Chapter 67
Chapter 67
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 67
>Chapter Title: First Test (2)
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After reaching the target point using one of his few specialties—stealth technique.
‘Phew.’
Jeong-hyeon let out a deep sigh inwardly to avoid making any presence known, then steadied his mind.
Clang!
Through the gaps in the bushes and trees, another group's cadets and the two baits were just now clashing in battle.
Watching the scene, Jeong-hyeon calmly raised his bow and drew out an arrow.
Amid movements so eerily silent they produced not even the slightest sound or hint of presence.
Amusingly, rather than focusing on the bow, Jeong-hyeon was lost in other thoughts.
‘I don’t want to disappoint him.’
Jeong-hyeon recalled what had happened just moments ago.
- Our team's secret weapon is none other than Cadet Jeong.
From their first meeting up to now, he had only ever shown pathetic sides of himself, yet for some reason, Young Master Il-mok regarded him as a truly excellent martial artist.
The sensation of his one and only friend patting his shoulder while saying those words still lingered vividly.
And amid it all, his own trembling, pathetic figure had been utterly deplorable.
So, at the very least, in this moment right now.
‘The first friend I’ve ever made—I don’t want to disappoint him.’
“Hoo.”
After regulating his breathing ever so faintly, the moment he focused his mind, all his senses sharpened to a point.
Every nerve fired sharply, and the world flowed in slow motion. Though over ten jang—more than thirty meters—separated them, filled with bushes and trees in between, the battlefield absurdly felt as close as if it were right before his eyes.
It was the effect of the Ghost Spirit Divine Bow, that demonic art.
Because of these cursed, razor-sharp senses, he nearly had a fit whenever a person or animal came even slightly near.
Thanks to that, he’d have seizures whenever anyone approached even a little, and everyone had abandoned his pathetic self.
Everyone except one. Young Master Il-mok.
Flash!
In the slowly flowing world, Joo Seo-yeon’s spear slowly rose upward.
And the moment the female cadet, whose stance had crumbled, unleashed her Golden Snail Technique toward her.
Rustle.
Il-mok, who had stealthily approached nearby, drew his sword and launched himself forward.
In response, the cadet raising Joo Seo-yeon’s spear hurriedly swung his saber.
‘Now!’
His concentration and senses, heightened to the extreme, seemed to read the future a split-second ahead.
From the saber-swinging cadet’s posture and the faint muscle movements visible through his clothes, he could picture exactly what stance the cadet would be in by the time his arrow arrived.
And the arrow that left her hand without even a whisper of sound struck precisely at the cadet’s acupoint, that single vital point.
* * *
Several things happened simultaneously.
The female cadet’s finger technique targeting Joo Seo-yeon’s acupoint finally succeeded in striking her vital point.
Flash.
But at the same instant, Il-mok’s sword tip struck the female cadet’s acupoint.
It was perfectly timed ambush. Too focused on attacking Joo Seo-yeon, the female cadet hadn’t even reacted to Il-mok’s assault.
In the end, Joo Seo-yeon and the female cadet had their acupoints sealed almost simultaneously.
“Urk.”
And at the same moment, the cadet swinging his saber was struck in his acupoint by the arrowhead of a worn arrow, freezing him mid-swing.
“Young Master! I did it! I pulled off the bait role!”
Even with her acupoint sealed, Joo Seo-yeon shouted proudly as if boasting, drawing a hollow laugh from Il-mok.
‘Would’ve been better if it was her dumb acupoint that got sealed instead.’
Shaking his head to clear stray thoughts, Il-mok turned to the two cadets who had halted their attack on Choi Woong midway.
“Will you surrender quietly and hand over your tokens? Or resist and get them taken after being subdued?”
It was Il-mok’s suggestion, as he had no desire to sweat from unnecessary exertion.
But after eyeing the situation briefly, the two spun around in a sudden attempt to flee.
“Tch.”
Of course, Il-mok wasn’t the type to just let the targets escape like idiots.
He closed the distance in an instant and began pressuring them with Soul-Stealing Heartless Sword.
“You sneaky bastards!”
Choi Woong, who had just been double-teamed by them, saw this as his chance for revenge and charged in support of Il-mok with eyes ablaze.
‘Who’s calling who sneaky?’
Il-mok let out a hollow laugh. After all, one of the three who had picked a fight with him on the second day of enrollment was none other than Choi Woong.
Even as the two struggled against just Il-mok alone, Choi Woong swung his saber alongside him from the flank.
“Urk.”
And with arrows flying in from somewhere that barely made a sound, they had no choice but to have their acupoints sealed in an instant.
“Check the spoils. I’ll go unseal Cadet Joo’s acupoint.”
After giving Choi Woong his orders, Il-mok approached Joo Seo-yeon and released her acupoint.
“Cadet Joo, check the female cadet’s body as well.”
As he gave appropriate instructions to the two and took a break.
Rustle.
Jeong-hyeon, who had provided support fire from afar, had already approached nearby.
Well, he stopped about a jang away, as usual.
“I believed in you, Cadet Jeong.”
Il-mok smiled at Jeong-hyeon, who was shrinking back from a distance, but Jeong-hyeon bowed his head deeply and mumbled something in a small voice.
“We found one, Young Master!”
“There’s one here too, Young Master!”
It was buried under the boisterous voices of Joo Seo-yeon and Choi Woong.
“With this, we’ve collected three tokens.”
“Yes, Young Master. Plus, we secured the map they received from the instructor. It marks two locations not on ours.”
“Then let’s head to one more spot the same way.”
As Joo Seo-yeon nodded vigorously at Il-mok’s words and Jeong-hyeon timidly replied, “Ah, got it,”
“But what about these guys?”
Surprisingly, it was Choi Woong who posed the sensible question.
“Just hide them somewhere suitable. If we unseal their acupoints, they might team up with another group for revenge, right?”
“Wouldn’t that… be dangerous? Even if they’re Heavenly Demon Divine Cult martial artists, with their acupoints sealed, they could die if they run into a wild animal.”
At Choi Woong’s uneasy question, Il-mok shrugged.
“Someone might come retrieve them if we leave them. Honestly, with rules that encourage fighting like this, they’ve probably got instructors or assistants stationed everywhere to prevent accidents.”
Il-mok scanned the surroundings as he spoke, then added,
“They might’ve even been watching this fight from nearby.”
* * *
After traveling this far, they arrived at another location hiding a token.
Whether by good luck or bad, they didn’t encounter any other group this time. However, the token was gone.
“Looks like someone’s already been here.”
“Shall we move to the next spot right away?”
At Joo Seo-yeon and Choi Woong’s words, Il-mok shook his head.
“It’s been about one double-hour since the test started. If this place is already cleared, there probably aren’t any tokens left.”
“Then, should I play bait again like before?”
As Joo Seo-yeon volunteered once more, Il-mok shook his head.
“We’ve still got three double-hours left in the test, so let’s eat first.”
This time, none of the team members questioned Il-mok’s words.
Having adapted somewhat, they could now faintly grasp his intentions.
‘The Young Master plans to fill our stomachs now and aim for the second half.’
A four double-hour test in the mountains meant the Demonic Path Academy wouldn’t provide meals separately.
Perhaps eating ahead like this would let them easily overpower other starving teams.
And Choi Woong’s guess was half correct.
‘Four teams left. Ten tokens total. We’ve got three, so we can take it easy now. Pluck one more in the second half, and at least third place is locked in.’
In truth, Il-mok’s main goal was simply to rest comfortably. Maintaining the status quo seemed plenty for a top ranking.
“If we get ambushed while eating, it’ll be a hassle, so let’s move far from any marked token spots on the map. It’d be good to catch and roast one or two animals on the way.”
Everyone nodded at Il-mok’s words, but there was one problem.
“By the way, is anyone skilled in hunting or foraging?”
At Il-mok’s question, Joo Seo-yeon just grinned vacantly, while Choi Woong averted his gaze.
‘Bait specialists who can’t do anything else.’
As Il-mok thought that, a small voice wormed into his ear.
“Um…”
Turning his head, he saw Jeong-hyeon, standing a jang away with his head bowed, timidly raising his right hand.
“I-I have a little experience, Young Master.”
A smile naturally spread across Il-mok’s face.
“Hahaha. As expected, the star of this test is Cadet Jeong. No one but Cadet Jeong! Hahaha.”
Il-mok showered Jeong-hyeon with praise, then turned and shot pitiful looks at Joo Seo-yeon and Choi Woong.
“Ahem.”
Embarrassed, Choi Woong turned his head away.
“Hahaha. Excellent, Cadet Jeong!”
Joo Seo-yeon beamed innocently as ever.
* * *
Il-mok and his group consulted the map and headed toward the mountain’s outskirts.
Along the way, Jeong-hyeon would slip out of formation stealthily, hunt an animal, gather fruits or mushrooms, and reappear.
It was a bizarre sight.
“Huh, when did you go?”
With such a faint presence, and always keeping about a jang’s distance, no one even noticed when Jeong-hyeon vanished.
They’d only react with surprise upon his return with something in hand.
In any case, after about a gak of travel, they reached the mountain outskirts and prepared lunch.
Someone butchered the animals Jeong-hyeon had caught, while another carefully started a fire.
By the time preparations were done, a double-hour and a half had passed since the test began.
As hunger began to set in, they started eating with relaxed minds.
Jeong-hyeon quietly ate from a spot a little removed, as always, while Joo Seo-yeon incessantly chattered to Il-mok about Jin Ha-yeon.
Listening silently to her prattle, Il-mok suddenly had a question.
“But, Cadet Joo, when exactly did you meet Miss Jin?”
At Il-mok’s question, Joo Seo-yeon’s eyes sparkled as she replied.
“Truth is, my father is one of the shadows of the Silver Shadow Pavilion. So, I’d occasionally meet or visit with its members.”
“Then you met her there?”
“Yes! Two years ago, when Jin Ha-yeon had just joined the Silver Shadow Pavilion. I happened to follow my father there and met her!”
Joo Seo-yeon recounted at length the incident that led to her fangirling.
“I never imagined there could be someone in the world with such lofty grace. Curious, I asked my father about her.”
“His stories made me fall even harder for Jin Ha-yeon. Her tale of rising from harsh beginnings through sheer effort to claim second place at the Demonic Path Academy was so moving, despite her noble appearance.”
“My father even said I should emulate her, grow into an excellent martial artist, and join the Silver Shadow Pavilion.”
Listening to her lengthy tale, Il-mok thought,
‘Indeed, two years ago she’d have been fourteen—prime age for impressionable emotions.’
Full fourteen years old. Equivalent to second or third year middle school in Korea. Falling hard at that age made sense.
Her father egging her on had played a part too.
‘Well, not the kind of result he intended, probably.’
He’d likely meant to motivate his daughter with an exemplary figure. The problem was Joo Seo-yeon receiving a different sort of stimulation.
At that moment, Choi Woong, who had been listening along, spoke up with a strange expression.
“Um… From what I hear, this Jin Ha-yeon is a woman…?”
“Yes! An elegant lady exuding an atmosphere unlike any other!”
As Joo Seo-yeon pitched her fervor at him, Choi Woong asked hesitantly,
“Uh… Cadet Joo, you like women?”
His face was filled with confusion.
‘Well, this world might find such tastes hard to accept.’
As Il-mok thought that, Joo Seo-yeon instead looked at Choi Woong incomprehensibly.
“Then, does Cadet Choi not admire the Heavenly Demon?”
“W-what blasphemy is that! How could one not revere the Lord of Ten Thousand Demons!”
“But the Lord of Ten Thousand Demons is a man, like you, Cadet Choi?”
“!?”
“I feel the same. My utmost respected is the Lord of Ten Thousand Demons, but second is Jin Ha-yeon. Her gender doesn’t matter.”
Watching Joo Seo-yeon continue her rant with eyes rolled back, Il-mok wondered.
Whether that madwoman’s feelings were truly pure admiration.
But that wasn’t important now.
“We’ve finished eating and rested, so let’s get moving.”
Il-mok stood up, lest Choi Woong fall into demonic deviation if left like this.
He wasn’t worried about Choi Woong. He just didn’t want the hassle of dealing with someone gone mad from deviation.