Chapter 16 - Act 3. Daemudo Entrance Examination (9)

Meanwhile, the first team's test began. The moment its shackles were removed, the Demon caught sight of Kang Itae and went into a fit before hurling itself in the opposite direction. It did not get far. At the edge of the pattern on the ground, it struck an invisible wall and fell.

SKREEEE!

A spiritual-power barrier. That was the purpose of the formation on the ground. Neither the Demon nor the applicants could leave it.

Emboldened by the Demon's terrified shrieks, the applicants edged toward it a hesitant step at a time. Their spiritual roots might not have awakened, but they had trained their bodies as hard as they could to enter Daemudo. Once they had it surrounded, they swung their weapons in unison. Surely, if they coordinated their attacks, a mere low-grade Demon—

SLICE!

Blood spattered at the sound of severing flesh.

"Aaaaargh!"

Their confidence exacted its price in an agonized scream. The Demon had slashed off the wrist of an applicant swinging a weapon at it. Then it leaped toward the fallen applicant and fled again. The applicant sat on the ground, tears and snot streaming down their face, before finally forfeiting and being hauled outside.

"Go to the Medicine Hall. They'll reattach it."

The entire team failed. The examiners rescued the injured applicants crawling on the ground, and Kang Itae put the Demon back into the Demon-Holding Prison without a change in expression.

The examination continued. Teams with members whose spiritual roots had awakened somehow managed to kill their Demons. But the warning that the examination was beginning in earnest had been no idle claim. Applicants lost hands and feet, had holes punched through their bodies, and one even died from a single blow.

"... Someone actually died."

That was when the real trouble began. Witnessing a death was a profound shock to the young Cultivators. They stiffened with tension before their tests even began, and injuries mounted all the faster.

"I don't think it's random after all."

His teammates turned at Yise's murmur. Their faces had been tense as well, but the utter calm on his face actually helped them relax.

"They're only low-grade Demons. Relax. Even a ten-year-old can kill those things."

"You're seriously joking at a time like this... Aren't you nervous at all?"

Yise shook his head at Seol Ryeong's question and continued.

"The Demon's energy is roughly proportional to the applicants' combined spiritual energy. I think that ritual implement chooses a Demon suited to each team's strength."

"Wait, then what about us...?"

Seol Ryeong's face went pale at his words.

"Even so, there must be an upper limit."

The highest number on the die was fourteen. Every Demon so far had been a low-grade Demon of Risk Level Nine. Yise suspected their opponent would be among the strongest Level Nine Demons.

"Next. Yise, Hae Unchan, Seol Ryeong, Pi Garam."

The fourteen-sided die spun and landed on fourteen. Just as expected. The creature in the Demon-Holding Prison resembled a monkey, with gleaming eyes, blue skin, and a red mane.

"An Eyegleam."

The Eyegleam. A Level Eight Demon.

"It's a Lust Demon!"

Seol Ryeong recoiled in disgust as she recognized it. It was unfair enough that their team alone had drawn a Level Eight Demon. Of all things, it had to be this filthy creature.

"It looks weak."

"It's much harder to deal with than the others we've seen. Aggressive, too."

KEEK! KEE-KEE-KEEK!

Just as Yise said, unlike the Demons that had emerged terrified, the Eyegleam thrashed and threatened them while still in its shackles. Its gaze snapped to Seol Ryeong.

"Seol Ryeong, be careful."

"Believe me, if things look bad, I'm waiting until next year."

The Eyegleam was also known as the Lust Demon. When faced with a man and a woman, it invariably attacked the woman first and readily used its claws to tear her clothes. It was one of the few Demons that raped humans. Indeed, people said that if a woman bathed alone in a pond, an Eyegleam was certain to appear.

Its red, flashing eyes swept over every inch of Seol Ryeong.

"Ugh... It's revolting."

She shuddered.

"Its weapons are speed, sharp claws, thunderclouds that strike with lightning, and blade-like winds it sends from a distance. Stay calm."

His teammates gave him startled looks as he rattled off information the moment he saw the Demon. They took their positions and gripped their weapons. While Yise explained its characteristics in greater detail, the Eyegleam's shackles came off.

Screeching, it sprang forward in a blur. Hae Unchan and Yise leaped to meet it, sword and axe striking from either side. But the Eyegleam's figure vanished for an instant, and it slipped straight past them.

An arrow shot toward its body. It batted the arrow aside with its claws and rushed straight at Seol Ryeong. She cried out and swung her ritual staff, but its claws sent the staff flying into the air.

Just as the Demon's vicious hand reached for her, Yise closed the distance and struck at its back with his axe. A piercing screech rang out, like metal scraping against metal. While the Eyegleam blocked his axe with its claws, Hae Unchan darted in like lightning and kicked it away.

"Its claws are about as hard as black iron. Be careful."

The Eyegleam shrieked, seemingly displeased with the two boys blocking its path to Seol Ryeong. After a moment, black smoke began seeping from its mouth and rising into the air, like a storm cloud. The cloud drifted slowly at first, then sped over Yise and Hae Unchan's heads.

"Dodge!"

Yise shouted and threw himself aside. Hae Unchan reflexively rolled the other way. The very next instant, a small bolt of lightning struck where they had stood, scorching the ground black.

Then the Eyegleam flailed its limbs in the air, sending blade-like winds hurtling toward Seol Ryeong. She hastily spun her ritual staff to block them, but her clothes were slashed in several places, and blood began flowing from her wounds. She might have suffered a fatal injury if Pi Garam had not quickly provided covering fire.

"It's really determined to go after you, Seol Ryeong. Want something to cover up with?"

Hae Unchan's own clothes were in far worse tatters. His upper body was practically half naked, exposing his sun-bronzed skin and prominent muscles. Instead of answering, Seol Ryeong tore off the lower hem of her ritual robe and tied her clothes into some semblance of order.

"I'm fine. They're not that badly torn. Fix your own clothes. I'm embarrassed just looking at you. Anyone would think the Lust Demon was after you."

"... It's not that bad."

"Enough. Let's form up around Seol Ryeong, buy some time, and create an opening."

At Yise's words, the three of them surrounded Seol Ryeong, almost hiding her from view.

"Its weakness is fire-attribute spells. Do you have any ritual implements for those?"

An aspiring shaman ought to have quite a few ritual implements.

"I have a Firebolt Talisman. Three shots."

Just as he had expected. It was a basic fire-attribute attack talisman. Three shots should be enough.

"Hae Unchan, take the front and engage the Eyegleam. Pi Garam, prepare the formation you mentioned. I'll cover Seol Ryeong. Seol Ryeong, stay as focused as you can. Launch the fire when I give the signal."

He had no intention of using the Meridian-Cutting Blade. It was worthy of being called a supernatural treasure. Flaunting something so valuable before so many witnesses could provoke someone's jealousy. He had taken even Mongryeon's ordinary nagging to heart.

Hae Unchan charged bravely out to face the Eyegleam, leaving his sword sheathed. At his realm, he could not imbue a weapon with spiritual energy. He would be better off fighting with spiritual energy in his bare hands and feet.

Yise blocked the lightning and wind blades sent from afar with his shield. It had withstood even a Level Six Demon's attacks. Though an ordinary shield, its durability alone would not have disgraced a ritual implement. He might appear to be relying on superior equipment, but the examiner himself had told them to use any means available. The equipment they brought was part of their ability, too.

The Eyegleam turned its offensive on Hae Unchan, apparently deciding to deal with the nuisance first. He began losing ground, wounds appearing on his body one after another.

"Fire!"

When Hae Unchan suddenly found himself in danger, Seol Ryeong's talisman spat fire and saved him. Once Yise saw that he had briefly pulled back, he asked Pi Garam, "The formation?"

"It's ready."

Pi Garam had finished his formation just in time.

"Hae Unchan! Fall back!"

His strength beginning to flag, Hae Unchan sprang to the side. The Eyegleam immediately rushed at Seol Ryeong. They had deliberately left that path open. The sealing formation laid beneath it lit up, and the Eyegleam's body went rigid for an instant.

"Fire!"

The second burst of flame hurtled fiercely toward it. While the Eyegleam struggled to escape the fire, Yise used Dokkaebi Steps to close right in.

A fireball from one side. A human approaching from the other. Unable to defend against both, the Eyegleam's shining eyes darted back and forth. In the end, it chose the human, who felt more threatening.

As Yise approached, the Eyegleam ground its teeth and reached out. Perhaps because Pi Garam's skill was still lacking, it had not been fully immobilized.

THUD!

Claws struck shield, and the monstrous force knocked the shield from Yise's hand. But the fire hit the Demon's body as well and began spreading.

Yise reached out to seize its body as it writhed like a loach.

"It's dangerous!"

His companions' simultaneous cries pierced his ears. But he did not draw his hand back. The creature had no way to put out the flames. They could kill it more safely if they took their time. But what mattered to Yise was his performance—an overwhelming performance that would earn him first or second place. So he would kill it now, with this single blow. He had to.

The fleeting instant stretched out like a life flashing before his eyes. Yise conveyed his will to the spiritual energy and Demonic Energy flowing through his body, as though issuing an order.

'Reach out. Even if you won't move, I will. And if I die, you'll lose your host and disappear in the end, too.'

In that instant, as though responding to his fierce will, the spiritual energy and Demonic Energy surged competitively toward his fingertips. His hand closed around the Eyegleam's arm. As their skin met, the two energies crisscrossed and clamped onto the Demon.

The monkey thrashed, instinctively sensing that something was wrong. His axe fell like lightning and bit into the demonic beast's flesh.

CRUNCH!

With his hand axe buried halfway through the beast's neck, he bore down hard and drove it through with another forceful stroke.

SLICE.

At last, the Eyegleam's head fell to the ground and rolled away. In the still silence, only Yise's breathing could be heard. He lifted his slightly hunched shoulders and steadied his ragged breath. Looking around, he saw his teammates staring in bewilderment at how swiftly the Demon had been killed.

Yise stared intently at his left hand, which had lost its grip on the shield. He reflected once more on the realization that had carried him past the barrier during the fight.

Become "aware" of the energy within.

Infuse it with "will."

Then "control" it as you wish.

Golden spiritual energy wreathed his entire palm, then vanished. In its place, black Demonic Energy surged roughly into view, almost jealously, before disappearing as well.

Second-star Qi Refining. In one leap, he had cleared the stage that had troubled him for days. A feeling difficult to describe, something close to exhilaration, welled up from his heart.

Someone might ask what all the fuss was about over a mere second star of Qi Refining. But for Yise, this was the first advancement he had achieved without anyone's help. It was enough to make this small step feel enormous.

Yise struck his hand axe into the Demon's severed head and hoisted it high. Horror filled the eyes of everyone watching that grotesque piece of performance art.