Episode 114

Why did these damn training uniforms only come in two sizes—too big or too small?

Still, baggy was better than tight. At least I could adjust it with buttons and ties.

Among the hero disciples, Charis wore his uniform exceptionally tight. It made his legs look outright grotesque.

Just then, a knock sounded.

“I’m coming in.”

“Okay.”

The door swung open, and Junian stepped inside.

There was no point pretending. The one who had just dismissed the swarm of knights was none other than the Theology Master, Junian.

She looked at me with a complicated expression, then instinctively fumbled for a cigarette. She lit it, exhaled a stream of smoke, and finally spoke. “You’re Luan Badniker, right?”

“Of course I am. Why are you acting weird? We literally saw each other yesterday,” I said.

“Just yesterday, huh?” A soft chuckle escaped her. “You really don’t know? Or are you just playing dumb.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

Junian studied my face and said flatly, “Today marks the last week of the training camp.”

“What now?” I blurted.

“You’ve been missing for four weeks now.”

What?

***

I got the general rundown.

In short: that night, after being forced to leave the battle, Carzakh returned to the clearing with Junian and Luke. There were only signs of a battle but no trace of us. Searching for missing people in a dark forest was nearly impossible, so they postponed the special trial and began a full-scale search the next day. Naturally, even after three days of combing the entire camp, they found no trace of me or Juan.

“By the way, the Swordmaster is still looking. He kept searching even when he wasn’t teaching,” Junian said.

I hummed in acknowledgement.

Did he feel guilty toward me?

Well, he should. I didn’t care what kind of past he shared with Juan, but it was Carzakh’s decision that had ruined the carefully laid plan. If anyone else had caused that mess, I’d have bashed their head in by now.

I owe him for saving my life in the mountains, so I’ll let it slide this time.

At that moment, Junian spoke again. “Then there was a commotion outside. I went out and saw you surrounded by knights. Tell me, what the hell happened?”

Where was I even supposed to start?

As I stayed silent, unsure how to explain, Junian’s expression changed slightly. “Some of the church’s sorceries can take over intact human bodies. It isn’t easy for someone who has a blessing, but it isn’t impossible.”

Ah, it’s been a while since I heard that kind of suspicion.

“You’re way off. Fine, I’ll talk. What happened was…” I gave her a quick summary of everything I’d experienced.

Junian was typically calm and composed. But as I spoke, her expression changed with every sentence—what began as suspicion and doubt soon gave way to surprise, confusion, and sheer horror.

“You went to Hell? And met a demon king there?” she exclaimed.

“Yeah.”

“You do realize how that sounds, right?”

“I know it sounds insane, but it’s all true,” I answered.

“Haaaah…

” She slumped into a chair, face buried in her hands.

I tried to console her. “I get it. It is hard to believe. If I’d known it’d be like this, I would’ve brought back a rock from Hell—”

“Frankly, it’s hard not to believe you,” Junian said, peeking at me through her fingers. “The Swordmaster said he saw you fighting Juan head-on. If that’s true… well, I’m convinced.”

Junian was still barely convinced. Then she looked at me, eyes wide, and exclaimed, “No way! Still, saying you met a demon king is too much!”

I nodded, deadpan. “Agreed.”

It was bound to be harder for Junian, being a priest, to accept. I would’ve cursed if I’d heard this from another hero disciple.

“A demon king… I don’t even think a bishop from my church has seen one…” she muttered.

I hummed in response.

“But… okay. I can accept that you went to another dimension,” she admitted. “If it really was Hell, that explains why we couldn’t find any trace of your body despite all the searching, and why you suddenly reappeared weeks later.”

“Exactly. I don’t lie.”

“That was a lie, wasn’t it,” she rebuked.

I mock-gasped.

“I get it now,” Junian said. “I should’ve said it earlier, but… I’m glad you’re alive, Luan Badniker.”

“You’re too kind. By the way, what about Juan’s involvement?” I asked. “Judging by the mood, I’m guessing it hasn’t been announced.”

Junian nodded. “That’s right. If word got out that a priest was involved, the training camp—or anything else—would fall apart. So, he told me to keep quiet and let it slide.”

“Who did?”

“Sir Assad,” she replied.

Of course. If someone of the Archmage’s caliber gave the order, even Junian wouldn’t protest.

“There’s a good chance this whole affair will be swept under the rug,” Junian said, her expression one of dissatisfaction. She looked at me and asked, “Aren’t you angry?”

“About what?” I asked, confused.

“You practically killed the priest on your own,” she replied. “From what I heard, the Swordmaster was was more dead weight than help.”

That part wasn’t wrong.

“Killing a priest at your age is an achievement even the Iron-Blooded Lord couldn’t manage. If the news got out, wouldn’t your stigma disappear overnight? You could even aim for the family head position,” Junian pressed.

“I’m not interested in either of those things.”

I was sincere from the bottom of my heart. My head was already on the verge of exploding from the stuff with Senior Brother He Lou. What nonsense was this about becoming the family head?

“You are being humble. Are you content to quietly work in the shadows?”

Not really.

“Luan Badniker. I’ve been watching you, and I can see it—we’re cut from the same cloth. Ever thought about becoming an inquisitor?”

“I’ll pass,” I replied without hesitation.

“Alright then.” Junian’s expression soured. “Anyway, you’re heading home first.”

“What? Right now?”

“Word is that your family is planning your funeral arrangements,” she explained. “If you don’t go back soon, you will ebe socially dead.”

You’ve got to be kidding me.

She then added, “You’ll have to explain the situation to the Council of Elders.”

I groaned at that.

I didn’t have a single ounce of goodwill for the elders. They were nothing like the Iron-Blooded Lord or Assad, who at least had extenuating circumstances.

“Then what about the training camp?” I asked.

“What about it?”

“Isn’t it the last week? I haven’t finished the training camp yet. If I leave now, I won’t be able to complete it.”

“That’s your concern right now?” Junian raised an eyebrow. “Besides, even if you stayed, you wouldn’t finish it.”

“Why not?”

“You’ve been gone for four weeks. You showed up for the first week and now the last. Do you think you can just waltz in? The Badnikers aren’t local officials. There’s no way.”

I fell silent, thinking, To complete the course, I need five points in each subject or a total of twenty points. With just this little time left, it’ll be nearly impossible.

“Isn’t there any way around it?” I pressed. “I really need to complete this course.”

“Why?”

“It’s an order from the family head.”

“Huh, from the Iron-Blooded Lord…” Junian flinched slightly at the name, her brow furrowing as she thought it over. “Well, there is one possible way.”

“What is it?”

“You just need to finish in the top three of the rankings. Attendance and subject scores won’t matter then.”

I thought for a moment, then asked, “Can I see the full score list?”

“It’s posted on the first floor of the hero disciples’ building. You can go check it.”

“Got it.”

We headed downstairs to the first floor to check the bulletin board.

…

1st place: Charon Woodjack – 102 points

2nd place: Zeros Silver – 67 points

3rd place: Hector Badniker – 65 points

4th place: Shinba – 51 points

5th place: Seren Goodspring – 49 points

…

“Oh…”

Charon was leading by a landslide. Hector had narrowed the gap and was sitting in second, while Seren, ranking in the top five, also stood out.

Out of curiosity, I checked the scores of a few others.

9th place: Evan Helvin – 39 points

…

22nd place: Mir Giant – 27 points

…

Then came my long-awaited score.

34th place: Luan Badniker – 14 points

“What? It was seventeen points the last time I saw it,” I whined.

I turned to Junian with a look that said, “Give it back.”

She pulled something out—a notebook. “Luan Badniker… Didn’t you trade with Zeros Silver? You bought information for three points.”

“Ah.” I had completely forgotten about that. “Still, even though my score’s low, I am not dead last”

“There are thirty-seven members in total. You are almost in last place,” Junian remarked.

“Thirty-seven people?”

“Two people died while you were away,” she explained.

“I see…”

The back of my neck prickled at the unexpected news. Stopping the Demon King’s Summoning Ritual hadn’t removed the dangers of the training camp itself. The 20% mortality rate still loomed.

“Why the long face? That is the lowest number of deaths ever,” Junian pointed out.

“I’m not about to smile over someone’s death.”

“Fair, but for this cohort, that’s exceptionally low. Everyone’s been pretty impressive,” she praised.

“It isn’t over yet. Isn’t it too early to judge?”

Junian shook her head. “Statistically speaking, deaths mostly happen during the first two weeks. The survival curve flattens after that.”

“I see.”

“Back to the point. If you want to place third, you’ll need at least fifty-one points.”

I was screwed. Even if it was the final special trial, there was no way they’d award that many points in one shot. It felt too lopsided.

“But it is the last special trial. If you play it right, it might be possible,” Junian added.

As expected of the Badnikers. I believed her.

“Of course, I’ll need to meet with the other instructors to assess whether you can even participate. But…” Junian glanced at me, then asked, “Are you sure you want to do it? Honestly, it will be much harder. There will be penalties if you participate. And, as I’ve mentioned, it’s not without the risk of death.”

“Actually, you haven’t even told me what the special trial is. How does it work?” I asked.

“Simply put, it’s a group-based survival challenge,” she disclosed. “It started four days ago and will last a week.”

If it started four days ago and would last a week, that meant three days remained.

“So, the entire final week is dedicated to this trial?” I inquired.

Junian nodded. “Exactly. You’ll have to use everything you’ve learned at the training camp so far: hunting, survival, theoretical knowledge, martial arts, and even the blessings.”

“Understood.”

“Wait a minute.” Junian pulled something out and showed it to me—a red orb.

“What is this?”

“A point orb. These are worth points. They come in rainbow colors—red to purple—worth one, three, five, ten, fifteen, twenty, and twenty-five points respectively. This one’s worth one point.”

She tossed the orb into the air and caught it as she continued, “They’re hidden throughout the forest. Naturally, the higher the score, the harder they are to find. Also, you can only carry up to three at a time.”

“Oh, so if I collect three purple orbs—”

“That’s seventy-five points,” Junian finished. “Not enough for first place, but it could secure second. Of course, the current second- and third-ranked hero disciples won’t just sit back and let that happen.”

I glanced at the leaderboard. “Can I take points from someone else?”

“Of course. In this trial, anything goes—short of killing.”

It was like the second trial.

“If you join now, you’ll be running solo. You can’t be added to an existing group, and most of the others will already be working in groups.”

Junian went on, “It’s been a few days since the trial began. Some of them have probably formed alliances to strike back against anyone hoarding the high-point orbs. Will they welcome your sudden intrusion? You didn’t exactly shine at the training camp.”

I nodded.

“Well, you did fight the priest, so maybe you don’t need to worry too much.”

She still seemed doubtful of my abilities, but it didn’t matter.

I grinned. “Perfect.”

“What is?”

I didn’t bother to answer. My reason felt childish. I’d fought Juan, run into Tantata, and reunited with Senior Brother He Lou. In the end, my plan had worked out, but the process had been brutal.

I hadn’t been able to overpower Juan, and Tantata had toyed with me. Honestly, if Senior Brother He Lou hadn’t intervened, I wasn’t sure what would’ve happened.

According to him, Tantata had just been playing around with me…

I had trained hard on Spirit Mountain, made progress, and returned only to face humiliation again.

How to describe it?

It left a deep scar on my fragile heart. Thus, I was now consumed by anger—intense, raw, and desperate for an outlet.

Charon…! Hector…! I clenched my fists, thinking of the two friends who could satisfy my craving. Just you wait…!

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