chapter 28
“Huh… . Heo-eok… .”
Breathing up to the tip of your chin.
Thighs about to explode.
Reflexively, the left foot moves following the extended right foot.
“One more lap to go!”
I took the next step at the sound of a whistle and a voice.
I am slowly getting used to the feel of the shackles on my arms and legs.
“Ugh.”
A male student running right next to me fell over.
It’s been a long time since there were more people who fell than people who were running.
The next hitter keeps running so as not to become me.
“Because today is the last day, just one more lap! Squeeze your strength!”
Exactly two months into today, the end of this hellish training is in sight.
‘If I hold on a little longer.’
At that thought, I reflexively moved Mana.
Mana flowing through circuits.
The most familiar technique to me, which I have used many times, is body strengthening.
‘I made a mistake.’
This time it became poison.
Ung – The shackles on the limbs absorb the mana flowed to strengthen the body.
The weight of the shackles increased in an instant.
In terms of experience, the ship lost its balance at the moment due to the increased weight, and took the next step after enduring that it almost collapsed.
“Don’t stop! I want to run until I fall!”
By the time I ran like that for a while, I was so exhausted that I hung my head and forgot to count how many times I had run.
There were only a handful of people running in front of me left.
‘It wasn’t called Hell Lord for nothing.’
hell lord.
This is the traditional curriculum of the Heondo Hero Military Academy, which is the name of the training conducted in the first week.
Mana cannot be used, and only pure physical ability is tested.
‘The rest… Four including me.’
Three people running in front of me and one following right behind me.
It wasn’t a bad score.
‘Shin Seong-ah, Namgoong-ik, and Ben Gibraltar. And one more male student.’
The rest is after consuming all of your stamina and being knocked out.
The first to fall was Han So-yul, and Yoo Hyeon-hwa was somewhere in the middle.
Eve Ataraxia had just collapsed.
‘How many laps have I already been overtaken by him?’
I can’t remember, but it must have been three or four.
Among the remaining people, Shin Seong-ah’s physical ability was unmatched.
‘It’s to the point of doubting if it’s the same person.’
Namgoong Ikdo overtakes me by one lap.
Ben Gibralur and Anton Ivanov, the boy running right behind me, will have the same number of laps.
‘What is it, my legs have lost feeling?’
Beyond the pain, we have now reached the realm of numbness.
If the weight of the shackles hadn’t increased by accidentally moving the mana, I don’t know if I could have turned one more turn.
‘I can’t help it. It’s my mistake.’
Of course, it’s not about to collapse right away.
Even if you exclude the two people who are behind in the number of laps, you cannot give up before the remaining two people collapse.
“shit.”
dump-
Along with a single curse, there was the sound of something collapsing behind me.
One more drop out.
Still, I heard it in the TOP4.
If possible, he wanted to beat even Ben Gibraltar, but it seems that he was greedy until that point.
‘Ah, that’s the limit.’
I, too, collapsed shortly after.
My legs didn’t move anymore.
Ben Gibraltar, who was running right in front of me, also collapsed after I fell and could not complete another half lap.
If I had endured a little longer, I could have been in the TOP3, but I was very disappointed.
“Today is the end of the hell week.”
The end of the two-month hell week from the day after the entrance ceremony has finally come.
There were only a handful of people standing on their own two legs and listening to the instructor.
I was just lying there listening.
“Everyone worked hard.”
I was waiting for this word.
It’s finally over.
I’m not the only one who thought so.
A student asked a question to the instructor.
“Can I release this now?”
“Yes, you can return it. If you want to borrow it for training, let me know in advance.”
It looks like it could be borrowed for training.
If you pour mana, the weight will increase, so I wonder if I can train using it.
Surprisingly, it might not be too bad.
“Uh uh… .”
“Ugh… .”
The students moved to return the shackles, limp like zombies.
About half of them were still lying down, and they didn’t even seem to have the strength to return them.
Maybe it was because today was the last day of Hell Week, it was rolled harder than before, so that was understandable.
Of course, there were a few students who didn’t seem to mind.
“Can you wake up?”
One of them, Namgung-Ik, reached out his hand to me, who was sprawled out, and asked.
If there’s only one classmate I can call a friend, it’s him.
Maybe because of my grades and orientation, the way other classmates looked at me was strange.
‘Thanks to that, I learned that there is a difference between envy and fear.’
I’m glad that principal Kim Chul kept his promise.
If the results of the orientation had been announced, it would have been even worse.
“maybe?”
I took his outstretched hand and stood up.
The way my legs tremble uncontrollably makes me feel like a newborn deer.
Fortunately, it wasn’t to the point where I couldn’t walk.
I walked on my own two feet to the instructor in charge.
“Instructor, I’m going to rent it like this, but is there a deadline?”
“There is no specific deadline for the rental. However, it can only be used on campus. Be careful not to take it outside by mistake.”
“All right.”
Of course, I had no intention of continuing to wear it like this, so I undid it on the spot.
And naturally, mana was wrapped around the whole body.
“It’s a bit off.”
Since mana could not be used during the hell week class, mana was surplus.
Spending all your stamina on training and forcibly moving your body with mana to return to the dormitory.
Naturally, the ability to handle mana and the need to strengthen the body will inevitably increase.
“Are you going to rent it too?”
“yes. It looks okay.”
Like me, Namgoong-ik also kept the shackles without returning them.
Of course, unlike me, the other side is still wearing it.
“It weighs about the same as the one I use at home.”
Are you having a discussion with Namgoong-Ik about training using shackles?
The other one, Shin Seong-a, who was fine, spoke to Gagawa with light steps that did not know the word fatigue.
“What are you two talking about?”
“I was going to borrow this.”
I answered, holding out two shackles with an ignorant appearance in each hand.
The shackles weigh 10 kg per pair.
It is a structure in which the weight doubles every time you send mana.
“Both of you borrow this? why?”
“It doesn’t look bad for training.”
“Even if I infuse as much mana as possible, isn’t it only a few hundred kilograms?”
only a few hundred kilograms.
If it were her, she might think so.
After all, she was the one who broke a set of shackles on the first day of Hell Week by channeling her mana to the maximum level.
“It’s because I don’t have enough mana to lift the weight to the maximum like anyone else.”
“Aha, Hanzo might be like that.”
Since her eyes can read the flow of mana, she will be able to peek at my mana amount without difficulty.
“And it looks like Ik-i is going to train with two kicks.”
“Did you say that it was called Taesan after collecting the dust?”
“I don’t think that’s the word you use in this case.”
“Isn’t it similar?”
“Then let’s do that.”
Whether to use the expression ‘out of common sense’ or ‘out of the norm’.
It is certain that it is unmatched in any sense.
The shock of her juggling with inflated shackles to their limit was beyond words.
“Then tomorrow. Oh, tomorrow is the weekend. Anyway, get some rest.”
“See you next week.”
nod-
Since the male and female dormitories are opposite each other, I broke up with Shin Sung-ah first.
The dormitory is right next to Namgoong-Ik, so it’s in the same direction.
“Hanzo, did you say training this weekend would be difficult?”
“Sorry, I’m going to go out for work this weekend.”
Namgoong-ik and I became close to the level of watching each other’s training outside of class time.
“Then there is nothing you can do. So, are you taking a break from training tonight?”
“Evening training can be done if it’s okay, even later than usual.”
“I get it. I’ll wait for you at the training ground you always go to.”
After a brief chat, they went to their respective dormitories.
Even though mana should have expedited the body’s recovery, his legs were still wobbly.
‘Excluding the two monsters, the pure physical ability itself is excellent. It will be a semi-assistant salary.’
The problem is that from next week there will be no classes that do not use mana.
Fortunately, I was able to raise my level by two levels on the first day of admission, but including mana, I was still below average.
I think that if I add it to my physical ability, I can go somewhere in the middle.
‘I’m far short of it in my current state.’
It has already been two months since he entered the Hero Academy.
The first semester is now half over.
That sound also means that the second semester, when the main character will transfer, is that close.
The mana circuit has just finished adjusting to the opening of the third door, and it might be time to prepare for the next level.
I couldn’t use it during class, but after school I poured all my time into mana training.
I tried this and that, and somehow it worked.
‘If I were to say the biggest achievement, this would be it.’
I took out a dagger I had hidden in my wrist.
And the mana flowed.
Blurred mana flowing over the surface.
Not only were they skilled at pouring mana into their weapons, but they were also able to throw them in that state.
shook-
I lightly threw the dagger at the wall.
‘Chin-‘ and a dagger half embedded in the wall.
“It’s a close distance, so it’s even half stuck, but it’s still hard if you’re farther than this.”
It doesn’t matter when I’m holding it, but the mana is scattered the moment I throw it, and as a result, the power drops to less than half.
It is possible to maintain it for a longer period of time by pushing it with the amount, but the dagger cannot stand it.
Likewise, my mana couldn’t stand it either.
“Not enough density.”
He tried compressing his mana as much as possible, but that also had a limit.
The higher the realm, the greater the amount of mana that can be handled and the greater the density.
The simplest way would be to raise the level.
“The problem is that if you try to forcibly raise your level by using the elixir like last time, you will inevitably suffer internal injuries.”
It’s a serious internal injury that can’t even compare to the last time.
The higher the level, the higher the risk.
Therefore, it is a common way to take the elixir while taking time and training together.
‘I heard that famous families invested in that way from a very young age.’
Most of the first graders probably entered the school after living such a life.
Seniors won’t be much different.
Of the elites who were raised while living such a life, it must be the current students who entered after being filtered after filtering.
‘It’s arrogant to think of catching up in just a few weeks or months of that long time.’
But I didn’t have enough time.
It’s not long until the main character’s admission, and even before that, there are still cases I need to solve.
When he pulled out the dagger stuck in the wall, the spot immediately began to be filled.
After all, a five-star hotel suite-style dormitory. Minor scratches can be repaired on their own.
Of course, I’ve never stayed in a proper hotel, let alone a suite.
“When is that chunk of scrap metal going to wake up again?”
I am a thin, long piece of scrap metal standing in a corner of a wall.
I glared at the self-proclaimed ‘Yodo with nine supernatural powers’.
“I’m not going to say anything because I made my choice, but that might be a really bad choice.”
The elegantly curved dagger that I originally intended to choose, Spell Breaker, flickered in front of my eyes.
Two months was enough time to reflect on my choice.
“It doesn’t make any sense to say this after I’ve already chosen.”
I held the urethra in one hand and swung it lightly.
It was inconvenient without a handle, so I wrapped it with a temporary bandage.
Surprisingly, the taste was not bad.
“Should I just drop one drop?”
In his own words, only fresh blood could cleanse his rusty body.
“A drop or two of blood won’t even send a message to the liver.”
While I was thinking about it for a while, the sun went down and the sunset-colored sky began to be seen through the window.
Tomorrow is the long awaited weekend.
Weekend outings were restricted because of Hell Week, but from this weekend onwards it is allowed.
“I have to go far this weekend. I need to get ready too.”
I also received the letter of introduction that I asked for from Principal Chul Kim.
I plan to visit the black market to prepare for future events.
‘If you do well, you will have an ally, and in the worst case, you will reduce one enemy in the future.’
Either way is beneficial.
Of course, before that, I have to somehow solve the incident that will happen today.
“Two months after entering school, it’s time to get used to school life.”
On the contrary, as much as you get used to it, it is also a time to relax.
Coincidentally, today was also the day the sophomores returned from their field trip to the suburbs.
“It’s a perfect day to have a fight.”
I intend to prevent a fight that will result from the dispute.
I packed my weapons in preparation for an unexpected situation and headed to the restaurant where the incident took place.
「Subquest – Line Brawl.」
Intervene in the student cafeteria brawl.
-Reward: Reputation increase.