Training (2)
Training (2)
It was a hellish period of days.
I didn't know how many days it had been already.
Crawling on the ground because my legs were spent became a daily routine.
With my breath caught at my chin, my lungs feeling like they were burning away, I felt like I had run hundreds of laps around the training ground.
But Romanike didn't give me a break.
As soon as the running ended, he stood me up at the sparring ground as if he'd been waiting.
They called it sparring, but it was practically a one-sided beating.
Under the influence of the Black Prayer Beads, with all my stats fixed at 1, my body was more fragile than a sheet of paper.
Every time Romanike's huge fist cut through the air, I rolled on the ground like a fallen leaf in the autumn wind.
But there was something strange.
Even though I was beaten like that, not a single bone was broken and there were no bruises anywhere on my body.
It was an unbelievable precision of reading the opponent's limit exactly and striking just short of it.
He was beating me at a level fitting my frail body, gifting me extreme pain.
"Huff, gasp...."
My mind was growing hazy.
My vision flickered and the coolness of my cheek touching the ground felt sweet.
Should I just say I give up like this?
Does continuing this madness even have meaning?
Weak thoughts stirred in my head.
But the more I thought that, the more I gritted my teeth.
It was then.
Romanike's heavy fist flew straight towards my face.
Was it because I got hit so much?
Unusually, the trajectory of that fist looked slow.
My head knew I had to dodge, but my heavy body didn't react.
'Fine, let's just take this hit and pass out. Resting might actually be more comfortable.'
It was the moment I was about to close my eyes in a half-giving-up state.
I felt a strange trembling near my lower abdomen, around the dantian.
It wasn't hot, but a prickly aura of Aura—something fiercely burning—tingled and resonated, spreading throughout my body.
It happened in an instant.
As Aura rode my blood vessels and spread through my entire body, the severe fatigue ebbed away like a receding tide.
It felt like every single cell gained vitality and woke up.
Without realizing it, I subtly tilted my head and dodged Romanike's incoming fist by a paper-thin margin.
"......!"
The eyes of Romanike, who had thrown the punch, widened into circles.
He looked back and forth between his fist that had cut through the air and me, then let out a dumbfounded laugh as if in disbelief.
"Huh... really."
Immediately after dodging, the Aura energy that had enveloped my body vanished like the ebbing tide.
At the same time, a tremendous sense of exhaustion washed over me.
My legs gave out and I toppled backward, landing hard on my rear.
Romanike looked down at me slumped on the ground and spoke in a voice tinged with admiration.
"I never expected you'd feel Aura this quickly. Even those with talent usually have to repeat this hellish training for at least half a year, up to a year, before their Aura starts to move. To think you'd achieve it in just a few days. I couldn't have imagined it."
I looked up at him blankly.
Inside, I couldn't hide my astonishment.
'Wait, there are guys who do this for half a year or a year? That's more surprising!'
I couldn't even fathom the extent of Beast-kin's endurance.
Romanike, perhaps misunderstanding my surprise, added an explanation.
"This is only the beginning. Don't forget the sensation you just felt. Now you must repeatedly draw it up and learn to move Aura freely according to your will."
"......This is only the beginning?"
I felt dejected.
I had barely overcome a hurdle for that one time, and now I had to repeat it.
It felt like I could hear the gates of hell opening again.
As expected, the path of an easy life is long and rough.
It was then.
From the direction of the village, a Beast-kin came running urgently and spoke to Romanike.
The conversation clearly reached my ears as well.
"Romanike! It's big trouble! The village children seem to have been kidnapped. We're not sure yet if it's the work of 'her' subordinates, but if it is... the children might become 'sacrifices'!"
The moment he heard that, Romanike's demeanor flipped 180 degrees.
The kind smile of an uncle vanished, replaced by the killing intent of a hungry beast.
Tendons bulged on his tightly clenched fists as if about to burst.
"Hoo......."
Romanike exhaled deeply, trying to gather his emotions.
Then he turned to me and said.
"Si-woo, I'm sorry. An urgent situation has come up in the village, so I'll have to leave. Don't worry about training. I'll assign a warrior of equal skill to me, so continue with them."
I half-listened to his words and stared at the system window that appeared before my eyes.
[22nd Floor Clear Condition: Rescue]
The Guide was kindly showing the way.
I got up, dusted off the dirt, and proposed to Romanike.
"I'll help find the Beast-kin children too."
Romanike paused for a moment then stopped me.
"It seems you heard the conversation. But this has nothing to do with you. Getting involved with 'her' forces could endanger your life. You, an outsider, have no reason to step forward."
Instead of answering, I unfastened the Black Prayer Beads from my wrist.
In that moment, the powerful stats that had been suppressed surged through my entire body, and I felt my body become as light as a feather.
Then I took out the Orichalcum armor, shining with a brilliant purple glow, from my inventory and put it on.
"Because I think I should pay my tuition fees."
Seeing me armed with the Orichalcum set and my serious gaze, Romanike fell silent for a moment, then smiled briefly and turned around.
"...Thank you."
I followed behind him, thinking to myself.
It's absolutely not because I hate training and am running away.
Even if my conscience pricked me slightly, anyway, a quest popped up so I have to go.
Gazing at Romanike's broad back, I stepped towards the deeper part of the forest.
A scouting party composed of eagle Beast-kin appeared like the wind and landed beside us.
Fortunately, they reported that they didn't seem to be related to the forces of 'her', who had caused such terror.
Relief was brief; guided by the scouts, we moved deeper into the forest.
It was a place where huge leaves layered over the sky, blocking even the moonlight from reaching.
With every step, a damp humidity and an ominous silence crept up my skin.
In the pitch-black darkness, I sensed someone's presence, and soon a wolf Beast-kin with a deep scar over one eye appeared.
He held two Beast-kin children hostage in his hands.
One of the children spotted Romanike and cried out with a sob.
"Romanike! The other kids are locked in the warehouse too! But I don't know what these guys did, the kids are groaning and can't get up!"
As soon as the child finished speaking, the wolf Beast-kin struck the children on the back of their necks, knocking them unconscious.
At the sight of him tossing the children to the ground like cargo, Romanike roared as if losing his reason.
"Prodi!! So it was your doing!! What did you do to the children?! Have you lost even the pride of a warrior?!"
The wolf Beast-kin called Prodi snorted and gave a nasty smile.
"Freeze-to-death pride of a warrior? I never had something like that to begin with. I'm just one who doesn't choose means or methods for my goals. It's really fortunate you came yourself, Romanike. I needed more specimens, and now the village must be empty, right?"
"Do you think we'd fall for such a stupid strategy?"
Romanike countered, but Prodi sneered leisurely.
"Aren't you the stupid one, Romanike? I'm also from that village in a way. I know the village's secret entrance so well I could find it with my eyes closed. By now, my subordinates might already be inside the village."
It was a sufficiently plausible story.
Romanike gritted his teeth and unleashed killing intent.
"You bastard!! If I quickly finish you off here and go back, it's solved!"
Then Prodi leisurely clapped twice.
From the darkness, Beast-kin covered in scars appeared in a mob, surrounding us layer upon layer.
"Do you really think that's possible?"
Romanike was conflicted between the safety of the children and the crisis of the village, unable to do this or that.
I approached his side and asked quietly.
"It's best to resolve this situation as quickly as possible, right?"
Romanike nodded with a trembling voice.
"......Yes."
"Okay, got it."
I slowly walked towards Prodi.
To be honest, since the 21st floor, a corner of my chest felt like it was completely blocked, stifled.
The equipment I'd been making with great effort were mostly swords, and the newly obtained job was swordsman, but I hadn't actually had the chance to properly swing a sword.
Also, the stress accumulated from my first defeat and the harsh training had reached critical levels.
Coincidentally, there was a technique I desperately wanted to try using.
I took out the Orichalcum Dagger from my inventory and held it.
As I murmured [1st Form: Sunset] in my mind, Aura surged up from deep within my dantian, rushing through my bloodstream like an explosion.
The golden aura passed through my right arm and brilliantly dyed the blade of the Orichalcum Dagger.
As I felt the sensation of Aura moving at my will, a strange thought occurred to me.
'What is this? If I can feel it this well, do I really need that hellish training?'
I had a moment of doubt, but right now, taking out the trash in front of me was the priority.
I raised the Orichalcum Dagger high above my head.
Then, as if indifferently, I brought it down with a thud from top to bottom.
In that instant, the pitch-black forest began to shine brightly as if it were broad daylight.
-Kwaaaaang!!!
With an enormous roar, the ground screamed and split apart.
The golden sword aura that passed right next to Prodi tore through the land in a straight line, completely annihilating the giant trees in its path without a trace.
It was a scene like a refreshing highway had been cut through the dense forest, maybe too refreshing.
Prodi was so shocked his eyeballs nearly popped out, wearing a dumbfounded expression.
Not even realizing a bit of snot was running from his nose in fear, he stared at the smoking, split land beside him.
Only one thought filled his head.
The fear that if that attack had hit him squarely, he would have been obliterated, leaving not even a hair behind, let alone a corpse.
This place is a thoroughly survival-of-the-fittest world.
In the face of an overwhelmingly strong being, not pride but bending the knee is the only way to survive.
Prodi tucked his tail tightly between his legs, trembled, and threw himself flat before me, begging.
"P-please spare me......! I'll do anything you command!!"