When the trainees first heard that they were to jump rope, they thought, “What is this?” with an expression of disbelief.
They figured it was a childish game more suited for kids and questioned why they even had to do it.
Especially the knight aspirants were quite rebellious.
However, the moment they laid eyes on the red-marked jump rope—
“What, what is this!?”
This is a jump rope?
…Not a rebar?
A metal cord woven with iron.
Are we really supposed to use this?
With a flicker of doubt about whether it was just for appearance’s sake, the trainees picked up the metal rope.
Thud!
It was heavy.
It was so heavy that, caught off guard, one might have almost twisted their wrist.
That’s how substantial it was.
From the handle to the rope.
…You’re telling me to do jump rope with this?
That was utterly absurd.
But then—
Swish, swish!
“This is fun!”
Kunta began to jump rope like a child who discovered a delightful toy, and seeing this, the trainees picked up their ropes, perhaps motivated by a sliver of hope.
They thought, rather than being scared, they might as well give it a try.
However, as expected.
“Ah, I can’t hear!”
“How the heck am I supposed to swing this!”
Just holding it was tough enough; how was one supposed to swing it around!
“Blargh!”
Fortunately, having mastered some tactical techniques helped, as they drew their internal flow to its full power, and only then did the rope start to spin.
Initially dismissed as a game, jump rope had now turned into a matter of life and death.
One wrong move, and their wrist or elbow could dislocate.
Swish! Whiz!
And yet, gradually, they began to gain confidence.
If it’s about tactical techniques, or rather “self,” then surely they could swing this thing.
Surely they might complete their reps—
Fwomp!
Thud…
“……”
…It seemed like they’d really be in trouble trying to meet those rep counts.
One trainee, while swinging the rope, got hit and fainted on the spot.
Thud, thud…
Once one went down, a chain reaction occurred, and trainees began to fall one after another, struck by the rope.
The remaining trainees felt a chill and had no choice but to stop swinging the metal rope.
One wrong hit to the head, and it genuinely could be disaster.
“You weaklings, you fainted from just that little hit? Tsk tsk, how weak.”
– …
It wasn’t just about weakness; they wondered if this was a matter of life and death, but they couldn’t dare argue with him.
And no wonder.
Swish, swish, swish!
“Why are you all making this so difficult? It’s so easy to swing, huh?”
…The instructor made the metal rope spin effortlessly, far too simple, while the trainees were having dizzy spells trying to manage it.
In the middle of this outburst—
Bam!
The metal rope struck his head.
…It definitely hit hard.
“Oh, my mistake.”
His head bore no injury, and he appeared perfectly fine.
He seemed merely embarrassed for being overconfident and making an error.
Is he even human?
“Ah, are you not hurt?”
“I am hurt. But I endure it with my endurance. As a knight, one should be capable of this much.”
“I don’t think so…”
Isn’t it just you who can handle that?
—The trainees collectively held back their murmurs.
* * *
Lee Han didn’t foolishly think to give them a heavy metal rope just because he could.
He had some common sense and was aware his body was special.
But because of that, he knew.
They could ‘easily’ manage at least this much.
“Some of you may have already figured it out, but the weights of the ropes differ by color. The yellow is a standard lightweight rope, the green is 3kg, and the red is all 10kg.”
-Ten kilos!?
A stir erupted at those words.
Particularly, those holding the yellow and green ropes were horrified as they gazed at the (blood-stained) red metal ropes.
You mean they had been swinging that until now?
However, undeterred by the commotion, Lee Han continued his explanation.
“I remember the sparring on the first day. Almost all of you were swiftly overcome by me, save for a few. Ah, and if you still don’t recall, let me help jog your memory.”
…It was a blow to their pride, but none dared to refute him.
Because the statement was undeniably true.
Yet, Lee Han wasn’t bringing up yesterday’s incident to insult or embarrass them.
“I sensed something yesterday: the trainees from the Swordsmanship Department are lacking in fundamentals. Especially the knight aspirants. You claim to aspire to be knights, yet you have no basic skills at all. So, let me ask you—do you genuinely want to become knights with skills like that?”
-!!!?
That was an adequately insulting remark.
Though they were lacking severely, they were all children of knightly families.
To question their seriousness…!
That felt like a significant insult.
However, Lee Han merely scoffed at their disrespectful glares.
“To those who feel insulted by my words, listen closely: you are fools. You don’t even realize your own shortcomings and only hear what you want to hear. Surrounded by those who only flatter you, it’s no wonder your fundamentals are in such a state. If you were to go into battle, you’d either be the first to die, or you’d survive longer because you’d spend the entire time nursing wounds at a nice villa, far too incompetent to even take care of yourselves. The military isn’t stupid enough to send off pitiful fools like you.”
“….”
An uncomfortable silence fell.
Was it really such a crime to not be good at jump rope, or rather to be hurt by that stupid rope?
Also, lacking fundamentals?
Some couldn’t accept that, and Lee Han merely snorted, having expected as much.
As if he expected anyone to understand just because he said something.
Thus, speaking a hundred times would be futile.
“There will be those among you who won’t acknowledge what the instructor says—perhaps because you’re simply foolish. The instructor isn’t expecting much from you, either. So, to make it easier to understand, let’s show you with some practical examples. Kunta, Arno, Garland, step forward.”
Thud.
“Kunta, reporting in!”
“I have some idea of what we’ll be doing.”
“Hmm, the things we’re doing are just like what my old man does. Are you sure you’re not his secret kid?”
The three who stepped forward seemed as if they’d been eagerly waiting for this moment, and Lee Han felt satisfied.
Yes, that was the proper attitude for learning.
“You should feel ashamed. The strongest among you practice without complaint, while those below average are the ones whining the most.”
With a mere gesture, he directed them.
Without even needing an explanation, they understood perfectly and quietly got to work.
Whoosh, whoosh—!
The heavy sound of the metal rope slicing through the air accompanied their movements.
Kunta managed the rope as if it were a delightful toy, while Arno executed his jumps with a textbook-perfect and stable posture.
While Garland seemed to be lax, he maintained a posture as stable as Arno’s.
The metal rope completely cleared without a hint of wobbling, and even though there were speed differences and they were sweating profusely, there were no signs of exhaustion as they continued swinging the rope round and round.
Ten, twenty, even thirty—
Slowly but surely, they accumulated their counts.
One could hardly not feel a hint of doubt: was it really something they could perform with such stability?
They were worlds apart from those who couldn’t even manage three jumps without getting hurt.
As a few disgruntled trainees flushed with embarrassment, Lee Han—
Tap!
Suddenly nudged Kunta’s rope, breaking the rhythm of his jump and scoring a direct hit on his back.
Smack!
The sound that followed was so powerful, it felt like he’d been hit with both a whip and a hammer simultaneously.
He’d have to worry about fractures and a potential recovery period of three months.
Yet—
“Ugh, the instructor is mean! Kunta’s in pain…”
“Don’t be ridiculous. You can endure it.”
“It hurts, it definitely hurts.”
“Quit whining. …Tsk, I’ll buy you something tasty later.”
“The instructor is a good person!”
He looked fine.
Of course, “fine” didn’t mean he was unscathed.
His skin had turned red, suggesting it did have an impact.
Still, the fact that he could withstand such a shock was unbelievable.
What if—
“If there’s anyone wondering, ‘Is this perhaps the power of a Barbarian?’ just go ahead and pluck your eyeballs out. Especially if you’ve mastered tactical techniques, what good are your eyes if they can’t see anything?”
…Before his continuing tirade, a distinct shame blossomed, drastically different from before.
There were indeed quite a few who harbored doubts, wondering if it was the power of a Barbarian.
With a scoff towards those individuals, Lee Han continued his explanation.
“I may not have learned the tactical techniques in detail, but I do know some basic facts. Tactical techniques are methods to momentarily unlock the potential of your body, and that potential can be developed through effort and training. Am I right?”
“Exactly.”
“Thanks for the accurate response. Unlike the others, you show promise. Ever thought about becoming a teaching assistant?”
“…I’ll decline, thank you.”
“What a pity.”
It was Arno’s response, and he still appeared unfazed even while continuously swinging the metal rope.
By this time, they had already surpassed a hundred jumps with the rope.
“Arno is utilizing tactical techniques on his knees, ankles, wrists, elbows, and shoulders. He’s protecting the parts at risk of injury from vigorous exercise. Yet, he doesn’t waste unnecessary effort. He’s only using light movements to jump the rope. And beyond that, he’s not utilizing any other tactical techniques. Do you understand what that means?”
“Ah….”
Only then did some responses indicating understanding begin to surface.
Their comprehension felt so painfully slow it was reminiscent of teaching toddlers, and Lee Han couldn’t help but voice the answer they were presumably now realizing.
“Arno is essentially not using any tactical techniques but is relying solely on his original strength and stamina to manage the rope.”
“…How do you know so much about tactical techniques when you said you’re not familiar with them?”
“I can tell by looking.”
“I-I see.”
“In any case, the important thing is this: Arno, Garland, and Kunta, all of you have firmly built up your basic strength and stamina. You’re not the slackers who train comfortably using tactical techniques for all activities.”
While tactical techniques are often deemed a panacea, the truth is, what matters more is the individual utilizing those techniques.
No matter how impressive a sword may be, if the wielder is a third-rate fighter, they won’t even be able to slice through wood properly.
In that regard, those trainees were misguided.
“In martial arts terms, it’s like only honing internal strength while completely neglecting training external skills.”
They couldn’t even serve as a decent vessel to hold water; they were more like flimsy paper cups.
Actually, that was generous of me.
“Not even a glass cup—just a paper cup would fit perfectly.”
Who knows when they’ll ever become real people?
“Thus, what you need now isn’t swordsmanship or tactical training but to build up your fundamental strength, endurance, and resilience first, you pathetic bunch.”
“…So, you’re saying we need to restart from square one?”
Garland’s blunt remark hit like a nail on the head.
As he finished his long-winded sermon, Garland had completed his 200 jumps, and the expressions of the trainees grew darker.
Starting from basic training now…how could this be the case…?
“By the way, the most common point of failure in the knight order entrance exam is the stamina test. Strangely, they tend to fail at the easiest part. Ah, right. I suppose for you, getting into your family’s knight order isn’t an issue, so the stamina test might not matter, huh? You’ll get in automatically without exams anyway. Heh, bloodlines really do have their perks, don’t they? Hahaha!”
“…….”
Saying they could join their family’s knight order was not different from being openly told, “You’re riding on someone else’s coattails,” and for nobles who value honor as their lives, it was tantamount to asking them to bite their tongues in shame.
Thus, their resistance faded, and Lee Han was finally satisfied with the silence.
He liked their expressions as they grasped the subject matter.
“Well, don’t worry. I have no intention of dragging this out indefinitely.”
Perhaps I can sweep through the first semester?
“I assure you, by the end of this semester, if you all just follow along, every single one of your physical capabilities will skyrocket beyond comparison to now. Of course…”
He lingered on the last words while eyeing the trainees.
It was as if his gaze spoke volumes.
“Only if you manage to keep up, that is.”
That hinted a mocking undertone whispering they might struggle.
The trainees felt that derision wash over them, and they contemplated.
Regardless of anything else, if they could just land a single hit, they’d take it as their wish fulfilled.
…It still felt like a long way to go, but that was a story for a time far in the future.
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