Chapter 57
Chapter 57
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 57
>Chapter Title: Reception Camp (2)
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A few days later.
Il-mok, who had woken up early in the morning, packed his bundle and stepped out of his room.
The Demonic Path Academy was located not at the main headquarters, but on another peak of the Heavenly Myriad Mountains.
And once one entered the academy, during the two-year training period, there was almost no reason to return to the main headquarters.
They had to live for two years in a sort of dormitory prepared there, so they needed to pack only the essentials.
According to Jin Ha-yeon, the academy itself provided basic necessities, but still.
Several people had gathered at Wind Rock Hall to see off Il-mok as he left his room with his bundle.
At the center of them all was, as expected, Il-mok's master and the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's leader, the Heavenly Demon Hyeok-ryeon Il-hwi.
"Hahaha. You're the perfect fit for the saying that after three days apart, one must rub their eyes and look anew. Not seeing you for two whole years—I'm quite looking forward to what you'll become."
In response to the Heavenly Demon's words filled with trust and expectation, Il-mok returned the courtesy with cupped hands.
"I will strive to live up to Master's expectations."
While thinking something entirely different inside.
'No way am I improving any more here. That's insane.'
Thanks to being drilled mercilessly by the Heavenly Demon over the last few months, Il-mok's cultivation had risen steeply.
He had managed to delay the outburst of side effects somewhat through the tea found at the Tranquil Heart Institute and counseling sessions, but he was far from fine.
For that reason, Il-mok planned to slack off for a while. At least until the side effects settled down.
'Right now, I'm the top student, so I won't get pushed out even if I coast for a bit.'
Completely hiding his true intentions, Il-mok finished his resolute farewell.
Then, the senior brother Wi Jin-hak approached, laughing heartily as he clapped Il-mok on the shoulder.
"Hahaha! Until our little brother returns, this senior brother will lay all the groundwork! Just trust in this senior brother and head to the academy with peace of mind!"
Seo Wan-pyeong the Third Young Master, Jong-ri Chu the Sixth Young Master, and the Tranquil Heart Institute's head physician also took turns greeting Il-mok.
"After two years, I'll make sure I'm a reliable senior brother you can always lean on."
"The two years at the academy will fly by, so let's meet again soon."
"Hahaha. Thanks to the foundation the Vice Director has built, the Tranquil Heart Institute will develop quickly. It would be great if you could return and work there together again."
In the midst of everyone celebrating him, Il-mok approached the one child radiating a gloomy aura.
"...Do you have to go?"
The child looked ready to burst into tears at any moment.
Il-mok went to Seon-a's side and, instead of answering right away, rummaged through his bundle and pulled out an object to hand to her.
It was a stuffed doll with black hair and black clothes, strangely resembling Il-mok.
Seon-a stared blankly back and forth between the doll held out before her and Il-mok, then cautiously reached out and took it.
Seeing Seon-a hugging the doll that looked like herself, Il-mok smiled softly and patted the little girl's head.
"Whenever you think of me, look at this doll and wait. The two years will pass quicker than you think."
He had come up with the idea for that stuffed doll on the day Seon-a first arrived and there had been an argument with Cheong-hwa Madam.
When Cheong-hwa Madam asked how he would take responsibility after leaving for the academy, he had been inspired by the 'mommy doll' Seon-a was holding that day.
More precisely, it was something he could think of because, back in his Seo Ji-hoon days, he had once made a doll.
Working in social welfare, he often handled volunteer activities, and once, while helping an orphanage, a bizarre plan passed to have volunteers and officials each make a doll as a gift.
Because of that, he had suffered through the bizarre task late into the night after work, stuffing dolls with cotton and gluing on eyes.
He had considered just buying one somewhere and lying that he made it himself, but in the end, that past experience came in handy.
'In truth, it was thanks to Gu Yang-mun that it turned out properly.'
While secretly making and practicing with the doll whenever he had time at night, Gu Yang-mun—who had started sharing his room under the pretext of being a bodyguard a few months ago—had shown curiosity.
Surprisingly, Gu Yang-mun had a talent for doll-making. Or more accurately, his handiwork was exceptional.
'That guy's got it rough too. If it weren't for his connection to Jin Ha-yeon, he'd be really useful.'
Unaware of Il-mok's thoughts, Gu Yang-mun grinned when Il-mok suddenly looked at him, thinking he was getting praise for the doll.
He was a friend who was regrettable in many ways.
After comforting Seon-a, who was clutching the Il-mok lookalike doll, a bit more, Il-mok went over to Gu Yang-mun and Jin Ha-yeon.
"You've worked hard helping me all this time. Young Hero Gu Yang. Miss Jin."
"Hahaha. I see it as something I naturally had to do, Young Master."
"It was an honor to serve you, Young Master."
Gu Yang-mun replied in his usual lively tone, while Jin Ha-yeon curtly showed her respect.
After bidding farewell to everyone like that, Il-mok left Wind Rock Hall.
* * *
Before long, Il-mok arrived at the massive estate where he had taken the Demonic Path Academy entrance exam a few days earlier.
He let out a light sigh in front of the hall prepared there and entered.
This was a sort of temporary assembly point.
A gathering place where new academy students were collected together to travel from the main headquarters to the Demonic Path Academy on another peak of the Heavenly Myriad Mountains.
Il-mok entered the hall, scanned the interior once, and headed to an empty seat.
'As expected of a preliminary reception camp.'
A guy holed up in the corner with a depressed expression.
A guy chattering nonstop, who knows what he's so excited about.
A guy glaring at him with bloodshot eyes.
Not a single one looked normal.
'Better not get tangled up with any of them.'
Il-mok sat down, having formed a simple impression of these prospective mental patients.
* * *
The new Demonic Path Academy students, each suffering from their own side effects and displaying all sorts of bizarre behaviors, were all staring at the newcomer without exception.
Some stared openly, others glanced furtively. No one ignored Il-mok.
'That's the Heavenly Demon's youngest disciple.'
'He has an unusual air about him.'
It was only natural.
He was the disciple of the Heavenly Demon, their object of faith, after all.
But it wasn't just because he was the Heavenly Demon's disciple that he drew so much attention.
In merely one year since joining the cult, he had claimed the top spot at the academy with his martial prowess—a genius.
Not content with that, over the past year, he had also started groundbreaking ventures like the school and the Tranquil Heart Institute.
Because of these norm-shattering actions, irreverent rumors even circulated behind the scenes that the Heavenly Demon was forcibly pushing achievements onto his youngest to hype him up.
It was inevitable that all sorts of rumors about the youngest spread, and for these impulsive new academy students, he was bound to catch their interest.
Amid all the focused gazes.
"Hm?"
The youngest, tilting his head, suddenly stood up.
Swish.
"Hmm."
He even slightly moved the table at his seat.
"Could you move aside just a bit?"
He shifted the table next to him or moved a chair someone was sitting in.
"Whew."
The youngest, who had suddenly started organizing the items in the hall, only sighed deeply and returned to his seat after arranging everything at perfect intervals.
"Oh dear."
Sitting back down, the youngest suddenly frowned and looked at his palm.
As if discovering something, he rummaged through his bundle, pulled out a wet wipe and a water bottle, wiped his hand with the wipe, poured water, and washed it.
"Phew."
By the time the youngest whistled while looking at his clean hand, an eerie silence had fallen over the hall.
'...He must be suffering from severe side effects.'
'They say geniuses are all eccentrics, and it's true.'
Before they knew it, everyone was looking at Il-mok like he was a madman.
As this awkward atmosphere lingered.
One young man who had been glaring murderously at Il-mok since he entered approached him.
Sensing the sudden footsteps, Il-mok looked up at the approaching youth.
The guy was half a head taller than Il-mok and boasted a sturdy build.
"You took the top spot this time, but next time it won't be so easy!"
"......?"
The first thought in Il-mok's mind was one.
'What? Who's this lunatic?'
Perhaps because Il-mok kept looking up at him with a baffled expression.
The guy who had shouted arrogantly spoke again.
"I'm Dokgo Pae, the eldest grandson of the great Dokgo family. If you're confident, how about we have a go right here and now?"
Il-mok let out a hollow laugh at the sturdy Dokgo Pae's declaration of war.
'A school bully?'
Come to think of it, the Demonic Path Academy was like a place for high school-aged kids in modern terms.
It felt a bit odd that the eldest grandson of one of the five great families called the Demonic Cult's main lineage was playing bully.
'Hmm. Now that I think about it, these days, kids from rich families are more likely to be delinquents.'
But Il-mok had no intention of playing along with this kid bully.
"I hope you work hard and take top spot next time. Good luck."
Il-mok offered words of encouragement with an indifferent face.
"Are you mocking me right now?"
For some reason, Dokgo Pae's face flushed bright red instead.
As Dokgo Pae raised his aura as if ready to strike at any moment and faced off against the nonchalant Il-mok, the new students in the hall watched with intrigued expressions.
The tension was building, as if a fight could break out any second.
Swish.
Thud.
The door to the hall opened and closed, snapping the heated tension and drawing the students' gazes to the entrance.
The newcomer was a man familiar even to Il-mok.
It was the instructor he had sparred with during the Demonic Path Academy entrance exam.
At the instructor's sudden appearance, Dokgo Pae—who had been picking a fight—clicked his tongue and returned to his seat.
Regardless, the instructor muttered to himself in a relaxed tone.
"Ha, two, three, four, five. Hmm. Looks like all twenty are here."
Having counted the new students in the hall, the instructor—wearing the same mischievous smile as that day—spoke.
"Nice to meet you. From today, I am Chu Il-hwan, the Chief Instructor overseeing your training and also your First Instructor."
As if checking faces, he slowly turned his head, beaming as he made eye contact with each student one by one.
Naturally, he met Il-mok's eyes in the process, and for some reason, his smile widened even more than before.
Chill.
The moment their eyes met, Il-mok felt goosebumps all over again. That same sensation from after the spar returned.
'Damn. Of course a Demonic Path Academy instructor can't be sane.'
Once is coincidence, twice is certainty.
'That guy's side effect is definitely into men.'
Il-mok vowed never to go near that instructor Chu Il-hwan.
Unaware of Il-mok's thoughts, Chu Il-hwan finished his brief self-introduction and shouted.
"We'll now head to the Demonic Path Academy, so follow me closely and don't fall behind. Lightness skill and tracking are part of the training too—stragglers will fail."
With that, Chu Il-hwan suddenly dashed out the door he had entered through.
"!?"
The flustered new students all jumped up and began chasing after Chu Il-hwan.
The pursuit began abruptly.
"Haa."
Il-mok also stood with an annoyed expression and followed behind Chu Il-hwan.