Chapter 85: Chapter 85

The academy was thrown into chaos.

An academy where all schedules revolved around control.

At the sudden interruption of classes and the call for assembly, not only the students but also the teachers were in a state of confusion.

Moreover, I, a new instructor, had appeared with Mukheun drawn, shouting.

“Now, quickly! Move as you were told!”

“Hey, Instructor Jin? What is all this?”

“Quickly! There’s no time to explain!”

The teachers were still skeptical, but.

To my left stood the Association Leader.

“Do as Master Jin Yeomyeong says! Hurry! Time is short!”

“Aigoo, yes, Association Leader.”

The Association Leader’s instructions were familiar and easy for them to understand. The people who had hesitated when I spoke immediately followed the Association Leader’s words.

“Association Leader, you are doing well. Please gather everyone.”

Madam Hyeong and her son were left at the residence, and I had given Jang Gangcheon a separate mission.

Now, the Association Leader and I were leading the charge.

“Unconditionally! You must do as Master Jin Yeomyeong says.”

The Association Leader’s absolute trust.

“What is it? The Association Leader is telling us to do as Instructor Jin says.”

“When did Instructor Jin gain such trust from the Association Leader?”

“It’s only been two days since he arrived?”

These were the instructors who had completely ignored me just this morning.

Now they were cautiously observing, trying to figure out how to act.

They’re detestable even in this situation.

“You’re not needed, so hurry up and move! I will make an example of those who do not move!”

Of course, there was no need to go that far, but a light tap should be fine.

“Aigoo! Don’t swing that!”

Ah, that one was a bit hard.

“Master Jin, it seems everyone has gathered.”

At the Association Leader’s words, I looked at the grand training ground.

In any case, the target is not the teachers.

They were gathered just in case of a spy, and the truly important ones were the students.

“What’s going on? Why did they suddenly call everyone to gather?”

“I have no idea. I asked the teachers, but no one knew.”

“The teachers don’t know either? Did something big happen?”

All classes were stopped, and they were gathered in one place.

An unprecedented event at this academy.

The students also all showed their curiosity.

But there was no sense of urgency on their faces.

It couldn’t be helped.

“Something big? Where are we?”

“Here? The grand training ground?”

“Ugh. Not that. I mean our complex. Does it make sense for something big to happen here?”

“Ah. True. There’s no place safer than here.”

To feel a sense of urgency, this complex had been too safe for too long.

I looked at the Association Leader.

Perfect control over experience.

Providing even obstacles that were only appropriate.

But in life, one sometimes encounters obstacles that are far beyond an appropriate level.

“Master Jin, please begin your story.”

Now both the teachers and students were all looking at me.

I hadn’t informed them about the Magic Pill beforehand. Because a commotion could arise before the assembly.

Because the children who had taken the Magic Pill would also be standing here without knowing why.

“Still, it’s a relief.”

“A relief? What do you mean?”

“There are no children who seem to be deeply affected by the Magic Pill.”

“Ah. That is a relief!”

Since only the students from within the complex were gathered, their number did not reach a hundred.

I gathered them in one space and focused my Eight Sensations to the fullest.

Fortunately, there were no children with thick demonic energy.

At this level, if they are stopped from taking the Magic Pill, they should be fine after some time.

But I still need to grasp the current situation.

“Hello, everyone. I am Jin Yeomyeong, the martial arts instructor for the elementary class.”

I imbued my voice with inner energy and spread it far.

“The martial arts instructor for the elementary class?”

“Then why are we here?”

“Isn’t Jin Yeomyeong the Toothbrush Hero?”

“The one who values dental health?”

Even in this situation, those words are easy to hear.

“That’s right! Refreshing teeth, refreshing martial arts, I am Jin Yeomyeong!”

In any case, there were no students who couldn’t hear me. Everyone was looking at me.

“But right now, I am standing here not as a martial arts instructor, but as a martial artist, the Ink Sword Hero Jin Yeomyeong. I will ask a few questions, so if it applies to you, you can raise your hand. Does everyone understand?”

Amidst the murmuring, the students nodded.

“I heard that the physician at the Medical Hall recently recommended a medicine that calms the mind. This medicine is not that kind of medicine. It is a completely different medicine with severe side effects. Among the people here, let’s see a show of hands from those who have taken this medicine.”

The murmuring grew louder, and the students looked at each other’s faces.

Among them, a few cautiously raised their hands.

The number was thirteen or fourteen.

The Association Leader let out a sigh.

“Ah…. There are too many.”

It was less than a hundred, but thirteen or fourteen of them, a small but not negligible number.

“There are quite a few children who find the Virtuous Mothers' Association’s education burdensome.”

“It’s a bit early to say, but don’t you think a change is needed?”

She had shown such firm confidence.

Now she says ‘perhaps’.

Then what will she think after seeing what happens from now on?

“I’ll say it again. I will explain specifically. The medicine that calms your mind that you have taken is, in fact, the Magic Pill that the Demonic Cult is spreading.”

Beside me, the Association Leader shouted in surprise.

There had been no discussion on when and how to reveal the information about the Magic Pill.

The Association Leader was of the position to reveal it after everything possible had been taken care of.

“When you take the Magic Pill, for a short while, it feels like the medicine is helping you. Your mind is soothed, and your confidence grows. But soon, your mind becomes more scattered than before, and you eventually lose your reason. You become a beast.”

Gasps of horror erupted from among the students.

“Really? Is that real?”

“It seems real. The Association Leader is standing right next to him.”

“Really? I-I took it too.”

“Then why didn’t you raise your hand?”

“Well, just because. But you didn’t take it?”

If something is strange, they hide it first.

It’s an action that not only this age group but also adults often do. They do it instinctively to protect themselves.

“I found out because there was someone who showed side effects from it. If you don’t want to lose your reason , raise your hand quickly!”

Now, they knew that concealment would bring about a worse result.

“We should raise our hands, right?”

One by one, more hands began to go up.

The Association Leader, who had confirmed how many had raised their hands, spoke in a trembling voice.

Everyone. All of them. The whole lot.

I don’t know if this is surprising or not surprising. In any case, everyone had raised their hands.

I asked the students.

“You all took it? Are you saying you all went to the Medical Hall?”

Since I didn’t single anyone out, they just looked at each other.

I had no choice but to pick out the child standing at the very front and ask.

“You at the very front.”

“Did so many of you go to the Medical Hall?”

“W-well, you see…. At first, one or two took it and said it was effective. It really calmed the mind. And, hmm, it seemed to improve concentration.”

Seeing the children raising their hands in unison, the past I know comes to mind.

During the Demonic Cult plague, the White Path martial artists of Kaifeng suffered great damage.

To the extent that the main headquarters of the Beggar’s Gang was ambushed.

But the damage was limited to the martial world, and the city developed day by day.

For a place where the Demonic Cult had appeared in earnest, such a case was rare and became a topic of conversation.

At that time, I also heard that the prestigious families of Kaifeng were continuously producing talented individuals.

‘It wasn’t like that at all.’

It wasn’t that they were safe.

They had completely fallen into the hands of the Demonic Cult, and no one knew.

Children who had lost their reason like Kang Yoohun would have been thoroughly hidden from the outside.

And some of the children would have learned demonic arts.

The children who learned demonic arts and maintained their reason would have gone out into the world under the name of ‘talented individuals’.

But in the end, they would have all been controlled.

The ambush on the Beggar’s Gang’s main headquarters must have been prepared and carried out from here.

Because this place was out of the Beggar’s Gang’s sight, yet very close in distance.

‘So this was one of the reasons the war was so difficult.’

Those Demonic Cult bastards, they must have fought the war while receiving enormous support from a controlling force .

They had prepared thoroughly indeed.

I was lost in thought for a moment.

The Association Leader’s voice was heard.

She was asking the children in a trembling voice.

“Did you really believe that? If there was such a medicine, we would have given it to you first. You are all the intelligent children of noble families, are you saying you believed that at face value?”

Her tone was one of complete incomprehension.

Intelligent children with good judgment taking any medicine.

Does that make sense?

That must be what she was thinking.

“It is not a matter of intelligence.”

I answered on behalf of the children.

“Not a matter of intelligence? Then what is it?”

“Demonic energy, deception, these things do not attack the head.”

I know because I have fought with the Demonic Cult so much.

There were many who had converted to the Demonic Cult from prestigious orthodox sects. Why did they do that?

“Yes, they attack the heart. They dig into the gaps in the heart. For example, the thought that I have become a failure.”

I swept my gaze over the lined-up children.

“Or the thought that I might become a failure.”

Even the disciples of prestigious orthodox sects were not free from these thoughts.

Rather, because they had passed strict standards to enter the sect and had grown up with high expectations, they could not shake off such thoughts.

The pressure that they had to achieve more and that they were failures if they didn’t, ate away at some of them.

The Demonic Cult did not miss that gap.

One day, you would be crossing swords with a martial artist to whom you had entrusted your back in a previous fight. In such a fight, even if you won, it was only bitter.

They were already excellent martial artists.

“They are already excellent students. Isn’t it heartbreaking that such a gap is created? That students who were already doing well come to look down on themselves.”

Aren’t they doing well?

These were students who would show their prominence if they were sent to any other place right now.

One person came forward from among the students.

He stepped forward as if he were a representative.

That child called the Association Leader ‘mother’.

She had said she had a son besides her daughter Yeom Uhye, and it seemed that was him. ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ novel•fire.net

“Usu, you didn’t take it too, did you?”

But the answer he would give was already decided.

A sigh escaped the Association Leader’s mouth.

“Why? Usu, you never said it was hard. When I asked, you always said it was manageable, that you could do it…”

Yeom Usu was handsome in appearance and had a dignified air.

Normally, he would seem to speak confidently.

But now, the words didn’t seem to come out well.

“What if your son had said it was hard? Would anything have changed?”

“If he had said it was hard, would you have let him stop?”

The Association Leader’s face froze.

The Association Leader would not have let him stop.

She would have encouraged him more, found other instructors, and used any method.

She would have made him continue.

Yeom Usu looked at his mother’s face.

“I didn’t want to disappoint your expectations either.”

Yeom Usu is the Association Leader’s son. He knew her intentions better than anyone.

As a son, he didn’t want to see her frustrated.

Yeom Usu smiled sadly.

“We, we all had a hard time. That’s why we took it.”

The crack did not form anew.

There were already countless cracks.

It was just covered with a very thin pretense.

Now all of it was revealed.

The Association Leader collapsed in front of all the students.

Jang Gangcheon came running from the direction of the academy’s main building.

He had one person with him.

“This is the director of the academy.”

The director was an old man with a long, well-groomed white beard.

“With the director’s help, I searched the academy thoroughly. But I couldn’t find that physician from the Medical Hall!”

Jang Gangcheon and the director nodded at the same time.

“He ran away this quickly?”

“Sword Hero, by the way, that physician came in on Madam Jeong’s recommendation.”

As soon as I entered Kaifeng, I saw her subordinates harassing merchants.

The Association Leader spoke in a faint voice.

“I heard that Master Jang, who was treating Handangyudo, was also recommended by Madam Jeong.”

Not only the physician but also Master Jang.

Suddenly, a person came to mind.

I asked the director for his location.

“Where is the Vice Director?”

When I came to the academy, the clerk had told me.

He had said that the Vice Director was on Madam Jeong’s side and was not friendly to me.

The director was bewildered for a moment.

“Come to think of it? Isn’t he here?”

I looked over the place where the academy teachers were standing, but the Vice Director was not to be seen.

“If so, does Madam Jeong’s son also attend the academy?”

I looked towards the students.

But the students were also looking at each other’s faces blankly.

“Huh? He’s not here? Wasn’t he next to you?

“He was with us when we came out, but he disappeared in the middle. I thought he was standing nearby.”

He’s not here, he’s not here.

“Now it’s clear who we need to find.”

“Ah, were you bored? Was the selection tournament not enough to satisfy you?”

I grabbed Mukheun’s hilt.

“Actually, me too. The more I’ve been in here, the more my irritation has piled up.”

It's the second day since the selection tournament ended.

But in just two days, my desire to swing Mukheun with gusto has filled me up.

“Association Leader. This is not the time to be collapsing.”

Where is Madam Jeong’s residence?

The Rogues’ Guild Leader must be there too.

…Will there be a lot of things to break?