novelraw Chapter 113 : Dancing with Bugs (3)
Chapter 113 : Dancing with Bugs (3)
A rough wind sound brushes past my ears. I could feel my body gradually accelerating towards the ground as my hair got all tangled up.
Even for a peak-level martial artist, falling directly from a height of more than 15 stories of an apartment building was dangerous.
I used wind magic to fly my body and corrected my landing trajectory to the top of a nearby tree.
‘This isn’t enough.’
With the current acceleration, the tree branch would break as it was. I could have landed gracefully with footwork, but there was no need to throw a gamble.
Chaeng-gang!
I just had to spread a shield right below and use it as a cushion.
I deliberately made it easy to break to disperse the impact and reduce the speed. Thanks to that, I was able to land on the top of the tree relatively stably.
As I came down to the floor, stepping on the branches, the King of Insects whistled at me.
“Your application ability is good, indeed.”
“But is it okay to kill them like this?”
I asked, looking at the giant bugs that had fallen, turned to ash. Go Du-gyeong shook his head, saying it didn’t matter.
“Bugs are loyal. But they don’t have human-like emotions. They are just dominated. Don’t look at them with human eyes, the difference in species is absolute. Unless it’s a spiritual beast.”
And then he asked me for my impression of the battle.
“They were strong. The various attacks and combinations were particularly tricky.”
“Let’s fight in a practical combat format every day from now on. The bugs will keep being born in the spiritual mountain anyway.”
“Sounds good.”
The opportunity to improve my skills by freely cutting down enemies was not common. If I gained experience through numerous practical battles along with the expanded circle this time, I could grow explosively.
“Then go straight into the bath. After a short rest, come out and fight again.”
He said, throwing the Daoist Scholar’s Fan to me. I couldn’t tell how many practical combat spars he was planning to have in a day.
“Isn’t it too frequent?”
“That’s how you improve. It’s possible with your recovery ability.”
It wasn’t wrong. Thanks to my various talents, the recovery ability of my body was not at the level of an ordinary person. I could also feel that I grew the more I faced my limits.
On the way to the bath, he controlled the bugs to collect the corpses of the giant bugs and rambled on.
“Living beings are born for destruction. Life grows to extort something from birth. Sharp teeth, claws, gastric juices, even humans are like that. It’s like a sword. In a sense, humans are the sword itself.”
“So you’re saying I should use it that much?”
“It means you need to know your own blade and know how to sharpen it. I will make you into a sword.”
His eyes held a strange heat. It seemed excessive for just fulfilling the duty of a mountain keeper, but there was no reason to refuse a private tutoring session.
I nodded my head and unfolded the Daoist Scholar’s Fan.
“Then I’ll be in your care.”
***
And so, nearly two weeks passed. I stood in the middle of a clearing where the flames had died down.
“…To think you would even defeat the Hundred Bug Corps.”
“It’s not difficult once you get the hang of it. The compatibility was also good. And besides, you only used normal giant bugs, didn’t you?”
As I replied, holding the Daoist Scholar’s Fan, the King of Insects looked around and laughed hollowly.
“A guy who was struggling to face the Ten Bug Platoon at first is talking big. Even so, it’s 100 of them. This is enough power to wipe out a small-scale sect, but to think you burned them all…”
Currently, the clearing area was littered with the corpses of giant bugs that had been burned to ash, pierced, cut, or frozen, scattered around me.
“You are a monster. I didn’t know you would grow so quickly in just a few weeks.”
“I guess it’s talent.”
“I couldn’t teach you humility, I see.”
“Then I’ll be heading down now. I need to fill up my credits.”
I ended the conversation before any unnecessary nagging could continue.
The ranking competition was tomorrow. It was partly because of what Go Du-gyeong had said about reaching the top among the intermediate students, but there was also the matter of credits.
The credits I had obtained so far were 46. I had to win the ranking competition and get additional credits to make the rest of the schedule comfortable.
‘I’ve also learned pretty much everything I can learn here.’
I could feel that I had become incredibly stronger than before. It was thanks to having fought life-and-death battles more than 100 times, something others might experience once or twice a year.
It was worth the effort of building up my strength by going back and forth to the divine bath after a hard spar.
“The recent external news is not good, so be careful when you go down.”
“I will.”
Leaving Go Du-gyeong’s advice behind, I headed to the Martial Academy.
As I entered the intermediate student hall after a long time, I could feel gazes from all directions.
‘What is it?’
People whispering while looking at me. It was a scene that was not new since the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly, but I still wondered what it was and focused my hearing, and I could hear voices.
“No matter how much he’s the winner of the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly, how can a thesis be 10 points?”
“I’ve never even heard of it. Does this even make sense according to the school rules…”
‘Don’t tell me?’
Passing by the whispers of the other students, I arrived at the inside of the intermediate student hall, and a new history was written at the end of my name.
[Growth Report Submission: 3 points]
[Thesis Submission: 10 points]
‘10 points…’
Only then did I understand the reaction of the other intermediate students. Receiving 10 credits just for submitting a thesis was something that was originally impossible. As an institution that strictly trained martial artists, you couldn’t receive the same treatment as the winner of the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly with just theory.
Of course, considering the importance of information warfare in a war, it wouldn’t be strange to give not 10 credits but double that for this matter.
It was just that they couldn’t give more than 10 points because there were no other regulations. This was also the academy putting in a lot of effort.
However, the problem was that this inside story could not be revealed to the other students. Because the existence of the Great Blood Art itself could not be revealed.
In a situation like this, of course, complaints were bound to erupt.
“This is ridiculous!”
“That’s right! Someone struggles outside for days to earn credits, but to get a high-grade request’s worth for just a thesis!”
“Is a mere thesis more amazing than winning the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly?”
Some of them vented their anger among themselves as if for me to hear.
Since they were a type of person I didn’t need to care about anyway, I glanced at them without adding a word. Then, the guys who flinched and became quiet.
With the fact that I had won the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly and even defeated Mo Yonghan publicly known, there was no one among them with the guts to directly confront me.
After quieting the guys down appropriately, I headed to the administrative department located inside to apply for the ranking competition.
“Which group will you be in?”
“The upper group.”
The ranking competition was largely divided into two groups. The upper group, which competed for the 1st to 5th places, and the lower group, which gathered the 6th to 10th places.
However, even if it was the lower group, since it was a place to determine the 1st to 10th places among the intermediate students, the competition was not easy.
The fact that only ten people were selected was also unique. But what was peculiar about the ranking competition was its nomination method.
“Then please tell me the position you want.”
“1st place.”
I answered without hesitation. Then, the staff asked back as if to confirm.
“…As we have notified you in advance, if you decide on a position, you will have a position-snatching spar with the person corresponding to that rank. If you lose, you will go down one step.”
I know. In other words, the moment I chose the 1st place, it meant that I would have a position-snatching fight with those who had chosen the same 1st place.
“For reference, you can only change one rank up or down from the chosen position. If you choose the 1st place, you will be changed to the 2nd place upon defeat, but from the 3rd place, you will be eliminated. The same goes for the opposite case.”
The staff added an explanation.
This also meant that if I had aimed for the 3rd place, the highest I could go up to was the 2nd place.
It was precisely because of this nomination method that the ranking competition was unique. A system where if you aimed too high and fell more than two steps, you would be eliminated, and if you aimed too low, you would lose out because you could only go up one step no matter how strong you were.
‘For me, I have no choice but to choose either the 1st or 2nd place.’
As long as the rank I was aiming for was 1st, there were only two options. However, if I chose 2nd at this time, I would not only have to fight and win among those who had chosen 2nd, but also face those who had chosen 1st.
‘So basically, it’s more advantageous to pick the rank you want as much as possible.’
Of course, on the premise that I could defend the 1st place. In the end, since you had to be able to gauge the position you could handle, judgment was also important.
‘However, if we assume that two people will come to the 1st place and two people to the 2nd place, it might be better to apply for the 2nd place instead.’
Because while the two strong contenders for the 1st place are fighting, you can easily defeat the relatively weaker applicant for the 2nd place and then face the strong contender for the 1st place who is out of stamina.
Of course, I had been in the spiritual mountain for too long to think about such a case. At this point, where I hadn’t grasped the movements of Bong So, Namgung Bihwa, and Baek Hasin, I had no choice but to take the direct approach.
“As I said before, I’ll go for the 1st place.”
As I made my decision, the staff filled out a document and handed me a plaque. It was a nameplate with the character for one (一) written on it.
I put it in my bosom and turned around. Since the ranking competition was tomorrow, it was good to take care of my body from now on.
And so, on the way back, a shadow that blocked my path stood in front of me.
“It’s been a while. Baek Hasin.”
The guy stood in front of me with bandages on both arms. Even if he covered the bandages with his sleeves, it was obvious.
‘Has it already become like that?’
It was the side effects of rampage and erosion that appeared when one grew too rapidly while learning demonic arts.
Although I wanted to ask a few things about this, the only countermeasure was a realm increase, and since he would solve it well on his own anyway, I brought up another topic.
“You, which position did you choose?”
Since it would be revealed tomorrow anyway, I asked openly.
“2nd place.”
Perhaps because he said it so openly, the answer felt like a lie.
“1st place.”
So I put up a counter-fire. In fact, since you could lie as much as you wanted, it was difficult to make a meaningful strategy with just this kind of question and answer.
Even if Baek Hasin was honest, he wasn’t a fool who would reveal everything to a probing question. It was just a question I asked as a greeting.
“Bong So will be in the 1st place anyway. I wonder where Namgung Bihwa will choose?”
I subtly showed my curiosity. Since she had lost to Bong So last time, it was ambiguous whether she would choose 1st for revenge or stick to 2nd strategically.
‘I remember this being random in the original work too.’
“I don’t know either. So where have you been all this time?”
Along with the answer, Baek Hasin suddenly asked.
“I was training a bit. I caught the eye of Professor Go Du-gyeong this time.”
Since Go Du-gyeong had taken care of my related overnight stays, it wouldn’t be strange to say this much. Then, Baek Hasin said as if it were a coincidence.
“Really? I learned from senior Cheon Ga-seong this time.”
“Cheon Ga-seong?”
I was surprised. Wasn’t he the being at the pinnacle of the senior students? To think that the monster that even Cho Min-ha couldn’t defeat in the end was teaching Baek Hasin.
‘No, it’s plausible…’
Since both of them used demonic arts, the combination was not bad. However, a development in this direction would happen after becoming a senior student, but the development was faster than I thought.
‘It’s been like this for a while, and the original work keeps getting twisted.’
Feeling a slight annoyance, I asked him further.
“Is that why you have those bandages?”
“Yeah. Thanks to that, I’ve gotten quite strong. I can win even if I fight you now. How about it? It seems you’ve also changed quite a bit this time.”
Baek Hasin showed his confidence. Judging by his tone, it seemed he had been unconsciously placing me as a rival. I raised the corner of my mouth and faced Baek Hasin.
“That’s a coincidence.”
Because I was the same.
(End of Chapter)