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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: The First Opportunity (1)
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'I never heard about something like this being here!'
As he watched it saunter into view, Jinmyeong's hand went to his sword.
"Grrrr!"
The thing growling at him.
It was a great tiger, the kind he had only seen occasionally at a zoo or on TV.
'To think it would be this big…'
Jinmyeong swallowed hard and slowly began to draw his sword.
He tried his best not to provoke the great tiger.
"Graaaawr!"
Did it see Jinmyeong drawing his sword?
The great tiger immediately charged at Jinmyeong, swinging its forepaw.
*Fwoosh!*
"Ugh!"
Without even thinking of blocking the attack, Jinmyeong retreated to create some distance.
'Terrifying.'
As the great tiger's attack swept past his eyes, he felt his hair stand on end.
If that massive paw hit his head, it would surely be crushed.
"Grrr."
The great tiger watched Jinmyeong, who had dodged its attack but had not fled, and began to move slowly.
'Does it see me as prey?'
No.
The great tiger was wary of him.
Jinmyeong could tell.
'What should I do?'
Jinmyeong wracked his brain, trying to think of a way out of this situation.
But no solution came to mind.
None, except for killing the great tiger.
'Can I kill it?'
He didn't know.
Martial artists could easily kill such a beast.
But that was only possible for a seasoned, first-rate master.
And Jinmyeong was not a warrior of that caliber.
'This body isn't without internal energy.'
He knew that.
He hadn't grown tired at all while climbing this mountain.
He could see the great tiger clearly, even in the dark cave.
'If only I could use it…'
There was undoubtedly dormant internal energy within his body.
But Jinmyeong couldn't draw it out.
He had tried continuously on his way here, but he couldn't find a way to move the internal energy in his dantian.
Since he couldn't even feel the internal energy itself, he had no way of finding how to draw it out.
'It's too late for regrets.'
He could worry later about why a great tiger, which wasn't in the original story, was here.
The same went for his regret over not finding a way to move his internal energy.
What mattered now was killing that great tiger.
"Graaar!"
The great tiger roared loudly and charged at Jinmyeong.
*Clang!*
He raised his sword to block the tiger's attack, but his body was thrown back.
'Incredible strength.'
The only person he had fought since coming here was the masked man he first met.
So Jinmyeong had no choice but to fight while comparing the tiger to the masked man.
'This is tricky.'
It wasn't easy to find an opening while blocking its attacks like he did with the masked man.
'Was that guy just weak?'
The thought even crossed his mind.
Of course, Jinmyeong was mistaken.
The masked man who came to kill Jinmyeong was a master who had surpassed the first-rate level and was approaching the peak.
In other words, he could have easily handled a great tiger like the one before Jinmyeong.
'I can't predict its attacks at all…'
And that was precisely why Jinmyeong found the great tiger more difficult to deal with.
By simply watching the masked man's attacks, Jinmyeong had been able to grasp his martial arts, predict his next move, and find an opening.
But he couldn't sense anything like that from the great tiger, which was why he found it so tricky.
*Fwoosh! Fwoosh!*
The great tiger seemed to sense that Jinmyeong was struggling with its attacks.
It relentlessly pushed Jinmyeong back.
"Ummph!"
He was trying his best to dodge, but it wasn't easy to evade all of the surprisingly fast tiger's attacks.
So, though he blocked an attack, he couldn't withstand its power and his body staggered violently.
'I can't believe I'm fighting something like this one-on-one.'
It was something he could never have imagined in his past life.
No one would try to fight such a huge tiger without a gun.
"Grraawrr!"
The great tiger charged at Jinmyeong again. Rearing up quickly, it attacked with a flurry of swipes from its forepaws.
*Clang! Clang!*
While blocking the attacks, Jinmyeong shot his leg forward.
He tried to kick its belly, but the beast leaped back, dodging his attack.
'How can something that big be so agile?'
Jinmyeong scowled at the great tiger, which was far too nimble for its size.
'I want to run.'
If possible, he wanted to get out of here right now.
He had a feeling this might not be the cave he was looking for.
'Not a chance.'
If he turned his back, he would just become its meal.
'Should I attack first?'
He had always been far removed from fighting.
He didn't know whether he should attack first or keep waiting for an opportunity and aim for an opening, like he did with the masked man.
"Grraawrr!"
In the brief moment he hesitated, the great tiger charged again and swung its paw.
"Hup!"
Jinmyeong didn't retreat.
Instead, he moved forward, circling to the beast's side.
"Grrgh!"
The beast seemed surprised when Jinmyeong, who it expected to retreat again, moved to its side.
It tried to turn immediately, but Jinmyeong's sword was faster.
*Woooong!*
Jinmyeong felt something stir in his dantian.
At the same time, it felt as if vitality was surging through his body.
*Thrust!*
But Jinmyeong couldn't dwell on it.
He just swiftly thrust his sword into the beast's body.
"Grraawrr!"
Stabbed by the sword, the beast began to thrash wildly.
Because of this, Jinmyeong couldn't pull his sword out and had to let it go.
"No!"
Jinmyeong tried to retrieve his sword, but the great tiger had already moved away from him.
'All I have now is this small dagger.'
Red blood flowed from where the sword was embedded, soaking its fur, but the beast's gaze was fixed solely on Jinmyeong.
'The atmosphere has changed.'
Had it realized he was now unarmed?
The tense atmosphere, like walking on thin ice, was gone.
'I've been demoted from an enemy to prey.'
The beast might be letting its guard down, just like the masked man who died by his hand.
But the difference now was that he had no weapon.
'Will the poison on this dagger be enough?'
Jinmyeong reached for the dagger at his waist, but he wasn't confident.
"Grrrrr."
The great tiger circled Jinmyeong for a moment before charging again.
"Kugh!"
The beast's massive shadow loomed over Jinmyeong.
And the great tiger's huge body pounced on him.
"Grraawrr!"
Seemingly pleased to have finally caught him, the beast opened its maw to bite his neck.
The tiger's jaws drew closer and closer to Jinmyeong.
*Thud!*
Just then, the great tiger, which was about to tear into Jinmyeong, collapsed to its side.
"Phew."
Jinmyeong crawled out from under the tiger, grimacing.
'The smell is awful.'
When the beast opened its maw, he thought it was all over.
But the poison on his dagger seemed to be more potent than he'd thought.
'I'm glad I managed to stab it.'
As the beast pounced, Jinmyeong had somehow managed to stab the dagger into its belly.
The poison didn't kill it instantly, so he could have been bitten, but it seemed to have worked well enough.
'Is it really over?'
Jinmyeong pulled the dagger from the great tiger's belly and examined it closely.
There was no sign of anything coated on it like before.
Jinmyeong attached the dagger back to his waist and then pulled his sword from the great tiger's body.
'This might not be the place.'
Sheathing his sword, Jinmyeong's face contorted as he looked around.
After all, there was no scene in the novel where the protagonist encountered a tiger in the cave where he found his opportunity.
'Is it because the timing is different?'
Perhaps something had happened to the beast by the time the protagonist arrived.
Jinmyeong could only hope that was the case.
'I don't want to move anymore.'
Fighting a great tiger that didn't even appear in the novel had left him mentally and physically exhausted.
He wanted to find the opportunity quickly and rest.
'First, let's go inside.'
Continuing deeper, Jinmyeong soon reached the end of the cave.
'Thank goodness. This is the right place.'
It was just a dead-end cave, but Jinmyeong couldn't help but rejoice inwardly.
Because of the character 'Myeong (明)' carved on the cave wall.
'It said there was a mechanism to open a door here.'
In the novel, the person who brought the protagonist here found the mechanism next to the character.
'Of course, the mechanism wasn't exactly working properly.'
They found the mechanism to open the door, but for some reason, it wouldn't budge.
In the end, the protagonist had to use his martial arts to break down the door with his exhausted body.
Thanks to that, the protagonist's qi and blood became even more chaotic.
"Huh? Then, could it be…"
A sudden worry washed over him.
'Please don't be broken…'
Jinmyeong silently prayed for the mechanism to work as he placed his hand on the wall.
*Click!*
And soon, he found the mechanism.
'Do I just press this protruding part?'
Jinmyeong immediately pushed the protruding stone with all his might.
*Click!*
The stone slid inward.
Jinmyeong looked at the cave wall with eyes full of expectation.
"Huuu."
But it didn't take long for his expectation to turn to disappointment.
There was no change at all.
'So it was broken after all.'
Jinmyeong sighed and looked at the stone he had pushed in.
He thought maybe he could pull it out and push it in again.
But the stone that had gone in showed no signs of coming back out.
"Hmm?"
As Jinmyeong brought his hand over to pull out the stone, he leaned in closer to the side of the stone he'd pressed.
Squinting, he could see something like a pattern there.
'What is this?'
It was smaller than a 10-won coin from his past life.
Since it was never mentioned in the novel, the protagonist must not have found it either.
Even if his vision was enhanced in the dark, it wasn't as clear as broad daylight.
'It's so small, of course he wouldn't have found it.'
Besides, the protagonist was exhausted, and the person who guided him was anxious.
They broke down the wall before they could find this, so of course they missed it.
'What in the world is this? It's not like it's some kind of magic circle.'
An unfamiliar pattern was engraved inside the tiny circle.
Jinmyeong frowned and brought his thumb to the pattern.
"Ah, there's blood on it."
The wound he'd received from the masked man had reopened during the fight with the great tiger, and it was bleeding.
His blood had smeared onto the pattern.
*Wooooong!*
Did it react to the blood?
Suddenly, the pattern began to glow.
*Rumble, rumble, rumble!*
And then, with a tremendous noise, the cave wall began to turn.
'It's bright.'
Stepping inside through the turned wall, he found it so bright he wondered if it was the same cave.
It was surely because of those things on the walls.
'Are those Luminous Pearls?'
They couldn't compare to electric lights, but they were brighter than he'd expected.
'They said these are incredibly expensive, right?'
Whenever they appeared in martial arts novels, the protagonists would grab them to make money.
Jinmyeong, too, made a mental note to take them later as he followed the path.
'I've finally arrived!'
As Jinmyeong continued walking inward, a rather large space came into view.