Urban Vagabond: Reload

Azure Sky Sword Elder Na Ilcheon.

Among the sect leaders of the Eight Great Sects, he was the oldest—practically living history of the Korean martial world.

Outwardly, he looked like a gentle old man in his seventies with gray hair, but in truth he was nearing ninety.

And in his prime, he carried the title of the Strongest Sword in Korea.

Now, he looked like nothing more than a kindly elder who had aged with dignity, but I didn’t let appearances fool me.

Because I remembered clearly what he’d looked like when he held a single sword and stood beside Yeo Pilgeuk to face Jang Jinmyeong.

“I heard the sect leader’s schedule is packed, though...”

I opened carefully.

A sect leader of the Eight Great Sects was so busy that even if you set an appointment months in advance, you might not be able to see them.

It was strange that he’d be here at a dinner I’d set up on the spot with Bu Yeonha.

Na Ilcheon smiled faintly and answered.

“These days, if I go outside, all I get is curses. So I canceled everything and I’m just loafing around the sect, eating our food with nothing to do.”

“......”

For a moment, I became a man struck dumb—since I was partially responsible for creating the situation that had him “loafing around” in the first place.

“Am I making you uncomfortable?”

“No. I’m fine.”

I shook my head.

Na Ilcheon was a far more difficult person to deal with than Bu Yeonha.

But he was also the most fitting person for the reason I’d come to the Azure Sky Sword Gate.

There aren’t many people who would know more than the Azure Sky Sword Elder about how to handle a cursed sword.

Even now, a translucent aura rippled faintly from the sword he had resting at an angle against the table.

Woooong—

The ink-dark scabbard had “Azure Sky” engraved into it, and it carried an old-world elegance and dignity. A gold tassel hung from the hilt, swaying softly on its own even though there wasn’t any wind.

Is that what a divine weapon looks like?

Even to my eyes—someone who’d had no connection to famed swords in my previous life—it didn’t look ordinary.

Noticing my gaze, Na Ilcheon gently stroked the scabbard of his cherished sword and spoke.

“Hehe. I guess you really are a swordsman—your eyes get stolen by this little fiend. This is the Namcheon Sword, passed down through the sect leaders of the Azure Sky Sword Gate. Our founder named it after himself.”

“Then it’s been over several hundred years...?”

“Impressive, isn’t it? We’ve replaced the scabbard and the hilt many times, but the blade itself still doesn’t lose to modern treasured swords in sharpness or toughness.”

“Ah...”

As I stared at the Namcheon Sword with an awed sound, Na Ilcheon grinned mischievously.

“You want it, don’t you? You can only have this one if you become the sect leader.”

“......”

“I’m joking. Why stiffen up like that?”

Seeing my awkward face, Na Ilcheon waved a hand lightly and continued.

“Thinking too much is a problem, too. Let’s just eat while the food is good.”

“...Understood.”

I smiled sheepishly at words that felt like he’d seen straight through me.

Soon after, the servers began bringing dishes one by one.

Na Ilcheon smiled and urged us on.

“Eat plenty. The sect is proud of its meals just as much as its swordsmanship.”

“He’s not just saying that. [N O V E L I G H T] I’ve been to all the restaurants in the Eight Great Sects, but there’s nowhere that cares about both taste and nutrition like we do.”

Bu Yeonha added the explanation with pride.

As we ate, the three of us started talking about this and that.

Bu Yeonha led most of the conversation, telling me about the Azure Sky Sword Gate’s history, ideals, and future goals.

But she didn’t just talk about herself.

“Your parents are opening a café? If you give me the address, I’ll stop by for drinks sometimes.”

“I rewatched the video of you taking on the Martial Alliance Leader’s techniques...”

“Is that friend who got burned okay? Was his name Shin Kangheon?”

She kept the conversation going while asking about my recent interests, my martial arts, and my relationships.

Even if it was for recruiting purposes, there was a human warmth to it.

She really is a good person.

On the other hand, Na Ilcheon focused on eating like he’d truly come out just for the meal.

“Mmm. It’s good today, too.”

If you only watched that, he was just a plain, unpretentious old man.

But every time his eyes brushed over me, I felt the fine hairs on my skin rise.

Even staying quiet, he’s overwhelming.

Up until the meal ended, I spoke mostly with Bu Yeonha—but my attention kept getting pulled toward Na Ilcheon.

At the same time, my worry deepened.

Should I act like I was considering joining the Azure Sky Sword Gate and use that to get what I wanted from them?

If I just look like I’m thinking about joining, I can probably get information about cursed swords.

I tried to assess my value objectively.

A twenty-year-old rising talent who’d displayed overwhelming strength in his first license exam and been acknowledged as a pinnacle expert.

At this point, any of the Eight Great Sects would welcome me with open arms.

If I negotiated with that value, I could probably get most of what I wanted.

...No.

I immediately shook that thought off.

If my opponent were unorthodox faction or someone from the underworld, I wouldn’t hesitate to deceive them and fleece them.

But I didn’t want to fool Bu Yeonha, who’d treated me kindly from the start and made her offer in earnest.

Even if that meant I left without getting the information I wanted about cursed swords.

“Senior Bu Yeonha, and Sect Leader. Thank you very much for treating me to such a delicious meal today.”

After we finished even the dessert, I opened in a serious voice.

“I think the Azure Sky Sword Gate is a truly good sect. Enough that my heart has wavered more than once. But...”

I was just about to politely say it would be difficult for me to join, when—

“Yeonha. Let’s give up.”

“...What?”

Na Ilcheon dabbed his mouth with a napkin and smiled.

“Now that I’ve seen you today, I’m sure of it. He isn’t someone who’ll come into the Azure Sky Sword Gate. No—there isn’t any sect in the Eight Great Sects that could handle him.”

“......”

To his granddaughter—whose face clearly showed lingering regret despite her grandfather’s firm words—Na Ilcheon winked with one eye.

“The Azure Sky Sword Gate has its dignity. Wouldn’t it look better if we withdrew first, before we get turned down?”

Bu Yeonha looked openly disappointed, but she let out a long sigh, steadied her expression, and nodded.

“Understood. I guess I was being too greedy. Muhyuk, I’ve been putting too much pressure on you, haven’t I?”

“...Thank you for understanding.”

With it settled cleanly, the atmosphere became even more comfortable.

“Alright, alright. We’ve talked plenty through the meal—now let’s hear your business.”

Sipping the tea that came out afterward, Na Ilcheon asked me with a face like a mischievous child.

“You don’t plan to join the Azure Sky Sword Gate, and you don’t look like you’re trying to charm Yeonha, either. So why did you come here?”

“...Grandpa. He’s only twenty. What kind of weird joke is that?”

“Oh—right, right. Our Yeonha doesn’t like younger men!”

Na Ilcheon burst into loud laughter like he’d been saving that punchline.

“HAHAHAHA—!”

“Seriously... you’re impossible...”

Bu Yeonha covered her face like she was embarrassed on his behalf, and I let out a stunned, helpless laugh.

Either way, thanks to Na Ilcheon’s grandpa-level joke, it became easier to bring up the real topic.

“Actually... I’m curious about how to handle a cursed sword.”

At the words cursed sword, surprise flickered in both of their eyes.

Bu Yeonha asked carefully, worry in her face.

“A cursed sword, all of a sudden? Is there a special reason?”

“I want to get a proper sword for myself now... and if I’m lucky, I might end up getting a cursed sword. I thought it’d be good to know in advance.”

I couldn’t say that a once-in-an-era cursed sword was about to appear on Jeju Island, so I dodged it like I’d simply developed interest lately.

And it wasn’t completely absurd.

Most swordsmen were interested in customizing their swords in various ways—engraving spells onto them, and so on—so there were people who deliberately hunted for swords infused with anomalies.

Bokja can also imbue weapons with spells, but...

Breathing internal energy into a weapon and turning it into something special—

That was a field modern technology still couldn’t touch.

That was why craftsmen who could handle internal energy—spell-casters included—were still in high demand among martial artists.

But cursed swords were something else entirely: a dangerous class of object with a completely different nature.

“How to handle a cursed sword... You came to the right place. Even among the Eight Great Sects, our Azure Sky Sword Gate is the best in that field.”

Na Ilcheon reached out and lightly stroked the Namcheon Sword.

Woooong—

As if it liked the attention, the Namcheon Sword sent out a pleased ripple.

Na Ilcheon placed it straight across his lap and rested both hands on top of it.

“...It’s not something I can’t tell you. But before that—can you promise you’ll answer my question honestly?”

The moment his hands touched the sword, the atmosphere changed completely.

Na Ilcheon—who’d looked like a plain old man—was now releasing the presence of a supreme master.

Sensing that it was an important question, I straightened my posture and answered.

“Alright.”

“Do you believe the Eight Great Sects are the evil of the Korean martial world?”

“......”

In the old man’s eyes as he stared straight at me, a deep, hazy light swirled.

This wasn’t someone I could sweet-talk past or brush off with a vague answer.

After organizing my thoughts, I spoke slowly.

“I think the Eight Great Sects as they are now are closer to a necessary evil.”

Bu Yeonha’s expression darkened as she listened, tense.

Na Ilcheon, on the other hand, nodded calmly.

“I see. Then is the Martial Alliance absolute good?”

“......”

It was a question packed with meaning.

So I didn’t answer rashly.

Na Ilcheon didn’t seem to expect much either, and continued.

“The current Martial Alliance Leader, Yeo Pilgeuk, is certainly a heroic swordsman. But what do you think the previous Martial Alliance Leader was like? And what about the one after Yeo Pilgeuk? Was Jang Jinmyeong evil from the beginning?”

I might be twenty now, but in my previous life I’d been a hardened wanderer who’d lived through every kind of chaos and disaster.

So I understood what Na Ilcheon was getting at.

“...Good and evil change depending on where you draw the line and what 기준 you use. So don’t judge the world too quickly through a narrow lens. Someday, a moment will come when you can’t distinguish good from evil—and you won’t even know where you’re standing. Is that what you want to tell me?”

Na Ilcheon stared at me with startled eyes, as if I’d read his mind.

“Hoh. I thought you were just a stubborn child...”

“I am stubborn. But I think my thinking is flexible.”

I agreed with Na Ilcheon and understood his point.

When I took it as advice from an unimaginably senior swordsman to a junior who’d only just stepped into the martial world, I even felt grateful.

But even so, my view didn’t change much.

“Still, I don’t think the Eight Great Sects have done anything right to bring things to this point. Sect Leader, you know that too—that’s why you asked, because it stung, wasn’t it?”

“...Well. Hehehehehe!”

At my bold reply, Na Ilcheon broke into delighted laughter.

He laughed for so long that tears gathered at the corners of his eyes, then finally calmed himself and said—

“Heh. Yes, that’s right. I asked because it stung. Then—what should we do?”

“Hmm... I think we should do better from now on.”

“HAHAHAHAHAHA—!”

Another roar of laughter burst out.

In terms of standing within the Korean martial world, there was no one who could argue with him—yet the old swordsman genuinely liked the young swordsman sitting in front of him.

“Your answers amused me. So I’ll teach you the basics of handling a cursed sword.”

Na Ilcheon lifted the Namcheon Sword and placed it on the table. Then he drew it slightly.

SHIIING.

Just a sliver of blade revealed itself, and a cold, blue killing edge poured out.

For something that was supposedly several hundred years old, the blade was unbelievably smooth, and I couldn’t help but admire it.

“There’s one thing you must understand. A cursed sword isn’t something just anyone can subdue. If your spirit sight isn’t open, it’s difficult.”

It was a separate matter from talent in martial arts.

Even in the Azure Sky Sword Gate, including Na Ilcheon himself, there weren’t even ten martial artists whose spirit sight was open.

There were ways to force it open through training, but they couldn’t share that secret with outsiders—and it required at least five years.

“First, I’ll test how open your spirit sight is, and then... hmm?”

Na Ilcheon stopped mid-explanation and frowned.

Because I was staring behind myself with a blank expression.

This brat is letting his attention wander?

Na Ilcheon creased his brow slightly and scolded me.

“When an elder is speaking, you don’t focus and you look somewhere else?”

“...There’s someone behind me.”

“Someone? Who would be here? I made sure nobody could come near.”

But I could see it clearly.

A translucent man with a faint bluish aura, arms crossed, looking straight at me.

“What...?”

When I described it to Na Ilcheon, the old man’s mouth fell open.

“Right now... you’re saying you can see our founder?”

At the sect leader’s stunned murmur, the ghost behind me slowly shook his head.