The sun cannot share its warmth with everybody. Plenty of people have pondered this, especially Min-Jun. Back stained by morning dew, Min-jun gazed up at the sky. How disappointingly gloomy, he thought. The lack of light peaking through the clouds was not a captivating sight. Mundane, boring. It's reminiscent of the makeshift bed he made on the forest ground. Uncomfortable, and nothing special.

  Once he realized he was still on the floor, he gathered his energy. Dragging the pads of his fingers along the dirt, he patted around. Min Jun furrowed his brows in confusion.

  He didn’t have his sword beside him.

  Slumping his head forward in exhaustion, he leisurely sat himself up to inspect his surroundings again.

  Green, more green, lush, crowded…

  Nothing notable. That’s for certain. He’s in the middle of a forest and isn’t that close to civilization.

  Contradictory, however, he wouldn’t be displeased by the thought of it. Reaching into his robes, Min-Jun pulled out a dirty map, in hopes the sudden disappearance of his sword was because he was close to people. Trailing his finger down the path of the nearest town, he realized, he indeed was.

  So I did get robbed! Grumbling in an undecided mix of irritation and delight, Min Jun got up from the ground. Stretching his arms above his head with a yawn, he leaned onto the tree and gathered his bearings. Then, he set off.

  As he roamed, Min-Jun heard the flowing sound of a river. Being brung relief beyond belief, he haphazardly pushed through tree leaves and bushes, tripping during the process.

  Falling on his knees, he was met with an arresting, lush view of a winding river. Birds chirp, and frogs ribbing on nearby rocks. He was apprehensive about the cleanliness of the water, but still made way. Scooping up a handful, he brought it to his lips. It was cold.

  Drinking from the river for a good few moments, he then wet his face, looking back at his reflection. Exhausted by the sight, he shifted his gaze away completely, leaving the scene.

  The first thing he started to see was paved roads, a clear indication. A good one. As he traveled further down the road, he heard the grumble of his stomach. A nauseating sound, for when he dug into his sleeves to reach for his coin bag, not a single thing was in there. No credits, nothing. Even a food crumb would’ve sufficed. Embarrassed by the sight, he threw it back in and started scratching his head for ideas. That’s when he concluded that it was time to start picking up random job offers.

  When Min-Jun accepted these offers, usually they’d be miscellaneous tasks such as, ‘pick my crops’, or ‘bring me this medicine.’ Some others are weird circus gigs where he'd likely have to shoot seven arrows bullseye with his eyes closed. Small dealings, nothing major. Then other commissions would consist of having to stalk a small family head for some politics he couldn’t even bother to understand or learn. Overall, these didn’t pay much, but they helped him get by. The ones that paid the most though— were bounty-hunting.

  Bounty-hunting was the most exciting and well-paying one!

  People often regard it as labor intensive, and that it takes too much time, but the people who are truly bummed out on their luck like Min-Jun will race for an offer.

  Others thought it was dangerous. It is dangerous.

  Horribly. Except- one thing Min-Jun can handle is danger. These bounties weren’t always just loose criminals or petty thieves, few were for that. Predominantly, people avoided it because the danger consisted of spirits, ghosts, monsters, and demons. The average person wouldn’t want to go hunt down some malicious, man-eating demon because their pockets are a little empty.

  However, he needed money more than anyone and his sword.

  I mean, did they think I was dead or something? Min-Jun was confident that he didn’t appear dead, and he looked perfectly alive and healthy. Thankfully, what was important to this matter was that he was the one who thought that, considering he cared little for others' opinions. It’d also be best if it stayed that way for a bit.

  As he approached the town's gates, he took note of the amount of merchants crowding. Empty stalls, huge congregations of people, a tell-tale sign of an event happening. This didn’t seem to be a ceremony, as the gathering was simply too informal.

  “What...” He muttered mindlessly, squinting and squeezing through the thick crowd. After almost tripping, he made it to the forefront of the group, and that’s when he saw a large sign hung up. Ghost Hunting is all it said. How vague.

  Still, with his dreams high and pockets low, he turned to the nearest person to ask questions. “What’s going on?” He tilted his head. “God,” the merchant replied tiredly. “Can’t you read, son?” Min-Jun, in respect of his elders, stayed quiet and just smiled courteously while waiting for him to continue.

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  “It’s the annual Ghost Hunting competition, some big-shot sects group and set up their venues in the nearest towns while looking for others to join.” He paused, knitting his brows together in contempt. “Not like it matters, they've got those well-trained disciples against everybody else, how the hell is that fair?”

  “Uh huh.. So, ghost hunting?” Min Jun repeated.

  “Yeah, some idiots still try competing for the prize—“

  “Prize?”

  “Mhm, it’s maybe, three thousand credits?” Once Min-Jun heard that, he dropped all his inhibitions and shoved through the crowd to write his name down. “You don’t have a sword!” Min-Jun heard the man yell, and when he patted his side, he then remembered.

  How could he forget? He didn’t have a sword. Ah, but he did have hands.

  Min-Jun could feel his fingers trembling at the thought of beating a ghost to a pulp for some credits.

  Keeping his composure, he steadily walked onto the platform, glancing around. The man wasn’t lying, he could only spot distinguished swordsmen. Now and then, he’d spot average folk trying to blend in. To their dismay, they stuck out like a sore thumb to everybody. Min-Jun likely did too, so he wasn’t in any position to judge considering his circumstances and apparel.

  “Nice sword, Jun-Ho, where’d you get it from?”

  Someone called out, attracting the attention of both the supposed Jun-Ho and Min-Jun. Min-Jun narrowed his eyes, almost starting to speculate, but couldn’t without further confirmation. Just then, the participant started to walk exactly in the man’s direction. As he stood in front of him, he stopped. His hands lay behind his back as he looked down at the weapon.

  The sword held a sense of grace, opposite of its owner, sleek and polished, thin and light. If the man paid even closer attention, he would have realized that it had a name. The characters reading ‘Neulin.’ “I bought it from some old hag for crazy cheap.”

  “In this town?” The man doubtfully asked, a judging grin on his face. “Do the details matter?” Jun-Ho retorted with a roll of his eyes.

  “…”

  The two went quiet, eventually noticing Min-Jun staring at them.

  “The hell are you looking at? Half-dead beggar!” “Yea! Stop staring, it’s impolite!” Min-Jun’s brow twitched in agitation before he ashamedly took his eyes off them. Turning around completely, he walked over to where the majority of the participants were crowding, aboard. Upon reading a few lines, he realized that these were the rules. ‘Don’t harm other participants,” and things of that nature. Despite that, there did not seem to be people reading them, and discussing.

  “Some people say it’s a labyrinth, a maze of confusion!”

  “I’ve heard! My sahyung went to the woman’s place to simply aid her, and he said the wench turned into a desiccated, old hag that tried taking his life!” The man exaggerated. “A seductress turned old woman? That doesn’t sound realistic at all.”

  “Believe what you want, but after this,” he hardened his gaze, “I’m going over to avenge his dignity.” “Alone?”

  “Well, of course not! I don’t wanna die!” He exclaimed, pushing his shoulder. “I’ve got a few friends, and we’ve got a plan,” He smirked. “Two distractors, while we go and sneak her from behind.”

  “How are you so confident? That plan is shitty! You made her seem so impossible and frightening, and then here you are, saying you’re gonna avenge his dignity by attacking her like she’s some street beggar!”

  “It sounds impractical, I know—“

  Suddenly, a bell reverberated throughout the platform, gaining the attention of multiple candidates. Two women walk out, adorning matching red and white robes. One harbored a soft demeanor, features smooth and delicate with a round nose. The other came across to be stoic and rigid, having pointy features. However, she appeared less sharp at first glance in comparison to her colleague. Slowly, they regarded each other with a glance and then looked down upon the contestants. Some poor, some rich, some bored.

  Mi-Gyeong soon parted her lips with a small tug at the corner. “We are both happy to host you all for the Annual Ghost Hunting Competition!” Turning her head, she whispered, “Jeong-Hui, if you would do us the honors..” Jeong-Hui regarded her subtly, soon disappearing in a whirl of robes to fetch something. That something being a chest, full of credits and gold. “Three thousand and four hundred fifty credits for whoever hunts down the most malicious ghost,” Jeong-Hui explained thoughtfully. “This competition will be held a week from today. During this timeframe, you can gather preparations and companions.” Stretching her two fingers apart from each other, Mi-Gyeong made a line. “This competition, as usual, will take place across two weeks on the mountainous outskirts of the White Blossom Pavilion.”

  Several people groaned in disbelief, shouting. One man stood out amongst them all, barking furiously. “How the hell is that fair? That’s so far from where we are right now!?”

  “Please understand that this is necessary to prevent harm from any normal citizens, not in participation of the Annual Ghost Hunting Competition. Preventing collateral damage will always be our priority.” Jeong-Hui furrowed a brow. Though, upon hearing that, it made Min-Jun think. If there were complications or conflicts during the competition, that likely means they’d try containing it inside. The thing about this competition is that it was not about getting credits. It was about reputation and talent in the end. Still, even as that stands, Min-Jun acknowledged the fact that this wasn’t comprised of major sects like the old man had said, but rather small sects trying to build themselves up in the hierarchy level. They wouldn’t stoop down to hold small annual events like this, it’d be incredibly out of their nature to do so.

  Seeing as the man had calmed down, Jeong-Hui continued, taking Min-Jun out of his head.

  “From where we currently are, it is a three-day travel.” Mi-Gyeong took a step forward, excusing her. “Therefore, with that being said, it’s best you all do not dally too long. If you’ve not signed your name to be officially submitted into the competition.” The crowd of contenders slowly dissipated to go on and handle their complications or signs. Luckily, Min-Jun’s only concern right now was getting Neulin back. Unfortunately, when he thought about it harder, it’d be unnecessary to start conflict so early while unarmed. Not only was it not advised, but Jun-Ho appeared to be clueless that he had bought a stolen sword.

  “Hwan-Sahyung— I would have never thought you would come to a place like this!” A boyish voice exclaimed, a few meters behind Min-Jun.

  “I was in town.” Yeong-Hwan smiled, eyes closed. “If that’s so, you probably came by due to the rumors of the man-eating spirit?” The youth asked wearily, looking around conspicuously.

  “…”

  “…”

  “Sorry?”

  “The man-eating—“ “Man-eating?” Yeong-Hwan repeated. There had been a dozen man-eating ghosts and monsters, that were simply too vague.

  “I’m assuming you haven’t now.” “There’s plenty of man-eating ghosts I’m sure you all will knock out, I’m not here for that.”

  “No, this one— It creates labyrinths, almost, it puts you in some type of..trance!”

  “Oh?” Yeong-Hwan turned around, arching a brow.

  “Some people who barely made it back alive reported that she doesn’t directly attack you— it’s all psychological.”

  “All in your head.” The young boy whispered, repeating.

  Yeong-Hwan shifted his food to turn around, robes whirling behind him.

  “That’s not normal,” Yeong-Hwan’s voice grew stiff. “Tell me more.”