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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Reincarnated into the Murim World
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#001: Reincarnated into the Murim World.
I was reincarnated.
Into a hellish Murim world, where getting a knife in the gut for rubbing someone the wrong way is a daily occurrence.
In web novels, other people get reborn into noble families or prestigious martial clans. I got nothing of the sort.
Instead, I lived in a collapsing hovel until I was nine, when a sudden plague wiped out my entire family.
Then I met an old man.
"Will you come with me?"
"What happens if I go?"
"That depends on you. You could become a hero of the martial world, or you could rot away as a mere Outer Hall warrior."
"Do they feed you well?"
"Three meals a day, without fail. You have nothing to worry about."
"Then I'll go with you."
And that's how I became an Outer Hall warrior for the Nine Dragons Fortress, a mega-corporation of the Murim world.
***
"Ugh! I'm exhausted."
This damned Nine Dragons Fortress. I really should just quit.
Just like in Hell Joseon, mornings in this Hell Murim are ridiculously busy.
Today was the squad leaders' meeting. I couldn't be late, so I quickly got ready and headed to the Outer Hall headquarters.
"Seventeenth Squad Leader!"
When I arrived, the Third Squad Leader greeted me warmly.
A happy professional life begins with a proper greeting.
I quickly approached him and bowed.
"To think the great Third Squad Leader would come out to greet me! This is an honor that will last three lifetimes."
"Hahaha, this fellow's flattery gets better every day."
"Flattery! Not at all, sir. These are words spoken from the deepest respect in my heart, I assure you."
"Hahahaha."
The Third Squad Leader laughed with satisfaction and patted my shoulder.
Another month or two of buttering him up, and he'd probably be willing to co-sign a loan for me.
"The Hall Master will be arriving soon. Let's head inside."
"How could I dare to walk ahead of you? I shall follow gently behind you, Third Squad Leader."
"Haha, you're really something."
Following him over the threshold, I sharpened my senses.
As the youngest squad leader in the Outer Hall, I had over twenty people to greet.
"Oh! Second Squad Leader, it's been a while."
"Seventh Squad Leader! My humblest greetings!"
"Gasp! The beauty of the Fifteenth Squad Leader is blinding!"
I spent a full meal's time just bowing at the door.
After confirming that all the senior squad leaders had entered the hall, I finally went in last.
We were drinking tea and chatting for a short while when a middle-aged man entered.
A massive frame, a scar crossing his face, a beard like a mountain bandit's, and gleaming eyes.
This man, who looked like a walking calamity, was none other than my current boss, the Outer Hall Master, Bukgung Baek.
""We greet the Hall Master.""
The squad leaders rose from their seats and clasped their fists in salute, and he nodded in acknowledgment.
"Has everyone been well?"
"Yes!"
"Then let's begin."
The meeting that followed passed without any major developments.
As expected.
In the world of Murim, the Outer Hall was of negligible importance.
That was also why I chose to work in the Outer Hall, even after graduating from the Heaven-Ascending Pavilion, the Nine Dragons Fortress's most elite educational institution.
And sure enough.
"Zzzzz, pffft, khhh…"
Before even a quarter-hour had passed, Bukgung Baek was fast asleep, snoring loudly.
This wasn't the first or second time this had happened, so the Vice Hall Master and the squad leaders ignored him and continued the meeting.
And then.
"This month's South Gate guard duty will be handled by the Seventeenth, Third, and First Squads."
'Nice!'
It seemed my greasing the wheels had paid off. The dream assignment was given to my squad.
I clenched my fist, stood up, clasped my hands in a salute, and shouted.
"Jin Mujeon, Leader of the Seventeenth Squad, will carry out this order without a single error!"
"..."
A loud and enthusiastic junior is always welcome, after all.
***
Guard duty at the South Gate was an even sweeter gig than I'd imagined.
As the squad leader, I sat at a desk set up in a corner.
My squad members bustled about, inspecting the luggage and identification tags of those passing through.
You might wonder how this could be a sweet gig, but the true value of gate duty lies elsewhere.
"Hehe, it's not much, but please have a bowl of rice wine after your shift."
It's the bribes slipped to you by the merchants.
You might think, why the bribes for just passing through a gate? But that's because you don't understand how much power the gate guards hold.
Because how strictly we conduct our inspections can make a world of difference to their profits.
For example.
"Squad Leader, there are dried poisonous snakes in that cart over there, sir."
"Goodness! Poisonous snakes? The venom has all been removed and they've been dried. They're medicinal herbs. Medicinal herbs."
There were items like these, whose entry was ambiguous.
"Sir! Can't you hurry it up a bit? I've brought ice, and it's all going to melt if I'm delayed any longer."
There were also goods that needed to bypass the queue and pass through quickly.
"This is iron ore from Yunnan Province. We have a delivery arrangement with the Hwang Family Ironworks."
"Hmm, I haven't heard anything about this. Wait here a moment."
"Please, don't say that..."
And there were merchants who wanted procedural conveniences.
Thanks to all this, the income I collected over a fortnight was two silver taels, equivalent to about two million won back on the Hell-peninsula.
I was proud.
I felt the satisfaction of all that time spent greasing the palms of my senior squad leaders.
Of course, I couldn't pocket all this money for myself.
If I acted stingy, I might find myself on someone's shit list and spend a few years in an underground prison.
So, I 'fairly' pocketed one silver tael and distributed the other among my squad members.
'How reassuring.'
As usual, as soon as I got home, I pulled out a small wooden box from under my bed and opened it.
The copper coins and silver taels I'd saved up greeted me.
'Let's see...'
One, two, three, four...
After counting for a long while, I let out an unwitting sigh.
"Hah! The road is long, so why is my progress so slow..."
My savings account, woefully inadequate for retiring to a life of debauchery, weighed heavily on my mind.
But that feeling was fleeting.
"No. Take it slow, Mujeon. You're still young. You can achieve that life of debauchery when you're forty."
I immediately got my head straight.
Right, this is something, at least.
It's been 21 long years since I fell into this Murim world, and it's a miracle I've managed to save this much in just three years since graduating from the Heaven-Ascending Pavilion and starting to earn a proper monthly salary.
Though I'm still a long way from catching up to my peers from the Pavilion.
"Since when did I start comparing myself to those born with golden spoons?"
If a crow-tit tries to follow a stork, it'll tear its legs apart.
'Wait, was it a stork?'
Whatever. I should stop envying others and just live within my means.
If I work hard, a beautiful tomorrow and a bright future will surely be waiting for me.
***
"Ugh! I'm exhausted."
Didn't they say a week in Hell Joseon was Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Friday, Friday?
A week in Hell Murim wasn't much different.
"When the hell are they going to introduce a five-day workweek!"
I sighed at the Murim's work culture, which boasted not a six-day, but a seven-day workweek, as I got out of bed.
"They pay me peanuts and work me to the bone."
Cursing my employer, the Nine Dragons Fortress, I walked for about a quarter of an hour.
When I arrived at the small pavilion assigned to the Seventeenth Squad, I saw my squad members training their martial arts.
Thud! Thud!
That guy in the back, throwing steel balls with a pitcher's form, is Yang Gang.
A 190cm, 120kg mountain of muscle. Surprisingly, he's not a tank, but a ranged dealer.
Those steel balls he's throwing are his hidden weapons.
Something called the Flying Meteor Shot, or whatever...
Swish, swish, swish, swish.
And the handsome young man stabbing the air with a short judge's brush is Yu So-pyeong.
He's a former scholar who's read quite a few books, and he handles all the paperwork for the Seventeenth Squad.
As for his martial arts... well, they're just good enough to avoid getting beaten up by some third-rate street thug.
However, he handles all the squad's paperwork, making him my most reliable subordinate.
"Chwaaat! Chwa-chwa!"
The anchovy-like guy running around in the middle of the courtyard, letting out strange battle cries, is Ha Jin-hyeong.
He's a self-proclaimed master of movement techniques, specializing in lightness skills.
Thanks to that, he serves as our messenger, but since lies automatically spew out whenever he opens his mouth, I only believe half of what he says.
And finally.
"...You've... ar... rived... Squad... Leader."
The owner of this turtle-like slow speech is Lee Dang-pal.
He's the youngest of the Seventeenth Squad and studied at a martial hall in the Tang Clan's territory, so his knowledge of poisons is quite extensive.
On the other hand, his movements are so slow that just watching him makes you want to tear your hair out.
"Yeah. Sleep well?"
"...Yes."
"How's your training these days? If you're stuck on anything, let me know. I can help you out anytime."
"...Yes."
"..."
Forget I said anything.
As I stepped over the threshold, the squad members greeted me. Unlike usual, there was a real spirit in their voices, which was quite pleasant to hear.
It was only natural.
I had, after all, paid them the enormous sum of one silver tael as a bonus. Their respect for me must be soaring.
"Ahem, has everyone been well?"
"We saw you yesterday. What's with the bullshit?"
I guess not.
I did my best to ignore the brutish Yang Gang and asked Yu So-pyeong.
"Any news of high-ranking officials visiting today?"
"The Blue Dragon Hall Master is said to be departing for the Hanzhong branch."
"So he'll use the North Gate, not ours?"
"Most likely, sir."
It might not seem like much, but this is more important information than you'd think.
Just like how the army does a major cleanup when the division commander visits, we have to prepare in advance whenever we hear a high-ranking official from the Inner Fortress is passing through.
"That's a relief. Alright everyone, let's go."
I immediately led the squad members out and headed for the South Gate.
The shift began again.
"Next!"
Yang Gang, the biggest of the Seventeenth Squad, planted his long spear in the ground and repeatedly shouted for the next person.
Ha Jin-hyeong and Lee Dang-pal checked luggage and identification tags.
Yu So-pyeong handled the entry log and various other paperwork.
And what was I doing?
What else? As a manager, I was focused on managing my squad.
Zzzzzz...
As I was closing my eyes for a moment of 'meditation,' I heard Ha Jin-hyeong's voice.
"Squad Leader, aren't you going to eat?"
"Huh? Oh, right. Of course. Gotta eat to work."
"I thought so, so I bought some rice balls from the Namga Inn over there."
"Right, right. Thanks."
As I was chewing on a rice ball, I saw a familiar face.
The white dragon embroidered on a pure white uniform—it was a warrior from the White Dragon Hall.
"Long time no see."
"Gulp. Yeah. It has been a while."
"I heard you were slumming it in the Outer Hall after graduating from the Heaven-Ascending Pavilion. It suits you better than I thought. Is it because you're a no-name commoner?"
"And you were the one who got his ass kicked by that 'no-name commoner' for eight straight years at the Pavilion."
Hearing my counter-provocation, the guy shot lasers from his eyes.
The vein on his temple bulged like an earthworm; he seemed quite angry.
"If you want to fight, let's take it to that clearing over there."
"Ahem."
"Don't start a fight you can't finish."
His body trembled.
I could feel him shaking from here.
It was only natural.
I had trained my trash-talking skills in the politically-charged chat rooms of AOS games.
In this Murim world, steeped in the ideologies of Confucianism and Buddhism, there were few who could beat me in a war of words.
"...You just wait and see."
"Aww, can't do nuffin', can ya?"
"Grk."
The guy entered the fortress with a resentful look on his face.
Yu So-pyeong, who was standing beside me, asked curiously.
"Who was that? He looked like a warrior from the White Dragon Hall."
"The youngest son of the White Dragon Hall Master."
Now that I say it out loud, it sounds like the title of a web novel.
"...Is that really okay? What if he holds a grudge and tries to get revenge later?"
"You think a man like the White Dragon Hall Master would be swayed by the words of his immature youngest son?"
"That may be true, but who knows what will happen over time? He's bound to hold a high position in the Inner Fortress someday."
That's only a problem if I'm still at the Nine Dragons Fortress.
By the time that guy is climbing the ranks, I'll be long gone from here.
"I'll worry about that when the time comes."
And so, another eventful day at the Nine Dragons Fortress came to an end.