The Heavenly Demon Tests Them (1)
Park Seol-ah, the top-ranked player known as Na-seol in Hwaryong Muin, had been slumped over her desk, fast asleep. When she finally woke up, her eyes were heavy and bleary as she stared at the monitor. On the screen was Hwaryeong. The girl stood before the Mount Hua Sect Leader, who was scattering violet internal energy all around her.
I was editing this video yesterday… and I must have fallen asleep while doing it. Sigh. You stupid idiot. This is such an amazing scene. It needs to go up on MyTube right away so people can see it, but instead you were just sleeping like an idiot. What time is it?
After rubbing her dry eyes several times to force them open, she checked the time displayed at the bottom of the monitor. Three in the afternoon. The last time she had looked at the clock was five in the morning. She had slept for a long time. No wonder her back hurt like hell.
Wait, if it’s three in the afternoon, isn’t that around the time Lady Hwaryeong usually starts her stream?
Seol-ah hurriedly opened the Turret website and scrolled through her follow list. But no matter where she looked, Lady Hwaryeong’s stream wasn’t there.
She’s not streaming today either.
It had been four days since Lady Hwaryeong announced that she would be recruiting people to help rebuild Mount Hua. During that time, she hadn’t turned on her stream even once. Seol-ah knew the reason. Lady Hwaryeong herself hadn’t posted an official notice, but her friend Enry had mentioned it during one of her own broadcasts.
The newly rebuilt Mount Hua had become the hottest topic in the Hwaryong Muin community lately. The prevailing opinion had been that the game was stagnant, that no new meta could possibly emerge anymore. Yet the person who had introduced the meta of martial principles was now offering to teach it herself. There was no way people’s interest wouldn’t be ignited.
Everyone in Hwaryong Muin who qualified to apply had sent her an email. It had already been proven that she possessed a talent for teaching others. Learning from her would let them get ahead of everyone else. There was no reason not to apply.
Most of those applicants, however, had zero interest in the name “Mount Hua.” The only thing that had captured everyone’s attention was the name Baek Ara.
Seol-ah was the same. She was one of the players who had been there since the very early days of Hwaryong Muin. Aside from eating and sleeping, she poured every waking second into the game. She was a certified shut-in, recognized by both herself and others. Even when she wasn’t playing, she was either digging through the Hwaryong Muin community forums or watching related MyTube videos. She was essentially a ghost living in the world of Hwaryong Muin rather than reality.
The day she first encountered the person called Hwaryeong had been pure coincidence.
While eating and casually browsing the community, she had clicked on a post titled “This person is fucking insane.” Inside was a video of Hwaryeong fighting an Outer God. The moment the video started, it completely captured her attention. Every single scene left her in awe.
Hwaryeong looked exactly like one of the top-tier NPCs from Hwaryong Muin had stepped straight into Apis. Every step, every gesture, even the way she breathed carried the essence of martial arts. The most breathtaking moment was when the Outer God unleashed its fury.
Even though Seol-ah didn’t play Apis, she knew exactly what that attack was. It was an instant-kill technique. No one had ever found a way to counter it. The common wisdom was that the best you could do was let one person die. Yet Hwaryeong had completely neutralized it using nothing but her own fist.
Seol-ah had always prided herself on being a veteran of martial arts games, but she couldn’t comprehend the fist technique Hwaryeong had displayed. What kind of martial principle would produce such a result?
Completely entranced, Seol-ah replayed the video of Hwaryeong fighting. She forgot she even had things to do in Hwaryong Muin. Again and again and again. She watched the martial arts that woman displayed.
At first, it had simply been the desire to imitate her. If she could copy those techniques, she thought she could climb higher in the Hwaryong Muin rankings.
But that feeling didn’t last long. It quickly transformed into reverence. The more she watched, the more she realized just how lofty and profound Hwaryeong’s martial arts truly were. It wasn’t something Seol-ah could ever hope to imitate. The martial arts Hwaryeong displayed were a kind of miracle performed by someone standing in a realm far beyond her own.
Is that person really the same kind of player as me? She’s not some ridiculous NPC created by the game developers? She’s actually a real person? Does that even make sense? How can a human… how can a human reach such a realm?
There was no jealousy toward Hwaryeong’s talent. Jealousy was only possible when the gap was small enough to feel bridgeable. The difference was so vast that Seol-ah couldn’t even see the place where Hwaryeong stood. The only emotion she could feel was pure, unadulterated reverence.
From that day on, Seol-ah obsessively followed in Hwaryeong’s footsteps. Wherever Hwaryeong appeared, she followed. She recorded and saved everything Hwaryeong did. She even edited her videos and uploaded them to MyTube so that more people could witness her greatness. Even though she received nothing in return, every time the view count rose, Seol-ah felt a deep sense of pride.
That was why, when Hwaryeong announced she would be recruiting people for the newly created Mount Hua, Seol-ah had applied without hesitation. She had zero interest in the name “Mount Hua,” but this was a chance to learn real martial arts directly from the person she worshipped. How could she not apply?
Aaah. Right. The email. I should check my email. Lady Hwaryeong might have replied.
She rushed to check her inbox and her eyes widened when she saw the reply from Hwaryeong. It had arrived. Even though she was overjoyed that a response had come, Seol-ah couldn’t bring herself to click on it. She wasn’t confident whether she had actually passed or not.
She was one of the people who had only registered her name with Mount Hua for the sake of efficiency. She was the type who paid tribute to the sect just to skip inefficient faction quests. It wasn’t that she had contributed nothing at all, but she certainly wasn’t someone passionate about rebuilding Mount Hua. That was why she couldn’t help but feel anxious.
What if I failed? I might actually want to kill myself. I was already so angry last time when I saw those Mount Hua brats receiving her teachings. If it happens again this time, I… No. I probably couldn’t actually die. I still need to see Lady Hwaryeong.
After taking several deep breaths, she wiped her face, grabbed her trembling hand with the other, and finally clicked the email. The words inside were incredibly polite.
Greetings. This is Hwaryeong. You have been selected as a candidate for the Mount Hua Sect membership examination. This test will…
After reading the short message once, she read it again from top to bottom because she couldn’t believe it was real. Only after checking it a third time did she finally let out a cheer.
I passed! I get to take the interview! I’m going to see Lady Hwaryeong! I’m going to see her with my own two eyes!
What should I do? Should I log into Hwaryong Muin first and change into better clothes? No, I should fix my hair first. My current style is too flashy. I need to look more neat and proper. Wait, no, no. This is a sect interview. I need to prepare in a way that shows off my skills even better.
She jumped around her room in excitement, only to stub her little toe on the drawer. She clutched her foot and writhed in pain.
*
When the day of the interview finally arrived and she turned on her stream for the first time in a while, the chat window exploded.
Why haven’t you been streaming for days? Do you know how long we’ve been waiting? Couldn’t you at least leave a notice?
I sat there with a pipe in my mouth, reading the messages, then exhaled a puff of smoke along with my answer.
Who do they think turned off their stream on purpose? I couldn’t turn it on! I’ve been working nonstop without even sleeping properly. How can they complain to me? The one who should feel wronged is me!
If I had known this would happen back then, I never would have brought up rebuilding Mount Hua!
Maybe because I had shouted so loudly, the eyes of all the applicants gathered below the platform turned toward me.
Ahem. I got a little too excited.
Even after filtering out as many people as possible, there were still five hundred applicants gathered here.
Any more than that and I wouldn’t be able to properly teach them.
It seemed some of the applicants were watching my stream, because cries of despair leaked out from various places. Why are they watching the stream when the person in question is standing right in front of them?
“Lady Hwaryeong.”
At Harin’s voice, I turned my head. The reason she was here was simple. The scale of today’s test had grown so large that it would be difficult for me to handle it alone. So I had decided to receive help from the sect Harin belonged to. The terms of the deal were straightforward. In exchange for helping today, I would teach them later.
“I’ve confirmed that all five hundred applicants have gathered.”
“Not a single person missing?”
“Yes.”
Huh. I thought it would be fine even if some were missing, but they really all showed up.
“Then let’s begin.”
“Understood.”
After confirming that Harin had stepped down, I moved to the front of the platform. I took a deep breath and infused my voice with internal energy. I had done speeches like this so many times back in the Heavenly Demon Cult that I didn’t feel nervous at all.
My voice, laden with internal energy, echoed throughout the entire space.
From the listeners’ perspective, it would just be empty words that went in one ear and out the other. Since I could do things my way, I decided to skip all the annoying formalities.
At my explanation, murmurs spread among the applicants.
The moment I finished speaking, many hands shot up. I pointed at one of them, and the person spoke.
“What exactly do you mean by ‘any means necessary’?”