Chapter 63: Man-Eater vs Man-Eater(?) (1)

During the exam period, the industry that enjoyed the boom in their business was surprisingly none other than the quarry.

It was because of the finale of the exam, [Battle with the Rock Troll].

For the event, the Academy purchased large quantities of high-quality marbles and solid rocks dug out by the quarry.

However, only the nobles and the members of the upper-class who managed the quarries got to enjoy the booming business. As for the workers, they definitely didn’t enjoy it at all. If anything, they were all being overworked than usual during this time period.

Kwaang-! Kwaang-!

Inside a certain bad facility that didn’t even have proper equipment for any quarry works—save for some pickaxes, huge hammers, and nails—the quarrymen were constantly hitting a gigantic mountain rock that had been cut off from the rest of the mountain.

“Keep your rhythm! Don’t lose your posture!”

“Idiot, you’re doing it too quickly! You fu—!”

“Stay alert! Or else your neck will break!”

At the same time, loud scolding could also be heard inside.

But, such a thing was inevitable in this line of work, as a single mistake could easily endanger everyone else’s life. Although, they weren’t normally such rough people. They were only on edge right now because they had to dig out the huge rock in its entirety.

While they wanted to make money, their lives were also precious to them. And so, they became more aggressive on the clock.

At that moment…

Kwaang-!

“This dumbass—!”

One of the new workers who had joined them today caused an accident. Due to his mistake, large cracks that only grew bigger over time appeared in a part of the gigantic mountain rock.

Crack-!

“H-Huh? H-Huuuh?!”

“Stop dawdling like a moron and get out of there already!”

The loud foreman shouted.

In this line of work—where a mistake could cause a big accident—they usually provided a manual just in case, but even the most complete manual would say that if something like this were to happen, running away to a safe place was the best course of action one could take.

While everyone was in such a hurry to do exactly that…

“W-Wait…!”

One of the rookie workers’ legs froze. The unexpected situation probably made his legs lose all of their strength.

“Gus—!”

One of the other workers called out his name and tried to help him, but… It was already too late.

Boom-!

The cracked rocks fell one after another.

In the face of a disaster such as a rockslide, humans were helpless. Everyone’s pace turned pale as they thought that one of them would turn into a clot of blood due to this accident.

But then…

One particular guy grabbed the worker by the scruff of the neck and dragged him to dodge the rockslide.

“…Huh?”

“Get a grip, you punk. How long are you going to be like this?”

“…”

“You’re not cut out for this job. Just get the hell out of here and find another job.”

“…T-Thank you.”

“Even when thanking others, you’re still a slowpoke.”

“…S-Sorry.”

Even after hearing the words of the man who saved him, the worker still nodded slowly.

As the man had said, he really wasn’t cut out for this job.

“Mister Lohan, thank you very much! If it wasn’t for you, I’d need to order a coffin for today.”

“Pfft, what for? Not like you could find the body in that rubble.”

“…C-Can you please stop saying such ominous things…?”

“Sure. Anyway, if you’re really grateful to me, why don’t you raise my pay a little, hm?”

Lohan, the worker, curtly responded before continuing his work silently. Even though such a big rockslide had just happened, no one made a big deal out of it and as they all continued their work.

The accident was terrifying in a lot of ways, but the workers just accepted that it happened and moved on. After all, the accident was just a result of a mishap. In a world without labor unions or labor rights, no one would make a big deal of a simple accident like this.

Besides, these kinds of accidents were pretty much a daily occurrence. Some people were even happy that it happened, since a rockslide meant that a huge amount of smaller rocks fell off the gigantic rock, and that would get them to finish their work quicker.

“Of course I will! I’ll ask the higher-ups to give it to you. I mean, we won’t need to pay the labor cost of the guy who caused the accident anyway. They wouldn’t mind if I were to give you his share instead.”

“Now, I can feel your sincerity in that.”

Kwang-! Kwang-!

“…Huh, your skills are pretty good. Have you ever worked somewhere else prior to this?”

The foreman assessed Lohan’s skills, and he was instantly amazed by it. That was how extraordinary his skills were.

“It’s nothing much, I just picked up some skills from here and there.”

“Hehe, that means you’re quite experienced, huh? Good, good!”

The real quarrying work was to cut the rocks down to the size where they could be loaded into the carriages. After all, if they were too heavy, no one was going to be able to move them.

Except that the only tool given by the overseers to cut the rocks was a pickaxe. With that in mind, the worker’s strength and skill became extremely valuable. Hence, skilled veterans became valuable personnel in this place—especially considering that the worker’s life was always at risk.

Look at his steady blows… He isn’t just any ordinary guy…

Kwang-! Kwang-!

In Lohan’s case, with each hit from the pickaxe, the stone was chiseled. This wasn’t something that could be performed with just enough strength, one also needed the know-hows and the right techniques.

That was how great this particular worker was.

I need to scout him even if I have to pay him a little more!

Every industry always suffered from a lack of talents.

That was why the foreman’s eyes lit up when he saw such talented personnel in front of him.

…Man… Everyone who likes me is an old man… What did I do to deserve this…?

Lohan, the worker who cut the rocks nonstop, no, the knight who had changed his name to become a quarryman, couldn’t hide his forlorn expression. When he found out that the owner was staring at him intensely, a deep sadness enveloped his heart.

He couldn’t help but compare himself to a certain status window guy who received the exact same gaze except from a beautiful noblewoman instead.

Fuck my life, fuck it!

He felt an urge to throw the contents of his stomach out, but he decided to just silently continue his work. With the pickaxe in his hand, and a mask covering his face—to block out the dust and various other things—he kept hitting the rocks below him.

“Huff! Huff!”

The mask he wore actually made it hard for him to breathe. It was a specially made mask. While it was able to block out 99.9% of quarry dust and fine dust alike, the downside was that it would hinder one’s breathing to an absurd degree—at least that was what the merchant who sold it to him said. He found out that he was telling the truth, though.

That was why, the more he moved his body, the quicker his stamina was consumed.

However, he actually found the mask quite useful. With this mask, he could finally feel where his limits lied.

Kwang-! Kwaaang-!

Why the fuck are these rocks so fucking hard—?!

The rocks he was trying to break were harder than normal rocks, so his hand trembled whenever he swung his pickaxe down.

While the foreman thought that he was breaking the rocks easily, to him it wasn’t easy at all. After all, the more he swung his pickaxe, the more stamina he spent, and the more shock was sent to his body.

Since he had been working five times harder than others, his body was already reaching its limits. He could feel his overworked wrists and forearms screaming in pain; a sign that those areas would suffer from injuries at any given moment.

Under normal circumstances, he could just ignore such pain, but now, it actually made him dizzy. After all, no matter how good his resilience was, it still had its limits.

Training 18 hours a day is a torture, as expected…

For the past eight days, he had been doing the exact same training routine.

The moment he woke up, he ran for two hours straight.

Then, he strapped a log on his back to do cliff climbing for three hours.

After that, he’d practice his martial arts for five hours.

He also ate more than seven times a day, then took a nap after each meal.

After all that, he spent the rest of his time in the quarry.

Since he barely had any rest, his mind and body grew weary, slowly but surely. While he could rely on his body’s regenerative powers to keep on going, after one or two days, its effectiveness diminished by a lot. He had been going for eight days, so it was only natural that he was about to reach his limits.

“…”

Kwaaang-! Kwaang-!!

But he didn’t stop.

Instead, he kept on hitting the rocks harder and harder, as if his life depended on it.

Clench-!

He thought he already knew how to use his strength, but the more he swung, the more he could feel a new sensation surged through his body. It was the movement and flow of power, as well as concentration and somatization.

The more he repeated the routine and tried to master it, the deeper and more intense the somatization became.

It was a training method that only he—someone who possessed a special constitution and had been repeating this process for years—could do.

At some point…

I see it now…

My limit…

Worker Lohan, no, Knight Lee Han became even more focused.

The moment one were to reach his limits, they’d see a crossroad.

A crossroad to decide whether one would grow or fail.

Whoosh-!

It’s here!

He instinctively realized it.

The ‘thing’ he had been waiting for, the thing that would make other warriors consider themselves lucky if they were to experience it even once in their lifetime. It was here.

A state of selflessness—a state where someone lost themselves in.

After forcing himself to the limit, he finally entered that state.

Lee Han swung the pickaxe, forgetting his own existence, his own movements, everything.

Where will this state of selflessness lead me to?

He himself didn’t know the answer to the question.

However, he believed in himself, in his efforts, in the time he had spent trying, and in his determination to achieve his goals.

Kwaang-!

Kwaang-!

Bang-!

Meanwhile, his body kept repeating what he had been doing.

Even though he had forgotten about his movements as his eyes started to lose focus. He was observing every part of his body.

And then, he realized. An extremely small, extremely minor change occurred inside his body.

Woooong-!

It changed the ‘flow’ in a subtle way.

And that meant…

Slice-!

He had achieved the best result possible.

“…Ah.”

When his unfocused pupils returned to normal, he almost lost the strength in his legs for a moment.

“Hey, Brother Lohan, do it moderately. If you push yourself too hard, you might end up in a ditch.”

“…How long have I been like this?”

“Huh? It hasn’t even been a minute?”

“A minute, huh…

“A-Are you hurt somewhere? D-Do you need to go home now?”

“…”

While the foreman was worried that his precious ace got hurt, Lee Han was inspecting the results of what he had accomplished.

…It’s worth the challenge.

The rock he had struck down was extremely hard. Until now, he had only been able to break it.

But now…

“Huh? Why is this rock cut-section like this?”

“Lohan, how did you do this?”

“I just…”

The pickaxe didn’t break the rock, but rather split it cleanly into several pieces as if it was an axe cutting through wood.

After confirming what had happened, Lee Han…

“…Did it, I guess.”

Answered as such with a shrug.

On the 12th night of the exam period. The knight had finished ‘bulking up’ to prepare for the emergency that would soon occur.