Cheonwisan is a Goblin's Domain.
In the Goblin's Domain, goblins possess absolute power.
The mountain keeper leaped over three peaks in a single stride, and in his distant gaze toward Icheol, goblin fire flickered in his eyes.
The magic of folding the earth to run swiftly—Shrinking Earth (축지, Chukji).
The ability to see a thousand miles away—Thousand-Mile Vision (천리안, Cheonrian).
In the mountain keeper's sight, Icheol was reaching out toward Baki.
"Hey, you bastard!"
Whoosh!
In the blink of an eye, as if teleporting, the mountain keeper appeared between Baki and Icheol, blocking their way.
Icheol's eyes widened in shock.
"Mountain Keeper, it's been a long time. But if you could kindly let me go for just a moment… That guy is—"
Even as he greeted respectfully, Icheol kept glancing at Baki behind the mountain keeper.
Seeing this, the mountain keeper's eyes flared with sparks.
"This bastard's gone mad! How dare you set your sights on a spirit beast in front of me?!"
"Huh?"
Icheol tilted his head, clueless about the accusation.
The mountain keeper clenched his teeth.
"In all my years, I've never met someone like you! I'll contact your family right now and put an end to your training—"
"What are you talking about?"
"Don't tell me you're going to claim ignorance! The one you were chasing with killing intent is Baki, a spirit beast! You must never slay a spirit beast so carelessly! Especially not in a sacred mountain—on my mountain!"
"Huh? Why would I kill a spirit beast?"
Only after seeing Icheol's utterly confused face did the mountain keeper realize something was off.
Come to think of it, why was that Baki wagging its tails so teasingly?
And the so-called hunter wasn't carrying any weapons—just a net and a hoe?
—Kiiiiing!
Just then, Baki let out a strange cry and dashed away, its nine short tails fluttering mischievously.
"Ah! That little rascal!"
"Hey, hey! Hold on a second!"
The mountain keeper stopped Icheol just as he was about to chase after Baki.
"Why exactly are you after Baki?"
"That thing stole my elixir!"
"Elixir? Stole it? What the hell are you talking about?"
An elixir? And a spirit beast stealing something from a human? That didn't make any sense.
"Sorry! I'll explain later!"
While the mountain keeper was momentarily dumbfounded, Icheol leaped forward again.
"Hey, hey! Stop! The damn thing's already hidden—how do you plan to find it? Just come back and explain—"
But then, the mountain keeper flinched.
Spirit beasts, unless they were ordinary ones, were masters at concealing their presence.
Their ability to hide was on an entirely different level from human stealth techniques, making them incredibly difficult to track.
'But that guy… He's heading straight for where Baki hid?'
His eyes gleamed with a deep sunset hue, and though energy burst from his feet, the ground bore no trace of his steps.
'Was he always that fast? And even with his Mystic Eyes, how is he tracking a spirit beast so precisely?'
Watching Icheol already wrestling with Baki on the far ridge, the mountain keeper rubbed his forehead.
At most, three months.
That's how long he had ignored him.
Just what the hell had happened in that time?
It had been four months since I arrived at Cheonwisan—just over three months in terms of actual days.
In that time, my daily routine hadn't changed.
Morning mountain hikes, rest, martial arts training, rest, internal energy cultivation, rest, elixir crafting, sleep.
Sometimes, when the repetition wore me down, I switched the order of my training.
But there were never any breaks.
If I had been outside, I would have collapsed from exhaustion and forced myself to take rest days. But here in Cheonwisan, I didn't have to worry about physical or magical fatigue, so I maintained an intense schedule.
Among my activities, crafting elixirs was something I pushed myself to do at the end of exhausting days, ignoring the urge to just crawl into bed.
Cheonwisan was rich with high-quality herbs and magical plants.
I got greedy, wanting to perfect my elixir.
In the end, it took me nearly a hundred days to complete it.
Finally, today was the day—the elixir would be complete once I ground in the final ingredient.
I had just returned from a trek to find that ingredient.
But then, it happened.
—Screeeeech!
A bizarre-looking beast had entered the yard of my lodging, right beside the zelkova tree.
And it wasn't just any ordinary creature.
It was a spirit beast.
Or rather, spirit beasts.
Auspicious and mystical beings.
Those very beings were now glimmering their eyes at my elixir, quarreling over it.
Then, as if they had reached some agreement, a sheep-like creature with nine short tails grabbed the elixir in its mouth and bolted.
Of course, I chased after it.
That's when I ran into the mountain keeper.
In the time it took for him to hold me back, the distance had widened.
I resumed my pursuit, but in that brief moment, the creature had already swallowed the elixir.
"…Ah, I see. Ahem… uh, well, my apologies."
Realizing the situation, the mountain keeper scratched the back of his head awkwardly, averting his gaze.
I deliberately lowered my voice.
"A wild ginseng, at least 40 to 50 years old."
"Huh?"
"Fleeceflower root, white-scaled herb, dragon-scale flower, truffle, cordyceps grown on the corpse of a mana-infused insect…"
I sighed deeply before continuing.
"It was difficult to gather them. The differing natures of the ingredients made it even harder to refine. It's disheartening. I lost sleep crafting that elixir, only for a spirit beast to steal it. And to think it would all go to waste because of an interruption…"
"H-Hey, now! If you were charging at me like that, of course I'd be startled!"
The mountain keeper raised his voice in flustered frustration.
But inwardly, he was stunned.
'That damn elixir… The ingredients alone are terrifying.'
Individually, they were excellent medicinal herbs, but combined, they formed a concoction that could rival true miracle medicine.
And judging by the supplies he had lugged up the mountain, he must have brought other basic ingredients and tools as well…
'This brat actually made an elixir so potent that even spirit beasts would covet it?'
Ordinary medicine wouldn't interest spirit beasts.
For them to fight over it, the elixir must have contained an incredibly pure essence.
Only then did the mountain keeper recall what Butler Choi had mentioned before.
'I should have kept a closer watch… Just who is this kid?'
At that moment, a deep, weary sigh reached the mountain keeper's ears.
Of course, it came from Lee Cheol.
"…I said I'm sorry. Don't be so petty."
"One of the reasons I came to Cheonwi Mountain has now failed. That elixir was crucial to my goal."
"Ugh… Hey, I was the one who let you collect those ingredients in the first place. So what if you lost a little?"
"Oh, I apologize. I wasn't trying to blame you, sir. You did grant me permission, after all, and the ingredients were taken from your domain."
Even though he was being apologized to, the mountain keeper felt a strange pang in his chest.
After hesitating, he finally made a decision and declared loudly,
"Alright! Enough! I'll compensate you!"
"…Excuse me? What do you mean?"
"I said I'll make it up to you! You lost it because of me, so I'll pay you back! What do you want?"
I glanced at the mountain keeper before lowering my head again.
"How could I dare ask for something from the guardian of this land…? It's fine."
"No, you brat! I said I'll do anything, so just say it!"
Only then did I slightly lift my head, peering at the mountain keeper through my drooping hair.
"Anything, you say?"
The mountain keeper flinched.
A chill ran down his spine.
"…Y-Yeah. But only up to the value of that elixir, alright?"
He cleared his throat and spoke in a low voice.
"That alone is more than enough. But, mountain keeper."
"Hm? What?"
"You do know that my father personally granted me special permission to train here, correct?"
"Huh? Yeah, but why bring that up now?"
"I must report the results of my training to my father. But since things have gone awry… I truly regret to say that I may have to inform him of this matter—"
Before I could finish my sentence, the mountain keeper cut me off.
"HEY, YOU LITTLE BRAT! YOU CAN'T SAY THAT!"
"Yes? Why?"
I pretended not to understand.
The mountain keeper's earlobes turned red with anger as he pointed a finger at me.
"Hey! If you say it like that, it means you've broken the promise made with your ancestors! And besides..."
That would mean the mountain keeper had caused trouble for a mere trainee.
There could be no greater laughingstock than that.
"Anyway, kid, I'll compensate you separately, so keep your mouth shut!"
"You're promising, right?"
"Yeah, I promise!"
That was enough.
I had received a guarantee from a goblin.
I quickly lifted my head.
'It's a shame about the pill I just made, but I can always make more. I still have unused ingredients left, and I'll be gathering more materials for pills throughout the rest of my training period.'
More importantly, I had managed to secure a goblin's guarantee.
A goblin could never break its own promise.
It wasn't a matter of facing consequences if they did—it was simply in their nature as a mystical race created by the forces of the world.
They were absolutely incapable of breaking a promise they had made.
"...What's with that look? Why are your eyes suddenly gleaming?"
"You said you'd compensate me, so I feel at ease now."
"Feel at ease, my ass! You cunning brat! You tricked me!"
The mountain keeper bellowed.
A person who could deceive a goblin—that was something straight out of legend.
"Tricked you? I never once asked for compensation from you, mountain keeper."
"Hah! I really must be getting old. To think I was outwitted by some brat! Damn it!"
The mountain keeper wished desperately that a liquor bottle would appear in his hand, but no such miracle happened.
"Haah! Damn it! Fine, what do you want? You want a gold nugget? Or maybe a weapon?"
I barely held back a smile and spoke to the mountain keeper in the most polite manner.
"None of that is necessary."
The things he offered weren't bad, but something far more useful to me at this moment had already come to mind.
"I want your time, mountain keeper."
His face filled with confusion at my words.
***
I stood at the entrance of the training ground, marked by a grand zelkova tree.
Slowly, I tensed my body, gathered my magic, and spread it through the circuits in my body.
"Alright, I'm ready."
I exhaled deeply and stepped toward the knothole.
The dark scenery around me gradually shifted, transforming into the training grounds.
Before long, the familiar, quiet training field came into view.
But the air was different.
The normally fresh and crisp air of the training grounds was now tainted with an acrid stench of poison.
—Kieeek!
Thud.
Something long and thick as a building column hit the ground.
A sound like a heel clicking against the floor.
Something that should never appear here had made its way in.
I turned my head toward the sound.
A half-human, half-beast creature—its lower half that of a spider, its upper half humanoid.
The Queen of the Face-Weaver Spiders.
Without hesitation, I drew upon my magic.
Mujin moved.
I focused on each stance, each step.
I had to prove the results of my training.
Boom! Boom!
I pushed back the waves of poison mist and deflected the oncoming spider legs as I advanced.
'This is different from a year ago. I've grown.'
Unlike before, when she was distracted by the dungeon fire, the Queen of the Face-Weaver Spiders now had full control over her body.
Yet, I could still read her movements.
Unlike back then, when I was barely dodging fatal blows, my Mystic Eye and instincts now allowed me to evade with precision.
'And my own movements have evolved as well.'
Through real combat, I had gained certainty.
Even just refining the fundamentals could elevate my overall skill.
A single year had made all the difference.
That was enough proof.
Now, it was time to begin in earnest.
'The aura skill I wield at the start should be no different from the one I wield at the end.'
I murmured the phrase like a chant.
A fierce aura began to coil around Mujin.
Ganggi Art—Yama.
A skill named after the god who judges the prisoners of hell.
A technique derived from an ancient record of aura skills, reinterpreted by my aunt.
Like the chains binding a sinner's limbs, torrents of aura lashed out like whips, entwining the Queen's numerous legs.
—Kieeeeeek!
She let out an ear-splitting shriek.
And in that moment, Mujin took the form of a greatsword.
Mujin's First Style—Demon Severance.
A razor-sharp aura of frigid wind gathered at the tip of my blade.
Slice! Slash!
The Queen frantically tried to defend herself with her magic, but all of it was severed in a single strike.
And I still had energy left to spare.
I gathered the immense mana enhanced by Amplification Art and converted it into a lightning aura skill.
Boom!
Thunder rumbled through the clear sky.
The world was swallowed by a blinding flash.
And when the light faded, the Queen of the Face-Weaver Spiders stood before me once more.
—Kieeek...
She was a Rank 5 Boss Monster, after all.
Despite sustaining near-fatal wounds, she still clung to life.
Her compound eyes gleamed with killing intent.
And I knew exactly what that meant.
'Mutual destruction!'
—Kiaaaaah!
She pounded the ground.
I had exhausted all my strength—I couldn't stop her frenzied charge.
Boom!
But she never reached me.
Just before impact, the Queen's body dissipated like mist.
Thud.
A single talisman fluttered to the ground where she had stood.
"Dammit, I can't believe I'm babysitting a brat."
Amidst the rising smoke, a figure stepped forward and retrieved the fallen talisman.
It was none other than the mountain keeper.
I gave him a bright, knowing smile.
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