Chapter 42: Hellscape Island (7)
Nothing was given easily in Hellscape Island.
Even if it was food necessary for survival.
But that didn’t an they were left to starve.
If you proved your worth, you could claim that right.
The problem was that such worth wasn’t easily earned.
―Clatter.
After being scolded by the instructor, I, Evan, was assigned to al duty today.
Here, al duty ant standing in front of the prepared food, distributing it to the cadets.
But this distribution was a bit different from the usual aning.
“Only those who get past can sit at the table back there. Otherwise, you won’t get a single piece of bread.”
From the cadets’ perspective, it ant either earning the instructor’s approval to eat
or forcibly overpowering the instructor to seize the food.
“…I’m out.”
Elliott, who had seen my fearsoness up close, gave up early.
Leaving him to join the group led by Jack heading outside the fortress, the rest banded together.
Sohow, it ended up being just Jaina and the noble cadets.
“Anyway, he’s human too. He won’t kill us, so if we rush him at once, we have a chance.”
There was one rule in this distribution that disadvantaged the instructors.
They couldn’t use weapons.
“We all know Evan’s a good fighter. But barehanded? That’s a different story, right?”
On the other hand, the cadets could use any weapon they wanted.
So, even if the opponent was , if multiple ard cadets attacked together,
perhaps they could win more easily than expected. That hope sparked.
And leading that hope, Jaina boldly stepped forward.
“He knows my swordsmanship well. But it’ll be hard for him to counter barehanded. While I hold him from the front, you two attack from the sides. The other two, in case we can’t subdue him, grab the food from the table.”
After a brief strategy, Jaina charged first.
“Haa!”
And that strategy spectacularly failed from the very first step.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Before she could fully unleash her swordsmanship, I closed in half a beat faster.
I grabbed her face with my palm and slamd her to the ground.
All this happened before she could even twitch a finger.
―Thud!
“Mm! Mmph!”
Jaina struggled to break free from my grip.
I struck her nape with my other hand, knocking her out.
“Next. Hurry up. I need to eat dinner too.”
The strongest among them, Jaina, was subdued so easily.
Who would step up next?
“What, you’ve co this far, and you’re all so spineless? Not coming? Then I’ll co to you.”
In the end, those who stayed in the fortress were taken down by without even reaching the table.
They had to settle for a single piece of bread for dinner.
In contrast, those who went outside with Jack, luckily catching a rabbit, held a feast.
***
The first day, hellish as the island’s na, passed.
Instead of a rooster’s crow signaling dawn, the cadets’ screams echoed across the island.
“Aaagh!”
“Argh!”
The first week of the Executor course was called the week of ntal conditioning.
It was a ti to throw them into extre environnts, testing and pushing their limits.
Usually, no cadets gave up at this stage,
but those who went through it all called it a week too horrific to recall.
“Jack, Elliott. You both don’t want lunch today, right?”
Especially if the instructor in charge was soone like , it’d be even more dreadful.
“Young master, please.”
“Oh? Not calling Instructor?”
The morning exercise at the fortress was purely for tornt.
Thus, each instructor focused solely on harassing their assigned cadets.
Naturally, with only the minimum food needed for survival, the cadets were already pushed to their limits.
Of course, I didn’t care about that.
“Why am I stuck with this too! Just focus on Jack, please!”
“Hey! How dare you talk to an instructor like that!”
Elliott, roped in with Jack, made his displeasure clear.
“And your reactions are too fun to ignore.”
“Can’t you go bother Jaina instead?”
“That’s tough. Instructor Nell’s already got that group.”
Under their assigned instructor’s watch, the cadets endured real-ti physical agony.
It was like torture, tearing muscles and twisting joints.
“Morning training is over.”
And that torture only ended near noon.
Everyone groaned, collapsing and unable to get up.
The reason they had to endure such harsh training,
and why it was called ntal conditioning, was because of what ca next.
“Now, set up the al and bring it out.”
The hires prepared food outdoors, cautiously bringing sothing in glass jars.
They poured it into small cups and handed them to the cadets.
“Drink.”
It wasn’t ordinary water, glowing blue as if scooped straight from the sea.
‘Man, is this training routine universal? Still, forcing recovery with Elixir? These kingdom folks are brutal.’
What the cadets were drinking was Elixir, the universal healing potion, diluted in water.
‘Elixir is so rare even the continent’s high priests only make five bottles a year. To give it, even diluted, to cadets like this—support here is top-notch.’
Undiluted Elixir could heal any wound instantly and cure diseases.
Of course, the diluted version the cadets drank couldn’t achieve that.
But even so, it could repair bodies wrecked by intense exertion.
However, that was only for the physical.
In other words, the ntal pain wasn’t healed, leaving scars in their mories.
“Hey, eat lunch lightly. You’ll probably throw it up anyway.”
“…”
At my sincere advice, Elliott and Jack, recovered by the Elixir, trembled.
“Oh! Wait, no. Since your bodies are healed, let’s train. Instructor! I’m not on al duty anymore, so can I train them separately during lunch?”
At my words, both grabbed my legs, desperately trying to stop .
But words already spoken couldn’t be taken back.
“What kind of training?”
At Nell’s question, I pointed my thumb at the gate.
“I’m gonna have them go out and hunt their own food. A kind of hunting training. I heard they caught rabbits yesterday.”
“Hunting training? The instructors’ role is just observation. We don’t teach hunting.”
“But preparing for being stranded in enemy territory or lost isn’t a bad idea, right?”
Hearing , Nell thought for a mont and nodded.
“You’ve got a point. Then let’s all go out, not just your group.”
Suddenly, all the cadets had to run through the forest to hunt for food.
Despite the al set before them.
―You bastard.
―We could’ve eaten lunch easily today!
Including Jaina, everyone shot glares filled with resentnt.
I responded with a bright smile.
“You heard him? Let’s go.”
And so, all nine cadets left the fortress, holding back tears.
“Today, I’m giving you two hours for lunch. Catch and eat whatever you can within that ti. But don’t go outside the barrier. I know you’ll follow that rule.”
The last part was said while staring pointedly at , not the cadets.
“Ugh!”
“Then, just in case, go in pairs. Instructors, keep watch from a distance.”
With Nell’s words, the hunting training disguised as lunch began.
As everyone scattered, Jack and Elliott headed to the opposite side of the fortress.
“There’ll definitely be more rabbits this way.”
“Jack, I’m counting on you. Just like yesterday.”
I followed them, keeping so distance.
‘They’re moving better than I expected. Should I just observe for now?’
It was too late for consideration, but I tried to keep so boundaries.
But that consideration soon caused a problem.
Before I knew it, Jack and Elliott were out of sight.
Following their tracks, I scanned the surrounding forest.
‘It’s weird, isn’t it? Even animals sense this transparent barrier and live within it.’
Lost in thought for a mont, I felt a suspicious presence beyond the unseen.
It was fleeting, but enough for my senses to catch.
‘Hm?’
Rushing over just in case, I found Jack and Elliott’s tracks cut off.
And there, unmistakably, was Elliott’s weapon lying on the ground.
“Where’d Jack go? Elliott?”
I faced a crisis that’d earn another scolding from the instructor.
‘Still inside the barrier, so it’s not monsters… definitely not an instructor. That presence felt unfamiliar.’
I closed my eyes and heightened my senses.
Then, I detected that sa suspicious presence from before.
‘Southwest, not far.’
Who was doing this inside the barrier?
I ran toward the source of the presence.
―Dash!
As I got closer, a bolt of lightning shot out from the side.
―Crackle!
I twisted my body mid-run, dodging it.
“Oh? You dodged that?”
Lina erged from the bushes.
At the sa ti, Kasion and Rauf appeared.
And I saw Jack and Elliott in Rauf’s hands.
“Wow, told to hunt, and you got hunted?”
Seeing the unconscious pair, I clicked my tongue.
“So who are you guys? Why’re you causing this ss way out here? That one’s a noble, so you might get ransom, but the other’s dirt poor.”
I asked the purpose of these hunter-scented people.
And I learned their purpose was .
“They were just bait. We ca for you, Evan Lafard.”
“? Hm… Did the branch family put another bounty on my head?”
“Exactly. We don’t reveal clients, but since you’re a dead man, I’ll tell you.”
“This is insane. Killing won’t open the vault, I keep saying. Do I need to explain it in person?”
Despite them saying they ca to kill , I wasn’t nervous at all.
Rather, the three felt insulted by my deanor, and Rauf stepped forward first.
“Why bother talking to this guy? Let’s just kill him quick, before the instructors co.”
He tossed Jack and Elliott aside.
Kasion and Lina drew their weapons too.
“I’ll end it painlessly. That’s the least rcy we can offer.”
“Aren’t you scaring an unard kid a bit too much?”
The three monster hunters surrounded .
My reaction was rely lukewarm.
“You overlooked sothing.”
“Don’t feel wronged. Even if you knew…”
“No, not . You guys.”
“What?”
I fiddled with my shirt.
“You overlooked two things. First.”
As I touched my shirt, I flicked sothing with my hand.
It flew toward Kasion’s eye, and he could only slightly turn his face.
“Ugh!”
It narrowly missed his eye, hitting his eyelid instead.
Enduring the stinging pain, he looked down to see a button.
“At the peak of martial arts, everything in your hand becos a weapon.”
I extended my index and middle fingers, exuding confidence.
“Petty tricks…”
“And one more thing you overlooked.”
I folded my index finger and continued.
“You underestimated our cadets too much.”
With that, Jack and Elliott charged from behind.
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