Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 304

306

“Huh. You’re getting taught? By who?”

“Well, wouldn’t it be someone Mr. Remnant knows?”

Remnant shook his head as if it were absurd. His swordsmanship, as seen on TV, was at a level that no one could match. There were no special techniques or characteristics, but this was irrelevant once one reached a certain level.

“You’re not at a level where you need to be taught by someone.”

“But I lost to Mr. Zakid.”

At Bumseok’s words, Remnant sighed deeply. He had heard about it in detail from TV and his disciple, Zakid.

“Hmm. I know about that. It was a shame.”

“Haha. No, it wasn’t a shame. I got thoroughly beaten. It seems I had a weakness.”

Remnant suddenly stared at him.

“Ah. Are you talking about that? I heard it from my disciple, and I don’t think it needs to be fixed specifically… You may or may not know, but people have habits that come from their individuality. This is the same for swordsmen like us.”

“But I lost because of it.”

Remnant clasped his hands together and stared at him intently.

“No, it’s not about that. I’m saying that if you try to forcibly fix that habit, your swordsmanship could be altered. Swordsmanship is rhythm. The moment you fix that habit, you’ll transform into a completely different swordsman.”

“What do you mean?”

“In other words, you’ll transform into a gladiator.”

Bumseok looked at him with an indifferent expression. He didn’t know about the future, but currently, he was a gladiator aiming to be the strongest gladiator.

“What’s the big deal? I’m a gladiator.”

Remnant gave him a pitiful look. He didn’t know why, but Bumseok was a practical swordsman, almost non-existent in the world. He didn’t want him to be ruined by receiving unnecessary teachings.

“You. Do you know about the country called Japan that was integrated into the Federal Government in the past?”

Of course, he knew. It had disappeared here, but it was a country that definitely existed in the real world.

“Yes, I know it.”

“That’s good. In fact, that country had a group that revered martial arts from the past.”

“You mean the samurai.”

“Oh. You know it well. But after the Meiji Restoration [a period of modernization and westernization in Japan starting in 1868], they disappeared. Samurai with swords were no different from moving targets in front of modern firearms, and the revolutionary government banned ordinary people from carrying swords. So, swordsmen held wooden swords and bamboo swords in dojos [martial arts training halls] instead of real swords, and practical swordsmanship disappeared. Of course, some samurai criticized such swordsmen and tried to revive practical swordsmanship, but they couldn’t overcome the flow of the times and disappeared.”

“That statement is flawed. Most of them were people who appeared during the chaos of the Meiji Restoration. Their claim to revive practical swordsmanship was one of their political goals to attract supporters and inflate their power, and there was no purity in it. Of course, since the political reason disappeared, they had no choice but to disappear.”

“That’s not true. They were somewhat pure…”

“Haha. What purity are you talking about? Many of the revolutionary government officials who accelerated Japan’s modernization were pro-foreigners. Their past claims were to reject Western culture and protect past values. But those guys changed their stance 180 degrees around the time of the Meiji Restoration.

For political victory. And the side that actually said that overseas culture should be accepted was the opposing shogunate force.”

Remnant coughed roughly. He was bewildered as to how someone could know so much about the distant past, even the minor history of a country that had disappeared.

But Bumseok lived in a country called Korea, which was adjacent to that country, and the Meiji Restoration was one of the events that had a significant impact on the demise of Joseon [the last dynastic kingdom of Korea], so he had no choice but to know it well. If the Meiji Restoration had failed at that time, he would not have lost his country due to the annexation of Korea and Japan.

For reference, Ito Hirobumi, who was killed by Ahn Jung-geun, was also a member of the revolutionary government at the time.

“Ahem. Anyway, you are a practical swordsman, which is rare in this era. As someone who loves swordsmanship, I can’t stand by and watch you become corrupted.”

“Why does your love for swordsmanship come out in such a situation? You just do it.”

“Sigh~ Instead of that, let me teach you about your habits. Frankly, if you only know the reason, you can easily overcome the weaknesses that come from practical swordsmanship. You can insert deceptive movements.”

Bumseok immediately waved his hand. If he wanted to be taught by him, there was no reason to ask him to introduce him to an acquaintance.

“I don’t want to be taught by Mr. Remnant. Just introduce me to an acquaintance.”

“Why? Are you trying to go the hard way when there’s an easy way?”

“Well, Mr. Remnant is Mr. Zakid’s teacher.”

“No, what does it matter that I’m his teacher?”

“Didn’t you hear about me from Mr. Zakid? I don’t want to win with advice from a competitor. It hurts my pride.”

Remnant let out a hollow breath, dumbfounded. He couldn’t believe that he wouldn’t take the easy way just for that reason.

But on the one hand, he understood. He thought that it was because of that stubbornness that he was able to learn practical swordsmanship. A few days ago, Zakid reported that Bumseok had created that great practical swordsmanship by watching documentaries and self-study, not in a swordsmanship dojo. It was impossible without a lot of stubbornness.

He pondered for a moment. He was trying to find someone who was skilled enough to advise Bumseok on his weaknesses and who would not alter his swordsmanship as much as possible. And then he thought of an old acquaintance and smiled with satisfaction.

He had lost contact with him a few years ago due to an unpleasant incident, but he was a veteran practical swordsman who was capable of recognizing Bumseok’s weaknesses. The only problem was that he was a bit difficult to find, but that didn’t matter. If he showed reluctance, he would immediately give up.

He thought that he could persuade someone who succumbed to difficulties.

“Haha. This frustrating young man. Actually, there is someone suitable.”

“Really? Who is it?”

“His name is Dantes, and he runs a dojo called Guirim Gate.”

At that moment, Gelsomina suddenly stepped forward. The rumors about him in the swordsmanship world were extremely bad. He had defrauded swordsmanship figures of a large sum of money a few years ago and disappeared. At that time, Remnant also lost 5 million crowns.

“Master. That person is a con artist! He’s even wanted!”

Remnant shook his head. The Dantes he knew would never do that. If he didn’t trust him, he wouldn’t have given him his last 5 million crowns, which was his last property at the time.

“No. Mr. Dantes would never do that. There must have been some circumstances, so don’t speak carelessly.”

“But, but…”

“Haha. I said no!”

Gelsomina had no choice but to shut her mouth. She couldn’t speak carelessly because her master, Remnant, was urging her.

At this, Bumseok looked at Remnant with a worried face.

“Um, Mr. Remnant. I don’t know who that Mr. Dantes is, but you said he borrowed money and disappeared, right? Then how am I supposed to find him?”

“It’s simple. Just go to the Guirim Gate dojo.”

He made a dumbfounded expression. He couldn’t understand how someone who was wanted would be in the dojo he ran. Unless the police were fools, there was no way they couldn’t catch such a person.

“No, where is the Guirim Gate dojo?”

“I think it’s probably around here.”

“Around here?”

“That’s right. I heard it’s somewhere in the mountains on the outskirts of this city. But I don’t know the exact location.”

Bumseok grabbed his forehead as if he had a headache. When he checked earlier, the mountains surrounding this Sden City were rugged enough to have good scenery and vast enough to be described as expansive. It wouldn’t be easy to find someone here.

“Hmm. Is there anyone else you can recommend?”

“No. If you don’t like him, find out through someone other than me.”

He couldn’t refuse since he said that much. Remnant was the only person he could rely on now. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have said such a thing to Zakid’s teacher.

‘Sigh~ Well, is this the first time I’ve looked for someone like this? Let’s just think of it as doing a labor-intensive quest.’

Bumseok was uneasy, but he decided to go find Dantes. He had done this kind of quest many times while playing other games. He just had to think of this as the same case.

“Okay. Then please give me some information that will help me find him.”

“Well? He’s such a quiet person, so there’s not much information. I’ve only heard that he has a young daughter he had late in life. At the time, he borrowed money from me and swordsmanship figures, citing his daughter’s body modification surgery as the reason.”

At that moment, Bumseok’s eyes lit up. Her face was not confirmed, but he was interested enough. But he quickly composed himself and maintained a serious posture. He needed to be careful because Gelsomina was next to him.

“Oh, really? How old is she now?”

“Hmm. I don’t remember well, but I vaguely remember hearing that she’s the same age as Gelsomina here.”

Then she was a year younger than Bumseok. There was no problem with her age, so she just had to be beautiful. He looked at Gelsomina and said as if muttering.

“This is troublesome. There’s not enough information. Is there any other information?”

“Hmm. I’m sorry, but there isn’t.”

“Don’t you have any pictures?”

“I don’t have that either. All I know is that he’s a 170cm tall Asian man with a limp in his right leg, and that’s all, there are no special features.”

That was good enough. There couldn’t be that many old men with limps living in the mountains.

“Well, if that’s the case, there’s nothing I can do. I’ll just have to find him.”

Bumseok got up from his seat. He wanted to meet Dantes’ young daughter as soon as possible.

“Are you leaving already?”

“Yes. I want to know my weaknesses as soon as possible. So I don’t have a moment to spare.”

At those words, Remnant made an admiring face. He was so passionate about swordsmanship that he was going to go into those harsh mountains to find Dantes without a moment’s delay… He was so proud.

‘If only Zakid was even half as good as Bumseok, I wouldn’t have suffered so much. Sigh~.’

The time Remnant spent teaching Zakid was at least half a century, and he still felt frustrated when he thought about it. Zakid showed a natural talent for swordsmanship, but he was lazy by nature and did not show enthusiasm for training unless he was urged.

“Yes. That’s right. Then go quickly.”

At the same time, Gelsomina got up from her seat.

“Senior, I’ll go with you.”

Bumseok looked at Gelsomina, who was trying to follow him. If she followed him, there would be many difficulties in capturing Dantes’ daughter.

“Gelsomina. You stay here and talk to Mr. Remnant and then go back to the training camp. You have to go to the League’s fourth match. If you’re missing, the game will be really frustrating.”

“But what if you get lost in those mountains alone? These mountains are more rugged than they look.”

“It’s okay. If I get to the top of the mountain, I can see the city center clearly, so why would I get lost? And I’m not going to freeze to death in this summer weather. And if I lose contact, you can report it to the police.”

Well, if they contacted the police, they could easily find Bumseok. The electronic notebook had a function to send location information to the outside, so they could easily find missing people.

“Um. Then be sure to buy a solar charger when you go. You can’t let the battery run out.”

“I know, don’t worry.”

He patted Gelsomina on the shoulder and immediately left the dojo. And he bought a mountaineering bag and other necessary equipment and food at a nearby large mart and headed to the mountain north of the city. In fact, he didn’t need these things, but there was no harm in having them.

‘Let’s start here first.’

Bumseok, who had entered the entrance to the hiking trail, looked at the top of the mountain in the distance. It was a mountain called Moonlight, which was 1,950 meters high, and he heard that it was the most popular hiking route in the area. If so, there would be peddlers in the middle, and he might be able to get information about Dantes and his daughter.

“Okay. Shall we go?”

Bumseok, who was climbing a steep stone path with green vegetation growing on both sides, looked around. It was impossible for Dantes and his daughter to appear at this time, but he didn’t know if he could find any peculiarities in the area. Unlike other animals, humans are not careful and leave traces that are easily visible.

But soon he hit his head and focused on climbing the mountain. This was a hiking trail.

“An old man with a limp? I don’t know. I just came here recently. I haven’t been doing business here for long.”

The middle-aged male peddler he met in the middle of the mountain was not very helpful. He didn’t know if he had really come recently or if he was just annoyed, but he didn’t give him much useful information. But the peddler was not the only one.

There were quite a few people selling drinks and snacks in the middle of the mountain, so there were many ways to find information. He continued to climb the mountain and asked every peddler he saw.

“Hmm. An old man with a limp living in the mountains and his daughter… I haven’t seen such people. No, do such people really live on this mountain?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t seen anyone living in the mountains except for the young mountain rangers.”

“Well. I haven’t seen them. And even if they do, how would I know if they’re hikers or people living on this mountain? Don’t ask useless questions here, and go ask the people at the mountain guard office at the bottom of the mountain. They patrol this area all the time, so they might know.”

Bumseok ended up climbing to the top of the mountain without any results. It was a long time of about 7 hours, and he regretted whether he had wasted his time in vain. He finally walked towards the old woman selling drinks nearby. He was going to ask a question since he had come all the way here.