Chapter 10
"Fight?"
"You mean right here?"
"They took all our weapons away!"
"Then why seal our internal energy too?"
The moment the Commander of the Dark Demon Corps announced that we would be fighting each other...
The followers began murmuring again.
But the Dark Demon Corps had already finished placing the large notices across the walls.
"Listen carefully."
"You are not simply going to fight at random."
"From this moment onward, you will be divided into groups and ranked by strength."
"Those who place near the top of each group will advance to the next stage."
"Those at the bottom..."
Jo Gyun's expression remained cold.
"...will immediately be expelled from the Dark Demon Well."
He continued explaining the first trial while the notices were being placed.
At least for now...
The Dark Demon Well was still kind enough to explain things.
According to Jo Gyun...
Anyone who failed to prove their strength would be expelled immediately.
If "expelled" simply meant going home...
That would've been wonderful news.
Unfortunately...
The Dark Demon Well wasn't that generous.
"Naturally..."
Jo Gyun continued.
"Anyone expelled during the first trial will spend the rest of their life as a Demonic Foot Soldier."
"Remember that well."
Anyone expelled in the first trial would remain at the lowest level of the Divine Cult for life.
A Demonic Foot Soldier.
Their life would barely differ from that of an ordinary follower.
For someone who had entered the Divine Cult claiming to be a martial artist...
That was probably the worst possible treatment.
No matter how hard they worked afterward...
They would never rise higher.
They would spend their entire life as an ordinary grunt.
Although everyone called this the first trial...
It was really more like an entrance examination.
The Dark Demon Well was called a furnace for remaking Demonic Warriors.
Before forging valuable metal...
You first removed the impurities.
This trial was the first filtering process.
Come to think of it...
Not once since the gates closed had the Commander of the Dark Demon Corps called us trainees.
That meant the real Dark Demon Well hadn't even begun yet.
Only after they filtered us here...
Would we truly qualify to enter.
"The first test will consist of barehanded combat."
"No weapons of any kind may be used."
"Internal energy is forbidden."
"Poison is forbidden as well."
"Anyone who violates these rules will also be expelled immediately."
After finishing the basic explanation...
Jo Gyun's cloak fluttered as he moved to the highest point of the platform and sat down.
The moment he took his seat...
The Dark Demon Corps moved.
Several fighting platforms were quickly prepared across the enormous chamber.
People naturally gathered around the platform assigned to their group according to the number on their wooden plaques.
I found my assigned location.
Several other people from my group were already wandering nearby.
Six people per group.
This wasn't a single-elimination tournament.
It looked more like a round-robin league.
Maybe they wanted to give everyone at least one extra chance.
Most people would probably interpret it that way.
But...
I saw something else.
They weren't judging only pure strength.
If they wanted nothing but the strongest fighters...
They could simply use single-elimination matches and remove everyone who lost.
There was no reason to use a league format.
Giving everyone several matches meant weaker participants still had an opportunity.
Someone could think carefully...
Choose their battles...
Gain enough wins...
And still place near the top.
That meant the instructors were probably interested in such people too.
Strength.
Awareness.
Quick thinking.
Improvisation.
The things being tested here were strangely similar to what the intelligence unit had tested back in my world.
The "strong Demonic Warriors" they wanted weren't simply people with powerful martial arts.
"Hmph!"
A loud voice suddenly interrupted my thoughts.
"Those unlucky enough to be placed in the same group as me can relax!"
A massive bald man grinned.
"You won't need to fight five matches!"
"Anyone who faces me won't be capable of fighting again afterward!"
"I'll cripple every last one of you! Hahahaha!"
We were still waiting for the matches to begin.
Apparently, that bald giant belonged to my group.
He had an enormous body.
His scalp practically reflected the torchlight.
Anyone looking at him could immediately tell that he had focused heavily on external martial arts.
His muscles were huge.
His skeleton was massive.
No wonder he felt confident in a trial where internal energy couldn't be used.
"Oh?"
A familiar voice came from nearby.
"That is Dong Ung, the Iron Mountain Giant of Gwangwol Peak."
"I heard he caused trouble after entering Moonless Hall. So he ended up in the Dark Demon Well after all."
I had been quietly studying the bald man.
Before I realized it...
Ma Hapji had smoothly appeared behind me and begun explaining.
...
For some reason...
Having him suddenly appear behind my back sent a chill through my spine.
It felt like an enemy had gotten behind me.
This had to be some deeply engraved instinct from my previous life.
"Brother Ma..."
"Third Young Master. Have you looked at your assigned group?"
"I'm doing that now. That Dong Ung you mentioned seems to be in my group. Are you too?"
"Fortunately not. I was assigned to the group using the neighboring platform."
Ma Hapji laughed.
"Hahaha. I am relieved I do not have to fight the Third Young Master. Perhaps I have already become attached to you."
"I... feel the same."
I had fallen into an unknown world.
I became a member of a fanatical religious militant group worshipping some strange god.
And the first friend I made there looked like an Arab.
Actually, he probably was from somewhere similar.
If anyone from my previous life heard that explanation...
I wondered what religion they would assume I'd joined.
I shook my head.
The answer was far too obvious.
"Brother Ma, do you know that Dong Ung?"
"He became somewhat famous in the south because of his brutal methods. I heard that while serving in the Demon Army Division under Moonless Hall, he beat one of his comrades to death."
"So that's how he ended up here."
"Hmm. I heard some people are sent here instead of prison."
"Perhaps they made an exception because he had already earned a name for himself. Hahaha. It is all thanks to the Sacred Moon's great mercy."
"Then did you commit some crime too?"
"Do I look like I did?"
"No. That's why I'm asking."
"Hahahaha! Unfortunately, no."
Ma Hapji grinned.
"I volunteered."
"Volunteered?"
"I had reached the limit of how far I could rise outside this place."
Then he laughed.
"A man should carry great ambition, should he not?"
"Was the discrimination really that severe?"
"I am from beyond the Central Plains and belong to the Outer Sect."
"...I see."
Maybe because I technically belonged to the ruling class as the Third Young Master...
Hearing about discrimination created a strange feeling.
I didn't really know what to say.
Although...
In a way...
I was also an outsider within the Divine Cult.
Fortunately, Ma Hapji's easygoing personality prevented things from becoming awkward.
"If you ever seize supreme authority, please remember these three characters..."
He pointed at himself.
"Ma Hapji."
"Hahahaha!"
It wasn't exactly an easy name or face to forget.
I suspected I would remember this man for the rest of my life.
Ma Hapji himself, of course, had no idea why.
"By the way..."
"Have you greeted your brother?"
"My brother? You mean the Fifth Young Master?"
"Yes. Young Master Cheon Gangwol."
"Not really... We're not close enough to exchange greetings."
"Hmm. Every family has its circumstances."
Ma Hapji gestured toward one side of the cavern.
"He was assigned to the platform near the far end. I thought you should at least know."
Along with being friendly...
Ma Hapji also brought useful information.
My youngest half-brother was nearby.
Maybe I should go look at his face later.
For now...
I simply remembered the location.
The first matches were already beginning.
"Haaaah!"
Papapapap!
Thud! Smack! Smack!
Tap-tap-tap-tap!
BOOM!
Soon...
The Dark Demon Well filled with the sounds of flesh and bone colliding.
This was my first time watching the martial arts of this world from such a close distance.
My first impression?
They weren't as strange as I had expected.
Everyone fought fairly well.
These were definitely different from the fake martial artists in the modern world who claimed to use mystical lightning Tai Chi or other nonsense.
I carefully studied their movements.
I analyzed them one by one.
Their common habits.
Their characteristics.
Their timing.
Even if all of these techniques were grouped under the single name "martial arts"...
There had to be certain shared principles.
After watching several matches...
I began to vaguely understand how to deal with them.
Then...
"Number 137!"
"Number 69!"
"Platform Three!"
My turn arrived.
I slowly approached the fighting platform.
Before stepping up...
I casually brushed one hand across the ground.
Then I clenched my fist.
With my resolve set...
I stepped onto the platform.
Unexpectedly...
I recognized my opponent.
The Iron Mountain Giant.
Dong Ung.
THUD!
He jumped onto the platform with enough force to make it shake.
"Hahahaha!"
"To think my first opponent would be the Third Young Master!"
"What an honor!"
Was this bastard desperate for attention?
Dong Ung took an enormous breath and deliberately raised his voice.
His shout echoed across the cavern.
Immediately...
People who had been watching other matches turned toward us.
