novelraw Chapter 22 : Preliminary Round (1)
Chapter 22 : Preliminary Round (1)
I feel proud for the first time in a long time. I think these were the days I spent my time most fruitfully since my regression.
In the morning, I go to the Little Demon Academy, in the afternoon, I'm called here and there for the Divine Demon Tournament preparations, and in the evening, I have a duel with my hyung-nim and then discuss martial arts until dawn before coming home to end the day.
Even if I were to regress one more time, I wouldn't be able to live more diligently than this.
And so, my hyung-nim's current realm is the middle stage of the Peak.
Once the realm was pierced, he progressed smoothly from then on. Of course, it could be said to be the result of his bloody efforts.
I remember that the opponent I met in the finals of the Divine Demon Tournament before my regression was about the middle stage of the Peak.
All preparations were perfectly finished.
Now, all that was left was to wait for the results with a peaceful mind.
* * *
The classes at the Little Demon Academy are divided into three main categories.
Theory classes, dispatch classes, and practical classes.
Today was a theory class day.
In the past, the Heavenly Demon Cult, which had only pursued power, had now begun to value knowledge.
The world could no longer be controlled by power alone.
Moreover, the act of accumulating knowledge became even more important in order to counter the Orthodox Faction, which was carrying out numerous plots.
In the days when there was nothing to protect, they could just smash everything if things went wrong, but now that there was a lot to protect, they had to fight a defensive battle.
Now, on the contrary, the Orthodox Faction fights a battle of smashing everything.
It could be said to be a truly paradoxical situation.
Unlike other classes, theory classes are conducted in a quiet atmosphere. But now, the faces of the students sitting here and there were easily found to be somewhat excited.
They couldn't calm their excitement because of the Divine Demon Tournament.
I can see the kids gathered over there.
The Sword Demoness, the Mad Demon, the Demonic Brain, and Gwang Se-hyeon are sitting side by side.
And I don't know if it's a good thing or not, but since that day, the bullying from the kids from the Seven Harmonies Association or the Seven Demons Association was no more.
"He's coming!"
Just then, the child sitting closest to the door shouted briefly. Although no one had decided it, it had become a kind of rule for the person sitting there to announce the instructor's arrival. The noisy room became quiet in an instant, and the door slid open and the instructor came in. The instructor, satisfied with the quiet atmosphere in the room, smiled. Up to this point, it was the same as before. But the smile soon disappeared.
"As you all know, there will be no Little Demon Academy classes for the time being."
The first words were quite shocking. But no one was flustered.
Because everyone here already knew the reason. It wouldn't make sense if they didn't. The entire Heavenly Demon Cult was in an uproar preparing for it.
"When the Divine Demon Tournament opens, all the students of the Little Demon Academy will be assigned to the support team. You will be placed where support is needed."
Since everyone had expected it, they all nodded readily.
"And as if to acknowledge your hard work, a special reward has been given from above."
This statement, at least, could not be ignored.
"Oh!"
This was the first time for me too, so I listened carefully to the instructor's next words.
"We have also been given the qualification to participate in the Divine Demon Tournament."
Huh? This definitely didn't happen before my regression.
Because this was natural.
The average age of the participants in the Divine Demon Tournament is twenty. Moreover, participants up to the age of thirty can also participate.
But to have children who are just about twelve years old participate?
Even if they had learned martial arts from their mother's womb, they were a whopping 8 years younger than the average participants.
It's just 8 years, but with a slight exaggeration, it was enough time for a river to change its course.
There was a high possibility of becoming a laughingstock if they went out for no reason.
"Are there any volunteers?"
Would you do it if you were me?
As expected, no one volunteers.
The instructor, as if he had expected it, nodded his head and continued.
"I thought so, and there is another reward. That is! If you advance to the main tournament, there will be a special individual reward!"
This was a move I hadn't expected.
The children who had shown no interest until now began to show a little interest.
Even if they didn't care about other things, the special individual reward was something that couldn't be ignored.
A special individual reward.
In short, the special reward was divided into three main categories.
High-grade special reward, mid-grade special reward, and low-grade special reward.
The Little Demon Pill I had received upon entering the Little Demon Academy belonged to the low-grade special reward.
As far as I know, one of the things included in the mid-grade special reward was a spiritual pill of the Great Return Pill level, and the things included in the high-grade special reward were the martial arts of the sect leaders of the Nine Great Sects and the Five Great Families.
Even if you received the lowest grade, you could obtain internal energy equivalent to half a cycle.
Of course, there was a high probability of receiving the Little Demon Pill again, and if you ate the same spiritual pill twice, the amount of internal energy that increased would be halved due to the buffering effect, but still, there would probably be no martial artist in the world who would refuse a free gift of 15 years' worth of internal energy.
Should I try it? Should I? Should I challenge it? Should I really try it? The same sounds were heard continuously.
However, since they knew the meaning of the Divine Demon Tournament, they couldn't rashly step forward.
Because they could become a cripple and come back if they went out, blinded by the reward.
The Divine Demon Tournament, due to the nature of the competition, was somewhat rough. It wasn't particularly wrong even if someone became a cripple or died during a duel.
And since it was a tournament held in the demonic path, they didn't put much meaning on such things.
If you didn't want to die, you had to declare defeat before that, or run out of the ring with all your might.
"I'm not telling you to decide right now. Just decide by the end of today, and if you want to go out, just tell an instructor nearby. Then, for today, those who are called, please go to your assigned areas and provide support."
"Yoo Jae-ha."
"Yes."
My name was called first.
"The place you will be supporting today is the visitor center."
Of all places, I was assigned to the busiest one.
The Sword Demoness was at the weapon storage.
The Mad Demon was at the distribution center.
The Demonic Brain was at the civil complaint office.
Gwang Se-hyeon was at the environmental beautification office.
They were assigned.
Today, we were all separated. With the thought that it would be quite boring, I said goodbye to the kids.
"Everyone, work hard."
"Alright, Captain!"
"Jae-ha too."
"..."
"Why am I the only one cleaning again!"
You brat, that's a privilege.
For reference, the hardest job of all is dealing with people.
I was about to go to the entrance. But the vassals of the seven elders were blocking the way.
They've been quiet for a while, are they trying to start again?
I let it go the first time, but I had no intention of letting it go the second time. Now, I had my hyung-nim behind me too.
As I was about to leave, the vassal of the Second Elder approached me. Of course, I didn't know his name.
"We were wrong about what happened before."
Starting with that, they apologized to me one by one.
What's wrong with these bastards? Did they take drugs as a group?
"Ahem! We've definitely apologized, so please speak well of us."
To whom?
What on earth are you talking about?
Should I just hit them?
Oops, they've already left.
* * *
When I arrived at the visitor center, everyone was working incredibly hard.
They all had dark circles under their eyes. It was as if I had a glimpse of my future.
"Are you the reinforcement?"
"Yes! I'm from the Little Demon Academy."
"You've done this before, right?"
"Yes! This is my third time today!"
"Then you should know the basics. Go fill that empty seat over there."
"Yes!"
I wanted to ask if there were any special precautions to take, but it wasn't the situation for that.
Everyone seemed to have no spare capacity to pay attention to other things due to the endless stream of visitors.
As soon as I sat down, a line that seemed to have no end formed in front of me, where there had been no one until just now.
I opened the visitor's book in front of me and started working immediately.
"Please state your origin, name, and whether you are a martial artist."
"I am Lee Ho-yeon from Henan. I am a commoner."
The role of the visitor center is largely twofold.
To identify the people visiting the Heavenly Demon Cult.
And to distribute the visitors.
Commoners were guided to the right passage, and martial artists were guided to the left passage.
This was to minimize the friction that could occur between commoners and martial artists as much as possible.
And when they went to the guided place, another management staff would be waiting for them.
"You can go to the right. Next."
I repeated the same words as before, and when I had recorded about a few hundred visitors.
Suddenly, murmurs could be heard from here and there.
The source was next to me, where the person who had greeted me earlier was.
There, a person was wearing a deep conical hat. At a glance, it was impossible to tell who it was. When I focused my hearing, I could hear the conversation.
"Please state your origin, name, and whether you are a martial artist."
"Wu-o from the Shaolin Temple, a martial artist."
A rare visitor from the Orthodox Faction.
"Are you perhaps a participant in the Divine Demon Tournament?"
"That's right."
"Participants, please go to the central passage. Next."
"Amitabha. Thank you."
A participant in the Divine Demon Tournament from the Orthodox Faction.
Usually, those invited by the Heavenly Demon Cult do not have to go through the preliminary rounds and are confirmed for the main tournament.
But sometimes, there were eccentrics who gave up this privilege and started from the preliminary rounds. Of course, if it were me, I would have started from the main tournament.
By the way, that bald monk...
'He's at the Peak Realm.'
There is a saying that even if a rich man goes bankrupt, he will last for three generations.
The Orthodox Faction had fallen, but its traditions and history were still being carried on.
I was also a little surprised by the unexpectedly strong opponent, but this was well within the expected range.
'If my hyung-nim just shows his true skills, there's no way he'll lose.'
Did he wear the conical hat to cover his bald head?
I looked up at the sky. It was covered by a tent, but the sunlight was shining quite strongly.
This is the hardship of being bald!
While receiving a guest, another commotion arose.
This time, it was next to me, next to me, next to me, next to me.
"Please state your origin, name, and whether you are a martial artist."
"I'm Soma from the Blood Cult. I came to participate in the Divine Demon Tournament."
I quickly bowed my head. I felt that if Soma recognized me, it would cause a troublesome situation.
Fortunately, that didn't happen.
"Please go to the central passage."
"Alright."
'So Soma is participating too.'
Well, there's no reason he can't participate.
However, I was a little surprised by Soma, whom I was meeting after a long time.
I knew that Soma was different from ordinary people because he had learned the Blood Demon Divine Art early on, but I never imagined that he would have reached the Peak Realm in just about a year.
'Still, he's between the entrance and the middle stage of the Peak Realm.'
It's still within a reasonable range.
A moment later, another commotion arose.
This time, it was at least ten times larger than before. And that was understandable, because it was a scale that could be recognized without having to check separately.
'What on earth do these guys think of the privilege?'
The ones who had just arrived were the five young masters of the Heretical Path Alliance.
From my side, the man wearing a tiger skin and carrying twin axes on his back was a figure from the Green Forest.
"Kuhahaha! My Blood Twin Axes will finally taste blood after a long time! I am the Blood Twin Axes, Pi-ram!"
The Blood Twin Axes, Pi-ram.
He was the youngest deputy chief of the Daheung Fortress, the largest of the Eighteen Fortresses of the Green Forest. For reference, the chief of the Daheung Fortress was the Grand Marshal, also known as the King of the Green Forest.
'Peak Realm...'
"The Little Dragon of the Yangtze River, Bi Cheon-pok."
A genius who became the youngest grand commander by wiping out the Japanese pirates and pirates in one fell swoop.
'That guy is also at the Peak Realm...'
"The Falling Shadow, Mu-hyu."
The youngest special-grade assassin of the assassination guild.
'That guy is also at the Peak Realm...'
"The Divine Wind, Cheon-eung."
The youngest branch manager of the underworld.
'That guy is also at the Peak Realm...'
"The Blood Wolf, Sa Ma-woo."
The youngest of the ten great ronin.
'That guy is also at the Peak Realm...'
Was the Peak Realm this common?
A drop of sweat trickled down my chin and fell to the ground.
'W-well, this is still within the expected range. They are the main pillars of the Heretical Path Alliance. And they are also confirmed for the main tournament. Haha!'
Let's think positively. The sky is blue, and the ground is flat!
Just then, a voice came from the front.
"What are you doing? To be distracted in front of me, you must have a lot of guts."
With the continuous appearance of big shots, I had been distracted without realizing it and missed my turn. I quickly bowed my head and apologized...
"I'm sorry. Please state your origin... name... and whether you are a martial artist..."
"I am from the Sura Cult, the Flame Saber, Yang So-pyeong."
"..."
The Young Lord of the Sura Divine Cult and the owner of the Six Yang Divine Meridian.
And the winner of this Divine Demon Tournament before my regression.
The prayer I felt was at least...
'Above the middle stage of the Peak Realm!'
This is an emergency. A super emergency!
"What are you doing? Aren't you going to write it down?"
"Ye-yes! I'm writing it down."
"P-please go to the central passage."
"Tsk tsk. I had expectations because it was the Heavenly Demon Cult, but there's nothing special!"
It felt like a storm had passed.
Fortunately, there were no special visitors after that.
When night came, the once-packed visitor center was deserted.
The work wasn't over, but I sent them back, telling them to come back tomorrow morning. I was still sitting at the visitor center, staring blankly at the empty lot.
Based on the information from my duels with my hyung-nim, I had a virtual duel with the Sura Cult's Young Lord.
The result was 998 losses and 1 win out of 999 matches.
I opened the visitor's book.
I stared intently at the paper with the words "Flame Saber, Yang So-pyeong" written on it.
No matter how I thought about it, there was only one way.
"I'll drop that bastard before he fights my hyung-nim."
However, among the people I had seen so far, there was no one who was superior to that bastard.
Rip!
I tore off the end of the visitor's book.
And I wrote.
[Heavenly Demon Cult, Yoo Jae-ha]
Holding the paper, I immediately went to find an instructor.
"You want to participate?"
"Yes."
"There's no going back. Is this a carefully made decision?"
"Yes!"
I'll just drop that bastard and then immediately withdraw