Chapter 3: The ‘Harsh’ Training

After Elder Gwang-Ho’s speech, the warriors moved in to divide us. We were assigned to different guards in black robes, broken down into smaller units. I was grouped with nine other boys. We were assigned to an instructor with a particularly large build. A mere look at him was enough to intimidate me.

We followed the massive man to a corner of the stone courtyard. He gave a short wave of his hand, signaling us to sit. Once we were settled on the cold ground, his voice cut through the silence.

“Do any of you know why you were chosen for our Great Cult?"

“…”

“You aren't here because you have talent. You’re here because the world tried to crush you and failed. You’ve been hungry, beaten, and left for dead, yet you’re still breathing. That stubbornness, that refusal to die, is the only reason you were brought into the Great Heavenly Demonic Cult.”

His words made me feel a bit less cold. I didn't know how the other boys felt, but I had been a beggar long enough to know that the world was already a cruel place.

“Don’t let that make you soft, you brats. It only gets harder from here. Your life in the dirt was easy compared to what is coming next. Now, enough talk. It’s time to begin. Get up!”

“Raise your arms until they are even with your shoulders. Drop your hips. Drive all your weight into your feet. Grip the ground with your toes like you’re trying to root into the rock.”

Sigh.

I had thought we’d be practicing with a sword.

But what was this? Isn’t this Horse Stance?

Back in town, I’d seen parents force their children into this pose as a punishment. Was this really how the Heavenly Demonic Cult trained? A place that worshipped strength, and they wanted us to stand still in the dirt?

However, out of fear, we all followed the instructor without uttering a word. Time crawled. Thirty minutes dragged by. Then a full hour.

“Aghhh!”

A groan slipped out of my throat.

Hang on. Just a bit more!

I was trying my utmost to maintain the pose. I wasn't going to throw away my first real chance to get strong.

More than half the other boys were already crumpled on the stone floor, unable to move, but the instructor didn't show any sign of letting us stop. He never stopped moving. He walked between us, kicking at our legs and pushing our shoulders to see who would break. If you moved even an inch, the punishment was fifty pushups. My arms were already shaking from being forced through several sets of pushups.

“Pathetic. You want to be fighters for this Cult, but you can’t even hold your own weight for an hour. If you can’t master standing still, you’ll never master a blade. Give up now and save us the trouble.”

The instructor’s heavy voice boomed without warning, making my hands and knees shake even harder. At his shout, some of the boys who had collapsed scrambled back to their feet and forced themselves into the stance again. Seeing them struggle back up, I squeezed every last bit of energy I had left into my legs to keep my knees from buckling.

After some time, we all collapsed, dropping one after the other. I hit the floor, my chest heaving as I gasped for air.

'Useless,' I heard the instructor mutter from somewhere above me. The words felt far away. All I could do was lie flat, unable to move a single finger in reply. My breathing had barely started to steady when his shout shattered the quiet, again.

“Get up, you brats! Now you all run down and back up those stairs over there, five times! Move! The last one to finish will hold the Horse Stance for another hour straight!”

The stone stairs the instructor pointed to were just a short distance from the courtyard, leading even deeper into the cavern.

Just how deep does this cave go?

I shook the useless thoughts from my head and forced my heavy legs into a sprint with the others. We were gasping for air from our very first step, our chests burning like fire. Still, the thought of doing only five laps gave me a tiny bit of hope. I thought it would end quickly.

But as we kept running down, the steps just kept going.

How long is this fucking staircase?

There was no end to it. Just like that, my last bit of hope was gone. A bitter laugh escaped my throat as hot tears stung the corners of my eyes. The groans and gasps of the other boys echoed all around me. I couldn't worry about them, though. I just gritted my teeth and kept running.

One. Two. Three. And…four.

My breath was completely gone. Every time I reached the top of the stairs, I wanted nothing more than to just collapse onto the stone floor. But seeing the massive instructor glaring down at us from the top of the stairs, my mind changed instantly.

The strain from the Horse Stance was too much. My legs simply refused to work anymore, and I couldn't keep up. Halfway down the steps, my knees buckled. My mind went blank, and the whole world turned black.

“Mmmph…”

I woke to someone shaking me hard.

'Hey, wake up!'

The movement made my aching body feel even worse, tossing my insides around. But when the young man saw my eyes open, his tense expression relaxed into a look of relief.

“Hang in there! Don’t give up yet. Just half a lap more!”

He reached down and pulled me up. I nodded silently and scrambled to my feet. I had already survived four whole laps; I could endure half a lap more.

By the time the two of us dragged ourselves back to the top of the stairs, every other boy was already standing there. The instructor was furious, his eyes locking onto us.

Yeah. You guessed it right. The other boy and I were the last ones to arrive.

“Ughh…”

I crashed straight onto the floor the moment we crossed into ‘The Iron Ward.’ I could barely catch my breath. I shut my eyes tight, inhaling deeply to try and dull the sharp, throbbing ache all over my body.

The boy who had shaken me awake on the stairs was standing nearby, looking much better than me. Unlike my thin, scrawny frame, he actually looked healthy and well-built.

“Huh? What is that?” “This smell… is it food?” “Whoa! Food? I thought they were going to starve us to death here!”

Exciting shouts broke out all around the room. My nose twitched as a sudden, rich smell drifted over us. It smelled incredibly delicious.

“Take your seats at the tables!” a voice boomed through the hall.

I dragged myself up and saw several long wooden tables set up at the far end of the massive room. Many of the children were already rushing over, and I scrambled to join them, my mouth watering. On the tables sat giant wooden platters piled high with roasted chunks of beef and steaming bowls of salted eggs.

“Is this for real?”

“I never dreamed I’d get to eat something like this!”

“This is the best day of my life!”

Just like that, the pain and fear vanished from the room. The exhausted kids completely forgot their misery, their faces lighting up with pure joy.

The food was completely gone in minutes. It had been a lifetime since I last filled my stomach like this; I felt entirely reborn. Despite the brutal training, a spark of strength began to surge through my limbs again. Around me, the other boys looked just as energized. But with a full belly came a heavy weight. My eyelids grew heavy, and drowsiness washed over me almost instantly.

CREAK.

STOMP… STOMP…

Uhh… now what?