Seol-Hwi stood outside the door while the Earth Demon and the Lord of the White Dream Hall stayed inside the room.
After a long time, the Lord came out.
“Seol-Hwi, was it?”
“Yes.”
There was killing intent in his eyes; Seol-Hwi was worried that he would try something, but that fear disappeared as soon as the Earth Demon stepped out as well.
“You… I have a feeling I’ll be seeing you again.” He roughly brushed past Seol-Hwi on his way out.
Seol-Hwi glanced after him.
“Don’t worry too much.” The Earth Demon smiled at Seol-Hwi. “As long as I’m here, they won’t touch you.”
“…Thank you.” Seol-Hwi breathed a sigh of relief. He felt assured—for real, this time. He had forgotten for a moment what kind of person the Earth Demon was. Now it was presented to him irrefutably: even though Seol-Hwi killed the Lord’s men, the Earth Demon sent the Lord away without a fight.
Seol-Hwi didn’t know if it was just because the Earth Demon was the Heavenly Demon’s disciple, or he had struck a deal, but whatever it was, Seol-Hwi was safe under his wing. It was a bit overwhelming.
“Anyway, you did good this time. Take this.” The Earth Demon pulled the sword off his waist and offered it to Seol-Hwi.
Ah… This was no ordinary sword. There was a dragon engraved on the sheath, which surely would have cost a huge amount of money to get done. How amazing would the rest of the sword be? Not much different, surely.
As soon as Seol-Hwi grabbed the hilt, a status window appeared.
[<Divine Weapon> You have obtained the Sword of Reverence.]
A divine weapon? As expected, it was no simple tool. It looked like a sword worth bragging about, even from a cursory glance.
*Sword of Reverence: One of the swords used by the ancients priests when praying. This sword was reserved for the finest people.
<Basic Abilities>
- 70% increase in destructive power during normal attacks.
- 50% increase in destructive power during martial attacks.
- 50% increase in destructive power during martial arts techniques.
- 30% increase in destructive power when using Four Peaks Demonic Martial Arts.
<Additional Abilities>
- Increased combat mode (Turn-Based, AI, Simulation) switches.
<Special Abilities>
- Soul Chasing Qi (Sealed curse)
This was huge. It increased Seol-Hwi’s attack power in all fields, his combat power, and the amount of times he could change the combat mode, plus an unknown ability. This was practically a straight upgrade to his performance.
“If Hong had escaped the White Blood’s encirclement with the herb, he would have rewarded you for your help. You deserve this.” The Earth Demon’s face didn’t betray a hint of regret, despite giving away a sword famously associated with the disciples of the Heavenly Demon. He stared at Seol-Hwi for a moment and then patted him on the shoulders. “I have high expectations for you,” he said.
“I will live up to your expectations.”
The Earth Demon walked away with a subtle but refreshed smile.
Seol-Hwi knew one thing as he watched the man leave: giving the Earth Demon the herb had earned Seol-Hwi his trust, even if there was no change in the status window.
When he was alone again, Seol-Hwi pulled out the new sword. He wanted to see just how strong it was.
“Ah…” He couldn’t help but admire the blade as he drew it from its sheath. The sword was nearly perfectly sharp. He could feel demonic power in both sides of the blade—its special power, perhaps. When Seol-Hwi lifted it up to the light, he could see that it was forged from a single huge ingot, not welded from smaller pieces of iron.
“If I use this for Wind God…” There were other martial arts that went through his head, but he didn’t care. The Wind God was the best he could use right now—it was the one he wanted to use the most.
Seol-Hwi walked into the center of the yard and slowly raised his new sword.
“Hah! He moved quickly. It wasn’t successful yet, as he wasn’t fully aware of the sword.
“Ha!” He swung his sword nine times and then backed away.
[Using Wind God]
A strong sword wing swept forth, devouring everything in its path. In the blink of the eye, the vortex swelled—and so did the lightning.
It blew a hole through the wall.
Seol-Hwi gaped helplessly at the giant pit left in the ground.
Now he knew what a 30% increase meant.
After a good night’s sleep, he stepped out the door.
<Please set a schedule for month 4 of year 96. (8/36)>
▶ Take a Mission
▷ Warrior Training
▷ Walk Around
Seol-Hwi wanted to set his own schedule.
▶ Walk Around
He was tired of carrying out missions, and he wanted to master the powerful weapon in his hands.
[Where would you like to go?]
▶ The Fourth Disciple’s Home
▷ Hyunmu Garden
▷ Captains’ Dorm
[Moving to Hyunmu Garden]
Seol-Hwi stood in a spacious garden, along except for the lake view and the blooming flowers. Most people stuck to the entrance and exit of the garden, leaving the rest—such as where he stood now—untouched to allow people to rest.
There’s no one here, so no one can monitor them.
Even if it took him months, he intended to properly master Wind God.
[Month 4]
After endless work, he managed to increase the rate of success a little more.
From time to time, he tried to use the skill inside the sword, but he never got anywhere. He just didn’t know what conditions he had to meet to use it—so he just focused on his own training.
By the end of the 4th month, he could successfully use Wind God 2 out of 10 times.
[Month 5]
He trained the same movements, yet his success rate didn’t increase. Even the slightest misplaced breath would cause the technique to fail. Without the ability to evaluate himself, Seol-Hwi felt like he was going nowhere.
Still, he trained and managed to get to 3 successes out of 10 attempts.
<Please set a schedule for month 6 of year 96. (10/36)>
Don’t give up. If he could use this skill, he could defeat any master.
If he locked himself in place until he ground his way to success, would his opponents still stand tall?
He still only had a success rate of 30%, but all he needed to do to raise it was put in more effort.
His goal was 5—5 out of 10.
<Please set a schedule.>
He admitted it. It wouldn’t make sense if the best skill was easy to learn, but it was something he could do with enough effort. Isn’t it only natural to break through with training? Especially for him, who’d experienced countless deaths?“
<Please set a schedule for month 7 of year 96. (11/36)>
Going outside couldn’t hurt… right?
<Please set a schedule for month 8 of year 96. (12/36)>
What was with this bastard?
“This is crazy.” Seol-Hwi got back to his room covered in sweat.
Indeed, he’d spent several months training to use Wind God, with nothing to show for it. The success rate didn’t rise above 30%.
“What exactly is the problem?” he grumbled as he sat down.
The success rate was low, no matter how he thought about it. Seol-Hwi felt like he was losing it.
“I have no idea, so I’ll leave that for later.” He poured himself some water and went over to the bed to record the time.
<Please set a schedule for month 9 of year 96. (13/36)>
Oh, already? Where did the time go? Seol-Hwi didn’t even realize that today was the last day.
Naturally, he chose “wander” again.
[After a year, Seol-Hwi can choose a new schedule.]
Huh? Something different came out.
<Please set a schedule for month 9 of year 96. (13/36)>
▶ Teaching (New)
▷ Take a Mission
▷ Warrior Training
▷ Walk Around
His eye immediately landed on the first option.
Teaching. What did teaching mean? Curious, he selected it.
▶ Teach as Vice-Captain (Available)
▷ Perform the Captain’s duties (Unavailable)
Vice-Captain?
He recalled that the Earth Demon was going to appoint him as vice-captain. Seol-Hwi got the title but not the authority; he was asked to adapt to his posting first.
Was today the day?
<You have selected “Teach as Vice-Captain”.>
Seol-Hwi’s face paled as he was immediately presented with a familiar face.
<Speak with Captain Heukgu.>
[Oh? Has the day finally come?]
His surroundings shifted to Heukgu’s office.
[I heard you completed the training course here. It’s hard to believe how much you learned in just a year. Really, I think the Fourth Disciple got a bargain.]
Seol-Hwi didn’t reply, but the Captain continued regardless.
[Since you have all the right qualifications, I will take you as Vice-Captain from today on, as I said. Let’s lead the others well.]
The man gave him a serious look.
[For reference, all the leaders and people under the Earth Demon were hand-picked for excellence. It is your responsibility to bring them here and control them. If you can’t do that, resign—okay?]
With that, Seol-Hwi’s vision blurred. He hoped he’d be back in his room, but there was more to come.
[Do you want to save? Yes/No]
This didn’t appear unless something dangerous was going to happen.
Shall we find out?
◼ Year 95 of the Heavenly Calendar, Chapter 2-1: Three Choices from the Earth Demon.
◻ Year 95 of the Heavenly Calendar, Chapter 3-1: [Became a Core Warrior] Three years of rapid growth (Bonus Story).
◻ Year 95 of the Heavenly Calendar, Chapter 3-8 [Became a Core Warrior] Year One of Bonus Story.
The second one. The first time he got to set a schedule. That seemed like a safe pick.
Actually, there wasn’t a reason he had to save this moment, but he wanted to see what would happen.
[Saved.]
◼ Year 95 of the Heavenly Calendar, Chapter 2-1: Three Choices from the Earth Demon.
◻ Year 95 of the Heavenly Calendar, Chapter 3-1: [Became a Core Warrior] Year Two of Bonus Story
◻ Year 95 of the Heavenly Calendar, Chapter 3-8 [Became a Core Warrior] Year One of Bonus Story.
Second year, it says.
Seol-Hwi turned around and tried to figure out what he was supposed to do, but just when he thought he was finally done, another message popped up—and this one was new.
<Would you like to see “Episode”? Yes/No>
Episode? He had no idea what that meant.
He didn’t have a reason to refuse, however. He accepted and darkness swallowed him.
Then it brightened.
[Part 1: Vice-Captain of the Corps]
The words faded away and unknown voices tickled his ear.
“Did you all hear that a new vice-captain is coming?”
In the new brightness, something caught his eyes.
Editor’s Note:
“Corps” was previously translated as “Squad,” but it’s increasingly obvious that the Hidden Truth is much larger than just a “squad.” So now it’s the Hidden Truth “Corps”, Seol-Hwi is a vice-captain, and Heukgu is a captain.