Chapter 8 - Act 3. Daemudo Entrance Examination (1)

Azure Mountain.

The name suggested lush greenery and rugged mountain slopes, but what spread before him was a single lofty peak and a sizable metropolis that looked as though it had been carved into the mountainside. Too large for a city, too small for a fortress.

One thing was certain: auspicious energy radiated from the entire mountain. Perhaps this was what the books meant by “mountain terrain rich in spiritual energy.”

Crowds far larger than anything in Subu Village mingled with carriages, laden porters, and bewildered sightseers, creating an incessant din. The nutty aroma of cooking rice. The pungent scent of incense. Even a foul, fishy stink. The smells of human life filled the air as well.

Yise walked past a signpost marked “Azure Mountain Capital.”

Making the capital feel stranger still were the shops displaying objects unlike anything he had ever seen. Magical treasure shops, weapons dealers, and inns lined the streets, with talismans hanging in rows and Demon fangs, spell bells, and objects imbued with peculiar energies for sale. To Yise, who had never ventured beyond Subu Village and Gwisu Temple in his life, it truly felt like another world.

Curiosity drew him to a nearby magical treasure shop. Beside its nameplate was a notice: “Both money and spirit stones accepted.”

Spotting Yise examining a talisman, the proprietor cleared his throat and sidled up to him.

“Welcome. That's a Demonic Energy-blocking talisman, very popular with Daemudo disciples.”

“This is?”

The question slipped out reflexively. Although he could not sense spiritual energy precisely, he could at least feel the auspicious energy of ritual implements and supernatural treasures. This object gave off none at all.

“It looks like an ordinary talisman.”

“What, are you saying I'm running a scam?”

“... That's not what I meant. How much is it?”

“Thirty thousand jeon (*thirty million won). One spirit stone will also do.”

The outrageous price would have taken every last coin he had. Yise quietly put it down. There seemed to be far more fakes than genuine articles for sale here, and more thieves than merchants.

'Daemudo disciples wouldn't fall for this... These people prey on applicants coming to take the exam.'

“Are you applying for Daemudo's entrance exam?”

“Yes.”

“Then I'd recommend this instead.”

The proprietor offered him another talisman, a crude-looking thing inscribed with “Great Success in the Examination.”

“The disciple who placed first in last year's exam bought this very talisman before going in.”

He gave a self-important ahem and hitched his shoulders.

“Good luck with your sales.”

Yise lost interest in the swindlers scattered everywhere and headed toward the center of Azure Mountain Capital. Finding the entrance exam registration office proved easier than expected. A stream of people was already flowing toward it.

“Daemudo Entrance Examination Registration Office.”

The office building was neat but modest. After perhaps two traditional two-hour periods in the long queue, he finally made it inside. Clerks in Daemudo robes sat at desks at several service windows.

“Next.”

The line inched forward until his turn came.

“Name.”

The clerk behind the window asked without even looking at him.

“Yise.”

“Place of origin.”

“Subu Village.”

“Age.”

“Sixteen this year.”

“Affiliation.”

Yise briefly considered naming Gwisu Temple, then answered, “None.” Not because he felt no attachment to it, but because he was unsure whether he could freely disclose its name.

“Copy this.”

What a dry fellow, Yise muttered inwardly as he unrolled the pine-paper scroll the clerk handed him.

「I, [ ], shall raise no objection in the event of my injury or death during the entrance examination. I shall not divulge the examination's contents to anyone outside, and shall accept any disadvantage or punishment incurred by violating this pledge.」

Yise quickly copied it out and asked,

“Are there many casualties?”

“We don't deliberately kill or injure anyone.”

Once he finished writing and set down the brush, the clerk took his application.

“Your registration token. If you lose it, you cannot register again. The exam begins in two days at the start of the hour of the Goat (*1 p.m.), at the drill ground outside the training compound on the summit. Climb the mountain in advance and wait there.”

“Yes.”

Not very friendly, either. With that brief assessment, Yise walked out. Perhaps dealing with such enormous crowds made them so impersonal.

With his most important errand complete, he headed for an inn. He had lost interest in the city and intended to eat his fill, then spend the next two days on physical conditioning.

He chose a reasonably large, clean inn. The moment he opened the door, the smells of fat, roasting meat, and hot soup assailed his nose.

“A room or a meal?”

“Both. A room for two nights, please.”

“An exam candidate, eh? Sit over there by the window.”

As soon as he sat down in the corner, Yise scanned the menu.

“What would you recommend?”

“Our braised meat is outstanding.”

“Then one bowl of spicy chicken soup, three bowls of braised meat, one bowl of thin noodles, one serving of steamed dumplings, a pot of steamed eggs, a large kimchi pancake, and plenty of rice, please.”

The proprietor's writing hand paused.

“Are more people coming?”

“No, it's just me.”

“Why ask for a recommendation if you were going to order all that?”

“So I could order extra of it.”

Silence fell. The proprietor shook his head, added, “Don't leave any,” and walked away.

'What a thing to say.'

If Yise had three cardinal rules, they were to eat well, sleep well, and train every single day. Whatever the food, however much there was, he had never left any uneaten or thrown any away.

Before long, the dishes arrived one after another: steaming chicken soup, glistening ribs, even the soft, quivering surface of the steamed eggs. Soon he was inhaling the food. It was less “eating” than “shoveling it in and swallowing.”

The inn's patrons murmured in alarm.

“Has a Hungry Ghost come calling...?”

The proprietor could only click his tongue.

Just then, the inn's door burst open.

BANG!

A boy strode in, shouting,

“Innkeeper! Two of every dish you've got!”

The boy had bronze-tanned skin, a sturdy build, and handsome features. His fine clothes were well cared for, and his hair shone. At a glance, one might easily mistake him for a farmer, but he did not seem to be a country bumpkin. He lacked refinement, but had the look of wealth.

He swiftly claimed the seat beside Yise and pounded on the table.

BANG! BANG!

For some reason, he smelled of sea breeze.

“Wow, you've got one hell of an appetite. Taking the exam?”

Yise merely nodded.

“We could end up in the same class! You'd make a perfect meal buddy.”

“So you're taking it too. Let's do our best.”

Yise gave him a perfunctory reply, then resumed rapidly inhaling his food.

“Innkeeper! Hurry up with the food!”

“Damn it! You should've ordered one of each, then!”

The boy snickered at the proprietor's grumbling.

“What's your name?”

“Yise. Innkeeper, another of each dish here too, please.”

“What a strange name. But you're eating more? Slow down a little. Nobody's going to steal it. Food's meant to be savored.”

He needed to finish eating and get back to training. Why did the boy keep talking to him? This was why overly friendly types were such a nuisance.

“I'm Hae Unchan.”

At that moment, the inn froze. Chopsticks stopped clacking, and conversations died away. In the sudden hush, only the clatter of Yise's dishes rang out. He noticed the change in atmosphere but ignored it, focusing on his meal.

With Yise no longer responding and his own food arriving, Hae Unchan lost interest in him and concentrated on eating too. Meanwhile, Yise cleared every plate on his table and smacked his lips.

How many more rounds had they ordered? Before they knew it, everyone else had left the inn, leaving just the two of them.

Yise politely raised his hand, finally ready to place his last order.

“Innkeeper. One more bowl of meat soup and two platters of dumplings, please.”

“We're out! Out, you gluttons! We've run out of ingredients!”

“Then anything you can make with what's left, please.”

“Want me to show you the empty kitchen?”

“...”

He couldn't understand why the man was so irritable when they were buying so much and bringing in all that revenue. Or why he was sweating so profusely. The Dokkaebi cook routinely made hundreds of times this amount all by herself without breaking a sweat.

Looking as though his homeland had fallen, Yise glanced at Hae Unchan's table. What a lovely sight it was, covered in warm food.

He sidled closer, making what he thought was a friendly overture.

“Didn't you say something about being meal buddies?”

“I'm sorry, do I know you?”

Honor in the martial world had truly hit rock bottom, Yise lamented.

* * *

The next day, Yise climbed toward Azure Mountain's peak.

For two days he had eaten well and never skipped training. His body was in peak condition. Whatever Daemudo's exam might involve, he was confident he could achieve the best possible result. But he had acquired one new concern.

'Food costs far too much.'

He had only eaten his usual fill, yet it cost considerably more than he had expected. Thinking of how much he had eaten among the Dokkaebi... he felt a sudden pang of guilt.

'Daemudo provides meals, doesn't it?'

Occupied with such idle thoughts, he arrived at the entrance exam waiting hall and found it larger than expected. Yet so many people thronged inside that even this enormous hall felt cramped. There seemed to be well over a thousand.

Most were boys and girls his age or a little older. Some possessed a striking presence despite their youth.

“Silence. The Chief Examiner is coming.”

At a shout from a Daemudo member off to one side, the gathering quickly quieted.

The waiting hall's door opened, and a man with a neatly trimmed beard entered. At that instant, an immense pressure spread out as though to engulf the hall.

“Greetings. I am Kang Itae, Chief Examiner for this year's entrance examination.”

The quiet hall filled with murmurs.

“... Kang Itae, the Kirin Hall Master.”

“To think we'd see him in person.”

“So this is the energy of a great Core Formation Cultivator...”

The man before them was Kang Itae, master of one of the Eleven Inner Halls, known as Daemudo's core fighting force. He did not even ask the applicants to be quiet. The spiritual energy carried in his voice alone pressured them all into silence.

“Many applicants this year. Enough to look rather cramped.”

Deep furrows marked his forehead—whether wrinkles or irritation was hard to tell—but his gaze was keen as a blade.

“But there will be plenty of room soon, so don't worry.”

A peculiar remark. Kang Itae, however, seemed disinclined to elaborate and continued at once.

“The entrance examination consists of seven types of tests conducted over seven days. I will explain those in detail once I have finished explaining the first. Let us begin. The first test is simple.”

His next words were utterly matter-of-fact.

“All you need to do is walk through the training compound's main gate.”