Chapter 358: Green Skin Training Camp
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 358: Green Skin Training Camp
“This is how a magician is supposed to do it!!!!!! Hic…”
The voice burst out.
The goblin’s expression was one of bewilderment.
The other magician colleagues stared with their mouths agape.
Ha Juyoung, seemingly startled by her own words, clamped a hand over her mouth.
A heavy silence fell over the training ground. It was as if the world had stopped. I didn’t know how the others felt, but that’s how it felt to Choi Hee-chul. Of all the cards he could have drawn, he had drawn the absolute worst.
If he had known this training camp was this kind of place, he would have briefed them beforehand. He had never imagined something like this would happen. First impressions were incredibly important.
Especially in a place like this, a first impression was a critical factor that would determine the next three years. In Choi Hee-chul’s old platoon back on Earth, the entire unit had been treated harshly throughout their training period because of one person.
The sound of someone swallowing their spit suddenly seemed deafeningly loud.
“Everyone, on your feet.”
A bad feeling is never wrong.
“We… this instructor! Believed in you! We truly believed that if we treated you kindly, you would follow our lead for the next three years without issue!”
They had absolutely not treated them kindly. If the training they had just endured was the low-intensity version, he couldn’t even begin to imagine what the high-intensity version would be like. That thought made him even more anxious. Based on past experience, he could predict what words would come next.
“However, you humans have magnificently betrayed our expectations.”
“Betrayed!”
“This instructor! Depending on how you humans act!”
“Act!”
“Can be an angel! Or a devil!”
He couldn’t understand why that repertoire was always the same.
“And heartbreakingly… just now… Trainee number 234 has made this instructor a devil!”
“A devil!”
The goblin in the center would shout, and the goblins on either side would repeat the last part of his sentence. Under normal circumstances, it might have been a cute scene. Of course, now was not a normal circumstance. The anxiety rising to his throat left no room for such leisurely thoughts.
“This instructor has no interest in how magicians do push-ups. The magicians of Brother’s Land do not train that way. Seeing your lack of grit, I now understand how you allowed the Half-Minotaur Wingrin to invade! A weak mind dwells in a weak body. Your spirits are rotten!”
“Rotten!”
“Your bodies aren’t tired, so your minds keep wandering.”
The goblin projected his anger in a loud voice, as if giving a speech. His hat was pulled down so low that his face was hidden. With his eyes and nose obscured, it was hard to guess what the goblins were thinking. In truth, there was probably no need to think about it.
“In this Green Skin Training Camp, all mistakes will be handled with strict collective responsibility. If you receive a reward, you will receive it together, and if you receive a punishment, you will receive it together!”
It was no exaggeration to say that their fate was already sealed. They would be run ragged, over and over again. The moment Choi Hee-chul squeezed his eyes shut, a voice rang out, just as he’d expected.
“First ones back win.”
“A… Aaargh!”
“The destination is the Forest of Mist, beyond Brother’s Land! I will go with you! No using mana! Run, humans! Run, humans! You will run to the great tree in the Forest of Mist and back!”
‘Fu… fuck.’
The absurd thing was that the great tree in the Forest of Mist wasn’t even visible from here. No, the Forest of Mist itself looked incredibly far away. It seemed less like a running course and more like a forced march. To make matters worse, the sky was getting dark. Normally, this would have been the time they received their supplies and had dinner.
‘Ha Juyoung… Ha Juyoung!’
He knew he shouldn’t, but anger surged within him. He glanced over at Ha Juyoung, who was looking around with an incredibly sorry expression, fidgeting restlessly. Only after things had escalated this far did she realize her mistake.
“Run! Humans! Run, humans! With that pathetic level of grit, you can achieve nothing!”
The countless guild members poured out of the area in an instant. Choi Hee-chul was also running, panting heavily. His age made it difficult to move his body, but he had to move. He knew that what was important wasn't finishing among the first, but showing that he was trying his best.
“Pant… pant…”
Humans who fell behind were relentlessly pressured by the goblins. It was baffling how they could control so many people. Perhaps other instructors and assistants would show up tomorrow, but what the goblin sisters had shown so far was nothing short of superhuman.
“Any human running at half-pace will be running all night long!”
‘Damn it… Damn it…’
His breath caught in his throat, and Choi Hee-chul gasped for air. Sweat poured down like rain, but the great tree in the Forest of Mist was still nowhere in sight. They were just climbing the path before them. The warriors were faring better, but the magicians were naturally falling behind.
‘Is… is falling out the answer?’
He even began to think it might be better to just collapse. As if someone else had the same idea, a man in the middle of the pack flopped to the ground and began to gasp for breath. They hadn't even gone halfway yet.
“Open your mouth! Open your mouth! Open your mouth, human! Potion going in! Human!”
‘Fu… fuck…’
The scene he saw when he glanced back was horrifying. Three goblins were forcing a man’s jaw open and pouring a potion down his throat.
“If you’re tired or exhausted, you can say so at any time! For the human trainees! We have poured out our supplies without restraint! Strong warriors are the ones who protect the continent! Remember the battle against the dead! If we had not been strong, we would never have been able to face our enemies!”
‘So there’s no corruption in their supply chain, huh…’
He couldn’t tell if he should be happy or sad. He didn’t know how the Green Skin tribe’s currency or taxes worked, but there was no military procurement corruption here.
The problem was that these supplies were made solely for physical training. In a way, perhaps he should be grateful.
They weren’t Green Skins; they were human. They hadn’t even formally requested training; they were in a situation where they had thrown away three years as punishment. The potion looked quite effective, even at a glance.
Judging by how one of the drinker’s eyes had rolled back, it seemed to have a doping effect along with stamina recovery. However, the taste must have been horrendous, as the man was dry-heaving continuously as he ran.
“Bleeeeargh! Urk…! Urk!”
“Don’t give up! Human! Run, human! First ones back win!”
Of course, the path to the Forest of Mist was uphill. The warriors had been running without much trouble so far, but even some of them were starting to look exhausted. At this point, it felt like a marathon, and Choi Hee-chul was gasping for breath.
“Master.”
“Deok… Deokgu.”
“You have to keep going.”
“Th… thank you.”
A wave of gratitude washed over him for Park Deokgu, who could have gone on ahead but had waited for him. And it wasn’t just Park Deokgu. All the other guild members were encouraging each other as they moved forward.
“Weasel Clan, fighting!”
“We can do it!”
The scene was enough to make the old Choi Hee-chul emotional. The three goblin sister instructors said nothing. They probably thought this kind of shouting wasn’t so bad.
“Now you have the faces of grit!”
“Faces of grit!”
“Run! Run, humans!”
His feet were heavy. His breath was caught in his throat, and sweat poured down like rain. He could hear his heart pounding violently in his chest.
It was probably the same for everyone else, not just him. The sight of them stumbling, leaning on each other as they ran, was undeniably moving. Those who collapsed were fed potions and rejoined the group. No one fell behind. Even Ha Juyoung, who had caused the mess, was biting her lip and pushing forward.
“If your effort is lacking, you must make an effooooort!”
“Make an effooooort!”
“Throw away the you of yesterday! From today, you humans are reborn!”
The sound of goblins shouting from both sides was constant. But now, even that was fading. He ran mindlessly until, at last, a great tree came into view. They had finally reached the turning point.
“Turn around! Turn around!”
“Run, humans!”
“Let’s go! Let’s go! Weasel!”
It felt like a test of his limits. How long had it been since he had run until his heart felt like it would explode? He couldn’t even remember. No, he had never run this hard even after coming to this world. The warriors had probably never run this hard either.
But they had no choice but to run.
He had lost all track of time.
But what he saw before him was unmistakably the training ground where they had first started. A feeling of accomplishment welled up in everyone’s eyes.
“Uwaaaaaaah!”
Some cheered, while others gasped for breath. It was then.
He felt that Park Deokgu’s speed had become strangely faster…
“Deok… Deokgu, you.”
“……………………………….”
“Deok… Deokgu!”
“I’m sorry, Master.”
The shock was like being hit in the head with a hammer.
“First ones back win! Human! First ones back win, human!”
The goblins were still shouting about being the first back. Normally, in a situation like this, the instructors would have been deeply moved or would have considered the trainees’ exhaustion and given them a break. But this was the Green Skin Training Camp.
“Deok… Deokgu! You really!”
Park Deokgu, who had been conserving his stamina, shot forward in an instant. Everything began to look like it was in slow motion.
‘N… no!’
Experiencing this hellish course once was enough. Choi Hee-chul grit his teeth and tried to run, but his aged body wouldn’t listen.
The others were also running desperately. He glanced to his side and saw Ha Juyoung, the cause of all this, also running with her lips bitten. The woman who had shouted, This is how a magician is supposed to do it! was gone. Seeing her running at a speed comparable to a warrior, he could only swallow hard.
“Ha… Ha Juyoung, you too!”
As he let out a final cry, he saw the backs of the three goblin sisters.
“Only the 500 humans who just came in will be recognized! The rest of you will go back! Trainee number 234, that was a gritty performance! See, you can do it if you try!”
“Th… thank you!”
‘Da… damn it.’
He was at the point where his body wouldn’t even move. Just as he was wondering how he could possibly run anymore, priests appeared.
“These are priests specially invited for the physically weak humans! Everyone will receive treatment and be able to run once more!”
‘Don’t use high-ranking priests for this… please…’
A burst of holy power washed over him, and his muscle aches vanished completely. His ragged breathing began to stabilize. But Choi Hee-chul hung his head. He wasn’t happy at all. He had to run again.
“First ones back win! First ones back win, human!”
But he had no choice but to run. At the sound of the goblins’ voices, Choi Hee-chul grit his teeth once more.