WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 10: Bizarre Oddity (1)
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“You really need to train hard.”
‘...I know.’
There was no room for excuses.
Without the SoDam Sword’s help, I would not even have been able to touch Noh Sung-Gu, the Blood Wolf Squad leader.
Even without using internal energy, he moved so quickly that I could barely keep up with him.
“Damn.”
My face and body were covered in bruises.
We had made a deal, yet he had shown no mercy.
‘I really need to train.’
Otherwise, I would not merely be pushed around. I would not even be able to endure it.
Still, I had obtained what I wanted.
A [Middle] identity plaque.
I was one step farther from the pile of those to be discarded.
But I could not relax yet.
There were often people who fell to Low grade during training.
“Ah... again? This is sickening.”
“This is sickening.”
The twin brothers, Song JwaBaek and Song WooHyun, looked at me with dissatisfaction.
They had clearly expected to receive High identity plaques, but surprisingly, they had received Middle ones.
It seemed we were bound by quite a persistent connection in this life.
“Good grief.”
Even as they grumbled, they looked rather pleased to see me.
Well, I was the only familiar face they had in a place like this, where they had no connections. No matter how tough they acted, they likely found some comfort in having me around.
“Brigade Leader, please reconsider.”
“Huh. Keep your voice down.”
About twenty jang away from the training Cadets, the officers were holding an emergency meeting.
It was because Squad Leader Oh had raised an objection.
They were likely discussing me.
‘I can’t hear them.’
At first, I could hear bits and pieces whenever their voices rose, but I could no longer hear them after they began conversing through sound telepathy.
Sound telepathy was short for transmitting one’s voice directly to a chosen person through internal energy.
‘Well, I can roughly guess it even without hearing.’
Squad Leader Oh was arguing heatedly with Noh Sung-Gu, the Blood Wolf Squad leader.
Noh Sung-Gu kept shaking his head firmly.
‘He’s handling this well.’
As expected, he was a man who kept his promises without fail.
Because the Blood Wolf Squad leader had vouched for me, Squad Leader Oh had lost any justification for finding fault.
Thanks to that, the Tyrannical Blood Brigade Leader and the other Squad leaders gradually began to see Squad Leader Oh as overly sensitive as their discussion continued.
At this rate, Squad Leader Oh would be unable to cause trouble for a while.
* * *
Once the grading was complete, the training Cadets received their clothes.
They were not flashy, just garments suitable for training.
However, there was no outer robe, so I could not hide the SoDam Sword inside my clothes. I had to wear it at my waist.
“Ah, I can finally breathe.”
The sword chattered excitedly.
Of course, it chattered whether anyone could see it or not.
After all the Cadets changed clothes, they followed the Squad leaders assigned to their respective grades.
The person leading us was a female Squad leader.
Her name was Hae OkSeon, and ever since the fart incident, it had been difficult to meet her eyes.
Whenever she saw me, her expression turned demonic.
“You really do make enemies.”
‘You’re right.’
My enemies were steadily increasing, though not intentionally.
Still, it was fortunate that she did not suspect my identity like Squad Leader Oh.
She simply disliked me.
“Because you’re a farting bastard.”
‘...’
Ignoring the sword, I walked in neat rows with the others.
Once we were assigned an instructor, our formal training would begin.
“How long does it last?”
‘One year.’
“That isn’t very long, is it?”
‘Low-rank warriors train for only that long before being assigned somewhere.’
After one year of training, the basic course for Blood Cult warriors would end.
Those whose talent did not measure up would be assigned posts as low-rank warriors.
My first assignment had been at the bottom of the Blood Wolf Squad.
“What did you do there?”
‘Supplied provisions.’
“Supplied provisions?”
‘...Yes, I carried loads, you bastard!’
I had truly been at the bottom.
Even after learning external energy, I had only been somewhat better at fighting than an ordinary person.
Because of that, I had been responsible for the Blood Wolf Squad’s odd jobs, such as carrying burdens.
Still, it had been more peaceful than my days as a Spy.
“You need to become at least a mid-rank warrior to escape those chores.”
‘It’s more than just escaping chores.’
I would be able to create a path upward.
At the very least, becoming a mid-rank warrior meant I could lead a group within a squad.
If I earned merit there or honed my martial prowess until I became Advanced, I might even have a chance at becoming a Squad leader.
“How do you become a mid-rank warrior?”
‘You have to become a second-rate warrior within a year.’
“Huh? How? Your dantian is still damaged.”
‘Like I said, there’s a way.’
“What way?”
Curious, the SoDam Sword chattered and pressed me to explain.
‘An opportunity will come in exactly ten months.’
In truth, when I first heard this story, I had been sick with envy.
Of course, I only learned of it later, and low-rank training Cadets were never given the opportunity in the first place, so it had been meaningless.
“What opportunity?”
‘An important guest is scheduled to visit this place in ten months.’
“Guest? Someone important is coming?”
‘Yes.’
“Who?”
‘I don’t know.’
“...Are you messing with me right now, you farting piece of trash?”
For a moment, I nearly suffered Ki Rampage despite having no dantian.
For a damn Short Sword, it was getting far too fond of mocking people.
It had become quite the foul-mouthed sword.
‘Mock me one more time, and I’ll break you.’
“Hey, are you mad? You were the one saying pointless things. You got my hopes up for no reason when you didn’t even know.”
Yes, it was my fault.
I should have just gotten to the point.
‘I don’t know who the guest is. The guest isn’t important. The person accompanying them to treat them is.’
“Who is it?”
‘The Omnipotent Godly Doctor!’
The Omnipotent Godly Doctor.
A physician known to be able to cure any illness.
Unaffiliated with either side, the doctor was said to treat anyone, regardless of who they were, as long as they paid a price deemed worthy.
“Oh! Then the doctor can treat your dantian too.”
‘Yes. I heard the Omnipotent Godly Doctor has even treated a shattered dantian before.’
“But how will that person help you?”
‘The Omnipotent Godly Doctor will be looking for a medical herb.’
“A medical herb?”
‘They say the guest is being brought here for treatment because the herb’s spiritual energy dissipates within a day of being uprooted.’
I could not clearly remember the herb’s name, but I remembered it was called something like Haseon something Herb.
All the mid-rank training Cadets would be mobilized to search for it. One of them would find it and receive one pledge from the Omnipotent Godly Doctor.
‘A pledge to cure anything.’
“Then you should aim for that.”
‘Of course!’
I remembered exactly where the herb had been found.
My dantian was in poor condition, but that was why I had tried so hard to receive a Middle grade plaque.
I had already made all my plans while riding in the wagon.
‘If I become a mid-rank warrior and transfer to the Blood Wolf Squad...’
Everything would fall into place.
With Noh Sung-Gu’s help, if I earned merit, I would have a chance to rise through the ranks.
Since I had entered the Blood Cult anyway, I might as well make a name for myself here.
“Hahahaha! You really are funny. Someone from a prestigious force of justice actually plans to rise through the ranks in the force of evil.”
‘People are the same everywhere. Whether it’s the force of justice or the force of evil, rotten people are rotten.’
It was a truth I had learned while living as a Spy.
No matter where it was, the one who rose and survived was the winner.
While I chatted with the SoDam Sword, we were approaching the training grounds halfway up the mountain, where the mid-rank training Cadets trained.
“Ah?”
At that moment, a startled cry escaped Squad Leader Hae OkSeon, who was leading the Cadets.
When I looked ahead to see what was wrong, around twenty people were sprawled across the ground in the mountain training grounds.
‘What is this?’
Even I had no idea what was happening.
I had never even heard of anything like this happening.
Then someone lying near the platform at the training grounds rose.
“Wow. He’s huge.”
As the SoDam Sword said, it was an enormous man.
Even from a distance, he had an immense and muscular build, and his attire was far from ordinary.
He wore tiger pelts, and his entire face was covered in beard, making him look like a wild man.
Whoosh!
The wild man suddenly charged toward us with the speed of a raging bull.
He crossed dozens of jang in only a few steps. It was a movement skill, a technique used in Martial Arts to run swiftly.
“Everyone, move back!”
Squad Leader Hae OkSeon urgently shouted and drew the sword at her waist.
It seemed she did not know the wild man’s identity either.
As befitted an Advanced, she moved swiftly and swung her sword to stop him.
Then something unbelievable happened.
Smack!
The wild man blocked her sword barehanded, then sent her flying with a single punch.
Thud!
“Argh!”
With a final scream, Squad Leader Hae OkSeon flew nearly five jang.
After rolling across the ground several times, she dropped her head.
‘Impossible.’
I had never seen a Squad leader who was an Advanced be defeated so helplessly.
Not even a Brigade Leader could have done that.
“Sh-she’s dead!”
Song JwaBaek cried out in horror.
“No, she isn’t dead. Calm down!”
She looked dead, but her body was still twitching.
Then the wild man who had knocked down Squad Leader Hae OkSeon began to stride toward us, not using a movement skill.
With every step he took, his oppressive presence grew stronger.
Everyone stood frozen, unsure what to do, when the wild man suddenly spread both arms wide.
“...?”
Then he swiftly brought both hands together.
Clap!
A powerful blast of wind and a sound that seemed capable of rupturing my eardrums swallowed everything.
The shock was so severe that I clutched my ears and screamed in pain.
“Arghhhhh!”
A strange noise kept pounding at my ears.
Eeeeeee!
I could no longer hear any sound around me.
Overwhelmed by pain and confusion, I could only see the training Cadets around me collapsing.
They seemed unable to endure the sound.
“Ugh!”
When I pulled my hands away from my ears, blood was running down them.
I was dizzy and felt as though I might vomit, when another strange thing happened.
Thump!
A hot energy rose from within my chest. It gradually surged upward, warming my ears before the ringing vanished.
“Huff... huff...”
I had no idea what had happened.
Then I heard someone shouting nearby.
“Fuck! Go ahead and kill me if you want! But you won’t touch my little brother!”
When I looked over, Song JwaBaek stood before his younger brother, who was clutching his ears in pain. His fists were clenched as he faced the wild man.
That crazy bastard.
It would be better to collapse.
It was truly unexpected.
But the result was exactly as expected.
One punch from the wild man sent Song JwaBaek flying with a strangled cry.
After knocking him down, the wild man passed Song WooHyun, who was clutching his ears in agony.
The wild man was heading toward...
“Ruuuun!”
The SoDam Sword shouted at the top of its lungs.
My legs had been frozen in place, but I came to my senses, turned, and immediately ran back.
Thud!
But a blunt impact struck the back of my head, and I lost consciousness.
* * *
Cold.
My jaw felt like it would seize up.
The cold feeling against my skin woke me.
My head throbbed painfully.
Then a rough, gravelly voice rang beside my ear.
“Hehehe. How unexpected. A brat with a shattered dantian and no internal energy endured that, and woke first.”
The voice was extremely close.
Startled, I shot up from where I lay.
“Gasp!”
Panicking, I scrambled backward.
Right before me sat the huge wild man, leaning back in a large stone chair draped in tiger pelts.
I was so terrified that my entire body trembled.
Thud!
“Ugh!”
Something caught my foot, and I fell backward.
“Ah?”
It was larger than a stone, and it was none other than Song JwaBaek.
But Song JwaBaek was not alone.
Beside him, his younger brother Song WooHyun slept soundly, mumbling in his sleep.
“W-where are we?”
Looking around, I saw that it was not a very large cave.
Since no other training Cadets were present, it seemed only the three of us had been kidnapped.
‘Damn it!’
I had made such thorough plans. What was this supposed to be?
It was so absurd that I could hardly believe it.
‘Ah!’
I suddenly remembered the SoDam Sword and reached for my waist.
“Hehehe. Are you looking for this?”
At the wild man’s voice, I looked toward him.
The SoDam Sword was in his large, thick hand.
I had wondered why I could not hear the sword chattering. It had become a hostage.
If I asked for it back, he looked capable of crushing my head with that massive hand.
“You’re an interesting one. To think that a training Cadet who has only just arrived would carry a Short Sword like this, worn-out as it is.”
‘What?’
This wild man knew I was a training Cadet.
He did not seem to be from the Blood Cult, so I had no idea how he knew that.
After hesitating briefly, I gathered my courage and asked.
“W-who are you, Elder? Why did you bring us here?”
“Hehehe.”
The wild man let out his usual rough laugh and opened his mouth.
“Me? I am Evil Heaven.”
‘!!!’
The moment I heard those words, a shiver ran through my entire body.
For a moment, I thought I had heard wrong.
‘Impossible!’
If the wild man was telling the truth, he was Evil Heaven, the Bizarre Oddity, one of the Blood Cult’s Four Venerable Ones.
He was known as the strangest and most unusual of the Blood Cult’s four supreme masters.
‘H-how is this man here? Wait... could it be?’
My trembling gaze naturally turned toward the twin brothers, Song JwaBaek and Song WooHyun.
They were still sleeping, unaware of the world around them.
I could be certain.
‘No way... Evil Heaven was the one who taught these bastards Martial Arts?’
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