Chapter 36
Chapter 36
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 36
>Chapter Title: Pill Rush (2)
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A world dyed entirely in black and white.
In one corner of that world, I was swinging something around wildly.
It was a bizarre situation where I was watching myself, but there was no sense of incongruity.
I just stared blankly, observing what I was doing.
As I watched vacantly, I soon realized what it was I was swinging.
A brush.
I realized belatedly that the world wasn't made of black and white.
I was the one dyeing the white world black.
“This isn't it!!”
The me swinging the brush let out a furious shout, painting over the writing I'd made black before starting to write new letters.
‘Damn... that guy's completely lost it.’
That was the thought that came to mind as I watched the other me, but an inexplicable foreboding rose with it.
It was a familiar sight.
It was something I'd been doing every night lately.
After realizing the side effects of the Soul-Stealing Heartless Sword had begun, I'd pondered a solution.
But no immediate way to completely resolve them came to mind. So the next best option I'd chosen was that.
If the obsession was coming anyway, limit it to a specific element.
In other words, every night I wrote in my diary, obsessively refining my handwriting.
To make it perfect. And to prevent other obsessive symptoms from appearing.
So the one freaking out over there was ‘me.’
More precisely, me when the side effects had worsened.
Even now, the obsessions came occasionally, but thanks to fixating on handwriting, their frequency was very low.
I'd felt somewhat reassured because of that, but deep down, perhaps I'd been afraid of turning out like that.
Once my thoughts reached that point, what was happening now naturally made sense.
‘Demonic Deviation?’
That was my first thought, but I soon shook my head.
I wasn't training or doing Qi Circulation and Breath Adjustment.
From my hazy memories, the last thing I remembered was going to bed.
Which meant.
‘Just a bad dream.’
The moment I realized it was all a nightmare.
“Whew.”
The me wrestling with writing and freaking out vanished, and darkness came.
The reason for the darkness was simple. My eyes were still closed.
Flick.
I snapped my eyes open wide to chase away the lingering unease of the nightmare, but strangely, everything around was pitch black.
Was I still dreaming? Or was tonight especially dark?
As those thoughts crossed my mind, clouds parting from the moon perhaps, faint moonlight filtered through the paper window into the room.
And it reflected off something small and dim that had been hidden in the darkness, catching my eye.
I squinted, staring to figure out what that faint, fragile light was.
It didn't take long to realize.
Eyes.
A person's eyes, slightly open, looking down at me from right in front of my face.
“Fuck, you scared the shit out of me!!!”
I jolted up in shock, blurting out a curse as if having a fit.
And matching my movement, the eyes right in front of my nose drew back.
The horrifying sight of just eyeballs floating in midair made goosebumps rise automatically.
“F-fuck.”
I thought the cult only had crazy bastards, but ghosts too?
Then, below those ghostly eyes, the darkness tore open, and faint light leaked out anew.
Human teeth.
“Are you alright, Junior Brother?”
The voice piercing through the ghost's mouth was quite familiar.
“Third Senior Brother?”
Third Senior Brother Seo Wan-pyeong. The voice of the mad assassin plagued by persecution complex.
He used to come at night sometimes at first, but after I asked him to come during the day, he hadn't shown up at night.
Just then, two guard warriors rushed over, shouting from the entrance.
“What happened, Young Master!”
“Are you okay!?”
And a step behind them came Jin Ha-yeon's voice.
“Young Master!”
Only after hearing them did I finally snap out of it, replying in as calm a tone as possible.
“No need to worry. Third Senior Brother came by, and we were just talking.”
I said it thinking of myself as a hostage.
If I said to save me here, Third Senior Brother would slit my throat faster than they could burst in.
But unaware of my feelings, Officer Kwon Mu-yeol shouted from outside the door as if demanding an explanation.
“Third Young Master, sneaking in at this late hour like this is treating us with contempt!”
Why were these guards provoking the assassin who'd come at night?
As cold sweat trickled down my back, Third Senior Brother replied in a gloomy tone.
“I just suddenly had something to ask the youngest and came by. I'll be more careful next time.”
With Third Senior Brother's apology, the guards and Jin Ha-yeon soon withdrew.
And in the silence now that we were alone, I cautiously asked.
“But what brings you here at this late hour?”
‘Why'd you come again, you lunatic?’ nearly rose to my throat, but I'd come to my senses, so I didn't make the mistake of saying it aloud.
I'd already yelled ‘fuck,’ but since it'd slipped out in Korean from shock, it might barely pass.
“Because of what happened during the day.”
“During the day?”
When I asked back with a puzzled look, the Senior Brother in the darkness nodded and answered.
“During the day, I just thought it was praise and felt embarrassed, but thinking it over tonight, it felt like you were all teasing me for being embarrassed together. Maybe you were all laughing inside, thinking ‘he's proud over something that trivial?’”
“......”
They say people get more emotional at night, and for Third Senior Brother, his persecution complex got richer.
‘Improvement... sort of?’
The guy who'd been gloomy all day was now only gloomy at night, so it was progress.
Come to think of it, compared to the first time he'd come at night, his stealth skills had improved too.
Back then, his silhouette was faintly visible thanks to the moonlight.
But now, even with moonlight shining, only his eyes were barely visible. And that was because he'd opened them right in front of my face.
As I had those thoughts, Senior Brother brought up something out of the blue.
“More importantly, are you okay, Junior Brother?”
“???”
“Truth be told, you were sleeping soundly, so I was going to wait until you woke. But you were groaning like you were having a nightmare. So I was debating whether to wake you while watching closely, and that's when you woke up.”
“Ah...”
So that's why he'd shoved his face so close. I'd thought he was pondering how to kill me.
“Ahem. I did have a nightmare, but no big problem.”
“That's truly fortunate.”
“Yes. And Senior Brother has no need to worry either. I meant it sincerely, and everyone else did too in congratulating you.”
“Hmm. If it's the word of a quick-witted Junior Brother who can read even Master's innermost thoughts, it's probably true.”
Had he come just to hear that one sentence? Senior Brother nodded and moved to withdraw.
But right before leaving the room, as if something occurred to him, he suddenly turned back and asked.
“But what did you yell at this Senior Brother when you woke up? Shipa? Sibal? First time hearing them.”
“......”
Sensing a life-or-death crisis, my mind raced furiously for a moment.
“It-it's an exclamation popular only in our hometown. A-a kind of dialect. Yes. Like ‘Oh mom! You scared me!’ That kind of thing. Y-yeah, exactly. Ha, haha.”
“Oh? An exclamation. Interesting. Sibal. It really sticks to the tongue.”
Saying that, Third Senior Brother muttered ‘sibal’ to himself repeatedly, like a foreigner first learning Korean practicing.
Feeling uneasy staying like this, I hurriedly spoke up.
“Ah! And while Eldest Senior Brother and the others probably wouldn't, how about having a talk with Guyangmun?”
“That lively fellow we saw during the day?”
“Yes. He even said he wanted to experience your Shadowless Fourteen Hands. Whether he was mocking you or sincere, you could gauge it sparring with him, right? Ha, haha.”
“Oh. That's a good idea too.”
Seemingly pleased, Senior Brother nodded and opened the door to leave.
‘...Yangmun, sorry.’
He might evolve from love virgin to bachelor ghost.
* * *
The next day.
Whether misfortune or fortune, neither Third Senior Brother nor Guyangmun showed up at Wind Rock Hall.
And apparently he'd only come out of real curiosity yesterday, as Sixth Senior Brother didn't appear either.
With those three absent, Wind Rock Hall was much quieter, but one corner of my mind felt unsettled.
‘No way one of them actually died, right?’
Ninety-nine out of a hundred, it'd be Guyangmun, but then I couldn't explain Third Senior Brother not showing.
‘Maybe disposing of the body...’
I wanted to mull over such thoughts, but.
“Hahaha! So I told him!”
“My lord, can you believe it happened? Hahaha.”
Eldest Senior Brother and Hang Geon chattered endlessly, leaving no room for stray thoughts.
The topic was that. The academy duties they'd taken on because of me.
The only odd thing was why they came every day to report to me in person like this.
Hang Geon aside, I wasn't Eldest Senior Brother's superior.
Probably for the reason I'd mentioned before, to gain my recognition and become my lord.
‘...This feels off.’
The method seemed wrong somehow, and I had no intention of serving Eldest Senior Brother as lord.
No, once I entered the academy, I planned to just slack off and eat well. In other words, no one as lord.
“Hahaha. Truly an excellent choice, Eldest Senior Brother.”
Of course, no point telling the Branch Leader my true thoughts lest who knows what happens, so I just flattered appropriately.
After Eldest Senior Brother and Hang Geon—who'd finished their report or brag or whatever—left.
With only the two guard warriors, Seon-a, and Jin Ha-yeon remaining, I casually asked Jin Ha-yeon.
“But didn't Eldest Senior Brother enter the academy as top scholar too?”
For a guy with inferiority complex over being dumb to enter as top, the academy's standards were suspect.
To the point I wondered if I really needed to study and train this hard.
“The Eldest Young Master did harbor an inferiority complex over wisdom, but he wasn't lacking that much. He was just below par for a Supreme One's disciple.”
So he had average brains.
“Also, the academy entrance exam consists of interview and sparring. From what I heard, he barely avoided failing the interview, but his sparring results were overwhelmingly excellent, making him top overall.”
I nodded at the explanation, convinced.
‘Interview aside, sparring has no cap on score?’
The stronger you were, the more points added, it seemed.
‘Makes sense. Eldest Senior Brother reached Extreme Demon in his early twenties, and in his twenties roamed the Central Plains massacring like his backyard, earning the Mad Demon title.’
And now in his early forties, he'd achieved great completion in Explosive Demon Net Sword Art, so his martial talent was overwhelmingly top-tier.
As we dissected Eldest Senior Brother's admission irregularities like that.
“Heavenly Demon arrives! All demons bow!”
The shout came from Jang Hoe guarding the Wind Rock Hall entrance.
It meant Master was coming.
Naturally, Seon-a who'd been stuck to my side stood and headed to the entrance. Time for her to leave.
“We bow to the Lord of Ten Thousand Demons.”
“Hohoho. Go carefully now.”
Master and Seon-a exchanged greetings like shift change.
And Master, entering Wind Rock Hall, pulled a small box from his sleeve.
“The Explosive Demon Pill I promised last time.”
“!!!”
The elixir I'd heard of endlessly in wuxia tales but never seen myself.
But rather than just rejoicing, I approached cautiously.
“Master. Last time, you said my skills were still lacking, so it was too soon for the Explosive Demon Pill?”
“Hohoho. You've laid the basics decently now, haven't you? Of course, your dantian is still small, so absorbing it fully will be tough. But dragging out the promised reward isn't good, so I'll personally use Guiding Qi Technique to help you absorb the elixir.”
I prostrated myself flat at Master's explanation.
“Your grace is immeasurable!”
“Hahaha. Excessive courtesy isn't always good, so rise. It's not just because I cherish you that this old man is doing Guiding Qi Technique personally. You gave good advice on the academy, but since it's proceeding as a reward, don't mind it.”
Master explained his justifications at length, but nothing crucial.
What mattered was I was getting the elixir.
What was an elixir!
If martial arts were modern sports, it was doping.
Pill rush!
Of course, pill rush wasn't always good.
Depending on the event or person's constitution, wrong elixirs existed. So I'd heard somewhere there were ‘designers’ who adjusted the type and dosage best suited to the person.
In that sense, Master personally helping absorb the elixir was a bundle of serendipity.
He was the top expert in this field.
“Take the Explosive Demon Pill and assume lotus position.”
I took the small pill from the box Master offered and sat in lotus position.
‘Heh heh heh. Once I absorb this, academy admission is guaranteed.’
From the info I'd just heard from Jin Ha-yeon, sparring weighed more than interview. As long as my realm was high, interview was just avoiding fail.
“After swallowing the Explosive Demon Pill, do not open your mouth. Absolutely do not faint, and do not lose track of this old man's guiding qi flow.”
Following Master's warning and guidance, I swallowed the Explosive Demon Pill in my hand, and Master's palm pressed against my back.
The small pill sliding down my throat melted, unleashing vast energy, and energy no less poured into my body through Master's palm on my back.
Afraid of dying absurdly mid-elixir absorption, as I focused my mind.
One corner of my head felt something.
Like I'd forgotten one important thing.