Chapter 15
Chapter 15
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: Something's Wrong
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“Mess call!”
“Mess call!”
The trainees’ lives were half under strict control and half left to their own devices.
First off, they weren’t allowed to wander around the training camp freely.
They had to march to the mess hall in perfect formation at the designated mealtimes. That was the control they endured as trainees.
On the flip side, once they reached the mess hall area, they were granted complete free time until the ninety-minute meal period ended. That was the respect afforded to them as officially appointed knights-to-be.
“You see that? That’s the famous ‘Aerial Dining Hall’ of the Eastern Selection Training Camp!”
While marching, Roen Yellow had claimed the spot next to Kang Geohan and was chattering away. The guy who’d been knocked out cold earlier was somehow even more full of energy now.
“Climbing up there must give an amazing view! Wonder what the food’s like? I can’t wait. Right?”
“Yeah. Totally.”
It wasn’t empty talk.
The highest point in the training camp was the wooden tower housing the camp commander’s office, and just one floor below that was the spacious wooden courtyard with the dining hall and market.
It was high enough up to earn the name ‘Aerial Dining Hall,’ with its towering chimney and tent visible from afar.
“Whoa…… check out that sunset!”
Ascending the wooden stairs to the dining area, the view was indeed breathtaking.
The sunset setting the sky ablaze and the mysterious lands beyond the grounds stretched out before them.
While the trainees gawked in all directions, Instructor Nemune White finished headcounting the seventy-eight trainees and announced mealtime.
“Don’t step outside the market area or dining area. ‘I didn’t know’ won’t fly as an excuse. Don’t do it. And when the bell rings seven times, assemble back here. Hustle in under three minutes. If even one of you’s late, I’ll make sure you puke up everything you ate.”
Nemune White spoke in a flat tone, but every trainee tensed up rigidly.
Among those gathered here, not a single one hadn’t been knocked out by Raphael White—except for Kang Geohan.
Having all felt the terror of the White Knights firsthand, none dared defy them.
A glance.
Just then, Nemune suddenly turned to look at Kang Geohan.
“You’re the one they call Kang Geohan…… right?”
“Yes, sir. That’s me.”
Kang Geohan snapped to attention in response, and Nemune let out a hum, eyeing him up and down.
Word of him surpassing Raphael White must have already spread like wildfire.
There wasn’t any special business, though. Nemune just stared at Kang Geohan for a bit before whipping his gaze away.
“All good! Dig in, everyone.”
As Nemune White waved and departed, the trainees erupted into chatter.
“Aah! I’m starving!”
“What’s on the menu?”
The Aerial Dining Hall was set up buffet-style.
The hungry boys and girls drooled as they eyed the food laid out everywhere.
Especially the serf-born ones—their eyes were already glazing over at the delicious dishes they’d never seen before, their voices getting louder.
But amid all this merriment, one person was in the foulest mood.
Gerot Yellow, who’d held the second-highest test scores until Kang Geohan arrived.
“……Shut your filthy mouths and eat, you beggar brats.”
Crack!
Gerot smacked the back of the head of a loudly chattering boy.
The boy, thinking at first it was an instructor, hunched his shoulders.
But realizing it was Gerot Yellow’s doing, his face flushed beet red with rage.
“What the hell? You hit me?”
Gerot narrowed his eyes. His blond hair, slicked back neatly with pomade, gave off a tidy yet icy vibe.
He shoved the glaring boy’s cheek forward.
“Look front. Unless you wanna die.”
“You little shit?”
The boy finally snapped. Everyone gathered here was a big shot back in their own neighborhood. No way they’d stomach this humiliation.
“Die!”
The boy’s fist shot out straight and true.
But Gerot simply tilted his head to dodge, then drove his knee into the boy’s solar plexus.
Thud!
“Guhk!”
The boy’s feet flew up into the air before crashing back to the ground.
The fight was over in an instant.
“Urk! Heuk!”
Gerot looked down at the boy writhing on the ground, unable to breathe, with utter contempt.
“Seriously…… know your place. You think you’re on my level? Think slapping ‘Yellow’ on your name makes us equals?!”
Every word from Gerot scraped at the surrounding boys’ and girls’ pride.
The cheerful pre-meal atmosphere boiled over into hostility in seconds.
Regardless,
Slam!
Gerot stomped on the head of the boy sprawled on the ground.
The boy twisted in humiliation, but Gerot’s foot pinned his head to the dirt like a sturdy log.
Gerot bent down to peer at him.
“Are you insane? Hey. You’re serf trash, right? A serf punk like you. What made you think you could come at me? Huh?”
Then he glared at each of the boys and girls shooting him fierce looks.
“What’re you staring at? Eyes down.”
Once more, it was provocation the hot-blooded trainees couldn’t ignore.
“No way. This asshole!”
“Thinks he’s some noble or what!”
This time, three or four fists and kicks rained down on Gerot simultaneously. But.
Crack!
“Eek!”
Crash!
“Gah!”
A quick dodge followed by a snapping counterpunch. A leg sweep turning a kick into a throw.
The trainees charging at Gerot went flying even faster than they’d come.
One punch, one down. Tossed aside left and right.
Even outnumbered, he wasn’t fazed.
Kang Geohan was impressed.
‘Whoa…… overwhelming.’
[Gerot Yellow]
Height: 173cm
Weight: 61kg
Willpower: 52/59
Strength: 64/64
Mana: 67.8/67.8
Fat Mass: 6.34kg
Muscle Mass (Skeletal): 23.78kg
Essence Mass: 669 pindem
Of course, his stats were overwhelming too. Strength four times Kang Geohan’s, mana six times.
But what really shocked Kang Geohan wasn’t the stats—it was Gerot’s combat skill.
‘Elite. Real elite.’
Trained systematically from childhood, a true pro.
It was the same back on Earth. No ordinary person could beat an elite athlete, no matter what. Especially not here in Raniakea, where these abilities existed.
Between Gerot—a wealthy freeman who’d received elite training since youth—and the serf boys and girls who’d just grown up wild and scraped into the camp via tests, there yawned an insurmountable gap.
So, Kang Geohan made up his mind.
‘Better steer clear for now.’
Kang Geohan quietly edged away from the brawl. Looking around, even with trainees fighting, everyone else was just watching with keen interest.
He muttered.
“Guess no one’s thinking of breaking it up.”
Roen shrugged.
“Well…… they’re all knights-in-training, technically. Can’t just butt into a fight between knights. Sure, serious injuries would be trouble…… but Gerot’s no idiot; he’s keeping it in check, right?”
“Is that so……? Anyway, I’m gonna eat.”
Kang Geohan strolled toward the food with a whatever attitude, and Roen followed with a mischievous grin.
“Huh? Slipping away to chow down? You don’t know why Gerot’s acting up?”
“I do.”
“You do?”
“It’s because of me.”
“Huh? You really get it?”
Roen’s eyes went wide.
“No way I wouldn’t. He’s been glaring at me like that since earlier.”
Simple reason.
Gerot: born into wealth with top-tier talent, given only the best education.
But in the entry test, a serf-born like Kang Geohan outscored him. That pissed him off.
“Come at me! You serf shits! Trash who wouldn’t last a second in a real fight!”
Even now, Gerot was yelling that while his eyes tracked Kang Geohan. He was scrapping with the others, but really, he wanted Kang Geohan to bite.
“You bastard!”
Hakruks. The red-haired serf boy charged Gerot and got flung again. But this time, even as he was tossed, he swung his arm and landed a slap on Gerot’s cheek.
“You…… you……! Fucking shit!”
Watching Gerot fly into a further rage, Kang Geohan shook his head.
‘What’s the point tangling with that hormonal punk? Better use that mana to lift another essence stone.’
Kang Geohan fully turned his back, ignoring Gerot.
There were far more productive things to do.
He started inspecting the Aerial Dining Hall’s offerings.
His heart raced.
‘An institution that officially trains Giant Riders. Gotta be packed with dark mana diets optimized for essence growth, right?’
In training, half was lifting iron—the other half was diet.
Essence cultivation was the same. High-quality mana and whatever other nutrients Kang Geohan didn’t yet know.
Brimming with anticipation, he scanned the buffet line with his nutrition info window.
Then he froze.
‘……What the hell?’
In the worst way.
[Sun Hog: Dry-Aged and Slow-Roasted at Low Temperature]
Contains trace amounts of dark mana, the main ingredient for essence synthesis.
Contains large amounts of light mana, the primary energy source for essence. Excess intake converts to spirituality.
10kg remaining until optimal daily essence synthesis.
0.1kg remaining until optimal daily light mana intake.
‘Too little dark mana…… but tons of this light mana crap. What even is this……?’
Unfamiliar term. But Kang Geohan’s instincts screamed danger.
‘And what’s spirituality?’
As the question arose, a new message popped up in his vision.
[Discovered new metric: ‘Spirituality.’]
[Spirituality]
The stored form of mana, essence’s primary energy source.
High levels buy favor with spiritual beings and familiars, boost spell resistance.
But excess can crush the soul, erode willpower, or mark you as prey for evil spirits and beasts.
Dulls essence, lowers efficiency. Last to dissipate from the body.
Kang Geohan’s eyes shook.
The description felt eerily familiar.
‘Soul crushed, willpower lost…… dulls essence…… last to dissipate……’
Swap essence for muscle, and spirituality was……
‘This is fat, isn’t it?’
Then light mana was……
‘……Carbs?’
If dark mana was protein, light mana was carbs.
The aroma of the savory, sweet, mouthwatering sun hog dish. But Kang Geohan scowled.
“Something’s…… something’s wrong……!”
“Kang Geohan?”
Roen called out in surprise at Kang Geohan’s anxious demeanor—the same guy who hadn’t flinched at Gerot’s provocations.
But Kang Geohan didn’t even glance at him, diving into inspecting every dish in the Aerial Dining Hall.
“It’s all the same! How the hell……!”
Every single one. Trace dark mana, loads of light mana.
Kang Geohan’s eyes shook.
He’d been so hopeful…… truly hopeful……
“Why……!”
A sacred cradle for raising Riders, serving a carb-heavy diet! Protein this scarce!
Kang Geohan barely suppressed the urge to wail.
He calmed himself to assess the situation.
‘Maybe I’m way off base.’
Even on Earth, bodybuilding only got scientific in the 1950s.
Raniakea’s vibe felt more like the 1700s, pre-Victorian Age of Sail.
Their grasp of essence might be no better than Joseon folk thinking rice balls made you strong as an ox.
‘If that’s really the case……?’
The more he thought, the graver his expression grew.
Just then, Kaltz appeared out of nowhere.
He frowned at Kang Geohan’s pale face.
“……What? Why the long face?”
Roen turned to him.
“Dunno? Seems like the menu’s not to his taste……”
Kaltz tilted his head.
“The menu?”
“Right? Weird, huh? They say Rider grub is heavenly…… one bite and you’re hooked for life.”
“That’s true. Even a spoonful surges you with energy…… so what’s the issue?”
Kang Geohan, overhearing, shook his head.
“Of course it would…… carb calorie bomb! Tastes great, gives energy……”
“……Carbs? Calories? No clue what that means…… but tasty and energizing sounds good, right?”
Kang Geohan bit his lip.
“But this protein shortage is unacceptable. No good…… Sir Kaltz! Didn’t you promise me a goblin?”
“Hm? Oh…… yeah. Actually came down about that.”
“Please, right now. Gotta cook it if I wanna eat.”
“Wait…… these dishes here are premium too; at least try some……”
“I’ll eat later. Can’t fill up on that junk first.”
“What? Goblin’s way uglier……”
“Hurry!”
“……Tch.”
Then Roen tentatively raised a hand, looking dumbfounded.
“W-Wait. Kang Geohan. You’re eating what now? Goblin?”
“Yeah. Sorry, can’t share.”
“Who’d want that crap……!”
“Gotta go; busy.”
Kang Geohan hustled off toward the market with Kaltz in tow. Roen stared blankly at his back, then clicked his tongue. “Jeez.”
“But really gonna eat a monster……?”
Like he was possessed, Roen trailed after them belatedly.
Curiosity overriding his hunger.