Chapter 68
Chapter 68
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 68
>Chapter Title: First Test (3)
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Somewhere on Taecheon Peak, where the first test was underway.
Puck.
“Keuk….”
Looking down at the examinee who had collapsed after being struck in the meridian points by his technique, Dokgo Pae spoke with a pathetic expression.
“Tut. Stupid bastards.”
Beside the fallen examinee, another examinee had collapsed as well.
Even though they were divided into groups of four, these two were moving completely on their own.
The reason was simple. They had split into pairs to collect badges more quickly.
Unlike Il-mok's group, the problem was that they were genuinely operating as just the two of them, not using one as bait.
While moving as a pair like that, they had run into Dokgo Pae's group and been subdued.
Meanwhile, the three other examinees in Dokgo Pae's group stared at him with bewildered expressions.
‘He was thinking the exact same thing.’
‘How can he be so shameless!’
In truth, Dokgo Pae had made the exact same suggestion when they first heard the rules. No, he had been even more insistent than them.
He had insisted they split into four right away to collect badges quickly.
‘Must achieve a higher score than the Eighth Young Master!’
Dokgo Pae's mind was filled solely with the thought of defeating Il-mok.
Fortunately for them, Dokgo Pae's rampage had been reined in by the other team members.
- If we move separately and encounter the Youngest Young Master's group, what do you plan to do?’
- Hmph! Didn’t they say no fighting anyway? I’d love to crush the Youngest Young Master in a head-on clash, but if the rules demand it, moving first is the best option, right?
Dokgo Pae thought this test favored him. On the first day at the Demonic Path Academy, he had at least won in lightness skill competition.
But the following team member’s rebuttal forced Dokgo Pae to retract his idea.
- It’s not no fighting—it’s no serious injuries. That means subduing is allowed. Even for Examinee Dokgo, do you think you can take on the Youngest Young Master’s entire group alone?
- …Kuhm. O-one Youngest Young Master, maybe, but if they ‘sneakily’ all four gang up, it’s n-not easy.
Out of pride, Dokgo Pae couldn’t bring himself to say he’d lose to just the Youngest Young Master.
In any case, thanks to that team member’s wisdom, Dokgo Pae’s group avoided the folly of individual action.
“These bastards had two badges.”
“Hahaha! Thanks to them moving separately, they were pretty fast!”
After searching the bodies of the two they had subdued, they found two badges, and their faces brightened.
They themselves had only found one badge so far, since they were moving as a group of four.
Right after finishing sorting the spoils.
“Then let’s move to the next location!”
The other three team members let out faint sighs at the sight of Dokgo Pae shouting as if he were the leader and taking the front.
“Sigh. We got stuck with the wrong one.”
“I don’t get why he keeps leading when he can’t even read the map properly.”
“That’s why we keep getting lost and only found one.”
In fact, one of the main reasons they were collecting badges so slowly was Dokgo Pae’s stubborn temperament.
Dokgo Pae, who was obsessed only with martial arts, wasn’t particularly standout in Silver Willow Instructor’s classes.
He had learned map reading to ‘some extent,’ but it was sloppy.
Yet he was strangely overflowing with confidence, constantly taking the lead and veering off into wrong paths.
“Well, he’s the type who’s satisfied just being the boss, so let’s just watch.”
The examinee who had insisted on teaming up with Dokgo Pae said that, and the other two nodded.
He had a dictatorial streak, but if you coaxed and placated him nicely, he listened.
Honestly, having no leader at all was worse for sorting out opinions than having a guy like that as leader.
When opinions clashed in various ways, you needed someone forceful to push through to get anything done.
After that, they continued their journey under Dokgo Pae’s lead.
Whenever Dokgo Pae took the forefront and seemed to be heading the wrong way, the three would appropriately coax him into changing course.
However, quite some time had passed, and even when they arrived at new locations, no badges remained.
“Tut. Let’s move to the next location!”
Dokgo Pae clicked his tongue in disappointment and quickly sorted things out to move on, when shortly after.
“!!!”
They spotted another group beyond the bushes.
But it was different from before.
It was a group of four moving together.
On top of that.
“Tut. Ambush will be tough.”
To make matters worse, the opponents had spotted them as well.
Naturally, a tense atmosphere formed between them.
The moment anyone made a strange move, it felt like a fight would break out.
Then, one female examinee from the opponent side stepped forward confidently.
With a proud and haughty gait and expression, the woman was none other than Bang Mi-hwa.
Dokgo Pae was aware of her existence as well. They were in the same A-class to begin with, and while A-class only had ten members, that wasn’t the reason he knew her.
‘The bitch loitering around the Youngest Young Master.’
She stuck out in his memory solely because she was hanging around Il-mok, the one person Dokgo Pae was interested in.
However, the words from her mouth exceeded Dokgo Pae’s expectations.
“Since we’ve run into each other like this, how about forming a temporary alliance?”
“Temporary alliance?”
“Because the Eighth Young Master’s group—the top contender for victory—is out there.”
Dokgo Pae and his team members understood what she meant.
Take out Il-mok’s group first. Then compete among themselves after that.
However, Dokgo Pae couldn’t trust her words.
“Hmph. How can I trust someone who spent the last month glued to the Youngest Young Master?”
“Because both I and the Youngest Young Master know how to separate public from private.”
Bang Mi-hwa was convinced. Something this trivial wouldn’t change Il-mok’s feelings toward her.
Bang Mi-hwa truly believed that wholeheartedly, but the problem was Dokgo Pae.
He grinned ferociously and said.
“Hmph. Such petty schemes don’t suit the eldest grandson of the Great Dokgo Clan. I’ll just subdue you all right here, take your badges, and then take the Youngest Young Master’s badges in a head-on fight as well!”
No sooner had Dokgo Pae’s provocative words ended than both sides drew their weapons without anyone going first, naturally forming a tense atmosphere.
“To choose the penalty of your own accord—how foolish.”
Bang Mi-hwa, with her haughty face, drew her fan and subtly covered her left jaw with it, making her confident right side stand out.
At some point, she had come to believe that her right face was her true face.
Only the more beautiful, more perfect her was the real her.
Of course, Dokgo Pae—who had zero interest in her—intended to swing his sword at her just like that.
If not for the voice of a team member from behind.
“Dokgo Leader. Wasn’t your goal the Youngest Young Master? Fighting them here is a bad move.”
Dokgo Pae halted his sword swing and focused on the examinee’s words.
Until now, he had just been called ‘examinee,’ but this time he was called ‘Leader.’
“Why?”
Since the opponent had called him Leader, Dokgo Pae naturally spoke down to him.
“Unnecessarily fighting them could lead to injuries on our side. Plus, if Leader Dokgo injures them, you might get disqualified or in trouble before even facing the Youngest Young Master.”
At the seemingly reasonable advice, Dokgo Pae lightly clicked his tongue and withdrew his sword.
“Tut. I’ll deal with you lot after the Youngest Young Master.”
As if his business was done, Dokgo Pae turned his back proudly and walked in the opposite direction.
Dokgo Pae’s team members began to follow him as well, and Bang Mi-hwa and her team watched their retreating backs.
“Mi-hwa. Wouldn’t it be better to ambush them now?”
At her friend Ha Yeong’s suggestion, Bang Mi-hwa shook her head with a haughty expression.
“Unnecessarily tangling with them would just hurt us.”
“Still, wouldn’t it be more advantageous to deal with them than the Youngest Young Master’s side?”
“Dokgo Examinee has no chance of beating the Youngest Young Master anyway, right? If they get eliminated on their own, our ranking goes up.”
“But we could lose to the Youngest Young Master too?”
“For that, I have a plan ready, so don’t worry.”
At her confident friend’s reply, Ha Yeong nodded with an ‘as expected’ expression.
“…….”
Of course, the two B-class examinees who had been waiting behind and overhearing the conversation could only wear anxious expressions.
* * *
Not long after encountering Bang Mi-hwa’s group.
“Tut. Nothing here either.”
Dokgo Pae muttered, clicking his tongue as he arrived at another location following the map.
At that moment, the examinee who had been handling the navigator role for this group spoke up.
“It seems all the badges have already been collected, Leader. From now on, it’ll be a fight to steal badges from each other.”
“Hmm. Better this way. Fighting suits me more than this boring badge hunt. Hahaha.”
Even at the sight of Dokgo Pae laughing idiotically, the examinee barely maintained a smiling expression and said.
“In that vein, how about we prepare a meal now?”
“A meal? What are you talking about?”
“I trust Leader, of course, but wouldn’t it be risky to face the Youngest Young Master on an empty stomach?”
“Hoo.”
“Besides, only Leader can match the Youngest Young Master, so in the end, it’ll come down to a showdown between Leader and him.”
“Oh ho!”
Ultimately swayed by the examinee’s words, Dokgo Pae decided to have lunch.
“Then go find some food right now!”
As the leader, he saw no need for himself to handle such menial tasks.
While searching the forest for food under Dokgo Pae’s orders.
“Sigh.”
The examinee handling the navigator role, Gwak Sul, let out a faint sigh.
In truth, he had no intention of letting Dokgo Pae face off against Il-mok. Judging from his actions so far, it was predictable that Dokgo Pae would lose a hundred times out of a hundred.
‘…Examinee Dokgo has no talent for reading traces anyway, so the best is to trick him into clashing with another group.’
Gwak Sul still harbored resentment over not accepting Bang Mi-hwa’s proposal. But recapturing spilled water from Dokgo Pae was a pipe dream.
Having sorted out his thoughts on the aftermath, he wandered the mountain appropriately in search of food.
And by the time Gwak Sul and the other two finished hunting and gathering.
Time had already passed by about half a shichen.
Unlike Il-mok’s group, which had Jeonghyeon, none of them had experience with hunting or foraging.
Thanks to their martial arts allowing faster movement than most animals and basic tracking skills, they forcibly succeeded in hunting and wrapped it up in half a shichen.
By the time they had prepared the food, lit a fire, butchered the animals, and finished meal prep, more than two shichen had passed since the test began.
“Hahaha. Good call eating early, just like Gwak Examinee said.”
Dokgo Pae went without saying, but the other three were now completely starving as well.
“Here.”
Now fully accustomed to his leader role, Dokgo Pae naturally issued orders and was about to bring a piece of freshly roasted, savory-smelling meat to his mouth when.
Rustle.
Beyond the bushes, the sight of one man and one woman charging toward them came into view.
“Damn it.”
“Shit.”
“You must be crazy to die.”
While the two team members and Dokgo Pae each grimaced, dropped the meat, and grabbed their weapons.
“Something’s off!”
Gwak Sul shouted as he watched the two charging man and woman.
“We’re four strong—doesn’t it seem weird for just two to charge in!?”
The moment everyone felt puzzled at Gwak Sul’s reasonable point.
Pat!
Il-mok suddenly burst from nearby bushes and charged straight at Dokgo Pae.
As all eyes focused on the abruptly appearing Youngest Young Master.
Chaeng!
“Guk….”
An arrow flew in without a sound, striking an examinee’s meridian point, causing him to collapse.
Chaeng!
Dokgo Pae clashed weapons with Il-mok’s swung sword and bellowed with a furious expression.
“Despicable bitches, just like always!!”
Whether it was Bang Mi-hwa, who had tried to rope in Il-mok with an alliance offer, or Il-mok, ambushing them during a meal.
To Dokgo Pae, they were all the same bitches.
Of course, Il-mok—who knew nothing of the dealings with Bang Mi-hwa—could only swing his sword with a bewildered expression.