title of 'Dragon' among the top-ranking students were awarded special prizes, including spirit herbs.
"That could work, that could work."
Perhaps that could be his first goal.
Just as he had decided on an objective and was taking another swig of alcohol...
KNOCK! KNOCK!
…someone knocked on the door.
Feeling regretful, he licked his lips clean before tying the liquor bottle to his waist and opening the door.
Outside stood a man in a light blue martial arts uniform with an impassive expression.
"Are you the student Baek Woo-jin?"
"Yes."
"You are being summoned by the vice-principal. Go to the main building's top floor conference room."
Having delivered the message, the man turned and left as if his business was concluded.
Left alone, Baek Woo-jin scrunched his face in displeasure, "Really now..."
Summoning someone during the precious golden weekend, what kind of etiquette was this?
"Ah right, this is Murim."
He realized his blunder.
After changing into a crisp black martial arts uniform, Baek Woo-jin left the dorms. As he crossed the expansive practice grounds, he felt several gazes turn his way.
Although Baek Woo-jin's martial ability ranked near the bottom among first-years, his reputation within the academy was on par with the first-rate students.
"They call me 'Dragon Face'."
It was a nickname given to him in mockery of his handsome appearance, but Baek Woo-jin liked it.
"Not bad at all."
Martial arts prowess could always be cultivated. Even a complete lack of talent could be overcome through grinding to the brink of death. Looks were different. No matter how he reincarnated into fantasy worlds, his appearance remained unalterable.
As Baek Woo-jin enjoyed the attention, he entered the path leading to the main building when a familiar face appeared before him.
"Baek Gaga."
Yoo Hwa-yeon approached Baek Woo-jin, calling his name.
- - - - - End of Chapter - - - - -
Translator's Notes:-
The word "internal energy" has been changed to "internal qi".
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