First Step

Twenty or so trainee guards let a middle-aged man in a handstand beat them with a stick. Sung-Hoon was among them. He couldn't take the impact of the caning on his ass any longer and fell on his back.

"You bastards! I left the mansion for a few days and you skipped your training! Get ready for Hell Week."

Sung-Hoon remembered that he had warned him about Trainer Mo.

'I've heard that the biggest reason why the Baek Clan is superior to other clans in terms of military strength is because of its training.'

It was unreasonable to generalize this thought. The Baek Clan was considered strong because its training was mostly military training, but the same could not be said for other noble families.

"Who is this little bitch?"

Instructor Mo suddenly turned his head and saw Baek Yisoo standing outside the training ground. He looked him up and down with a grimace.

"Come here right now."

Baek Yisoo hesitantly approached Instructor Mo, not daring to refuse him.

"Stop acting like a little girl and come here!"

Although Instructor Mo was short, he was molded. He had a stern expression on his face. Baek Yisoo shuddered as she felt his gaze on her.

"Why do you want to be a guard?"

Instructor Mo's unexpected question caused Baek Yisoo to be surprised.

"To become stronger."

What else could he answer? There was no one he wanted to protect. He had no family or friends. He was not loyal to the Baek Clan.

"To be stronger?"

Guards were martial artists who specialized in protecting a specific person. Their master's safety depended on how well they were trained. A strong guard was in demand all over the world. Baek Yisoo knew this. If he could train well in the Baek Clan and become a guard, he wouldn't have to worry about money.

Instructor Mo narrowed his eyes at Baek Yisoo, shook his head, and then punched Baek Yisoo in the stomach.

Kuheook-

Instructor Mo grabbed the hair of Baek Yisoo, who was doubled over from the punch. Pulling hard, he lifted his face and slapped him hard on the right cheek.

Snap!

Baek Yisoo fell to the ground like a sack, but he managed to get up again. Even though his body was shaking as if in shock, he refused to stay on the ground and managed to stand up. After looking at him expressionlessly, Instructor Mo rolled up his sleeves and took a step toward Baek Yisoo.

'A man must stand upright like a plane tree. I have to do a good job even if it means death... I'm tired of being a loser, tired of being afraid!'

He tried to instill courage in himself. Instructor Mo's cold gaze, reminiscent of the north wind, put pressure on him. This caused his willpower to falter a little.

Bam!

---

After a sound beating, Baek Yisoo tried to ignore the pain in his body and joined the guards. He knew he had to keep moving forward despite everything. No one was going to take him by the hand and make him stronger, everything depended on him.

Guard training was divided into three parts. Physical training, weapons training, and discipline training. As it was his first day, Instructor Mo had set him up a rigorous physical training program to catch up with the others. It was training that would greatly improve his stamina, strength, and agility in a short time.

Long-running tracks were set up for endurance. Baek Yisoo had to run more than anyone else. So while others ran ten kilometers, he ran more than thirty kilometers. Then, without any rest, he went to the weights for strength training and worked out for three hours, training his whole body.

In the middle of the workout, he found Instructor Mo for advice.

"What do you need to do to be stronger than everyone else?"

Instructor Mo answered without thinking.

"It's very simple. You have to work harder than anyone else..."

He followed Instructor Mo's advice and trained until exhaustion. Exhausted and unable to move, he remembered how helpless he was against Namgung Bong. He got motivated again and kept training even after he was exhausted.

The others noticed how hard he was pushing himself.

"Is he planning to die on the first day?"

"If so, there are easier ways."

"He doesn't know the importance of rest..."

By the time he finished the agility training, his suit was completely soaked in sweat. He dragged himself out of the training ground and went to the barracks. Everyone had already arrived, changed, and gone out to hang out.

When he realized he was alone, he immediately drew water from the well and washed his body. He did his best to remove the smell of sweat. After taking care of everything, he lay down for a while.

He felt incredibly tired. If he let himself go, he could fall asleep in an instant, but he tried to control himself. He had a lot of things to do. And he had to do it in a very short time. He wandered around the system's market and looked at the cheap clothes he could buy.

It hadn't mattered much before. Because there was no reason for him to care about his appearance. But now he had to care about his appearance. He was ugly enough as it was, if he dressed badly he would be unbearable.

"These don't look bad..."

The Market sold clothes as well as all kinds of things. Baek Yisoo bought some clothes that fit his body size. Even though it was a noble family, very few people wore hanbok except the maids. The wool clothes Baek Yisoo had worn before were the most common among the slaves, the maids wore a slightly better quality, but the clothes he was buying now were made of linen.

Moreover, a set of clothes was worth five Seduction Points at most. This price made Baek Yisoo happy because he would have to spend two or three salaries for the same kind of clothes outside.

Black pants, a blue shirt, and black shoes. They were quite unusual clothes. It was different from the usual baji and jeogori. This would make him stand out. After Baek Yisoo put on the clothes, he looked for vegetable oil for fragrance, but he couldn't find it in the market. His alternative, something called perfume, was at least 150 Seduction Points.

"Minji should be in the laundry room right now."

He intended to visit her and have his first conversation. His excuse would be to have his guard clothes washed.

Baek Yisoo took a deep breath and calmed himself. He told himself to appear as confident as possible.

'Don't overestimate it, it's just a few words. It's not the end of the world! She's just an ordinary person like you...'

It was getting dark by the time he reached the laundry. Soon, ordinary maids like Minji would finish their work and leave the mansion. Looking inside, he saw Minji talking to someone as she put the laundry into baskets.

Yu Minji was a petite woman, 165 cm tall, weighing almost fifty kilograms. She had long black hair that was carefully braided. Her dark brown eyes were often malevolent. She was a bit of a puritan and not a woman of 'love' as far as he could see.

He looked at the person she was talking to and saw that it was Chang Yong-mi. She was a year older than Minji, more beautiful and elegant. She was easier to talk to, but a bit mercenary. Baek Yisoo had heard rumors that several guards who had tried to talk to her had been rejected.

When he entered the laundry room, sweaty guard clothes in hand, the two turned to him. They didn't seem to like having their gossip interrupted. And the fact that it was Baek Yisoo who interrupted it made the young woman frown even more.

"What is it?" said a disgruntled Minji, looking sternly at Baek Yisoo.

"I sweated a lot during practice, I want you to wash these by morning," Baek Yisoo said. He didn't back down. He was aware that he had started 2-0 down because of his appearance. He was also aware that if he approached normally, it would backfire.

Or rather, now he was sure.

Minji looked at the laundry in his hands and asked with a frown.

"Since when do slaves train?"

 "Slaves?" laughed Baek Yisoo sarcastically, "Do you have trouble with your eyes?"

Minji looked at the blue-colored uniform for a moment and was surprised. She looked at her friend and saw her shaking her head.

"You became a guard?"

"For now, yes. I'm aiming for higher places..."

In terms of position, the guards were the same as the maids. They were both officials of the clan. But in terms of authority, the guards were far above the maids. The salary was the same. So it was a big leap for Baek Yisoo to go from slave to guard.

Minji looked at Baek Yisoo and then at the clothes in his hand, then sheepishly took the clothes and put them in the laundry basket.

"I'll try to take care of it, you can go."

Although she spoke in a nonchalant tone, there was a noticeable change in her demeanor. Baek Yisoo was now in the same position as her. Therefore, she couldn't be as rude as she had been before. She had to be restrained. Baek Yisoo didn't say anything, just stared blankly into the air.

This was because something new had appeared.

[Interest Level: 1/100]

[Interest level must be at least 50 to use the target coupon.]

A bar appeared above Minji's head. Baek Yisoo realized that it had something to do with the interest level he had heard so many times. Moreover, he wondered what function the Target Coupon had. Was it an item that raised the interest level?

'Interest level? Is there a condition for it to appear?'

Although he had talked to Iseul and the others before, his interest level had not appeared.

'It seems I need to have a few words of conversation first. Strangely enough.

He turned his eyes to Chong Yong-mi.

[Interest Level: 5/100]

[Interest level must be at least 50 to use the target coupon.]

'Why so interested?'