Possessing Nothing

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Lee Sungmin opened his eyes wide in surprise and looked at Kim Jonghyun. Kim Jonghyun, too, was surprised and looked back with his mouth half-open. The last time he saw him was in Behenger before he left, so it was the first time in four years that they met again. Although four years had passed since they last met, Kim Jonghyun had not changed at all as if time had stopped.

“This… It’s a strange relationship. Is this also fate?” 

Kim Jonghyun mumbled and walked forward in a hurry. Compared to four years ago, his face had not changed, but his clothes had. Lee Sungmin remembered Kim Jonghyun wearing a t-shirt that he picked up from somewhere and a white robe worn over it.

But now Kim Jonghyun wore luxurious looking dark-colored robes. The black pattern on the robe was carved intricately with gold thread. It was continually twisted, looking as if it were alive.

“… Do you know him?” 

Asked the middle-aged Taoist who was pointing his sword towards Lee Sungmin. The question was directed toward Kim Jonghyun. Lee Sungmin’s eyebrows raised at the question. 

High-level masters who had surpassed Peak Level weren’t common. Among the martial artists whom Lee Sungmin met, there were a lot of eccentric experts. But among those, there were very few at that kind of level, even in large-scale sects. If you were a master who had reached the peak, it meant that you had more skill than average. 

So the middle-aged warrior of the Volcanic Sect was roughly about half as good as Lee Sungmin. Given that Lee Sungmin was knocking at the gates of Peak Level, the warrior who blocked Lee Sungmin should be regarded as a master who stands at a considerable position even within the conservative factions of the volcanic waves. However, a master of such a level was extremely respectful of Kim Jonghyun.

“Ah. Ahhh. Ah, yes. I do know him. By the way… What happened? There seems to have been a misunderstanding.” 

Kim Jonghyun muttered while looking around. The young warriors of the Volcanic Sect who fell at the hands of Lee Sungmin raised their bodies. They exclaimed breathlessly.

“Oh, we did nothing wrong. I was controlling access from here as ordered, but he said he had to go inside!”

“… Ahem …” 

The middle-aged Taoist groaned at the cries of the young masters. He looked at Lee Sungmin’s face with belated realization and muttered. 

“You are… yesterday’s… Aren’t you that great young man who was delivering a message on behalf of Shaolin Temple?”

“… Yes.”

“Yes… that’s right. Woo Poong told us that you were acquainted with Ghost Blade. Surely… Are you here to save him?”

“That’s… not it.”

“If not, what are you here for? Why were you trying to subdue them? You say you aren’t here to save Ghost Blade. If so, why did you try to hinder the Volcanic warriors from killing him?”

Lee Sungmin thought about how to reply to those words. He had to meet Ghost Blade Dok Bejun. There was something he wanted to ask him. He had to take responsibility for this.

In what way?

He had never thought about taking responsibility for someone he felt responsible for. If only in name. He just thought he should take responsibility. So it doesn’t become a habit. The impulse he felt in his mind was only an impulse now. He hadn’t entirely made up his mind about it, so he couldn’t speak out or express his opinion yet.

“… Hmm.” 

Kim Jonghyun, who was silent, shrugged. His eyes turned to Lee Sungmin.

[What happened?]

Kim Jonghyun’s voice rang in his head. It wasn’t an electronic sound, but was similar to it. Lee Sungmin first explained to Kim Jonghyun about his situation. He knew that Lee Sungmin had returned from the dead, so it was not difficult to explain. 

“Let’s go together.” 

Kim Jonghyun, who had heard the whole story, nodded. The middle-aged Taoist was amazed and looked back at Kim Jonghyun. 

“What is that… ?” 

“Master Yusang. I was sent from the guild to assist you, at the request of Master Jin Rang. You will absolutely need my help to chase and kill the Ghost Blade, and to hear the full story of the case from him.”

Kim Jonghyun told Master Yusang with a calm face. Even though he had a grim expression on hearing Kim Jonghyun’s words, outwardly he nodded. 

“That’s… I also know it.” 

“If I cannot go with Lee Sungmin, I will not go.”

When Kim Jonghyun said so much, Master Yusang’s face distorted. Lee Sungmin reacted the same way.

[No, isn’t that going too far?] 

[Are there any other ways to persuade that strict Taoist master besides forcing the issue? On the contrary, in this case, it would work well to act like a kid.] 

[What would you do if Master Yusang overpowered you and forced you to go with him?]

[Master Yusang does not have the right to do so. In fact, no one on the volcano can treat me like that. They formally asked the Guild for assistance, and I was dispatched from there for him. If the volcano treats me carelessly, it’s the same as spitting on the prestige of the guild.] 

[Is it that bad?] 

[You’ve changed a lot over the last four years. I think you’ve gotten especially better at martial arts. I wasn’t just playing aimlessly either. Scarlet became a Red Archmage, so I also came out of the Behenger’s Sorcerer Guild out of spite.] 

[… Yes? What does that mean?]

[Now I have become the Black Archmage.] 

Kim Jonghyun said with a face that it was not a big deal, but Lee Sungmin could not take it lightly. Black Archmage. That meant that Kim Jonghyun was at the highest position among the magicians of the Sorceror’s Guild.

[There is nothing much to it. Unlike other mages, black mages are not very influential and do not have great power. Skilled warlocks, like Freskan, have all been taboos. They have been expelled or died, and most often do not enter the Sorcerer’s Guild. What? I still have the power to be difficult at times like these.] 

Kim Jonghyun grinned. Master Yusang, who was agonizing with a distorted face, nodded as he gritted his teeth. 

“… Then… What would you do if that young man tried to help Ghost Blade?” 

“If that happens, I will kill Lee Sungmin.” 

It was said without any change in his expression, but Lee Sungmin could feel that he was sincere. Master Yusang felt it too. 

Eventually, he allowed Lee Sungmin to go inside. When accompanied by Lee Sungmin, Kim Jonghyun said there was no need for Master Yusang to escort them. 

“Do you mean that young man is better than me?”

“No. I just don’t need it. I am the Black Archmage. I am skilled enough to protect myself.” 

“But it’s a matter of formality…” 

“I don’t need any formalities from you. Just go over there and take care of the little sick young masters lying over there.”

Having heard that, Master Yusang could no longer follow Kim Jonghyun. Lee Sungmin walked alongside Kim Jonghyun and wagged his tongue.

“Kim Jonghyun… You are better than I thought at coercion.” 

“Isn’t bringing up status, the best way to make them give in?” 

Kim Jonghyun replied. Lee Sungmin was impatient and walked quickly, and Kim Jonghyun also increased his pace along with him. 

“You can run as fast as you want.” 

Only after Kim Jonghyun said this, did Lee Sung-min open his eyes wider and run forward using a light movement technique.

“By the way, do you know where to go?”

When he looked back, Kim Jonghyun was flying half a mile from the floor. If it were a new method of flying in the sky, it would be a very efficient use of energy. But what Kim Jonghyun was using was magic, not martial arts.

“… I don’t know.” 

“You didn’t plan ahead. Fine, I’ll guide us.” 

Lee Sungmin suddenly became aware of how emotionally moved he was. If he had not met Kim Jonghyun in that situation, he would have suffered a major setback in his fight against Master Yusang. Even if he were lucky enough to subdue him and move on, he would have been lost in the mountains: making it impossible to track Dok Bejun in this wide area. 

“By the way… the thing called Heavenly Dream. Why can’t it be seen by anyone?”

“Wouldn’t it be annoyingly inefficient to try searching a large area filled with people and only be able to narrow it down through the Heavenly Dream network? It seems that they had spread that kind of network in the Murim…but this is Eria.” 

Kim Jonghyun smiled with a twinkle in his eyes. 

“Eria has many ways to replace human resources. Magic is one such means. The Volcanic Sect requested cooperation from the Drimoor Sorcerer’s Guild to complete the quest to kill Ghost Blade efficiently. Of course, it wasn’t free of charge. The guild accepted the quest. Numerous magicians of the guild are after him using chasing spells, horses, and a variety of tools. On top of that, I came to Drimoor too. His location has already been determined. Information about him is being delivered in real-time to the warriors of the Volcanic Sect.” 

“… You… What are you going to do with Ghost Blade?”

“What do you mean? Hmm. There will be no room for me to intervene in the killing itself. It’s just… I heard that Ghost Blade Dok Bejun practices some strange techniques, so I came here to investigate. I plan to interrogate him after he dies.”

“… Interrogation. Did you say you’ll do it after Dok Bejun dies?” contemporary romance

“Sometimes it is more convenient to question the dead than to question the living. Especially for magicians like me. More to the point… Lee Sungmin. Some of the ‘aura of favourability’ I had previously felt from you is missing.” 

“… Can you tell?” 

“Of course. I couldn’t do it. … Hu-hu! Why did you remove it?” 

Kim Jonghyun asked with a smile. Lee Sungmin, who was running in the direction Kim Jonghyun pointed at, did not answer immediately and bit on his lower lip slightly. After a while, Lee Sungmin replied. 

“… I didn’t want to depend on it.” 

“The ‘aura of favourability’ wasn’t affecting you badly. Rather, it was helping you. It is a great ability to receive unconditional favor from others. Even though they do it instinctively, being able to engrave a ‘first impression’… That was an ability that had tremendous value, depending on how you used it. By the way. Did you just throw away that kind of aura just because you didn’t want to depend on it?”

“…It would’ve been better if I wasn’t aware of its existence. As long as I know I have it, I would expect certain things. For others to favor me. And taking it for granted, I would become arrogant. And I … I don’t want to bond with others based on an impulse that forces them to favour me.”

“Hahaha!” 

In response to Lee Sungmin’s answer, Kim Jonghyun laughed out loud. 

“Isn’t that self-satisfaction after all? Lee Sungmin. You’ve already got most of what you need, and the process by which you’ve got it is thanks to that aura of favourability. Are you saying that now you got everything you wanted?”

“Yes. In the end, I am satisfied.”

Lee Sungmin did not deny him.

“I am such a person. I’m aware of my selfishness. My behavior now is a product of it. I don’t even know for myself what I want to do with Dok Bejun, but I am doing this now because I want to.” 

“What a refreshing thing to say.” 

Kim Jonghyun laughed again.

“Isn’t that what a person is? Why do you need reason and understanding to justify what you want to do? Initially, all animals live relying on primal instinct, but it is their rationality that suppresses instinct. Does it mean that a person is no longer a person because their reason no longer restrains what they want to do?” 

Lee Sungmin could smell it. 

“Just because you act impulsively doesn’t mean you have to answer why you acted like that. You don’t need a great, noble, and acceptable reason to erase a family name. Isn’t it just that? Lee Sungmin. You did it because you wanted to.”

That is why it is called self-satisfaction.

The scent felt thick. Lee Sungmin knew this smell.

It was the smell of blood. 

He could see the bodies rolling on the ground.

This translation belongs to Centinni.

***

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