6.
He was never meant for the orthodox faction from the beginning.
-Why do you bend the iron there? No, no, don't use your aura to revert it. See this gentleman here?
Venomous Snake swung his hammer.
-If you work using your aura now, that's a hobby, not work. It's just playing around. Are you here to play?
Clang!
Venomous Snake took a deep breath. The flames from the forge brightly lit his face. Droplets of sweat fell and sizzled on the hot iron.
-Did you come here to play?
Clang!
He was never cut out to be a blacksmith either.
When striking iron, there was no sudden rhythm in his forearms, no dance in the swing of his hammer, no trembling through his body releasing pent-up frustration—none of that passion existed.
-Wow, damn it,
Clang!
-This is tough! Really tough!
What joy is there in work?
-I'm dying! Damn, why is it so hard!
-You think you're dying? Don't worry. To me, you're far from death. When you're really close to dying, your eyes start to droop and such. You, sir… I mean, can I just call you 'mister'? Is that okay? You still look lively.
-It's tough!
-Work is always tough.
Clang!
-Just humble yourself. Ah, so damn hard. But it's not the hardest job in the world.
-That's not comforting at all.
-What kind of comfort do you want then? Do you expect some magical spell that, upon hearing a few words, suddenly makes you feel comforted, makes hammering bearable, and turns your day refreshing and joyful? Comfort isn't really that comforting. It's given because it's even harder without it.
-It's, it's tough…
Clang!
-Aah…
Clang!
The sound of the hammering gradually turned the area red. The bright blue sky of the afternoon turned into a bloody evening sunset. Merchants unpacked their goods for the evening market, and now the street was filled not only with the sound of the hammer but also various noises.
-That's enough for today.
-Huff, pheewww! Haaaah… phew, haah…
-Let's go eat.
The fairy race, impeccably dressed in a suit as if they had just bathed, was ready to stroll out. Despite being able to dress casually, the blood of the fairy race couldn't lie – they always planned to stride out in style. Venomous Snake, after wiping off some sweat, followed the fairy race.
-Wow! Mister! Look over there!
In a corner of the old street, several dancers were performing. Although there weren't many spectators, everyone watched their dance moves with interest, finding it entertaining.
-They must have hired a Fire Painting Play troupe for promotion at that store! That must cost a pretty penny. They're really going all out to attract customers over there.
-Aah… Is it something like hiring a singer to perform songs…?
-Let's go and listen too! It's free!
Loving free stuff was something both the Count and the fairy race had in common.
With a faint smile, Venomous Snake, weary from the day's labor, walked towards the dance.
-Woo! Ah, woo! Ah.
-Grrr, growl.
The actors on the makeshift stage in front of the store seemed to belong to a modest Fire Painting Play troupe. There were only very young or very old actors.
Instead of powerful dances, they performed simple ones in rhythm, and instead of singing about the harshness of war, they sang small songs of love. The somewhat slow music flowed with the aura of the actors into the sunset.
-....
Venomous Snake took a seat in the front row, crossing his arms.
The sunset, as if it had drunk the blood of people who worked all day, was unusually red. The roofs, pillars, dirt roads, and cracks in the stone pavements of the street were all bathed in red.
-Woo, woo, woo, grrr.
-Toot, toot, brrrrr, toot, toot.
This too.
This too was quite nice.
-....
It was a strange day.
Venomous Snake watched several splendid Fire Painting Plays. He had seen many military dances performed by warriors belonging to the Fire River Council in his time. They were all intense yet magnificent, sorrowful yet beautiful. He had shed tears while watching them. But why?
From his heart, [his self] hissed and flickered its tongue.
The snake in his heart that remained silent in front of those glamorous Fire Painting Plays.
-Ah, they're dancing.
Venomous Snake suddenly looked around. It was true. Other audience members, other guests who were watching the Fire Painting Play, were rhythmically moving their shoulders, joyously dancing, or inviting their partners to dance.
-Red wine! Cheap!
A fairy race shopkeeper came out of the store, selling red wine. The red wine was a traditional liquor from Guru, similar to beer.
-We have red wine cooled in the waterway! Ah, thank you! Thank you!
The shopkeepers swam through the crowd like eels in a stream. On closer inspection, this store mainly sold simple food and red wine. The sounds of selling and buying red wine mixed with the actors' music, creating a lively atmosphere.
-I'll have two glasses too! Here! Two glasses of red wine!
The blacksmith jumped on the spot, reaching out his hand.
-Yes! Two glasses of red wine coming up! Thank you!
-Hehe.
The blacksmith handed a glass of red wine to Venomous Snake with a laugh.
-This is the taste after hard work. You're lucky, mister. Enjoying a free Fire Painting Play and all.
-....
-Drink up. Go on. Your work today wasn't great, but I'm investing in your future. Nobody starts out being good at something, right?
-....
Venomous Snake, feeling oddly bewildered, drank the red wine.
The red wine that gushed down his throat… was refreshing.
With a single gulp, a fresh wheat aroma burst forth from his throat. The cool, spicy scent of wheat in his mouth instantly shot to his head, making his nose twitch.
-Krh! Ugh!
-How is it? Killer, right? I come to this tavern often. The red wine here is just amazing. There are plenty of places in Guru brewing good red wine, but in terms of value for money, this place is the best. Wow, mister! You know how to enjoy your drink!
-Here, uh, another beer!
-Beer? What's this talk about beer? If you want beer, you have to go somewhere else. Anyway, shopkeeper! Another glass of red wine here!
The world turned colorful.
The sunset sky was like a painted palette, red as can be, and the chattering, drinking, and dancing guests below all seemed like angels. The sounds of music and dancing nearby seemed to flow directly from [himself].
-What's this?
His body felt itchy.
-I usually enjoy drinking, but, huh. This is unusual… What's really going on?
-What's up?
-I don't know.
-Oh. This mister is drunk. I thought he could handle his liquor seeing how he ordered so confidently. Oh dear. Knocked out by just two glasses of red wine? Come on, mister. Wake up. You must be tired from working. If the work was tough, the alcohol hits you harder.
-I'm not knocked out… just, just really happy….
Dong, dong, the music changed.
His heart fluttered.
-Hmm.
Venomous Snake stood up. Or perhaps that was the wrong expression. His [heart] stood up first. His body and limbs moved only to support his heart, which couldn't stand up on its own. The name Venomous Snake, his head, his mind, were the last to get up.
-Uhaha.
-Wow! Mister, what… Ah. Shall we dance?
-Yes!
Venomous Snake smiled brightly.
Had he ever laughed so freely since he started his training?
The fairy race blacksmith chuckled and then, as if used to it, took Venomous Snake's offered hand. The height difference between the noble race and the fairy race was quite significant, so Venomous Snake had to bend at the waist. But the smile on his face, bent over, was joyous.
-Dancing with someone from the noble race is a first for me.
-The song's great! Woo-hoo!
-….Well, I guess that's enough.
Venomous Snake led his partner in a humming dance, occasionally lifting spirits and warmly praising the Fire Painting Play troupe. Energized by his praise, the troupe danced more vigorously. With each step, their aura kept rhythm, the beat erupted, and the music played along the threads of dispersed aura energy.
-Whew!
-Dance well! Great song!
Other guests joined in with encouragement. Regardless of whether they knew how to use aura or not, guests swayed and rolled their feet, clinking their glasses. Even a child clapped along. Boom! Clap! The rhythm of the Fire Painting Play resonated from the shopfront to the streets, spreading to the crossroads.
-Red wine for sale! Refreshing!
-Whooosh!
-The actors' footwork is great! The handiwork too!
Smoke rose from chimneys all over the town. It was a signal to bring families home from the battlefield known as the workplace. Workers, seeing the smoke, left their jobs.
In single file, in pairs, in groups. The streets were crowded with people returning home. On the edges of these paths, in dimly lit taverns, worn-out Fire Painting Play troupes sold liquor and sang songs to less-than-fashionably-dressed customers.
They danced.
-Whooosh!
Perhaps this place was a kind of outdoor club.
No expensive tickets needed. Just a glass of confidently sold red wine from the shop. That's all it took to enjoy the performance of this old Fire Painting Play troupe. No dress code required. Guests came in their workshop attire, some just adding a coat to look somewhat stylish, others arriving shirtless just as they were from work. All kinds of people gathered, humming with a glass in hand.
They danced.
-Ah…
Venomous Snake firmly held the fairy blacksmith's hand, as big as a rabbit's front paw, moving his face around, taking in the scenery from all sides.
-It's beautiful.
-What is? The song?
-The song? No, not the song…. Just… people drinking, laughing, singing along, everyone having fun and enjoying themselves….
-Wow… You're really drunk, mister. Now your words are becoming incomprehensible.
-It's beautiful.
-....
-How can it be so beautiful? The world.
Venomous Snake was crying.
Not tears from his eyes, but tears shed by [his self] the snake. It was blood. Tears from the heart flowed through the blood vessels, down to the tired calves from a day's work, to the knee joints, the back, the shoulder blades, the forearms, the palms, under the eyes, all over the body.
-It's tough because of work.
-It feels like dying, wanting to die. Everyone.
While shedding tears in his heart and smiling broadly, Venomous Snake led his partner's hand here and there. The front of the shop had already become a small plaza. Drunk dancers surrounded the Fire Painting Play troupe. The sounds of Here, red wine! One more glass! and Yes! Coming right up! were not noise but seemed like a joyful part of the music.
-So, drink to live. To have fun.
-Drinking, dancing, getting excited, music playing. Then dancing again.
Venomous Snake lifted the small-statured fairy race member. He held them in his arms and spun around. There were exclamations of Wow! from around, but neither Venomous Snake nor the fairy in his arms heard them.
-Dance again. Work. Feel like dying. Then dance again. Have fun. Beautiful. Work. Feel like dying, then dance again, have fun, beautiful… Work. And work again. Want to die, but then have fun again.
Clang!
-Ah. I think I'm starting to understand.
Venomous Snake hummed happily.
-Humans desperately work. Desperate work makes you want to die. So, to not die, you find fun. You have to. Yes, you have to dance.
Clang!.
-Tired from work, we sing. Tired from work, we drink. Tired from work, we come out to eat together, and dance because it feels like we might die. Ah, yes. There's no such thing as music for music's sake. Naturally. Only for those who have worked so hard they want to forget the day, for them, music is music. For those who have no such day to forget, it means nothing.
-What are you mumbling about… Mister. Does your personality change when you're drunk?
-Ah.
Clang!
-I'm happy.
-....
-Hammering was damn hard, but yeah. Tomorrow will be tough again. But right now, aren't you happy?
-....
-Isn't life a bit fun right now?
He was never meant for the orthodox faction from the beginning.
-Yes.
He was never meant to be a blacksmith of the fairy race from the beginning.
-Of course, it's fun. That's why I love the time when I'm not working the most.
There were always many who didn't quite fit into something. In every town, in every city, tired workers returning home filled the streets of Guru. The dimly lit shops and cool red wine, the shopkeepers bustling about, those whose day's fatigue was soaked into their collars, at the corners of streets and crossroads.
Their momentary luxury.
A glass of liquor. Delicious snacks. Nonsense talks with friends. To somehow scrape away and lighten today's deathly fatigue, this damp, unshakeable feeling, all to be ready to work again tomorrow.
They danced.
-...Everyone's alive.
-....
-Life is tough to death, but when you get past that moment, you can breathe for a while.
Venomous Snake wanted to protect that breath.
Righteousness is calling the happiness of ordinary people beautiful.
Righteousness is telling those who have somehow finished a day's hard work to rest now.
Righteousness is loving liquor, dance, and song, but only the liquor, dance, and song of those who have worked and finished their day.
-Foreman.
-...Yes?
-Live long. Be careful of accidents….
Venomous Snake patted the blacksmith's shoulder.
He staggered away from the square where music and dance flowed.
-Survive till the end. You too. Me too….
-...
-All of us.
Once he left the square, the shadow of the noble race disappeared among the crowd.
Slowly.
It became invisible.
The fairy race blacksmith stood alone, watching the back of someone disappearing into the sunset.
-Right.
Run.
Venomous Snake was running.
-Maybe because I went to the Fire Painting Play with the mindset of dressing up and listening to music politely, I never felt moved by any performance. Ah. It makes sense.
He ran.
Releasing the aura sealed all day, his body surged with blood.
His vision brightened.
Suddenly, with a leap, Venomous Snake was already stepping on the rooftops of the village. People in the streets pointed at him, shouting, but he moved too fast for their fingers to follow, disappearing quickly over the rooftops.
Venomous Snake gasped for breath.
-Originally, it's tough, working like you're about to die. Only when it feels like dying, can you finally hear the music and dance. To forget. To endure. Not because we're happy to live, but to become happy in order to survive. To survive….
Clang!
-To survive.
From a certain moment.
Every step Venomous Snake took resonated with aura, every swing in the air exploded with aura, and the sound of metal clanged.
Clang!
Day 410.
Venomous Snake became a lodger at a Snail Race farm, living and working with the farmer's family for two years, tilling the land. The plow dug into the hard ground.
Clang!
Day 1503.
Venomous Snake joined a fairy race bank, working in finance. Always hiding his origins, his supervisor, unaware that he was a noble race deity, often scolded him from behind.
Clang!
Day 2874.
Venomous Snake entered a noble race's mine and swung his pickaxe. The conditions in the mining industry had improved considerably compared to when the Snail Race used slaves. However, despite the improvements, the work at the mine face was undeniably tough. Venomous Snake, gasping for air, soaked in sweat, swung his pickaxe with difficulty.
Clang!
Day 7021.
Clang!
Day 14059.
Clang!
Day 19856.
Clang!
Day 22400.
-....
He was never meant for the orthodox faction from the beginning.
-Hmm.
He was never meant to be the solitary but skilled swordsman type.
-Is this enough?
He was never meant to be a protagonist.
-Huff.
Standing atop a mountain, Venomous Snake took a deep breath. The world he inhaled became blood and circulated through his muscles, shoulders, back, waist, thighs, calves, and the soles of his feet. Then, he slowly exhaled.
-Hooooo….
In the distance, atop the mountain.
A giant turtle monster, rising from the deep sea and heading this way, appeared. It seemed formidable enough to destroy the world, but Venomous Snake paid it no mind, not even sparing it a glance.
Because his focus was on humanity.
-Come on, Kim Gong-ja.
He.
After a long time, shedding the guise of the noble race and inhabiting his own body, spoke with his own voice, more than anything, from the heart of [his self], and thrust a righteous fist into the void.
-Here lies the orthodox faction.
Clang!
A hissing sound echoed.
-Fighting is work.
Clang!
-And work is naturally tough and arduous.
Clang!
-Fighting you, in particular, is going to be so hard it feels like death, even among tough jobs.
Clang!
-After this job is over.
Clang!
-Let's go somewhere with good music, and just damn drink our hearts out!
Venomous Snake laughed.
In a world where the Five Great Families were buried in snow, the Nine Martial Arts Sects vanished in snowstorms, and even the Martial Alliance Leader's sword was broken, now the Infernal Heavens thrived beyond the boundaries of the world, and Baraya sang in this place. Here, the last of the White Path's righteous warriors, left by the world of snow, stood.
The Master of the Chun Mu-mun Master was laughing.