Chapter 6
“Ugh…”
“From the very first day, the behavior shown by the trainees is utterly disappointing! Drop and give me twenty!”
‘So it’s punishment after all.’
I sighed inwardly and placed both hands on the floor.
“While your fellow trainees fought drowsiness in their chairs, you were lying in bed. How selfish is that?”
‘Lying in bed is selfish? What?’
I couldn’t understand it, but the army is a place where absurdity is enforced through rank.
“One! Attention! If I see any slack, be prepared. One!”
“Attention!!”
“Look at that voice! And you there! Lower yourself! Do you think you’re joking with me?”
The instructor approached Pluto and grabbed him by the hair.
“Lower! I’m being nice, but you think this is a joke? You worthless idiots. Two!”
“Present!!”
“Do you expect to become officers while failing to overcome mere sleepiness? One!”
“Attention!!”
“Reflect and realize how weak and undisciplined you are. Two!”
“Present!!”
.
.
I thought it would end after about thirty counts like before, but he showed no sign of letting up.
“Endure it! Consider this the responsibility and duty you must bear in the future. Never collapse!”
‘You madman, what responsibility and duty is physical torture?’
If there were a competition for delivering nonsense convincingly, he’d win hands down.
“Two!”
“Present!!”
‘Shit! I’m at my limit! Stop!’
It was so exhausting I could barely move my arms.
“Finally, lower yourself as far as your chest touches the ground. One!”
I thought it impossible, but at the sound of “final,” I mustered every last bit of strength.
My arms trembled like aspen leaves.
If hell exists, it must be here.
“Remember the suffering caused by your selfish actions. Got it?”
“I-I got it!!”
I raised my voice purely hoping it would end quickly.
“As per regulations, trainees lose two points. Never let the instructor catch you lying down again.”
The instructor glared at each of us with a deadly stare and left the room.
“Ugh…”
Plopping down.
As soon as he left, my roommates collapsed to the floor. I was so drained I couldn’t even stand.
‘The fatigue is okay, but losing two points is insane.’
My goal had been to avoid losing points, but it was ruined on the first day.
“If we stay down, he’ll find another reason to scold us, so let’s get up for now.”
Normally, someone would argue, but having endured punishment once, everyone got up and headed for their chairs.
“Why should we go through this just for lying on the bed?!”
Pluto shouted in frustration.
‘Yeah, I agree.’
There’s clearly no concept of human rights in this damn army.
“To think a day like this would come… I want to go home.”
Ion, who had never complained before, mentioned home for the first time. Being so far from his normal life, reality hit him hard.
‘These guys could use some mental care.’
Even if they seem fine now, this will keep happening. If someone breaks down mentally, there’s no saving them.
“Just endure two weeks. This time you got unlucky, so don’t stress.”
The key point: two weeks.
Thankfully, it’s really only two weeks.
‘If we had to endure twelve weeks with these guys… I’d have lost it first.’
“Yeah. Let’s hang in there, everyone. Just two weeks, like Palan said.”
Ion raised his head, recovering from his “I want to go home” slump, and the room’s morale started improving. But keeping it up was far from easy, especially in the training corps.
-Transmit to all barracks. Immediately assemble by squad under Sergeant Soyeon. That is all.
As soon as the instructor finished, everyone jumped up.
“Let’s at least go and redeem our image.”
Finally.
Our “teachers” seemed to have snapped out of it.
‘Two points isn’t that bad, I guess.’
Someone could say that. If you do your part, it’s fine, why worry about the rest.
‘That might work in society, but not here.’
The training corps operated on collective punishment like clockwork.
‘I didn’t lie down, yet I lost points too.’
Meaning if someone messes up, there’s a high chance you’ll get dragged down with them.
“Step on the ground, run! Who’s walking?!”
“Is this a park?! Move your feet!!!”
In the training field, instructors and assistants shouted at the trainees like shepherds herding sheep.
“Line up properly! Don’t look around, stare at the person in front of you!”
“Who’s rolling their eyes now?!”
Before dinner, we hadn’t cared about such minor details, but now it was taken seriously.
“Trainee, name.”
“Terk Gabius!”
“Shoelaces untied. Uniform violation, one-point deduction.”
Assistants handed out points like they were buying items. They looked like demons.
“Attention, everyone.”
Once the formation was correct, the instructor climbed the podium.
“I have watched you trainees without rest for half a day.”
A very ominous voice.
‘Watched. That’s what they say before scolding.’
For some reason, in the military, scolding juniors is called “wiping” them.
“As a result, you are the worst class I’ve seen. Nobles attempting to ignore military hierarchy, complaining at every turn…”
Normally, it’s hard to empathize with these red-hatted instructors, but this time I nodded automatically.
‘No hope.’
Our roommates were starting to get it together, but others hadn’t even buttoned their uniforms properly.
“Some asked if a servant could clean for them. It’s appalling that such trainees will be commissioned as officers after just two weeks.”
The suspense was building. I could feel my hands and feet trembling.
“But orders from above cannot be refused. First, I’ll fix your rotten mindset! Everyone, squat down!”
‘Shit. We’re screwed.’
“Squat down” made me almost curse out loud. Why?
‘If I’m imagining this right, this is hell.’
Much worse than push-ups.
“Squat down… what are we supposed to do?”
“This isn’t bad if we just stay like this.”
The trainees, unaware of the future, whispered to each other.
“From now, in this posture, go to the storage warehouse to get your gear and back.”
“What…?”
“Wait, we have to go like this?!”
They all refused reality, but in the army, nothing is impossible.
“Move! First company, first squad, everyone forward!”
Could anyone refuse the instructor who wielded points like absolute power?
We moved forward at a painfully slow pace, slower than crawling. First squad went, then it was my turn.
‘Damn! Damn!’
Thankfully, it was my legs, not my battered arms, but waddling like a duck made my hands and feet tremble. Memories of injustice in the corps and unit came rushing back.
“I’m already dying, and we have to go all the way to the warehouse like this?!”
“This is nonsense!”
Cries came from all directions. When I wanted to give up, the instructor’s actions were brutal.
“Stand up in three seconds! Three, two, one! Trainee loses three points!”
“Don’t you see your slow pace inconveniences those behind you?!”
Any sign of fatigue meant immediate scolding. Collapse, and points were lost. Even Satan would have backed down.
“Huff! Huff!”
We finally reached the warehouse, but my muscles ached and I could barely take another step.
‘Training starts tomorrow… damn it.’
Those disgusting red-hat bastards. Everything they say is a lie.
“Argh!”
On the way back from the warehouse, I collapsed from muscle pain before halfway. The only mercy: once we reached the warehouse, the instructor only yelled without deducting points.
“Ugh… I feel like I’m dying.”
Shower done, finally allowed to lie on the bed.
Everyone’s voices and bodies were almost lifeless.
‘It was insane to go straight to the hall after all that.’
Class ran until 2 a.m. It was mostly useless military basics, and most of it went in one ear and out the other.
“So, we only lost two points today, right?”
Ion started writing something in his notebook.
“Yes. No one lost points for waddling?”
“No. Actually, Deric got a bonus point.”
“Hehe, lucky. I didn’t think they’d give points for that.”
Those who completed the duck walk successfully received one bonus point. Small, but valuable in a place where bonus points are rare.
“I roughly counted. About 250 people got points deducted for duck walk or uniform violations.”
‘That many?!’
I thought it wouldn’t be a lot, but three-digit deductions were unexpected.
“If we keep surviving like this, two points lost aren’t that bad.”
Ion still seemed worried about the two points lost for lying down.
‘Good. Keep up that attitude.’
I couldn’t help smiling at such determination.
“By the way, may I make a suggestion?”
Just as the room was drifting to sleep, Deric spoke.
“A suggestion?”
“Yes. Since we’ll be training together, how about addressing each other casually as brothers? I’m eighteen, by the way.”
He suggested dropping the formal “-nim” suffix. I loved it immediately.
‘Yeah, bonding as a room unit can’t hurt.’
We needed to be a team to survive this hell.
“Sounds good. And eighteen? Younger than I thought. I’m nineteen.”
Our top-ranking Ion agreed and stated his age. Next was me. In terms of noble hierarchy, I shared second place.
“I’m fine with that. I’m nineteen.”
The three eldest nobles agreed. Other opinions weren’t really necessary.
“Twenty.”
“Nineteen.”
The youngest was surprisingly Deric, with a steel body. Nineteen included me and Ion plus two others. Twenty included Taylor and Pluto. The eldest was twenty-one-year-old Crushel.
“Then… let’s speak casually. Ion.”
“Good. Much better.”
I started first, and the informal atmosphere quickly spread.
“Alright, everyone, let’s give tomorrow our best too.”
Deric raised his arm enthusiastically, but everyone was too exhausted to respond.
“Yeah… okay. Let’s rest. They wake us at 6:30 a.m. Not much time left.”
Fatigued, Ion closed his eyes first.
Thus ended the long first day in the training corps.
Wake up! Wake up!
“Shit!”
