I had a dream.
A terrifying dream.
Beneath a crimson-stained sky, a colossal mountain loomed.
A mountain of corpses, their limbs twisted and broken, strewn haphazardly.
At the foot of the mountain flowed a river of crimson, putrid blood.
Mountain of Corpses and Sea of Blood.
A mountain of corpses and a river of blood.
Only two figures remained at the summit.
No, soon there would be only one.
The woman, gasping for her final breaths, would soon expire.
Clad in blood-soaked crimson armor, the man cradled her in his arms atop the mountain of corpses and opened his mouth.
"Why did you save me?"
The woman offered no reply.
After a long struggle for air, she barely managed to move her lips.
"Only now... do you... finally see me?"
"I'll ask again. Why did you save me?"
The man was genuinely curious.
It was only natural.
The woman was his arch-rival.
And the final showdown with her had to be settled here.
His final act would be his own death.
His subordinates, whom he had trusted, had stabbed him in the back, and countless enemies were swarming to finish him off.
The only reason the outcome had changed was because of this woman, the one he had considered his arch-rival.
If she hadn't shielded his back, risking her own life to hold off the attackers, this place would have been a mountain of corpses with only his own body among them.
"Answer me! Why did you save me?"
Yet the man felt more confusion than gratitude.
He should have died here.
No, he wanted to die.
Now that even those he had devoted his entire life to protecting had turned against him, there was no longer any meaning to living in the Orthodox Murim.
Like the others, he simply stared up at the ashen sky with hollow eyes, longing for death.
Until just moments ago.
"Why did you save me, damn it!" the man roared like a wounded beast.
Whoosh... whoosh...
A Qi Wave of despair rippled outward in concentric circles, causing the prairie grass to flatten in unison.
It was then that she finally reacted.
Tap.
Her bloodless, chilled hand struck his cheek.
"Don't cry..."
Only after her cold fingers brushed across his tear-streaked face did the man realize he was weeping.
"I... I'm crying?"
Hot tears streamed down his face, even though he'd thought his eyes had long run dry.
Were there still tears left?
The fingers that had grazed his cheek gently cupped his face.
"You weren't wrong."
"I... I..."
"Just think of it as a bad dream. A terribly painful, awful dream."
"No... Breathe! Breathe!"
"But if our time together meant even the slightest bit to you..."
The woman forced a smile.
With her last breath, she whispered, "Find me again, even at the end of this nightmare."
Thump... thump...
The mountain of corpses began to tremble.
Beyond the crimson earth, countless banners rose through the hazy dust.
"Uwaaah!"
The man roared at the sight of the colossal, blood-red banner.
"Oblivion Society! I won't let you get away with this!"
"Damn it, you bastards!"
Crack!
Cho Un-hwi woke with a start.
He realized he must have kicked in his sleep, as his right foot was embedded in the wall.
Aish, I messed up.
He'd finally managed to get a good night's sleep, only to be plagued by nightmares from his past and even sleep-talking.
Crack!
As he pulled his foot free, the wooden panel splintered and fell.
"Huh? What's this?"
Startled, he pressed himself against the wall.
Then, through the newly created hole, he spotted a woman frozen in place, staring back at him. She had been firmly wrapping a bandage around her chest when the sudden disturbance had left her completely paralyzed.
Cho Un-hwi raised a hand in a friendly wave to the woman, who was still gaping speechlessly at him.
"Ah, what a lovely morning, isn't it?"
"Uh... uh..."
"The weather's quite nice too."
"Aaaah!"
A scream echoed through the Copper Hall's instructors' quarters.
As expected.
The moment I arrived at Copper Hall, a furious reprimand erupted.
"What in the world do you think you're doing?!" Copper Hall Director Chunghyeon bellowed, his face crimson with rage. "Punching a hole in the wall on your very first day—are you out of your mind?!"
"Well... the wall was just too weak."
"Even a full-power strike shouldn't have done that!" Chunghyeon huffed.
But Cho Un-hwi had his own defense.
"What can I do if it's genuinely weak? Seems like shoddy construction, huh? Hehe!"
"Shut up!"
He tilted his head coquettishly and winked, but only seemed to stoke Chunghyeon's anger further.
This just proves why people shouldn't try things they've never done before.
Chunghyeon snatched a piece of paper lying nearby and scribbled something down with a flourish.
"What's that?"
"What do you think? It's the amount you'll be paying in damages."
"That's quite a sum!"
"Do you think damaging Murim Alliance property is something that can be dismissed with pocket change?"
"What kind of tree was gilded in gold? It looked rotten anyway."
"The tree you smashed was Ironwood from the Southern Wilderness! Did you think we built our structures with some cheap timber from the backyard?"
Ironwood? Really?
Cho Un-hwi, who had meekly accepted the compensation bill, was startled.
"H-huh... Thirty silver taels?"
That was three months' worth of his salary.
His face instantly soured.
But Chunghyeon spoke with a generous air, as if doing him a favor.
"Thirty taels is a bargain. I only charged you for the timber itself. If I had my way, I'd make you pay for all the repairs too, but I'm letting you off easy since it's your first offense!"
Under Chunghyeon's menacing gaze, Cho Un-hwi sighed heavily.
Damn it. I can't afford to be in the red already.
It wasn't that he was desperate for the money, but seeing his first honestly earned wages slip through his fingers twisted his gut.
"Break anything again, and I won't let it slide."
Cho Un-hwi's spirits sank further under Chunghyeon's fierce gaze.
Cho Un-hwi stood there, shoulders slumped, holding the bill with a gloomy expression when someone approached him.
"I-I'm so sorry for causing such a commotion," said the Female Instructor from the adjacent room.
She was a radiant woman in her early twenties.
Cho Un-hwi glanced subtly downward, thinking, These bandages are surprisingly sturdy.
Unaware of his gaze, she apologized with genuine concern in her large eyes.
Cho Un-hwi replied with the cold, lifeless eyes of a rotten fish.
"Is a mere apology enough?"
"I-I'll help cover the damages too," she stammered.
"All of it?"
"N-not all of it, but I can split half the cost and pay it off in installments."
Hearing her voice dwindle into a whisper, Cho Un-hwi chuckled.
She really is too soft-hearted.
Having shattered the wall and screamed since dawn, she was the victim.
Yet she offered to compensate him.
How someone with such a timid nature could have become a martial artist was beyond him.
"It's alright. I caused this, so I'll take responsibility."
"R-really?"
Her face lit up instantly, like a good-natured puppy.
And her face even looks like a puppy's.
After a moment's hesitation, Cho Un-hwi frowned.
"By the way, is there no gender separation here? Why are men and women sharing rooms?"
"Because this is the Copper Hall, of course."
"Is it different elsewhere?"
"Even the Silver Hall has separate floors for men and women. From the Gold Hall onwards, they even have separate pavilions. And I've heard that Instructors at the Divine Hall even get their own detached residences."
They say the Copper Hall is nicknamed the "Shit Hall," and it seems the discrimination here is quite severe.
While the martial world is supposed to value skill above all else, isn't this going too far?
Damn this meritocratic hellhole!
"Oh, I should have introduced myself sooner. I'm Cho Un-hwi."
"Yeo Mae-hong. Nice to meet you."
As they clasped their fists in a martial salute, Yeom Gwang and a group of instructors approached.
"Female Instructor Yeo, you should consider getting along with that guy."
"Heh heh."
Yeom Gwang chuckled, his eyes narrowed.
"There are always some idiots who cause pointless trouble just to draw attention."
"The wall was weak, I'm telling you."
"Heh heh. Ironwood, said to be as tough as iron, was weak? That's a ridiculous joke."
Yeom Gwang dismissed the man with a curt remark before approaching Yeo Mae-hong and draping an arm around her neck.
"Leave this guy here. How about we grab some lunch? We could even have some day drinking and get to know each other better."
"I'm fine, thank you."
"Don't be so stiff. I'm just trying to be friendly."
"I'm on official duty right now."
"Tsk. Birds of a feather flock together. Why don't you realize that associating with that attention-seeking fool only lowers your own status?"
Yeom Gwang's greasy gaze slid across Yeo Mae-hong's chest like a lick.
Yeo Mae-hong subtly straightened her posture and replied in a businesslike tone, "I'm really fine, thank you."
"Well, if that's how it is. I'm not one to force things on people."
Yeom Gwang took a step back, glanced around, and shrugged.
"Anyone up for a drink?"
At his words, the instructors nearby eagerly stepped forward, vying for attention.
"Haha! Chief Instructor, are you treating?"
"Looks like we're starting the day off with a bang!"
"Hehe. Can I join too?"
Surrounded by a small group of instructors like a human screen, Yeom Gwang boasted, "Hey, attention seeker. Better watch your step from now on."
As the instructors dispersed in a boisterous flurry, Cho Un-hwi asked, "Drinking this early?"
"It happens sometimes. The Copper Hall students aren't exactly passionate about martial arts, so group training sessions are often canceled."
"What a complete mess."
"The truly dedicated students prefer to learn Family Martial Arts privately or hire external experts for personalized instruction. Some even request individual tutoring."
"Then why did you bother entering the Academy?"
"There's no better place to build connections."
"What a complete mess."
I'd heard stories from outsiders, but I never imagined the reality would be so jarring.
"It's nothing like what I expected. The cradle of the Orthodox Murim is rotten to the core."
"The Copper Hall is particularly bad."
"It'll take ages to understand this place. How about we grab a meal and talk?"
"You mean Instructor Cho's treat? Sounds good. The cafeteria here is free, which is great, but the food is pretty awful."
Cho Un-hwi quickly replied.
"I'll buy you a meal at the cafeteria."
"No need, the cafeteria is free. It's not called 'dog food' for nothing..."
"I insist. Let's head to the cafeteria."
Yeo Mae-hong chuckled softly as she watched Cho Un-hwi stride ahead.
What an interesting person, she thought.
Most instructors at Copper Hall were domineering types.
They often inflated their achievements to stand out, boasting and posturing to assert their superiority.
In contrast, the new instructor was refreshingly unique.
Quite an amusing person.
Though his tousled hair obscured his face and he spoke in abrupt, enigmatic statements, one thing was certain: he was unlike any instructor she had encountered before.
For some reason, the stifling atmosphere of Copper Hall suddenly felt a little more bearable.
Perhaps that was why her footsteps felt unusually light as she followed him.
"Let's go together!"