Revenge (1)
I sat slumped in front of the demonic human’s corpse and muttered quietly.
‘How many times does this make?’
The number of demonic human bases I had wiped out was roughly twenty. Only now was I realizing that I never needed to do any of this, and the regret was hitting me hard.
‘Why didn’t I think about controlling my strength?’
Obviously, the truly strong knew how to hold back. Shan would be able to do it too. The fact that I hadn’t considered something so obvious was exactly why I had ended up doing all this pointless work.
Thud.
“It’s all over now.”
At the sound of Shan’s voice accompanied by a light landing, I lifted my head. I stared at him with resentful eyes.
“…Are you serious?”
That was the ninth time he had said those exact words. Despite Shan initially telling me there were about twelve demonic human bases, I had already cleared more than twenty of them.
‘I’m exhausted.’
The demonic humans themselves weren’t all that strong. The few powerful ones that had appeared were instantly killed by Shan with a single finger, so they hadn’t mattered much.
“Yes. I’m serious.”
He rummaged through his pocket and pulled out a single sheet of paper. When I compared the number of coordinates written on it with the number of bases I had cleared, I could finally believe what Shan was saying.
He glanced briefly at his wristwatch.
“Ah, I have another schedule.”
“…What schedule is it this time?”
I asked with a hint of wariness. ‘He’s not going to drag me along again, is he?’ After what had already happened once before, I couldn’t help but feel anxious.
Shan let out a small chuckle.
“Don’t look so guarded. This time it’s my own schedule.”
“…Then that’s a relief.”
It really was. A huge relief.
Hummm.
Shan gently raised a faint red mana.
“My disciple, just rest today. You have an exam tomorrow, and you should rest as much as you’ve trained.”
“…”
It seemed like he had more to say, so I waited.
“Look forward to tomorrow.”
“Yes.”
Whoosh!
With those final words, Shan disappeared.
‘I should head back too.’
To my dormitory. I forced my slightly tired body up and stepped out onto the street.
‘…Where the hell am I?’
It was no secret that what should have taken ten minutes ended up taking me a full hour. And just like that, the next day arrived.
The heroes and other distinguished guests had taken their seats on the second floor of the academy’s training grounds.
“That cadet seems quite capable.”
“Should we recruit him into the knight order?”
“That child already belongs to the Magic Tower.”
High-ranking officials with authority were engaged in important conversations. Among those quietly observing from their seats were two particular individuals.
“Wow, there are a lot of people here today.”
“It is the final day of the exams, after all.”
No one dared approach the area around Shan and Vurren. That was only natural. Even though they were thoroughly concealing their presence, the overwhelming pressure they gave off was unmistakable. They were transcendent beings, heads of prestigious families, and the fact that the two of them were sitting together made it impossible for ordinary people to even consider getting close.
Yet someone still approached the pair.
“It’s been a while.”
The swordsmanship instructor, Cain, walked up to them and gave a light greeting.
“Cain? It really has been a while.”
“Cain. It’s been a while. Has it been a year already?”
“About that long, yes.”
Cain didn’t shrink before them, nor did he act overly arrogant. He behaved exactly like someone reuniting with old comrades. Which was, in fact, the truth.
“Sir Shan. There’s something I’d like to ask.”
“What is it?”
“Has Adel Ifrit become your disciple?”
The moment Cain spoke those words, the people who had been eavesdropping on their conversation began to murmur among themselves.
“Adel Ifrit…? Isn’t that the cadet ranked 500th in the academy?”
“That guy became Sir Shan’s disciple…?”
“That doesn’t make any sense. What kind of trick did he pull?”
Becoming the disciple of someone like Shan was not something that could be bought with money, no matter how much you offered. The Sword Immortal only had one disciple—Vincent. Most other transcendent beings didn’t take disciples at all. Since Adel was an academy cadet, it was only natural that the others found it unbelievable.
But even after hearing those reactions, Shan simply smiled as if none of it bothered him.
“Hmm? Who knows?”
“…”
From that response, Cain became certain that Adel had indeed become Shan’s disciple. ‘That smile.’Shan always wore a faint, subtle smile whenever something interesting was about to happen. The smile he was showing right now was exactly that kind.
‘I already had a feeling.’
The reason Cain had asked was because he had witnessed Shan and Adel together multiple times. Once could be a coincidence, but twice or three times could not.
“So it’s not true after all?”
“Of course not. There’s no way he’s his disciple.”
“Sir Cain must have just been joking.”
Those who only knew Shan on the surface seemed slightly relieved that Adel wasn’t his disciple. It was the petty mindset that if they couldn’t have it, no one else should either.
“Well, if he really is his disciple, wouldn’t something be different about him today?”
A comment that Cain could look forward to finally slipped from Shan’s lips.
“Different, you say?”
“Yes. A change. Adel will have changed in some way.”
Having noticed that Cain had already figured it out, Shan spoke in a way only the two of them would understand.
“You can look forward to it.”
“I think so too.”
Vurren, who had watched Adel for the past two days, nodded in agreement. Their reactions made Cain genuinely excited.
“By the way, when does the exam start?”
At Shan’s question, Cain looked down below. A man was walking out onto the platform on the first floor. He was one of the academy’s instructors.
“It’s starting now.”
The third day of the first-year exams consisted of fighting demons within an illusion. Since the interior of the illusion floated in the air like a hologram, the distinguished guests were able to watch.
The exam proceeded with ten cadets entering the illusion at a time according to their rankings, which meant exciting battles could be seen right from the start.
“Wow, the children of the Arad family have grown up properly.”
“It was all thanks to their mother.”
When Shan spoke with a hint of admiration after watching Christina and Siris fight, Vurren shot back. Both of them were true friends who refused to acknowledge Arad.
“Is that green-haired girl Vanya Crescent?”
“It must be. I heard a rumor that one elf from the Elf Kingdom had enrolled, but I almost didn’t recognize her because of the earrings.”
Shan seemed slightly surprised. ‘To think Vanya has grown this much.’ It felt like everything—from her abilities to her personality—had completely changed.
“Daren isn’t bad either.”
Recalling Daren’s fight, Vurren gave a small nod and muttered. If Daren knew that his father had acknowledged him, he might have fainted from shock.
“Is it the next group already?”
Time passed as they continued watching and chatting.
“…How many more are left?”
“The next turn is Adel’s.”
“Really?”
Upon hearing Vurren’s words, Shan stretched his arms. ‘Sigh… Why did he have to be ranked 500th.’ From what he had heard, it wasn’t intentional. It was purely due to his ability at that particular moment.
Whoosh.
The illusion disappeared. It meant the next group was up.
‘Finally.’
It was Adel’s turn now. Shan spoke to him in his mind.
‘Show them everything.’
That you are my disciple, your true skill, and the martial arts you created. Just thinking about that scene naturally brought a smile to his face. Shan waited in anticipation for the fight that was about to begin.
‘Is it finally my turn?’
I was more nervous than I had expected. When I placed my hand over my heart, I could feel it pounding violently.
“Next group.”
The instructor guiding us didn’t announce our ranks. If you didn’t know your own rank and failed to enter, you would automatically receive zero points. I stood up from my seat and entered the room I was assigned to.
Clank.
Inside, a circle resembling a gate shimmered in the air. It was Elena’s illusion. I thought for a moment.
‘What kind of demon will I encounter?’
Once inside, you would face anywhere from one to hundreds, even thousands of demons. I vaguely remembered that the cadet’s own mind influenced what appeared, but I couldn’t make any solid guesses.
—You may enter now.
A voice echoed from the air along with a vibration. I nodded and stepped forward.
‘No matter what appears, this is a place for me to check the results of my training.’
Tap.
I stepped into the illusion. After confirming that my vision was being dyed in twilight, I closed my eyes for a moment.
“…”
When I opened them again, I was standing in a space where a blizzard was raging. It felt strangely familiar.
‘The Demon’s Boundary?’
It was the place I had stayed for a week before. The place where Allen and Vincent’s small wooden cabin had been. When I looked around, I saw a massive forest.
‘Let’s move for now.’
The other cadets hadn’t started fighting demons immediately either. They had first tried to understand the situation.
Thump!
After walking a little, I found I couldn’t go any further, as if there was an invisible wall in the air. I could move in other directions, but they all led toward the massive forest.
‘No choice, I guess.’
That place was the Labyrinth Forest. I really hadn’t wanted to go there, but now I had no other option.
Sssssss.
The moment I entered, an eerie sound reached my ears. I tried to shake off the anxiety and searched for the demons. The place I eventually arrived at was the clearing I had visited before. Snow covered the ground, and trees blocked every direction.
That was when it happened.
Gooooooo!
“…!”
An enormous pressure surged from directly ahead. At the same time, demonic energy began to creep upward.
‘No way…’
I swallowed dryly as I waited for the being to appear.
Rustle.
The man who emerged from the bushes was pitch black. He had eyes so dark that nothing could be felt from them.
“…”
Whoosh.
I raised my flames. Interest flickered in the man’s eyes.
“I see. So that’s how it is. You are the one who carries the Ifrit surname.”
The name of this demon was Hal. It was my second encounter with him.