The world of Heavenly Bright Moon follows a martial arts style.
Right.
Martial arts ‘style’.
Not martial arts.
That’s why, the moment I saw the scenery in front of me, I was sure I had entered the unique world of Heavenly Bright Moon.
The architectural style certainly reeked of the East.
Looking out the other window, the courtyard-style inn was evident, and through yet another window, the houses were clearly similar.
The decorations elegantly hanging from the roof tiles were strikingly different from those based on Western designs.
Still, the people were different.
First off, the hair colors were far from the traditional Eastern palette. Sure, there were some with black hair.
But there’s red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. This isn’t some rainbow-colored socialism, and looking at the hair colors, you could tell it wasn’t just a simple Eastern color scheme.
Plus, the attire and the pronounced curves of their bodies contrasted sharply with the youthful faces of Easterners.
It was a blend of both Eastern and Western, making it hard to tell where their roots were or who they sold them to.
Of course, there was nothing particularly wrong with it.
What feels good is justice, after all.
“Um….”
I turned my gaze from the second-floor window to the street below, focusing on a woman strutting by with a long sword, her wide hips swaying enticingly.
Just looking at the clothes she wore was enough to grab attention.
Such a short skirt!
And a garter belt!
A body-hugging top!
That outfit was definitely called ‘Proof of Rage’ in Heavenly Bright Moon, wasn’t it? You had to clear a pretty difficult dungeon to obtain it…
At that moment, the woman subtly turned her head. Did she notice I was watching her from the second-floor window?
Her black eyes seemed to be directed my way, so I gave her a wink.
A slight smile adorned her plump, red lips, tracing a crescent moon. She blew me a kiss with her gloved hand and disappeared into the crowd, swaying her impressive hips.
Hmm…
A woman in an outfit that would make fundamentalists choke.
But hey, there can be garter belts in martial arts!
If it’s sexy, that’s all that matters!
Anyway,
It was almost certain that this place was indeed the world of Heavenly Bright Moon.
I stood up from my spot and left the room, taking the stairs upward.
It was a four-story building. The first half of the first floor was a store, the other half and the second floor were decorated as an inn and restaurant, while the third and fourth floors had guest rooms for resting.
As I climbed higher, I encountered a staff member, presumably Jeomsoi. At any rate, a rather young individual who looked surprised upon seeing me and quickly bowed.
“Innkeeper, have you coughed?”
Innkeeper, huh.
I briefly glanced at the mirror in the hallway. Reflected in it was a rugged, muscular man with a bushy beard and a somewhat grim expression.
“Yeah.”
I nodded lightly, and he bowed again before heading downstairs. I passed him and continued up, up.
Upon reaching the top floor, I stepped outside onto the roof.
Was it because I was so high up?
The village’s scenery unfolded before my eyes.
And.
I redirected my gaze towards the beautiful mountains.
The thousand-day plum blossoms.
Thanks to the bizarre plum blossoms that bloom all year round, those mountains looked just like a red star.
A sect that had taken residence long ago on that red star.
The woman’s sect, led by Sword Saint Na Yerin, proudly stood – Hongseong.
“It’s definitely before the prologue.”
The fact that Hongseong Clan is intact and this village still exists is proof of that.
I returned to the initial room, sat down, and looked into the mirror.
I was clearly just one of the many extras that existed in this village.
During the prologue, Hongseong Clan gets attacked by the Iron Blood Clan, burning to the ground, and it’s the village that took care of the lone survivor, Sayoon.
Around the middle of Chapter 1, there’s a massacre that triggers her departure from the martial world.
Originally, according to the script, this person was destined to die quickly.
I laughed as I looked at the man reflected in the mirror.
It was a face I didn’t know.
But I did know this person’s name.
The owner of the only store and inn in Seomhwa Village, who is mentioned only by name in Sayoon’s prologue and Chapter 1.
In the game, he makes a brief appearance without showing his face, named “Yu Wol.”
If I had taken on his role…
There was only one thing I had to do.
“Seomhwa Village? Oh please. There’s no place better to live than here.”
“Are bandits coming in? Or are evil monsters sneaking in?”
“With the protection of Mount Yeongsan, monsters can’t just approach recklessly, and since the Sword Saint resides here, bandits and thugs can’t even show their faces.”
“Some merchants say it can get noisy from the outside towns, but for us? We live mostly without any big issues, right?”
The weight of being a Sword Saint was no light burden. She was one of the strongest in the world, counted among the top ten.
A single great sword, swung like a pillar, becomes as light as a breeze in the hands of the Sword Saint.
No one could stand before that great sword, and none could fail to praise her beautiful swordsmanship.
That was the Sword Saint, Na Yerin.
“Of course, she dies during the prologue.”
Yeah. That strong Sword Saint Na Yerin dies during the prologue.
She was poisoned, blind, fighting dozens of Iron Blood Clan masters, relying solely on her senses.
In the process, she sustained quite a few injuries and lost her life to Cheolhyeol Master, one of the five leaders of the Iron Blood Clan.
Though even in that struggle, she inflicted serious wounds on the Cheolhyeol Master, forcing a retreat, saving her disciple, Sayoon, the youngest and only survivor of Hongseong Clan.
The reason Hongseong Clan faces extinction is that Na Yerin dies.
Even if Hongseong Clan’s buildings are destroyed and Hongseongsan burns down,
As long as she and a few of her disciples survive, Hongseong Clan can absolutely rebuild.
And with Sayoon, who had only learned the first part of Hongseong Divine Art and lost her master and sect, she won’t despair over her mediocre martial arts skills or suffer.
Most characters in Heavenly Bright Moon had enough mentors, seniors, and disciples to teach them.
With the potential of Sayoon, who learned along the way and was catching up with the big shots while mastering a half-baked martial art,
Surely, if she learned properly, she can become overwhelmingly stronger than them, right?
Alright. Fine. Then what I need to do is decided.
Let’s go in the direction of somehow saving Na Yerin.
However, this method isn’t without its risks.
There’s a saying about the butterfly effect. I’m fully aware that what I change will greatly affect the future of the story.
But.
If the main storyline is released through her suffering,
“It’d be better if it didn’t exist at all.”
From now on, we’re switching the genre from human drama to a light-hearted fantasy.
Carrying the hopes of fifty million Sayoon Corps members on my back, it was something I absolutely had to do.
Seomhwa Village, near Mount Yeongsan, is just a small place with nothing special about it. The majority of visitors to this village are wandering Taoists or shamans coming to pay respects to Yeongsan, and martial artists visiting Hongseong.
But even being a small village, it’s definitely a place with an office and people living in it.
As I walked into the market, the scent of human life was more pronounced. What could there possibly be to sell and buy in this tiny village? Even as the sun dipped below the horizon, there were plenty of folks looking to snag a bargain on items being sold off cheap.
Lost in thought, my gaze landed on a stall filled with colorful rice cakes.
“Hmm…”
Unlike the other disciples of Hongseong, Sayoon was taken in by Sword Saint Na Yerin as an orphan.
That meant she didn’t receive any family sponsorship like the other disciples, leaving her with almost no money to spend personally.
Even if there were other sponsors, she didn’t have any, so she couldn’t carelessly buy those cheap rice cakes.
Of course, other disciples might share some with her while eating, but she’d definitely have to watch for their reactions.
Ugh…
“What should I do…”
Sure, if Na Yerin was alive and could teach her properly, she’d definitely get stronger after mastering Hongseong Divine Art.
But now that I’m here, I wanted to be a bit greedy and wish for more.
What I, and we, wanted to see was for this girl to be happy.
Although she had a sharp appearance and a prickly attitude towards others, Sayoon was actually a sweet girl who loved sugary treats, and I wanted her to feel happy in her own way.
Using the knowledge I had, I could ensure Sayoon didn’t miss out on learning and experiencing everything she should.
The problem was how to approach her.
After all, Hongseong was clearly a forbidden area for men.
No man could step beyond the entrance of Hongseong.
Even food and necessities meant for the sect had to be brought in by disciples, with nothing being allowed past the gate.
So, to get close to her, I’d need to wait for moments when she occasionally came down to the market.
I crossed my arms and pondered my approach.
“Huff huff… Hey, wanna be my secret friend? I’ll buy you tasty things and give you pocket money.”
“What’s a secret friend?”
“We’ll talk like this, sneak off to eat delicious treats (rice cakes) without the others knowing… Sounds fun, right? And we could have thrilling experiences (secret adventure) that other disciples haven’t tried…”
No way.
This was a terrible idea.
If someone caught sight of us, they’d definitely report us to the nearest magistrate.
Sayoon was probably not even fifteen yet, while I was barely in my early thirties at best—this was clearly a dangerous situation.
I quickly revised my earlier plan.
Connecting immediately was out of the question.
So, there was only one option left.
I walked through the market. As the reddish sunset spilled across the sky, creating a beautiful tapestry, the stalls of vendors slowly began to pack up and move inside.
I stopped at one of those stalls.
It was a stall selling odds and ends.
Straw hats, rolling papers, incense, accessories, jerky, and a whole bunch of other stuff.
There were all sorts of pointless items messily displayed, just like this world with no roots or boundaries, and the guy managing it looked like he didn’t care much about selling anything at all.
In other words, this person wasn’t here to actually sell stuff.
If he were, he wouldn’t be ignoring me as I poked around.
“This one, and this one. And this one too.”
The things I picked were a straw hat, rolling papers, incense, and a small wooden bracelet.
The man, who was observing dispassionately, stretched out his hand.
“One silver nyang.”
I put the straw hat on my head and lit the rolled paper. As the hazy smoke curled up, I slipped the wooden accessory into my pocket and said, “To the inn by midnight.”
There was no answer. But I figured he would definitely come.
After all, he was part of the game system in Heavenly Bright Moon.
He was the mailman (郵遞門) that delivered letters and items anywhere in the continent where all characters would meet in the tavern.
I returned to the inn and waited in my room, smoking the rolled paper. The sun set, the moon rose, and when that moon began climbing to the peak of the black sky, I sat down at my desk.
I calmly prepared my ink.
Sudden face-to-face encounters have their troubles.
And barging into restricted areas is also a problem.
I grabbed my brush and wrote everything down in one go. After confirming that the ink-soaked paper was completely dry, I stuffed it into an envelope. Then I placed it in a small box along with one silver nyang and sealed it.
All that was left was to wait.
Sitting in the chair, puffing on the rolled paper, I pondered how long I’d been waiting.
“I come from the mailman.”
When the moon was climbing to the peak, a figure dressed in black with a hood was waiting at the window.
He was slightly taller than me and had broad shoulders. Though I couldn’t see his face under the hood, the faint outline revealed a solid determination and pride in his abilities.
His uncovered eyes didn’t hide their fierce gaze.
What a true mailman, determined to complete his mission no matter what.
I handed him the box.
“Special delivery, and keep the sender hidden.”
He responded in the same serious tone he had when he appeared.
“It will be one silver nyang, customer.”
I silently extended the silver nyang, and he nodded.
Sender unknown.
And the destination was the nearby sect.
You could just walk over and deliver it, but I had my doubts about using the mailman service. Yet, he seemed like someone who followed the mailman’s policies and beliefs.
No questions asked, no curiosity displayed.
It was as if he believed his duty was merely to deliver this letter, and with a swift turn, he jumped off the four-story building and started running.
Delivery is the mailman’s job.
I watched him through the hazy smoke from my rolled paper and chuckled.
I couldn’t contain my joy.
I couldn’t hold back my excitement.
I couldn’t suppress my fervor.
That’s why I declared to this world on behalf of everyone.
“You’re no longer a trash character.”
I will.
We will make it so.
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