Chapter 101. The ability to give up (4)
First week of Keter practice.
The trio ran around the wide parade ground like crazy. His stamina, which increased day by day, was now enough to run 100 laps.
So I thought I wouldn’t let him run anymore, but I was wrong.
“From now on, we take turns playing tag. This assistant catches number 1 and number 2 catches number 3. When caught by the tagger, they switch roles. At 6:00 p.m., the chaser will be punished, and the survivor will be rewarded. How is it going to be fun?”
hide and seek. Whether you are a lowly citizen or an aristocrat, it is a game that you will play at least once in your childhood. However, the game they remembered was not so harsh.
The 7th Gymnasium, which was created as an artificial mountain, embodies the characteristics of the mountain area as it is. Irregular hills, lush forests, trees, and rocks were also brought and embedded.
You have to play hide and seek in a place like this. That’s over seven hours. can’t even do it Because Keter presented clear rewards and punishments.
Even if there is no reward or punishment, if it is for growth, it is a trio of people who will do it like hell, but when they said that it took a reward and punishment, their eyes changed.
I didn’t tell you what the punishment was and what the reward was, but everyone knows. Kether’s punishment will be terrible, and the reward will be sweet.
Keter gives more rewards than anyone else. For example, Gyro received 500 gold per fight against the trio and received free treatment.
“When does it start… … .”
Took.
Number 3 Tarragon looked back at Number 2 Anise, who was about to question Kether, but was touching his shoulder.
Anise was already rapidly moving away.
Rules of hide and seek, when you touch the opponent, the tag changes. Tarragon’s face contorted.
“kid… Seed!”
Cucumber!
Tarragon quickly followed Anis. It wouldn’t have known if it was an open plain, but if you lost sight of your opponent in the mountains with a narrow view, it would be the end.
Luke, who has the ability to detect misfortune, was already running away. Since the opponent was Keter, it was natural.
However, Luke could not come to his senses in the harsh environment of the forest. Acceleration in a straight line was impossible. I was distracted by the trees and slippery rocks blocking my way.
In the end, you have to run in a zigzag carefully, but it was harder than you imagined to make a sharp turn while accelerating.
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‘Isn’t that the same for Keter?’
Luke, who glanced back, was shocked.
“You ran with your eyes closed?!”
Even with her eyes closed, she was avoiding obstacles and running with great strides.
Even on flat ground with no obstacles, if you close your eyes, you lose your sense of direction. If you run, you can’t go straight. But Keter was running through a rough mountain.
Such a penalty was natural for Keter. If you don’t close your eyes, you won’t practice.
This training was a training for teaching the trio, but at the same time it was training for Keter. If you play hide and seek normally, Luke is not even a practice area. You can catch it in less than a minute. Then Kether cannot see the results of the training.
Deliberately slowing down doesn’t help in practice. So I closed my eyes.
A practice that gives up sight and maximizes other senses. Keter is tracking Luke based on a lot of information.
It locates the rook by the sound it makes as it moves, and identifies the location of trees and rocks by smell. Since the other senses do what the eyes do, it was inevitable that the speed would decrease.
Sure enough, Luke starts to get ahead. This makes the distance even wider. But it doesn’t matter. Keter has already figured out Luke’s movement patterns.
As he ran, he threw an arrow into the string.
Without seeing it with my own eyes, I let go of the protest.
Tuong!
“OMG… … !”
Luke sighed and lowered his head.
An arrow passed over his head.
‘What kind of tag is this! And are you really closing your eyes? Aren’t you blind?’
Luke also has a bow and arrows, of course. But I didn’t dare to shoot the arrow. The opponent is behind you, so you have to twist your body wide to shoot.
Losing your eyes in a place full of obstacles? It was an impossible topic for Luke, who relied on sight for all his senses.
“Oops!”
It was only for a moment that I thought about something else. But in that very moment, Keter’s arrow grazed Luke’s ankle.
Unfocused, Luke twisted to avoid the branches in front of him, but in his impatience he tripped on the damp leaves and fell.
As Luke rolled off the floor a couple of times and shook his head, Keter fed a chestnut to his forehead.
Wow!
“evil!”
Keter, who was beaten by Luke, immediately ran away. Of course, he was still blindfolded.
Luke clenched his forehead and gritted his teeth.
‘Keter already knows the weakness of my reflexes. That’s why I don’t hesitate to attack.’
Luke also learned a lot about his abilities in liqueur. There was a clear downside to the reflex ability.
The reflex ability is activated only when there is someone else within a 30-meter radius, and self-harm does not activate.
There was no room for silence. Luke tried to ignore the throbbing pain and started pursuing Keter.
* * *
Tae Ae-Aeng!
The bell announcing 6:00 p.m. resonates throughout the 7th Parade. Some laughed, while others punched the tree with their fists.
Keter looked at the trio. You could tell who won and who lost just by looking at their faces.
Tarragon with an angry expression. Stupid Luke. The punishment given to the two was a candy-like illusion.
On the other hand, Anis, who was smiling with satisfaction, was also given a gift.
Contrary to expectations, all three were welcomed. However, there was a huge difference in color.
“Eat before it gets cold.”
Luke and Tarragon looked down at the purple illusion in the palm of their hand.
“My palms are tingling, Assistant Professor. Isn’t this poison?”
“It’s not poison.”
“If it’s not poison… … .”
Luke shoveled it into his mouth with the mindset that he would not die from eating it. Tarragon also ate with his eyes closed.
“Ouch!”
“omg!”
Luke and Tarragon fall down grabbing their throats as soon as they eat them. Then they started dancing on the floor.
“No.2. Stop worrying and accept the prize sweetly.”
Anise put the blue pill in her hand into her mouth. In my heart, I hoped that this might be a miracle drug.
“hmm?”
If it is an elixir, it will melt as soon as it touches your tongue. Just like when you eat Cheongryeonghwan. But the promise Kether gave was firm.
“Hey, can this be?”
Sweetness on the tongue. and moderate sourness. We decided to call it candy.
Keter also said, putting the candy in her mouth.
“I made it, isn’t it delicious? Would you like to spit it out?”
“No… is.”
Is this the only reward after running around for seven hours? The candy I ate while sweating and hungry was certainly delicious, but it didn’t feel like a reward for my hard work.
‘Isn’t that also true?’
Anise looked at Luke and Tarragon, who struggled in pain. It would be a thousand times better to roll sweet candy in your mouth than to be like that.
What Luke and Tarragon ate was a drug called ‘self-determination pill’ made by Keter, which made them feel all kinds of pain throughout their bodies.
It was a drug mainly used to torture nobles who shouldn’t be hurt because they only feel pain and there is no actual damage.
“president-! I am here.”
At that time, Gyro appeared at the 7th Parade.
Anise wanted to.
Keter tapped the lying Tarragon and Luke with her foot.
“Wake up. 1 time, 3 times. Break is over.”
“Ugh… … .”
It was painful to death, but not painful to death, so the two got up. The two narrowed their eyes when they saw Gyro.
“Why are you all looking at me like that? Did you really think that today would be fun and just play hide-and-seek?”
“But, assistant… . We have already used up all our energy in tagging. Even when I was in good condition, I couldn’t beat Gyro, but I have no hope of winning in a situation where I used up my heavenly power.”
“That bastard’s condition. No.2. If you change your condition again, you will be eliminated. It’s condition and nabal, and if you want to fight, fight.”
Gyro demonstrated what Keter meant. He immediately ran towards the trio.
The trio, who were not prepared mentally, quickly fell out. Furthermore, after realizing that it does not heal the wounds, he became passive in attacking, and was concentrating on avoiding and defending, and ended up enduring.
“I don’t know where all the momentum from the first day went. If it wasn’t for the boss’ order, I would never have taught you guys.”
Gyro, who doesn’t say harsh words for a while, scolded the trio and stepped back.
A 30-minute break was given to recover exhausted physical strength and aura.
Keter did not give any advice to the trio at this time. I spent a fruitful time silently practicing my self-injury training method.
“Brother Tarragon. Let’s talk for a while.”
During the break, everyone silently rests separately, and Luke talks to Tarragon.
“Luke. I also had something to say. Do you have any more candy?”
“… Save it. I don’t even have a few.”
Luke brought up the main topic by giving Tarragon candy.
“To fight Lord Gyro. I don’t think we can win forever if we go on like this. We have to work together.”
“Aren’t we already fighting together?”
“It is a voice that goes beyond the level of three people attacking one person. Beyond cooperation, we need to connect.”
“It is a connection that goes beyond cooperation. Like how?”
“I have to think about it carefully now. With Master Anise.”
“Hmm, I certainly can’t think of a picture where I can beat Gyro after going like this. It’s difficult to follow the techniques Keter taught me. It would be better to do something rather than recklessly bumping into it. okay. I’ll tell Anis-nii.”
Tarragon went to Anis with Luke. And he did exactly what Luke said.
“older brother. Let’s beat Gyro with a link that goes beyond cooperation. Even if you fail, it’s worth trying.”
Anis, who was resting on a rock, glared at Tarragon.
Tarragon was taken aback by Anise’s reaction. I thought he would show interest, even if it wasn’t a compliment, but he had a pathetic expression on his face.
“Is this Sir Luke’s opinion?”
“Sir Luke was right to propose first, but I agreed and told my brother.”
“Then you are both idiots.”
“… … ?!”
“Don’t choose any means. I certainly understand. If we work together like you said, we might be able to drive and defeat Gyro. But that’s it. Have you forgotten why we are suffering so much?”
“Aren’t you trying to be strong?”
“What does it mean to be strong? Haven’t you guys learned anything from watching Keter? The winner is the stronger one. The reason why we call Keter a teaching assistant and why we receive such ridiculous training is all in order to win. At the Southern Sword Tournament.”
Tarragon put on a sad expression. He became strong to rank in the southern sword tournament, and that was the same for himself.
Anise shook her head.
“You get it wrong. We are not training to beat Gyro now. He is undergoing this training in order to win the Southern Sword Competition. If we beat Gyro 3-1 here, what does that mean for us to win the Sword of the South tournament? Even Sir Luke doesn’t participate in the tournament.”
“… … !”
Tarragon opened his eyes wide.
Luke also grabbed his forehead, probably feeling sorry for him.
“I am of course lacking in body, but I didn’t know that you guys couldn’t understand it this far. Keter didn’t mean for the three of us to defeat Gyro. Each of us will win against Zyro. So, isn’t Keter teaching us techniques and concepts? The simultaneous endowment of quality and intention.”
The reason Anise fought 3-on-1 even though she had this idea is because now, if you go 1-on-1 with Gyro, you won’t even be able to fight for a few seconds.
Upon hearing Anis’ words, Luke and Tarragon felt ashamed. Blinded by the one-dimensional goal of defeating Gyro, he forgot the most important fact.
In real battles, you have to fight thinking that there are no comrades standing by your side. This place was not a place to learn organizational skills or cooperative spirit.
“I’m sorry, brother. I was making a big mistake. thank you for telling me.”
Even though Tarragon was embarrassed, he did not forget to thank Anis for the advice he had to change his mind.
“Thank you too, Master Anise.”
Luke also lowered his head, and Anise stood up.
“no. After listening to the two of you, I think we were more complacent because we were the three of us. Let’s fight Gyro one by one from now on.”
There was no way Luke and Tarragon would refuse. I agreed, saying it was a good idea, and the triumvirate who returned like that moved away from each other.
Dalian started again.
Gyro lunged at Luke, feeling puzzled. Arrows were supposed to come from Tarragon and Anise, but they didn’t.
Turning their heads slightly, they could feel that Tarragon and Anise were watching, no, observing.
“hahahaha, are you trying to beat me one-on-one? The juniors are so crazy!”
Even though his words were harsh, he was smiling with his mouth.
During the day, blood-drying hide and seek.
Sparring with Gyro in the evening.
The trio’s week went by like lightning.
Fu-wook!
An arrow lodged in Gyro’s shoulder. Although it was a shallow wound that did not reach the bone, it was the first time. What Gyro allowed to attack.
Luke, anise, tarragon.
The first among the three to injure Gyro was an unexpected person. It wasn’t Luke with this ability, nor Anis the genius.
“It’s quite right.”
Contrary to everyone’s expectations, Beomjae Tarragon succeeded in injuring Gyro before the two of them.