Chapter 174
Chapter 174
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 174
>Chapter Title: Extreme Demon (4)
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The day after I performed various diagnoses to check if Jeong-hyeon had perhaps been brainwashed.
I was able to confirm that Master had kept his promise.
“From today onward, you will focus solely on autonomous training, separate from the Demonic Path Academy’s education.”
It was because Chu Il-hwan, the chief instructor, had specifically called me aside to issue this directive.
Unlike my peers who were receiving instruction from the instructors according to the fixed schedule, I was entirely free to train on my own.
It was a freedom where, in the past, I might have happily napped in some secluded corner.
But.
“Sip. Hoo.”
Instead of leisurely napping, I was now immersing myself in training.
It was only natural.
‘Once I stabilize my external and internal arts, I can escape the Extreme Demon state.’
Hope had emerged of escaping the side effects of this damned demonic art.
I was a person who dreamed of a peaceful life. I wasn’t someone who was purely lazy.
If I had been utterly slothful from the start, I never would have passed the civil service exam.
So, I was someone who could get things done when I needed to. More precisely.
‘Once I escape the Extreme Demon state and the side effects weaken a bit, life will be worth living!’
I preferred to push hard when it was time to work and then rest comfortably afterward.
It couldn’t be helped.
If I had been born into a wealthy family where I could idle my whole life without worrying about food or shelter, I might have been extremely lazy, but I was in a position where I at least had to figure out how to make a living.
“Sip. Hoo.”
After immersing myself in training for a good while, dreaming of that brilliant future.
‘Whether it’s work or training, it has to be done efficiently.’
A good idea came to me, and I immediately set off.
And the place I headed to.
“One more time!!”
“Focus a bit more on the muscles!”
Was unfolding a gruesome scene.
Instructor Cheok Il-so, diligently flexing his muscles in demonstration and bellowing.
And Dugopaek and Gwak Sul, along with a few newbie cadets whose names and even faces I barely knew, were diligently pumping iron.
Flex. Flex.
Inevitably dressed in something akin to underwear, exposing their hulking muscles.
Instructor Cheok Il-so, who had been in the midst of his bodybuilding club activities, belatedly noticed my presence and greeted me.
“Cadet Il-mok! What brings you here?”
I replied with an awkward smile to his welcoming approach.
“I, uh, came to learn some external art training methods.”
I didn’t want to mingle with these sweaty guys either.
But training alone had made me realize an important fact.
‘I’ve been too lazy all this time.’
The fact that I didn’t know much about external art training in detail.
The only period when I had diligently trained in external arts was before entering the Demonic Path Academy. In other words, when Jin Ha-yeon was drilling me.
Of course, I could train my external arts in the way Jin Ha-yeon had taught me.
‘But with a true expert like Instructor Cheok Il-so right here, there’s no need to train inefficiently.’
If I was going to commit to proper training anyway, shouldn’t I choose a more effective method?
Only then could my mind and body quickly align in balance, allowing me to escape the Extreme Demon state and subdue those damned side effects.
That was the same reason I had come to this sweaty place that kept triggering my hygiene obsession.
‘Better to endure the disgusting sight quickly and get it over with. Of course.’
Once I escape the Extreme Demon state, happiness will come.
I had a similar mindset when preparing for the civil service exam. Even if I suffered for two or three years, I believed a peaceful future would await once I passed.
Fixed hours in, fixed hours out. A comfortable job with no fear of getting fired.
Of course, it took less than a week to realize I had fallen for a false illusion.
‘But it’s different this time!!’
Passing the civil service exam and escaping mental illness were different matters.
Probably.
“Uhahaha! You’ve come to the right place! It seems you’ve finally realized the importance of external arts!”
Instructor Cheok Il-so burst into hearty laughter and approached to embrace me, but I deftly evaded his grasp with a subtle footwork technique and the Golden Crow Hands method.
“Ahem. I’ve simply realized that my external arts are still lacking.”
Keeping a suitable distance from Instructor Cheok Il-so, I spent some time lifting and lowering the iron weights following his demonstrations.
“Cadet Il-mok! How am I supposed to observe your muscle movements like that! If you wish, I’ll lend you some of my clothes!”
What Instructor Cheok Il-so proudly pointed to were shorts that looked like something cut from underwear.
“Ahem. That’s fine, Instructor.”
I gladly declined Instructor Cheok’s kind offer.
And after immersing myself in external art training by following Instructor Cheok Il-so’s demonstrations for a good while.
I belatedly realized something was off.
‘Why is he so quiet?’
Dugopaek wasn’t talking to me. No, he wasn’t even glancing my way.
Of course, due to our previous agreement, Dugopaek was forbidden from challenging me to spars, but this was the guy who always stared at me like a puppy desperate to poop.
If this madman had lost interest in me, I should be grateful, but for some reason, it felt unsettling.
If a madman wasn’t doing something crazy, it meant he was preparing for something even crazier.
‘But if I ask him directly, he might challenge me to a spar out of nowhere.’
Having sorted my thoughts, I asked Gwak Sul instead—Dugopaek’s sidekick and spiritually like a married couple.
“Cadet Dugopaek, you say?”
He responded to my question with a strange expression, pondered with a hum, and then answered.
“Probably because of that incident last time.”
“That incident—you mean the fanatics?”
“Yes. It seems the things you said to him when we were first surrounded had a huge impact in various ways.”
I furrowed my brow, unable to understand.
I remembered cursing at Dugopaek when he was spouting nonsense.
But considering his usual temperament, it didn’t make sense for him to be this subdued because of that.
“Isn’t it weird? With Cadet Dugo’s personality, wouldn’t he be even noisier, seeking sparring partners to build his skills?”
“Hmm. You could say he’s realized that quality matters more than quantity.”
After pondering what that meant for a moment, I roughly grasped the idea.
“You mean he’s felt the difference between sparring and real combat?”
“To some extent, yes. From what he casually mentioned last time, he wants to reflect on that day’s battle and compose himself rather than sparring for a while.”
At Gwak Sul’s answer, I subtly turned my head to look at one corner of the training ground.
Dugopaek’s figure, swinging his sword very slowly with the most solemn expression in the world.
‘Adversity and hardship make a person grow. Something like that?’
Even though it had only been a little over a month since I last saw his face, he felt at least several years more mature.
As I was lost in that strange sentiment, Gwak Sul’s voice came again.
“It’s a bit different for me, but I’ve gained quite a few insights from this incident as well. So, I actually wanted to thank you, Cadet Il-mok.”
“Me? I don’t recall doing anything special.”
“Thanks to you, Cadet Il-mok, I’ve realized the direction I need to pursue.”
“???”
Still not understanding, I tilted my head, and Gwak Sul said with an expression as mature as Dugopaek’s.
“I’m thinking of devoting myself a bit more to studying formations and strategies from now on. Even if I don’t fight on the front lines as a warrior of the Church, I’ve gained confidence that I can greatly help the Church as a strategist.”
Both Dugopaek and Gwak Sul wore heavy expressions unbecoming of their seventeen years.
‘This seems pretty serious?’
I might need to visit Physician Seo Jae-pil.
Maturing too early wasn’t always a good thing.
* * *
“How is the matter I mentioned last time progressing?”
At Il-mok’s question, Seo Jae-pil answered with an uncharacteristically serious expression.
“It was just as you said, Young Master. All the cadets seem to have been quite affected by this incident. Mostly, like true warriors of our great Divine Church, they appear to be using it as an opportunity to grow... but their inner feelings are a bit different.”
Seo Jae-pil fiddled with his brush as if pondering how to express it, then continued calmly.
“Rather than overcoming this experience, they’re strongly tending toward deliberately ignoring it. And even that is fortunate—some cadets seem to be suffering from nightmares or occasional hallucinations.”
“As expected...”
When Il-mok responded bitterly, Seo Jae-pil smiled softly, unlike his mad physician self.
“But thanks to you, Young Master, we’ve learned this important fact, haven’t we? I’ll sincerely counsel them and monitor their conditions.”
Seo Jae-pil wasn’t just thinking about this incident alone.
The Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, which revered martial prowess, saw bloodshed as an everyday occurrence.
This raid was simply more severe than usual.
“Moreover, given the Church’s atmosphere, many cases are probably being glossed over without showing it. Won’t there be steady cases of similar symptoms in the past and future? For their sake, we need to properly treat and study this incident.”
The cases he encountered while treating the cadets this time were sure to be of great help to the Church in the future.
In fact, following Il-mok’s advice, Seo Jae-pil had been meticulously organizing the consultations with the cadets over the past few days.
The only issue was.
“I’m organizing the cases, but what should we call these symptoms?”
No suitable simple term came to mind for these symptoms.
Seo Jae-pil looked at Il-mok with eyes full of expectation.
It was because Il-mok had previously named mental illness symptoms and treatments several times.
Il-mok pondered the question.
‘Hmm. PTSD was the acronym for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, right? But since stress is English, how should I translate it?’
Recalling modern terminology, Il-mok felt it was too long and complicated, so he came up with a different name.
“How about Heart Scar?”
“Scars on the heart... Not a bad name...”
As Seo Jae-pil thought about the name Il-mok defined, he realized something and his eyes lit up.
“By any chance, is this name considering not just combat or murder like this time, but other cases as well?”
“Yes. Even something trivial like the pain of heartbreak or being scammed by an acquaintance could leave a huge mental scar on someone.”
“There must be that many varied cases, and thus varied treatments needed.”
It meant more work inevitably, but for some reason, Seo Jae-pil’s eyes sparkled.
A reaction befitting a man mad about medicine and work.
It was a gaze Il-mok, who valued the balance between work and rest, could never empathize with.
And that workaholic’s latest prey was Il-mok himself.
“Come to think of it, weren’t you also on that battlefield this time, Young Master?”
“That’s true, but.”
“Then, how about you, Young Master? Are you truly unaffected?”
As a physician, he calmly inquired about Il-mok’s psyche, and Il-mok calmly reflected on himself before answering.
“Honestly, I’m not sure myself. I don’t know if it’s a defense mechanism or the demonic art, but I feel no particular emotion. However, I feel an inexplicable sense of disconnect toward myself for having no emotions.”
It was uncomfortable being treated as a research subject by Seo Jae-pil, but he sensed he might need treatment himself.