Hell's PT (1)
Jo Jeonghu woke up not in his usual abandoned playground but in the small lodging that Kim Jeonghyeon had provided.
Outside the room, he heard the familiar voice of Jeonghyeon and an unfamiliar one.
"You've gathered quite a bit of experience."
"Ahaha, thank you. But what exactly did I gather?"
It was Jeonghyeon and Philip.
"Oh. Can you feel the mana I placed on you?"
"Yes."
"While that's active, if you fight, I get the experience too. Something like that."
"Aha."
Jeonghyeon hadn't told Philip much yet, so that level of info seemed sufficient. In fact, Philip hadn't bothered asking for reasons either.
"So, why did you call me?"
At Philip's question, Jeonghyeon first asked about his well-being.
"The underground dungeon wasn't too tough?"
Philip crossed his arms, pondering briefly at Jeonghyeon's question, then answered simply enough.
"Wasn't easy, but not hard either. I can use double strikes pretty freely now."
"Perfect."
It was fairly satisfactory growth.
"Sorry I couldn't gather many mana stones without an inventory..."
"Nah. That's plenty. I need your help with something."
"Ah, sure. Just say the word."
"That guy lying in the other room. Needs some stamina training."
Hearing Jeonghyeon's words, Jeonghu inwardly cursed—Stamina training again? How long ago was the fight?—and hastily got up to open the door.
"Ah, sure. Anytime."
Bang.
As Philip replied, Jeonghu flung open the door and froze in stunned silence.
"Ah..."
"Oh. Hello. You must be Jeonghu."
Philip was familiar to Jeonghyeon, the ruler, but that dark-skinned giant, twice the size of a normal person and orc-like in build, was physique unseen even among the Jo family.
And now, that guy was going to help with his stamina training.
The days ahead were obvious without seeing them.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Philip, Jeonghyeon-nim's right-hand man."
Philip rose his bear-like frame and offered a polite handshake to Jeonghu.
"Ah... yeah. I'm Jeonghu."
His mentality crumbling alongside the formal reaction he hadn't felt in ages, Jeonghu unwittingly spat out the casual speech habit from his Jo family days.
Thud.
Less than a few hours later, as he recalled that handshake, Jeonghu would wonder if things might've been different had he been polite then.
***
"Looking good! One more!"
Philip, making him run endlessly with weights equal to his body mass, didn't care at all about the casual tone or dismissive attitude.
Philip was purely, insanely a muscle pervert.
"Your tension's dropping! Brace that core!!"
"Hek! Hek!! Heeeek!!"
Jeonghu desperately wanted to run away right then, but he couldn't.
Jeonghyeon waited at the start, Jo Yun at the finish.
"Come on! Let's go, let's go!!!"
And above all, that monster of a man, carrying three times Jeonghu's weight, was chasing and egging him on.
"Nineteen laps, Jeonghu-nim."
Jo Yun, having seen yesterday's arena fight, teared up saying it was so moving, and volunteered to help however she could.
And now here she was, leading this half-death workout and counting the round trips.
Philip's curriculum was simple and clear.
"When he hits his limit, I'll distribute stats. He's got the sense, just lacks power. Focus on stamina and reflexes no matter what."
At Jeonghyeon's instruction, Philip grinned madly without hesitation.
"I'll make him D-rank hunter in one day!"
And got that insane reply.
"Sounds good. Let's start."
Thus, here they were, endless laps.
"I... can't... anymore...!"
When even "I can't go on" wouldn't come out.
"Okay."
Jeonghyeon gestured in the air.
[The Ruler grants a small amount of mana.]
[Distributes 1 Stamina stat to subject 'Jo Jeonghu'. Demon King points consumed: 50]
His body, feeling on the verge of death and utterly exhausted, suddenly surged with energy, forcing him to move.
Repeating this from early morning till afternoon, nothing but running.
As the run ended and Jeonghu wolfed down food before collapsing to rest.
"Here."
Jo Yun handed something over.
It was what he'd asked her for the night before, when she'd visited the lodging while he slept exhausted.
Half Elixir.
Not as potent as a full elixir, but an extremely expensive recovery potion. He figured the Jo family would have spares, and Jo Yun had fetched it, risking massive discipline.
"Thanks."
Jeonghyeon took the half elixir and casually doused Jeonghu with it.
"Gah! Hot!!"
The half elixir only recovered accumulated 'fatigue' and 'pain'. Lower grade than full elixirs that perfectly healed wounds too—hence 'half'.
"Ugh! I'm dying of exhaustion, but my body moves... my mind's clear!!"
Drenched in elixir, Jeonghu returned to a refreshed state, like after deep sleep.
Overuse could drive one mad, but...
'He won't go crazy, right?'
Jeonghyeon didn't voice it.
"Alright, now let's boost dynamic vision and reaction speed."
"No... stamina training doesn't happen overnight, does it?! At least during the two-week scramble..."
Jeonghu was suddenly talkative, full of zeal for life.
Perhaps why he dared backtalk Jeonghyeon.
"Yeah? Then run to the end and back now."
"No, I mean..."
"Execute."
Jeonghyeon activated his mana.
[The subject forcibly carries out a simple command.]
"Saaave meee~!!"
Screaming, Jeonghu bolted madly toward the goal.
'Demon King fusion's rising—more forcible options. Nice.'
"Huh?"
Returning, Jeonghu was utterly sweat-free. Even a few seconds faster than his first lap. Jeonghyeon had secretly invested agility stats without looking.
"See?"
"Yes..."
Results spoke for themselves. No choice but to follow.
"Start training."
"Yes!"
At Jeonghyeon's order, Philip called Jeonghu to the abandoned playground's center.
"Ah, over here."
Jo Yun brought a sleazy-looking man who meticulously calculated hourly rates and introduced himself as a healer.
"Why a healer...? Gah!"
As stunned Jeonghu blinked, Jeonghyeon kicked his Achilles, dropping him to his knees.
"Alright, reaction training starts now."
Philip's massive frame blocked the sun, casting shadow over Jeonghu.
"Could you... explain what's happening?"
"Simple. Whack-a-mole. You know it?"
"Pardon...?"
Philip hefted a pre-prepared massive hammer.
"Dodge."
Jeonghu, denying reality, glanced pleadingly at Jo Yun.
"Physical pain is the start of training...! Even brought the healer, so train hard!"
"..."
Jeonghyeon patted the dazed, prone Jeonghu's shoulder, whispering devilishly.
"Remember, you wanted this training. No one's on your side here."
"Pardon...?"
"So... dodge well if you don't wanna die."
"W-Wait...!"
To an onlooker, it looked like a villain tormenting a kidnapped victim for fun—but it was legit training.
"Is this training?!!"
Knock him down and hammer over him to dodge? Human whack-a-mole? No way it'd help. He'd die first.
"Keep three limbs—hands or feet—on the ground~!"
No time to flee before the first swing.
"Kyaak!"
Thanks to Jeonghyeon's ~300-point agility investment, Jeonghu dodged sideways like a crab evading a foot.
"Okay! Good!"
But Philip's swings didn't stop.
Stamina top-tier Philip.
Boom! Boom!! Boom!!
"Whoa! Hng! Urk!"
Each hammer strike cratered the ground.
5 minutes, 10 passed. Philip showed no fatigue, but Jeonghu's focus waned.
'Not power drain from stamina stats... reactions slowing.'
As Jeonghyeon observed. At first, he reacted preemptively to Philip's movements. Now, barely dodging at the last instant.
"Come on! Hang in there!"
Of course, as Jeonghyeon tipped, Philip started slow, speeding up—difficulty spiking.
'Still, no choice.'
Long fights exponentially build fatigue. For burst DPS types, he needed Philip-level endurance? No—sustained focus and weakness exploitation via reactions.
"Philip."
"Yes!"
Jeonghyeon signaled. Philip nodded, deeply inhaled.
"Huff... haa...!"
As recovering Jeonghu braced hands on ground like a frog.
"Hup!"
Philip slammed hammer downward with gravity.
Whoosh-!
Jeonghu barely twisted to graze—
Crack!!!
Philip trajectory-changed mid-swing.
"Guhk!!"
Right arm shattered, Jeonghu collapsed.
"Ugh... kkh...!"
Overwhelming agony crushed him—no scream, no rolling, just writhing on the ground.
"Heal."
Jeonghyeon signaled the healer. The suited softie, unprepared for this brutality, tremblingly cast recovery magic.
"Chant of Recovery... Selena's Blessing...!"
Squelch. Crunch.
Healing mana flowed through muscles, restoring the arm.
"My god...!"
Wounds gone instantly, pain vanished—but phantom agony lingered, snapping his mind alert.
"Round two. Dodge however."
Philip grinned. Jeonghu realized: trajectory changes now. No more ground pounds.
'All-in agility would make it easy, but...'
Raising stats broke current limits. Distributing post-break maximized effect.
And now—
True death-threat fear, body-damaging pain imprinting—that was the limit-break moment.
"Dodge... must dodge...!"
Jeonghu's nerves sharpened, senses heightened. All five deployed, memory recalling Philip's patterns.
"Here it cooomes!"
Hammer swing's 1 second—shattered into motion.
"Hng!"
Whoosh-! Swish!
Jeonghu successfully evaded the variable attack.
[The subject surpasses their limit on their own.]
[Subject's loyalty rises. Lv.3 → Lv.4]
[Achievement: 'This Works...?']
[Efficiency rises when training subjects.]
The training effects were quite usable.