Chapter 4: Error Correction
1. An Unexpected Encounter
Creeeeeak—!
The wooden door of the weathered tavern shrieked open, as if protesting the entrance of a predator.
The boisterous noise inside died instantly. A heavy, suffocating silence swept through the room like a wave of ice water.
Every eye in the tavern turned toward the man standing at the threshold.
Pale skin like marble. Eyes glowing with a chilling silver radiance.
Just looking at him felt like a cold hand squeezing one’s heart.
The man stepped inside slowly, his footsteps making no sound on the creaking floorboards.
At his waist hung a heavy pouch of coins—spoils he had just “collected” from the village thugs moments earlier.
“Looking for this?”
Mu Jin asked, pointing a long, steady finger toward his own face.
The men seated at the large table in the center rose together.
They were warriors of the Azure Dragon Unit, an elite wing of the Murim Alliance. Their hands instinctively moved toward the hilts of their sabers.
The man at the head of the table narrowed his eyes.
It was Gwak Cheol, the leader of the squad.
“…Number One?”
Gwak Cheol muttered the name as if he couldn’t trust his own senses.
The being standing before him had been labeled waste. A disposable tool meant to rot away in a laboratory or be torn apart inside the abyss.
Yet the pressure radiating from him now was fundamentally different.
“So the rat is still crawling,” Gwak Cheol said, baring his teeth in a cruel grin.
He had already heard that Cho Chil was dead.
But he had never imagined the killer would be this failure.
“My name is Mu Jin.”
The boy’s voice was low and dry. Mechanical. Devoid of warmth.
Yet the killing intent within it pressed down like a crushing weight.
“So you even gave yourself a name? How pathetic.”
Gwak Cheol slowly drew his blade.
Screee—
The sound of steel leaving the scabbard rang through the silent tavern like a funeral bell.
“I’ll take your head back to the Alliance as a trophy.”
2. Starting the Engine
[Target identification complete: 8 Azure Dragon warriors.]
[Average internal energy: 15 years. Threat level: Negligible.]
Minerva’s voice echoed inside Mu Jin’s mind—cold, precise, absolute.
Mu Jin tilted his head slightly left, then right.
Crack. Crack.
The sharp sound of his joints settling into place broke the silence.
[Minerva: Administrator, observe their energy circulation.]
[In terms of efficiency, it is practically catastrophic.]
I see it too. It hurts my eyes just looking at it.
Streams of data flashed across Mu Jin’s retinas.
He could see the crude turbulence of Qi inside Gwak Cheol and his men.
Where circuits were blocked.
Where energy leaked.
Where potential was wasted.
To him, it was not martial arts.
It was broken noise.
“Kill him! Grind his bones into dust!”
Gwak Cheol roared.
The warriors lunged at once.
From every direction, cold steel descended upon Mu Jin.
[Engine output: 1% engaged.]
[Acceleration protocol adjusting synchronization rate.]
Mu Jin inhaled slowly.
The Archeon heart pulsed.
The world slowed.
Time thickened into something heavy and viscous.
Every incoming blade appeared as a simple, predictable line of light.
“Slow.”
Mu Jin raised his right hand.
A movement of surgical precision.
Clang—!
His fingers flicked the side of the leading blade.
A micro-vibration traveled through the steel, reversing the opponent’s internal energy flow.
“Aaaaagh!”
The warrior collapsed across the floor.
With a single touch, half of his dantian had shattered.
3. The Absolute Gap
“You… you monster! Strike together!”
Gwak Cheol screamed as he launched himself into the air.
The Azure Dragon’s secret technique—
Azure Dragon Emerging from the Sea.
Blue Qi spiraled around his blade with a savage roar.
To a normal martial artist, it would have been unstoppable.
To Mu Jin, it looked like a frozen painting.
Mu Jin took one step.
A strange footwork that ignored inertia. Pure energy transfer.
Zip—Spark!
He slipped inside Gwak Cheol’s guard.
Silver electricity grazed his shoulder as the blade cut empty air.
Mu Jin tapped the man’s solar plexus.
THOOM—!
A heavy, dull shock exploded through Gwak Cheol’s body.
Energy far beyond what human meridians could endure surged through him.
“Gurgle… cough…!”
The man folded in half.
One by one, the remaining warriors fell like dry leaves in a storm.
Within seconds, the killing intent inside the tavern vanished.
[Combat terminated.]
[Elapsed time: 4.2 seconds.]
“I held back. You’re not dead yet.”
Mu Jin calmly adjusted his sleeve.
He walked toward the twitching Gwak Cheol.
The leader stared up with pure terror in his eyes.
“Y-You… what the hell are you…?”
“I’m the one who corrects errors.”
Mu Jin tore the Azure Dragon emblem from the man’s chest.
He dropped the blue silk and crushed it beneath his heel.
“Go back and tell your masters clearly.”
“Number One is dead.”
“Mu Jin is coming.”
4. The Value of Data
Silence returned to the tavern.
Only broken wood and faint groans disturbed the air.
Mu Jin pulled a silver coin from his pouch and flicked it onto the table.
Clink.
The tavern owner trembled in the corner.
“The kitchen is still intact, I assume?”
“Y-Yes! Yes, sir!”
“Bring more dumplings. Extra meat this time.”
Mu Jin dragged out a chair and sat down calmly, as if nothing unusual had happened.
[Notification: Combat data analysis complete.]
[Minerva: 92% of Murim Qi cultivation is wasted.]
[Based on collected data, the design of the Archeon Martial Scripture will now begin.]
I’ll be looking forward to it.
Mu Jin replied curtly.
His stomach growled loudly.
The energy core was full, yet the body still demanded food.
It was the gap between mechanical efficiency and human instinct.
[Minerva: Experiencing taste appears to produce joy!]
[I wish to analyze what you are eating as well!]
Mu Jin allowed himself a small, rare smirk.
Soon a steaming plate of dumplings was placed before him.
The prelude to the storm that would overturn the Murim had begun with a quiet meal.
