Chapter 3
Chapter 3
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: Just Like Always
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In fact, Thomas, who had passed out after exhausting his willpower, was the lucky case. Risel, who stepped up seventh, wasn't so fortunate.
[Risel. Willpower: 7.4/11, Strength: 15.7/16]
He was a big guy with bulging muscles. But whether from extreme tension or sheer fear, his willpower had already dropped sharply to 7.4 before he even began.
“Raaah! Uwaaaah!”
Risel strained with all his might to lift the Demonic Stone up to his knees, but suddenly tears streamed down his face as he began convulsing.
[Risel. Willpower: 2.9/11, Strength: 10.7/16]
“Hnngh! Uwaaaah! Aaaargh!”
“Damn it!”
The examiner scowled as he watched Risel.
“If it’s not gonna happen, just give up.”
But Risel refused to quit.
“Nooo! I can’t! There’s nothing beyond this road……!! Uwaaaah!”
Screaming and sobbing uncontrollably, he still kept lifting the Demonic Stone with desperate fury.
He was trying to overcome the situation through sheer willpower.
But the challenge of someone ignorant of their own limits was mere recklessness.
Kang Geohan watched the scene gravely.
‘Completely overwhelmed by the Demonic Stone? His strength is dropping way too fast……!’
[Risel. Willpower: 1.7/11, Strength: 8.9/16]
[Risel. Willpower: 1.2/11, Strength: 6.3/16]
[Risel. Willpower: 0.8/11, Strength: 3.9/16]
Risel’s face turned deathly pale.
He finally realized it was impossible. He tried to give up belatedly, but it was too late.
Thud!
The moment he dropped the Demonic Stone, his strength and willpower both fell below 1.
Sssshhh!
Steam billowed fiercely from his left leg, and it crumpled like a crushed paper cup with a sickening crunch!
Red blood poured over the mangled flesh and protruding bones.
“Gaaargh!”
Risel screamed in agony.
“Hmm…….”
The examiner grimaced and dragged Risel off to the side. Risel writhed on the ground in pain, staining the floor red.
But no one came to treat him. The examiner merely clicked his tongue.
Live on as a cripple, or die right there…… either way, it was a pathetic end.
Regardless, the baron irritably shouted “Next!”
But no one stepped up to lift the Demonic Stone.
The eighth, ninth, and even the final tenth all failed.
Shaken by Risel’s horrific failure, the boys and girls gave up even faster at the slightest hardship.
Burjoji Baron was furious.
“Not a single decent one among you! No willpower, no grit, no guts! Did the squad leaders go too easy on you? No wonder production’s been down!”
His blunt reprimand darkened the serfs’ faces.
“Still no one?”
Grinding his teeth like a gambler who’d lost and had to hand over his land deed, the baron snarled.
“Anyone! Step up! The one who lifts the Demonic Stone gets a magic sword ‘Serpent’ forged from our factory’s circuit steel as a reward. It’s more than enough for a rider candidate!”
But even with the prize on offer, no one came forward. They were all terrified by the sight of Risel’s leg crushed to ruin.
The baron’s face hardened coldly.
“Fine. We tried asking nicely, but you wouldn’t listen. Don’t blame me.”
Sssshhh!
Just then, steam erupted noisily from the baron’s castle. The baron stood like a demon from hell, white steam swirling behind him, his eyes gleaming.
“You. You. Come out.”
The baron pointed directly at the serfs. Trembling, they dared not defy his order and stepped forward. Kang Geohan checked their status windows.
[Mori. Willpower: 6.5/9]
[Kerry. Willpower: 7.8/10]
Kang Geohan clicked his tongue. Their willpower stats were too low.
‘……They might die this time.’
Especially Mori, whose willpower was even lower than Risel’s had been before his leg shattered.
But Burjoji Baron shoved them forward anyway, as if preferring they die.
“You think I’ll just swallow this humiliation? Let’s see it through. We keep going until one of you passes. Don’t even think about slacking. Lift it or die—that’s your choice. You think I’ll let some failure walk away unscathed? I’ll show your whole family hell.”
Burjoji Baron had no intention of cutting losses. He was a noble, and nobles made the impossible possible.
Pushing like this would surely produce a success. It was just a shame about the casualties first.
The boys and girls trembled in fear of the baron.
Feeling the cold, dry air, Kang Geohan sensed his moment had come.
‘Anyway…… I’ve checked everything there is to check.’
He’d done enough mental rehearsal.
All that was left was the challenge.
Kang Geohan shot his hand up.
“I’ll do it!”
“……!”
Davis, the squad leader beside him, glared wide-eyed at Kang Geohan, but he simply stepped forward, rummaging in his pocket.
Every boy and girl turned to stare at Kang Geohan.
The same question arose in their minds.
‘That lunatic’s stepping up?’
‘In a situation where no one else will?’
Then Kang Geohan pulled a damp rag from his pocket and sniffed it.
*Sniff*! The kids nearby wrinkled their noses and backed away.
The stench of urine fermented for days.
Kang Geohan was advancing while sniffing a cloth soaked in his own aged piss.
Only then did the kids guess why he was stepping up.
‘Oh, he’s really lost it.’
‘Sniffing his own piss like a madman…….’
‘Good thing he’s crazy? At least he’s stepping up.’
‘After he dies, could I take his spot?’
But from the front, Kang Geohan’s eyes burned with clear, intense focus.
He didn’t look one bit like a madman sniffing his own urine.
* * *
Smelling salts.
On 21st-century Earth, it was solid ammonia used by powerlifters challenging near-limit heavy weights.
The ammonia gas slams the nasal mucosa, exciting the nervous system for an awakening effect.
Naturally, Kang Geohan wasn’t crazy.
He’d just used fermented urine instead of smelling salts.
[Body enters awakened state due to ammonia smell. Willpower +1 for 30 seconds]
Hearing the alert in his ear, Kang Geohan tossed the stinking cloth aside and slipped into peak focus.
[Willpower: 4.8(+7)/18]
His current willpower had climbed to 11.8 thanks to various drug boosts.
Still lower than Thomas’s failed attempt. But Kang Geohan saw a solid chance of victory.
At that moment, the baron eyed the scrawny Kang Geohan suspiciously and said,
“If you half-ass this, your family and whole squad will pay for it.”
Kang Geohan bowed his head but replied in a confident voice.
“I’ll lift it.”
The baron nodded.
“Show me.”
Standing before the Demonic Stone, Kang Geohan thought,
‘Thomas lacked technique.’
Thomas had the highest willpower of anyone, but he dribbled it away bit by bit instead of unleashing it all at once, dooming himself.
Pouring everything into one explosive instant wasn’t for just anyone. Only those trained long and hard could pull it off.
‘And he put too much raw force into his body.’
Thomas had been desperate, burdened by immense pressure. That tension became stress, rapidly eroding his willpower.
Kang Geohan approached the opposite way.
Gazing down at the Demonic Stone, he thought,
‘It’s just a rock. A somewhat heavy rock.’
Over the past month, Kang Geohan hadn’t blindly lifted heavy stones.
His willpower stat wasn’t great for it, but that wasn’t the only reason.
‘I’ve lifted stones like this every day.’
He’d done image training daily, hoisting stones the same size as the actual Demonic Stone hundreds of times.
‘It’s just doing what I always do.’
The secret to not buckling under tough tasks.
Turn the tough task into a habit.
Most people lie bedridden for days after lifting near their limit.
But bodybuilders lift heavy weights to their limit every day without fatigue, staying energized.
That’s because they repeated the stress of heavy lifts daily until it became an unremarkable daily routine.
So right now, without tension or fear, Kang Geohan naturally dropped into a squat, just like always, and gripped the Demonic Stone with both hands.
‘Just like always.’
Without the slightest hesitation, he yanked it from the ground.
‘Deadlift!’
Sssshhh!
[Willpower: 4.8(+5.1)]
His hands burned, and lightning-like agony tore through his muscles.
Willpower dropped 1.9 in an instant. But Kang Geohan didn’t falter. Following his ingrained habit, he kept moving.
Straighten the back!
Squeeze the glutes!
Deep breath into the core!
Extend the dangling arms fully, receiving the gripped Demonic Stone deep between neck and collarbone with his whole body.
Thumbs touch collarbone.
Center of gravity aligned straight, locked tight against the upper body.
The classic Olympic lift!
‘Power clean!’
Shoooo—
[Willpower: 4.8(+1.2)]
The Demonic Stone spewed massive steam.
Willpower plummeted 3.9 points in a flash, vision blurring like eyes full of steam.
But Kang Geohan braced his core hard and held. Hesitate even a moment, and the stone would crush him instead.
In his mind, he chanted,
‘Just like always. Exactly like every day!’
Then, without hesitation, he thrust his slightly bent legs straight, using the force to launch his upper body upward.
Splash!
Sweat burst outward like an explosion.
Hands rocketing up. Demonic Stone rising.
Kang Geohan slid his torso under the stone, arms fully extended, lifting it with every ounce of body strength.
‘Jerk!’
Sssshhh! Grgrgrr!
The Demonic Stone vibrated violently. Steam no longer came just from the stone. It billowed from Kang Geohan’s calves, shoulders, and crown.
His body trembled uncontrollably.
The egg-sized Demonic Stone felt impossibly heavy. But weight wasn’t the issue.
The real problem was the pain—like wringing every muscle tight, burning bones and joints in hellfire.
Each second felt like a full marathon, willpower shaking mercilessly.
But Kang Geohan did it.
The Demonic Stone was now held high overhead.
The examiner shouted in a quavering voice,
“3 seconds!”
[Willpower: 3.7/18]
Willpower dropping fast.
But Kang Geohan already knew intuitively.
“2 seconds!”
[Willpower: 2.8/18]
“1 second!”
[Willpower: 1.9/18]
He’d passed with room to spare.
“Pass!”
Thud!
With the examiner’s declaration, Kang Geohan slammed the Demonic Stone to the ground.
A massive shockwave swept the area.
“Gods above…….”
“Unbelievable…….”
Sssshhh—
Steam poured from Kang Geohan’s mouth, nose, and ears.
Wreathed in steam like something just escaped from hell, he turned to the baron.
The baron’s eyes bulged in shock.
Startled by Kang Geohan’s steamy aura, and unable to imagine success from such a gaunt, gloomy boy.
But soon, the baron’s lips curled upward.
Hiding no joy, he asked Kang Geohan,
“You. What’s your name?”
All eyes turned to Kang Geohan. Most knew he’d had no name. But that was before he regained his past life memories.
Steadying his staggering body, Kang Geohan faced the baron and answered.
“Kang Geohan.”
The hundreds of eyes on him wavered,
and the baron’s smile deepened.