episode_0002

The daily life of the Demonic Cult is ordinary.

From the highest of the religious leaders and the highest ranking masters in the religious order, to the lowest of the lowly warriors, everyone has an equal work schedule.

Martial arts training.

The study of martial arts is called accumulating achievements. Accumulating achievements means accumulating time. Just as I have heard countless times in my previous life, there is no end to martial arts training, so no matter how strong you become, you have to repeat the arduous process of polishing yourself in order to reach the next level.

And of course, I was no exception.

Beep!

“I’m dying from exhaustion.”

As soon as he heard the whistle signaling a break, he stuck out his tongue and grumbled, panting. He roughly stuck his unused iron sword, which he used for training, into the dirt floor of the training ground, and leaned against the sword as he looked around.

There were many fellow practitioners around me who were practicing with me, and they were no exception. All I could see was them sprawled out on the practice field or sitting there panting without any shame.

Even though they were my classmates, I didn’t have a close relationship with them to the point where I could exchange gossip, and most of them were people I had never even spoken to, so I quickly looked away.

This year, I turn seventeen, the flower of my youth.

And in this second life, it has already been more than ten years since I began learning martial arts, having held a sword before I could even think of it as iron. I would say I have already completely adapted.

Thanks to that, I was able to stand still and endure without collapsing after the morning training session, which was so hard I could die from repeating the same routine three thousand times without thinking.

I feel a sense of exhaustion that can only be felt when I have used up every last bit of energy left in my danjeon, and my muscles, which have been overworked all morning, complain of fatigue and pain.

But there was something more concerning than the fatigue of my familiar body, and that was the content of the letter that the unidentified messenger had given me yesterday.

A short, one-line letter from an unknown person, in which someone becomes aware of a future that never happened, once synchronization is complete.

‘It’s definitely not ordinary content.’

Aside from the fact that it is not a word that would be commonly used in this second world, doesn’t the content seem suspicious no matter how you look at it?

What kind of synchronization was it, and who was aware of the future? Even while practicing all morning, my mind was constantly filled with thoughts that were making me dizzy. It wasn’t a problem that I could solve by thinking about it while I was swinging my sword.

Anyway, that thought wouldn’t leave my mind, so I couldn’t concentrate at all while practicing this morning. I shook my head slightly as a sign of reflection.

‘I have some talent, so I should work harder.’

Fortunately, I was not lacking in talent or intelligence. Rather, I could say that I was superior to others.

Even though he may not be a sharp-edged sword that can pierce through your pocket, he is a talent that can learn more things than an ordinary person if he receives the same teachings. It was because he had that talent that he was able to endure the hellish training of the Demonic Cult, where several children actually died.

Anyway, right now, I’m not in a position or rank that I can do anything about, and I’m just a low-level warrior who hasn’t even been properly assigned a affiliation yet.

If you diligently learn the martial arts that are being taught and become a master, if you reach a high level, then from then on, your range of movement will become wider.

Just as I was thinking that, a dark shadow appeared.

“Yeonjin, during this morning’s training, your Jinki operation was lacking compared to usual. It’s not that your power is slow, but rather that your operation is the problem. Clear your mind of distracting thoughts. Where are you selling your mind?”

“Oh, sorry.”

As I raised my head, answering reflexively, I saw an instructor standing there with his face covered by a black mask. He looked like a typical black-clad man depicted in a martial arts novel, with all parts of his body covered except his eyes.

The instructor frowned as if he didn’t like it and clicked his tongue lightly.

“Follow me. There will be a discussion today about the military unit you will be assigned to in the future.”

“Yes.”

Now that I think about it, my other classmates have started leaving one by one as they have their own affiliations. So my order would be somewhere in the middle among my classmates. I tilted my head and thought about it for a moment. I followed the instructor into the pavilion set up on one side of the training ground.

As soon as I sat down, the instructor, who had been watching me for over five years but did not know the face behind the mask, handed me a few pieces of paper without saying a word.

“Excuse me, Instructor, but what is this… … ?”

“This is a summary of the school’s armed forces. Ultimately, there are three places that want to quadruple the speed. ”

I lowered my gaze to the summary at the instructor’s words.

Shadow, Guardian Court, King of Hell.

Although he had been in the Demonic Cult for nearly fifteen years, he only experienced harsh training and martial arts training, so he did not know much about the nature of the Demonic Cult. At least he could tell from the name of the Guardians that they specialized in protecting important figures.

I don’t know anything – The instructor sighed through his mask as he blinked to the same effect and began to explain.

“If you go to the Dark Shadow, you will be mainly in charge of tasks such as infiltration, stalking, information gathering, and assassination. You will start with tricks like the Thousand-Li-Ji-Ching-Sul or the Eun-Jam-Bop, and then focus on the Gyeong-Sin-Bop. Since you must not leave any traces, you will also practice some of the Jeong-Sang-Martial Arts rather than the unique magic of your school.”

“As the name suggests, the escort court is mainly focused on escorts.”

“That’s right. In fact, since you’ll be escorting the main elements at close range, you’ll be given a wide range of opportunities to learn the martial arts of the school. If you want to purely raise your own level, the best option would be the Guardians, and the last would be the King of Hell Corps.”

The instructor glanced down at the three pieces of paper in front of him and continued speaking.

“Since the King of Hell mainly operates in external branches, there will be a lot of opportunities to gain practical experience. If you clash with other forces in the external branches or branches of the school, practical experience will naturally follow. As an aside, I was also a graduate of the King of Hell, but I retired and moved to a position as an instructor.”

“Wow… … .”

I just nodded silently while listening to the instructor’s explanation. Shadow, Guardian Law, King of Hell. I had three choices. I still haven’t decided exactly which one would be most beneficial for me.

By the way, this is a strange thing. Not only did they give us a choice, but they gave us three choices. It would have been hard to imagine under normal circumstances, so just as I was about to reach out to check the summary, the instructor took the paper away and said.

“Personally, I would like to recommend the Hell King’s Realm since that is where I lived, but unless there is a really unavoidable reason or circumstance, I would like you to choose the Dark Shadow.”

The thought I had just had was canceled. If the Demonic Cult does that, then so be it. After giving me three choices and then urging me to take a shadowy path that was obviously dangerous, I asked carefully so as not to go against the instructor’s orders as much as possible.

“Is there a separate reason?”

“A strong request from the Shadow. In particular, there was a strong request to send men because there is a shortage of male killers. Yeonjin, is there really a reason why you cannot help but go to the Shadow?”

“… … None.”

There can’t be any reason for that. Damn it. I shook my head, swearing inwardly, and the instructor nodded with satisfaction.

“Then let’s talk to the shadow side. If you’re worried about being consumed without meaning as a kill, you don’t have to worry about that.”

“Huh?”

“Yeonjin, your personal information has already been reported to the dark side. Since your face is quite halved, it would be good to use something like a beauty trap. It is a high-quality resource in its own way, so there is no reason to waste it on something that will be used once and then thrown away, right?”

“… … .”

The instructor’s words left me speechless. Now, let’s think about it. This is a martial arts world where men and women are in a reversal of power. Of course, if it’s a male assassin, it’s possible to use not only the classic assassination methods, but also the use of a beauty trap.

My brain was spinning furiously, and I came to a conclusion that it made sense. It doesn’t make sense, does it? But I grimaced at the physiological sense of alienation and rejection. So you want me to use a beauty trick? Me?

Should I say that this was an opportunity to realize anew that this world is a world where the roles of men and women are reversed? It was a moment when I quickly controlled my expression and nodded my head to try to gloss over it.

Swish.

The hem of the magnificent palace dress unfolded before my eyes with a soft sound. The arms stretched out as if to block me, and the sleeves naturally hung. A sweet fragrance that momentarily made me dizzy, and a clear voice that could be expressed in an idiomatic expression as jade beads rolling on a silver plate were heard.

“That won’t do.”

A person suddenly appeared in front of me, and an arm was blocking my way. I raised my head, wondering what kind of harmony this was, and the eyes of a mysterious woman who met my gaze were curved like a crescent moon and smiling.

I was just blinking my eyes wondering what kind of harmony this was, when I saw the rare sight of the instructor prostrating himself in shock.

“Oh, my lord!”

Following the instructor who hurriedly prostrated himself, I also prostrated myself in a panic. The cult leader? The cult leader suddenly appeared here?

What is this situation?