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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: First, Secure the Fortuitous Encounter
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Curiosity turns even Khajiit into carpets...
No, more accurately, there's a Western proverb that says curiosity killed the cat.
Unfortunately, I became so captivated by this unheard-of, rootless new concept called 'Mind-Image Swordplay' (Simsangnongeom)...
...that I ended up committing the sin of neglecting my inner unicorn carp, which had been suffering from chronic lack of walks, leading to its lonely demise.
May you be reborn as a dragon in your next life.
Quietly following behind Murong Wicheon, who was hurrying ahead, his long robes fluttering, as if fearing I might change my mind.
"So, what exactly is Mind-Image Swordplay?"
I threw the question at Unhak, the primary culprit in the unicorn carp's demise.
"Ah... you don't know, do you...?"
What was that?
That annoying tone, like someone who's peeked into future knowledge and returned.
I jabbed Unhak in the side.
"Ugh, but do you really not know? And it's a Mangum-dang product, too."
"Hmm?"
Mangum-dang, you see, is a business entity closer to a modern company, created through the cooperation of our Mangum-jeonjang, the Zhuge family, and engineers of unknown origin.
It's the root of all evil in this pseudo-Murim, supplying over-technology items like smartphones and tablets.
"Among martial artists, there are those who cannot fully display their true skill due to unforeseen accidents, such as losing an arm. Such people must live their entire lives with a sense of loss, but for them, Mind-Image Swordplay was created to allow them to reproduce their original power, even if it's just a hallucination."
Isn't that just virtual reality for PTSD treatment?
"Furthermore, it has been developed to the point where it can manifest illusions of oneself performing martial arts based on the mind-images in one's head, and even allow one to compare their mind-images with those of others. How could this not be a marvelous invention?"
No way!
Suddenly, my heart pounded.
My only unfulfilled dream in life.
Could a full-dive virtual reality capsule truly exist in this pseudo-Murim...!
* * *
But soon, this company commander—no, this Geum Sihyeon—could not help but be disappointed by the crude technology of this primitive and uncivilized Murim.
The place we arrived at, following Murong Wicheon's footsteps, was the Simnyeongak (Heart-Refining Pavilion).
Bearing the grand name of 'refining the heart'...
...it was a bizarre place reminiscent of the Yongsan e-Sports Stadium.
"Yes! You should respond with a heavy sword there!"
"No, here you should feint with an illusionary sword!"
"That fellow, I didn't realize it during spars, but his skill in Mind-Image Swordplay is quite something!"
"Has that rascal Pyeong So-cheon not mastered palm techniques? If he had responded with a palm strike there, the situation would have completely turned around!"
On the giant screen installed in the center.
Even at its best, the graphics were worse than claymation.
Two lumps of clay in human form, which couldn't even be called avatars, were depicted fighting clumsily.
And to the left and right of the screen... two martial artists, each wearing what looked undeniably like VR headsets, were sitting cross-legged.
As I watched the scene with a look of horror.
"Indeed, it looks as if a real martial artist is moving...!"
"This is... amazing. If we create a betting site, it's bound to be a hit...!"
The beggar and the illegal gambling site operator exclaimed in admiration.
"Surely you don't mean to decide victory with *that* nonsense?"
A blunt voice escaped me without me realizing it.
If there had been fewer eyes on me,
I would have immediately shouted 'Gal!' and declared that this was no true Murim.
I mean.
When it comes to virtual reality, isn't the graphics more important than the content?
Like an eight-head-tall, busty, well-proportioned Heavenly Demon revealing her shapely legs as she performs the Heavenly Demon's Imperial Stride, with a T-back visible beneath her fluttering skirt.
Or the Grand Princess, the first-generation disciple of the Namgung family, whose clothes are torn in many places from being ganged up on by unorthodox martial artists, revealing her bare skin.
Or a high-level female master from the Emei Sect, completely toyed with by a rope, a bizarre weapon, and tied up, displaying a frustrated, helpless expression while slowly succumbing to the pleasure of masochism.
That's what a real Murim game should have.
What's the fun in polygon blobs hitting each other?
Fuming with indignation, I expounded my rational and cool-headed theory to the crowd, but...
"Oh...! As expected, Geum-hyeong truly knows what's good!"
...only Unhak, who ironically likes women despite being unable to talk to them, agreed with me.
"As expected of a commoner, your words and actions are utterly vulgar. Are you perhaps scared?"
Only Murong Wicheon's even colder gaze returned.
Soon, I'll land another Bungeok Fist squarely in his solar plexus.
"You need to make a reservation in advance to experience it. The earliest available time is around Yu-si, a week from now."
"Then I shall make a reservation in the name of Murong Wicheon of the Murong family, and Geum Mo."
"...It's Geum Sihyeon."
"Murong Wicheon Gwan-do-nim and Geum Sihyeon Gwan-do-nim. Confirmed. There will be a preliminary training half a *shijin* before your reserved time, so please arrive by then."
Fortunately, it seemed there would be no opportunity to experience that monstrosity today.
Honestly, the rematch with me was just an excuse.
Murong Wicheon's face clearly showed disappointment, to the point where I wondered if he simply wanted to experience Mind-Image Swordplay himself.
"I wanted to avenge myself immediately. You're lucky, you wretch."
"A loser... talking back?"
"Hmph."
Murong Wicheon furrowed his brow.
He then earnestly urged me to come to this place by Yu-si a week later, and departed.
* * *
"I'll stay and watch a bit longer! This, it feels like my eyes have been opened!"
"Business plan, I need to create a business plan..."
The two uncivilized men, completely captivated by the new technology they encountered for the first time, remained glued to their seats.
Thinking it was for the best, I walked back to the dormitory alone.
I sent a long message, about 5,700 characters in length, to my dear eldest brother, the Mangum-dang Master.
Roughly 5,500 characters were dedicated to explaining the necessity of graphic improvements and suggesting ideal implementation directions.
The remaining portion was allocated to requesting that a Mind-Image Swordplay device be sent to my dormitory.
Considering the profits I've helped them earn, this much is a reasonable request.
And.
Since a duel schedule was naturally set, flowing like water, I ought to prepare countermeasures for it.
It is a virtue of a gentleman to seek the teachings of the wise by asking questions about things one does not know well.
However, question posts generally don't get much attention.
Therefore, it was necessary to prepare a lure for this.
[Baekhwa Academy Gallery]
[Author: ㅇㅇ]
[Title: 19/NSFW) The semen of a Mount Hwa master smells like plum blossoms...]
[(Clickbait? Image)
Anyone here who's tried Mind-Image Swordplay or knows a lot about it?
I've only watched, but I don't get how it works. Can someone explain? lol]
The response was fervent.
Of course, most of the comments were insults, or 'Is this real?' type of troll-baiting responses.
However.
- ㅇㅇ(IWantGYOMI): It's one of the hottest apps in Murim right now lol You need a dedicated device, but there are even modes where you fight at the Hwagyeong level, so martial artists who've hit a wall are rushing to it to gain enlightenment.
- ㅇㅇ(SNOWWHITE_7): Waaahhhhh the princess doesn't know anything lewd! Doesn't know, doesn't know >_- ㅇㅇ(IWantGYOMI): I heard the Murim Alliance is planning to host the World's Greatest Mind-Image Swordplay Tournament soon and stream it live on MuTube.
Gyomi-jwa, who had previously satisfied my curiosity, once again kindly left an explanation.
Thank you, Gyomi-jwa!
I hope you live up to your nickname!
I gave him a thumbs-up emoji, and as an extra, I also gave a 'Old?' emoji to the strange troll who popped up in between.
I easily ignored the comment notifications that rang every two seconds.
* * *
After returning to the dormitory alone.
I quietly retrieved my sword, hidden among my belongings, tied it securely within my long robes so it wouldn't be visible from the outside, and stepped back out.
It was a busy day, but.
Still, what needed to be done, had to be done.
* * *
What should someone who's transmigrated into a game do first?
Naturally, they should monopolize all the fortuitous encounters around them.
Although I hadn't managed to secure a single one yet due to a few minor matters.
I still needed to consistently gobble them up whenever I had the time.
Fortuitous encounters, by nature, don't always stay in one place.
Even in 'Murim Cultivation,' if I didn't secure them before a certain amount of time passed, other NPCs would gobble them up.
I even once had a fortuitous encounter 'NTR'd' right before my eyes by a single turn, and in a fit of rage, challenged them to a life-or-death duel, only to get a bad ending: the 'expulsion ending'...
Well, I don't intend to go that far.
So, one of the fortuitous encounters that disappears relatively early.
I've come to subjugate the 'Silver Wolf of the Western Forest'.
I decided not to question why a quasi-spiritual beast-level wolf was living in a forest within the academy.
In a situation where inner energy-charging smartphones already exist.
Even if Shakespeare and Einstein were to fuse, combine, and reincarnate, they wouldn't be able to normalize this world's plausibility and laws of physics.
Anyway.
It was precisely because of this fortuitous encounter that I seriously considered an archer build.
Roughly speaking, it turned out the silver wolf was a descendant of a wolf raised by the former World's Greatest Archer, and thanks to such a story, you could obtain an incredibly powerful bow even in the early stages.
Because item power never lies.
It would be a great help in my training to become an Archery Ghost.
But.
"Ugh..."
Games and reality were definitely, quite a bit different.
Normally, you'd just click the 'explore' button for one turn, play a simple mini-game, and then it would immediately lead to a victory or defeat event with a few lines of text, depending on your current stats.
But I'd already been aimlessly wandering through the forest for an hour.
It was disgustingly wide.
And I didn't even know where I was...!
What's more, the sun seemed to be seriously setting.
The darkness gradually began to deepen.
Naturally, my vision also narrowed.
Thankfully, I had marked the way out using a Hansel and Gretel meta, otherwise, I might have returned empty-handed today.
Just as I thought that.
「Awooo...!」
"Oh."
I heard a wolf's low howl from a short distance away.
Perhaps I received protagonist-level buff and automatically found my way without realizing it?
As expected of me.
Drawing my sword, I cautiously approached the source of the sound.
As I pushed through the bushes without lowering my guard.
There was a huge clearing that clearly felt like a boss fight arena.
At the edge of the clearing, there was a stone gate leading to a massive cave.
And in front of it.
A wolf with shimmering silver fur, standing majestically...
"Three...?"
No.
Why.
Why are there three, not just one?
1 vs 3 is too much, isn't it?
A cold sweat trickled down my spine.
* * *
- Fortuitous Encounter x3 Mode
[Were you dissatisfied with the meager rewards from fortuitous encounters you painstakingly secured, or those that appeared as random events? Then install immediately!
This mod triples the random fortuitous encounter appearance rate and also triples the value of rewards obtained from them.
※ Warning: As this is a simple numerical adjustment mod created through unpacking, monsters in monster subjugation type fortuitous encounters will also appear in triple numbers. Skipping early-game combat-related fortuitous encounters is recommended.]