Ch.41EP.12 – The Knight Wore a Black Octagonal Hat (4)

In his past life, he was a soldier.

And not just any soldier, but a career military man for 10 years.

That meant he was well-versed in training.

He had undergone countless training exercises.

From extreme heat and cold weather training to RCT (Regimental Combat Training).

Not to mention forced marches over hundreds of miles.

Ten years in the military meant experiencing virtually every type of training there was.

…Not that it was anything to be proud of.

After each training session, he felt depleted, his health seemingly burned away. What was there to be proud of?

It was just torturing people.

That’s why Ihan believed nothing was as irrational as military training.

Not all militaries were like that, of course.

Surely there were proper training programs and established systems elsewhere.

‘It’s just that my unit and division never had anything like that.’

Just training that tormented conscripts for two years and left them with illnesses.

Hence, Ihan despised such training.

What use was training that blindly tormented people and left nothing behind?

‘That seven-day non-stop exercise was truly hellish.’

That bastard battalion commander, secretly sleeping in the BOQ (Bachelor Officers’ Quarters) while not letting them sleep at all.

…Anyway, his point was that he absolutely loathed irrational training that only left illness behind.

Something should remain.

Some skill should be learned that could be useful in the future.

This was his “definition of training.”

Therefore.

‘What I’m about to do isn’t torment. It’s all for your own good.’

Ihan secured a valid justification for the training he was about to conduct.

And so.

“Everyone, now that you’ve had your afternoon nap, let’s start with some light exercises to work up a sweat.”

-?

The man wearing the black octagonal cap issued commands in a stern voice.

“We’ll keep it light, very light. Now then—let’s start with 100 jumping jacks.”

-!!?

“No response? Make that 500! Understood? 500!!”

-Y-yes, sir!

“Your response was slow. And standardize your acknowledgment to ‘ACK!’ It’s distracting. Now, we’ll do 1,000 repetitions.”

-A-ACK!!

“Your voices are too weak! I’ll let it slide this time, but be prepared next time. Oh, and remember to count accurately, and there should be no acknowledgment on the final count, understood?”

-AAACK!!

“Good, 300 repetitions, begin!”

The light warm-up exercise began.

However, the trap in this warm-up was…

“…Three hundred…! Huh!?”

‘Yes, I knew that would happen.’

Like an immutable law, the final acknowledgment that always came warmed his heart.

Ihan was quite pleased, wondering how far they would go.

That day, the “light exercise” of jumping jacks continued for a full two hours because of those who shouted the final acknowledgment.

* * *

Even after the “warm-up,” they had much to learn.

They had to memorize, without exception, all 14 movements of what the instructor called [PT exercises].

At some point, the sequence and movements became ingrained in them.

None of them were smart enough to memorize it all at once, but fortunately, they were forced to memorize the exercises.

How was this possible?

Simple.

“Trainee number 14, fall out.”

“A-ACK!”

“Everyone else will perform movements 1 through 14 in reverse order, 30 repetitions each. Understood?”

“A-ACK!!”

The budding cadets, now referred to as trainees, were monitored by five assistant instructors wearing red octagonal caps different from the instructor’s black one, who made those with incorrect movements fall out.

Those who experienced “falling out” all desperately tried to memorize the movements and did their best to avoid making mistakes to prevent being singled out again.

At some point, all 18 novice cadets had experienced falling out once, and thereafter, the number of those making mistakes gradually decreased.

However, they only avoided movement errors.

“T-thirty… ugh!?”

“Trainee number 12, fall out. The rest will start again from movement number 1.”

-Ack…!

They glared at the cadet who had shouted the final acknowledgment.

To end this hellish exercise, they needed to complete all 14 movements in sequence, and when counting repetitions, they either had to add an acknowledgment at the end or not.

The instructor was vicious.

‘Damn it! Just tell us to stop saying it altogether! Why keep changing whether we should add the acknowledgment or not!’

‘These blockheads! How did they even pass the entrance exam with those brains!’

‘Damn! Damn-! DAMN-!!’

The scorching heat that seemed to burn their bodies.

Rolling in the dirt, sweat and dust mixing, their bodies feeling so heavy they might collapse at any moment.

Their minds growing increasingly distant.

They determined that if hell existed, it would be like this.

…The instructor and assistant instructors were demons tormenting sinners in hell.

But in such a situation.

“Trainees will now all stand up, drink water, and take a 40-minute break. Begin!”

-A-AAAACK!!

Like devotees receiving divine words, they shouted with all their might, somehow finding strength from somewhere.

Yes, the instructor was a demon, but a kind one.

Somehow knowing exactly when they were about to pass out or die, he granted them breaks like rain in a drought.

“Uwaaaaah…”

“I-I feel like I’m dying.”

“…zzz.”

“This guy’s already asleep?”

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

They drank water and ate dates so sweet their flesh trembled.

Feeling as if they were experiencing heavenly nectar and fruit, they collapsed in the shade of trees.

A paradise of rest.

At this moment, they didn’t make any movements, truly understanding what it meant to rest with all their might.

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

Garand, wearing a red octagonal cap as an assistant instructor, looked at the instructor with admiration.

Having experienced the notoriously harsh and vicious training of the legendary mercenary group, Wolves of the Wilderness, Garand felt it.

This training was very similar to what applicants to the Wolves underwent.

In some ways, it was even more systematic and stable.

“You push the body’s strength and flexibility to the limit, and as soon as there’s a risk of injury, you allow rest. It’s like forging iron,” Arno de Ophen observed.

His extraordinary observation skills, like Garand’s, recognized that this training wasn’t simply unreasonable.

While there was certainly mental pain and stress, it didn’t push the body to the point of breaking.

The “falling out” was the same.

“As instructor said, Kunta made people fall out if they looked like they might get hurt. Did I do well?”

This was the reason why trainees occasionally fell out for minor infractions.

“…As you instructed, I secretly made the final acknowledgment sometimes. But if I get caught, I think I’ll be branded a traitor…”

The reason for the strangely frequent acknowledgment mistakes.

It was Damian Pollet’s work, and if discovered, he would be lynched by all the cadets.

Well, even if discovered…

“If you get caught, don’t say I told you to do it. Say you were playing a prank.”

“…Then I’ll get stabbed.”

“So what?”

“!!?”

Unlike the temporary assistant instructors, Damian wasn’t treated like a person.

“But Instructor, are we continuing this training?”

And today’s MVP assistant instructor.

Irene Windler, who had magically prevented heat stroke and other heat-related illnesses.

Incidentally, the dates served as snacks were also thanks to her.

As expected of an adopted daughter, she had the spending habits of a duke’s daughter.

“Everyone did well. We’ll continue like this for a week.”

“Is there a purpose?”

“Physical improvement and muscle development are secondary. First, I want them to experience it. To forcibly engrave in their bodies what it feels like to squeeze out every ounce of strength.”

“…I’m not sure if they can endure it.”

Even with appropriate rest and limits set for training, if this were to be repeated for a week, it seemed a bit…

“Don’t worry about that. I have something good.”

“Something good?”

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

Ihan took the assistant instructors away.

What if the cadets ran away while left unattended?

‘Then let them run.’

He had no need for those who would run away because it was difficult.

Where is there a shortcut to becoming strong?

Everything is effort.

If someone couldn’t even make the minimum effort, it would be better for them to leave now, saving Ihan time.

He had not the slightest intention of forcing them.

However.

‘I should give them a proper reward.’

Whoosh.

“…What is this?”

“Oh, a hot spring?”

Where Ihan had taken the assistant instructors, there was a natural hot spring.

And it was huge.

The size of a sports field and deep enough that even Kunta, who stood 2 meters tall, might struggle if he fell in.

All that width and depth was filled with clear, warm water emitting steam.

“My goodness…”

Leaving the surprised assistants behind, Ihan continued.

“Long ago, a slave trader discovered that there was a hot spring vein on Mount Vulcan while looking for a secret location to build his villa.”

“…A slave trader tried to build a villa on the sacred mountain?”

“Well, he only managed to build the hot spring before he was caught.”

“By whom… Oh.”

There was no need to ask who.

What other reason would he have for knowing about this place?

“Want to know what happened to the slave trader?”

“…No, thank you.”

Seeing his ominous smile, they somehow felt it would be better not to hear.

“But is it alright to show us a place like this? If someone with ill intentions were to learn of it…”

Such a beautiful and magnificent hot spring.

Even nobles would covet such an environment, and there was a risk of it being taken if the wrong person found out.

Or if someone spread rumors.

But Ihan snickered.

“This place? Even if others knew about it, they couldn’t find it. Mount Vulcan isn’t called a spiritual mountain for nothing. The environment changes like a maze each time you climb it. Scholars say the mysterious magical power of Vulcan itself makes the mountain try to expel or kill people. If someone comes up with greed, Vulcan might resume volcanic activity that very day.”

Magic and mystery don’t exist only for humanity.

They exist throughout nature.

This was what the legendary archmage and sage Merlin had said.

Mount Vulcan was one such natural feature that contained mystery.

“B-but we climbed it, didn’t we?”

“That’s because I know how to climb here, and I have no intention of harming the mountain.”

“…I see.”

The assistant instructors felt it wasn’t just that.

For a mountain containing mystery to permit an individual meant that the slave trader he had beaten was a “villain” despicable enough to displease Vulcan.

And because he had unhesitatingly beaten such a villain, Vulcan allowed him to climb the mountain, and because they were with him, they too could climb.

This wasn’t a prediction but a certainty.

Records passed down through families, mercenary groups, and tribes served as evidence.

…And according to those records, if they harmed the mountain, they would be expelled or cursed at some point.

‘He’s an extraordinary person.’

The great achievement of being favored by a mountain that contained “mystery.”

Yet he didn’t even consider it an achievement.

It was a natural progression for warriors to respect a man who had accumulated achievements.

“We’ve gone off topic, but anyway, with this hot spring, neither those guys nor you will have to worry about your bodies breaking down.”

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

“Wound healing, joint repair, activation of natural healing powers, skin beautification, and health promotion? There were a few more, but I can’t quite remember…”

“……”

The assistant instructors thought.

Let’s try to get on this person’s good side.

That way, they might have another chance to visit this place.

Unintentionally, the knight gained the loyalty of his disciples.