Volume 1 Chapter 5 (1/2)

《Mercenary training basic course》

There was a reveille

”Wake up! WAKE UP!” The trainers shouted

Haroon jumped out of bed surprised by the sound What came into his eye was unfamiliar objects He realized it wasn't his room

'Wha… What's going on?' He thought

He thought it was a dream for a moment It took some time for him to remember the situation

'Oh right, I'm still in Beyond, and I'm still in the Mercenary Acade his head to wake up from the sleep

When he was still in his thought, he could hear the other student rushi+ng out Haroon juht, he heard froround

Between the two buildings and the dor in, there was a wide place that few hundreds could fit in Many trainees already have gathered in that place

The trainees couldn't hide their anxiety and excite around Haroon found that trainees had different costues seemed to vary so much

”Quickly! Hey, you Yes, YOU Stand here Everyone, behind this trainee, In columns of 10!” Said a man with a powerful voice

Haroon turned his face tohere the voice came from There was a man with solemn face and handsome mustache He is probably one of the trainers

So trainees understood his words and lined up behind the one the trainer picked Only after seeing that, rest of the trainee ran quite disorderly and lined up As the training ground was so chaotic, he was late to realize that there were many female participants too

Overslept people hurried out of their room, probably because they slept in an unfamiliar place When the trainers couldn't see anyout of their room, one of them moved up on the prepared podium

”I'e of the course” he said

He had scary outlook, and even at first glance, trainees could see his skill are very high He was a bit thin, but his gaze was sa impression that he built up in his hardshi+p He had scars all over his body as his titles His as bold, and it was enough to make the mood very quite at once

He gazed upon the trainers with scary look for a while No one dared to face hied, but even they couldn't stand Schultz's sharp stare

”This IS a real mess! I'll let this slide for this time as today is the first day, but if you are late for the next time, I will show you what hell is Holy shi+t! This terrily shouted

He clicked his tongue at his pathetic trainees, and that made trainees feel small

”Do you really think you guys can receive this course properly if you are like this?”

The ground went silent As if Schultz liked that mood, he relieved the nerve a bit

”Al-right! It is your first day anyway, and we are running out of time, so I'll skip the 'lecture' But keep this in mind! If you don't even pass basic course properly, nevera mercenary 'cause you won't be able to survive the world at all I'icians, treasurer or officers, but that doesn't reat you are in th, you will be aa spell”

Haroon orrying about this since yesterday when Elser introduced him a basic course Since he is too weak, et along with others because of his age Since it was a basic course, he presuer participants in better shapes But that wasn't the case He was one of the youngest of all ¹

'Now I see that this course is for the icians That's a relief' Haroon thought

That explained why If this course was for coe of participants would be much lower

”OK, Here's the schedule Listen carefully and follow quickly because I a this one time only But before that, since you joined this course, you are all an equal trainee, not noble nor a peasant Therefore, you guys will be called by your assigned numbers, not by your name We, trainers, will treat you strictly and fairly for your i the basic knowledge, no uys are in So if you want to be treated well because you are a old one, ician, or female, you can leave whenever you want Do you copy?” Schultz continued

”Yes, sir!

Trainees answered loudly But Schultz's expression wasn't good

“It seems nobody understood Voices are always lohen they don't understand We were supposed to have breakfast soon, but now I don't see when it is gonna happen By the way, Canteen here will be open only during fixed meal time That is the rule without any exception Even the Dean won't be able to enter when it is closed”

He threatened the trainees with the food That cheap, old-school but strong method seems to exist both in Beyond and the real world

Haroon wasn't clear how the day flew by

There wasn't any physical training for that day But trainees received the orientation, and ite clothes, arned to was 123 Every item he received had that number written on it

In the afternoon, there were few lectures of course details and explanation of how important the course is

Fortunately, the course isn't so forced as other ones are Participants were ician, treasurer, officers, information director or medics so they didn't require too much physical ability But they were not used to the life with a tight schedule, physical training, nor co, so when they realized they even had fixed bedti

”Well, I guess I ah

Galli was staying in the next rooician, and he is quite aged to take the course He was co dulled every moment

”But you will gain some stamina at least” Said Haroon

When Galli was young, A ician lured him out and forced him to join a Mercenary to serve him as a servant It was later that he was able to learn soician He hated using his body so icians and tried his best to avoid this course But after seeing his co their body to protect him, he decided to take the course

”Sure, but I just hate working with body……”

He was ale so Haroon didn't have any word to comfort him In fact, Haroon also wasn't sure if he could pass the training But Haroon had a different motive Not only he desired for i how Elser has favored him Haroon was more passionate than the others, but he wasn't sure if that was because he was taking it as a game After the dinner, there was a summon of work-trainees

“Hmm, even work-trainees of this term is untrustworthy”

It was prime trainer Schultz He was the director of work-trainee too He didn't hide his disappointle one had really thin, weak body

”You guys were adive labor as the pay this course It is quite ad hardshi+ps, but I'uys can endure the pain of train and labor to make it 'till the end” he continued

Trainees clenched their teeth as if they were showing their determination Everyone had a different story, but their determination was on some level

”Can you?”

“Yes, we can!” four trainees answered loudly, but Schultz's face was still cringed orries

He continued

”There are basically five things you need to do Preparing ite the food waste after every ned to every one of you, and you will have to do it together”

It was already felt hard to hear But they nodded with silence

”The other two is cleaning toilets, including digging out the waste and cleaning the drainage These are quite occasional We will tell you when it is needed Well, if you guys are lucky enough, you ht not have to do it at all I will just tell you there always has been once in a term”

Trainees' faces becae They were expecting the first three, but they never thought they would do such a labor he mentioned

”Your ill begin toet some sleep Dismiss!”

Schultz left, but trainees couldn't s, especially about how hard the training would be

”Well, I'ician”

To be honest, he looked over 30It was quite late at his age, but Haroon could see that he was proud of being a ician

”I'ician”

As he was staying in a dorlad to hear that Haroon was a ician

”I' I'm 19 years old”

Mannen had a soft impression and looked weak as Haroon, but he had clear eyes

”I'm Rose I chose to becole It seeood friends, Oppa, hehe!”

Rose was small and had a cute face, and she see, she called others Oppa and brightened Mannen

”We got to start working toood sleep as Mr Schultz has said, and let'smeal I knew a friend who took the same course as work-trainee, and he said only the first month is hard and rest would betoday but I'm still quite tired”

As Moggle said, it was their first day and training hasn't started yet but they it was already very tiring Other three thought it would be better as Moggle's word shed some hope It will certainly be a help later on

They shook hands to cheer others up and parted to their rooms

Before Haroon could log out on his second night in the gaht away as he lied down in his bed Maybe he liked his room, or maybe he was just too tired

It felt like he closed his eyes just a ain Haroon jumped out of his bed, but he couldn't move properly He stretched his body He was satisfied with his current state

Thinking of ti for 5 and half hours, and took 2 and half hours of sleep His body was still fine He was sleeping well

It felt like he got used to Beyond's timeline His usual sleep time was 7 hours, but that was shortened to one-third

'Is this really OK for my health?' he worried

There were soa, all consoles had force-disconnect feature, but in rare cases, players' conscious never came back

'I'ot to ask Bell about this'

He doesn't know Bell that well, but she is an AI computer so she already would have collected data and inforh her, he would be able to learn a lot of things about the world that isn't like any games

The training was too harsh As soon as they woke trainees up, they didn't give any ti around the training ground They had an iron sword and they had little pockets of iron balls tied to their legs

Haroon checked the info of ite

──-

Training iron sword

Class: Common

Attack Dae: 25~30

Durability: 45/50

Weight: 5kg

A dull iron sword crafted for training purpose Mass produced with poor, low-quality iron It barely cuts anything

───

Training bags (Iron balls)

Class: Common

Physical Armor: 20

Durability: 62/80

Weight: 1kg

Training bags used to weigh arain strength and sustainability Once one gets used to the weight, hts should be added for its effectiveness

───

‘I shouldn't have checked’ he whined

Running around the training ground as big as a soccer field for ten times is very hard work for trainees who didn't use their body that s added up to 7 kilograms

Haroon got exhausted on his second lap His legs were tired and started shaking It felt like the ground was pulling his body like nets He was embarrassed about his capability, but behind him, he could see half of all trainees already fell down to the floor The word 'poor stamina' was still too rich for them

He clenched his teeth He didn't want to give up on his first training nobody will be able to blaround Instead, he will just round

”I won't let them happen!” he cried

He was teered in his ician or officers, but he really was nothing They eak, but they've got some skills but Haroon, he was a really useless person He didn't want to give up and rely on the others

He forced his tired legs On his third-lap, Haroon saw there were about the same nue Trainees running ahead of hi and they were expressionless as they were tired too, but on his back, he couldn't find a word to describe their tired faces All trainees alking, and not jogging anymore

”What the hell is these pathetic weaks?”

”Huh… This is the worst of all! Well, I've seen the naicians or healers, so I've been expecting it but it orse than that! Yikes! Can you hear Mr Schultz grinding his teeth? I mean, what can we do with this weaks? damn it”

He could hear two trainers' talking very clearly They didn't lower their voice But they weren'ton the students It was true anyway

”Yikes!” Haroon cried, biting his lower lips It started bleeding He realized how useless he was When everybody else was studying hard, he dropped himself out of school Without any education, dreath, he realized how out of shape he was, and he disliked, and was so embarrassed about himself

His legs felt like tons of weight, and it felt like his heart is gonna burst It was painful to breathe His body was covered with his sweat Some went into his eyes It poked his eyes like needles

'And this isn't the end I've got so whispered deep from his mind

There was tons of training waiting for hiets exhausted here, he won't be able to do any other training, nor any labor Rationally thinking, It

'But, I must!'

The result of falling for this temptation was a weak body and weak spirit If he was in the real world, he iven up already

But he was in the virtual world He can always start again even if he dies That situation allowed hiain perseverance that he could never have before

‘I can run I e!’

He screa to be weak He didn't look far away, he always looked for two or threeso hard that it was about to burst The leg was screa pain as if it was about to tear down

'You are not that useless You can run! You can't lose here Or you'll live your life like this forever!'

He kept screae senses He could feel he was running, so so much There were only about 20 trainers ahead Most of those running in ahead of him fell down or slowed down

'I''

It was a refreshi+ng shock to Haroon, who never was ahead of so s went nuone somewhen The heart went stable as well It was a weird experience

It certainly was himself He was very tired, but his body didn't collapse When he realized that, what filled his mind was very fresh, tasteful expression

Ecstasy!

He wasn't sure because he never felt that before, but this ht be what they call ecstasy The pride, satisfaction and the joy of going over hardshi+p kept his leg running He was in ecstasy Nothing came into his mind He was the owner of that place and that time

“HALT!”

Haroon felt so his body to stop, and heard a voice of the trainer at the same time His vision was blurry because of his sweat He opened his eyes wide and he could see Schultz holding his shoulders

”Well done I can see you do have souts”

Schultz carefully held Haroon's body as he was about to collapse He lied Haroon down on the floor and started s Haroon screa the pain up

”Endure If you don't stretch your muscle like this, you won't be able to move for a few days Trainee 123, you've done very well I presu run? You've control yourself very well”

”Agh, AA!”

”Huh-huh, I see your nuician, eh? It's been a long ti 10 laps on their first day I' on you Oh, you will need to s at least for 5 minutes

”Th…Thank you, sir”

Schultz's e was very painful, but Haroon thanked hi very ridiculous But he was s at the end

'I think I heard soht

But there was no ti at him with pain, and it overwhelmed the whole body constantly

There were about twenty trainees who co at the s They were surprised at hi a course

Was it because he was unco for his

Trainees had to suffer going to the canteen with their heavy legs They were able to take a rest after the breakfast, but Haroon and the other three They had to throw food wastes out Fortunately, it wasn't so far away but carrying buckets on a bar with their shoulder was very hard work

The head cook demonstrated how to carry the bar Only Once Four trainees had to rest every few steps The sun was hot too Moist food wastes were so heavy, but what made it even worse was the s was strong enough to numb their nose quite easily

Other trainees started avoiding the at theust

”Moggle, I' I should have stopped after just one or a couple of laps” Mannen cole

It hasn't been ten steps since his last complaint

“I gave up onto break all

Moggle didn't even seeth to talk but replied to hi how Rose was having difficulties carrying half of weight they were carrying They wanted to help Rose as she couldn't bear the weigh, but they were having difficulties as well Her face went red using every strength she had

'I can I must I need to shake off the shadoeaks'Haroon kept casting his spell on him

'Just one step more, and I will make it like last time'

His body was already exhausted, and it was begging Haroon for a rest, but their voice got lowered when Haroon re What one success brought him was not a simple success

Haroon didn't rest Other three went for three or four steps and rest for a bit, but Haroon alking very slowly, but without stopping The bar didn't bother to give any mercy and stae and hich started gaining control on the body

He was able to reach the duive a dull headache for a second The du as a small pond, and half of it was filled with food waste They were rotting, exhaled ss He didn't want to stay there any longer Haroon duhtened bar Haroon's body was crying with pain, but he only could ignore it for now

Trainees marched after the breakfast It was prepared asBut it was tooevery round

”I CAN DO IT!” Haroon shouted

Haroon eating Not because he was tired nor it was hot It was cold sweat breaking out because of pain Hison the earth But he had to endure

It was a battle of hi, but now he had everyone's expectation on his back They wereHaroon, but Haroon was only the one who coicians, so trainers were keeping their eyes on him He could see mere expectation fro their greetings

”Eek, da, Haroon All of us,ere the worst of every trainee they had You hear ot” It was Galli

Haroon was already tired of fighting with his ownsalt on his wound

”Galli, Let's go together, just a little bit more”

”No, I can't I'm already at my limit, fuck…”

Galli sith a low voice and sat dohere he stood Haroon was quite eager to stop for a s His exhaustedto stop hiht he will be able to do it because he has done it not once, but twice

It was always going to be an uphill battle It wasn't about how fast he gets there It was at his will, he thought So he always sought for onejust a few steps ahead But his as betraying hio rust and won't run, his flesh was getting out of his will's control

'damn it!, I'm almost there…… But I can't'

He could see the flag of Mercenary Academy with his blurry vision He was really close He was so upset about his body, but he could feel nothing on his legs He stopped his steps It was that moment

– You have leveled up!

– Stamina is increased by 1 point

– Wisdom is increased by 1 point

– New stat: 'Sustenance''

‘Hmm? What was that?’

He just realized he was playing a ga was so realistic, he forgot he was in the virtual world, and the voice reminded he was He checked his status

───

Name: Haroon

Race: Human

Class: –

Level: 2

title: Mercenary Trainee

Health Point: 170

Mana Point: 180