LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 62 - Envy (1)
Chapter 62: Envy (1)
During the afternoon training session…
Instructor Eun Ryeo, who was in charge of non-combat education, frowned and asked the three people huddled in the corner.
“Why do you all look like that?”
The three, who had been thoroughly beaten by Il-mok earlier, instinctively glanced toward him.
Glare.
Under Il-mok’s murderous gaze, they quickly averted their eyes and stammered out an excuse.
“We, we had a mi-minor disagreement among ourselves.”
“Hmm? Did you not hear from Instructor Chu that dueling between martial students is prohibited?”
“I-It wasn’t a duel! Just a… small scuffle!”
“Yes, yes. We di-didn’t use weapons. It was just a fistfight, Instructor.”
At their desperate excuses, the instructor clicked her tongue.
“Tsk. I’ll let it slide since it’s your first day. But if this happens again, I won’t overlook it.”
“W-We’ll remember!”
There was a brief commotion because of the three idiots, but Instructor Eun Ryeo quickly restored order and calmly continued the education.
The non-combat education Instructor Eun Ryeo was in charge of was somewhat unusual.
It wasn’t non-combat education because it taught how to avoid combat. Rather, it taught the necessary skills around combat that didn’t involve direct fighting.
“As members of our cult, you will face various missions after graduating from the Hall of the Demonic Way. Many of these missions cannot be solved by martial arts alone.”
Camping in the wild, stealth, disguise, tracking techniques, and so on—it could be called a time for learning practical skills needed in the field.
“Today, I will teach you about stealth techniques, which are the most fundamental among these skills.”
Instructor Eun Ryeo, who had a face like a strict female teacher, continued her explanations and demonstrations wearing a black stealth suit that fit her body perfectly.
Although she appeared to be in her mid-to-late thirties, she was a martial artist of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult. Her lean, muscular physique, subtly revealed by her tight-fitting attire, exuded health and fitness.
And Il-mok, who had been attending education with a halfhearted attitude all morning, was now watching Instructor Eun Ryeo’s every move with sparkling eyes.
Not because of her outfit—though that might have been a reasonable assumption. No, this lesson was far more important to him.
‘Stealth techniques! If I master these properly, I can slack off more comfortably!’
The ever-lazy Il-mok was fully invested.
***
After the enjoyable third session, the fourth and final lesson of the day arrived: doctrinal studies.
It was natural, if you thought about it.
This was the Hall of the Demonic Way, responsible for cultivating talent within the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
Religious schools often had mandatory chapel services, and the Hall of the Demonic Way was no exception.
In fact, Il-mok considered this to be relatively lenient.
For a cult, dedicating only two out of eight daily hours to doctrinal study was downright generous.
‘A true cult would’ve filled at least half the day with sermons and worship. Yep.’
For that reason, Il-mok had given this fourth class another name.
Brainwashing Hour.
But contrary to his expectations, doctrine class turned out to be surprisingly enjoyable.
For one, it was the only session where he could just sit and listen without moving a muscle.
There was a risk of being brainwashed, but he had prepared for that too.
‘A year under Jin Hayeon’s fanaticism has toughened me up.’
Like performing the rumored Mudang Sect’s Dual Mind Technique.
Il-mok had reached a point where he could study the cult’s teachings as mere theory while simultaneously cursing them in his mind.
‘Hmm? Come to think of it, if Dual Mind Technique really exists, wouldn’t it be perfect for learning Demonic Arts?’
What if he split his mind in two—one remaining sane, the other fully immersed in demonic corruption?
‘…Wait, isn’t that just starting off with split personality? Was the Dual Mind Technique actually a Demonic Art all along?’
As Il-mok entertained these ridiculous thoughts, the two-hour class passed quickly.
***
Even after all eight hours of education had ended, the sun had not yet set.
Formal instruction at the Hall of the Demonic Way was limited to eight hours per day. The remaining time, excluding dinner, was free time.
But given that these were the cult’s most promising talents, almost no one wasted their free time idling.
Except for just one person.
“Hwaaaahm.”
Ilmok, who had sweated during the third period practicing stealth techniques, emerged from the bathhouse after his customary post-training bath.
But he wasn’t planning to sleep just yet.
“I should eat first.”
As he leisurely walked toward the dining hall like an idle rich young master, he could see people dedicated to training in various parts of the training grounds.
Some were practicing martial arts, while others were doing physical exercise or practicing stealth techniques.
‘Everyone’s working hard.’
He made the observation as if it were none of his concern. He soon arrived at the empty dining hall.
Just as he was about to bite his meal, two people approached his table.
‘Sigh. Again?’
Recalling the lunchtime incident, Il-mok sighed inwardly; thankfully, he didn’t feel the urge to vomit this time.
It wasn’t because the approaching figures were women.
It was because they, like Il-mok, had bathed after training and were free of the stench of sweat.
“Mind if we join you?”
The faint scent of cedar lingered around the two women. Il-mok answered indifferently.
“I don’t mind, but aren’t there plenty of empty seats?”
It was an answer that could have offended them, but the two women merely smiled faintly.
“We thought it would be a good opportunity to speak with you, since we’re now fellow disciples at the Hall of the Demonic Way.”
This was natural, if you thought about it.
Il-mok was the youngest disciple of the Heavenly Demon—a man worshipped as a god—and a genius who had topped the Hall’s entrance exam after just one year of joining the cult.
On top of that, he’d caused quite a stir during that year.
The rumors were so abundant that most people were curious to speak with him at least once.
Except for Dokgo Pae, who harbored a needless competitive spirit against Ilmok.
Even the three from lunch had initially wanted to befriend him—they’d only picked a fight after his disgusted expression wounded their pride.
Il-mok, too, relaxed when he realized these women had no intention of challenging him to a duel.
“If that’s the case, feel free to sit.”
As soon as Il-mok gave permission, the two women sat across from him and introduced themselves.
“I’m Bang Mi-hwa.”
“I’m Ha Yeong.”
“I’m Il-mok.”
“We’ve heard a lot about you.”
“About me?”
And so, Il-mok began his first normal conversation since entering the Hall.
And not long after, Il-mok belatedly realized a very important and unexpected problem.
The conversation started normally.
“Of course. Word spread quickly that the Heavenly Demon had taken on an exceptional new disciple.”
“Hahaha. You’re making me blush with all your praise.”
They exchanged light compliments based on rumors, and Il-mok played along, maintaining a pleasant atmosphere.
The problem came after that.
“Actually, Mi-hwa’s father is the chief of the Red Turtle Corps.”
“Hohoho. Ah Young’s father is also the chief of the White Dragon Corps.”
“The two of them were actually classmates at the Hall, because of that connection, we’ve been playing together since childhood.”
“Commanders of the cult’s military corps… They must be remarkable individuals.”
Il-mok also responded with appropriately sociable praise, but he had nothing more to say.
He had spent the entire year cooped up in Windrock Palace, solely preparing for the Hall entrance exam.
While he had learned about various organizations and groups within the Demonic Cult during his studies, he knew little about their leaders. He never had any reason to interact with them in the first place.
It’s obvious why the conversation stalled. To break the awkward silence, the women introduced a new topic.
“By the way, which passage from the doctrine do you like the most, Young Master?”
The topic of doctrine.
When strangers meet, the easiest way to become close is to find common ground.
That’s why people who believe in the same religion can easily connect without needing to pry into each other’s hobbies or preferences.
Discussing religious doctrines or scriptures naturally led to engaging conversations.
The problem was…
‘What is this? A loyalty test?’
Il-mok wasn’t a fanatic.
Still, he could manage.
As he had done during the previous doctrinal study, he was now accustomed to outwardly praising the doctrine while inwardly cursing it.
The real problem came later.
In the middle of continuing the friendly atmosphere by discussing the cult’s doctrine and the Heavenly Demon’s glorious journey.
“Hahaha.”
“Hohoho.”
Bang Mi-hwa’s bright smile that bloomed on her face truly lived up to her name, a blooming flower.
Il-mok stared at her face, his gaze fixated, and messy thoughts emerged…
‘…I want to touch it.’
He hadn’t noticed it before.
‘…She’d hate it, wouldn’t she?’
It was only after seeing her laugh that he realized.
‘…Please!’
That she had a serious facial asymmetry.
It didn’t mean she was ugly. No, if anything, her face would be considered among the beautiful.
There were even celebrities in the modern world who, despite being beautiful, were self-conscious about their asymmetrical features and only took photos from certain angles.
It wasn’t very noticeable before, but the moment she smiled brightly, the facial asymmetry became visibly apparent.
And unfortunately, Il-mok’s obsessive-compulsive disorder latched onto that asymmetry.
‘If I forced her bones into alignment, she’d despise me, right?’
The urge to break and reset her facial structure for perfect symmetry surged uncontrollably.
Bang Mi-hwa’s very existence had unwittingly become a trigger for his Qi Deviation.
Just as Il-mok was teetering on the edge—
“Young Master Ilmok!!”
Snap!
Snapping out of his obsessive thoughts, Il-mok turned towards the voice.
“There you are! I’ve been looking for you everywhere!”
It was Jin Hayeon’s sasaeng fan who approached him with the same manic smile yesterday.
Normally, he wouldn’t associate with such a crazy person, but the situation was different now.
“W-welcome!”
Ilmok quickly stood up and welcomed her.
“Th-this is Miss Bang Mi-hwa. And Miss Ha Young.”
Il-mok introduced Bang Mi-hwa and Ha Young to her, but he couldn’t properly look at Bang Mi-hwa.
If he stared at that face, his OCD would likely surge again.
“And this is… sorry, what was your name again?”
When he asked this of his savior, whose name he didn’t even know, she replied vigorously as if not minding.
“My name is Ju Seo-yeon, YoungMaster!”
“I-I see. Anyway, this is Miss Ju Seo-yeon. Since we’ve joined the table by fate, why don’t you all have a chat?”
Il-mok began rambling due to the crisis of obsession.
***
Bang Mi-hwa had approached Il-mok out of simple curiosity.
In the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, reverence was reserved solely for the Heavenly Demon while his disciples were merely objects of respect,
This stemmed from the cult’s doctrine of worshipping strength.
When the current Heavenly Demon ascended to the heavens, only the strongest individuals could inherit his position. Even then, only those who had perfected the Heavenly Demon Divine Technique could be worthy to be called the Heavenly Demon.
Simply being the Heavenly Demon’s disciple did not guarantee becoming the next Heavenly Demon, so there was no particular need for veneration.
In any case, Bang Mi-hwa, who had approached Il-mok out of curiosity, felt a strange sensation in the middle of their friendly conversation.
At one point, Il-mok had stared intently at her smiling face, unable to look away.
His gaze was so blatant that Bang Mi-hwa thought….
‘Heh heh. It seems even the renowned youngest disciple has fallen for my beauty.’
It wasn’t a bad feeling.
If it were someone else, she might not care, but wasn’t he the youngest master who had been the talk of the cult recently? He wouldn’t be a bad match for her.
However, she couldn’t appear too eager.
While she was pondering how to handle this man, an interloper appeared.
“Young Master Ilmok! There you are! I’ve been looking for you everywhere!!”
A woman, not as beautiful as herself but still passable, had boldly interrupted their conversation.
And after her arrival, Young Master Il-mok had shifted his attention solely to her.
But Bang Mi-hwa wasn’t angry.
Glance.
Throughout their conversation, Young Master Il-mok had repeatedly tried to look at her before quickly averted his gaze.
Seeing this, she grew confident.
‘Heheh. Unlike his appearance, the Young Master is quite shy.’
He was clearly smitten but too embarrassed to admit it.
‘Then perhaps I should be a bit more aggressive,’ Bang Mi-hwa thought.
Bang Mi-hwa.
The side effect of her Demonic Art was narcissistic personality disorder.