“Ugh…”
“Ugh…”
Looking at his fellow trainees crawling sluggishly, Jo Ga-ju also moved his shaky legs towards his spot. Barely managing to sit cross-legged, he immediately entered a meditation state.
“Huff…”
After finishing his meditation, Jo Ga-ju flopped back onto his bed. He felt a bit better after the meditation, but it was still far from enough to recover his body, so he aimed to rest a little.
Jo Ga-ju glanced around the dormitory. Those who were at least meditating were the lucky ones; the physically weak trainees lay sprawled on their beds like the dead.
He raised his aching body and picked up Okryong.
“Hey, Susu, sit cross-legged. If you don’t meditate now, you might really be in trouble this afternoon.”
“Ugh…”
“Come on, help me a bit here.”
With that, Jo Ga-ju helped Susu sit cross-legged. Okryong seemed too weak to even speak, offering only a nod of acknowledgment before slipping into meditation. After helping Jae Sang-hae and a few other trainees get into a meditative state, Jo Ga-ju plopped down on his spot.
“Phew…”
– This bloody stretch exercise will be conducted every morning as a basic routine. We hope the cadets adjust soon.
The last words of Senior Ho echoed in his mind after finishing the morning training.
The fact that this bloody stretch exercise was a warm-up and was conducted daily felt unreal.
As Jo Ga-ju chewed on the reality, his fellow trainees who had completed their meditation began to wake up one by one. Since some were still meditating, no one dared to speak, but the expressions on their faces revealed one of two things.
Despair or outrage.
After about two breaths, everyone woke up from their meditation. Since using qi required mental focus, those trainees who had been emotionally all over the place all morning weren’t in a position to meditate for long.
“I wonder what terrible training awaits us this afternoon.”
At Kang Chumo-ru’s muttering, the trainees involuntarily shivered. Thinking of the bloody stretch exercise, they ground their teeth.
Ho Cheon-an’s cunning tactics!
Counting numbers had been the task. The only ones who couldn’t manage that were the trainees. So, they had been helplessly handling the increasing numbers set by Ho Cheon-an all morning.
“This is all your fault! You keep screwing up after yelling like that!”
“What? Didn’t you screw up too? Because of you, I had to do those body contortions 60 times like my waist would snap!”
“Jae Sang-hae! What are we going to do now?”
“Hmph, everyone agreed to test the instructor and then passes the buck onto me? How pathetic.”
“What?!”
“At least I didn’t mess up the calls even once today. I should be the one getting angry thinking about the sweat I lost because of you guys who couldn’t even count to one.”
“That jerk!”
“Enough! Enough!”
“Jo Ga-ju! Don’t stop me! When you think about it, it’s all that guy’s fault! Just look at how he talks!”
As the quarrel intensified, the dormitory door swung open suddenly. The trainees, turning their heads toward the abruptly opened door, quickly fell silent.
A red hat!
“Looks like you all have plenty of energy. I can increase the intensity of this afternoon’s training.”
The trainees’ faces turned pale in an instant. Noticing the change in their expressions, Ho Cheon-an pushed a cart inside.
“From now on, our 12th training unit will have separate meal arrangements from the other units. Understood?”
“Ah!”
“Consider this a warning—anyone caught loitering in the unit’s mess hall will regret being alive by the time I’m done with them.”
“Aaaaah!”
“I’ve already informed the Golden Guards and the training ground, so every meal be sure to appoint a person in charge to go to the front of the Golden Guards’ barracks to get food supplies from the Inn’s Jeomsoi. Got it?”
“Ah!”
What kind of meal are we about to get…?
The trainees gulped as they stared at the cart. Ho Cheon-an removed the cover off the cart, revealing…
“Hmm? Is that a boiled egg?”
“Boiled chicken? Rice balls?”
“Each person gets only one rice ball. If there isn’t enough, fill up on eggs or chicken breast.”
“Ah!”
The trainees’ faces brightened. The unit mess hall was a rationed system, and most side dishes were vegetable-based. Even though rice portions were limited, being able to eat as much chicken breast and eggs as they wanted was a significant win.
Oblivious to the fact that they would be consuming the same menu for the next month, the trainees began their meal.
*
“Marching~ Singing the military song~ The song goes~ A cool guy~”
“A cool! Guy! Many, many!”
“Your voices are too weak!”
“Right! I! Am! A guy! A cool! Guy!”
Jo Ga-ju thought. Running was a fundamental for soldiers. Yet, feeling this tired while at the peak of his abilities during this running was a first.
The speed was as fast as executing light movements. In fact, the speed wasn’t the problem; it was the bizarre requirement of having to sing this military song continuously.
Above all, having rolled and jumped all morning without rest had already depleted his stamina.
Just running was enough to leave him breathless, and having to squeeze out breath to keep singing was torture.
A dropout occurred once.
“Stand still!”
“Ah!”
“We have a fallen trainee. The other trainees will continue the bloody workout until this trainee recovers! Prepare for bloody workout number 4!”
“Aaaaah!!”
Once they went through this ordeal, no more dropouts occurred.
“Ugh!”
“Ugh!”
As soon as the running ended, his fellow trainees collapsed to the ground, vomiting their lunches. The realization that boiled chicken and eggs were effectively stacked high drove those who overate to pay the price.
“Bloody workouts will be part of the morning routine along with runs. We start as soon as you wake up. Understood?”
“Ah!”
Even those who hadn’t thrown up turned pale in an instant.
“Trainees, morning runs are basic for soldiers. Also, bloody stretch exercises are merely warm-ups for the day. I believe our instructor won’t have trainees floundering on basic stretching.”
“…Ah!”
“Today is the first day, so there may be shortcomings, but we’ll simply proceed. Everyone, sit.”
“Ah!”
Ho Cheon-an observed the trainees looking a bit better as they sat up.
“There are limits to any instructor’s capabilities. It is an unrealistic goal to revamp the mental and physical state of trainees over one month while mastering all their martial arts.”
“Ah!”
“So, I have prepared martial arts that will be beneficial for all trainees.”
Curiosity emerged on everyone’s faces after Ho Cheon-an’s statement. Could there actually be martial arts that were helpful for every trainee?
Swish!
With a flourish, Ho Cheon-an’s hand moved like a magician, causing the trainees to tilt their heads to notice that a javelin had struck the dummy standing far off.
“When…?”
“What incredible skill.”
Ho Cheon-an was dressed in a strange outfit with sleeves that ended above his forearms. It was evident that there was no room to hide a javelin, yet the javelin had appeared and struck the dummy cleanly.
“Everyone knows the usefulness of throwing weapons, but very few practice this technique.”
“Ah!”
“It’s a skill that wouldn’t hurt to learn. The javelin technique can entrap a fleeing person or swiftly rescue a comrade in trouble. Moreover, it’s far more effective to throw the javelins jointly to create a barrage than to rely on the powerful strike of practice that takes ages to hone.”
“Ah!”
“Given that the trainees’ physical conditions are a wreck, it would be a waste of time to try focusing on martial arts until they have some stability, so for a while, I will focus on teaching the javelin technique. Understood?”
“Ah!”
The trainees’ eyes sparkled. Finally, proper education was about to begin! Ho Cheon-an took out practice javelins from his pocket to distribute among the trainees.
“Trainees are seasoned experts, yet they have no experience with throwing weapons or techniques, so for now, we’ll substitute with these practice javelins. They have the same weight and balance as a normal javelin, so practicing with them will suffice.”
“Ah!”
“First, I will demonstrate. Detailed explanations will follow in a future lesson, but for now, I will show you the basic three styles of throw for the javelin technique.”
“Ah!”
“First, ‘Standing Throw’. It’s the typical method for throwing javelins. You throw the javelin using strength from your shoulder, arm, and wrist. This was the very method I used earlier; it’s the most common way.”
Whoosh!
As Ho Cheon-an held the javelin and threw it, it struck the dummy’s head, far beyond the distance. The trainees gasped lightly, realizing it hit the exact same spot as before.
“Without a visible preparatory stance, the opponent has a hard time reacting. However, unless someone has trained specifically in throwing techniques, they won’t get guaranteed destructive power. The second is ‘Throwing from a Sit’ to increase destructive power. Trainees who have experience with ng from a young age might feel a sense of familiarity with this position.”
Ho Cheon-an positioned himself, taking a big step, and threw the javelin with dynamic movement.
Swoosh!
The sound of the thrumming shot echoed with a heavier thud when it struck.
“Lastly, there’s ‘Throwing from a Lie’. This move focuses on creating distance from the opponent while simultaneously pitching the javelin.”
Ho Cheon-an demonstrated as he leaned back and twisted his body, launching the javelin.
“A true master of throwing weapons can maintain a steady distance while bombarding the opponent with javelins, but these three styles can be viewed as the foundational movements of throwing techniques.”
“Ah!”
“Now, I will teach the first movement of ‘Standing Throw’ distinctly as your instructor. The first action is to lift the javelin.”
Ho Cheon-an taught the movements, correcting the trainees’ form as he instructed them in throwing techniques. Once the trainees grasped the basic actions of standing throw, sitting throw, and lying throw, Ho Cheon-an nodded in approval.
“Good. Now we will proceed to the actual training.”
“Ah!”
“This training is called the ‘PR Training’. It’s an exercise aimed at mastering the throwing posture. During this training, absolutely do not throw any javelins.”
“Ah!”
“Whenever I call out a posture, you will practice that position. Understood?”
“Ah!”
“Now, ‘Standing Throw!’”
“Ah!”
The trainees shouted a shout as they waved their arms. Kang Chumo-ru thought. This is training. This is proper martial arts training.
“Now, ‘Sitting Throw!’”
“Ah!”
“Finally, ‘Lying Throw!’”
“Ah!”
Then, Kang Chumo-ru’s thoughts were reversed before Ho Cheon-an’s commands repeated ten times. An incredible amount of activity on par with the bloody stretch exercise!
“Trainees! Don’t slack off! Every single movement you make now will reflect in your future javelin accuracy! Trainees who fail in the upcoming throwing technique evaluation will be excluded and made to undergo additional PR training!”
“Aaaah!!”
“If you don’t wish to be excluded and train extra, put your full energy into the training! ‘Lying Throw!’”
“Aaah!!”
Oops!
The unfortunate fate of the trainees was just beginning.
