Chapter 107 (2/2)

“I don't understand. What's so wrong for a spearman to throw a spear?”

“Who said I wouldn't?”

PANG!

The Thrust. In an instant, the sound of air exploding rang out from the tip of the spear. Startled by the noise, Kazuki doubted his ears belatedly.

“W-What?”

“I'll use it! I'll use it, but…!”

PANG! PANG!

His Strike and Cut began to carry the same shockwaves as his Thrust. However, Seol Jihu remained oblivious and shouted without rest.

“I'm saying I don't want to just throw my spear!”

“But why?”

“What if there's a situation where the Mana Spear doesn't work?”

“You're right, that can happen. If there's a situation like that, just leave it to us. There's a reason Earthlings move around in teams.”

“What if the team is in trouble when my Mana Spear doesn't work!?”

“Are we playing 21 Questions?”

Seol Jihu laughed. It was a clear, derisive laugh.

“Want to know what I heard!? I heard that the Banquet is full of uncertainties and randomness!”

Kazuki became speechless.

“Can you guarantee what you just said?”

“You can't!”

“No one can be sure about anything! So what's wrong with wanting to prepare for that one in ten-thousand chance!?”

Seol Jihu roared as if he was shouting his death throes.

“I don't want to stand there unable to do anything, like that time Chohong collapsed…!”

From the way he was babbling on, it sure looked like he'd gone crazy. Kazuki smacked his lips and let out a long sigh.

“…Crazy fool.”

Crazy fool. Do I look like a crazy fool to others?

Fine, they can call me crazy all they want.

After finally finis.h.i.+ng his 3,000th Thrust, Strike, and Cut, Seol Jihu threw his spear down and began running like crazy.

Just like that, the fifth day went by as did the sixth. Finally, the seventh day dawned.

That was also the first day that a hint of bitterness appeared on Jang Maldong's face.

There was a time when he thought this. That it was his fate to come to Paradise.

He couldn't be blamed. He had a Gold Mark and two Innate Abilities, neither of which anyone else seemed to have. Furthermore, everything he did was smooth sailing. He remembered snickering to himself, thinking that if a protagonist existed in Paradise, it had to be him.

However, this thought started to fall apart when he left the Neutral Zone. Seol Jihu wasn't the protagonist. He felt it.

When he looked around even a little bit, he saw people who were a thousand times stronger than him. Because he always put himself in missions exceeding his capabilities, he almost lost his life multiple times.

He survived pitifully and desperately. He was nothing like what the protagonist would look like.

It was the same for getting stronger. The protagonists from novels got stronger easily by finding treasures and having fortuitous encounters.

But he wasn't like that. His talent was exceedingly average, and although he was giving it his all, he wasn't seeing much progress.

And now, even the abilities that made him special were beginning to strangle him. It wasn't anyone's fault but his.

He could only arrive at one conclusion – to put in effort.

The moment the youth realized that he wasn't special, the only thing he could do was put in painstaking, bloodcurdling effort.

This was the reason Seol Jihu didn't quit this h.e.l.lish training.

Suddenly, his escape from the Delphinion Duchy's laboratory popped up in his mind. When he was hungry at first, all sorts of food bounced around in his head. Then, he suddenly thought of the refres.h.i.+ng taste of c.o.ke but ultimately desired water.

To be more precise, his body began to crave water. His brain, his head, his organs… every cell in his body searched for it.

It was the same with training.

At first, he was approached by all sorts of temptations: to take a break, to rest when no one is watching, or to take a sip of water and smoke a cigarette.

The temptation would tell him, 'Why don't you take it easy?'

But once he pa.s.sed this phase, he became reluctant to give in. Even if he wanted to take it easy, he gave it his all because he didn't want to waste everything he'd endeavored before.

From that point on, no thoughts entered his mind, and his body moved on its own.

But just like Agnes said, even the strongest willpower had its limit.

A silent night. Seol Jihu had been unable to complete today's training due to his piled-up exhaustion and was staying up alone to finish it.

'…What number was I on…?'

Was that the fortieth?

He looked up at the mountain peak with half-closed eyes. He staggered side to side as if he would fall at any moment. Then, he felt something 'snap' in his head.

'Huh?'

When he opened his eyes, he saw the ground. He was just about to climb the mountain slope, so why was he seeing dirt?

'…Ah.'

His mouth widened. He seemed to have lost consciousness for a couple of seconds. However, he didn't really care.

'…The end….'

He felt the strength supporting his body leave.

'…Should I lie down?'

It's fine. I just have to faint.

'I'm not quitting.'

It's just that I have no choice but to faint.

Right, it was an impossible training regime from the start.

Kazuki said it too. That this training was designed to make me quit.

'Let's lie down. I did more than enough.'

Slowly, he grew closer to the spider-filled dirt. A thin smile emerged from his widened mouth.

'I just have to close my eyes.'

It will feel like heaven when I lie down on the wet dirt. It will cool my heated body and embrace me gently.

'It'll be comfortable….'

Since there's something blocking my path like a wall, it's not like I can run anyways….

'…Wall?'

Strength entered his lifeless eyes. Even at this moment, he was getting closer to the ground. On one hand, he felt a strange sense of deja vu. Almost like he had experienced this once before….

Just as his face was about to touch the ground, the youth's complexion was suddenly captured by his mental conflict.

I want to lie down. I want to lie down and close my eyes….

Kwak!

His hands touched the ground by a hair's breadth.

'Wall!'

The wall! The wall had finally come for him. The moment before his collapse, he finally saw the limit he could overcome.

Now what?

'I have to overcome it.'

He focused strength into his arms and pushed himself up. He stepped forward onto the mountain slope with his screaming legs. And thus….

“Uwaaaaaah!”

Seol Jihu began to run once more.

'Crazy.'

That was the evaluation Jang Maldong gave after watching Seol Jihu reach the mountain peak. He thought the youth would finally collapse, but he put his arms out at the last moment and pushed himself up. He then managed to run to his destination.

'You…'

In truth, he never expected him to follow his training. In gaming terms, it was as if he defeated a boss that couldn't be killed by dealing damage to it. In war terms, he had broken his way through ankle mines, PMD series mines, M16 mines, claymore mines, trap wires, and even anti-tank mines.

'Just what—'

At this point, it wasn't a simple matter of being stubborn or tenacious. The human body was more honest that one might think. Even if someone tried to hold on with their willpower, the brain would cut off all signals if things seemed dangerous.

But the fact that he was going this far…

'Just what are you?'

…Meant that he had endured pain exceeding this training. Although Jang Maldong's training sought to put his life at risk, it was still a simulated risk. The youth had clearly confronted multiple, real life-threatening experiences.

While Jang Maldong was standing in shock, Seol Jihu ran to the other mountain peak, leaving only a single hill behind.

One step, then the next. Soon, he slowed down and faltered.

Jang Maldong stared at him nervously before blinking his eyes in surprise.

“You….”

He was crying. What was he so frustrated about? His eyes were still rolled back, but he was gritting his teeth to continue climbing.

Jang Maldong was about to subconsciously make his way down but stopped. He bit his lower lip before opening his mouth, “…There's one left!”

When the youth staggered and almost fell, Jang Maldong scowled and struck the ground with his cane.

“Hurry up! Are you going to give up now when you're almost done!?”

Twitch. Seol Jihu flinched.

“Uuk… heuk….”

With his trembling arms and legs, he clenched his teeth and held back his tears before finally managing to return to the starting point!

Crash. A tumbling sound rang out the moment he arrived. Soon, his trembling body sprawled down.

After a moment of silence, Jang Maldong opened his mouth.

“What's the reason?”

“I've lived a long life, but I've never seen anyone like you. What's the reason you're going so far just to partic.i.p.ate in the Banquet? Crazy brat!”

“…Neutral Zone….”

It seemed he hadn't fainted yet as mumblings came out along with his panting.

“I became blind… without any preparation… skeletons….”

“Almost died… so… I vowed….”

Words that were hard to understand came out of his mouth.

“…I see your determination.”

With a short sigh, Jang Maldong threw what was in his hand. Tk. A fist-sized pouch landed next to him.

“It's Competence.”

Seol Jihu's eyes shone. There was Competence among the village head's medicine? No, Paradise had Competence?

“Competence…?”

“What's there to be surprised about? Most items in the Neutral Zone were made in Paradise.”

Now that he thought about it, it really was like that. Psychi's Tears was something a Paradisian concocted as well.

“Well, I didn't think I'd see it here either. After all, its brewing method disappeared when the Empire fell.”

“Because of its rarity, it should fetch a nice price…. Do you want to sell it?”

Seol Jihu shook his head vehemently. Why would he sell it when he desperately wanted them? Jang Maldong opened his mouth as if he predicted as much.

“Then starting from today, drink one bottle before you start your training. The quality of training will go up starting tomorrow. You might be able to pull it off if you drink that Competence.”

When Seol Jihu opened the pouch and saw bottles filled with milky liquid, his head shot up.

“…Pardon?”

“Nothing's changed.”

Jang Maldong grumbled with a somewhat solemn voice.

“What matters is that you lasted another day. I'll pack my bags the moment I see you slacking, got that?”

Jang Maldong turned around. He paused his steps before he went back into the cave and spoke with a softened expression.

“…Rest. It will only get harder from tomorrow.”

No, perhaps it was more appropriate to describe his expression as 'I lost'. If Ian knew, he would most certainly fall backward in shock. After all, the youth had defeated the old man who was known for his stubbornness.

“Go take a shower too before you come back. You smell horrific.”

Hmph. With a snort, Jang Maldong slowly disappeared into the cave.

Seol Jihu remained collapsed on the ground for a while before he staggered up. When he held the pouch in his hand, his exhausted expression became dazed. He had been too out of it to notice before, but a few message windows were hovering in the air.

[Trait 'Tenacity' has been created.]

[Trait 'Patience' has evolved to 'Self-command'.]

[Your Stamina stat increased from 'High-Low' to 'Low-Intermediate'.]

He'd done it. Having the second part of the stat change wasn't an easy thing to do. Not only did it require more points to increase them artificially, but there was also a huge difference between Low and Intermediate.

What mattered was that Seol Jihu didn't use points to level it up. Unless one was an athlete who trained regularly, the Strength and Stamina stats were extremely difficult to breakthrough by training. However, Seol Jihu managed to succeed.

'It didn't increase for the longest time.'

That was to be expected. Although Seol Jihu never skipped out on training until now, he had never pushed himself to his absolute limit. That was why his stats were maintaining their current rank without going up.

But the harsh training he endured in the past week had combined with what he had built up until now, resulting in this increase in Stamina. Once he let his body recover, he would be able to feel the difference.

Seol Jihu got up with a lighthearted face. He couldn't help but feel ecstatic. During the past seven days, he had to constantly fight himself without rest.

Of course, as a former gambling addict, this wasn't the first time he fought with himself. However, he had only lost until now.

But today….

“…Hehe.”

He had acquired his first victory. So how could he not be happy?