novelraw Chapter 4 : This Isn't It (3)
Chapter 4 : This Isn't It (3)
Geniuses are a breed that always shows a performance that exceeds expectations.
Before my regression, I was too busy looking out for myself to have the luxury of observing my surroundings, so I never saw it properly. But now, watching from the side like this, I couldn't help but be amazed.
"Captain! Look at this!"
The heart method I taught the Mad Demon was the Tyrannical Force Demonic Art that he had learned before my regression. Its effects were merely accumulating a small amount of internal energy and strengthening the heart meridian.
But now, a strange sight was unfolding before my eyes.
"Demonic Brain! Throw it!"
The Demonic Brain, who was always dozing with his eyes closed, had also made great strides over the past two years. He was now able to get by without dozing off while standing. Even if that only amounted to barely opening his eyes into slits.
With a short nod, the Demonic Brain picked up a nearby stone. It was quite large, almost the size of a fist.
Getting hit by that would, at the very least, result in a fracture, and it wouldn't be strange.
The Demonic Brain threw it with all his might.
In terms of martial talent alone, the Demonic Brain was at the level of an ordinary martial artist. So, no matter how hard the Demonic Brain threw it, the power of the stone was not much different from that of an eight-year-old child.
Still, given its size, it looked quite dangerous to be hit by.
Towards it, the Mad Demon threw a punch without hesitation.
Crack!
When the stone hit his fist, it was the stone that shattered, not the fist.
Is that a person? Or a rock?
"Captain! Did you see that! It was amazing! Right! Right!"
"Yeah. It's amazing."
"Kikiki!"
Clap, clap, clap!
As a reward for showing me such a marvelous sight, I gave the Mad Demon a round of applause.
It was then.
The Sword Demoness, who was quietly by my side as usual, silently opened her mouth.
"Jae-ha, do you find that interesting?"
The Sword Demoness had started calling me by my name instead of "Captain" a year ago. It felt more intimate, so I didn't object.
"So-so?"
"Hmm..."
After pondering for a moment, the Sword Demoness got up and approached the Mad Demon. Then, she drew the wooden sword she always carried at her side and took a stance. Seeing that, the Mad Demon's face turned pale blue.
I could indirectly tell just how much the Sword Demoness usually kept the Mad Demon in check. Still, it was thanks to the Sword Demoness that the Mad Demon had been able to finish his nursery life without causing any trouble.
If it weren't for the Sword Demoness, the Mad Demon would probably have gotten into fights every day and been expelled from the nursery at most.
Though, they probably wouldn't have gone as far as expulsion, having recognized his talent like before my regression.
In that sense, the Sword Demoness was a kind of inhibitor for the Mad Demon.
Over the past two years, more than half of the trainees had left the nursery, unable to endure the training or getting into various fights and becoming unable to train any longer.
Fortunately, our kids were just one step away from the final exam.
I didn't raise them, but a sense of pride washed over me.
"Throw a stone at me too."
The Sword Demoness said to the Mad Demon, and the Mad Demon, still dejected, replied.
"Do I throw it hard?"
"Throw it with all your might. If you don't, you'll be dead by my hand."
Flap, flap, flap!
The Mad Demon nodded his waist and head repeatedly, like a bird flapping its wings, with all his might.
Even though he's the Mad Demon, seeing him like that was a bit... Where did all the madness he showed before my regression go... Come to think of it, even before the regression, he was particularly powerless against the Sword Demoness.
Is this what they call human compatibility?
The Mad Demon picks up a stone and gets into position. The Demonic Brain had taken a spot next to me at some point, and true to form, he was dozing off while lying down. I turned my gaze forward again.
The Mad Demon threw the stone.
The stone flew towards the Sword Demoness at a speed incomparable to the one the Demonic Brain had thrown just before.
'At that level, even my pre-regression self would have had to draw out a quarter of a quarter of a quarter of my full power.'
Of course, my current self had no ability to dodge or parry that stone.
The stone reached the Sword Demoness's face in an instant.
I could tell the extent of the grudge the Mad Demon held against the Sword Demoness.
He could have aimed elsewhere, but he specifically went for the face?
And a woman's at that?
And with his real full power?
Seeing this, the Mad Demon was indeed the Mad Demon.
You, you really go for it when you have to!
The Mad Demon's eyes held a strange heat.
Just then, the Sword Demoness dodged the stone with a slight tilt of her head.
At the scene that followed, I couldn't help but let out a genuine exclamation of admiration.
Woooow... damn!
The Sword Demoness twisted her body back and then thrust her wooden sword forward.
Crack!
The stone collided with the tip of the wooden sword and completely shattered into powder in mid-air.
To accomplish what she just did, one needed the dynamic visual acuity to completely track the stone's movement and the physical ability to actually realize the movements conceived in one's head.
The Sword Demoness possessed both.
In terms of talent alone, she was within the top ten of all people I'd known, both before and after my regression.
Mad Demon, you bastard! You had a good reason to be scared!
I think even my pre-regression self would have needed to use about half of my half-power to imitate what she just did.
"How was it?"
To the Sword Demoness who asked shyly, I replied.
"That was killer."
"Should I try breaking the Mad Demon's head this time?"
"C-Captain! Please stop that demon!"
"Wouldn't the Mad Demon be pitiful then?"
The Sword Demoness tilted her head, as if asking what part of him was pitiful.
"C-Captain, save me..."
The Mad Demon had already hidden behind me. I patted his head.
Our Mad Demon, who had now grown from a kitten into just a cat, needed sincere attention and care.
Grow up big and strong and become a tiger.
"If you say so, Jae-ha, then okay."
"Captain... I'm scared..."
There, there. To be honest, I was scared for a moment too. A head, regardless of the creature, will die if it's broken. Even a Jiangshi that has already died once will die.
Fortunately, the Sword Demoness is kind to me.
And I, feeling a little fired up by the actions our kids were showing, jumped down from the platform. To cheer up the Mad Demon, I said.
"Mad Demon, throw one at me too."
"Okay!"
The Mad Demon grabs a stone and pulls his arm all the way back.
I quickly added.
"Gently!"
The Mad Demon relaxes his body and goes limp. Then he threw the stone. The speed of the approaching stone was much slower than before.
Thud!
The stone hit me right in the stomach.
"Heh heh."
I let out a satisfied laugh and fainted on the spot.
When I woke up later, two black moons had settled in the Mad Demon's eyes.
* * *
What we learned in the nursery for two years were things like preparatory work to create the perfect body for learning martial arts before starting in earnest.
Running, horse stance, holding a log and doing squats, running with a log tied to you, rock climbing, rock climbing while carrying a log, surviving a fall from a waterfall, diving for fifteen minutes, staying awake for a week, and so on, to increase basic stamina and strength.
Listing it all out like this, it feels like a complete superhuman training center.
Anyway, after completing all these processes, if you pass the final exam, you can proudly have your name listed in the cult's register.
"The final exam will be held tomorrow!"
The instructor said to us as we were doing our stamina training of holding logs and doing squats.
Everyone stopped their movements and listened attentively to the instructor's words.
"As you all know, if you pass the final exam, you will be admitted to the Little Demon Academy."
Little Demon Academy.
The place where those who have passed the nursery go, and where the rising stars who will lead the future of the cult attend.
And from the Little Demon Academy onwards, you are given the qualification to go out into the martial world as a proud member of the cult.
In fact, while attending the Little Demon Academy, you would often be deployed on various missions.
And based on the completion rate of those missions and the evaluation of the department you were assigned to, it would be decided where you would be assigned in the future.
Before my regression, I also lived in the Little Demon Academy, and I caught the eye of the Lord and was able to become the Young Lord.
Of course, I had no intention of going to the Little Demon Academy.
"You all know that most of the cult's executives are from the Little Demon Academy. As you are now, you are excellent combatants for the cult, but the Little Demon Academy is another world. The final exam will be decided by a group martial arts tournament! Today's training will end with only the morning session, so everyone do your best for tomorrow's tournament! Well then, today's training ends here! Rest on your own!"
I threw the log away and took a deep breath.
The moment I had been waiting for had finally arrived.
As the instructor left, the children gathered in their own groups and chattered about the tournament that would be held tomorrow.
Of course, I, who had no interest, was just catching my breath. Just then, someone tapped me.
'Are the kids here already?'
I thought it might be the Mad Demon, the Sword Demoness, or the Demonic Brain, who were training in another training hall, and turned around, but an unexpected person was there.
"Hey! Commoner!"
Haaah... why is this bastard picking a fight again?
In the old days, I would have just punched him in the face, but being weak was a bit inconvenient like this.
"What?"
"What? Did you just dare to speak informally to me?"
"Well, we're the same age, so of course I'd speak informally, should I use honorifics?"
"You and your group are the only ones who dare to be rude to me, the grandson of the Spear Demon and the future master of the cult."
"So what?"
For reference, that Spear Demon old geezer later dies with his head smashed in after messing with an Orthodox Faction master during a mission.
I felt no need to be mindful of a thread that was destined to be cut.
"Hehehe. I'm glad."
"About what?"
"That you, an arrogant and ill-mannered brat, have remained a detestable bastard until the very end."
He's crazy. All I did to him was speak informally, but I seriously suspected he might have a slight illness in his head.
"Keep acting like that. That way, I won't feel any guilt when I crush you."
"Did I do something wrong? If I did, I'm sorry."
"You must be scared now! But it's no use begging for forgiveness!"
What does he want me to do? He's throwing a fit even when I apologize.
"Tomorrow, in front of everyone, I will crush you mercilessly! And I will prove that I am the only one!"
"Can't I just say I lost right now?"
"Hehe. You really must be scared of tomorrow."
"Yeah. I am."
The truth is, I'm just annoyed.
Even if that guy really becomes my opponent in the tournament tomorrow, I knew it wouldn't turn out the way he was describing. The test supervisors would stop the match once a winner and loser were decided.
The cult had no desire to carelessly harm the talents they had spent three years cultivating.
Above all, it was like that before my regression too.
"Hehe. If you're counting on those lackeys who follow you, it will be useless this time. The tournament is one-on-one, after all."
The final exam, the tournament, is conducted as a group battle. I was, of course, in the same group as the Mad Demon, the Sword Demoness, and the Demonic Brain.
Usually, the groups are shuffled about once during the two years, but our group had not a single dropout, so the group had remained the same.
Conversely, the group of the guy chattering in front of me now had been shuffled once. And it had become stronger than before.
To put it simply, they were the strong favorites to win this tournament.
He said his piece and left.
And his group also glared at me crookedly and left.
I waved my hand vigorously at them, saying goodbye.
Just then, I sensed a presence behind me and turned around.
This time, there were welcome faces standing there.
"Did those guys bother you again? Should I kill them?"
The Sword Demoness had her hand on her wooden sword.
"Captain! Is it a fight? You did it without me, that's cheap!"
The Mad Demon was excited.
"..."
The Demonic Brain's eyes were open just a tiny bit wider than usual.
I said to the three of them.
"Nothing happened. Let's go eat."
If I can just get through tomorrow safely, I can get the freedom I've dreamed of. There was absolutely no reason to cause any unnecessary trouble.
"Come on, come on! Nothing really happened. Let's go quickly. I'm hungry. You guys are hungry too, right?"
I forcibly led the children and headed to the dining hall. Today's meal was a special dish, as it was the last one.
Samgyetang! Yes!
And then tomorrow came.
I greeted the morning more refreshed than ever and stretched.
"Shall we go and decorate the finale of my time at the main headquarters?"
And so I arrived at the grand training hall of the nursery where the final exam was being held.
Huh?
Before my regression, the final exam was held under the supervision of the nursery instructors.
But...
Why are the Lord and the Elders seated here?
A variable has occurred.
(End of Chapter)