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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: Fame
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My life was in danger, but I gained quite a lot from this mission.
First, my martial arts.
Just as the creed of the War King Arts says—the more you move, the stronger you become; the more you fight, the stronger you grow—the life-or-death battles brought me great achievements.
Unlike in the past, when I could barely use the first form of the first half, Explosive Death Force, I can now perfectly execute it, and even use the second form, Ultimate Death Force.
Considering the art is divided into five forms, my mastery, which was at the first stage, has leaped to the third.
There was also a great achievement in my internal energy.
By absorbing the essence of the Frost Dew Essence, a top-tier elixir from the Cheong Family Manor, my internal energy, which was equivalent to only thirty years, doubled to sixty.
Thanks to this, my cultivation level, which had been stuck at the True Peak realm due to insufficient internal energy, advanced to the Peak realm.
Since graduating from the Heaven-Ascending Pavilion, I had never once thought my martial arts were lacking.
In fact, I thought having superior martial arts was unnecessary, as it would only increase the chances of being assigned to dangerous missions.
However, this mission changed my mind.
You never know when or where some bastard might pop out.
Just look at this time. Didn't some fearsome guy called the Soul-Stealing Killer pop out and try to split my skull open?
Thanks to that, while fighting, I regretted neglecting my training dozens of times.
For a real man like me, who walks the Path of the Hegemon, regret is not a common occurrence.
The last time I felt such deep regret was on the day of my college entrance exams, clutching my head and thinking, 'I should have studied more.'
So I came to a conclusion.
When it comes to martial arts, the more, the better.
Of course, this wasn't all I gained from the mission. The main event, the reward money, was still waiting.
"Good work."
*Thud.*
A wooden box, the size of a convenience store's cash register, was placed on the desk of the Military Affairs Department scribe.
There was no way the great Nine Dragons Fortress's Military Affairs Department would pay a reward in coins.
This meant the money in the box before me was silver.
'O-Over a thousand taels!'
At an amount that would be worth a billion won today, a surge of energy shot through my body.
As I stared blankly, the scribe from the Military Affairs Department who had given me the money explained with a smile.
"It's a special reward that includes a token of gratitude from the Cheong Family Manor. Even for a dangerous mission, the payment is not usually this high."
"I-Is that so?"
"Besides, you're quite lucky. Normally, any gratuity from a transaction between clans would belong to the Fortress, but this time, the head of the Cheong Family requested that the full amount be given to you for saving his daughter's life."
I couldn't be more grateful!
I felt like running to Cheong So-so right away and bowing in gratitude.
Also, I started to see the scribes of the Military Affairs Department in a new light.
I had thought they were just desk jockeys, but looking again, each one of them seemed like the reincarnation of Zhuge Liang or Sima Yi.
"Anyway, you really did a great job. To be honest, now that it's over, I can tell you that all the scribes in the Military Affairs Department thought you would fail the mission and die."
"..."
That is, until I heard this bullshit.
***
*Clatter!*
As soon as I got home, I overturned the wooden box.
The light reflecting off the pristine silver taels filled the room.
"Heheheh."
The sight brought an involuntary laugh to my lips.
For a moment, I admired the brightly shining silver, then a thought struck me.
[In exchange, half of the success reward is ours!]
The demand of my squad members who participated in the mission came to mind.
Back then, I had agreed, thinking I'd get fifty taels of silver at most, but now that I had received over a thousand, the situation had changed.
I was in danger of being ripped off for five hundred taels.
'Those bastards didn't even contribute anything.'
I made the plan, I recruited the outsiders, and I even successfully solo-raided the field boss, the Soul-Stealing Killer.
If we were to be precise, my contribution was over ninety percent, while my squad members' was less than ten.
Thinking with a capitalist mindset, the right thing to do would be to give them only a hundred taels.
'Right, I'll just give them a hundred taels.'
However, this decision of mine was doomed from the start.
"Is it true you received a thousand taels for the reward?"
"Is that really true?!"
"I'll follow you for the rest of my life, Squad Leader!"
"...Overwhelming... gratitude."
Somehow, the amount of the reward I received from the Military Affairs Department had already spread to all my squad members.
"H-How did you…?"
"The Vice Hall Master just came by and told us, calling it a great occasion."
'That damn Vice Hall Master.'
Seriously, he didn't do anything, so why did he have to come and run his mouth?
'Fine, if these guys have any conscience, they'll ask for a reasonable amount.'
I decided to trust in my squad members' conscience.
A hundred taels, no, I'd give them a generous one hundred and fifty.
However, my plan hit a snag right from the start.
"Not a single coin less."
They pushed forward that bastard Yang Gang, who never cared about my mood, to lead the negotiations.
Of course, I too was a veteran negotiator, having worked part-time at a cell phone store in my past life.
"Don't you think it's only right to divide it based on our respective contributions?"
I had no intention of backing down easily.
"They say a man's mind is different when he's going to the privy and when he's coming out. You seem to be a perfect example of that, Squad Leader."
"A person's mind can't always stay the same."
"Even so, haven't you changed too drastically? If you act like this, who will follow you and risk their life in the future?"
"Ahem…"
He wasn't wrong.
This may be a barbaric martial world where fists come before the law, but the reason it functions at all is that the worldview is rooted in hardcore Confucianism.
If I were to lose the trust of my squad members, my life in the Outer Hall would not be easy.
In the end, it all came down to one thing. Justification.
"That's why I'm saying we should think about this rationally."
"What's there to be rational about? We're just saying to split it fairly in half."
"Now, now, let's all calm down and think about the people who participated in this mission."
"..."
"Me, the four of you, 'Yong Ma-san, the leader of the Two Immortals Gang who commands over two hundred members,' and 'the great hero Dan Un, the Blue Dragon Sword, a peerless master and direct disciple of the Blue Dragon Hall,' all joined forces to complete this mission, didn't we?"
I deliberately exaggerated Yong Ma-san's and Dan Un's credentials. It was to make my squad members' contributions seem smaller.
"W-Well, yes…"
"Me, Dan Un, and Yong Ma-san each did the work of one person, and the four of you together did the work of one person. You admit that, right?"
"..."
"So, it's only right to divide it into four parts."
"W-What do you mean?"
"Look. Me, Yong Ma-san, Dan Un, and the four of you. The contributions are clearly divided like that, aren't they? Right?"
In truth, I didn't think that at all.
I did everything. What did Yong Ma-san and Dan Un even do?
But for now, I had to insist this was the right way.
That was the only way to weaken their justification for rising up.
"B-But, didn't you say you'd give us half, Squad Leader?"
"I am giving it to you. Who said I wasn't? It's just that it's right to give you half *after* taking out Dan Un's and Yong Ma-san's shares."
"You plan on sharing the reward with Hero Dan and Leader Yong?"
"Isn't that obvious? We all suffered together, so we should share."
Of course, it was a lie.
I had no intention of sharing a single coin.
Of course, Yang Gang, unaware of the circumstances, could only nod his head.
"Ahem, well then, I suppose we have no choice. Let's do as you say, Squad Leader."
And so, I achieved the splendid feat of cutting a 500-tael expenditure down to half, just 250 taels.
All without realizing my squad members were exchanging satisfied glances behind my back.
***
After dividing the reward money as fairly as if I were possessed by Justice Bao, we left the Seventeenth Squad's quarters for our gate guard duty.
Normally, we would get a fortnight's leave after returning from an external mission, but because of the war with the Southern Heaven Palace, many Outer Hall warriors had been dispatched, leaving us short-staffed.
Still, I had no complaints.
"Next!"
"Hehe, my, you're working hard again today. Have a bowl of rice wine on us when you're done."
It was because a tidy side income was waiting for me.
Missing out on the small change just because you made a big score is what amateurs do.
Even after earning a fortune, fulfilling one's duties is the spirit of a professional, is it not?
"Well, you shouldn't have…"
Half a day passed like this.
As my more-satisfying-than-usual shift was about to end, I heard murmurs from the queue of people waiting for entry, and all eyes turned to me.
'Hm?'
Just as I was starting to feel that something was off, I heard Yu So-pyeong's voice.
"Squad Leader, the sun has set."
"Already? Let's pack up and head in, then."
No matter how curious I was, clocking out came first.
After all, I'm a manager who abides by the labor laws.
Just as I finished tidying up and was about to leave, Yang Gang approached me.
"We've got our money, so we're going for a drink. Care to join us?"
"I'm a bit tired today."
"We're buying."
I can't turn down free drinks.
"What are you doing? Let's go."
A short while later, I followed my squad members to the Red Blossom Pavilion.
Opening the door, I saw Manager Yuk bustling about as usual, greeting the customers.
The sensual figure revealed with her every move tugged at my heartstrings.
After a short wait, she seemed to recognize us and approached with quick steps.
"Welcome, Young Master Jin."
"Ahem, it's been a while, Manager Yuk."
"I heard you accomplished something great."
"Haha, what great deed? I just took a little trip to Gansu, so please don't make a fuss."
It's at times like these you have to show a little humility to raise your charm points.
If you just keep bragging, you might come off as an ass.
"Is that so? As expected, Squad Leader Jin is a hero of the Nine Dragons Fortress."
Just as I thought, my strategy had worked; words full of favor poured from Manager Yuk's mouth.
My affinity stat must have risen significantly from this mission.
"Hah! Hahaha. A hero? You flatter me too much; I don't know what to do with myself. By the way, about that tea we were supposed to have last time…?"
"Ahem!"
As we chatted for a moment, Yang Gang, who was behind me, gave me a look.
Honestly, these guys can't stand to see others succeed.
But what can you do? The one paying for the drinks is the boss for the night.
"Oh dear, it seems my squad members are thirsty for a drink. We can continue our conversation later, so could you please show us to a table for now?"
"Of course. Please, follow me."
And so the drinking party began.
A large table of food was brought in, rare liquor that was usually hard to come by was served, and beautiful women joined us.
How could one not be merry?
"I threw the Flying Strike Meteor Bomb, *hiya!* and you should have seen the Ten Demon Alliance lackeys running away, crying 'Oh my!' It was hilarious…"
"*Swish, swish! Swish!* That's not the sound of my mouth, it's the sound of my Judge's Brush."
"...With poison… I took… them down…"
"Jin-hyeong's legs are million-tael legs!"
Each of them was busy boasting of their exploits to the courtesans pouring their drinks.
'Good grief, these pathetic fools.'
A man should be honest, not just spout lies.
"And what great deeds did you perform, great hero?"
"Ah! Me? It was nothing special. I just… and so… I ran away… crossed the mountain range… carrying the Cheong Family Head's daughter on my back… hid somewhere… and when that Soul-Stealing Killer bastard showed up, I unleashed my fist energy and hit him, and he just went *'Aargh!'* and died."
The courtesans' reactions were so good that, even after explaining for over ten minutes, I found myself telling the whole story without realizing it.
I soon noticed that the courtesans had fallen silent and were just staring at me.
'Damn! Too much talking is a turn-off…'
Unless you're some kind of national hero, rambling on like that is an unforgivable sin.
I quickly admitted my mistake and apologized.
"Oh dear! I seem to have talked too much. I'm usually a man of few words. I suppose I made a mistake, as it's been a while since I've had a drink."
But despite my apology, the courtesans just stared at me blankly, not saying a word.
My squad members glared at me, the culprit who had ruined the mood, as if they wanted to kill me.
After a moment, one of the courtesans spoke in a trembling voice.
"...The, the Fighting Dragon!!"
"Huh?"
What's that?