Chapter 10
Chapter 10
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: Brutal Training Begins
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‘Somehow, this feels ominous.’
Skevin’s face hardened just as Arthur shouted.
“First hundred! Touch the east wall and come back.”
‘Damn it!’
Skevin kicked off the ground and dashed toward the east wall.
Helot and the knights followed, with the trainees bringing up the rear.
Arthur watched them while saying to Millerph,
“You’ll need to put in some work.”
“There’s certainly no shortage of tasks.”
Millerph smiled and cast Fly.
A sudden gust of wind lifted him into the air, and he soared toward the east wall.
With the training ground now empty, Arthur crouched down and slowly inverted into a handstand. He then shifted through various poses to train his body.
After about ten minutes, people began arriving at the platform one by one.
Skevin was the fastest, followed closely by the knights.
Another ten minutes passed.
Helot staggered in, panting, alongside Millerph.
Millerph approached the platform.
“This is the hundred.”
Arthur, who had been handstanding, sprang up like a coiled spring.
Sweat poured down his body like rain.
He scanned the group assembled before the platform with cold eyes.
As expected, they were all knights.
“If anyone moves? Root out every single one who twitches or pants. Expel them from the knight order.”
“Understood.”
Millerph’s eyes sharpened as he stared them down.
They clamped their mouths shut and held their breath.
Their hearts felt like they might burst, and their bodies trembled.
They gritted their teeth to endure, but a few couldn’t hold out—they staggered or exhaled held breaths.
Arthur barked savagely, as if he’d been waiting.
“Everyone, drop and give me push-ups!”
They hit the ground in unison.
But packed so tightly, their bodies collided and they tumbled over one another.
“Ugh.”
“Move.”
“Hey! Get your foot off me.”
Bickering erupted everywhere.
“Some fools still haven’t grasped the situation.”
Arthur narrowed his eyes and shouted.
“First fifty! Touch the east wall and come back.”
“This is insane.”
Skevin shot to his feet and bolted toward the east wall.
The rest surged after him in a chaotic mass.
But they collided with the trainees returning from the wall, turning the scene into utter pandemonium.
“Out of the way!”
“Argh!”
“Don’t block the path!”
The knights shoved past the trainees in desperation, while the battered trainees rolled across the ground.
Not a shred of camaraderie in sight.
Survival was all that filled their heads.
One had to wonder if these were truly knights of honor.
Even Millerph frowned at the knights’ behavior.
‘To witness such an unexpected spectacle.’
The fallen trainees scrambled up and hurried to gather before the platform.
“Huff, huff, huff.”
They wore deathly expressions, gasping for air.
Even amid the chaos, more kept arriving, lengthening the line.
“Sit.”
At Arthur’s command, the trainees sat like a wave crashing.
“Stand.”
They shot back up.
Another chaotic wave.
“Sit.”
And so the endless cycle began.
Fatigue was plain on the trainees’ faces, with some collapsing in heaps.
Meanwhile, the knights entered the training ground.
Skevin was fastest again, his breathing only slightly ragged—no sign of exhaustion.
“Millerph.”
“Yes.”
“Cast Weight on number one.”
“Understood.”
Millerph cast the spell on Skevin, whose face twisted in shock.
“What is this?”
“Isn’t it unfair for someone superior to train the same as the rest?”
“I’ll take it as an honor.”
Skevin gritted his teeth.
Until all the knights arrived, the trainees kept standing and sitting beside them.
Soon, the knights had all entered the training ground.
Determined not to repeat the earlier fiasco, they held their ragged breaths and stood statue-still.
The trainees, meanwhile, kept dropping.
Arthur watched silently without stopping them.
After another ten minutes, over half the trainees had collapsed.
Only then did Arthur speak.
“Everyone, line up.”
They shuffled into formation beside the knights.
Leg muscles knotted, they staggered on deathly pale faces, but instinct told them not to pant or move.
They endured the agony as best they could.
Tension hung thick in the sweltering training ground.
Arthur spoke coldly, like ice.
“Get your heads straight. Otherwise, you’ll crawl out of here.”
Heavy silence fell.
“Responses to my questions will be ‘Sir!’ Got it?”
“…….”
“Still haven’t wised up. South wall this time. First hundred!”
The knights bolted at his words.
But the trainees’ legs were swollen and numb—they limped, barely able to walk.
Watching, Millerph cautiously asked,
“This won’t work for training…….”
Even so, a few gritted their teeth and hobbled toward the south wall.
Arthur smiled faintly.
“It’s going perfectly.”
The training, started at dawn, continued until golden sunset.
Heat rose fiercely from the training ground.
Even Skevin breathed heavily, eyeing Arthur with disappointment.
‘This isn’t what I wanted.’
The others glared at Arthur with faces full of resentment.
What they’d called training so far? Just wall runs and sit-stands.
The exhausted trainees were on the verge of crawling out.
The knights, with their baseline stamina, endured.
But feeling toyed with by the prodigal’s sham training, they teetered on the edge of explosion.
They wanted to rush the platform and tear Arthur’s mouth off, but Skevin’s silent obedience held them back.
Now, resentment had boiled into rage—like ticking time bombs.
‘That bastard…….’
Helot glared at Arthur with venom in his eyes.
But the hat brim hid them, making his thoughts impossible to read.
Everyone, seething, strained to hear Arthur’s next words.
Arthur swept his gaze over them and spoke.
“Training ends here for today. Trainees late tomorrow are auto-eliminated. Understood?”
Sir!
They bellowed it, voices cracking with fury.
‘Good to see it working.’
Satisfied, Arthur left the training ground with Millerph.
Once he was out of sight, Skevin turned to the trainees.
“Good work, everyone. Rest well tonight. Everyone assembles here tomorrow, no exceptions. Dismissed!”
Yeah!
***
“Young Master?”
Skevin asked Andrew.
Waiting at the castle gate, Andrew glanced toward the east wall.
“He’s training.”
“Training?”
Skevin tilted his head and headed to the east wall.
Far off, Arthur was rapidly descending and ascending the stairs.
“Hmm…….”
Seemed he was doing the training he’d skipped earlier.
‘He’s relentless.’
“Huff, huff, huff.”
Arthur climbed up, breathing hard.
“Weights doubled should be fine now.”
“Understood.”
Millerph cast Weight.
“Ugh.”
A low groan escaped Arthur.
It was heavy, but with reserves of stamina, manageable.
As he moved to descend, Skevin panted his way up.
“Urgh…….”
Thighs and calves felt like stone logs strapped on.
“Damn it all.”
Skevin’s face contorted.
Arthur eyed him curiously.
“Young Master, I have a question.”
Arthur nodded for him to speak.
“What was today’s training for?”
“Didn’t you say you wanted to get stronger?”
“At this rate, everyone will drop out.”
“The weak get weeded out. I’m not carrying everyone.”
“Young Master!”
Skevin raised his voice, and Arthur frowned.
“What good are sloppy minds on the battlefield? How many do you think survive?”
“……!”
“Even at peak strength, not everyone returns alive.”
“But this training method is reckless beyond…….”
“Enough.”
Arthur cut him off with a raised hand.
He stared with icy eyes.
“If you trusted me, follow. You’ll understand after.”
“Can we really get stronger?”
Arthur descended without another word, deeming it unworthy.
Skevin shouted at his retreating back.
“Please answer!”
Millerph approached and placed a hand on his shoulder.
“Trust the Young Master.”
“I want to. But didn’t you see today, Millerph? They’re full of complaints. If tomorrow’s the same, it’ll blow up.”
“You could handle it yourself.”
“That’s true, but…….”
Skevin’s worries lingered.
“Your faith in him is lacking. Here—let me show you something simple.”
Millerph cast the same Weight spell he’d used on Arthur earlier.
“Guh!”
Pressure crushed Skevin’s shoulders, twisting his face.
“What is this?”
“The weight he’s bearing right now. Pure physical, no mana.”
“This?”
Skevin was stunned.
“He’s growing stronger by the day. And today’s training for you? Child’s play compared to his.”
“Hmm…….”
“Watching closely, it seems he’s aiming for more than just strength.”
“More than strength…….”
Skevin’s gaze deepened.
Some time passed.
Below, Arthur climbed up, gasping.
Skevin faced Millerph with resolve.
“From tomorrow—no, now—give me the same weight as the Young Master.”
“You sure?”
Skevin nodded firmly.
Millerph raised his staff and cast Weight.
“Hng!”
Skevin’s face warped grotesquely as one knee slammed the ground with a thud.
“Damn!”
“Stamina drained, it’s tougher.”
“If it makes me stronger…….”
Skevin gritted his teeth and stood.
Arthur, just arriving, tilted his head at Skevin’s flushed face.
“What’s wrong?”
“I put the same weight on him at his request.”
Millerph answered.
“I’ll get stronger.”
Skevin’s eyes blazed.
“That fire will make you strong.”
“Thank you.”
“Rest up, then assemble at the training ground by nine—in trainee gear with the knights.”
“Pardon?”
Skevin’s eyes widened.
Arthur tossed it over his shoulder as he descended.
“Thought you’d train equally with the trainees?”