Chapter 166

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 166

Chapter Title: Official Entry into the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult

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From the end of the dank, dark stone cave, I slowly walked toward the spot where pure white sunlight streamed in, and the bright morning rays dazzled my eyes.

- Chirp chirp, chirp chirp. -

As I stepped out of the cave and listened to the mountain birds' cries, the training instructor—who had been waiting at the cave's exit for survivors joining the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult—approached me.

"Good work. You've passed all the trials, so you now qualify to officially join the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult. Follow that path straight down to the training grounds and assemble. Hurry up. You look like you're the last one, so all the other survivors are waiting for you."

"Yes, milord."

I verbally acknowledged him with "milord," but instead of heading straight down the path, I walked over to the lakeside nearby.

Near the lakeside by the cave on the mountainside, there were three—no, four items I needed to pick up...

"What are you doing?! I told you to go down quickly!"

"I'm thirsty. Let me drink some lake water first."

"Ugh... tsk tsk. No grit at all. I'll remember you specially. The other cultists are waiting, and you're off drinking water because you're thirsty?"

'Yeah, whatever~'

Under the southern rock at the lakeside: Lake Bear Shell, a standard shoulder guard. Between the northern trees' hollow: a Moon Ice Bird egg. At the deepest bottom of the lake: an empty box labeled "Treasure of the Water Dragon."

And, useless in the game but a bit of an Easter egg, on the rock southeast below the lakeside: the item "Fairy's Underwear," discarded there.

Labeled as underwear, but with a hole in the center—it's a lewd set of bra, panties, and pantyhose.

The fairy must have known her stuff. Panties with a naughty hole right in the middle. The bra's designed with a hole exposing the nipples.

Putting something like this in an all-ages game is hilarious... They must have thought an Easter egg wouldn't get flagged.

And it didn't get flagged. (Instead, the game flopped.)

The item description's pretty funny too.

After grabbing everything I could, I opened my Subspace Storage, stashed them away, casually pulled out a bag of potato chips, munched on one, and trudged down the path.

As I walked down the mountainside, suddenly a latecomer appeared behind me.

'...Wait, thinking about it, that jerk from earlier was kinda pissing me off? Yeah? Now I'm mad?'

I spun around, pulling an M24 sniper rifle from my Subspace Storage—complete with silencer and full attachments.

Distance to target: about 500 meters. No wind.

'Good, no wind.'

I aimed at the head of the guy who'd yelled at me to hurry, called me spineless, and said he'd remember me.

"Heavenly Demon Gun Technique. First Form. M24 Headshot."

- Thwang! Clack. -

I saw the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult training instructor drop ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠dead, a 7.62mm round perfectly embedded in his skull.

"He flinched when he saw the bullet before dying... Tried to dodge a bit. Couldn't quite make it and died anyway... Hmm, at Peak Realm, compared to Tower trial survivor levels, that's about level 20 maybe...?"

If Peak was level 20, then Transcendent Peak or Flower Realm would be higher...

Transcendent Peak around 25? Flower Realm 30?

No way to know for sure; I'd have to test it later.

I memorized that Peak was level 20 equivalent, and noted that anyone Peak or above could dodge bullets if they saw the muzzle flash, so I had to be careful.

Like now, with long-range sniping where they couldn't spot me, I could still take a Peak martial artist's head.

I jotted in my mental notes that Transcendent Peak or Flower Realm might dodge or block bullets.

'World with stuff like Protective Aura or Adamant Body. Yeah, Flower Realm probably shrugs off regular bullets.'

Instinctively, I felt Transcendent Peak might ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠barely survive a rifle round.

I roughly organized that in my head and used the "Honorary Reward Choice (Lv.1)."

'Hah, killing a cultist ups my Conscience value. What a steal. Good thing I killed him. Heh heh.'

Using the Honorary Reward Choice (Lv.1) brought up a translucent system window before my eyes.

'Hints are trash. I already know this game inside out. Naver wiki, guides, the story collection the writer dumped on their blog after the company tanked—got it all.'

Hints were riddles pointing to hidden treasures, fortuitous encounters, spiritual medicines, or locations.

Sometimes how to get hidden waifus. But I already knew everything, so worthless.

I instinctively leaned toward Spiritual Medicine but picked Martial Art instead.

Felt like it'd auto-grant a skill.

"Fuck my life. This is the absolute worst martial art."

I acquired Three Talents Swordsmanship.

Three simple moves injected into my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mind: horizontal slash, vertical slash, thrust.

No way—is it called "Three" Talents because it's just three moves? Literal number three? Shit?

Even I, no martial arts expert, knew Three Something-or-Other was basic bitch swordplay anyone and their dog could learn.

In wuxia worlds, it's the third-rate manual sold at street markets or rural bookstores.

Should've gone with my gut and picked Spiritual Medicine.

Would've at least gotten a year-old ginseng or something...

I vowed to follow my instincts and pick Spiritual Medicine next time.

I descended the mountain all the way down.

Sure enough, as the instructor had said, there was a vast training ground with tons of people waiting for me.

"Hurry up and assemble. You're the last one."

"Yep."

Here too, someone who looked like a training instructor nagged me to assemble quickly.

I obediently joined the end of the neatly aligned rows of people standing in formation.

As I fell into line, the training instructor on the platform at one end of the vast training ground—watching the assembled rows—opened his mouth.

"Everyone, good work. Up until now, you've overcome countless trials and hardships to reach adulthood. Be proud."

Roughly speaking, all these kids in the wide training ground had been kidnapped by Heavenly Demon Divine Cult martial artists at very young ages—around 4 to 7—and raised as killing machines until now.

Like cultivating solitude in a jar, most kids died out in endurance training, but survivors underwent brutal survival drills in massive caverns, forging them into the cult's reserve warriors.

Called only by numbers for over a decade, living solely to eat, sleep, and train until adulthood.

Thus were born the countless warriors, assassins, and spies upholding the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.

'And for some reason, the protagonist retains old memories and childhood recollections despite the brainwashing and indoctrination meant to erase them.'

Setting's that the player character was separated from parents and kidnapped into the cult, inwardly sharpening his blade for revenge... Well, now that I'm the protagonist, it's irrelevant backstory.

No need for the melodrama of searching for obviously dead parents.

'...Man, the protagonist's mom illust was hot as hell. Would've banged her if she lived... Shame.'

Once you're an official Heavenly Demon Divine Cult warrior, you sneak off during a mission to find your separated parents... only to learn they were long killed by the Heavenly Demon, sparking revenge.

Classic revenge cliché against the Heavenly Demon.

"You are now true members of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult. From today, drink and revel as you please. The abstinence order is lifted as of now. Tomorrow, you'll receive new names as cult members—not numbers—and begin active duty as official warriors. Enjoy today to the fullest. And starting tomorrow, those who wish may take the 'Trial of the Demon King.'"