The Vampire Incident (1)

"No thanks."

Moyong Seong kept his fingers interlaced as he spoke. Beatrice shook her head with a sigh.

"I wasn't expecting much anyway."

"Enough with the pointless chatter. Have you seen this?" He slid a tablet across the desk.

"You really didn't need to show me. I take it Kim Yong's defeat caused quite the stir even within the Outer Heavens?"

Beatrice's expression stiffened instantly. Practical training sessions were normally recorded. It was the only way to accurately assess what happened if an incident occurred. The footage was supposed to be confidential, but the student council had access to every single recording as part of their authority.

The tablet Moyong Seong handed over contained the exact moment Kim Yong lost to Kim Mugong.

The Guseong Group formed one of the central pillars of the Outer Heavens. As someone tied to that faction, Beatrice naturally found Kim Yong's defeat unpleasant to watch.

"I wasn't trying to mock you. Do I seem like that kind of person? This cadet, Kim Mugong—he doesn't belong to any sect."

"Our president is so lofty it causes problems. But I thought he was one of yours?"

"He's not. I assumed he might be a promising rookie from the Outer Heavens, but that doesn't seem to be the case."

Beatrice leaned against the student council president's desk, her face clouding with confusion.

"That can't be right. Where on earth did he come from? Even we couldn't dig up any information."

"Same here. You don't think... he's from the Demonic Cult, do you?"

Moyong Seong unclasped his hands and rested his chin on one fist.

In the murim world, hiding one's affiliation was common. People from the Evil Faction or Demonic Cult frequently enrolled in the academy, often using fake sects or claiming no affiliation at all to avoid conflict.

"I'm not sure. To beat Kim Yong, they'd need to send someone on the level of the Young Heavenly Demon, wouldn't they?"

"The chancellor is paying attention too, so we should look into it. We can't rule out the possibility."

"Investigate all you want, but don't approach him individually. As long as we stick to that agreement, I have no objections."

They might be rivals, but at the end of the day they both ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠belonged to the Murim Alliance and the Righteous Faction. When it came to dealing with the Evil Faction or Demonic Cult, they would naturally cooperate.

"You'd better watch yourself. Your Outer Heavens group has broken this agreement more times than we have."

"You can't hold a difference of less than ten incidents over our heads, President."

"Enough. Stop wasting time on useless talk." Moyong Seong's eyes darkened. He pressed his fingers against his temples for a moment before speaking again. "Have you looked into the series of disappearances in the capital region?"

"It's been all over the news lately."

"We've received an official request for cooperation from the Murim Alliance. There have been missing persons reported in areas not far from here as well."

The Jungwon Martial Arts Academy was protected by instructors including the Invincible War God, making it relatively safe from external threats. The surrounding area was fine too. The academy grounds alone were the size of a small city, and the student council's security force, the Ink Guard, patrolled the vicinity regularly.

However, there was a separate problem. While the academy and its immediate surroundings were safe, the cadets frequently left the boundaries.

It was impossible to guarantee the safety of every cadet who went outside.

"Aren't the cadets all martial artists? They should be fine, right?"

"One of yesterday's missing persons was from the Beggars' Sect. A third-rank member who was essentially a branch leader—at minimum a first-rate martial artist. From the traces of battle and bloodstains left at the scene, it appears they were overwhelmed one-sidedly."

"That wasn't in the news?" Beatrice asked, eyes widening.

A first-rate martial artist was considered core power even in major sects. Someone from the Beggars' Sect especially shouldn't disappear without a trace.

"It was kept confidential. Announcing that a first-rate martial artist went missing would only cause unnecessary panic among civilians."

"So that's why our treasurer, who usually attends every student council meeting, has been nowhere to be seen."

"Exactly. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠The Beggars' Sect is in an uproar."

Beatrice sighed deeply and sank onto the sofa in the student council room.

"This doesn't seem like an ordinary situation. Shouldn't we at least issue a ban on going out?"

"...I'm considering it. I've already scheduled a meeting with the chancellor. For now, I expect we'll simply recommend that students refrain from leaving campus for the time being."

Moyong Seong stared off into the distance as he ran a hand through his hair. Safety or freedom—it was always such a difficult question. Today, the weight of being the representative of the academy's students felt particularly heavy on his shoulders.

"Ugh..."

My hands were shaking uncontrollably. A groan escaped my lips.

Thud!

I couldn't hold it anymore and let go. The barbell loaded with weight plates crashed to the floor.

"Kim Mugong, you weakling~"

Han Yeoreum, who was nearby, covered her mouth slightly as she teased me. The glimpse of her pink tongue and that one annoyingly cute protruding fang made her look incredibly smug.

"Shut up."

I flipped her off with both middle fingers. Of course she immediately pretended not to see and turned away, heading back to her own training spot.

My irritation doubled. Right now we were in 'Physical Conditioning' class. The content was simple—training to build pure physical ability. Using internal energy the moment you tried would ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠result in immediate penalties.

Internal energy was off-limits. The Unicorn Divine Art obviously wouldn't activate against training equipment either.

In other words, I was currently nothing more than the academy's weakest student, with strength, durability, and agility all at F rank.

Of course, even an F was still far stronger than a normal person, but that didn't change the fact that I was at the very bottom.

I'd somehow managed to endure the cardio through sheer willpower, but these strength exercises immediately exposed me.

The numbers didn't lie.

Everyone was staring at me with a mix of mockery and fascination. One guy had even gone beyond that into genuine shock.

Kim Yong kept sending me disbelieving looks, unable to accept that my physical stats were the absolute lowest.

This is burdensome.

There was nothing good about receiving that kind of gaze from another guy.

"This level is only slightly better than a novice martial artist. You truly are a fascinating man. Focusing solely on internal energy training isn't good. Balance is always important."

"I know that already."

Cheon Hayeon lifted the same barbell I'd been struggling with one-handed and tilted her head. Her expression seemed to ask why I was grunting so pathetically over something this light.

It was unfair. My low strength wasn't because I hadn't trained. Just like how my internal energy was abnormally high, the status window had forcibly adjusted my physical stats like this.

Even Han Yeoreum was casually lifting several times more weight than me.

...But why was she so strong? I'd seen her strength stat at 20. Was the gap between each point really this huge?

Seeing both her and Cheon Hayeon lifting heavy weights with those slender arms made reality feel incredibly distant. These weren't even compressed training muscles or anything.

Bang!

The deafening crash snapped me out of my thoughts. It was just a barbell being set down, but the floor shook like an earthquake had hit.

"S-sorry...!"

The red-haired, big-breasted woman kept bowing her head in apology. At her feet lay an enormous barbell loaded with dozens of weight plates.

...Yeah, that had to be the Iron-Blooded Empress, Lee Jia. With monstrous strength like that, it made sense she'd gone around crushing villains' heads like watermelons.

"Huu..."

I took a deep breath and stood in front of the barbell again. This kind of problem wasn't going to be fixed in a short time anyway. The only option was steady training.

"...."

I was going to die.

I'd pushed my body to its limit, and now my arms and legs were trembling. Although my base strength was low, the Extreme Yang Body apparently gave me decent recovery. A short rest was enough to get me back on my feet.

Yang energy had always been a symbol of stamina, after all.

Thanks to that, the mocking stares gradually began turning into looks of surprise. No matter how weak your strength was, repeating it like an idiot would eventually make you look different.

I even heard people wondering if I'd been faking my exhaustion earlier.

I really had been fighting for my life with every set, though.

"Kim Mugong, you weakling."

Of course, there was also someone like Han Yeoreum who crept closer just to tease me again.

"I swear I'm gonna—"

"Gonna what?"

Han Yeoreum tilted her head slightly, the corner of her mouth curving into a soft smile.

"Just wait until the weekend."

"What are you going to do?"

"You'll find out when you wait."

"They say people who say 'just wait' are never actually scary."

"Oh, really?"

One step. I moved forward.

One step. Han Yeoreum retreated.

When I stepped forward again due to the strange sense of unease, she backed away to maintain distance.

"Why are you backing up?"

"...Don't come too close."

She pouted and glanced down at herself.

Oh. I understood now.

"I don't mind though?"

"If you come any closer I'll throw this."

Han Yeoreum lightly lifted the 80kg dumbbell beside her.

"Hey, that would kill me if it hits."

"Don't care."

"I don't even smell like sweat."

Since we'd trained together, there were only a few drops of sweat on Han Yeoreum's forehead. Actually, even considering that, the fact that she barely sweated was abnormal, but she seemed extremely self-conscious about it.

Her face flushed red.

"I-it's not because of that! I'm going to take a shower."

With that, she spun around and quickly fled to the shower room.

Cute. Teasing her was definitely worth it.

Anyway, today's training had confirmed one thing. After just one day, my strength stat had gone from 10 to 10.1. The rank was still F, but it seemed like the rank changed in increments of ten when it came to internal energy.

I need to train separately.

My stamina was already recovering quickly. Back when I was still in my original body, my arms wouldn't even lift after an intense workout. That part was the same now, but the difference was that they recovered after just ten minutes.

"Cheon Hayeon, can I ask you for a favor?"

I called out to Cheon Hayeon, who had been training nearby with her usual graceful posture.

"Since you are my benefactor, I will grant any request as long as it is not unreasonable."

"Help me with training. Han Yeoreum too."

There was no need to learn on my own when I had an instructor better than most professors right beside me. The title of Heavenly Demon also meant the grand master of everyone in the Divine Cult. She might still be the Young Heavenly Demon, but that temperament of hers clearly hadn't gone anywhere.

"Indeed, you do seem to require rigorous training. Something of that level is not difficult."

"Thanks."

Now that I'd confirmed my strength could increase, intense training had become essential. The bonuses from the Heavenly Demon Divine Art for non-virgins and males would shine brighter the higher my base stats were.