So? Did Someone Force You to Become the Heavenly Demon?

Chapter 68: The First Test (3)

Somewhere on Taecheon Peak, where the first test was underway…

Thud.

“Ugh…”

Looking down at the disciple who had collapsed after being struck in their paralyzing point, Dokgo Pae sneered.

“Tch. Idiots.”

Beside the fallen disciple lay another, equally defeated.

Despite the groups being divided into four-person teams, these two had been moving entirely on their own.

The reason was simple. To collect tokens quickly, they had split up to move separately.

Unlike Il-mok’s group, which had used two members as bait while the others lay in ambush, these two had genuinely split off on their own, and that was their downfall. They had encountered Dokgo Pae’s group and been swiftly subdued.

Meanwhile, the other three disciples in Dokgo Pae’s group were looking at him with incredulous expressions.

‘He had the exact same idea earlier.’

‘How can someone be this shameless?!’

In truth, when they first heard the rules, Dokgo Pae had made the exact same suggestion—no, an even more extreme one.

He had insisted they split into four immediately to gather tokens as fast as possible.

‘I must achieve a higher score than the Eighth Young Master!’

The only thought in Dokgo Pae’s mind was to surpass Il-mok.

Fortunately for them, Dokgo Pae’s recklessness was stopped by the objection of another team member.

“If we split up and run into the Eighth Young Master’s group, what then?”

“Hmph! The rules don’t forbid combat, do they? I’d like to defeat the Eighth Young Master in a direct confrontation, but if those are the rules, isn’t moving first the best option?”

Dokgo Pae believed this test was in his favor.

On the first day at the Hall of the Demonic Way, he had at least won in the competition of lightness skill.

But his teammates’ following objections forced him to reconsider.

“They didn’t prohibit combat—they said not to inflict serious injuries. That means subduing is allowed. No matter how skilled you are, you couldn’t possibly face the Eighth Young Master’s entire team alone.”

“…Ahem. We-well, if it were just the Eighth Young Master alone, I might manage, maybe, but if they cheat and gang up on me, it won’t be easy.”

Due to his pride, Dokgo Pae couldn’t bring himself to admit that he might lose to the Eighth Young Master.

In any case, thanks to that teammate’s wisdom, Dokgo Pae’s team avoided the folly of splitting up.

“These idiots had two tokens on them.”

“Hahaha! Moving separately must have sped them up!”

Their faces brightened as they discovered two tokens after searching the bodies of the two men they had subdued.

They had only found one token so far due to moving together as a group of four.

After gathering the spoils, Dokgo Pae barked,

“Then, let’s move to the next location!”

He strode ahead as if he were the undisputed leader, prompting the other three to sigh quietly.

“Ugh. We got stuck with the worst.”

“Why does he keep taking the lead when he can’t even read the map properly?”

“Thanks to him, we got lost repeatedly and could only find one token after all this time.”

In fact, one of the main reasons they had gathered tokens slowly was because of Dokgo Pae’s temperament.

While skilled in martial arts, he had never excelled in Instructor Eun’s classes due to his single-minded devotion to strength.

He had learned map-reading to some extent, but there were flaws in his understanding.

Yet he had an odd abundance of confidence, which made him frequently lead them onto wrong paths.

“Well, as long as we let him play the role of leader, he’s satisfied. So, let’s just observe for now.”

When the disciple who had insisted on staying together with Dokgo Pae said this, the other two nodded.

Though stubborn, Dokgo Pae could be managed with the right coaxing.

Honestly, having some kind of leader—even one like him—was better than none at all.

When opinions diverged, having someone who pushed strongly was necessary to get anything done.

And so, they continued under Dokgo Pae’s “leadership.”

Dokgo Pae would take the lead, and whenever he veered off course, the other three gently steered him back.

But as time passed, they arrived at another marked location only to find it empty.

“Tch. Nothing here either. Let’s move to the next location!”

As Dokgo Pae clicked his tongue in disappointment and quickly prepared to move again—

“!!!”

They spotted another team through the bushes.

But it was different from before.

This team was moving together as a group of four.

Additionally—

“Tsk. An ambush would be difficult.”

The other group had noticed them too.

Tension thickened instantly.

In an atmosphere where a single wrong move could spark a fight—

A female disciple from the other side stepped forward boldly.

The woman who stepped forward with a proud and haughty gait was Bang Mi-hwa.

Dokgo Pae recognized her. They were in the same class after all, not only that, the Upper class only had ten members within. But that wasn’t the reason why he remembered her.

‘The woman clinging to the Eighth Young Master.’

She had stuck in his memory solely because of her closeness to the one person who piqued his interest.

But the words that came out of her mouth exceeded Dokgo Pae’s expectations.

“Since we’ve encountered each other by fate, how about forming a temporary alliance?”

“A temporary alliance? Why?”

“With the Eighth Young Master’s group as the strongest contender, it would be wise to join forces first.”

Dokgo Pae and his teammates could understand what she meant.

Deal with Il-mok’s team first, and then compete amongst themselves afterward.

However, Dokgo Pae couldn’t trust her words.

“Hmph. How can I trust the words of someone who’s been sticking with the Eighth Young Master like glue for the past month?”

“Because both he and I know how to separate personal feelings from duty.”

Bang Mi-hwa was confident. She truly believed Il-mok’s affection for her wouldn’t waver over something so trivial.

Bang Mi-hwa genuinely believed so, but the problem was Dokgo Pae.

He bared his teeth in a savage grin.

“Hmph. Such petty tactics don’t suit the eldest grandson of the great Dokgo Family. I’ll crush you all here and take your tokens, then defeat the Eighth Young Master in a fair fight!”

The moment his taunt ended, both sides drew their weapons simultaneously, creating an intense atmosphere.

“To deliberately choose punishment—how foolish.”

Bang Mi-hwa flicked open her fan, subtly covering the left side of her jaw to highlight her “perfect” right profile.

Somewhere along the way, she had convinced herself that only her right side was her true face.

Only the more beautiful, more perfect version of herself was the real her.

Of course, Dokgo Pae, who couldn’t care less, was about to swing his sword when a voice from behind stopped him.

“Team Leader Dokgo. Wasn’t your goal the Eighth Young Master? Fighting them here now would be a mistake.”

Dokgo Pae stopped his sword and focused on the disciple’s words.

Until now, he had simply called him a disciple, but this time, he had addressed him as ‘Team Leader,’ which caught his attention.

“Why?”

Now that he’d been addressed as such, Dokgo Pae naturally spoke condescendingly.

“Engaging them risks injuries on our side. And if you injure them, you might be disqualified before even facing the Eighth Young Master.”

Seeing the validity in that point, Dokgo Pae clicked his tongue lightly and withdrew his sword.

“Tsk. I’ll deal with you lot after I defeat the Eighth Young Master.”

As if he had finished his business, Dokgo Pae proudly turned his back and walked in the opposite direction.

Dokgo Pae’s teammates also began to follow him, leaving Bang Mi-hwa’s team to watch their retreating backs.

“Mi-hwa, wouldn’t it be better to ambush them now?”

Bang Mi-hwa shook her head haughtily at her friend Ha Young’s suggestion.

“It’s not worth the risk. We’ll only suffer losses fighting them.”

“But wouldn’t it be easier to deal with them than the Eighth Young Master’s group?”

“Dokgo Pae has no chance of defeating the Eighth Young Master. If they eliminate each other, our ranking will improve.”

“But we might also be defeated by the Eighth Young Master.”

“I have a plan for that, don’t worry.”

Ha Young nodded at her confident friend’s reply with an “as expected” expression.

“…….”

Meanwhile, the two Lower Class disciples behind them could only exchange uneasy glances as they listened to the conversation.

***

Some time after encountering Bang Mi-hwa’s group—

“Tsk. Nothing here either.”

Dokgo Pae clicked his tongue as he arrived at another location following the map.

At that moment, the disciple who had been acting as the team’s strategist spoke up.

“It seems all tokens have already been collected, Team Leader. From now on, it will be a battle to steal the tokens that everyone has already obtained.”

“Hmm. That’s actually better. Rather than this trivial treasure hunting, fighting is more suited to my style. Hahaha.”

Seeing Dokgo Pae’s boorish laughter, the disciple who acted as the strategist mustered a strained smile and said.

“In that case, shouldn’t we prepare a meal?”

“A meal? What do you mean?”

“I have full faith in you, Team Leader, but facing the Eighth Young Master on an empty stomach would be risky.”

“Oh.”

“Also, since only the Team Leader can match the Eighth Young Master, the final showdown will ultimately be between you and him.”

“Ohhhh!”

Eventually, Dokgo Pae, swayed by the disciple’s words, decided to have lunch.

“Then, go find food immediately!”

As the leader, Dokgo Pae believed he had no need to handle such menial tasks himself.

While the others searched the forest for food…

“Haah.”

The disciple who had been acting as the strategist, Gwak Sul, let out a soft sigh.

In truth, he had no intention of letting Dokgo Pae face Il-mok. Based on past observations, it was almost certain that Dokgo Pae would lose.

‘…Since Disciple Dokgo has no talent for tracking, it would be best to subtly mislead him into encountering another group.’

Gwak Sul still regretted not accepting Bang Mi-hwa’s proposal. However, it was futile to try to fix what Dokgo Pae had already messed up.

After organizing his thoughts, he began searching for food, wandering aimlessly through the forest.

By the time Gwak Sul and the other two had finished hunting and gathering, about an hour had passed.

Unlike Il-mok’s group, which had Jeong Hyeon, none of them had any prior experience with hunting or gathering.

They barely managed to complete it in one hour thanks to their martial arts training, which allowed them to move faster than most animals, and their basic tracking skills, which helped them successfully hunt.

By the time they had prepared the food, started the fire, prepared the animal, and finished preparing the meal, 4 hours had passed since the beginning of the test.

“Hahaha. Disciple Gwak was right. It was wise to eat beforehand.”

Not just Dokgo Pae, but the other three were also completely famished by now.

“Dig in.”

Dokgo Pae, now fully accustomed to his role as leader, gave the order naturally.

But just as he was about to bring the freshly roasted piece of meat into his mouth—

Rustle.

Through the bushes, they spotted a man and a woman running toward them.

“Damn it.”

“Son of a—”

“They must have a death wish.”

As two of the teammates and Dokgo Pae scowled, taking their hands off the meat and grabbing their weapons—

“Something’s wrong!”

Gwak Sul shouted, looking at the approaching pair.

“There are four of us, and only two of them are charging!? Something’s not right!”

As everyone felt uneasy at Gwak Sul’s astute observation—

Whoosh!

Suddenly, Il-mok appeared from a nearby bush and charged toward Dokgo Pae.

At the exact moment everyone’s attention was fixed on the sudden appearance of Il-mok—

Twang!

“Gah….”

An arrow, seemingly appearing out of nowhere, struck one of the candidates at a vital point, causing him to collapse.

Twang!

Only then did Dokgo Pae, whose sword had clashed with Il-mok’s, shout with a face twisted in anger.

“You’re both the same kind of treacherous bitch and bastard!!”

To Dokgo Pae, Bang Mi-hwa, who had proposed an alliance to catch Il-mok, and Il-mok, who had ambushed them while they were eating, were the same kind of despicable people.

Of course, Il-mok, who knew nothing of the incident with Bang Mi-hwa, could only swing his sword with a bewildered expression.