Training Camp # 3
Training Camp # 3
"We've arrived. Wake up the person next to you and get up, everyone."
So I took a little nap, and we were already here. That distinctive stillness of a parked bus and the stuffy heat of a nap made it damn hard to get moving.
"Get up this instant, you vagrant-looking bastard who sleeps anywhere. Do not block my path."
"Ha, Mr. Ryu, what a temper."
I grabbed my bag, got up, and got off the bus.
"Yaaawn."
Outside, at least it was a bit cooler.
So, this is the training camp grounds. What's this place like? The last time I went anywhere as a group was the school trip my second year of high school, so I was genuinely a little excited.
"Whoa."
What caught my eye was the West Sea. Hell yeah. Maybe because China went down so hard, but the air felt ridiculously clean, and the water looked crystal clear.
The ocean breeze is seriously refreshing.
And what I'm seeing over there is none other than the training camp lodgings.
The building itself was huge, with a giant sign. The whole thing looked like some kind of fortress. Its defensive capabilities seemed formidable. Anyway, we've got the sea and a big dorm.
A place like this should be livable.
"Geun-cheol. Look over there."
"There?"
When Si-hoo said that, I looked in the other direction.
"What the hell is that?"
Rows of what looked like castle walls. It looked like an enclosed space. Did they actually build a fortress out here on the West Sea? Oh. So that's it. Former China is so heavily otherworldized now that you could practically call it monster territory.
So monsters could come charging across the sea. That's probably why they built fortresses and castles along the coast.
"That appears to be the urban warfare training ground."
Leona spoke up.
"What? That?"
"Yes."
"It's not some kind of coastal defense structure?"
"Fufufu, did it look that way? I don't think they'll use it for that. It's just the outer wall of the training ground."
Who the hell builds a training ground that grandiose? No matter how you look at it, it seems absurdly huge. The thought of enclosing all of that with walls—
Their budget management is on a whole different level.
"Alright, alright. Everyone, line up once you're off. You'll have plenty of time later to take in the ocean view."
"Yes, Instructor."
"Yes."
"Understood."
I answered while finding my line and standing in it.
"After we take roll, we'll move to the lodgings. Two to a room. Pick your own and then report your room assignment. Women to the women's building. Men to the men's. Don't go getting confused. After you unpack, the opening ceremony is scheduled. Don't do anything stupid and be ready to come out."
Watching this really makes it feel just like a school trip.
"Geun-cheol. We're rooming together, right?"
As soon as we stood in line, Si-hoo came over beside me and threw me a look.
"Yeah. You and me are a set. Wherever we go, we stick together."
"That's a little..."
"What, man?"
Anyway, we headed towards the fortress-like dorm building we could see up ahead.
"What the—?"
Why are there soldiers guarding it?
"Si-hoo. There are soldiers guarding this place?"
"It's a key facility in its own right. There's probably an army unit guarding the whole area. And some heroes dispatched here, too."
"Whoa. They really go all out protecting us cadets, don't they?"
"There are a lot of factions who target cadets. They're probably putting effort into escorting us without us even knowing."
Reassuring. Very reassuring.
I admired that as we entered through the front door. The main hall was enormous. Following Instructor Lee So-ra's directions, we headed to the floor we would be using. From there, I tried to dash ahead and snag a good room.
—Whoosh!
"Those bastards are so fast!"
Everyone bolted forward at once, shooting off down the hall; I couldn't catch up!
"Si-hoo! Go!"
"Yeah!"
But I have Si-hoo. Si-hoo immediately dashed ahead and stood in front of a decent spot. The rooms are all the same layout anyway, so there's no need to be picky.
"Geun-cheol. Hurry, come in."
"Yeah. Got it."
I went right in with Si-hoo.
"Whoa. This is pretty nice inside. It's a proper twin room. A twin."
Leona's hotel called itself a two-person room, but it was basically a double. This place is obviously a twin. The design assumed two people staying from the start.
"Now we finally have separate beds, huh."
"Geun-cheol...! The way you say that makes it sound like we always shared the same bed!"
"It was true up until just now. Anyway, let's unpack. We're supposed to change into our training clothes and come out."
"Ah, yeah."
—Shff.
I took off my uniform and changed into my training clothes. Si-hoo was tidying up and getting ready to change or something. After I changed, I went to the bathroom and washed my face.
"Agh!"
Now I feel a little more awake.
Alright, from today on, let's train hard. A training camp like this is a rare opportunity. Let's raise my stats while piling up combat experience. To become a good hero, I have to make shrewd use of chances like this.
"Si-hoo. Are you gonna use the bathroom?"
"Yeah. I'll use it now."
As I came out, Si-hoo, now in training clothes, went into the bathroom. So, shall I check if the TV works? I grabbed the remote, hit the power button, and the screen came on.
"Shit, no cable channels."
Places like this are always like that.
—Fwoosh. Cadets. Everyone assemble in the hallway.
That's the Instructor's voice.
"Si-hoo! Let's go!"
"Yeah!"
I went into the hallway with Si-hoo, and doors were opening everywhere as classmates spilled out.
"Hey, Ryu. Who's your roommate?"
"Oh! Me!"
"Do something about this noisy bastard...!"
So Ryu's pair was Brian.
Though honestly, I can kind of see them getting along.
"Brian. Ryu's prickly, so watch out. He'll probably just tell you to shut up."
"It's fine, Big Cheol! I'm a man of few words!"
No matter how I look at it, that doesn't seem right... well, while making that kind of chatter, we started moving. We were told to come out to the central hall.
"Everyone is here. We will now go to the opening ceremony. After the ceremony, you'll have lunch. Then after a short rest in the dormitory, we will explore the urban warfare training ground. We will get a rough idea of what we'll be experiencing and then familiarize ourselves with the terrain. Any questions?"
No questions.
"Then let's go."
"Yes!"
"Yeah!"
"Moving out!"
And so we followed Instructor Lee So-ra to the auditorium.
* * *
"Seeing my juniors here participating in this training camp... it brings back old memories. Back in the day, they called it a 'training camp'... but it read as a 'torture excursion.' What we went through back then wasn't training; it was senseless endurance drills. Haha. An outdated mindset that believed only pain could forge a good hero was grafted onto..."
The camp director was an alumnus from our school. He launched into the opening ceremony by spooling out uncomfortable stories from the past.
"Anyhow! Cadets, through this camp you will all be reborn as experts in urban warfare! Everyone, a round of applause!"
—Clap, clap, clap, clap!
—Clap, clap, clap, clap!
—Clap, clap, clap, clap!
"Ah, shit."
I really can't get used to these ceremonies. I clapped half-heartedly and listened, and eventually, the opening ceremony was over.
And immediately, we moved to eat.
"This place is a buffet too?"
"Geun-cheol. Have we been eating nothing but buffets lately?"
"Amazing. Seriously."
But the food quality was so-so. School food really was the tastiest after all. Looking at the buffet menu, I've got a serious craving for a Don-gapnaegi.
I wonder if there's a campus store here?
"Man, now that I've been eating nothing but school food and hotel food, have my standards gotten too high? This place is kinda mediocre?"
"Geun-cheol. You can say things like that now?"
Si-hoo narrowed his eyes at me.
"People grow, you know... well, even so, I'd pay to eat this."
I loaded up my plate with some fried rice, spicy pork, sweet-and-spicy chicken, then set out a cabbage salad, kimchi, and some pickled radish on the side. I finished by adding some croquettes. Lastly, I poured myself a cola.
—Slosh.
I grabbed everything and sat down with Si-hoo, and Leona came over.
"What the—? Woo Yu-ri?"
But Woo Yu-ri was right there next to Leona.
"Ah, Yu-ri and I ended up rooming together. Let's eat together for the time being."
"Oh. Hey. Kim Geun-cheol and Lee Si-hoo."
Yu-ri waved her hand and greeted us with easy confidence. So that's how it was. The two of them were rooming together. But then again, they're both skilled melee DPS fighters who use swords. They suit each other pretty well, I guess?
"Yeah. Sure. Good to see you, Yu-ri. Go ahead and sit."
"Hi to me too."
And so the four of us ended up at one table. But, man, they all eat a lot. They really piled their trays up with food, too.
Anyway, let's eat.
"Hey. Do you three always hang out together?"
"It just sort of ended up that way. Because of this guy, Kim Geun-cheol."
"Because of me?"
"How should I put it, if you leave Kim Geun-cheol alone, it looks like he'll go somewhere and collapse with a thud. So, yeah. It turned out like this."
That was Leona's explanation to Yu-ri. Wait, so no matter how much of an orphan I am, my fate isn't to die alone in the streets.
"Hey. Leona. Am I some kind of stray dog?"
"No! Don't belittle yourself!"
"How is that belittling?!"
As Leona and I traded jabs, Yu-ri chuckled and said,
"You two get along well. Anyway. Kim Geun-cheol, I heard you discovered a new monster species. Tell me that story."
"Heh heh heh, if it's that, then I've definitely got to tell you. This was during the Gate Incident. Si-hoo was there with me too."
—Pat.
Si-hoo shot me a subtle glance. Ah. Obviously, I'm not going to talk about the female body thing. Would I tell Yu-ri about that?
So we chatted while eating like that.
* * *
"Everyone. Did you enjoy your meal?"
"It was worse than school food, Instructor."
"I'll grant you that."
"Instructor. Is there a campus store here?"
"I'll arrange for it to be accessible in the evening, so bear with it, Kim Geun-cheol."
"Yes."
All that matters is that there is a store.
"Now, we will proceed to the training ground. As you all saw earlier, it's the place completely surrounded by walls. On the inside, there is a constructed set for urban warfare training. It's quite realistic, so you can look forward to it."
Now that's something to look forward to, isn't it?
"Heh heh heh."
The fighting spirit and resolve inside me were beginning to boil up.
I'm practically dying to start training.
"I am Kim Geun-cheol, a man starved for training."
"Geun-cheol, please. Stop saying weird stuff."
"Can you not hear it? The cry of my 'heart' longing for greater 'power'?"
"Kim Geun-cheol, please, just shut up!"
"I was just making a joke."
So harsh.
—Creeeak.
The main gate of the wall made a grating sound as it opened.
We were finally entering the training ground.