The Wizard Who Endured the World of Murim - Chapter 73

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Surviving in the Martial Realm as a Mage: Episode 73
After Man Chong guided me through the Blacksmith Shop, I smiled faintly.
The blacksmith’s skill with the blade was better than I’d expected.
“Does it suit your taste?”
“Yes.”
A sword forged from jet-black iron and crimson stone—a material found only in the Upper Realm.
I lifted it, testing the weight distribution and sharpness of the blade, and nodded in approval.
“A top-tier second-rank magical artifact.”
A magical artifact.
In other words, a dharma instrument.
It would have been better if he’d crafted it purely as a sword.
Apparently, in the Upper Realm, pure weapons without magical properties are quite rare.
‘A pity, really.’
If he’d used only black iron, the result would have been superior.
Still, for a trinket to carry around, this was acceptable enough.
“One hundred twenty low-grade spirit stones.”
“What? That’s too expensive!”
“You brat! Just because you’re my junior, I’m only charging cost. Go anywhere else and they’d demand over two hundred for something like this!”
I paid without haggling, accepting the price without complaint.
Man Chong watched a considerable sum drain from my purse—a substantial amount for someone freshly ascended from the Lower Realm—and his expression grew wistful, though he turned away without pressing further.
“Kid, may you grow wealthy.”
“I’m already wealthy.”
Man Chong bickered briefly with his blacksmith friend before drifting over to where I was examining other wares, then spoke casually.
“Let’s go now. The price was steep, but you got a genuine bargain.”
I had no complaints about the cost whatsoever.
I merely found it regrettable that such a skilled craftsman was wasting his talents forging magical artifacts.
The two of us set off immediately toward our next destination.
Ban Eun-pae, the Beast Trainer known as the Crimson Whip.
A Celestial Watcher of the Decisive Moment.
He currently dwelled in the southeastern reaches of Hyeontcheon Holy City.
In the outermost district.
Unfortunately, it was in the opposite direction from where I currently stood.
The problem was that Hyeontcheon Holy City was so vast that we had to walk a considerable distance.
It took nearly half a day.
We forgone a carriage deliberately, strolling leisurely to admire the wares of the Beast Market along the way.
By evening, we finally arrived at the residence of Beast Trainer Ban Eun-pae.
The building was a three-story mansion of considerable size.
As we approached, a faint bestial stench wafted through the air.
Thud. Thud—!
“Hey! I’m here! Open the door!”
Man Chong knocked on the door with the confidence of someone entering his own home.
Soon, a man with disheveled features and unusually small eyes opened it.
“What? Why are you here again? Didn’t you get scolded by the sect elders last time for gallivanting around too much?”
“Hey! Shh! I brought my junior with me!”
“Ah….”
Ban Eun-pae looked at the young boy standing behind Man Chong and nodded with a sly grin.
“So you came as a chaperone? I’ve never seen such a capable kid.”
“Hmm, you can ignore this guy. Let’s head inside, Junior.”
Man Chong led Ilhyang inside with an awkward smile, and Ban Eun-pae made no move to stop him.
The moment we stepped into the house.
I found my lips forming a perfect circle without thinking.
“Oh…?”
“Haha, what do you think? Pretty impressive, right? These are all beasts he personally manages. Expensive ones too.”
Man Chong, as if they were his own, proudly displayed the iron-barred cages constructed along three sides of the dormitory’s first floor and the beasts contained within them.
Ban Eun-pae stood beside Man Chong with his arms crossed, regarding me with an expression of utmost pride.
“The numbers are quite substantial.”
“Yeah, that’s right. Most of them are pre-ordered, so we’re giving them special care.”
Again, Ban Eun-pae said nothing, and Man Chong explained instead.
I examined the beasts carefully without asking further questions.
I wasn’t entirely sure what Man Chong meant by “special care,” but the beasts appeared to be in decent condition.
At least on the surface.
‘Their eyes are completely dead.’
Now I finally understood what Ban Eun-pae’s profession as a Beast Trainer meant.
Beasts generally weren’t known for having calm or rational temperaments.
They must have been broken in through considerable violence and starvation.
‘This brings back old memories.’
In the early days of the Seven Continents, when the Demon King first appeared.
The Demon Clan, empowered merely by the Demon King’s emergence, had captured humans and treated them like slaves or livestock.
The humans who had been held captive by the Demon Clan for years back then.
Their eyes bore a striking resemblance to the eyes of these beasts now.
‘Eyes filled with despair and resignation.’
Seeing the eyes of creatures living a hopeless present, my mood darkened.
But I wasn’t foolish enough to let it show on my face.
“Impressive indeed. They all look quite valuable. With such lustrous fur, these are clearly well-maintained creatures.”
“Hmm, you’ve got a discerning eye for a junior. Where did such an excellent one come from, entering under this fool of a junior….”
“I can hear you.”
“Heh, I meant for you to hear it.”
Ban Eun-pae fingered the red whip at his waist with a satisfied expression.
Then he suddenly thrust his bare hand through the iron bars nearest to him, stroking the head of a yellow-furred leopard beast as he spoke.
“Simply capturing a beast doesn’t mean you can command it. First, you have to entrust it to a specialist like me to break it in. These days, the Celestial Watchers think that once they learn beast control techniques, they can easily command beasts—that’s a massive delusion. If you don’t conduct sufficient mental conditioning beforehand, beasts won’t submit. In extreme cases, they’ll eat you instead.”
“May I touch your friend as well?”
“Ha ha! Of course. This one’s been trained well enough that it would never harm a person.”
“Then I’m grateful….”
Ilhyang reached his hand into the cage and stroked the Leopard Beast’s head.
The Leopard Beast made no gesture of resistance.
It simply held its breath, perfectly still.
Its eyes—unfocused and hollow—merely stared at Ilhyang beyond the iron bars.
“The creature seems quite docile.”
“Heh, it became docile. At first, though—whew. Among all the beasts I’ve trained so far, this one ranked in the top five for being absolutely insufferable.”
“Hmm, so even a beast with such a terrible temperament can be trained so excellently?”
Man Chong, who had been watching from the side with a grin at Ilhyang’s eager questions, interjected once more.
“Well, our junior here wouldn’t know, but this friend here—despite appearances—ranks among the top three in skill in this field.”
“What? How many times do I have to tell you I’m the best in this field?”
“Ah, fine! I’ll say it—you’re number one!”
“That’s the truth, I’m telling you!”
As the two bickered back and forth.
Ilhyang, from the very beginning, had been focused solely.
On the Leopard Beast, and now he spoke.
“Does this creature have a name?”
“A name? Why would you give a name to a beast?”
“Wouldn’t it be more convenient to call it by something while you’re keeping it?”
“Ha! Whoever buys this one will name it themselves anyway. I just need to do the training.”
“I see.”
The Leopard Beast was now gazing at Ilhyang with eyes that had regained some focus.
Observing that gaze, Ilhyang spoke softly.
“Personally, I find it somewhat regrettable that its wildness has been so thoroughly extinguished.”
At Ilhyang’s words, Ban Eun-pae stroked his chin and replied.
“I occasionally get customers who share your opinion. But with this particular one, there’s no choice but to completely remove its wildness. You see, it’s a Golden Leopard—a beast infamous for being cunning and hostile toward humans. Moreover, it’s a second-tier beast, so it’s quite intelligent as well.”
“So there was such a reason.”
“Truth be told, I’d prefer not to tamper with wildness whenever possible, just as you say. But if problems arise with the customers who purchase them, it would be disastrous, so I train them as safely as possible.”
The essence was that eliminating danger beforehand was unavoidable.
I understood.
This was the typical perspective between Immortals and beasts.
The reason my heart felt troubled was simply that I viewed these creatures not as beasts, but as spirits.
“This is confidential, but apparently the person taking this one is the grandson of the Hyuncheon Castle Lord himself. The Lord ordered it specially as a birthday gift.”
“I see.”
Ilhyang asked no further questions and withdrew his hand from the iron bars.
The Leopard Beast’s eyes grew unfocused once more, and it quietly curled its massive body like an ox.
“By the way, would it be possible to feed it as well?”
“Since you’re our junior, I can allow that much.”
“Thank you.”
“Let me see where that special treat is~”
“I’d like to try that too. Is it possible?”
“Shut up, you bastard. You’ve done it plenty of times already.”
While Ban Eun-pae and Man Chong were momentarily distracted.
Ilhyang flicked his fingertip, depositing a drop of blood between the Leopard Beast’s brows.
Flinch—
The Leopard Beast’s body trembled instantly, and it lifted its head to gaze at Ilhyang once more.
Ilhyang regarded the Leopard Beast and smiled faintly.
In that moment.
[Let’s meet quietly at dawn later, friend.]
“…!”
[I’ll come to rescue you, so wait obediently.]
In an instant, the Leopard Beast’s clouded eyes cleared.
Just then, Ban Eun-pae approached with a pouch of treats.
The Leopard Beast lowered its gaze to the ground once more.
“This is a treat I only give on truly special occasions. Try giving it to him. He’ll quite enjoy it.”
“Thank you.”
Ilhyang produced something resembling a piece of jerky and held it forward.
The Leopard Beast wagged its tail, approached, and accepted it obediently.
“Hehe, look at that. Absolutely mad for it, isn’t he? Originally a real brute, but I’ve trained him to this point.”
“Indeed, that’s quite impressive.”
Ilhyang offered a perfunctory response while surveying the other beasts around him.
And.
‘Yes, it has to be this one.’
Among the beasts whose eyes had lost all vitality like corpses.
This one alone had never surrendered, holding its breath and watching for an opportunity.
So though Ilhyang had spotted quite a few other beasts with far purer bloodlines, he had made his decision on this one.
Ilhyang touched his soft chin and grinned wickedly.
‘Those others don’t qualify.’
Originally, he had intended to choose based on bloodline alone.
But coming here had changed his thinking.
This Leopard Beast.
This creature possessed intelligence and remarkable patience.
It had more than enough merit to survive in Hell.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————