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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: Heavenly Martial Arts Library
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After letting a moment of intensely gloomy atmosphere pass.
The iron door clanged shut behind me with an ominous sound, and I stepped into the Heavenly Martial Arts Library.
True to the phrase that all martial arts under heaven were gathered here.
Countless martial arts manuals were meticulously packed onto the endlessly lined bookshelves.
Indeed, at a glance, the sheer volume was extraordinary.
In the game, I could find a martial art instantly if I knew its name, and just as I wondered how long it would take to rummage through all this, I saw it.
"Oh."
In the center of the library, I discovered a kiosk for indexing books.
Ah, this is what Wuxia is all about.
I immediately searched.
First, I found the three martial arts I had targeted and stacked them neatly on a desk.
A sudden curiosity struck me, and I casually glanced through the contents of the Heavenly Beast Returning Heart Art, Ramjwi-girl's top pick.
"All things under heaven are equal, for humans and beasts are inherently of the same kind. If one opens their heart and approaches them, how could they not become friends…? Hmm…"
Sounds like something Peter Singer would say.
I lost interest and closed the book.
Next was footwork.
They say true masters are set apart by their footwork alone.
After careful consideration, I chose the Shadowless Steps.
I wondered if surviving as a master in the Murim inevitably meant losing all sense of propriety, as the preface to the Shadowless Steps manual was also filled with ridiculous boasting.
Something about it being the martial art of a legendary assassin, allowing one to walk without sound or shadow…
If that were truly the case.
Would this manual have been found in a righteous faction's academy?
Even setting aside my personal animosity towards assassins, its credibility seemed a bit low.
Still, its performance in the game was outstanding.
If I don't trust my own knowledge, who can I trust?
Including the Fiery Shadow Heart Art, which was recommended by both the beggar and the meddlesome princess. That made five books so far.
Despite having a kiosk, there was no clock inside, so I checked the remaining time with the hourglass Murong Seol had given me before entering.
Approximately 40 minutes left.
Although my memory was supposed to be perfect, if I didn't focus and engrave it into my mind, a mishap like mistaking a character or two could occur.
I had once confused an acupuncture point and suffered with my neck twisted for about three days.
To prevent such an incident, if it took about 5 minutes to read one book thoroughly, I had time for three more.
Since I could take one book out, I had enough time to read a maximum of four more books.
"Hmm…"
Originally, I had considered adding a fist and kick art.
But now that I've actually transmigrated and lived here.
Why would I bother with fisticuffs when I have weapons?
It wasn't a children's brawl; there seemed no need to do such a thing.
Besides, I still vividly remember learning the greatest, invincible fist and kick art of all time—King-God Taekwondo—all the way to black belt in elementary school.
Thank you, Master Kim!
In any case, I skipped body techniques as well.
I decided to just absorb a couple more internal cultivation methods.
Of course, it was common knowledge in the Murim, and a strictly enforced rule in the game, that one could not learn multiple internal cultivation methods simultaneously.
Committing such a crazy act would lead straight to Qi deviation!
However.
Among the mods I had installed, there was also a 'Remove Internal Cultivation Method Overlap Restriction' mod.
Meaning.
I could freely learn multiple internal cultivation methods and make them all my own!
They said that if the Fiery Shadow Heart Art reached mastery, one could make flames bloom on their weapons.
In that case.
Naturally, I wanted to learn an ice art as well…!
A flame sword in one hand.
An ice sword in the other.
…Though dual-wielding is said to be a symbol of defeat.
It's a lethal dose of romance, isn't it? A true man needs to look cool.
Even if it wasn't an ice art, anything useful would do, so I went back to where I had picked up the Fiery Shadow Heart Art and rummaged through the bookshelves.
"Oh, the Sunflower Manual."
Surprisingly, there were quite a few highly-rated martial arts.
A prime example was the Sunflower Manual, which I was now looking at.
From a performance standpoint alone, it was a martial art that could be overwhelmingly positively reviewed.
It had the very minor drawback of causing gender-swapping upon learning it.
But it also gained a cult following among friends who found that very aspect even more appealing.
They said starting as a male character and learning the Sunflower Manual resulted in higher charm stats than just starting as a female character.
But really, why bother…?
My precious little friend. Protect my precious little friend!
In extreme fear that I might just turn into a simpering female if I absorbed any more, I shoved the book deep back into the bookshelf.
As I aimlessly looked through various books.
"Oh…?"
My eyes.
Caught sight of a manual with a Hangul-written cover.
No matter how corrupted by mods this world was, its foundation remained the primitive, ancient, uncivilized Chinese Murim.
Naturally, the writing system used Hanja, created by the atrociously cruel turtle abuser, Cangjie.
Of course, thanks to the Hangul patch, I could read Hanja like my native language immediately after transmigration.
But that wasn't the important part.
"Northern Darkness Divine Art."
It sounded familiar somehow.
If it had "Divine Art" in its name, it was usually pretty awesome, but was it really?
Unconsciously, as if possessed, I opened the manual.
My first impression was.
"A textbook…?"
I had let my guard down due to the manual's thinness, but despite being written in Hangul, it felt like it contained alien, unfamiliar content.
Still, delighted to see the genuine grace of King Sejong the Great after a long time, I continued to read through it quickly.
The conclusion.
It was one of two things.
Either it was utterly nonsensical gibberish.
Or it contained martial principles of such a high level that even I, the greatest genius of all time (to be), couldn't yet comprehend them.
In particular, the idea that one could not only accumulate and circulate internal energy but also, upon reaching a certain realm, control and wield the energy of nature at will, sounded quite appealing.
And on the very last page.
[Those who wish to become the greatest under heaven, come to Baekdu Mountain.]
Seeing that it even had a strange dash of nationalist viral marketing, it was definitely a mod byproduct.
Because those Chinks call it Changbai Mountain.
Of course, there were oral formulas and core principles interspersed throughout that were difficult for my current understanding to grasp, so I couldn't immediately learn it or assess its practical value.
However, if one could truly practice what was written, if it could be realized, it was certainly a cheat-like martial art.
I glanced at the hourglass; time was getting tight.
One wrong character memorized by mistake would send me straight to Qi deviation, so now was the time to focus and cram all the martial arts I had collected into my head.
The martial art I would take out was.
The Northern Darkness Divine Art.
A fortuitous encounter is best enjoyed alone.
…Anyway, almost no one would be able to read Hangul, but I still wanted to take it with me.
It had been two years since I fell into this world.
It contained one of the few traces of my homeland.
Ah.
I'm craving samgyeopsal and kimchi…
* * *
"Phew…"
A sense of proud accomplishment washed over me as I emerged, having achieved everything I set out to do.
If there was a minor problem, it was this:
"Is that… really a martial art manual? Th-the rules are strict, but it's okay for a very, very short moment, so wouldn't it be better to choose another martial art to take out…?"
Murong Seol looked at me like I was crazy when I chose the Northern Darkness Divine Art to take out.
Still, her voice and words showed concern for me, which felt quite nice.
Right.
What's wrong with a dual personality in the cyber world?
Of course, when I told her I had memorized the entire Fiery Shadow Heart Art as well, she initially insisted I was talking nonsense.
But once I recited the memorized formulas fluently on the spot, she quieted down.
To offload the information that filled my head, I headed to Cheongun Pavilion.
It was like the central library of a university.
Contrary to my expectation that it would be quiet.
There were quite a few students.
Most of them were seniors, of course.
As expected of people holed up in the library from the start of the semester, they seemed to exude a somewhat gloomy aura.
"Excuse me, I apologize, but could I get some blank books? About eight of them."
Whisper, whisper.
"Ah. Could you wait a moment?"
Whisper, whisper.
The librarian left her desk and soon returned with a stack of bound books in her arms, which she handed to me, adding,
"You're a freshman already studying so hard. It's good to see."
"Thank you."
After successfully gaining some inexplicable favor, I took the blank books and found a seat in the most secluded corner.
I slightly rotated my shoulders to loosen my arms.
Now it was time for manual labor.
To make it easy to understand later, I maintained the neatest possible handwriting and wrote quickly, stroke by stroke, swish, swish, swish.
…Sighing at the reality of this asymmetrical, pseudo-Murim, where smartphones exist but not mechanical pencils or fountain pens.
I diligently copied the formulas written in the manuals.
I lavishly squandered the ink provided at the desk.
And even had to get new ink from the librarian before finally finishing my manual labor.
My shoulders were already stiff and aching, so I would probably be sore tomorrow…
Still, the process of transcribing helped me understand the martial arts I was learning to some extent.
I could always ask a teacher or Unhak about any ambiguous parts later.
I took a breath and briefly browsed the gallery on my smartphone, thoroughly reading the recommended posts.
[Ice Princess / Princess-chan likes bulging muscles, sob sob sob ♥ (7)]
Is this… sexual harassment?
I need to age gracefully.
I had some time to kill until dinner.
As I was deeply engrossed in browsing the gallery.
Poke, poke.
"Huh?!"
I hadn't even sensed her approach.
Someone poked my back with a finger, and I involuntarily blurted out a loud sound.
Feeling all eyes in the reading room instantly focus on me, I turned around.
"Cheon Ruri…?"
What.
Why is Sir Nongcheonma here?
We didn't really have any contact.
I just knew of her unilaterally.
"Curious."
"...?"
"Curious."
I couldn't understand what she wanted to say.
But attempting to converse in the reading room wasn't exactly ideal.
"Let's go outside first…"
As I hurriedly gathered the manuals I had diligently transcribed and tried to lead Ruri out.
I couldn't tell if it was just my imagination, but it felt like everyone was watching me.
Outside, after diligently trying to coax words out of Ruri, who only gave curt replies with a sullen expression, I finally understood.
"So, you mean you want to join the gallery…?"
"Yes."
At my summary, Ruri gave a subtle nod.
I frantically reviewed my memories, checking if I had looked at any explicit images or written any foolish posts just now, but thankfully, I hadn't shown anything inappropriate.
Honestly.
I wondered why on earth she was asking me about that.
But I wasn't so heartless as to give her such a blunt rebuke to her face.
She might look like that, but she's probably twenty years old, right?
Twenty is an age where one can take full responsibility for their actions.
It definitely wouldn't be me corrupting her.
"Could I borrow your smartphone for a moment?"
I took Ruri's smartphone and discreetly checked it.
Hmm.
Made in Mangum.
Authentic.
Increasing my kindness level by one, I committed the atrocity of installing the Murim Gallery on her pure, almost app-less phone.
"Here, you can register for an account here now."
It was absolutely unintentional.
But while exchanging smartphones, our bodies inevitably touched—our hands brushed.
However, what appeared above Ruri's head was still just a '-'.
A single dash, signifying a pure ordinary person.
Ruri, taking back her smartphone, subtly tilted her head again.
"ID… what?"
"Hmm… Usually, people combine features they want to display or things they like to create one."
Hearing my words, Ruri stared at her smartphone for a long time, pondering.
I was getting hungry.
I wished she'd hurry…
"Ah."
Ruri suddenly looked as if an inspiration had struck her.
She tapped away with her small thumb, writing something down.
Immediately after.
A red pill appeared above Ruri's head.
[170cm75G_Luly]
"…"
There was so much I wanted to say.
But sometimes, some things are better left unsaid.
I didn't think about telling her to change her name to Luly and reach level 6 now, or that it was an impossible dream since her growth plates were already closed anyway.
Instead, I secretly wished for divine elixirs like the 'Plumpness Pill' or 'Busty Elixir' to exist in this pseudo-Murim, said my goodbyes, and left.
You can do it, you can do it.