Chapter 100
Chapter 100
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Translator: penny
Chapter Title: Confinement Life (1)
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In the secluded annex of the Heavenly Wall Tower.
Yo-ran let out a sigh as he recalled the stormy days that had recently passed here.
"I thought he was a powerhouse."
He was far more terrifying than expected.
Dan-ya, the leader of the Desert Assassins.
True to his fame, he had racked up achievements close to that of a one-man army.
Every time he moved, several deaths inevitably followed.
It didn't matter who the target was.
All met the same fate, strangled by bandages that seemed to melt into the darkness, treating everyone equally.
Even among them were some of the top experts from the Shadow Gate.
Yet they were still found with their necks severed while lying in bed as if asleep.
"He's a frightening one."
Already, rumors were spreading through the back alleys.
There is one who rules the night.
He is the reaper of death, the ender of lives.
Betrayer with a blade at his side.
Enjoy your fleeting dreams while you can.
Soon, the Lord of Nightmares will find you and sever you with the night itself (Dan-ya).
Even the Shadow Gate members, who wouldn't blink at most things in the night streets, feared and revered Dan-ya to that extent. His exploits were extraordinary.
In just five days, he had slaughtered the Wangcheon Association's lackeys in Infinite Castle.
It was an astonishing feat, but Yo-ran couldn't simply rejoice.
"This isn't like obtaining a fine blade. It's more like dancing on the edge of a knife."
Still, the one reason he could maintain his composure was the existence of an absolute being whom even the night-slasher obeyed.
A being beyond comprehension, who permitted no blades. The Dark Lord.
"But there's one worry."
Yo-ran furrowed his brow deeply, recalling the Dark Lord's words.
- Enough with the revelry.
"He said he'll be confined to the Forbidden Domain for a while."
Where in the world could hold such a figure?
Yo-ran couldn't help but grow suspicious.
Pow!
"Kuhk!"
Dang-gan tumbled over.
Chu Un-hwi clapped his hands and yawned.
"What? You haven't learned a thing."
Un Ho-seung glanced at Dang-gan, who was twitching on the floor in a faint, and raised his hand.
"Correct. The instructor is in a bad mood."
"Wrong. I'm not particularly in a bad mood. Crunch."
"Your voice is scary!"
Thwack!
Un Ho-seung's head snapped back, and he collapsed again.
In the end, the twins exchanged glances.
'This guy's mood looks good, he says bad. Looks bad, he says good.'
'Then we...'
The twins raised their hands simultaneously.
"The temporary instructor is in a bad mood."
"The temporary instructor is in a good mood."
They couldn't read the signal.
So they picked both sides, hoping at least one would survive.
"Wrong! Incorrect."
"What? You said pick good or bad!"
"Does it make sense for both to be wrong?"
"It was good until just now, but seeing your faces soured my mood."
"That's-."
Thud thud.
The twins toppled backward.
Finally, left alone, Im So-jeong's eyes twitched.
Honestly, it was no small ordeal for Im So-jeong.
'This person doesn't treat me like a lady at all.'
Not long ago, he hadn't hesitated to flying kick her.
She had rolled across the ground, smashed her head into a wooden dummy, and been out cold for over an hour.
When had she, a later-generation disciple of Sword Pavilion, ever faced such treatment?
Im So-jeong bit her lip.
"Temporary instructor. Are you really planning to teach us properly?"
"Of course. I'm always full of enthusiasm."
"If you say good mood, you say no. Bad mood, you say yes. Does that even make sense?"
"Doesn't make sense?"
As Chu Un-hwi turned his head, Mo Yong So-hye, who had been warily clenching her cute little fist, answered.
"The instructor's mood is fluctuating. Right now, it's the 'good' side!"
"Correct."
Im So-jeong ground her teeth.
Not only the kid skilled at reading intentions,
"Instructor expert here. Your left big toe just moved. Bad mood side!"
"Correct."
Even Baek Ri-seol got it right, leaving her speechless.
In truth, this wasn't just simple mind-reading training.
It was surprisingly well-structured training.
For example.
"A right-handed swordsman's left foot stepping back is a sign of irritation. They're preparing a foot sword technique."
So when the left foot steps back, bad mood side.
"The body's center shifted backward. Means no intent to fight."
In that case, good mood side.
It was a simple test to read emotions based on gestures, footwork, and movements in mock exam scenarios.
The big toe movement Baek Ri-seol mentioned was the same.
Tensing the big toe signaled stomping the ground to unleash a stance, so closer to bad mood.
That's why she'd nodded at the initial explanation.
Good or bad.
Just pick one of the two.
But she was mistaken.
'Too unpredictable.'
The temporary instructor was.
- What, can't even read muscle or joint movements? Idiot.
He'd critiqued like that, but catching all the fleeting signals was incredibly difficult.
The instructor's sly tricks made it even harder to solve.
"Hey, concentrating?"
"My eyes are gonna pop out, man."
"Grind. I'm grinding my teeth. Good mood? Bad mood?"
He scattered focus with all sorts of words.
And the result?
"Wrong. Too bad."
Thud!
'Hit again.'
Im So-jeong blacked out.
Mo Yong So-hye stuck out her tongue in dismay as she watched Chu Un-hwi grab Im So-jeong's head with both hands and hammer it with his own.
"Headbutting a lady's head. You're especially harsh today."
"Yeah. Did something happen?"
Today alone, he'd knocked her out five times.
Normally, he'd stop at sending two or three to the gates of the underworld.
"Eh. Nothing much."
He even kicked the fainted ones.
Today's instructor seemed emotionally on the 'endlessly dark' side.
"Tch. Boring."
As Chu Un-hwi approached grumbling, Baek Ri-seol asked.
"Instructor. You're unusually rough today. Is something bothering you?"
"Oh, that obvious?"
As if it wouldn't be.
The guy who'd laid out five students in a row while huffing was now feigning surprise. Ridiculous.
Anyway, Baek Ri-seol grew quite curious.
"Did someone annoy you?"
"Not that."
Chu Un-hwi answered glumly.
"Seems the temporary quarters in Silver Hall are complete."
"Oh. Right. They said they'd give us regular dorms."
Recalling the instructors who'd been excited about officially joining Silver Hall not long ago, Baek Ri-seol asked.
"Don't you want to move into Silver Hall dorms?"
"No, not that."
"Then why..."
At Baek Ri-seol's question, Chu Un-hwi's mouth corners drooped.
"Well, you see..."
- Yesterday, the official dorms were completed. Temporary instructors, pack your things and move immediately.
Everyone was thrilled until the short notice came down.
"Whoa! Finally entering Silver Hall!"
"Silver Hall facilities blow Bronze Hall away. The dorms must be too."
"Heard they even have private rooms with silk blankets."
"And you can order midnight snacks anytime if you want."
Amid the excitement, Chu Un-hwi tilted his head looking at the roster.
- Excluded: Temporary Instructor Chu Un-hwi.
At the note below, Chu Un-hwi let out a bewildered sound.
"What's this?"
"Excluded? Never heard of anyone being excluded."
Not only Yeo Mae-hong,
"Huh? You're the only one off the list?"
Even the squad leaders were baffled.
"Must be a mistake. I'll look into it."
Afterward, Chu Un-hwi was summoned to Senior Instructor Jang Cheol-sim's room, no less.
He leaned heavily on the desk in his office and spoke gravely.
"Temporary Instructor Chu Un-hwi."
Yes, speak.
"Does the decision puzzle you?"
"Of course. You clearly promised official residence in Silver Hall."
It was a clear promise.
He'd earned quite some favor covering for Instructor Gwak Jong-geun's mistakes.
But Jang Cheol-sim shook his head.
"Truth be told, that incident raised my evaluation of you considerably."
"Really?"
"Not just covering for a colleague, but handling the supplement squad troublemakers well put my mind at ease. Truth is, the supplement instructors struggled with Young Master Jin Ju-eon and Im So-jeong from Sword Pavilion."
Why would such a person do this?
As he stayed silent, Jang Cheol-sim pulled out an ominous red paper from his desk corner.
"Read it."
"...Don't wanna."
"Then I'll read it. Dormitory intrusion, cafeteria breach. Not once or twice—male ban zone entry a hobby?"
"...Mistakes."
"Quite a few for mistakes. Can't count on two hands."
"I invoke silence."
"Then mock training request: 'Request Ma Sect Lord invades Murim Alliance,' 'Want to act as Chain Explosion Demon.' Academy said no, so you spammed anonymous complaints: 'Reporting negligent academy.' Got the academy grinding their teeth."
"...Wasn't anonymous?"
"No secrets in this world."
This filthy world.
"And recently, five days unauthorized absence?"
"......"
Thud.
Jang Cheol-sim set down the paper and propped his chin.
"If you have any conscience, speak. Did you think you'd get away unscathed?"
Several retorts came to mind, but words wouldn't come. Jang Cheol-sim spoke.
"I keep promises. Acknowledged you as official Silver Hall member, promised to take you on Jianghu trips. But this was hard enough just accepting you. The academy exploded in opposition, thanks to you."
"...Really?"
"Confinement for a while is the best compromise."
With that, Jang Cheol-sim waved tiredly.
"Go and stay low for now. I'll call when the time comes."
"...Heavens."
Baek Ri-seol covered her mouth with both hands upon hearing the story.
"So what happened to you, Instructor?"
"Well, gotta hole up in the duty room for confinement."
He tried saying it glumly, but.
"Senior Instructor Jang Cheol-sim is a saint. Normally, it'd be instant dismissal."
Creak.
After glaring at Mo Yong So-hye mimicking throat-slitting with her thumb, Chu Un-hwi continued.
"Sigh. Really, nothing goes right."
"Yeah. Why spam complaints instead of giving up moderately?"
"Wanted to turn it around. Recover all those demerits in one go. Life's about that one shot."
"Your life's about to go bust in one shot."
Grinding his teeth, Chu Un-hwi muttered.
"Damn. Getting sidelined everywhere without reason is too much, right?"
"Instructor, there are reasons, and it's not sidelining. Self-inflicted."
"So-hye's right. You're lucky to still be here."
Even Baek Ri-seol, who usually took his side, cutting ties made Chu Un-hwi gloomier.
"Argh, annoying. The world's outrageous tyranny is tormenting me."
Meanwhile.
"Ugh... Where..."
"Fainted again?"
Un Ho-seung and the twins, who had been lying down moments ago, were stirring.
"Ah, those guys."
Time to vent his mood.
As he rolled up his sleeves and charged, Mo Yong So-hye commented.
"So petty."
"Yeah."
Today, even Baek Ri-seol couldn't disagree.