Still sitting on the fallen log, Merun stared at the unconscious Hwayeon, his thumb clicking the selector sensor on the side of his scouter. He focused on the flickering [!BOUNTY!] tag next to her name.
A small, text-based sub-menu expanded across the green lens. According to the interface, the bounty system was integrated directly into the Beggar Sect's network. If a target was captured, the agent simply had to toggle the box to 'Secured.' The scouter would then ping the nearest Beggar Sect node, dispatching an extraction team to secure the high-value target. Once verified, the bounty rewards—listed in 'Credits'—would be deposited directly into the agent's internal sect account.
Credits? Merun thought, raising an eyebrow behind his mask. First time I've ever heard of the sect using credits. I'll have to ask Iro about that later.
He didn't hesitate. He aligned the cursor and clicked the 'Secured' option. The scouter gave a sharp, continuous electronic beep, confirming that his coordinates were now encrypted and transmitting to the sect's network. With the beacon active, he stood up, walked over to Hwayeon, and lifted her off the cold ground. He ignited a small, controlled pocket of ki beneath his boots and slowly flew back toward the village.
———
Down in the village yurt, Nanouk was tending to the elderly and the children. The atmosphere inside was heavy with anxiety. The villagers were exhausted, bruised, and mentally beat up by weeks of forced labor. Outside, the handful of low-level martial apprentice lackeys Hwayeon had brought with her were already unconscious or groaning in the snow; Nanouk had already broken them the moment the main fight shifted into the forest. They were nothing but ants to a Martial Squires such as himself.
Despite winning his own battle, Nanouk could see the lingering fear in the eyes of his kin. The other village martial artists in the room kept glancing toward the shaking mountain ridge, worried about the stranger who had taken the woman on alone.
Nanouk wiped the sweat from his brow and forced a reassuring smile. "Relax," he told them, his deep voice carrying through the cramped yurt. "The man... he's on a completely different level than me. He's got this."
"He's here! He's back!" a child yelled from the entrance, pulling back the thick leather flap of the yurt.
Nanouk's smile widened. He stretched his massive frame and stood up. "See?"
He stepped out into the biting wind, the villagers crowding behind him. Expecting to see the casual, somewhat reckless mercenary he trained and ate with, Nanouk froze. Merun was walking down the snowy path, his demonic mask resting against his hip, carrying the limp Hwayeon Yi.
"Haha! I knew I was right about you!" Nanouk roared, stepping forward to clap his shoulder. "You actually did it, brother! You—"
Nanouk trailed off, his hand halting mid-air. The look on Merun's face stopped him cold. The carefree, relaxed country-boy demeanor was completely gone. His eyes were dark, serious, and entirely focused inward.
He was... intense. What the hell happened in those woods?
Merun didn't offer a greeting. He just locked eyes with the giant. "Take care of her for now, Nanouk. I've already informed the sect that she's here." He stepped forward, transferring Hwayeon's weight into Nanouk's massive arms.
Nanouk blinked, completely thrown off. "What?! Wait, what happens if she wakes up? I can't keep her down!"
"Sorry, Nanouk, but I have something much more important to do," Merun said, turning on his heel. "Thank you for the training, and I hope your village finds its peace. The sect will send in competent people, but If she does wake up before they get here, just tell her she owes me for that breakthrough. You'll be safe."
Nanouk's arms began to shake, a sudden cold sweat breaking out across his forehead despite the blizzard. He stared down at the girl, then back at Merun's retreating back. "B-breakthrough?! Don't tell me... she's a Martial Senior?!"
By the time he asked, Merun was already gone, disappearing into the whiteout of the storm.
"What the?! Merun?" He looked and looked but there was no trace of him.
Nanouk swallowed hard, the sheer weight of holding an actual Martial Senior making his muscles tense. But as he looked back at his village, the shaking stopped. He inhaled a massive, chest-expanding breath of the mountain air and yelled at the absolute top of his lungs, his voice shaking the frost off the trees and echoing across the entire icy plain.
"THANK YOU, BROTHER! SEE YOU AGAIN NEXT TIME!"
Miles away, leaping through the mountain passes at high speed on his way back to Odani, Merun heard the faint, distorted echo carry through the wind.
He didn't stop, but a small, sharp smile crossed his face as he pushed his legs harder, eager to get back to his training ground and begin mastering the second technique of the Vajra Tyrant Style.
He could have taken her home... but it didn't feel right. Or safe. Plus he had the feeling Iro would give him a death stare.
———
Hwayeon woke up with a sharp gasp, the ceiling of the central yurt blurring before her eyes. The pulsing light beneath her skin from her martial heart had faded, but her newly evolved senses were still ringing from the sheer volume of her heart's breakthrough. Sitting right beside her pile of furs was Nanouk. The massive giant was seated on a small wooden stool, looking incredibly nervous, his hands resting awkwardly on his knees.
She blinked the remaining fog from her eyes and immediately looked around the room. "Where is he?" she demanded, her voice lacking its usual icy perfection. "The masked man. Who was he?"
Nanouk swallowed hard, visibly tense, but he kept his mouth shut about Merun's identity. He shook his head slowly. "I cannot tell you his name. But he did tell me to tell you... you owe him for that breakthrough."
The word hit her like a physical blow. Breakthrough. The memory of the fight rushed back—the relentless mountain of iron, the brutal storm of fists, and finally, those pitch-black eyes filled with an intense, terrifying focus right before everything went white.
She felt overwhelmed. It felt inescapable. His grip felt...
BADUMP
ehehe such a powerful man...
Her haughty, arrogant attitude vanished entirely. The sovereign mask she always wore was gone, replaced by a quiet realization. She looked down at her bruised hands, then up at the giant. "D-don't worry," she said clumsily. "I lost. I will not enforce the stone quotas anymore. I'll go back to my country."
"That's not happening," a cold voice cut through the quiet of the yurt.
The leather flap tore open, and a man stepped inside, flanked by two others. The moment they crossed the threshold, the air in the yurt became suffocatingly heavy. Based on their dense, oppressive auras, all three of them were Martial Seniors.
Hwayeon's emerald eyes narrowed as she shifted her gaze toward Nanouk, who looked just as bewildered as she was. The giant immediately stood up, his massive frame tensing as he readied himself for combat. His eyes darted around the yurt, already calculating how to shift the battleground outside before the shockwaves could harm the elderly and children of his kin.
"We're from the Beggar Sect, Squire Nanouk. There is no need to feel in danger," the leading man said, raising a hand to placate the giant. "We were hired to take back the bounty."
The female martial artist standing beside the leader squinted at Hwayeon, her voice dropping into a surprised, hurried whisper. "Martial Senior! The sect only told us about a Squire!"
"Quiet," the leading man snapped, silencing her instantly. He stepped forward, his eyes locking onto the runaway noble. "Hwayeon Yi, come with us. No matter how powerful you think you are now, you cannot best three Martial Seniors."
Hwayeon sat perfectly still, gauging their power levels through the sheer pressure of their auras. Her breath hitched slightly. All three of them were battle-hardened mid-level Martial Seniors. The one in the middle especially looked powerful; he had no glaring weak spots.
A heavy, suffocating silence filled the yurt. She didn't know if she could take all of them at once, being a completely green, newborn Senior.
More than that, if a brawl broke out inside this clearing, the entire village would be reduced to ash. After a few seconds of intense calculations, she let out a long, defeated sigh.
"I'll come," she said.
The leading man's shoulders visibly dropped as he let out a sigh of relief. "Good choice. Now come—"
BOOOOOM.
Without a single millisecond of warning, the entire yurt exploded. The structural lattice shattered into a million wooden splinters as the permafrost blew upward, kicking up a massive, blinding cloud of snow and dirt.