Survival Techniques (2)
It was three in the morning. Cheon Hayeon's daily routine always began at this hour. It wasn't as if she particularly enjoyed crawling out from under the warm blankets. She simply had to live up to her position as the Young Heavenly Demon of the Divine Cult.
Ever since her exceptional talent had been recognized at a young age and she was chosen as the successor, nothing but a sense of duty had sustained her. The brutal training, the suffocating schedule that left no room for personal time—she accepted it all without a single complaint. It was simply what she had to do as the one destined to become the Heavenly Demon. That was how she saw it.
Some might call it a life utterly devoid of flavor. Yet Cheon Hayeon felt no particular discontent with her own existence. Even in this mechanical life that seemed detached from worldly affairs, there was still joy to be found.
When she lifted her heavy eyelids, the man sleeping peacefully right in front of her came into view. A mischievous urge to poke his cheek flared up, but she soon smiled softly and rose from the bed. Her long golden hair, which cascaded nearly to her knees, caught the moonlight slipping through the curtains and glowed with a gentle luster.
Concealing her presence, she slipped quietly into the bathroom and washed herself. After a leisurely shower, she stepped out onto the veranda and opened the window. Even though the city's sleepless lights obscured the night sky, beautiful stars shimmered in Cheon Hayeon's eyes. Gazing down at the academy's softly lit landscape below, she naturally thought, This isn't bad at all.
She sat in a nearby chair, combing her silky hair while watching the twinkling stars overhead. She even applied luxurious oil to the strands.
The body-morphing technique she used for her male disguise was so overwhelmingly effective that she almost never revealed her true form to others. Still, Cheon Hayeon took genuine pride in her beautiful long hair.
Slowly. She savored the way the cool dawn air pierced her lungs, and before long the moon had drawn close to the western horizon.
"Have you awoken?"
She spoke softly toward the approaching footsteps without turning around.
"Yeah. Smells nice. Doing your hair?"
Kim Mugong asked in a somewhat weary voice.
"Long hair comes with many inconveniences. It requires constant maintenance."
It wasn't purely for that reason, but it certainly demanded far more effort than short hair.
With the table between them, a disheveled Kim Mugong sat down across from her.
"Ugh... I'm dying."
Kim Mugong slumped his upper body onto the table like melting wax.
"Why not sleep a little longer? It's a rest day from training anyway."
After the whirlwind of events over the past few days, she wasn't cruel enough to force him through the same repetitive dawn training. Besides, rest was undeniably part of training itself.
When she had received the Shadowless Demon's report about the incident scene, Cheon Hayeon had barely restrained herself from rushing there immediately. That was not her role. Dismantling a person like a piece of meat inflicted far greater mental damage than a clean kill. She had worried whether Kim Mugong—who still seemed purely distant from the ways of a martial artist—could bear the heavy burden of murder.
It was a groundless fear.
Fortunately, the mental damage appeared lighter than expected. Of course, she couldn't be entirely certain. Bad memories were like demons that tempted humans. They usually hid quietly within, only striking when a person grew weak, exploiting every opening.
"Routines must be kept," Kim Mugong said, stretching his arms wide.
"How about adding training to that routine?"
"That's a bit... harsh, don't you think?"
"It was a joke."
"When you say it, it doesn't sound like a joke at all."
"Busted. Half of it was sincere."
Seeing the smile playing on Cheon Hayeon's lips, Kim Mugong let out a deep sigh.
"Half true?"
"Who knows. I'll leave the truth to your own judgment."
"I'll start the dawn training tomorrow."
"A fine resolve indeed."
"Yeah."
Learning martial arts. Combing her hair while watching the stars. Sharing trivial conversations with Kim Mugong. Indeed, life was not so boring after all.
Others might call it nothing new, but in this moment, Cheon Hayeon felt exactly that way.
"Hey, you stepped on my foot."
"Sorry, but it's my first time! It happens."
"I haven't stepped on yours."
"Must be nice to be so perfect. Just you wait."
"Wait for what?"
"Ugh...! You're so damn annoying, seriously. Just try stepping on me and see what happens."
"Abandon your empty hopes. It won't happen, ever."
Under the warm spring sunlight, Kim Mugong and Han Yeoreum bickered as they moved their bodies.
Today was the day of the technique class supervised by Principal Dokgopae.
The incident dubbed the 'Vampire Case' had resolved more quietly than expected. Since the Blood Sect's involvement was confirmed, escalating the matter too much might allow them to slip back into the shadows.
"Those two are always overflowing with energy."
"I agree."
Cheon Hayeon nodded. Watching the pair train diligently, she and Principal Dokgopae elegantly lifted their teacups. At first glance, they resembled a harmonious grandfather and granddaughter.
The class direction Principal Dokgopae had settled on after careful consideration was a joint formation for Kim Mugong and Han Yeoreum.
The Qiankun Yin-Yang Formation.
Principal Dokgopae had taught them an array optimized for the two who harbored immense yin and yang energies within their bodies. Because joint formations required deep trust and coordination—which couldn't be achieved through words alone—their attempts to match breathing had devolved into this constant bickering.
"I apologize. No matter how much I pondered, there was little I could teach you. For someone already walking their own path, clumsy advice can become poison."
Principal Dokgopae stroked his beard with an awkward expression.
No matter how great his renown as the world's strongest, Dokgopae had pursued only orthodox martial arts his entire life. Naturally, he had to be cautious when dealing with Cheon Hayeon, who practiced the Heavenly Demon Sect's arts.
Thanks to that, while Kim Mugong and Han Yeoreum trained like their lives depended on it, Cheon Hayeon sat comfortably in the pavilion with Principal Dokgopae, enjoying her tea.
"It's quite all right. Simply being able to exchange a few words with the Principal is enough."
Cheon Hayeon smiled gently as she glanced toward Kim Mugong.
After they had sipped their tea in silence for some time—
BOOOOOOM—!
Suddenly, an enormous wave of energy erupted, flipping the earth itself.
"Are you insane? Did you use internal energy?"
Kim Mugong waved his hand through the scattered stone fragments and dust clouds.
"J-just a tiny bit?"
A flustered Han Yeoreum scratched her head hesitantly.
"...Truth is, I used a 'tiny bit' too."
"Then why are you only yelling at me? You did it too."
Han Yeoreum pouted her lips in protest.
"Sorry. You hurt anywhere?"
"Yeah. Aside from my clothes being ruined, I'm fine. You?"
"I'm okay too. But what do we do about this?"
A taiji-shaped crack had raced across the solid training ground floor, shattering the area in every direction. The damage was so severe it would need extensive repairs.
"Do not worry. It is only natural for martial artists to make mistakes while learning."
Principal Dokgopae, who had approached at some point, laughed heartily.
"I'm sorry. I only meant to use a little out of curiosity."
"We've clearly seen the power, so simply be careful next time. Isn't that right?"
Principal Dokgopae spoke with a benevolent expression.
"...Thank you."
"Thank you!"
The pair bowed deeply.
Stronger than I thought.
Gazing at the deep scars gouged into the earth, Principal Dokgopae inwardly marveled. From their conversation, it seemed they hadn't even used their full strength, yet the result was this. He couldn't begin to imagine what might happen once they truly synchronized.
Quite promising.
Observing this year's students always seemed to ease the worries about the future he constantly carried.
With deeply sunken eyes, Principal Dokgopae looked up at the clear sky.
The time is approaching.
He murmured inwardly.
Starting today, several classes had been replaced with survival techniques preparation for the upcoming evaluation.
At first I wondered if it was really necessary to devote so much time to survival training. But after looking at the textbook that had been sent to my tablet before class, I was completely speechless.
Han Yeoreum, who was practically glued to my side, was even worse. After staring at the tablet, her eyes were spinning.
"Hey, you still with us?"
"...Can I actually do all of this?"
"I'm voting no."
"That's too mean."
Han Yeoreum pouted.
"Don't worry. You've got me."
"What if we get separated?"
"Good point. Better pray we get a decent neighbor."
"Ugh, I don't care. I'm just sticking with you no matter what."
"That would be ideal, if possible."
I let out a deep sigh and turned my attention back to the tablet.
The textbook was easily book-length and covered survival methods for every conceivable environment—including inside gates—as well as broad topics like psychology.
After waiting quite a while, a man in military uniform wearing a reddish-brown beret entered the classroom.
"Is that a soldier?" Han Yeoreum whispered in my ear.
"SART. Air rescue specialist."
I answered with a bitter smile.
"...Huh?"
Han Yeoreum flinched as if something had occurred to her, then simply moved her lips without speaking.
I hadn't expected to see them here. There was a time when I had aimed to become one of them. If I hadn't been disqualified because of a teammate's ridiculous mistake during training, I probably would have made it without issue. Of course, if that had happened, the current me wouldn't exist.
She must have remembered all the times I had grumbled and complained to her about it.
"It's fine. Don't worry about it."
"...Mm-hmm."
Han Yeoreum carefully placed her hand over mine.
"Victory. Hello, cadets. I am Sergeant Jeon Il-hwan of the Special Search and Rescue Battalion, in charge of your survival techniques class."
Sergeant Jeon Il-hwan continued his self-introduction while setting up the presentation.
"But having an actual soldier teach us? That's pretty interesting," Han Yeoreum said, eyes wide as she stared straight ahead.
"When you think about it, there aren't many better experts than him for teaching survival techniques in Korea."
Ordinary martial artists usually didn't bother with things like survival training.
"You will soon be sent to a deserted island for evaluation. My job is to ensure that all of you cadets can survive once you're there."
Surprisingly, everyone listened to Sergeant Jeon Il-hwan with serious expressions.
In traditional clichés, martial artists looked down on government forces, but—
Well, that wouldn't happen here.
This was the modern era. A world where incredibly complex organizations were intricately intertwined. Acting rashly like that simply wasn't—
"We're different from regular people."
One idiot was thinking exactly that.
Kim Yong muttered in a voice loud enough for the entire classroom to hear, as if talking to himself.
It would have been unimaginable in the reality I came from, but here it wasn't entirely wrong. A martial artist who could sense and manipulate internal energy was essentially a superhuman.
With a calmer expression than I expected, the sergeant nodded steadily.
"I have also learned martial arts, though only to a modest degree, so I am well aware of the cadets' capabilities. Unfortunately, my own weak command of internal energy led me to join the military. However, no one can predict what might happen inside gates or in remote regions of the earth. Even a martial artist cannot last indefinitely without water."
Depending on their realm, they could endure far longer than ordinary people, but martial artists were still human. Lasting forever was impossible without ascending to immortality.
"It would be unacceptable for precious superhumans like yourselves to lose combat effectiveness or die in absurd ways simply because you lacked basic survival skills. This is the purpose behind these survival techniques classes and the upcoming deserted island evaluation."
Indeed. There were plenty of shows that simply dropped people on a deserted island without teaching them anything and said, "Anyway, survive!" I had wondered if this would be the same, but as expected, this world was needlessly realistic.
"Before we begin the dry theory portion, I've brought something to capture your interest."
The sergeant began pulling items one by one from the heavy backpack behind him and displaying them.
"These are the contents of the basic survival kit that will be issued during the deserted island evaluation."
Most of it consisted of familiar items—first aid supplies, knives, personal hygiene products—but the unique objects that used the massive energy source known as magic stones from defeated monsters drew the most attention.
Things like compact batteries with enormous capacity thanks to their magic stone cores.
Unlike me, Han Yeoreum was staring intently in a completely different direction.
"What are you looking at?"
"Uh, yeah?"
I followed her gaze.
"Is that a condom?"
Han Yeoreum whispered quietly into my ear.
"Yeah, it is."
I nodded.
Among all those supplies, the item standing there so boldly was definitely a condom.