Chapter 41: The Knight Wears an Octagonal Hat (4)

Back in his previous life, Lee Han was a soldier. To be exact, he was a soldier by choice, who served for ten whole years. Because of this, he was extremely good at training.

He had done countless training sessions such as training in the hottest and coldest weather, as well as RTT(Regiment Tactical Training). Of course, he also had done the 100 km march.

Then again, if someone had been in the military for ten years, they would definitely have experienced all kinds of training.

However, Lee Han was not that proud of it.

Because every time he finished the training, he felt so exhausted that it felt like his health was burning out. There was nothing to be proud about, as the training felt like a torture.

That was why, in his eyes, there was nothing more irrational than military training. He didn’t think that way about the military as a whole though. Some of them had a proper training schedule and a properly established system, after all.

Actually, that was the case with the whole military except the division and unit I was in.

In there, he and his fellow soldiers were tormented by hellish training for two years, got all kinds of illness because of it, and there was nothing they could do about it. That was why he hated such training, because it was essentially just bullying and it left people with nothing.

How the hell did they think that seven days without sleep was okay?

Even though that damn battalion commander secretly went to BOQ (Bachelor Officer Quarters) to sleep and left us to suffer—!

In any case, what Lee Han was trying to say was he hated irrational training that only left the trainee with a bunch of illness.

A real training would leave something behind for the trainees, making them learn some skills that they could use later.

This was his personal ‘definition of training.’

That was why…

What I’m going to do from now on isn’t bullying. I’m doing this so that you all will grow stronger.

He had secured a valid justification for the training he was going to make the cadets do from now on.

And so…

“Alright everyone, since you all have had a good rest, let’s start doing some light exercise to sweat it out.”

-?

While wearing a black octagonal hat, Lee Han gave an order with a low voice.

“It’s just a light exercise, so just do 100 light jumps with your arms outstretched.”

-!!?

“No one answered? Fine, 500 times! You got it? 500 times!!”

-W-We will do it!

“Too late! All of you, say ‘Ah’ when answering. 1,000 times!”

-A-Ah!

“Your voice is too small! Fine, I’ll let it slide this time, but be prepared for next time. By the way, you have to shout the count properly, except for the last one, understood?”

-Ahhhhhh!!

“Okay, 300 times, go!”

The light warm-up exercise began.

However, there was a hidden pitfall in this light warm-up…

“…300 ! Ugh!?”

I knew it. Someone was bound to say it.

That last cheer was like an immutable law, and it always made Lee Han’s heart warm when he heard it.

He was excited to see how many times they would repeat this kind of mistake before they finally stopped.

That day, the light gymnastics—the high jump with arms outstretched—continued for a full two hours because there was always that one person who shouted the last count.

Even after the ‘warm-up’, the cadets still had a lot to learn. The instructor called it [PT gymnastics], and they had to memorize all fourteen gymnastics movements without missing a single one.

At some point, the order and the movements of the gymnastics were imprinted on their soul. Even though no one was smart enough to memorize it right away, they were still able to memorize the movements and orders in the end.

How was that possible exactly?

The answer was simple.

“Trainee number 14 is excluded.”

“Ah, ahh!”

“You will do movements one to fourteen in reverse, thirty times each. Do you understand?”

“Ah, ahh!!”

At some point, Lee Han started to call the sprouts cadets trainees. In the meantime, the five assistants wearing red hats which were different from the instructor’s black octagon hat, watched the trainees who were excluded due to making mistakes.

Those who experienced ‘exclusion’ managed to memorize the movements diligently and did their best not to make mistakes in the movements in order to avoid being excluded again.

At some point, eighteen sprout cadets experienced exclusion at least once, and from then on, the number of people making mistakes gradually decreased.

However, they only made the movements correctly.

“T-Thirty… Ugh!?!”

“Trainee number 12, you are excluded. The rest of you will start over from movement number 1.”

-Ah…!

They glared at the cadet who had shouted the last digits.

In order to finish this hellish gymnastics, they had to complete all 14 movements in order while shouting the numbers of repetitions. However, the instructor would always switch things up regarding whether they had to shout the last digits or not before they could truly finish the exercise.

In other words, they were in the mercy of the instructor’s vicious whims.

‘Fuck! Just tell us to not say the last digits! Why does he keep changing it!’

‘Idiots! How did you take the entrance exam with that brain!’

‘Damn! Damn! Damn!!’

The cadets felt like their whole body was burning. Not only that, their bodies also felt heavy, and they were stained with sweat and dust, it felt like they could collapse at any moment. Their minds were also fuzzy.

They all collectively thought that if hell really existed, it would be something like this. The instructor and the assistants were demons who tormented sinners in hell.

However, in that situation.

“All trainees, stand up and drink some water. You have forty minutes of rest. Go!”

– Ah, aaaaaaah!!

They shouted as best they could and moved like believers who had heard the word of God while wondering where the hell did this burst of strength come from.

Yes, even though he was a demon, the instructor was a good demon. Because, every time they felt their mind turned so hazy and felt like they were actually going to die right there and then, he’d give them a break, which was like a rain in a drought for them.

“Ughhhhhh…”

“I-I think I’m going to die.”

“…zzz.”

“This kid is already asleep?”

“…I think I could fall asleep right now too.”

The cadets drank the water and ate the sweet dates—which were so sweet that it made their bodies shiver—placed next to the water jug. As they stretched their bodies out under the shade of trees, they collectively thought that if heavenly nectar and fruit existed, then it would be something like these sweet dates.

This period of rest was like paradise for them. None of them made any unnecessary movements; all of them realized what it meant to rest their bodies to the fullest.

“Instructor, just how did you come up with this kind of training?”

Galand, who was wearing a red octagonal hat, looked at the instructor in admiration.

The training of the legendary mercenary group, the Wolves of the Wilderness, was famous for being harsh and vicious. Since he had experienced it for so many times, Galand felt like the training the instructor gave to the cadets was very similar to the training that the Wolves of the Wilderness’ fresh bloods received, but it was even more systematic and stable in some ways.

“I noticed you squeezed out all the strength and flexibility of their body to the limit with this training. When you start to feel concerned about them suffering any injury, you’d immediately tell them to rest. The principle is similar to striking iron.”

Unlike Galand, who experienced such a training before, Arno used his extraordinary observation skills to conclude that this training wasn’t completely unreasonable. While yes, the cadets would suffer some mental pain and stress, they wouldn’t be pushed to the point where their bodies would actually break.

It was also like this for those who got excluded.

“Kunta did what Instructor said! Excluded some cadets that seemed hurt! Did Kunta do a good job?”

This was the reason why there were trainees who would occasionally be excluded even though they only did minor offenses.

“…I secretly shouted the last count as you instructed, but if I get caught, they’ll probably treat me like a traitor…”

And this was the reason why there were so many ‘mistakes’ on the last counts. Damien Paulet was the one who did it. As he said, if the cadets were to catch him in the act, they’d definitely lynch him without hesitation.

“Even if you get caught, don’t say I ordered you to do it. Say that you did it as a joke.”

“…They’ll stab me to death, though?”

“And?”

“!!?”

Unlike the temporary assistants, Lee Han didn’t treat Damien like a human being.

“But, Instructor. Are we going to continue this training?”

And today’s MVP assistant was none other than Irene Windler, who used her magic to prevent the cadets from suffering from heatstroke. By the way, the dates—which were supposed to be snacks for nobles—were supplied by her. Even though she was just an adopted daughter, she willingly spent her money like a real young miss of a ducal house.

“They did everything well enough. I’ll make them do this for a week.”

“Is there any specific purpose for this training?”

“Of course. It’s to increase their physical strength through muscle training—nope, that’s just my secondary reason. The real reason is that I want to give them experience. I’m forcing them to feel what it’s like when all your strength has been squeezed out of their bodies.”

“…I don’t think they can endure it for that long then…”

No matter how much they rest and how limited the training was, if the training kept happening for a week…

“You don’t need to worry about that, I have something useful.”

“Something useful?”

“Hmm… Fine, since I have some time, I’ll show you.”

With that, Lee Han left the place with his assistants.

What if the cadets were to run away when they left them alone?

Then, they should just do it.

Lee Han had no need for those who ran away because they found the training hard.

After all, there were no shortcuts to become strong.

Everything depended on one’s effort.

If they couldn’t even put the barest effort, it would be better for them to just leave now. Lee Han had no intention of forcing them to stay.

However…

I still have to give them a reward.

As he thought so…

“…This is?”

“A-A hot spring?!”

In the place where Lee Han took his assistants, there was a natural hot spring. An enormous hot spring to be exact. It was as wide as a sports field and deep enough to make even the 2-meter-tall Kunta fall in and struggle.

And all that width and depth was completely filled with clear, warm hot spring water.

“Oh my…”

Leaving them in a surprised state, Lee Han continued speaking.

“Once upon a time, a slave trader was looking for a secretive place to build his villa, and he happened to find out that there was a hot spring in Vulcan.”

“…A slave trader built a villa on a sacred mountain?”

“Well, this hot spring was the only thing he ended up building. When he was trying to build his villa, he got caught.”

“Who… Ah.”

There was no need for the assistants to ask who it was who caught the slave trader.

Why would he know of this place if it wasn’t him who did it?

“Do you want to know what happened to the slave trader?”

“…No.”

Looking at the instructor’s ominous smile, the assistants felt it was better not to hear it.

“But can you really show us this place? If there are people with bad intentions in the future…”

The hot spring was beautiful and magnificent. It possessed an atmosphere that even nobles would covet. That was why, if they weren’t careful, there was a risk that the place would be taken away by them.

A simple rumor being spread might lose them the whole place.

However, Lee Han just snickered.

“Even if they knew, they wouldn’t find this place. Vulcan is called a sacred mountain for a reason. Its environment would change like a maze every time someone climbs it. Scholars said that the mountain would actively try to drive out or kill people because of the mystical magic power that it possessed. If someone were to climb it with greed in their hearts, Vulcan will start its volcanic activity again on that day.”

Magic and mystical ability wasn’t something that humans originally possessed, but they existed everywhere in nature. Those were the words of the legendary great mage and wiseman Merlin.

Vulcan was one of those natures that was filled with mystical ability.

“But, we climbed it…?”

“That’s because I know how to get here. Besides, I don’t really want to harm the mountain.”

“…I see.”

Though he said that, the assistants were sure that such a reason wasn’t all there to it. The fact that the mystical mountain allowed him to climb it held the implication that the slave trader he caught was a ‘villain’ who was so disgusting that he made even the mountain itself feel uncomfortable.

And because he beat that villain without hesitation, Vulcan allowed him to climb the mountain. Because he was with them, it allowed them to climb it too.

This wasn’t just their speculation, but something they were completely sure about. There were records passed down through their families, mercenary groups, and tribes that served as the basis for their thoughts.

…And if the records are true, if they were to harm the mountain, they would be banished or cursed by it at some point.

What a great man.

He was someone who was favored by the mountain that had [mystical ability]. But, the man himself did not consider it an achievement.

It was natural for warriors to feel respect towards a man who had accomplished something.

“I got off track, but anyway, if we have this hot spring, neither you nor them will suffer from any injuries caused by the training.”

“…Does this hot spring have any special effects?”

“It’ll help you recover from wounds, heal your joints, boost your natural healing powers, beautify the skin and make you more healthy? There were a few more, but I can’t remember…”

“…”

At that moment, the assistants’ thoughts were all unified.

I need to build a good relationship with him.

That way, there might be a chance for me to visit this place again later—!

At that moment, the knight unintentionally gained the loyalty of his disciples.