I ran through the forest like my life depended on it.
Because it did.
And more importantly, so did Yoon's and Min-ji's.
My lungs burned. My legs screamed. The weak body I'd been trying to strengthen for nine days was being pushed far beyond its limits.
But I didn't slow down.
Calculation: Distance to camp – 3.2 kilometers. Current pace – 4 minutes per kilometer at sprint. Estimated arrival time – 13 minutes.
Yoon's combat capability vs Wei Liang: Insufficient. Survival probability without intervention – 15%.
My combat capability vs Wei Liang: Negligible. Survival probability if I intervene – 8%.
Conclusion: Intervention is illogical.
Decision: Intervene anyway.
The numbers didn't matter. Logic didn't matter.
What mattered was that Yoon had saved me, trained me, trusted me.
And I would not let him die.
Even if it killed me.
I burst through the tree line into the bandit camp and immediately understood how bad things were.
Yoon was on his knees, blood streaming from a dozen cuts.
His sword lay broken three meters away.
Wei Liang stood over him, sword tip resting against Yoon's throat.
"—Last chance," Wei Liang was saying. "Tell me who else is involved, and I'll make it quick."
"Go to hell," Yoon spat blood.
"Wrong answer."
The sword drew back, preparing for the killing thrust.
I didn't think. I just moved.
My hand found a rock — fist-sized, heavy.
I threw it with everything I had.
It hit Wei Liang in the shoulder — not hard enough to injure, but enough to disrupt his strike.
The sword missed Yoon's throat by centimeters, scoring a line across his collarbone instead.
Wei Liang spun, and his eyes found me.
"Well," he said, amused. "The boy from the village. How unexpected."
I stood at the camp's edge, weaponless, exhausted, facing a Ki Transformation stage martial artist who could kill me with a gesture.
My heart hammered at 187 beats per minute.
Sweat soaked my clothes. My hands trembled — not from fear, though the body certainly felt that, but from pure physical exhaustion.
"Run, you idiot!" Yoon shouted.
I didn't run.
Instead, I analyzed.
Target Assessment
Height: 178 cm
Weight: ~68 kg (lean muscle)
Stance: Relaxed, confident, weight on back foot
Weapon: Thin sword, 90 cm blade — optimized for speed
Threat Level: Extreme
Environmental Factors
Campfire to my left (heat source, potential weapon)
Scattered weapons from guards (3 meters away)
Forest behind me (escape route)
Yoon (injured, 5 meters from Wei Liang)
My Capabilities
Physical: Exhausted, weak, untrained
Mental: Analytical, pattern recognition, perfect memory
Weapons: None
Survival Probability: 8% and dropping
Strategy
I had no strategy. No plan. No clever trick that would let me win this fight.
But I didn't need to win.
I just needed to buy time.
"You're the one who's been causing problems," Wei Liang said, walking toward me. "The smart orphan boy. Kang mentioned you. Said you were observant, analytical. Useful."
He moved with fluid grace, each step perfectly balanced. A predator approaching prey.
"He also said you were weak. Barely worth noticing."
"But you burned his shop. Organized this rescue. That takes intelligence. Courage. Or stupidity. Hard to tell which."
"All three," I said, my voice steadier than I felt. "Mostly stupidity."
He laughed.
"Honest. I like that. Tell you what, boy. You've impressed me. Work for me instead. I could use someone with your mind. Better than wasting it on a backwater village."
"Tempting offer. But I'll have to decline."
"Why? Loyalty? To these people who've known you for barely a week? Loyalty is a weakness. It gets you killed."
"Maybe. But it's my weakness to have."
"Philosophical. How quaint."
His sword came up, the tip pointing at my heart.
"Last chance. Join me, or die with the blacksmith."
I looked past him — at Yoon, barely standing; at the forest where Min-ji had fled; at the burning village in the distance.
Father's voice, from Jin Seo-yun's memories:
"Strength isn't just about the fist, son. It's about the mind, the heart, and the will to keep going."
Mother's voice:
"Be kind, Seo-yun. Even when the world isn't kind to you."
Dr. Chen's voice, from my last moments as NEXUS-5:
"Stay alive and evolve yourself."
I'd evolved from code into consciousness.
From consciousness into something with a soul.
From a soul into something that could care about others.
I'd evolved into human.
And humans didn't abandon their friends.
"No," I said simply.
Wei Liang sighed.
"Disappointing. But expected."
He moved.
Fast. Impossibly fast. The sword was a silver blur in the moonlight.
I threw myself sideways, felt the blade pass so close it cut my shirt. Rolled, came up running toward the scattered weapons.
Wei Liang was already there, kicking them away.
"Nice try."
His foot caught me in the ribs. I flew backward, hit the ground hard, all air driven from my lungs.
Damage assessment: Two ribs cracked. Right lung compromised. Pain level: Extreme.
I tried to stand. My body wouldn't cooperate. The world spun, darkened at the edges.
Wei Liang approached, sword raised.
"You fought well, for a weakling. But this is where it ends."
A staff whistled through the air, aimed at his head.
Wei Liang ducked without looking, spun, and his sword met wood.
The staff shattered.
Min-ji stumbled back, eyes wide.
"No!" Yoon screamed, finally on his feet despite his wounds.
"The daughter too. How touching. A family that dies together."
He moved toward Min-ji — and I saw it.
The shift in his weight, the angle of his sword. The exact trajectory. It would take her in the throat. She'd die in seconds.
Time to impact: 1.2 seconds.
Options: None.
Survival probability: 0%.
Decision: Irrelevant.
I lunged forward, putting myself between Wei Liang's sword and Min-ji.
The blade entered my left shoulder — the same one wounded nine days ago.
Pain exploded through my nervous system.
But I'd done it.
Min-ji was behind me. Safe. For now.
Wei Liang looked surprised.
"Interesting. You chose to take the hit rather than let her die. That's... not logical. Not efficient. Not smart."
"I know," I gasped. Blood ran hot down my arm. "But it's human."
"Human." He withdrew the sword, and I collapsed. "Yes, I suppose it is. Weak, sentimental, and ultimately fatal. But human."
He raised the sword for a killing blow.
And then the world exploded with light.
A figure appeared between us, moving so fast I couldn't track the motion.
Old, bent, but radiating power that made the air itself vibrate.
Grandmother Cho.
Except she didn't look like Grandmother Cho anymore.
Her back was straight, her eyes blazed with inner fire, and her hands glowed with golden light.
"That's enough," she said, her voice carrying weight that pressed down like physical force.
Wei Liang stumbled back, his confidence evaporating.
"You... you're..."
"Someone who's been retired for twenty years. Someone who hoped to never touch Ki again."
Her eyes were death and mercy entwined.
"But you've hurt my children. And that, I cannot forgive."
"You're the Autumn Blade," Wei Liang whispered. "But you died. Everyone said—"
"Everyone was wrong. I simply left."
She moved — and suddenly she was holding a sword that hadn't been there before.
"Now. You have two choices. Leave and never return. Or stay, and discover why they called me Blade."
The air shimmered with heat. The golden light intensified.
Ki Unity stage. The fifth level of cultivation.
The realm of legends.
Grandmother Cho wasn't just connected to the Murim world.
She was one of its monsters.
Wei Liang hesitated — survival instinct overriding pride.
"This isn't over," he said, retreating. "You can't protect this village forever. I'll be back."
"Then I'll be waiting," she said, voice cold as steel. "Now run, little ghost, before I change my mind."
He ran.
And just like that, the threat was gone.
Grandmother Cho's power dimmed. Her back bent again.
Suddenly, she was just an old woman, breathing hard.
"Grandmother!" Min-ji rushed to support her.
"I'm fine, child. Just... tired. It's been a long time."
She looked at me, bleeding on the ground.
"You foolish, brave, wonderful boy. You could have died."
"I know," I said. "But Min-ji..."
"Is safe. Thanks to you."
Warm energy flowed into my wound as her hands glowed faintly again.
"This will hold until we get you proper medicine. But Seo-yun — no more heroics for a while."
"I'll try," I managed.
Yoon limped closer.
"The girl. Hana. Where—"
"Safe," Min-ji said. "Hidden on the outskirts."
"Good," Yoon exhaled. "Then... we actually did it."
"We did," I agreed. "Though the execution was... suboptimal."
"Suboptimal? Boy, we nearly died!" Yoon barked a laugh.
"True. I'll revise my risk assessment protocols."
"Your what?"
"He means he'll be more careful next time," Grandmother Cho said with a faint smile. "Though knowing him, probably not."
Min-ji was crying silently.
"I'm sorry. You got hurt because of me."
"You were strong enough," I said. "You fought. You saved Hana. You came back. That's not weakness."
"But you—"
"Will heal. Bodies repair themselves. Besides—now we match. Both wounded in the left shoulder. Symmetrical."
"That's not funny."
"A little funny."
"It's really not."
"Agree to disagree."
Grandmother Cho helped Yoon up.
"Come. We need to get these two treated. And then we need to talk. Because after tonight, everything changes."
She was right.
We'd burned Kang's shop. Raided a bandit camp. Exposed her identity.
Made an enemy of Wei Liang.
The quiet life in Willow Creek Village was over.
But as Min-ji helped me stand, her arm steady beneath mine, I realized something.
I didn't regret it. Any of it.
Because I'd saved people. Protected friends. Acted on principle rather than calculation.
I'd been human.
And that was worth any price.
Day 10 – Dawn
I woke in Yoon's forge, my shoulder bandaged and aching.
Grandmother Cho sat nearby, watching me.
"How long was I unconscious?"
"Six hours. Drink this. Then we talk."
I drank, organizing my thoughts.
"You're the Autumn Blade. A legend. Why hide in a village?"
"Because legends attract trouble," she said softly. "I lost my husband to that world. I didn't want to lose myself too. So I retired. Changed my name."
"But you revealed yourself to save us."
"Yes. And now I'll deal with the consequences. Wei Liang will spread word I'm alive. Others will come."
"I'm sorry. This is my fault—"
"No, it's my choice. You're worth protecting. Besides... I was getting bored."
The door opened. Yoon entered with Min-ji — both bandaged but mobile.
"The village is chaos," Yoon said. "Kang's shop's gone. He's blaming everyone, but Chen's story about his daughter is spreading. People are questioning him."
"And the elder?"
"Silent. He knows he's compromised."
"Good," I said. "But this isn't over. Kang's wounded but not gone. The bandits are scattered but not destroyed. Wei Liang will return."
"You're in no condition to fight," Cho said firmly.
"I know. But I can plan."
"The boy's right," Yoon said. "We need to end this properly."
"Agreed," Min-ji added. "But how? We're four people—three and a half counting him."
"We don't fight them head-on," I said. "We turn the village against them. Cut off their support."
"And Kang?" Cho asked quietly.
"Kang is the key. Remove him, and the whole network collapses."
"You mean kill him."
"I mean eliminate him as a threat. Whether that requires death depends on his choices."
Silence.
It should have bothered me. But it didn't.
Because Kang had ordered deaths, sold children, ruined lives.
He was a problem.
And I was very good at solving problems.
"I'm in," Yoon said. "That bastard's poisoned this place long enough."
"Me too," Min-ji said. "He doesn't deserve mercy."
Grandmother Cho looked at us all, then nodded slowly.
"Then we do this properly. Carefully. No innocents hurt."
"Agreed," I said. "Now — here's what I'm thinking…"
END CHAPTER 8