Towards the End

“Keueueuk…”

It was the moment I was about to bring my sword down on my fallen opponent.

With an intense surge of energy, a man cloaked in a black robe revealed himself.

“Stop.”

It wasn’t a loud voice, but everyone present could hear it.

Considerable power was behind it. I calmly sheathed my sword and stepped back.

“You said you came on behalf of the Imperial Family?”

I nodded at the man’s words and checked my quest log.

A considerable amount of time had passed since I crossed over to this Eastern-style world.

As such, the progress of the main quest was also racing towards its end.

[Final Stage to Prepare for War]

Cross over to another world and gather information 10/11

[Old Man Heo’s Request]

Form an alliance with the scattered Murim forces, bearing the traces of the Demonic Cult 2/5

“We do not interfere in the affairs of the Imperial Family. Leave.”

The man in the black robe, [White Dragon Sword Immortal Hyeon Chil-seong], spoke softly as he drew his sword.

The sharp blade, drawn from its scabbard, reflected a cold light, scattering its aura in all directions.

I didn’t come here to fight. I came to propose an alliance.

“The world is falling into the hands of the Demonic Cult. How long are you going to keep your eyes covered?”

“The affairs of the Imperial Family…”

“Even the beggars of the Beggars’ Sect have expressed their willingness to cooperate. It seems you have less foresight than beggars.”

If it’s an important main quest, no matter what I say, it will proceed in the right direction.

Hyeon Chil-seong, who had the formidable title of White Dragon Sword Immortal, aimed his sword at me with a stiff gaze.

It was a warning that he would swing his sword if I said one more word.

I took out a grimy knot from the Beggars’ Sect from my pocket.

It was an item that the Beggars’ Sect Leader had given me, saying it would be necessary to persuade others.

The description said it was made by plucking a dragon’s whisker and making it into a knot, but that wasn’t very important.

“That’s…”

“The Beggars’ Sect Leader gave it to me, saying I’d need this to persuade stubborn people like you.”

This wasn’t the only token.

I took out a new token from my pocket. It was a butterfly-shaped throwing star with ornate jewel decorations.

“The Tang Clan’s Clan Lord gave it to me. He said to use this as a token as well.”

“If those words are not true, my sword will be aimed at your neck.”

Hyeon Chil-seong closed his eyes and sheathed his sword.

Seureureuk- Tak. A white tassel fluttered from the end of the sword as it slid smoothly into its scabbard.

Hyeon Chil-seong’s body lightly floated up. The moment he kicked off the ground, the wind swirling around his body scattered in all directions, and his black robe fluttered like wings.

He approached me with a single step and held out his hand.

He seemed to want to see the tokens I had presented with his own eyes.

I placed the two tokens on his hand.

“The Tang Clan’s poison needle and the Beggars’ Sect’s Dragon Whisker Knot are indeed genuine.”

“Then will you believe my words?”

With those words, Hyeon Chil-seong returned the tokens to me.

His cold gaze stared at the distant sky.

What’s so interesting to look at in this high mountain region where you can only see clouds? Why is he acting so serious?

I followed his gaze and glared at the sky.

I couldn’t see anything.

“I will test your skills. The fact that the Beggars’ Sect Leader and the Tang Clan Lord entrusted you with their tokens means that your own skills must be quite outstanding.”

In the end, he was asking me to fight him.

I nodded and slung my sword over my shoulder.

At that moment, the duel began.

Our gazes quickly crossed. The white sword that had been in its scabbard was already drawn.

Chaeng!

Our swords, intertwined in the air, sparked.

As expected of someone representing a force, the energy imbued in his sword was fierce.

I don’t have to win. If I just meet certain conditions, this Hyeon Chil-seong will also give me a token.

But I didn’t want to lose. I want to win.

The moment my mind went white, my senses became infinitely sharp.

My obsession with victory began to take root in my gaze, and my eyes moved tirelessly, reading Hyeon Chil-seong’s movements.

Chaeng!

Kaang!

Swords clashed. Hyeon Chil-seong’s swordsmanship was irrational itself. What would the developer who created this Hyeon Chil-seong know?

He must have just crammed in all the cool-looking poses from martial arts movies.

Unnecessary movements. Just useless movements focused on looking cool.

But the specs of the character Hyeon Chil-seong possessed more than made up for those shortcomings.

Hwaak!

The widely swung sword contained the energy of a pure white dragon, chilling the surroundings.

Hoo-

The breath flowing from my mouth scattered in white.

The more we exchanged blows, the slower my movements became, and the surrounding temperature dropped coldly.

Small ice particles, rippling and faintly scattering in all directions, were momentarily depicting the image of a white dragon.

The black robe slightly moved away. It was because of his light steps backward.

Infinitely light and infinitely sharp.

That was the swordsmanship of White Dragon Sword Immortal Hyeon Chil-seong.

“Not bad.”

His softly uttered voice contained admiration.

But I knew. He hadn’t shown his true skills yet.

I raised my sword once more.

At that sight, Hyeon Chil-seong’s eyebrows twitched greatly.

“Will you continue?”

“I will continue.”

“Your spirit is like this White Dragon Mountain. I acknowledge you.”

Hyeon Chil-seong’s aura changed the moment those words ended.

The black robe he was wearing fluttered, and he began to emit a pure white energy.

A real fight was about to begin. The moment I recognized that fact, I used everything I could.

The Dopang potion that fell onto my hand transmitted vitality throughout my body, and the black lightning that fell from the sky began to awaken my true form.

“I will go all out.”

That was the end of those words. As if space was distorted, the place where Hyeon Chil-seong was standing was warped.

A short sound of “kwak-” was heard. Hyeon Chil-seong’s body, which began to scatter with afterimages, transformed into a white dragon.

It’s coming. That light and swift speed, rushing towards me, froze all the surrounding air.

Kwajiijijik!

The reaction was late. I knew it in my head, but my body didn’t follow.

The pain in my head, burning white, reached its peak, and at the end of my gaze, the pure white dragon, with its mouth open, swallowed my body whole.

Kwaaaaak!

The blizzard-like energy that belatedly spread out scattered in all directions.

“Hoo-”

Faint sparks of lightning scattered in the low breath that flowed from my mouth.

The sword that was finally swung could not reach the white dragon.

I was on the verge of death.

My vision began to turn red, and my legs, losing strength, were about to give way.

All I could do was lean on my sword for support.

Seueueuk-Tak!

Hyeon Chil-seong, having sheathed his White Dragon Sword, slowly approached and handed me a pure white token.

[White Dragon Token]

A token containing the energy of a pure white dragon.

It is a token proving that the leader of the White Dragon Society has acknowledged you.

※When possessed, flight becomes possible.

“I will believe that your words are true.”

I looked up at Hyeon Chil-seong with my red-tinged vision and nodded.

The battle was over. My health quickly recovered, and my red vision gradually began to return to normal.

Hyeon Chil-seong, who was watching the scene, reached out his hand towards the empty air.

At that moment, a pure white sword, which had been far away, flew and was sucked into Hyeon Chil-seong’s hand.

It looked similar to the swords used by the trainees scattered around.

“I hope you will accept it.”

[Training – Snow White Sword]

An item to unlock the 8th rank job, White Dragon Swordsman.

Can be obtained by achieving certain conditions.

The moment I held the pure white sword in my hand, the name of Hyeon Chil-seong in front of me began to change.

[White Dragon Sword Immortal Hyeon Chil-seong]

[White Dragon Swordsman Job Instructor]

I frowned as I checked his appearance.

I was happy that I had unlocked a newly added 8th rank job, but I didn’t know exactly what conditions I had met to unlock it.

Was it possible to obtain it by reacting to that attack? Or was it by enduring that attack with my body without backing down?

There was no way to check either way again.

I nodded with a sense of unease.

Anyway, I had taken one step closer to the end of this story.

The moment the conversation with Hyeon Chil-seong ended, I opened my eyes in front of the huge White Dragon Society building.

The incredibly high mountain and the endless white buildings above it looked like a white dragon.

Ppodeudeuk- Ppodeudeuk-

The sensation of snow scattering under my feet was realistic.

“Come out!”

It was time to move to the next location.

I immediately shouted in a familiar pose.

My arms were spread wide, and my legs were stretched out straight.

What appeared was a giant griffin, Ppiyak.

“Ppiyaaak!”

As if it was making its first appearance in a while, Ppiyak let out a majestic cry.

A warning message didn’t appear like when I first summoned Ppiyak.

It was because flight had become possible thanks to the power of the White Dragon Token I obtained here.

“Let’s go!”

I naturally climbed onto Ppiyak’s back.

The giant griffin carried me and leaped towards the high sky.

Pure white snowflakes scattered in all directions, creating a short sonic boom.

Pang-!

Repeating acceleration and acceleration. Each time it kicked off the air, Ppiyak’s speed quickly soared, reaching maximum speed.

Goodbye to traveling long distances on a wolf. Now is the era of Ppiyak.

“Ppiyaaak!”

With Ppiyak’s roar, we left the snow-covered White Dragon Mountain Range.

The place we were heading, following the guidance of the main quest, was a mountain very far away.

Thanks to Ppiyak, we were able to move quickly. If we had ridden a wolf, it would have taken more than 30 minutes.

My gaze quickly scanned the mountain range. Even though the trees, which would have been blue, had lost their strength and withered, the huge temple built high on the mountain had not lost its color.

[Shaolin Temple]

A place that cannot be missed in a martial arts-themed game.

The people I had to persuade this time were the monks of Shaolin Temple.

I drove Ppiyak to approach quickly. There was no need to even enter through the entrance.

“Ppiyaaak!”

The place I landed with Ppiyak was the very top of the high temple.

At that moment, a transparent message floated before my eyes.

[Wanderer of the Jianghu Achievement!]

Eternal and Unchanging – Shaolin

“What the…”

It seemed that this place was a hidden achievement location.

It was a place that didn’t matter to me. I didn’t enjoy completing achievements, so there was no need to remember it.

I jumped over the roof of the temple and into the building.