Chapter 96

Episode 96. The Law of Trash Preservation (4)

The human body has instinctive limitations.

There is a limit to exerting power beyond what the body can endure. However, there are times when these limits are lifted.

When you must protect someone more precious than your own life.

Or, when your own life is in imminent danger.

All physical abilities, including strength, reflexes, vision, and the five senses, are enhanced at least fivefold.

But this extreme power is temporary and causes severe fatigue and damage to the muscles. Moreover, the power exerted in such critical situations cannot be used at will.

Heavenly Power (天力) makes it possible.

Of course, it cannot be used indefinitely. You can only draw on it for about 10 minutes a day.

You can use it longer, but since the body can’t endure it, the recommended time is strictly 10 minutes.

“Instructor. What is Heavenly Power?”

“They say humans only exert their maximum strength right before death. Heavenly Power is what allows you to do that even in normal times.”

Even after hearing Keter’s explanation, the three of them had blank expressions.

It wasn’t that they didn’t understand.

Rather, the problem was that it was too easy to understand.

“So… Instructor. Are you saying you’re going to push us to the brink of death now?”

“Do you think you’re going to die now? No. You still have some strength left. It’s tough enough to feel like dying, but not actually dying.”

Keter flicked his finger.

Then, the waiting servants approached Luke, Anis, Taragon, and Brooks.

Clank, clank.

Bracelets were fastened to their limbs.

The four of them were equally horrified.

“Ugh, what is this? It’s heavy!”

The servants also fastened bracelets to Keter’s limbs. Keter, now wearing the bracelets, spun them around and said,

“Heavy? Each bracelet only weighs 5 kilograms.”

With bracelets on both arms and legs, that’s a total of 20 kilograms. Of course, active knights can run around even in 50-kilogram armor, but that’s only when they’re in peak condition.

Combat is fleeting. Knights don’t usually wear heavy armor; they only put it on right before battle.

“Ugh… This is insane.”

“Alright, let’s run before your bodies cool down.”

Keter started running, and the other three reluctantly began running again, tears in their eyes.

“Huff, huff…?”

After three laps, Anis saw something strange.

Thud, thud!

The servants were digging the ground with shovels. Quite deeply and widely.

‘What’s this? Are they going to bury us alive if we stop running?’

Knowing Keter, he was more than capable of such a thing, so Anis felt a chill run down his spine.

A while later, after fifteen laps, the trainees’ speed drastically slowed down. No matter how much Keter urged them, it was no use.

“Your legs won’t listen? Then crawl. If you crawl one lap, I’ll let you rest.”

At the promise of rest, they abandoned all noble dignity and began crawling around the training ground.

The deputy commander of the Holy Knight Order, respected by 150 knights and a direct descendant of a prestigious family, was now crawling pathetically on the sandy ground.

“I-I’ve arrived.”

Anis, who arrived first, buried his face in the ground, gasping for breath. Luke and Taragon followed, and much later, Brooks arrived.

Keter crouched in front of them.

“Trainee number 2. Are you so exhausted that you can’t even move a finger?”

“…Yes.”

“Do you feel like you’d rather die than move?”

“Yes!”

“Well, that’s not quite the case.”

Keter gestured to a servant behind him. The servant handed over a jar.

Splash.

Some kind of liquid drenched Anis’s torso. It was slippery and viscous.

“Ugh, is this… oil?”

Keter also poured oil on Luke, Taragon, and Brooks, then chuckled coldly.

“Hehehe, even if I beat you to death, you wouldn’t be able to exert Heavenly Power. Because you firmly believe I won’t kill you. Even if I brought someone else, it’d be the same. You’d think, ‘I’m not going to die, right?’ and feel relieved. But what if it’s not a person trying to kill you?”

Click. Click! Whoosh.

The three who had been lying down just moments ago raised their heads. The sound coming from Keter. It was unmistakably the sound of lighting a match.

And their bodies were drenched in oil.

“In-Instructor. No way? Even if you’re serious, haha.”

Luke’s pupils trembled. But the match in Keter’s fingers flew mercilessly into the air.

Flick, whoosh!

“Aaaah!”

Luke’s body, lying on the ground, caught fire.

Just moments ago, Luke couldn’t even move a finger, but now he was rolling on the ground.

“I anticipated this and poured oil on the ground too. Get up! Do you see that puddle over there? I added a solution that washes away oil fires. If you don’t reach it in time, you’ll be roasted, kekeke.”

“Gaaah!”

Luke jumped up and started running toward the puddle. His speed was astonishing.

Next were Anis, Taragon, and Brooks. The three had already jumped up upon seeing Keter light the match.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Their bodies also caught fire.

Since Luke had already demonstrated, the three didn’t scream, but they were still scrambling to run.

Splash! Sizzle!

Luke, who arrived first, jumped into the puddle.

The trio followed suit, throwing themselves in.

“Pull them out.”

The servants fished out the four floating in the puddle.

They were unharmed. There weren’t even any burn marks on their skin. It was possible because they had protected themselves with Aura.

Of course, that doesn’t mean Aura can indefinitely block the flames. It only protects until the Aura is depleted, so if you don’t jump into the puddle before then, you’ll be roasted.

Covered in dirt, singed by fire, and soaked in water, the four looked like a complete mess.

They didn’t look like nobles, let alone members of a prestigious family. They looked like soldiers who had fled the battlefield.

Keter smiled with satisfaction.

“Amazing, isn’t it? You thought you couldn’t move. But because you wanted to live, you found the strength. But once the problem is solved, your body feels heavy again.”

“…….”

The four couldn’t even respond now.

Keter was even more pleased by their state.

“Finally, you’ve shut up. The fact that you can still speak means you’re still in good shape.”

“…….”

Keter gestured to the servants. The servants brought towels and began wiping down the four.

‘Is it… over?’

‘Sniff, finally, it’s over.’

‘I can’t believe such insane training exists.’

‘I just want a glass of water.’

The four thought the training was finally over. Otherwise, why would they be wiping them down?

Splash.

‘……?’

Oil was poured over their dried bodies.

“You definitely exerted Heavenly Power just now. But you don’t know how you did it, right? Your body just moved. That’s not good. If you don’t feel anything, it’s just me torturing you. This time, observe how you can exert Heavenly Power. Especially pay attention to your head.”

Click, whoosh.

“Alright, time to run again.”

The four’s bodies caught fire again. The ones who looked like corpses got up and started running.

The greatest fears humans feel are the fear of falling and the fear of burning. Among tortures, burning is considered the worst.

Watching the four run like undead, Keter muttered.

“Such drama. If I had learned like that, I’d have no regrets.”

How does Keter know about Heavenly Power? Because he had a teacher who taught him.

What the four are undergoing now is a ‘training’ that replicates real combat as closely as possible.

But Keter awakened Heavenly Power not through training, but through real combat.

Climbing a cliff hundreds of meters high without food or water.

Fighting cannibal tribes bare-handed.

Finally, awakening Heavenly Power perfectly by fighting an Ogre bare-handed in the arena.

The Heavenly Power teacher said to Keter, who had learned everything:

“Kyahaha! Congratulations on reaching the 5th stage of Heavenly Power, Keter! You can be proud! Among the successors of Heavenly Power, less than ten fingers have reached the 5th stage, including you and me! But you’re still far. Keep striving. Challenge yourself to reach the final 12th stage. You can do it!”

“Teacher, what stage are you at now?”

“Kyahah! I’m at the 8th stage. While teaching you, I found clues to reach the 9th stage!”

“You’ve killed Swordmasters, and you’re only at the 8th stage? If you reach the 12th stage, can you kill gods?”

“Killing gods is possible even at the 10th stage!”

“You’re bragging again. Just yesterday, I heard you fought the Emperor for a month.”

“If I hadn’t needed to take a dump, I would’ve won!”

That was the last memory Keter had of his Heavenly Power teacher.

‘Ending with a damn poop story. Is that guy still alive?’

The Heavenly Power teacher didn’t even reveal his name. After teaching Keter everything, he descended into the underground of Ruquer.

“Young Master Keter. It seems Young Master Taragon has fainted.”

At the servant’s words, who had pulled Taragon out of the water, Keter lifted Taragon’s eyelid.

“He really fainted.”

Keter took out a thin needle from his waist pocket and stabbed Taragon’s neck.

“Who said you could?”

“Gah!”

Taragon flailed like a fish out of water.

Anis, who was on the verge of fainting, regained a bit of consciousness.

‘That crazy bastard….’

Anis didn’t even have the strength to open his eyes. Breathing itself felt difficult.

Keter’s lively voice echoed clearly in his ears.

“If you’re smart, you don’t need to suffer. Anyone who can stand up straight right now will finish today’s training.”

“……!”

The trainees began to squirm like worms. It was a desperate struggle to get up and end this day.

After watching the situation for 10 seconds, Keter shook his head.

“Heavenly Power is a technique that forcibly unlocks the body’s limits. So, what principle unlocks the body’s limits? It’s the will of the mind and body. Does your heart beat because it wants to? No. It beats even without your intention. Even while you sleep, your heart beats. Awakening Heavenly Power is the opposite. You have to open what’s closed. Find the muscles that control it and take control. It’s possible with just willpower, even without using Aura.”

Keter waited another 10 seconds.

“If you’ve found and opened Heavenly Power, it’s time to get up.”

Keter gave a signal. The servants, looking weary, began wiping the four dry.

“It’s better to realize now. Your Aura is probably running low. There’s no one here to save you. Remember, you have to survive on your own.”

Third ignition.

The four get up to survive. Like moths to a flame, they run toward the water, lighting up the darkening night.

“Huff, huff.”

A change occurred.

The cycle of falling into the puddle and fainting was broken.

Luke, who successfully escaped the puddle on his own, walked toward Keter.

“Guh.”

Luke, who had come right in front of Keter, collapsed forward, his eyes rolling back.

Keter checked Luke’s condition at his feet and shouted at the remaining trainees.

“Out of the first two, number 1 has arrived. The two who failed will run ten laps around the training ground before returning.”

“F-first two?”

“Only one spot left?”

The looks in Anis, Taragon, and Brooks’ eyes changed. This time, it was no lie. Luke had been carried out on a stretcher by the servants.

All they had to do was reach Keter.

Then, they could rest!

Splash!

The three emerged from the puddle almost simultaneously. With every step, their bodies convulsed. Their legs trembled like newborn calves.

Anis was leading among the three.

But the difference was slight.

“Huff!”

Taragon, taking a deep breath, picked up speed. To the watching servants, it didn’t seem like much, but Anis felt a great threat.

Was this what a snail race looked like?

The three’s walking speed was tediously slow, but to them, it felt like riding a galloping horse at full speed.

“Ugh, Young Masters. Please help this old man just once.”

Brooks, now confirmed to be last, pleaded, bringing up his age. But Anis and Taragon didn’t even glance at him.

Thud!

Though he had unlocked Heavenly Power, Brooks, whose will was broken, gave up halfway and sat down.

Taragon had almost caught up to Anis. They were close enough to see each other if they turned their heads.

The two looked at each other but didn’t speak. They didn’t have the strength to open their mouths. But just by meeting eyes, they conveyed what they wanted to say.

‘Taragon, I never thought you’d be by my side. You’ve improved a lot.’

‘Brother, I’m not the same as before. I’m sorry, but I’m going in to rest now.’

‘What?’

Thud!

Taragon’s stride lengthened, and Anis’s eyes widened.

Anis couldn’t match Taragon’s stride. He didn’t have the energy. If this continued, he wouldn’t make it into the top two.

The distance began to grow. Taragon was now a step ahead of Anis. One more step, and Anis would see Taragon’s back.

In that moment, a glint of malice appeared in Anis’s eyes.

‘I can’t lose.’

He couldn’t lengthen his stride.

But reaching out his arm was possible.

Anis’s hand grabbed the back of Taragon’s neck.

“Huh?”

Taragon, who hadn’t expected Anis to grab his neck, momentarily lost focus, and his Heavenly Power vanished.

Thud!

Taragon fell to the ground, looking up at Anis with teary eyes.

But Anis didn’t even look down at Taragon, keeping his eyes forward as he walked.

Finally stopping in front of Keter, Anis collapsed backward, lying flat.

“Following trainee number 1, trainee number 2 has arrived in the top two. Numbers 3 and 4 will run ten laps around the training ground. Begin.”

Perhaps out of final mercy, Keter removed all the bracelets from numbers 3 and 4.

“Sniff, sob.”

Taragon sniffled while lying down.

Keter looked down at him and asked.

“Are you upset that number 2 grabbed your neck?”

“Yes. If he hadn’t, I would’ve been second!”

“On the other hand, isn’t it about not getting caught?”

“……?”

“Number 2 made the best choice. He judged that he couldn’t be faster than you and chose to hinder you. To win, to survive. But what did you do?”

Thud.

Keter pressed hard on Taragon’s cheek.

“Number 2 did something dirty and despicable to win. What did you do, number 3? You were complacent, confident of victory, and let your guard down.”

“……!”

“If you could turn back time, would you let number 2 grab your neck?”

“I wouldn’t.”

Thud!

Keter grabbed Taragon’s hand and pulled him up.

“As long as you’re alive, there’s a chance. If there isn’t, make one. Understood, number 3?”

“Understood…….”

“Run, ten laps.”

Taragon started running.

Keter watched his retreating back for a moment, then turned his head.

Seeing Brooks lying comfortably and resting, Keter smirked.