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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Possession (1)
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"Haa… haa…!"
In the dead of night.
On a mountain adjacent to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, known as the single most powerful faction, a young man was gasping for breath.
'What in the world is happening?'
The young man, Jinmyeong, couldn't comprehend his current situation.
'How did I end up like this?'
He was certain he had finished his work for the day, just like any other, and fallen asleep in his empty home.
He'd been reading a web novel on his phone, as usual.
'No, how could something straight out of a novel happen to me?'
It was a common trope in web novels.
Dimensional travel, transmigration to another world.
It didn't take long for Jinmyeong to realize that this was exactly what had happened to him.
'It's not like I committed suicide or got hit by a truck.'
Nor had he died from overwork.
He had buried himself in his job to forget his sorrows, but he hadn't pushed his body to the brink of death.
'So, did I die after all?'
If so, his body was probably rotting in the room where he'd fallen asleep.
The thought that not a single person would mourn his death felt strangely sorrowful.
'That's not what's important right now.'
He was curious about whether he was truly dead and how he had come to this place, but he had no time to dwell on it.
'I have to hide.'
For some reason, he had been on the run from the moment he opened his eyes.
Even now, he could hear the sounds of his pursuers as they moved through the trees, relentlessly chasing him.
"How dare you try to kill me? You damn humans."
As the harsh words escaped his lips, Jinmyeong instinctively clamped his mouth shut and stopped in his tracks.
'Who are these "damn humans"?'
Who were the ones trying to kill him that would provoke such a statement?
'My senior brothers?'
The faces of five people immediately flashed through his mind.
'Mok Jagyeong, Jang Hu, Yeong Soso, Gye Buil, and Biyoung.'
He had never seen these faces before.
And yet, Jinmyeong knew all five of their names perfectly.
"Ugh!"
A sudden headache struck, and Jinmyeong clutched his head.
Memories he had no recollection of began to trickle into his mind.
'Those names sound familiar.'
It didn't seem to be just because of the influx of new memories.
But Jinmyeong had no time to sort through his thoughts.
"Have you finally given up?"
An unfamiliar voice reached Jinmyeong's ears.
When Jinmyeong whipped his head around, a man in a mask appeared.
"Hehe. I wanted to enjoy this a little longer, but it seems you've given up now."
The masked man's voice was filled with amusement.
'I see. He could have caught me, but he was just toying with me.'
Judging by the man's desire for enjoyment, he must have been laughing to himself while watching Jinmyeong's desperate escape.
Jinmyeong felt like a rat in a trap.
"Hoo, are you alone?"
"Do you think we need a whole group to capture you, Young Master?"
Ten assassins had been dispatched to kill Jinmyeong.
Though the masked man thought even ten was too many.
'If I report this, I'll just have to share the credit.'
If he killed Jinmyeong by himself, all the glory would be his.
He had no intention of doing something as foolish as sharing the reward when he had the chance to monopolize it.
That was why he hadn't alerted anyone, even after finding Jinmyeong.
'The others are probably thinking the same thing.'
The masked man was certain he wasn't the only one with this idea.
When the reward was announced, he had seen the greed in everyone's eyes.
'Hoo, what should I do?'
Jinmyeong glanced at the sword in the masked man's hand.
A chill ran down his spine as he saw the blade glinting even in the darkness, and a cold sweat broke out on his skin.
'Can I survive this?'
In his past life, he had never been fond of exercise.
Even when combat sports like boxing and jiu-jitsu were popular, he never considered learning them.
He had no idea how to fight, leaving him clueless about what to do.
"Since you seem to have given up, I'll send you on your way."
Seeing no reaction from Jinmyeong, the masked man lost interest and began to walk slowly forward.
"Can I ask just one thing?"
Jinmyeong quickly spoke up to the approaching man.
"Hmm. What is it?"
"Who is it that wants me dead?"
"What would you do with that information? It's not like you'll survive this."
The masked man had every intention of killing Jinmyeong, so he saw no need to tell him.
"So I can curse them in death."
"Hehe. That would be a bit inconvenient for me. Why don't you just ask King Yama?"
Of course, he didn't believe in curses from the dead.
Still, the thought of Jinmyeong dying full of unanswered questions seemed amusing.
"Well then, farewell!"
The masked man swung his sword down at Jinmyeong.
'I have to dodge.'
He had to dodge, no matter what.
The Jinmyeong from his past life would have squeezed his eyes shut.
But the man he was now stared intently, his eyes wide open, tracking the masked man's blade.
'To the left!'
Jinmyeong immediately moved his body to the left.
*Woosh!*
The masked man's sword cut through empty air.
"Hmm. It seems there was a reason you were his disciple after all. I didn't expect you to dodge."
The masked man seemed surprised that Jinmyeong had evaded his attack.
But only for a moment. He swung his sword at Jinmyeong again.
"Hup!"
Jinmyeong once again threw himself to the side, dodging the attack.
"Hehe. A sight unbecoming of your station."
The masked man couldn't help but laugh at the sight of Jinmyeong rolling on the ground.
It was a move derisively known as the "lazy donkey roll."
A term used to mock someone for such clumsy scrambling.
'What is this?'
But Jinmyeong had no time to respond to the masked man's ridicule.
'Why can I see it?'
Jinmyeong stared at the masked man with a bewildered expression.
'No. I'm not seeing it. I'm predicting it.'
Jinmyeong was somehow anticipating the masked man's attacks and managing to evade them.
*Woosh! Woosh!*
The masked man continued to swing his sword, and Jinmyeong kept throwing his body aside to dodge the blows.
Thanks to his ability to predict the blade's movements, he avoided any fatal wounds, but he couldn't prevent minor cuts from appearing on his body.
'This guy… he's slightly different from my predictions.'
The injuries weren't because the masked man was stronger than he anticipated.
Rather, Jinmyeong's calculations were being thrown off because the man's swordsmanship was imperfect.
'This is strange.'
With a real sword flashing before his eyes, he found it bizarre that he could remain so calm.
In his past life, a situation like this would have sent him running in fear.
'What should I do?'
He could dodge.
But he had no confidence that he could counterattack while evading.
His mind was telling him how to strike, but his body wouldn't move so easily.
'Now!'
As he dodged another swing, he saw an opening in the masked man's stance.
Jinmyeong thought he should charge into it and tried to move his body.
"Ugh!"
But his feet felt as if they were glued to the ground.
*Woosh!*
In that instant, the masked man swung his sword again, and Jinmyeong hastily retreated.
"Kuh!"
He managed to dodge, but his chest was lightly grazed.
'In the end, I have to use this…'
Jinmyeong's hand moved to the sword hanging at his waist.
He was scared.
The thought that he might have to kill someone had kept him from drawing the blade.
'What a ridiculous thought.'
Why did he ever think he could subdue an armed opponent with his bare hands?
Perhaps seeing through the man's attacks so easily had made him arrogant.
"Oh? Are you drawing it? Do you even know how to swing that thing, Young Master?"
As Jinmyeong drew his sword, a mocking tone crept into the masked man's voice.
He had been getting annoyed with Jinmyeong's constant dodging. But now that he had drawn his sword, it meant he was ready to fight head-on.
"A wise decision. It would be a shame to die without swinging your sword at least once, wouldn't it?"
"You're right. How about you let me live?"
"Hehe. You know that's impossible, don't you?"
The masked man chuckled and raised his sword again.
'He's letting his guard down.'
This was Jinmyeong's only advantage.
He could not afford to miss this one chance.
'I need to create a bigger opening.'
He kept spotting small openings, but his body refused to move into them.
If that was the case, he needed to create an opening so large his body would have no choice but to act—an opening that would let him take down his opponent in a single blow.
*Clang!*
Jinmyeong blocked the masked man's sword, grimacing as he hastily stepped back.
His hand trembled after blocking just a single strike.
It wasn't because the masked man's attack was too powerful to handle.
'I'm terrified.'
A tension and fear far greater than when he was dodging now gripped his body.
He felt it would be better to give up on blocking and just focus on evading the sword.
'No. This is the right way.'
Although he was blocking with all his might, the masked man was swinging just hard enough for him to parry.
His intent was clear: give him a sliver of false hope before killing him.
'Where is his weakness?'
Even as he was busy fending off the attacks, Jinmyeong's mind was racing.
His eyes darted over the masked man, searching for a flaw.
'The weakest point seems to be… his legs?'
Jinmyeong's gaze shifted to the masked man's legs.
Whenever the man swung his sword, he would step forward.
Each time, his knees would bend and straighten.
'His lower body must be quite weak.'
This was likely the reason for the instability in his swordsmanship.
It seemed the saying that martial artists often neglected physical training as they advanced was true.
*Clang!*
After blocking the masked man's sword, Jinmyeong pushed back with all his strength, trying to shove him away.
"Oh! You want to match strength?"
Not to be outdone, the masked man also began to push back forcefully against Jinmyeong.
As the two men struggled against each other, Jinmyeong could feel himself being gradually pushed back.
'A little more…'
Waiting for the masked man's center of gravity to shift completely forward, Jinmyeong suddenly moved his body.
"Ugh!"
As Jinmyeong lowered his sword and sidestepped, the masked man, who had been pushing forward, stumbled badly.
*Thwack!*
Jinmyeong kicked the back of the masked man's knee, hard.
"Yargh!"
The man staggered again and tried to right himself, but Jinmyeong was faster.
*Stab!*
Without hesitation, Jinmyeong plunged his sword into the masked man's neck.
"Gurgle!"
The masked man stared at Jinmyeong with a look of disbelief before collapsing.
"Hoo, hoo."
After confirming the masked man was dead, Jinmyeong sank to the ground, his body giving out.
'This is no time to rest.'
There was surely more than one pursuer.
Realizing he had no time to waste, Jinmyeong pulled his sword from the masked man's neck.
Without even thinking to wipe the blood from the blade, he hastily sheathed it.
'I have to get out of here.'
After a moment of staring down at the masked man's corpse, Jinmyeong scrambled to his feet and started moving.
He had no idea where he was or where he was going; he just walked, aimlessly.