Chapter 101

Episode 101. The Talent of Knowing When to Give Up (4)

The first week of Keter-style training.

The trio ran like crazy across the vast training ground. Their stamina, which increased day by day, was now enough to easily handle 100 laps.

So they thought they wouldn’t be made to run anymore, but they were wrong.

“From now on, you’ll take turns playing tag. The main instructor will chase number 1, number 2 will chase number 3. If you’re caught by the tagger, you switch roles. At exactly 6 PM, the one who’s the tagger will be punished, and the survivors will be rewarded. Sounds fun, right?”

Tag. Whether commoner or noble, it’s a game everyone plays at least once in their childhood. But the tag they remembered wasn’t this harsh.

The 7th Training Ground, artificially created to resemble a mountain, replicated the characteristics of mountainous terrain. Irregular hills, dense forests, trees, and even rocks were scattered around.

This was where they had to play tag. For over seven hours. And they couldn’t half-ass it. Keter had clearly laid out the rewards and punishments.

Even without rewards or punishments, the trio would have gritted their teeth and pushed through for the sake of growth. But with rewards and punishments on the line, their eyes changed.

Keter didn’t specify what the punishment or reward would be, but everyone knew. The punishment from Keter would be terrifying, and the reward would be sweet.

Keter was generous with rewards, more than anyone else. For example, Jairo received 500 gold per session of sparring with the trio, and even got free treatment.

“When do we start…?”

*Tap.*

Number 3, Taragon, was about to ask Keter a question when he felt a touch on his shoulder from number 2, Anis.

Anis was already running away.

The rule of tag: if you touch your opponent, the tagger changes. Taragon’s face twisted.

“Ah, you…!”

*Crash!*

Taragon quickly chased after Anis. In an open field, it might have been different, but in the narrow visibility of the mountains, losing sight of your opponent meant game over.

Luke, who had the Misfortune Detection Ability, was also already running. It was natural, given that his opponent was Keter.

But Luke couldn’t focus in the rough forest environment. Going straight at full speed was impossible. His nerves were on edge from the trees blocking his path and the slippery rocks.

In the end, he had to zigzag carefully, but changing direction sharply while maintaining speed was harder than he imagined.

‘Keter must be the same, right?’

Glancing back, Luke was shocked.

“Are you running with your eyes closed?!”

Not only that, but Keter was moving smoothly, avoiding obstacles and running with ease.

Even on flat ground, closing your eyes makes you lose your sense of direction. Running straight becomes impossible. Yet Keter was running through the rugged mountains.

For Keter, this level of penalty was natural. If he didn’t close his eyes, it wouldn’t be training.

This training was for the trio, but also for Keter. If they played tag normally, Luke wouldn’t even be practice material. Keter could catch him in less than a minute. That wouldn’t yield any training results for Keter.

Deliberately slowing down wouldn’t help either. So he closed his eyes.

Training to give up sight and maximize other senses. Keter was tracking Luke based on numerous pieces of information.

He determined Luke’s location by the sounds he made while moving, and confirmed the positions of trees and rocks by smell. Since other senses took over the role of sight, it was inevitable that his speed would decrease.

Unsurprisingly, Luke started to pull ahead. The distance between them grew. But it didn’t matter. Keter had already figured out Luke’s movement pattern.

While running, he nocked an arrow.

Without looking, he released the bowstring.

*Twang!*

“Ugh…!”

Luke ducked in shock.

An arrow whizzed past his head.

‘What kind of tag is this?! And is he really running with his eyes closed? Not squinting?’

Luke also had a bow and arrows. But he didn’t dare shoot. With his opponent behind him, he’d have to turn his body sharply to shoot.

Taking his eyes off the path in a place full of obstacles? For Luke, who relied entirely on his sight, it was an impossible task.

“Ugh!”

He was distracted for just a moment. But in that brief moment, Keter’s arrow grazed Luke’s ankle.

Distracted, Luke tried to dodge a branch in front of him but stepped on a wet leaf and fell.

After rolling a couple of times, Luke shook his head and got up, only for Keter to flick his forehead.

*Whack!*

“Ow!”

Keter, who had flicked Luke’s forehead, immediately ran away. Of course, still with his eyes closed.

Clutching his forehead, Luke gritted his teeth.

‘Keter already knows the weakness of my reflex ability. That’s why he attacks without hesitation.’

Luke had also learned a lot about his abilities during his time in Ruquer. His reflex ability had a clear weakness.

It only activated if someone other than the attacker was within a 30-meter radius, and it didn’t activate against self-harm.

There was no time to relax. Luke, ignoring the throbbing pain, began chasing Keter.

* * *

*Ding-dong!*

The bell signaling 6 PM echoed through the 7th Training Ground. Some laughed, while others punched trees in frustration.

Keter looked at the trio. Their expressions made it clear who had won and who had lost.

Taragon, with a frustrated expression. Luke, resigned. The punishment for the two was a candy-like pill.

Meanwhile, Anis, who was smiling contentedly, also received a pill.

Contrary to expectations, all three received pills. But there was a huge difference in color.

“Eat it before it melts.”

Luke and Taragon looked down at the purple pills in their palms.

“My palm feels tingly, Instructor. This isn’t poison, is it?”

“It’s not poison.”

“If it’s not poison…”

Luke, thinking that as long as it didn’t kill him, he’d be fine, popped it into his mouth. Taragon also closed his eyes tightly and ate it.

“Gah!”

“Ugh!”

Immediately, Luke and Taragon clutched their throats and collapsed. Then they started dancing on the ground.

“Number 2. Ignore them and enjoy your reward.”

Anis put the blue pill in his hand into his mouth. He secretly hoped it was an elixir.

“Huh?”

If it were an elixir, it would melt on contact with his tongue, like the Cheongryeonghwan. But the pill Keter gave him was hard.

“Is this…?”

The sweetness on his tongue. And a slight sourness. We decided to call it candy.

Keter also put a candy in his mouth and said, “I made it. Does it taste bad? Want to spit it out?”

“N-no…”

After running around for seven hours, was this all they got? The candy was delicious, especially after sweating and feeling hungry, but it didn’t feel like a reward worthy of their effort.

‘Maybe not.’

Anis looked at Luke and Taragon writhing in pain. Compared to that, rolling sweet candy in his mouth was a thousand times better.

What Luke and Taragon ate was a pill Keter made called the “Self-Determination Pill.” It made you feel all kinds of pain throughout your body without causing actual harm. It was mainly used to torture nobles who couldn’t be injured.

“Boss! I’m here.”

At that moment, Jairo appeared at the 7th Training Ground.

Anis couldn’t believe it.

Keter nudged Taragon and Luke with his foot.

“Get up. Number 1, Number 3. Break time’s over.”

“Ugh…”

It was excruciatingly painful, but not exhausting, so the two got up. They blinked at Jairo.

“Why are you all looking like that? Did you think you’d just play tag all day and call it a day?”

“But Instructor… We’ve already used up all our energy in tag. We couldn’t beat Jairo even at our best, and now that we’ve used up our Heavenly Power, there’s no chance.”

“Enough with the condition talk. Number 2. If you keep talking about conditions, you’re out. Conditions or not, fight when you’re told to fight.”

Jairo showed what Keter meant. He immediately charged at the trio.

Unprepared, the trio quickly fell. Moreover, knowing that their injuries wouldn’t be treated anymore, they became passive in their attacks, focusing only on evasion and defense.

“I don’t know where the momentum from the first day went. If it weren’t for the boss’s orders, I wouldn’t have trained you at all.”

Jairo, who rarely spoke harshly, scolded the trio and stepped back.

A 30-minute break was given to recover their stamina and Aura.

Keter didn’t offer any advice during this time. He silently continued his own training, the self-harm training method, making the most of his time.

“Taragon, sir. Let’s talk for a moment.”

During breaks, everyone rested separately, but Luke approached Taragon.

“Luke. I was about to talk to you too. Do you have any more candy?”

“…Save it. I don’t have much either.”

Luke gave Taragon a candy and got to the point.

“About fighting Jairo. If we keep going like this, we’ll never win. We need to work together.”

“Aren’t we already fighting together?”

“I mean going beyond just three people attacking one. Beyond cooperation, we need to coordinate.”

“Coordination beyond cooperation? Like what?”

“We’ll have to think about that step by step. With Sir Anis.”

“Hmm, I also can’t see a way to beat Jairo like this. It’s hard to even follow the techniques Keter taught us. It’s better to try something than just blindly charging in. Alright. I’ll talk to Brother Anis.”

Taragon went with Luke to find Anis. And he repeated what Luke had said.

“Brother. Let’s beat Jairo with coordination beyond cooperation. Even if we fail, it’s worth a try.”

Anis, sitting on a rock resting, looked at Taragon.

Taragon was flustered by Anis’s reaction. He expected at least some interest, but Anis looked at him with pity.

“Is this Sir Luke’s idea?”

“Sir Luke suggested it first, but I agreed and brought it to you.”

“Then you’re both idiots.”

“…?!”

“Don’t discriminate between means and methods. I understand that too. If we coordinate like you said, we might be able to push Jairo and win. But tell me. Have you forgotten why we’re suffering like this?”

“To get stronger, right?”

“What does it mean to be strong? Haven’t you learned anything from watching Keter? The winner is strong. We call Keter ‘Instructor’ and endure this insane training to win. At the Southern Sword Tournament.”

Taragon looked indignant. He also wanted to get stronger to rank high in the Southern Sword Tournament.

Anis shook his head.

“You’re misunderstanding. We’re not training to beat Jairo now. We’re training to win at the Southern Sword Tournament. How does the three of us beating Jiero here help us win there? Especially since Sir Luke isn’t even participating in the tournament.”

“…!”

Taragon’s eyes widened.

Luke also seemed to realize his mistake and clutched his forehead.

“I’m also lacking, but I didn’t expect you to misunderstand this much. Keter’s intention isn’t for the three of us to beat Jairo. It’s for each of us to beat Jairo individually. That’s why Keter taught us techniques and concepts. To instill both nature and intent.”

Even though Anis thought this way, they fought Jairo three-on-one because fighting him one-on-one now would end in seconds.

Hearing Anis’s words, Luke and Taragon felt ashamed. They had been so focused on the one-dimensional goal of beating Jairo that they forgot the most important thing.

In real combat, you have to fight as if there’s no one to watch your back. This wasn’t a place to learn teamwork or cooperation.

“I’m sorry, Brother. I was mistaken. Thank you for pointing it out.”

Taragon, though embarrassed, didn’t forget to thank Anis for the advice that helped him correct his mindset.

“Thank you too, Sir Anis.”

Luke also bowed his head, and Anis stood up.

“No. Hearing you two talk, I realized we’ve been complacent because there are three of us. From now on, let’s take turns fighting Jairo one-on-one.”

Luke and Taragon couldn’t refuse. They agreed it was a good idea, and the trio, now spread out, resumed their training.

The sparring began again.

Jairo charged at Luke but felt something was off. Arrows should have been flying from Taragon and Anis, but they weren’t.

Glancing back, he noticed Taragon and Anis observing, not participating.

“Haha, are you trying to beat me one-on-one? You’ve gone completely mad!”

Despite his harsh words, Jairo was smiling.

Tag in the morning.

Sparring with Jairo in the evening.

The trio’s week flew by.

*Thud!*

An arrow lodged in Jairo’s shoulder. It was a shallow wound, not reaching the bone, but it was the first time. Jairo had allowed an attack.

Luke, Anis, Taragon.

The first among the trio to injure Jairo was an unexpected person. Not Luke with his special ability, nor the genius Anis.

“Not bad.”

Against everyone’s expectations, it was the ordinary Taragon who succeeded in injuring Jairo before the other two.