Chapter 218
Chapter 218
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Translator: penny
Chapter Title: The Eve of Departure (1)
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The next day.
As we headed toward the marsh, the atmosphere was strange.
"Hehehehe."
For some reason, Baek Ri-seol was giggling like a broken doll.
Glancing beside her, Moyong So-hye was glaring at me with cold, dead eyes.
'What's wrong with these two?'
I knew they were odd usually, but today it was especially bad.
"Thief."
Thief?
"Traitor. Villain. Shameless wretch."
Her words were utterly rude.
"The worst. The absolute worst."
"Heh heh heh. Hehehehe."
I tilted my head in confusion at this inexplicable situation.
Then Un Ho-seung came stomping over.
"Instructor! Are we really doing special training?"
This seemed like the issue, so I gave a vague answer.
"Of course."
"Whoa, that's impressive. I heard getting permission for special training isn't easy."
It hadn't been particularly difficult.
'Because the top predator of Silver Hall is my subordinate.'
But now was the time to boast.
"I nearly broke my back getting approval. You all need to etch this instructor's hard work deep in your hearts!"
Unaware of my true thoughts, Un Ho-seung and the twins clapped.
"Awesome! As expected of our instructor!"
"Surprisingly reliable when it counts?"
"Damn it! I believed in you!"
On the other hand, Dang-gan and Il-pyo, who had been glancing at the assistants, seemed restless.
"Instructor, those guys over there don't look good."
"Is this really okay?"
The four people they pointed at had gone pale at the mention of "special training" and were gaping silently.
"Don't look over there."
The mountain given by the Baek Family exceeded expectations.
After crossing two ridgelines, a lake in the mountains unfolded before us.
"Whoaaa!"
"Wowww!"
Un Ho-seung and Dang-gan let out cries of admiration the moment we arrived.
'This really is amazing.'
As befitting a place Baek Ri-jeong-sun boasted about, it was a stunning scenic spot.
The massive mountain lake midway up the slope was flanked by cliffs on both sides.
Ku-ku-ku-ku-ku-!
Chilly water of unknown depth surged from the peak, forming a waterfall that poured down in fierce streams.
I could see why the Baek Family had bought the entire mountain.
"It feels more like a scenic resort than a training ground,"
Moyong So-hye said, and she was right.
This picturesque vista lifted spirits just by looking at it.
"Instructor, what are we doing here?"
Baek Ri-seol asked with a bright smile.
"Good question."
It was a better spot than expected, so no need to dawdle.
"Let's warm up with some waterfall training."
Shaaa.
The group's faces turned blue in an instant.
Ku-ku-ku-ku-ku-ku-.
The cascading water, kicking up fierce foam, was magnificent yet terrifying.
"Kuhhhh."
Dang-gan, seated cross-legged under the rock where the waterfall pounded directly, let out a scream-like shout.
Splash!
Unable to hold out, he was swept away by the falls and collapsed.
But nature shows no mercy to humans.
Ku-ku-ku-ku-ku-ku-.
Snared by the current, Dang-gan screamed for a while before crawling up the rock and escaping the waterfall.
"I-Instructor. Is this okay?"
"Yeah."
"M-My neck feels like it's going to snap."
"That's because you're facing it head-on."
It was a massive waterfall dropping from fifty jang.
Even for you all, enduring in the torrent would be tough.
If unlucky, falling rocks and branches could cause serious injury.
Thwack!
'Spoke too soon, and there's already a victim.'
Hit by a falling stone amid the water, Jegal Tan tumbled out of the waterfall and floated buoyantly on the valley stream.
"Up you go."
As I fished out Jegal Tan, Moyong So-hye crawled out from under the falls, fuming.
"Instructor! What is this?!"
"What else? An extremely wise and beneficial training method."
"Endure under the waterfall for one sijin? It's not training—feels like a full-body beating!"
"Good training."
In the jianghu, you never know when you'll get pummeled, so experience it in advance?
As they emerged one by one from under the falls,
"Huff. Huff. No way I can do it."
"I can manage briefly, but all day? Impossible."
"Instructor, every part of my body hurts."
"Just enduring drains my qi completely."
They all whined, but Chu Un-hwi wagged his finger.
"Tsk tsk. At your age, I trained under waterfalls while eating and reading."
"That's nonsense!"
"Look over there. Nangong Yun-ho and Baek Ri-seol seem to be managing..."
No sooner had he pointed than Nangong Yun-ho went splash! into the water.
"S-Save me!"
He flailed pitifully, unable to swim.
Like an ant in syrup?
Even Baek Ri-seol finally emerged looking like a drowned rat.
"I have no face to show. Instructor."
"I really thought I was going to die."
"Tsk tsk."
If it was like this from the start,
"Of course you tire out facing it head-on. Let the water flow past you."
"Is that possible?"
"You mean that's doable?"
Facing their skeptical stares, Chu Un-hwi trudged toward the waterfall.
"Watch closely."
He addressed their wide-eyed gazes and then,
"La la~."
Walked into the waterfall.
The falls pounded the cliff base before flowing to the lake, but he strolled along the rock face beneath the deluge.
Ku-ku-ku-ku-ku-ku-!
The roar of the massive torrent battered their ears.
The impact would snap most necks, but
"La la~."
His steps didn't falter as he withstood the downpour.
About fifty paces in?
He successfully pierced the waterfall to the other side.
"See? Easy, right?"
He flashed a cheerful smile, but their stares shook like an earthquake.
"N-No way."
"He didn't even get wet?"
"Yeah, he's completely dry!"
"I-Is that possible?"
'Still not enough?'
He crossed back through the falls to his original spot, and their jaws dropped.
"I told you, get used to redirecting the flow, and this is a breeze."
Would this demonstration suffice?
'Enlightenment is their job.'
Chu Un-hwi spoke up.
"Looks like you all need to learn to feel the flow first."
"......"
"Won't happen overnight. But not impossible either."
"......"
"Let's start with the basics."
He shrugged at their stunned looks.
"Chara."
Chu Un-hwi pointed to glossy black iron rings.
Made by melting iron whole for legs or arms, used mainly for strength training.
As they took and donned them familiarly, Baek Ri-seol frowned oddly.
"Hmm. These are pretty heavy."
"Sister, doesn't seem like regular iron, right?"
Moyong So-hye and Baek Ri-seol furrowed brows at the sagging weights on their limbs.
Some were energetic, though.
Whoosh whoosh!
Un Ho-seung, wearing the heavy rings, punched the air and stuck out his tongue.
"What're they made of to be this heavy?"
"Training with these would definitely build strength."
"Not gonna get used to it quick."
They buzzed excitedly, but two were wary.
"Instructor wouldn't order normal training."
"Yun-ho. Stop. A bad feeling's creeping in."
As expected of those who'd experienced it before, they knew.
Chu Un-hwi smiled and raised a finger at the returned group.
"Now. Jump in."
Snap—his finger arced toward the lake.
"Jump in."
"What?! I can't even swim!"
"Exactly. And jumping in wearing these heavy things—is this suicide?"
Unlike the despairing assistants squeezing eyes shut, others reacted vigorously.
"Rebellion after so long—feels fresh."
Grinning, Chu Un-hwi leaped and kicked Un Ho-seung.
Splash!
A massive waterspout erupted mid-lake.
'What insane nonsense is this!'
Suddenly tossed mid-lake, Un Ho-seung cursed inwardly.
"Glub glub!"
But before he could swear, lake water flooded in, leaving no time to think.
'Can't die like this!'
He flailed amateurishly, but the weights made limbs heavy.
Moreover, the dense rings dragged his body deeper.
'D-Damn it. Vision blurring.'
As sinking Un Ho-seung frothed and struggled to remove the rings faster,
Grab.
Something approached silently underwater and gripped his shoulder.
Bubble. Bubble.
It was the instructor.
For some reason, smiling faintly in the murky water.
'Here to save me!'
Even a harsh instructor wouldn't let a student die.
If just to scare, it worked—should be satisfied?
'Instructor! I'm really dying...'
Short of breath, Un Ho-seung gestured desperately.
But that was naive.
"Gaaaahhh-!"
Grabbed by the hair, he was dragged deeper, deeper.
'The instructor is...'
No human— a demon.
Or water ghost?
The instructor was ruthless.
Even pleading he was dying, he never released them underwater.
He dragged them deeper into the lake, only fishing them out after they passed out.
Surfacing didn't end training.
"The water knows the answer. Why ask me?"
Regaining senses meant tossed back in.
"Uwaaaah!"
"S-Save me!"
They thrashed desperately to surface, but met the shore-watching instructor's kicks.
The pattern repeated: pass out, get fished out.
Good swimmers got no mercy.
Jegal Tan, surprisingly adept at freestyle, managed to swim out despite weights.
"You swim that well?"
Before reaching shore, kicked back, dragged deep by the ankle weights.
'How deep is this valley?'
Wondering, fully a sikgyeong passed before limp Jegal Tan floated up.
"Up you go."
Draped over a rock, his collapsed form resembled freshly harvested seaweed, the group thought.
Hell training had begun.
Day two.
All repeatedly tossed in, passing out.
No method worked against the underwater instructor.
Only confirmed: no mercy from the instructor.
Day three.
After yesterday's agony?
Some vomited at the sight of water from morning.
Aftereffect of all-day submersion.
"Too bad."
Instructor just pitied verbally, mercilessly dunking everyone.
Even dying pleas: tossed in. Was he human?
"Lack of grit."
Not grit, but all blamed on grit.
Water knows the answer, too.
Day five.
Splash!
Same nightmare as yesterday.
Recalling the day: flail on surface, powerful force pulls body under from below.
Then black out amid crashing foam.
Painful routine, but not without gains.
"Any still scared of water?"
Shakes of heads.
All overcame aquaphobia.
At that moment, they realized: water no longer fearful.
Didn't want to admit, but as instructor said, grit conquered fear.
Minor side effect, though.
"Hic!"
Dang-gan and Il-pyo started hiccuping at the instructor's sight.
"Scarier than water."
"Instructor vs. water ghost—who wins?"
"Instructor, obviously. Water ghost acting tough?"
"Yeah, right?"
"I'd choose death."
Splash!
Non-swimmers Dang-gan and Il-pyo, seeing instructor approach leisurely, dove in voluntarily.
Day seven.
They realized begging mercy less realistic than growing gills.