City That Never Sleeps.
When spring arrives, it's the same for any city, but here in Zhengzhou too, the night disappears. Everyone who had shrunk back during winter rushes outside all at once and strolls through the streets day and night.
Among all the cities under heaven, Zhengzhou was currently probably the brightest and most bustling place. Because not only the people within Zhengzhou, but young talents of the Martial World from the Nine Provinces were gathering like clouds to make their martial names known.
Due to the far too many people who had flocked here, inns and restaurants had long since reached saturation. Needless to say about taverns. Any place where one could avoid the somewhat chilly spring breeze was full to capacity.
Nevertheless, people continued to pack in relentlessly.
Then where would the remaining people who couldn't secure lodging go? Anyway, wouldn't they have to endure until the day when the Heavenly Youth Martial Arts Tournament that was making Zhengzhou into a city where lights don't go out was held?
Some paid extra money to temporarily entrust themselves to private homes, while others avoided the night dew by smelling the scent of women's flesh and powder in blue houses or red houses.
And those who remained after that?
Sleeping outdoors. Indeed, the last resort was the street.
Sprawled anywhere here and there, that place becomes their bed. Still, since it was spring, it wasn't cold enough to freeze to death.
They were martial artists of the Murim. In the dusty Martial World, what were the wind and dust of the streets?
But that was the thinking of the homeless sleeping outdoors, and the reality was different. When night fell, quarrels over street positions between homeless Martial World people occurred quite often. Normally, all these people should be dragged to the government office, but now was a special period. And since most of these homeless people were Murim people, it was difficult for the government to handle.
Therefore, the Murim Alliance was handling the chaotic security of Zhengzhou by releasing martial artists even at this late hour. Naturally, even for the Murim Alliance, completely solving it was beyond their capacity.
Moreover, among the guests of the Murim Alliance who had come after receiving Murim missives, some were also setting out for night excursions into this chaotic Zhengzhou city at midnight....
Truly a City of Sleepless Chaos.
And.
In such chaotic Zhengzhou city, among the excursion visitors for killing boredom, Dong Bong-su was also included. Of course, it goes without saying that his purpose was completely different from other excursion visitors.
***
***
One hour earlier.
Eulji-tae first guided Dong Bong-su to Jibin Pavilion and then headed to Cheontong Hall alone. Strictly speaking, Dong Bong-su was not a guest of the Alliance but a personal guest of the Soldier Eccentric.
When the two passed through Muhwa Gate and entered the Murim Alliance, the day had already ended, so entrance to Cheontong Hall by outsiders was strictly forbidden. Though Eulji-tae was the leader of the Martial World Protection Corps, he couldn't bring Dong Bong-su into Cheontong Hall.
In the end, they decided to go meet the Soldier Eccentric after dawn tomorrow, and Eulji-tae entered the Inner Court alone.
After that, Dong Bong-su briefly left Jibin Pavilion and strolled through the Murim Alliance's Outer Court. With the temporary identification tag and access permit that Eulji-tae had given him, no one blocked his movements.
He traversed every corner of the Murim Alliance's Outer Court, storing in his mind every single person he met at every step.
All these actions were a kind of 'map exploration.'
For most gamers, this is the very first thing they do when arriving at an unknown dungeon or hunting ground for the first time.
Though Dong Bong-su was not a gaming expert, he was instinctively acting like a skilled gamer. In fact, just like gaming, the basics of hunting also started with first familiarizing oneself with the surrounding geography where prey resided, so in a way, the two had many similarities.
Above all.
This itself was a game to him.
New Murim Online.
Another world now engraved in his soul, a hunting ground, and a goal.
This place, Zhengzhou.
Was nothing other than a new 'hunting field' in New Murim Online.
Besides Dong Bong-su, there were quite a few others strolling freely within the Alliance like him. Among them, some were heading out through Muhwa Gate to the prosperous district of Zhengzhou city. When his exploration of the Murim Alliance's Outer Court was somewhat complete, he naturally followed them outside the Alliance.
With the identification tag pinned to his left chest collar—attached by Eulji-tae before leaving—he could enter anywhere except the Murim Alliance's Inner Court. A kind of pass.
Map exploration wasn't limited simply to dungeons. If the Murim Alliance was a dungeon, then Zhengzhou city was the 'Field.' In preparation for any situation, it was good to perfectly grasp the geography of Zhengzhou city as well.
And the next thing to do was confirm the 'mobs' roaming around that 'Field,' and ultimately confirm the 'boss mobs.'
Especially, in cases like now where his level had risen considerably, confirming only boss mobs might be sufficient.
He had gone through all this process when he first arrived in Datong as well. And the supreme master of Datong he met then—the boss mob in gaming terms—was precisely the Soldier Eccentric.
Particularly, the boss mobs of this place, Zhengzhou, would mostly be concentrated inside the dungeon that was the Murim Alliance's Inner Court, but there was a high possibility that some had been additionally deployed to the field to match this 'Heavenly Youth Martial Arts Tournament event.'
Dong Bong-su headed to the field to find them.
If this were a real online game, he could pull up all their specs with a single 'Alt + Tab'....
As expected, this place was the real Murim.
Inside New Murim Online.
That's why Dong Bong-su liked it more.
***
***
Just as he had found the Soldier Eccentric in Datong, Dong Bong-su once again meticulously scanned and toured Zhengzhou city.
Those sprawled here and there were mostly worthless types. Moreover, like very spoiled house cats, those who hadn't even realized the fact that they had come outside their homes. Having only caught house mice under the eaves, they knew nothing of the harshness of the world and were flashing their eyes at just anyone.
The people Dong Bong-su was looking for were not such domesticated cats.
Predators, carnivores, or gluttons were needed.
Dong Bong-su steadily proceeded with his exploration. He searched not for the low-grade killing intent of neighborhood cats, but for the refined instincts of higher feline animals. Or, special and unique cases like Jong Ji-hang would be good. Even better.
Anyone would be welcome if they were proper prey.
In fact, there were several prey who stimulated Dong Bong-su's Energy Sense. But they weren't the prey he wanted, the prey he wanted in this New Murim Online.
There was no stimulation from Spirit Eyes.
This was the biggest change in him since coming to this world. Now, simple predators were far from being his prey. Just being a predator now couldn't even become a tasty hunting target. They had to be strong.
Strong and cruel. If not that....
They had to be at least strong. If they were maddeningly strong....
That alone would make them the best prey. Now.
He too was gradually learning the taste of fighting, the pleasure of combat itself. The battle with Timur Khan last time gave him a different taste. The sense of exhilaration in extremely fierce combat, in life-or-death fights.
That was the best.
Dong Bong-su was looking for such a target, an opponent who could be like that.
However,
Lv. 35.
Was it because he had become far too strong?
Even though the Hour of the Pig (9 PM - 11 PM), when the gatekeepers of Muhwa Gate had warned him to definitely return, was almost over, he hadn't met a single such person.
He had passed many strong people, but hadn't found anyone strong enough to whet his appetite.
Even until then, Spirit Eyes remained far too quiet.
'Do I really have to look among those who received invitation cards from the Murim Alliance?'
Dong Bong-su had grown that strong.
Though he hadn't found exciting prey, he thought this was fine in its own way too.
After all, even in games, when one reaches high level, most players spend all their time on 'Boss Time,' running dungeons, PVP (Player Vs Player), PK, and such.
Now it was just time for him to do that too.
Now....
Time to hunt only real monsters.
Dong Bong-su decided to return to the Murim Alliance once field exploration was finished. Further searching seemed like a waste of time.
Just as he was about to conclude that among the mobs newly joined to this 'Zhengzhou Field,' there were no boss-level ones, at that very instant!
[The activation conditions for Spirit Eyes have been met and Spirit Eyes will automatically activate.]
[An enemy with a level difference of 10 or more from you has approached within 20 meters.]
Ding ding ding ding, ding-a-ling-a-ling-a-ling....
"...!"
The mechanical sound of Spirit Eyes, now somewhat unfamiliar, shook his mind.
Click.
He stopped his steps. Then immediately entered confirmation mode to see precisely what was within a 20-meter radius.
Current position: approximately 25° northwest, 4km from the Murim Alliance.
Taverns lined up left and right along a width of about 10 meters. A prosperous district so packed that there was no room to set foot even at this late night.
Right now too, a group of drunken people were staggering toward him. Nevertheless, the number '20' that Spirit Eyes reported remained fixed. Proof that among those groups, there was no prey that bothered Spirit Eyes' nerves.
He slightly shifted his steps to the left and naturally avoided the group. But that one small step made the warning sound stop abruptly.
'If the warning sound stopped because I moved away to the left....'
'The prey is on the right.'
Dong Bong-su turned his head to the right. Between the heads of drunks passing by him stood one small two-story building.
Nangnang Tavern.
The plaque announced the building's name.
Dong Bong-su quickly scanned the building from top to bottom, then moved a step toward its entrance.