Chapter 43: Fair Instructor (2)

Twenty days.

It had already been twenty whole days since the cadets of the Swordsmanship Department first set foot on Vulcan Mountain. In other words, it had been twenty days since the cadets risked their lives for training.

Risking their lives.

If someone were to hear that, they would probably think that statement was just an exaggeration. However anyone who had seen with their own eyes the way those cadets were training from the start up until this point wouldn’t have the slightest doubt about it.

That was how harsh and brutal their training was.

“Keuuuuuk!”

“Climb! We have to climb! If we fall from here, we’re going to die…!”

After a week of training, they climbed the mountain’s cliff for the first time. Before that, they had been wondering why the instructor would end their PT exercise even though they barely did it for two hours. It turned out that he did it so that they could climb this dizzyingly steep cliff—a new exercise that could strain all of their upper bodies.

Not only was the cliff extremely steep, it was also tall. Which meant, if they were to fall down they’d either die or become disabled for life. Since they didn’t want either of that to happen to them, they climbed the cliff with all their might, shedding both tears and blood.

Though, the only people who could climb all the way to the top of the cliff were the three assistants and Roen, while the rest of them fell down in the middle of the climb. They were all saved by Irene Windler though, who was waiting at the bottom with her telekinesis.

Since it was the first time the cadets ever climbed a cliff in their entire life, it took four days for them to successfully climb it.

But, the moment they made their way all the way up…

Thud-!

“From now on, carry this bag when you climb the cliff.”

“…”

That was when the cadets became sure that the instructor was a demon.

After all, in their eyes, only a demon would order others to carry sandbags while climbing that steep cliff.

However, none of them questioned him. By now, they had learned not to disobey his orders.

“I will show you how to do it first. Follow along.”

While the cadets had to carry 10 kg sandbags each, the instructor carried ten times that weight while climbing the cliff. Even if they wanted to complain, they just couldn’t. That man earnestly showed them an example with heavier weight than theirs, then came down to climb the cliff again, this time together with them.

Also, there was probably no one among the sprouts who did not receive his help.

Then, nine more days passed. At this point, all the cadets finally were able to climb on their own while carrying the sandbags on their backs.

“All of you did well. I guess there’s no need for you all to do PT gymnastics anymore since all of you have learned how to squeeze your muscles without it by this point.”

Hearing their instructor’s praise after going through those twenty grueling days, the cadets genuinely felt like crying.

It wasn’t because they finally heard something that wasn’t disgusting nor hateful from him, but because they felt like he finally acknowledged them. This fact alone was enough reason for them to shed tears, and everyone who trained during that time would agree with that sentiment.

After all, the instructor always trained with them. No matter how terrible the training was, he never stayed still. He always stayed with them until the end, even training ten times harder than them.

He always helped us…

Always brought us food when he climbed down the mountain…

And even gave us reports to replace our lectures… How can we not appreciate him?

There’s just nothing he didn’t help us with…

The cadets learned what a great role model looked like, and what it was that one needed to do to be respected by others.

In their eyes, their instructor was indeed a great man worthy of respect.

Now that twenty days had passed…

Even though there might be some cadets who harbored some grudge against him, none of them held any resentment or hatred toward him anymore.

Then again how could they when he led them by example, not by oppressing them with violence?

They weren’t beasts who couldn’t even recognize such a thing.

“From now on, save for the morning jog, I’ll permit you to do all the basic physical training on your own. I trust you to be able to do it without me telling you to.”

“R-Really?”

“Of course, I have no reason to lie to you. I’ve trained you well enough, you should be able to do that sort of thing on your own by now. Just keep in mind that whether you’re doing it earnestly or not will directly influence your future.”

“…”

“Please don’t become lazy. Don’t let your instructor feel ashamed of having taught you.”

“…”

-Ah!!!

At that moment, all the cadets shouted loudly.

But unlike their previous shouts, this time, it was filled with their utmost sincerity.

****  *  ****

“Compared to twenty days ago, their physical capabilities have improved significantly.”

“Those who know them before would find it hard to believe, for sure. They’ll probably think those guys aren’t the same person.”

These were Arno and Galand’s evaluation after seeing the current state of the cadets.

Twenty days ago, these guys were merely at the level of low-level mercenaries at best. Basically mayflies who could die at any moment.

But now…

They were no longer at that level.

“Maybe mid-level… No, actually, if they train well, they’ll probably reach the upper-mid-level mercenaries.”

Not only had their physical capabilities turned excellent, their spirit had also become extraordinary.

It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that they were at the same level as veteran mercenaries.

Not just any ordinary mercenaries, but mercenaries who belonged to the legendary mercenary group, the Wolves of Wilderness. This showed how high Galand’s assessment of their capabilities was.

“I can see them giving a good fight against my family’s disciples.”

Even Arno, the young prince of the Offen Family, the famed swordsmanship family with the most numerous disciples in the kingdom, held the same opinion as Galand. In fact, he was even seriously considering introducing Lee Han’s lessons to his family once he returned.

However…

“They still not good enough to kill a bear bare hands.”

“…I think your standards are a little strange, Kunta…”

“Children of our tribe only be recognized as warriors after they kill a bear, crocodile, or monster. If they are warriors, they aren’t afraid of a sorcerer. But, the sprouts are not that strong yet. If they fight a sorcerer, they will not win. They still weak.”

“…Mm.”

As they listened to Kunta’s clumsy, but at the same time, clear evaluation, Arno and Galand nodded their heads. They knew that by sorcerer, Kunta meant a mage, and they agreed that the twenty days of training wasn’t enough for those cadets to beat a mage.

However…

“We just need to fill out what they’re lacking from now on.”

Lee Han said to his assistants after hearing what they had to say. Before long, the cadets looked at him with anticipation.

“Chick Number 2.”

“Y-Yes!”

“Bring that here.”

“Understood.”

Irene Windler followed Lee Han’s order as if it was the most natural thing to do so. It was as if she had formed a telepathic connection with him as she had been doing her job as his assistant; she knew what it was that she needed to bring without being told.

And that was something she secretly felt proud of.

Boom-!

The ground shook as a considerable number of trees were dropped down one by one by her. Those trees were either dead or rotten trees that had been pulled out of their roots or cut down.

Tak-!

“You’ll understand when you get to touch them later, but these trees are thick and hard. While they’re either just rotten or dead trees, they are trees that have grown under Vulcan’s harsh environment. It would be strange if they aren’t tough to deal with.”

Even without touching it, the cadets could already tell the trees’ strength just by looking at it. Not only did they look enormous, they even exuded a strange aura.

They were just dead trees, but they still looked this impressive, making them wonder how strong must the still living trees of Vulcan be.

Once again, the cadets were struck in awe of the mystical power that Vulcan had.

“Alright, firstly, don’t be scared. I’m not showing you this to discourage you, but I have to let you know. Magic freaks are people who can move even such heavy trees on their own.”

“!!?!”

Lee Han didn’t make Irene move these trees because he found it annoying to do so. He was trying to show the cadets what those who had the abilities to control magic power, and possessed the powers of the world of spell could do.

“This tree should weigh at least 1.5 tons… So, was it easy to lift this one, Chick Number 2?”

“Ah, answering that question is a little tricky! So, telekinesis is like, wrapping the tree entirely in magic power then lifting the magic power along with the tree.”

“How many trees can you lift at once?”

“If I go all out, maybe four?”

“Hmm, I see.”

Irene casually said such a thing that could easily be passed as nonsense, meanwhile Lee Han just believed her words without batting an eye.

Hearing that conversation, the cadets felt a chill running down their spines.

Lifting four such trees at once meant that she could roughly lift six tons at once.

To be able to handle such a massive mass at will…

This revelation reaffirmed the belief in the cadets’ head that mages weren’t called objects of fear for nothing. They deserved to be called a one-man army. Those people could easily control the situation on the battlefield on their own.

However…

“There’s no need to be scared.”

Lee Han scolded them in a calm tone, warning them that they shouldn’t make the training they had put up until now to waste.

As the cadets raised their heads, they saw the instructor’s bright and confident smile.

“You probably thought that their strength is more unreasonable than you thought. After all, they could manipulate that much mass at once at will, and we haven’t even talked about their abilities to manipulate other strange and mysterious powers. Number 2, can you cast a fire spell?”

“Um… Fire isn’t my specialty. I usually only use water and wind to create the world of spells…”

Her statement was surprising to say the least. If there was a mage among the cadets, they would have been left dumbstruck by it. After all, most mages could only use one attribute, their specialty that they were proud of.

And yet Irene clearly stated that she could use two.

Dual attributes. It was an amazing trait that only archmages would have.

However, Lee Han the magic hater wasn’t really interested in how great of a mage she was. He wore an indifferent expression on his face.

“Stop your yapping. Can you use it or not?”

He just went straight to the point.

“I-It’ll take time, but I can.”

“Alright, then cast a fire magic on that tree and throw it at me with all your might.”

“…Sorry?”

“Don’t ask any questions. Just do it quickly.”

“…Yes.”

Though Irene’s whole body was trembling, she still followed his order.

Crackle-!

In an instant, the tree that she had lifted into the air was covered in fire.

Irene Windler. A mage known as the genius of the century. It was said that no other talent like her would appear in the next 100 years, that was the reason why she was receiving so much attention.

And now, a mage of such caliber was pouring her magic power to cast a fire magic. Her performance was enough to make everyone who saw it tremble in fear. The temperature of the fire was already a big deal, but its density was on a whole other level entirely.

The burning log wasn’t just a mere burning log anymore, but a giant spear enchanted with fire magic.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it a [siege weapon].

But that weapon…

“S-Should I really throw it…?”

“I told you to stop asking questions. Just throw it with all your might.”

“…Gulp.”

Irene Windler swallowed dryly before following his words.

She used all her magic power to activate her telekinesis, so the force behind it was so great that even she couldn’t pull the tree back after throwing it.

Whoooooong-!

Has there ever been a scarier trunk of a tree?

The tree in front of them wasn’t flung for the purpose of ringing the bell that signaled the eve of a new year. Instead, it was flung for the purpose of penetrating through said giant bell.

Despite that, Lee Han didn’t retreat an inch against it. He only casted his gaze forward.

“The body of a trained human is strong. However, most people don’t know how to utilize the strength of their bodies.”

Crunch-!

Lee Han’s feet dug into the ground, anchoring his body to it, as if declaring to everyone who was seeing him that he wouldn’t retreat even a single step.

“But, if you could utilize that power, depending on how you handle it, it’s possible to do something like this.”

Without any hesitation, he rotated his body and threw a punch.

It was a straight punch, a clean and neat punch. One could even call it exemplary. However, even though it was a simple punch, his posture looked more firm than anything the cadets had ever seen before.

Whoosh-!

As he rotated his body, the air around him created a vortex, and when he extended his fist…

Everyone wondered how such a simple act looked so magnificent. And the next moment…

Kwaaang!!

They could hear the sound of two strong objects colliding.

Common sense and the laws of physics dictated that a human body would be thrown away or torn apart when facing such a force directly.

However…

Crack-!

…The thing that broke down here wasn’t the human made of skin and flesh, but the incredibly thick and hard tree.

“I-It was split in half?”

“…”

“Am I dreaming right now…?”

None of the cadets blinked, but they still couldn’t believe what they had just seen. The sight was just that unbelievable to them.

After accomplishing such an unbelievable feat, Lee han turned his body towards the cadets while shaking off his uninjured hand as if it was nothing.

“This is what it means to utilize your body’s strength to throw out a punch. Though, honestly, I’m still a little awkward in that regard.”

“…Haha.”

His declaration was so absurd that the cadets laughed out loud.

“…Is there a name for that punch, Instructor?”

Roen threw such a question at Lee Han calmly.

However, unlike usual, there was a small amount of anticipation and nervousness in his face.

Hearing that question, Lee Han blurted out the name that contained the goal he wanted to reach with this punch someday.

“Hundred Steps Divine Fist.”

Unfortunately, that name was still too grand for a punch that could only hit an object within a radius of ten steps.