Training (3)

Fuck… not again…

Ugh…

Just a little…

More…

A bit more…

Ahh…

.

.

.

Five hundred times.

I died, maybe a thousand times. And this was the result. Was it worth it? The pain and suffering I was going through? I was stuck on the same day for as long as I could remember. Working ass off, and then dying, then repeating the process again. Was it really worth it?

'I don't anymore…'

The pain didn't scare me anymore, I had grown used to it. It started to feel monotonous after dying a thousand times in the same way. I still couldn't believe the fact that Master considered this 'humane'.

'But I guess it was not completely a waste.'

NAME- KIND YULEN

RACE- HUMAN

STRENGTH- 3.923

ENDURANCE- 3.942

SPEED- 4.736

PERCEPTION- 9.000

MANA- [sealed]

SKILL(s)-

Reading (Grade-1), Regression (Grade-1)

My strength stat went up by a lot and my endurance shot up, probably from all the pain I had to endure.

"Hmm… undress."

"Yes."

I did as I was told. Shame was no longer in me.

"Since you don't have any technique, I'll show you once."

"No sir, you don't need to. I can manage?"

"What?"

Master was visibly flustered, again. Honestly, it was a bit funny seeing all those reactions. But they became repetitive and annoying as time went on. I just wanted to get over it as soon as possible.

'I really need a skip button…'

"Hup!"

The same cliff, the same techniques, the same sun, the same heat, the same struggle— Everything was the same.

"Hah!"

I was holding out better than I thought. Maybe it was because of endurance stat? But I was greedy for more. This was certainly not enough. I needed to add more numbers to my stats.

'For that, I have to push on.'

"Hup!"

This would mark my 100th ascent. But just before I could reach the top…

"...!"

Fwoosh—

Something flew by my ear, maybe it grazed a little.

"No way…"

Something was rolling down my ears and it stung a little…

I halted my ascent and touched my ear. Some kind of liquid was rolling down.

It was crimson. It was blood.

I turned my head towards whatever grazed my ear. It was a small needle.

I quickly realised what was going on.

"Fuck!"

Master was supposed to just send tremors if I tried to rest. Why the hell was he shooting out needles?!

'This one was probably a warning shot. But why?'

"Hoho… you sure are an interesting one. Why don't we take it to the next level?"

'Next level' my ass. He's planning to kill me.

'No wait, maybe I can raise my speed stat with this?'

But naturally, I had to die a lot of times for that.

Fuck.

***

'That is some amazing growth. He seemed to falter quite a bit at first but after some time…'

Boom—

It wasn't a needle that flew but a rock. But it never hit the target.

'Of course, I am not even using five per cent of my power. I don't want to kill him. But still, this is too impressive. To possess such awareness of his surroundings… it's extraordinary. I wonder how high his perception stat is.'

Musashi, of course, had no idea about Kind's exceptional perception stat. The best guess he could have was 7 but that was still far from the truth.

Fwoosh—

The throwing became more violent as Kind's evasion increased. It should be too much of a burden for a kid to dodge even a single throw, but this child was exceptional in every way possible. Not only could he detect the incoming threat, but he also searched for the best possible action to dodge and do his task simultaneously. Truly wonderful!

Even for the undefeatable Sword Saint, the sight was truly marvellous.

Tenacity in the child's eyes, a desperation to cease an unknown goal and recklessness that puts courage to shame.

'What a praiseworthy child…'

"Well then, try not to die."

Boom—

***

"What the fuck?!"

This didn't happen in the previous regressions?! I died a lot from the needles and stones and my speed stat was already near my endurance stat but as if throwing me off my high horse, Master added tremors to the pack.

The earth shook violently as if it would crumble down to pieces any moment now.

"Haa… haa…"

The sound of my heavy breathing was the only thing that was keeping me going. I didn't have much strength left in my arms or legs. My head was dizzy from climbing up and down and saving my life without any rest.

Boom—

"Fuck fuck fuck!"

What the fuck was I supposed to do?

Should I just die again?

'No.'

I was not too far from completing the task.

'Just a bit more and I will reach a thousand…!'

Just a bit more…!

***

"Haa… haa… this… this…"

This was the end.

"Haa… fuck…"

Tap…

Someone landed near me.

I barely opened my eyes and rolled my eyes toward the person. It was Master.

"So you finally did it."

"Haa… yeah, I think I did it. Or did I miscount?"

"No, you did fine."

"Haa… haa… I am glad."

I really was. I had gone through hell, I couldn't move a muscle for probably a few weeks.

"That was impressive. You not only held onto your determination, but you also kept your head cool and thought of the best possible ways. It was admirable to see."

Little did he know that I had to die countless times to memorize his patterns.

None of the deaths was painless or instant. Even when I fell from the top, maybe because of the rise in my endurance stat, I somehow kept on holding onto my life for a little longer, but death was imminent, and not a painless one.

'The number should have exceeded a thousand…'

Hell, it was probably even more than that.

'But finally, this was over.'

"Well then, get some rest. You pushed yourself quite a bit today so we are not doing the rest today."

The rest? There was more to do than this? Was he insane?

'Fucking…'

And with that, the first day of my training was over.

***