Chapter 388: Training (3)

Chapter 388: Training (3)

Park Yu-Min's faith in Kang Jin-Ho was near absolute.

His theory was:?'Yes, Jin-Ho can't be correct in everything, but! If there's a difference of opinion between us, Jin-Ho is right most of the time. And that's just not with me, either. It's the same case with other people, too!'

Ju Yeong-Gi often ridiculed Park Yu-Min for acting like a zealot from the Church of Kang Jin-Ho, but Park Yu-Min didn't care. He maintained his near-absolute faith in his friend. However...

Park Yu-Min had been thinking something sacrilegious lately. He felt that his dear friend sometimes needed someone to put the brakes on for him.

“Uhm, Jin-Ho...?” Park Yu-Min cautiously called out.

Kang Jin-Ho ignored him and roared at the orphanage kids. “All of you, do two more laps around this basketball court!”

“Wait, Jin-Ho?!”

“It seems you haven't exercised at all until now! To think you'd be struggling this much so soon! This is why you need to run for longer!”

“...No, wait! Jin-Ho, please listen to me first...!”

“Mm?” Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head while glancing at Park Yu-Min. “What's the matter?”

“...Let's calm down first, Jin-Ho! You're killing these kids!” Yôur favorite stories at novelhall.com

“Huh? What do you mean?”

What do you mean by that?! Can't you see all the foams gushing out of the kids' mouths?!

“H-hang on, Jin-Ho! I get what you're trying to do. I really do, but...! These kids have never exercised properly before, you know! How about taking it easy on them? Look, you've already forced them to run fifty laps!”

“Mm? Haven't I asked them to do other exercises between the laps?”

“But they still did fifty laps! You're gonna kill them at this rate!”

Kang Jin-Ho tilted his head. “They won't die, though?”

'Of course they won't die! Probably!'

Park Yu-Min wiped away all the sweat trickling down his forehead while looking at the kids. While he was distracting Kang Jin-Ho to provide cover, the orphanage kids seized the opening by lying down on the floor to pant and wheeze painfully away.

'Holy cow, am I going crazy?'

Han Jin-Seong finally learned that the expression?'The sky is turning yellow!' wasn't an exaggeration. The ceiling's color was really getting yellower in his view!

'Why am I doing this, anyway?!'

Han Jin-Seong couldn't figure this one out. He wasn't here to become the next Olympian athlete hoping to represent his country. And his limits had been breached a long time ago, too! If it had been his PE teacher forcing him to endure this torture, Han Jin-Seong would've returned to his classroom, packed his bags, and gone home without looking back even once!

However, something was really weird about this situation. Han Jin-Seong just couldn't say no to whatever Kang Jin-Ho demanded from him. Even though all sorts of curses and insults were swirling in his head, Han Jin-Seong's body continued to follow Kang Jin-Ho's orders all on its own without a single complaint!

'This is crazy. Insane! Yeah, that's what this is!'

Han Jin-Seong couldn't figure out why he obediently did everything Kang Jin-Ho demanded from him. It was as if he was under some kind of spell, a trance, that forced him to do Kang Jin-Ho's bidding!

'Did I get drugged or something?'

Han Jin-Seong was too out of breath and couldn't even think straight. His body was shaking like a lone leaf against storm winds.

Kang Jin-Ho glanced at the orphanage kids. “Is it tough?”

“...!”

If Han Jin-Seong could, he would've shouted sarcastically,?'Oh? Does it look like we're having an easy time here, hyung?!' But he didn't have the leeway to do that.

“Our world can be a somewhat simple place,” said Kang Jin-Ho, apparently not caring about whether his audience was listening or not. “All humans are born equal. Compared to other people, what you lack is effort. Those at the top reached there by working extra hard while you were wasting time doing nothing important. That's why you must work harder. Put in more effort to succeed.”

“You...!” Han Jin-Seong gritted his teeth. He didn't want to hear something that obvious from Kang Jin-Ho. He and everyone here already knew that crap, so why...!

“...But the truth is, that notion is nothing but bullsh*t,” said Kang Jin-Ho.

“Eh?” Han Jin-Seong blinked in confusion and stared at Kang Jin-Ho.

“Humans are born with different levels of talent. That means even if you put in as much effort as everyone else, you will still get a different result from them. To make matters worse... Even if you were born with the same level of talent, and have put in as much effort as your peers, where you were born and the environment you grew up in will still influence the outcome. In simpler terms, there is a limit to what you can achieve with effort alone.”

“...Yeah.”

“If you're worried about this level of hardship... Then, you shouldn't say anything. Actually... If you think this much exercise is too hard for them, you better tell them to give up now and endure the bullying at school. But you can't do that, and that's why they must keep going.”

“...”

“A tired body will recover after a break. A good night's rest will recharge them. However, your heart in pain can't be fixed that way. Am I wrong?”

Park Yu-Min helplessly nodded. “No, you're right.”

“In that case, trust me and leave this to me. You can still stop me later if you think things have gotten out of hand. However, it's too early for that. After all, I am adjusting the difficulty to match the situation.”

'Seriously?'

Park Yu-Min carefully recalled everything that had happened so far. The children were forced to run fifty times around this basketball court, then they had to do squats and push-ups between those laps, and then... Kang Jin-Ho had been putting these kids through a wringer until they were half-dead, didn't he?!

Regardless of what Park Yu-Min was thinking, Kang Jin-Ho remained deeply dissatisfied with what he saw.

'These kids don't have any guts.'

Human physiques had evolved to become bigger and more impressive compared to their ancient counterparts. As proof, finding an adult male taller than 150cm in Zhongyuan was a rare occurrence.

The orphanage kids struggling inside this training center were nothing more than scrawny twerps by today's standards. Travel back in time, though, and more than a handful of them would be seen as prime physical specimens.

However, that was only on the surface. Compared to the athletic abilities of the young men from back then, these kids were like weak rice crackers with nothing of substance inside. And those young men from the ancient past achieved that while eating nothing but cheap gruel, too!

'...Of course, not everyone's like these kids.'

Advancements in science led to the establishment of systemic exercise regimes, allowing humans to reach new heights previously unthinkable. Would 'regular' people of the past imagine themselves sprinting 100 meters in nine seconds? Probably not.

Kang Jin-Ho fully understood that the modern training method was the right way. However, that didn't mean he wasn't rueful about training the kids this way.

'If only I could put these kids through the demon cult's training schedule for a month... Seizing control of their school should be a piece of cake for them.'

Although, that might result in one in three kids dying, so he should refrain. Kang Jin-Ho brushed aside the rueful feeling and addressed the children. “If you're done resting, it's time to get up.”

The children staggered back to their feet.

'Hmm...'

Kang Jin-Ho rubbed his chin slightly. He could see that brief break had allowed some rebellious streaks to slip into the minds of these kids. This was why he didn't want to give them time to think in the first place, but...

He had the option of wringing the resistance out of these kids by increasing the difficulty, but he didn't want to do that. He wasn't trying to create loyal subordinates, after all.

In that case, it was time to dangle a carrot before their eyes.

Kang Jin-Ho slowly nodded. “You don't understand why I'm making you do this, now do you?”

“...Yes, hyung.”

“And you're also wondering what will change just because you do this.”

“Honestly? Yes, hyung,” Han Jin-Seong acted as the representative of everyone here and replied.

Kang Jin-Ho's nodding intensified. “I'm glad you're being honest. In that case, I shall demonstrate the 'why' for you all.”

He turned around and headed to the storage room at the corner of the basketball court. He rummaged through its contents for a while before emerging outside with a hockey stick.

Han Jin-Seong blinked his eyes. “Eh?”

Kang Jin-Ho lightly swung the stick in the air a couple of times, then gripped it tightly with both hands and slashed it downward, hard. It produced a chilling?Whoooosh while scything through the air.

The orphanage kids nervously swallowed their saliva at this sight. It... couldn't be 'that', right?

Kang Jin-Ho cracked his neck a couple of times from left to right, then muttered threateningly at the children. “Get on the ground. Now.”

“...J-Jin-Ho hyung?!”

Kang Jin-Ho flatly muttered, “Relax. I'm only kidding.”

Don't ever joke with an expression like that! Please! That's not the kind of face you make when cracking a joke, you know! A joke won't feel like a joke anymore!

“So, here is your reason. Watch closely.” Kang Jin-Ho raised the hockey stick with one hand.

Everyone focused their attention on him.