Chapter 102: Misunderstanding (2)

How long had Il-mok been pummeling Mak Ho-yeol while wondering when this ridiculous situation would finally end?

"Huff... huff..."

Sweat beaded on Il-mok's forehead as he caught his breath.

"Gasp... gasp..."

Mak Ho-yeol, who had been thoroughly beaten, was sprawled on the ground, chest heaving after his thorough beating.

Pushed to his absolute limit against Il-mok's sword—which clearly showed the gap in their skills—Mak Ho-yeol's face was flushed red as he spoke with a genuine delight.

"Gasp... Please spar with me again, Junior Il-mok."

Every hair on Il-mok's body stood on end.

The man was practically glowing with satisfaction even after receiving such a beating.

They say you can't spit on a smiling face. But the truly terrifying one isn’t the kind that keeps smiling when you spit on them; it’s the one who thanked you for spitting on them. Those people are the genuinely dangerous ones.

‘Fuck. If only I could kill him.’

After pondering for a moment, Il-mok let out an irritated sigh and shouted.

"Don't ever come looking for me again!"

He spun on his heel and walked away.

When you encounter a problem that can’t be resolved, avoiding that problem is the best strategy to counter it.

Besides...

'Damn obsessive-compulsive disorder.'

Right now, his immediate priority is to clean his sword, which had been contaminated from dealing with that pervert, and then scrub himself clean.

As Il-mok was about to leave the clearing, Baek Cheon hurriedly followed him.

"Young Master Il-mok! What on earth happened at the Oblivion Ridge? Your skills have truly improved by leaps and bounds!"

Desperate for inspiration, Baek Cheon was eager to hear what happened to Il-mok in the Oblivion Ridge.

Once Il-mok and Baek Cheon disappeared...

"......."

"......."

Only Mak Ho-yeol, who collapsed on the ground, and Jeong Hyeon, who didn't know what to do, remained in the clearing, creating an awkward atmosphere.

"You there."

"Y-yes!?"

Jeong Hyeon nearly jumped out of her skin at the sudden call, but Mak Ho-yeol merely laughed heartily.

"Mind giving me a hand? I'm afraid my body isn't cooperating. Haha."

While the beating had been exhilarating, Mak Ho-yeol had no strength to move now that the fight was over.

"H-help you... up?"

The color drained from Jeong Hyeon's face.

The thought of physical contact with a complete stranger made her throat constrict.

"F-forgive me!"

Overwhelmed by the mere suggestion, Jeong Hyeon quickly bowed and frantically fled the clearing.

"......."

Still flat on his back, Mak Ho-yeol could only stare forlornly at Jeong Hyeon's retreating figure.

***

Ignoring the leech-like Baek-cheon, Il-mok returned to the Black Dragon Pavilion and immediately tended to his weapon.

‘It’s fucking dirty.’

He meticulously cleaned and sharpened his sword, which had been dirtied from beating up the pervert, then cleansed his body in the bath.

And when Il-mok returned to his after what felt like an eternity, what welcomed Il-mok was his cherished companion.

"Finally. After seven days and nights without you."

The thing that faithfully accompanied him ever since his first day in this damned cult was his diary.

Il-mok began writing in his diary to drive away his obsessive-compulsive symptoms.

—Your handwriting's gotten sloppy after so long.

—Did you forget how to write already?

—That happened on the fourth day, not the third day.

More precisely, he was allowing his alternate personality to surface through writing to prevent more severe compulsive episodes.

Whether it was because he had to write seven days' worth of diary entries or because of the sheer volume of bizarre experiences at the Oblivion Ridge, the writing seemed endless.

Il-mok finally set down his brush near midnight.

"Phew."

Still, Il-mok felt somewhat refreshed after he managed to finish writing all that into the papers.

As soon as the ink dried, Il-mok closed the book and collapsed onto his bed.

"Home sweet home.”

Maybe because he had been living here for months and the contrast of the harsh environment of the Oblivion Ridge to this place was so jarring, he felt the bed was particularly cozy at this moment.

With his body and mind much more at ease, Il-mok fell fast asleep.

The following morning brought his first dawn at the Hall of the Demonic Way after being trapped in that place for a week and also brought him several unexpected developments.

“Hm? How come Disciple Jeong is in our class?”

During the free time between Chu Il-hwan’s morning class, with the instructors and assistants absent, the disciples of the Upper Class gathered to chat with each other.

And for some reason, among them was Jeong Hyeon, who belongs to the Lower Class.

Hearing Il-mok’s question, Jeong Hyeong who was busy maintaining their distance, took several deep breaths as if calming his mind and was about to answer Il-mok’s question.

"Disciple Jeong has been promoted to the Upper Class this time."

Bang Mi-hwa interjected and showed her haughty face. As usual, she covered her left side with her fan while talking with a voice dripping with superiority.

"Ah."

Only then did Il-mok recall a certain memory. Something he vaguely remembered from Jin Hayeon during his preparations for entering the Hall of the Demonic Way.

'Come to think of it, she said that class assignments change periodically based on performance.’

Since Jeong Hyeon had been his teammate for both the first and second tests, his score must have been amazing since their team had placed first on both tests.

So long as he didn't mess up the last test, which Il-mok himself failed, getting into the Upper Class should have been guaranteed.

Having thought that far, Il-mok frowned.

“Should I go to the Lower Class then? Instructor Chu said that my last test score was a failure.”

“Ohohoho. No need to worry, Young Master. Your exceptional scores on the first and second tests are more than enough to compensate for your failure in the third. You won’t have to drop to the Lower Class.”

Fair enough. Two first-place finishes and one dead-last performance still averaged above the median.

While Il-mok nodded with a reasonably convinced expression...

"But unfortunately, Young Master Il-mok is no longer the top student. I'm sorry to say this to you since you got caught up in an incident, but I became the top student after the last test. Ohohohoho."

Her preening made everything crystal clear.

‘She came here to gloat.’

Bang Mi-hwa had always been haughty, but today she was practically radiating smugness.

But Il-mok in particular felt no emotion toward her gloating. Il-mok himself had no interest in whether he came first or last as long as the Heavenly Demon or Jin Hayeon weren’t involved.

Besides...

'Well, there's still more than a year and a half left until graduation, so it'll work out somehow.'

Honestly, he didn't think he'd lose any future tests.

Thanks to the torturous training under Elder Kang when he was on the Oblivion Ridge, his cultivation realm had increased even when he didn’t want to.

Having lost interest in her, Il-mok casually looked around to see if anyone else besides Jeong Hyeon had changed.

'The trio is still the same.'

Choi Woong and his lackeys—who always maintained polite facades during training—were still present, as was Bang Mi-hwa's long-time friend Ha Young.

Even Dokgo Pae still retained his seat in the Upper Class.

“How come that boar is still in the Upper Class? He had always chosen stupid methods during every test.”

Bang Mi-hwa burst into her characteristic haughty laughter and answered. “That's because this is the Hall of the Demonic Way. While his approaches were indeed foolish, Disciple Dokgo's martial prowess kept him from falling.”

He could understand what she meant.

'His other scores are rock bottom, but his martial prowess is high enough to keep him in the Upper Class.”

For some reason, that assessment reminded him of his Eldest Brother, Wi Jin-hak.

‘Didn’t they say that Eldest Brother never loses the top seat when he was at the Hall?’

Among the Heavenly Demon's disciples, his Eldest Brother was said to be one of the most gifted when it came to martial arts.

While he had an inferiority complex about being stupid— which Jin Hayeon claimed was largely unfounded—his overwhelming combat abilities had apparently allowed him to retain the top seat through graduation.

‘Hmm... So, Eldest Brother was essentially a superior version of that boar-like guy?’

The image of his Eldest Brother somehow overlaps with that of Dokgo Pae.

A thought suddenly occurred to him. Il-mok has a hunch that his Eldest Brother’s personality during his day as a student in the Hall of the Demonic Way must be similar to Dokgo Pae's.

While observing Dokgo Pae, Il-mok inadvertently made eye contact when the boar-like guy turned his head.

He braced himself for another round of a duel challenge, but Dokgo Pae rushed over to say something bizarre.

"Young Master Il-mok! I heard the story from Big Brother Mak!"

"!?"

Story? What story?

An ominous chill ran down Il-mok's spine as Dokgo Pae continued breathlessly.

“You gave him guidance during your sparring match!”

Il-mok's expression soured instantly.

'Guidance? What fucking guidance? I clearly beat him half to death?!?’

As expected, a pervert's way of thinking couldn’t be processed with logic.

***

That afternoon.

After finishing all his lessons, Il-mok enjoyed his usual bath and meal before wandering around the Hall of the Demonic Way using his stealth technique.

'The clearing is dangerous.'

He wanted to hide there but that place was now recognized as his hideout. Mak Ho-yeol's appearance there yesterday proved as much.

He'd been skulking around the Hall, evading numerous lunatics, when fragments of conversation reached his ears.

"I simply cannot understand how someone with such mediocre abilities managed to rise to the Upper Class.”

"Isn't it all thanks to the Young Master?"

Since he was suddenly mentioned, Il-mok stopped walking.

While gossiping behind someone's back was something that could happen since even kings got cursed behind their backs, one should at least make an effort not to get caught.

"Choose your words carefully. While it's true he made it to the Upper Class thanks to the Young Master, that hardly makes it the Young Master's fault."

"That's true."

As Il-mok listened, he realized he wasn't the target of the gossip.

'This reminds me of what happened with Ju Seo-yeon early after enrollment.'

Early in his enrollment, Ju Seo-yeon's persistent attention had spawned similar rumors.

Back then, when Ju Seo-yeon kept clinging to him, causing strange rumors to circulate among the students.

He initially suspected more gossip about her, but the mention of the Upper Class ruled that out.

And Il-mok could easily deduce who the target of the gossip was.

The target of their slander was none other than Jeong Hyeon.

Unable to understand why they were badmouthing Jeong Hyeon, Il-mok crept closer.

"If he at least had outstanding skills, I could understand. But honestly, do you think I am truly inferior to this Jeong Hyeon?"

Only after hearing the words of the male student positioned in the center could Il-mok remember who he was.

'A guy who was originally in the Upper Class.

He was someone who had dropped to the Lower Class when Jeong Hyeon moved up to the Upper Class.

'Tsk. So it was jealousy.'

Looks like he was venting his anger through gossip after being overtaken by a student whom he had deemed beneath him.

The other three appeared to be from the intermediate class, but they too joined in badmouthing Jeong Hyeon, who had risen up alone.

This was often seen in competitive schools in modern South Korea too. It frequently appeared as material in dramas and novels as well.

And this phenomenon wasn’t limited to juvenile students either. He’d occasionally see such behaviour when he was still a student preparing to take the civil servant exam. He had seen it too during his university days.

And he had even seen much more than those two combined during his days as a civil servant.

Cases where people would become blinded by jealousy when a colleague, junior, or a close senior got promoted first.

This rotten behavior was pretty much universal, as all humans, regardless of age, possessed jealousy.

So, as a fellow human, Il-mok could understand their jealousy to an extent. However...

“That’s a stupid question. I’ve been training with him for the past three months, and Disciple Jeong’s abilities were terrible.”

"Exactly. It's questionable how he even got into the Hall of the Demonic Way with those skills."

Their ridicule over Jeong Hyeon's abilities was something Il-mok simply couldn't accept.