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

TL: Merry Christmas everyone! Sorry I’m late, it’s been a busy week for me.

Chapter 12: Overtime (3)

“First, we need to establish a clear reporting system and standardized report formats,” I answered confidently, as if I knew everything there was to know about the world.

What a joke—I was merely a fifteen-year-old novice who hadn’t even been a member of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult for ten days.

“Once the reporting system and formats are established, subsequent work processes will become more efficient. For example, there will be no need for the Senior Brothers to personally visit each county to assess situations like they do now. They’ll only need to review reports submitted to upper management and check for any discrepancies with the actual situation.”

I continued my explanation, drawing from my experience in modern South Korean civil service.

“There is a need for specialization. Assigning all tasks to a single individual in each region is inefficient. This is where the detailed reporting system and standardized formats I mentioned earlier will come into play.”

With such specialization and division of work, dozens of departments would naturally emerge.

“Each field department can then communicate the situation through reports, and the higher-ups can process the work based on the reports they receive.”

As a result, the blame-shifting work system that plagued modern Korean administrative departments will emerge. Work will be delayed as reports travel from the field to the highest level, and interventions by middle managers seeking to avoid ‘responsibility’ will often lead to reports being lost or altered beyond recognition.

“Furthermore, assigning the same task to someone indefinitely increases the risk of corruption. We should rotate assignments and transfer personnel between departments and regions regularly to prevent the formation of close ties with local influential figures or those in related industries.”

This was actually one of the most burdensome aspects for Korean civil servants.

Department rotations under the pretext of preventing corruption.

In reality, these transfers were a nightmare for civil servants, primarily due to the lack of proper handover procedures.

“With a well-defined reporting system and standardized formats, transferring between departments or regions shouldn’t disrupt workflow,” I asserted.

Yet, after a transfer, asking the seniors for guidance always yielded the same frustrating responses:

—Just follow the manual.

—Everything’s in the format guidelines.

—I’m busy adapting to my new position; why do you keep contacting me? Figure it out yourself.

Sure, that’s understandable. Like how I was suddenly dragged to a different department, they too were forcibly moved somewhere else.

But still…

‘Couldn’t you at least leave behind your previous reports or files? I could learn from them…’

—Why would I leave those behind? They’re my work. Of course, I transferred them to a USB and deleted everything.

‘…’

You could at least leave some traces of your work behind.

‘You bastards!!’

The memory of my civil service days nearly triggered an outburst.

Thanks to those damned fuckers, I had endured countless nights of overtime, poring over manuals and format guidelines to adapt to new tasks. A life light-years away from the work-life balance I craved.

The reality of the civil service was a far cry from its lofty ideals.

The pathological emphasis on responsibility and adherence to rigid manuals and report formats might expedite routine tasks, but it created endless delays in handling exceptions or public complaints.

And the idea that corruption could be detected by simply comparing reports with field conditions?

As if anyone who has spent a few years in the field wouldn’t know how to manipulate things to their advantage and get their fill.

While less prevalent now, corruption remained rampant, particularly in areas like real estate, architecture, and construction. Any civil servant at a team leader level or higher could easily engage in corrupt practices if they chose to.

And the solution? Departmental transfers—the most maddening system for low-level civil servants.

The reason I confidently explained this system, which is full of empty words and problems, was simple. It was because I wanted them to notice the issues.

No, even if they didn’t notice the issues, it would be fine as long as they realized that the system I described didn’t suit the Divine Cult.

Before my death, I remembered that the “Did Someone Hold a Knife to Your Neck” meme was trending on the internet. I encountered a post on an online community in which a company’s HR representative lamented about new hires and interns. The gist was that excessive enthusiasm from newcomers was detrimental. A novice, still clueless about the company’s inner workings, attempting to revolutionize things only appeared foolish.

True innovation requires a thorough understanding of the system.

Senior staff and supervisors expected only one thing from new recruits: to adapt quickly and grasp the company’s operations. Therefore, I deliberately acted like the overzealous novice described in that post.

A clueless newcomer, barely ten days in, presenting a fundamentally flawed system with a superficially impressive appearance.

‘They’ll see me as a fool now, won’t they?’

A somewhat bright but ultimately disappointing individual who tries hard but fails to grasp the crucial aspects—just another overeager rookie you could find anywhere.

I wanted everyone to see me that way, but…

‘What’s going on?’

For some reason, Master was looking at me with a deeply satisfied expression.

“Hahaha! Master, it seems our youngest is much smarter than we thought!”

The Eldest Senior Brother burst into his characteristic boisterous laughter.

“……”

“……”

While the Third and Sixth Senior Brothers didn’t say anything, one glared at me menacingly while the other looked at me with surprise.

“He even considered the possibility of corruption among field operatives. Isn’t this system aligned with our cult’s doctrines, Master?”

To make matters worse, Eldest Senior Brother Wi Jin-hak spouted nonsense while continuing his foolish laughter.

“Indeed, you’re right. Humans are inherently evil. However, as the Heavenly Demon, I cannot personally inspect every cult member daily. To think such a simple solution could be found in rotating departments and regions.”

Master chuckled, seemingly pleased.

I felt wronged.

I hadn’t specifically considered this matter in conjunction with the cult’s doctrines.

‘I didn’t even glance at the doctrinal texts except when studying, as I didn’t want to be brainwashed.’

Could it be that I had already been brainwashed without realizing it?

‘No. It’s just that these people will interpret everything through the lens of their doctrines.’

Whether it’s a cult or not, those deeply immersed in religion are all the same.

They interpret whatever happens by connecting it to their scriptures, saying, “This too is the will of Heaven.”

But that was beside the point. Why were these people so impressed by the nonsensical ramblings of a clueless novice?

Third Senior Brother’s chilling glare was particularly unsettling.

‘Looks like I won’t be sleeping peacefully anytime soon.’

I had a feeling he might sneak into my quarters on a moonlit night and freely demonstrate his Shadowless Fourteen Strikes on my neck.

As I unconsciously gulped at that chilling thought…

“Hahahaha. It seems our youngest is even more talented than his Senior Brothers. We must diligently refine ourselves to avoid being overshadowed.”

The Eldest Senior Brother’s tactless praise continued to pour out.

While I was internally lamenting at having drawn more attention despite trying to appear foolish, Master posed a question to me.

“As Jin-hak says, these are truly excellent ideas. However, I find it somewhat difficult to believe that you, Il-mok, an orphan and former inn servant, could come up with such thoughts on your own.”

No sooner had those words ended than the Senior Brothers’ gazes turned to me again.

Their eyes seemed to ask what my true identity was.

Trying to act like a fool showing off with superficial knowledge, I had instead been painted as a suspicious person.

Perhaps due to the life-threatening situation, my mind worked faster than usual, and I came up with a decent excuse.

“While listening to Master and Senior Brothers’ conversation, I was thinking about how to handle work more efficiently. Somehow, my thoughts wouldn’t stop at just adequate solutions, but keep going until I found the ‘perfect’ method.”

To my immense relief, Master’s response aligned perfectly with my intended narrative.

“Oh? Your thoughts wouldn’t stop until you found the perfect method? It must be a side effect of the Soul-Stealing Heartless Sword technique.”

“Ah! Now that you mention it, it really does seem to be because of that martial art!”

I successfully played the role of a rookie overwhelmed by the side effects of Demonic Arts—one who didn’t even realize the cause was the Demonic Art itself.

My act must have worked, as Master muttered, “Indeed,” while stroking his beard.

Naturally, the Senior Brothers’ attention returned to Master.

After appearing to organize his thoughts, Master soon burst into laughter.

“Hahaha! It seems I’ve found a worthy disciple in my later years. It hasn’t even been ten days since you began learning martial arts, yet the side effects are already appearing. Not only are you intelligent, but your progress in martial arts is also remarkable.”

Master’s lavish praise once again drew the others’ gazes toward me.

“…”

It appeared that my strategy to conceal my talents as the youngest disciple had gone awry. At this point, it was no different than if I had been flaunting my abilities.

‘Or it could end with the youngest disciple getting his neck sliced by a Senior Brother while showing off his talent…’

While I was becoming increasingly troubled by Master and the senior brothers’ gazes, Master added one last remark.

“We’ve dwelled excessively on work matters during what should have been a gathering for brotherly bonding. We’ll need to discuss the specifics separately, so let’s just enjoy the drinking for now. I’ll call for you later, Il-mok, to organize today’s discussion.”

It’s over; I’ll be buried with overtime work.

* * *

Unlike typical old-fashioned superiors, Master didn’t bring up any more work-related topics after that. The only issue was that the tactless Eldest Senior Brother Wi Jin-hak kept praising me during conversations, and each time, I had to face the Third Senior Brother’s chilling gaze.

However, fortunately or unfortunately, no special guests visited Windrock Hall for three days after that.

Neither did Third Senior Brother come with a sword in the moonlight, nor did Master summon me for overtime work yet.

During those three days, through conversations with Jin Hayeon, I came to understand why everyone treated me like a genius.

‘I didn’t realize they were handling work in such an unorganized way…’

Through subtle inquiries, I discovered that the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult’s operations were utterly haphazard. In retrospect, it was hardly surprising.

No matter how outdated, conservative, and rigid the Korean civil service system might be, it was undoubtedly more sophisticated than the system of a medieval martial arts fantasy world.

Moreover, this wasn’t even the Imperial Court but a cult. It was a place where if the leader said ‘Do it,’ things were done without any systematic process, just a ‘Yes, Sir.’

No wonder they reacted to my flawed administrative proposals with the astonishment of primitive tribes encountering modern civilization.

‘Damn it.’

I had my excuses. The sudden dinner gathering meant I couldn’t grasp all these fundamental aspects.

More importantly, I had overestimated Master’s capabilities.

It wasn’t blind faith in a cult leader. It was his occasional displays of authority that had misled me. I had assumed a leader of such stature would naturally preside over a reasonably organized system.

I had underestimated the limitations of a man from a bygone era and had overlooked that no matter how great, an old-timer was still an old-timer.

But what’s done is done.

To survive both the potential threats from Senior Brothers and, more importantly, the upcoming Hall of the Demonic Way examination next year, I couldn’t neglect my training.

With the added threat of Master’s impending overtime assignments, my time was even more precious.

Thus, I resumed my daily routine, perpetually anticipating the next unwelcome visitor. On the fourth day, that visitor finally arrived.

“What brings you here, Lady Seon-ah?”

A cute little lady who appeared to be in her early teens had arrived.

TL Note:

Demonic Path Academy > Hall of the Demonic Way
Explosive Demon Sword Art > Raging Demon Sword Art