Chapter 6
Chapter 6
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: Episode 002 (1)
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Half a year had passed since then.
A stretch of time that felt long if deemed long, short if deemed short.
But the changes the Lion’s Den trainees had faced during that period were far from minor.
Going beyond basic stamina drills, they now incorporated muscle training, footwork steps, bare-handed combat, and knife fighting.
The obstacle course Kuhn and the other trainees were tackling right now was one such addition.
“Huff... huff...”
A ceaseless stream of sour breath poured from Kuhn’s lips as he glided through the obstacles.
His training uniform had been drenched in sweat for ages. Deep down, he wanted nothing more than to collapse on the spot and catch his breath.
But...
“Huff... huff...”
Kuhn didn’t give in.
Instead of slumping down for a break, he steadied his breathing. He lifted his head and fixed his gaze on the next stretch of obstacles looming ahead.
“Hoo... hoo...”
These obstacles had started appearing about three months ago, added one or two at a time each week.
By now, they’d multiplied to the point where the course needed to be divided into three distinct sections.
Kuhn wiped the sweat-soaked grime from his face with his sleeve and muttered under his breath.
‘Cleared course 2... next up is course 3, huh?’
Course 2 consisted of mid-sized obstacles, but course 3 ramped things up with massive ones.
Climbing towering walls using nothing but grip and arm strength, or swinging across chasms on a single rope.
If he dawdled here, his resolve might crumble, leaving him unable to conquer those behemoths.
His body sprang into motion even before the thought fully formed.
“Huff... huff...”
Kuhn only crumpled to the ground like a ragdoll after reaching the final stretch of the course.
“Hoo... hoo...”
Was it because the training difficulty had skyrocketed compared to when he’d first awakened here? The moment he let his guard down, nausea surged over him.
“─Urp!”
A queasy sensation that threatened to empty his breakfast onto the ground if he slipped even slightly.
“Urgh!”
And sure enough.
Sounds of dry heaving echoed from some of the trainees who had crossed the goal line, slumping in place.
“...Blerrgh!”
Feeling the wave of nausea intensify at the noise, Kuhn murmured inwardly.
‘...That’s a change too, I suppose. Huff... huff.’
His eyes landed on the vest he’d carelessly discarded moments ago upon crossing the goal.
Not just any vest, but a training one stuffed with several kilos of sand.
‘Huff... huff.’
Even handling his own body was a struggle. Tackling training while weighed down by that sand-filled vest naturally made the difficulty feel several times worse.
“Hoo.”
Aware of that fact, Kuhn glanced down at his body and let out a faint sigh.
‘At least the silver lining is that this wretched hunk of meat is getting a little better, bit by bit?’
True to his words, Kuhn’s body had changed in many ways compared to half a year ago.
On the small scale, his shoulders had broadened slightly, with calluses and muscle traces forming across his frame. On a larger scale, his mana capacity had grown substantially.
These weren’t just superficial changes to his physique—they were sweeping transformations inside and out.
‘Of course, it’s still not visible to the naked eye...’
At the very least, Kuhn himself could vividly sense his own progress.
Despite the training growing harsher by the day, he was no longer falling behind. That was proof enough.
It was the payoff from scrimping on sleep to squeeze in extra practice.
As Kuhn muttered to himself and reached for his sleeve to wipe his nose once more—
A voice boomed through the entire cavern, shaking the air.
“All trainees, assemble!”
2.
“All trainees, assemble!”
“Move it, move it!”
The instructors’ shouts signaling the end of the break left a few trainees cocking their heads.
“Assemble?”
“...What’s going on all of a sudden?”
Normally, the next drill would kick off right after a short rest.
So this abrupt assembly order naturally sparked confusion.
Once the trainees had gathered, the senior instructor stepped forward with heavy strides.
He emerged from the cluster of instructors and ascended the prepared platform.
Thud, thud—.
His imposing aura was unmistakable at a glance. Even the mask he wore differed slightly from the standard instructors’.
“......”
A few trainees who guessed his identity as the senior instructor gulped and shrank back like startled foals.
He scanned the children and opened his mouth as if he’d been waiting for this moment.
“From today onward, we will begin the true Lion’s Den training in earnest.”
Straight to the point, no flowery preamble.
The flat, emotionless voice left them momentarily stunned, but soon murmurs rippled through the trainees.
“T-True training?”
“Th-Then...?”
“...Does that mean everything so far wasn’t real?”
Before the whispers could spread like wildfire among the children, the senior instructor continued.
He elaborated on his statement.
“The training intensity and difficulty will rise above what you’ve known. And starting today, you’ll learn swordsmanship and the aura breathing method as well.”
The problem was that those words only fanned the flames of the growing unrest.
“A-Aura?”
“...Swordsmanship?”
As expected, the moment his voice trailed off, far more trainees than anticipated began to stir excitedly.
‘Swordsmanship and aura breathing methods, huh.’
It was inevitable.
From farmers’ kids and innkeepers’ offspring to street urchins surviving on begging and pickpocketing—the vast majority of Lion’s Den trainees weren’t from noble or prestigious families.
For them, terms like swordsmanship and aura breathing methods had always seemed distant, elite privileges.
‘Of course, in reality, even mid-level mercenaries know basic aura breathing and swordsmanship...’
To these ignorant kids, those skills felt like knights’ exclusive domain.
“Aura breathing method?”
“You mean the one knights learn?”
“Swordsmanship? We’re actually gonna learn real swordsmanship?”
Some trainees started chattering as if they were already famed knights.
The few noble or prestigious scions shot them pitiful glances.
“Does that mean we’re finally─!!”
The instant one excited trainee shouted in glee—
The senior instructor slammed his foot down.
“Quiet!”
─Boom!
A surge of energy erupted from beneath his foot, rippling outward like waves!
─Rumble rumble rumble!
The impact was so fierce it shook the platform he stood on and the surrounding meters where the trainees had assembled.
Rumble rumble—.
The sheer power of the mana infused in that stomp sent sand dust billowing high, while cracks spiderwebbed across the stone platform.
Catching the aftermath mid-glance, Kuhn’s eyes narrowed in dismay.
‘...Hah.’
The senior instructor overseeing an entire cavern.
He’d figured from the start the man wasn’t ordinary.
But...
‘...Even so.’
He hadn’t expected an Expert-level powerhouse.
Beyond first-class, where one reinforces their body with aura.
An elite who could coat their blade in aura, manifesting it as sharp sword energy.
That was the hallmark of an Expert.
No way such a figure would settle for senior instructor at a talent-training facility.
‘For someone like that to be here as senior instructor...’
It spoke volumes about how much effort the Jordic family poured into the Lion’s Den.
Confirming all trainees had snapped their mouths shut in shock, the senior instructor spoke again.
“...And starting today, meal portions will be reduced.”
The words barely left his lips before fresh murmurs erupted among the children.
“Wh-What’s that...?”
“R-Reduce meal portions─...?”
“They’re already so small!”
The previous stomp had worked— the voices weren’t loud. And as they said, the current portions barely staved off hunger.
Nutrition aside, the quantity was just enough to get by.
For full-grown adults, maybe tolerable.
But for kids in the thick of growth spurts, who could chew rocks? Hardly generous.
‘...And now they’re cutting portions even further.’
No wonder the kids were rattled.
Before the unrest could spread again, the senior instructor cut it short.
“Of course, that doesn’t mean there’s no way to fill your stomachs.”
“......?!”
The children’s eyes snapped to him at that loaded tone—
“This Lion’s Den follows Survival of the Fittest, where the living take all. There are no other rules for securing your meals. So─...”
He gazed down at them and continued.
“Figure out for yourselves how to fill your bellies.”
His expression and voice carried a sly, almost sinister edge.
3.
‘Figure out for yourselves how to fill your bellies?’
Maybe because the instructors’ intent was glaringly obvious.
Kuhn didn’t need to mull over the words—he let out a cold sneer.
Nothing was harder for kids this age to endure than hunger.
Especially for those who’d known true deprivation—they’d feel its terror to their bones.
The instructors surely knew that too.
‘Yet they’re still cutting rations...’
It was a blatant push to spark fights among the trainees.
Likely part of a plan to acclimate them to real combat through infighting.
‘Not a bad strategy, though.’
Greenhouse flowers wilt outside; swordsmen were no exception.
A few trainees already seemed to grasp it, furtively rolling their eyes in search of weaker prey.
Tension rippled across the faces of others catching on a beat late.
Kuhn eyed the senior instructor, who watched them all with suspicious lips, and thought to himself.
‘The issue is, that’s not the whole picture...’
Survival of the Fittest, not mere Winner Takes All.
There had to be a reason for choosing those words.
As he pondered deeper, the senior instructor’s voice rang out overhead once more.
“And...”
He pulled a booklet from his robes and held it up.
“This is the aura breathing method you’ll be learning from today.”
About twice the size of a palm, it was no ordinary booklet at first glance.
Feeling all eyes on his hand, the senior instructor gave it a light shake.
“You’d best learn it thoroughly. Otherwise─...”
“......?”
“...In three months, you’ll learn firsthand what hell is.”
A cryptic close to his words.
A heavy silence descended over the children.