The Heavenly Demon Enters the Arena (7)
A disappointing fight. The man called Dang-whatever had been utterly overwhelmed by me and accepted defeat without even putting up a proper resistance. Harin had said he was stronger than her, so I had held some expectations, but they proved unfounded. Where was the skill in a fellow who could do nothing but take a beating and lose? He was no different from a training dummy. His passive attitude already displeased me, but what truly stoked my irritation was the martial art he employed.
This fellow was doing the same thing Harin had done before receiving my instruction—trying to align his body with some principle. A man who called himself the Heavenly Demon could not even properly wield his own martial arts. It was absurd. I had no desire to toy with him, so I ended the first match quickly.
Decai’s tournament used a best-of-three format. Wasting more time on this sort of opponent was irritating, but rules were rules. The loser, Dang-whatever, held the right to choose the next venue. He selected the same market where Decai had faced me last time.
So he intended to run. I had explained everything so thoroughly—had he not listened at all? All he could think of was fleeing in fear! When I glared at him, Dang-whatever took a step backward. Unacceptable. His very spirit was rotten. How dare such a man borrow my body and call himself the Heavenly Demon?
What annoyed me even more was the certainty that even if he lost this match, he would never relinquish my body. To this child, Apis was merely a game. No matter how sternly I warned him, he would think I was just role-playing. He would never abandon the character he had played his entire life.
“Child.”
“Y-yes?”
“I cannot bear to watch you call yourself the Heavenly Demon in that state.”
If I could not stop him, then I would have to turn him into someone worthy of the title.
“Do you have time this weekend?”
“Huh? Why?”
“I shall instruct you.”
I would have him roll alongside Harin when I trained her. At least until he could handle one person’s worth of training.
“Come to the place I designate by the appointed time.”
If you are even a shred of a martial artist, you would not kick away the chance to improve your skills.
“I’m grateful you’re offering to teach me, but…”
What now? Surely he was not about to say he was too afraid to come.
“Does that mean you’ll add me as a friend?”
“Of course. How else would I summon you to the location?”
What a strange question. At my answer, Dang-whatever wore an awkward expression, unsure what face to make. To receive instruction from a master and react like that… Truly a man without spirit.
Well then, let us finish this. This tedious match would only bring suffering to those watching as well.
After the match ended and I returned, no cheers greeted me. Only sympathetic glances were directed at Dang-whatever. Hmm. Normally one applauds the victor, do they not? Harin, why are you looking at Dang-whatever with pity as well? At this rate I truly look like the villain. I had merely taught a fool who dared call himself the Heavenly Demon without knowing his place. Since the situation had come to this, my pride stirred. Very well. If you all insist on seeing me that way, I shall gladly become the villain. I have always been closer to evil than to good. Ruthlessness suits me better than anyone. You may look forward to it.
“That was amazing, Hwaryeong-nim! You were incredible!”
The only one offering congratulations was WhipMasterLove. Of all people.
“Thank you. You were next, were you not?”
“Yes!”
“Do your best.”
“Thank you!”
Returning to my original seat after leaving him behind, I felt a headache coming on. The troublesome thing about fanaticism was how quickly the madness spread. Right now it might be only that one man, but fanaticism could infect others in an instant and drag them into its fold. I had seen that sight to the point of exhaustion in Murim.
The greater problem was that I could not be certain WhipMasterLove was the only one carrying the seed of fanaticism. Just as he had developed it after seeing only my videos despite never meeting me, others could follow the same process. If left alone, fanaticism might multiply. Just like the moment the ruined Divine Cult had been rebuilt.
“Um… Hwaryeong-nim.”
At the voice I looked up. Harin was staring at me curiously.
“What is it?”
“Did Dang So-il displease you that much?”
So my expression had been that stiff. Even this child had noticed. I suppose I had never imagined I would encounter fanaticism even after coming to the modern era. That must be why I was so shaken. To ease Harin’s worry, I forced a smile.
“He did displease me. That is why I intend to have him roll alongside you when you train.”
So Dang-whatever’s name was So-il. I would have to remember it, since I would be seeing him often.
“Alongside me?”
“Why, do you dislike the idea?”
“No, it’s not that, but… if the two of you train together, does that mean you’ll alternate?”
Hope flickered in Harin’s eyes. She was probably longing for rest. She must think that alternating rolls would be more bearable than rolling on the ground all day.
“Do you think I cannot handle the both of you at once?”
“Well… probably not…”
You brat. Where do you think you are trying to slack off? The path ahead is still a thousand li long. Still, it was good to offer a carrot occasionally. Endless whipping would eventually break someone.
“However, there are things I must teach each of you individually, so you will have a bit more rest time.”
“Really?!”
Watching Harin’s expression shift rapidly with every word I spoke lifted my mood slightly. Calm down. No matter how many times I had been burned, I had grown too hasty. So far I had only seen one seed with my own eyes, and that seed had not even sprouted yet. Worrying that the Divine Cult’s scenery would be recreated already was premature. There was still time to think slowly, make several attempts, and only then assume the worst.
After calming myself and listening to Harin’s chatter beside me, I spotted Decai approaching from afar.
“Hwaryeong-nim! Could you help commentate on the matches?”
He asked the moment he saw me.
“That would not be difficult, but…”
I was not so lazy that I minded sitting and running my mouth. What gave me pause was what had happened when I taught Enri last time. People had not understood my words well. It seemed the gap between my perspective and that of modern people was to blame, and I doubted the audience watching this tournament would be much different.
“My explanations may be rather extreme. Are you certain?”
“Don’t worry! Interpreting and conveying that is my job!”
“Yours?”
You clearly possess skill, but you are not particularly knowledgeable about martial arts. If we measured only the quantity of knowledge, you would fall short of even Harin beside me. Where did such confidence come from?
“I shall try it once. If I dislike it, I will leave.”
I would humor him once. I was curious about the source of his confidence.
“Do you think I’ve only commentated a couple of times? I’m confident!”
“The one who lost without doing anything last match must have only played Apis a couple of times as well.”
“That’s only because you were too strong, Hwaryeong-nim! It wasn’t my fault!”
His bold excuse did not inspire much trust, but since I had already agreed, I had no intention of backing out.
“Everyone, please welcome Hwaryeong-nim, who will be helping with the commentary for this match!”
As I took my place for commentary, the viewers welcomed me.
“Did you bring me here because a Whip Master is participating in this match?”
“Yes. You’re the only one who knows anything about the Whip Master, Hwaryeong-nim.”
So the Whip Master character was not very popular. A pity. It was not a character that deserved such neglect. Once I gained the authority to teach in my own way later, it would not be a bad idea to try improving the Whip Master’s image.
With that thought, I turned my gaze toward the prepared match screen. There, a woman holding a whip faced a man holding a staff.
“One is a Whip Master, the other a child of the Beggar Clan.”
“Do you know anything about the two players?”
“I do not.”
Whether it was Apis or anything else, I knew little about the modern world. I knew nothing about celebrities or martial artists, so why would I have researched players of this game? At my answer, Decai continued his explanation as if he had expected it.
“The one who chose the Whip Master is WhipMasterLove. He has been playing the Whip Master for several years since Apis launched. He is called the Last Whip Master Artisan of Apis, and his understanding of the class is unmatched. On the other side is PleaseGiveMeABeggar. Shortened to Baekju. She only plays the Beggar Clan Lord…”
Letting Decai’s explanation flow past one ear, I observed the two facing each other. The child borrowing the Beggar Clan beggar’s body was not worth paying attention to. Just from his stance, it was obvious he did not understand the Beggar Clan’s martial arts. In contrast, the Whip Master was decent. At the very least, she seemed to know what kind of weapon she was wielding. Hmm. I suppose I would watch for now.
“Looking at their tournament records so far, Baekju has the higher chance of winning. Their head-to-head record is 7 to 3! Achieving that kind of result in the tournament is basically an extreme counter matchup!”
It was different from what I could see. No matter how I thought about it, I could not see any possibility of WhipMasterLove losing to that Beggar Clan child. Perhaps she had recently improved her skills. Since she was a child who had become a fanatic after being captivated by me, she must have trained diligently after I fought Decai and the Ten.
“The match begins. Baekju is charging forward. She probably thought giving distance would let her get caught by the whip.”
“A correct choice. When facing a whip, it is best to either stay far away or close in completely.”
The whip was a long weapon. At close range it became cumbersome, no different from a spear. Of course, because a whip could change its shape in various ways, it had more countermeasures than a spear, but the fact that it was a threatening weapon at long range remained unchanged.
However, it was not only the beggar who understood the importance of distance. WhipMasterLove moved her whip to prevent the opponent’s approach. Her hand movements were small, but the resulting motion of the whip was by no means small. The whip shot forward at a speed beyond sound. The beggar tried to twist his body to dodge, but the whip suddenly altered its trajectory, forcing him to take the hit.
“Ho.”
Just once. I had only seen WhipMasterLove swing her whip once, yet I felt a sense of déjà vu. It was clearly similar to the whip I had used against Decai.