“Ha! Hmph!”
Swinging my sword vigorously, I unfold the basics of the Flowing Stream Sword Technique while optimally using my body’s movements through the Heart Technique and Divine Technique.
Currently, I’m practicing martial arts under the guidance of Serin.
“Your posture is good. Just keep going like that.”
“Yes!”
I’ve trained hard and honed my skills through actual combat, so my abilities are rapidly improving—enough for Serin to compliment me.
Most importantly, I used to have barely any time to train due to earning money, but now I have plenty of time. Isn’t that why martial artists form factions? To focus solely on martial arts training!
Training in martial arts requires a protective barrier and financial stability to practice comfortably.
That’s exactly my situation now.
“Alright, let’s stop here.”
“Hah. I’m dead.”
Sweat pours from my entire body. Moving until exhaustion is deeply satisfying. This is the joy of martial arts training.
“You did well, Geunhyeop. It feels great to see you follow along so well.”
“You’re the one teaching, so I have to follow even if I die.”
“How admirable.”
Saying that, Serin naturally patted my rear, before getting closer and whispering in my ear.
“Since you worked hard today, as a reward, I’ll allow you to be on top tonight.”
“Whoa…!”
What a mischievous one!
“I can’t wait, Serin…!”
“Hehe, I’m looking forward to it.”
This mischievous woman is in for a punishment!
“By the way, how’s the Assassin’s Room operating?”
“Uh, it’s running pretty well for now.”
I grabbed the flask Serin gave me and downed the water in one go.
“Ah.”
The Assassin’s Room is a bit creaky since it’s still in its early stages, but it’s functioning decently enough.
After all, I executed the plans I initially drafted.
I’ve now finalized a protective contract by negotiating amounts in conjunction with a lower merchant guild. I feel incredibly proud of this. It’s the orthodox way, after all. That’s a different dimension than the bandits just robbing people.
There’s a huge difference between someone who comes to rob and someone who has a legitimate contract.
However, I did offer a price cheaper than what the bandits were charging. Since this will become a long-term contract, it’s better this way.
Now that there’s a regular source of income, the capital of the Assassin’s Room has increased. This allowed us to accept incoming individuals.
“We’re getting a steady stream of people wanting to join our faction.”
“That’s fortunate.”
Various folks have been showing up after hearing the reputation of the Assassin’s Room.
Some come filled with a sense of justice, while others are shady bandits. The common thread is that all have obscure backgrounds. But really, what can you do? We need to conduct interviews.
I filtered out all the obvious idiots and evil types. Even after that, we still had plenty of qualified applicants, currently welcoming about twenty people.
While we did conduct interviews, this isn’t modern Korea; we can’t investigate the history of each individual. We’ve heard their stories, but we can’t know what they’ve been up to.
Honestly, it’s not necessary to know.
What matters is whether they will obey us or not. That’s the only fact that matters. As long as they cooperate and perform their assigned tasks well, that’s all that counts. Finding talent in this martial arts underworld is no easy feat.
It seems that with an increasing number of members and revenue, the organization is functioning quite decently.
Now that we have more people, we’re able to protect our interests. If merchants under our protection are harmed, the Assassin’s Room’s rescue system kicks in immediately.
Truth be told, it was Galbi who completed this system. This guy is truly skilled. Without him, I doubt the organization would be running as smoothly.
He’s essentially the real power here.
I’m just the muscles.
Galbi takes care of the administrative work, allowing me to manage the members and focus on my martial skill training. Jaemi Son is in the same boat. In general, the head of a faction delegates administrative affairs to the overseer and concentrates on martial arts.
“Since Galbi is doing well, even if the business is creaky, it’s progressing smoothly. I think we can see good revenue if we keep expanding.”
“Hehe, is that so.”
“To you from the Namgoong Clan, this might seem small. But remember, this is just the beginning.”
“I don’t think it’s small. I was born in the Namgoong Clan, but that doesn’t mean I’m contributing to building the clan; I’m just amazed to see an organization being born and growing.”
“Aha, you do speak beautifully!”
Now that’s what I like to hear from my wife!
“So, Geunhyeop, what are we going to do about this?”
“Ah. That’s what I’m talking about.”
Serin pulled out a secret manual.
This is something that the Money-Grabbing Ghost possessed.
“Honestly, it’s not a great technique. However, it has practical attributes.”
The manual opened by Serin explained this.
“It seems the Money-Grabbing Ghost modified a technique during real battles to fit himself. However, it’s not based on a very strong martial art, and due to the nature of assassins, it’s tailored only for targets they’re certain they can kill… So the practicality isn’t that impressive.”
This martial art is a modified technique originally used by the Money-Grabbing Ghost. The name is simple: Money Technique. Just hearing the name makes it sound pathetic.
“How does it compare to something like the Three Calamities Technique?”
“It’s better than that.”
“Good.”
Actually, I’ve been thinking since seeing this secret manual.
“I think I’ll teach this to the kids.”
To grow the Assassin’s Room, the new recruits need to become stronger. Though we selected them through interviews, they’re all really at the level of Chang Sam and Oh Su-man. They’re a bunch of weaklings who could easily be taken down by even the beginner assassins.
The same goes for the disciples!
From our Assassin’s Room, only the original members can really be considered true martial artists.
So, I plan to teach them this martial art, bite the bullet, and enhance their combat abilities.
No matter how it is, this is originally a technique used by the Money-Grabbing Ghost. Weaklings will undoubtedly be tempted by it.
By advancing those who achieve well in this martial technique, and giving them benefits, everyone’s motivation would surely increase.
“I’ll definitely work hard to learn this martial art.”
“That’s not a bad idea. But for you to learn this Money Technique, is that alright?”
“No problem. Teach me, Serin.”
“You’re putting that teacher to good use.”
Serin grumbled, but when I wrapped my arms around her waist, she became compliant immediately.
“Well, I’ll do my best.”
“Hehe, oh my, I’ll be treating you cutely tonight!”
“Hah. You’re really something, you know that? But I’ll let it slide just this once.”
“So happy!”
Pure joy!
* * *
“Disciple! Salute!”
“Oh, right, right.”
As I arrived at the Assassin’s Room, the most eager disciples greeted me first. I’m quite pleased to see these guys obediently welcoming me.
Who cares if they came from a petty faction?
If they’re this loyal, I can accept anyone.
Alright. Should I teach the Money Technique to the disciples first? Thinking about that, the disciples finished their greetings and walked over there, I noticed them talking to the recruits.
“Again, let me say this… Don’t mind any strange words spoken by the Jeolgyu Nachal Daehyeop. If you’re not afraid for your life.”
“Ah, understood.”
What’s up with this guy?
Is he embarrassed to be called a disciple?
What’s there to be embarrassed about?
“Hehe.”
Anyway, I walked into the thatched house. It’s a bit shabby, but this is the headquarters of the Assassin’s Room after all.
“Ah! You’re here!”
“Kekeke… you’ve come.”
As I entered, Galbi and Jaemi Son welcomed me. Galbi seemed busy with work, while Jaemi appeared focused on administrative tasks.
“Galbi, everything’s running smoothly?”
“Of course! Look at the protection fees coming in!”
“Oh.”
The money is accumulating nicely.
“It’s going well for now. However, I believe there will be limits to expanding the protection fee business. There aren’t that many low-level merchants.”
“That’s true. But we still need to scrape every bit down to the bottom.”
There are still low-level merchants who haven’t joined the merchant guild. They are not under our protection.
After we knocked out the bandits, they felt no need to pay for protection. It’s like they want to benefit without contributing anything since we’ve created order.
But we are the orthodox faction.
No matter how much we dislike it, we can’t help that.
“Still, the limits are obvious. We need to expand our business. As many wandering warriors have come into the Assassin’s Room…”
“That’s right.”
“Talent is closely tied to money. Plus, since the Assassin’s Room could be considered a violent group, the opportunities for utilization are limitless.”
No way…
“You’re planning on taking on a big job from the Haengdo Sect, aren’t you?”
“Exactly. The reputation of the Assassin’s Room is spreading. People are starting to see us as more reliable than mere wanderers, and we should make use of that.”
It’s a bit tricky to give certain jobs out to wanderers.
You need a certain level of trust for that kind of thing.
It seems like Galbi is thinking of getting into business in that way.
“That’s a good idea, Galbi.”
“And there’s another one…”
“What else was there?”
“A gambling hall.”
Ah, right!
There used to be a gambling hall run by those bandits. The trust was the worst, and the environment was terrible, but if you wanted to gamble, you had to use that space.
“We’ve been thinking the same way. Currently, the bandits have fallen apart, leading to a temporary gap in the gambling scene. Many honest folks are withdrawal-sick and crying out in pain. We need to reopen the gambling hall as soon as possible.”
That’s absolutely a brilliant idea.
Not only do we heal the suffering people, but we can also make money, so it’s a win-win situation.
“Let’s open it as quickly as possible. But Galbi, since we’re reopening, let’s do it right.”
“Do it right?”
“As an orthodox faction!”
Our gambling hall shall be founded on trust and belief!
That’s what an orthodox gambling hall should be!
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