Radiant Dragon’s Otherworldly Reincarnation

Chapter 7. Ah, I shouldn't have done that then (2)

Everyone has a goal they gloriously aim for.

Just as a merchant dreams of making a lot of money, and those who study dream of succeeding and becoming high-ranking officials, a person who holds a sword dreams of becoming strong and being a great hero.

It's okay.

Dreams are free.

But those who begin to put that dream into practice realize.

That nothing in this world is obtained for free.

“Pathetic things. It hasn't even been an hour yet, you bastards!”

A ten-year-old child was rudely shouting and scolding grown adults.

Who, you ask?

Is there a need to say?

It's Patrick.

Right now, before his eyes, two hundred soldiers were struggling with expressions as if they were about to die.

The soldiers had their legs half-bent, their upper bodies straight, and both arms extended forward holding a sword.

It's the so-called Horse Stance in the martial world.

The foundation of martial arts.

The foundation of the lower body.

The foundation of foundations.

When Patrick first showed them the stance and told them to do it, the soldiers' first impression was, ‘What is that?’

To the soldiers who couldn't understand at all, Patrick said.

[If you can endure this for two shichen… no, for four hours, I will pass on to you an energy cultivation method, that is, an Aura Blessing.]

The moment they heard those words, the soldiers' eyes went wide.

An Aura Blessing?

Isn't that something they could never even dream of?

‘My goodness, an Aura Blessing?’

‘He really intends to make us knights.’

‘Just doing that weird stance for four hours. This is a giveaway.’

And when Patrick said to start, everyone awkwardly got into the stance.

Patrick walked among the soldiers, correcting their incorrect postures, and after correcting all the stances, he went up on the platform and began to watch the soldiers' condition with a stern gaze.

And now, thirty minutes later….

“Keeeeuk….”

“Uuuuugh….”

The soldiers were gritting their teeth and enduring.

Their thighs felt like they were on fire, and their whole bodies were twisting and turning, but they endured and endured with the single-minded thought of the Aura Blessing.

But….

“Uwaaaah!”

“Damn it!”

“Noooo!”

Eventually, they reached their limit.

They were burning with determination with the greatest opportunity of their lives before them, but it wasn't easy to endure with just mental strength once the body's limit had been reached.

The mind transcends the body?

Hey, that's not something just anyone can do.

Especially in this atmosphere, the failure of one person infects the other challengers.

Once the first dropout occurs, the others also start to think in the back of their minds, ‘It can't be helped.’

If that happens….

“Uwaaaah!”

“Damn it….”

“Nooooo! Damn it!”

Here and there, soldiers began to fall, plopping down on their buttocks.

Out of the two hundred soldiers, about seventy collapsed in an instant.

Seeing that, Patrick clicked his tongue as if it was pathetic and said.

“Tsk tsk tsk, look at you all. When I used to start the Horse Stance, I could do it all day. I slept, ate, and even looked at spring paintings in that state. You hear me, you punk? Got it?”

‘What’s a spring painting?’

‘What’s a spring painting?’

They were extremely curious, but it wasn't the situation to ask.

One hour passed.

“Uuuunngh….”

“Keeuk…. Kuaaaa….”

The muscles screamed.

To please give up.

That if they give up and sit down, it will be comfortable.

They protested and got angry, asking why they were doing this.

But here's the thing.

Going against and resisting the signals sent by the body like that and tormenting oneself to the very end is what training is.

At this point, more than half had dropped out, and now less than seventy people remained.

Those who remained tried to endure somehow, even as their legs trembled.

That will was commendable.

The will, that is.

Two hours passed.

“Now it's just you left, huh?”

Everyone had collapsed, and only one man remained, sweating profusely.

In front of him, Patrick sat cross-legged, looking at the final challenger with a bored expression.

‘Well, I thought he would be the one to last.’

Sanson.

The born martial artist whom Patrick had already taken note of once.

Looking at his body alone, Sanson's talent is quite considerable.

If he had been born in the Central Plains, he would have made a name for himself as a strongman from a young age, and a prestigious righteous sect would have sent a white-bearded old man to say, ‘Ho ho ho, you shall be my disciple,’ and snatched him up.

That Sanson was enduring and enduring even at this moment when everyone else had collapsed.

And more than two hours passed.

Two of the four prepared hourglasses had completely run out, and the third hourglass began to flow.

Seeing that, Patrick said with a pleased smile.

“Good. You're doing well.”

“…….”

“Halfway there now. You can do it, right?”

“Kuk….”

“Just endure for as long as you have until now. You can do it. Right?”

“Eut…. Keeeuk….”

Sounds of pain started to come out of Sanson's mouth.

The human mind is truly fickle.

Halfway done.

Halfway to go.

Even in the same situation, the feelings people experience are different.

Sanson had endured and endured through the pain that felt like his legs were burning, but the moment he realized that half was left, his mind wavered.

‘Half is left? I have to do this for as long as I already have? This?’

His knees trembled, and his whole body began to scream.

The moment he realized that he had to go through this hellish time of pain for as long as he already had….

‘C-… crazy….’

“Kuaaaaaah!”

In the end, Sanson too collapsed.

Sanson, who had plopped down backward, sat there with a dumbfounded expression, then soon brought both hands to his face and covered his eyes with them.

He gritted his teeth and covered his eyes, worried that a grown man might show an unsightly side.

At that sight, the other soldiers also felt sorry for him.

‘Sanson, I was hoping at least you would pass.’

‘Damn it, does this make sense? Does it?!’

‘It was impossible from the start. That damn Young Master was just playing with us.’

The soldiers didn't say it, but they sent gazes full of resentment towards Patrick.

Receiving those gazes, Patrick clicked his tongue and said.

“Tsk tsk tsk, you have no guts. No guts.”

“Kuk….”

“Damn it….”

The soldiers clenched their fists and trembled in frustration.

To them, who were breathing heavily and gritting their teeth to control their anger, Patrick said.

“You want to become a knight with such weak tenacity? Not a chance.”

“…….”

“You're all like worthless trash.”

“Kuk….”

No matter if he was the lord's son, receiving such an insult from a ten-year-old child made a rage that felt like his head would spin soar up.

They glared at Patrick with murderous eyes, and Patrick looked at them and said.

“You looked down on it, didn't you?”

“…….”

“You thought it was nothing, didn't you? You readily accepted because you thought it was easy, right? While gleefully thinking about learning the Aura Blessing.”

“…….”

“Am I wrong? If I was wrong, say something. I'll apologize.”

“…….”

No one answered.

Because what Patrick said had accurately pierced their inner thoughts.

Then, instead of anger, shame and self-reproach filled their insides.

It was a stance they had thought was nothing, but no one could clear the condition Patrick had presented.

What could they say?

Were they going to argue that the condition was too harsh now that they had failed, after accepting without a second thought?

That was something they couldn't do if they had a conscience.

The soldiers hung their heads, disheartened.

At the sight of the disheartened soldiers, Patrick smiled faintly inwardly.

‘They know what is right. They haven't been taught, but they can distinguish between right and wrong and practice it.’

He already knew and believed in the soldiers' loyalty.

But separate from that, he had to verify whether they were qualified to learn martial arts or not.

Martial arts is power.

Those who are qualified to obtain that power must be those who have formed the minimum character to use that power correctly.

‘…That was Master's theory. Huh? But why did he teach me?’

He felt a momentary contradiction in his Master's teachings, but anyway, it seemed that the test for the soldiers was sufficient.

Patrick said in a calm voice.

“We'll do it again tomorrow at the same time.”

At that moment, the soldiers who had been hanging their heads low all raised their faces at once.

And one of the soldiers said.

“Aren't we disqualified as of today?”

“Of course not. I'll make you do it until you succeed.”

“We… we don't have to give up?”

“Give uuuup?”

A deep furrow formed on Patrick's brow.

At that moment, all two hundred soldiers flinched.

It was strange for several hundred grown adults to flinch just because a mere ten-year-old child frowned a little, but was the opponent not who he was?

Patrick looked at the soldier who had mentioned giving up and said.

“Give up? Try it. Just you try and give up.”

“N-… no, sir. I didn't mean that I would give up.”

“Ah, you didn't? I see. I misunderstood. Hahaha. Sorry.”

“Ha…. Hahaha….”

Patrick relaxed the expression that had turned like a devil incarnate and laughed good-naturedly.

The soldier awkwardly laughed along, and Patrick deliberately muttered towards the soldiers as if for them to hear.

“A pity. I need to make a proper example at the beginning, so there won't be a second or third deserter.”

At that moment, the soldiers realized.

From the very beginning, the option to give up did not exist for them.

A week later.

“Hey. You vermin-like bastard!”

“Kuaaaak!”

Patrick instantly ran towards a soldier who had collapsed while enduring the Horse Stance and kicked him squarely.

And after flying several meters and getting stuck in a corner of the training ground, he approached the soldier and….

“I told you, didn't I? Huh? Did I say you'd be dead if you collapsed earlier than yesterday, or did I not?”

“Ugh…. Uwaaaah…. You did. You d-…. Kuaaak!”

“Then why did you collapse? Are you ignoring me? Are you ignoring me? And you still hope to live?”

“No, sir. N-…. Uwaaaah!”

It was a scene of brutal assault that was hard to watch with open eyes.

The other soldiers watching it gritted their teeth and endured.

‘Crazy….’

‘No. I have to endure.’

‘Uoooh…. Noooo!’

If anyone were here now to say, "How much could it hurt to be stepped on by a ten-year-old?", they would have to clean up a corpse.

The soldiers knew.

How cruel and terribly painful Patrick's violence was.

After the first day of training.

Patrick gave the soldiers a quota.

“You have to endure for at least thirty minutes more than your yesterday's self. Got it?”

“Th-… thirty minutes, you say?”

“Yeah. Isn't that obvious? A person has to be better than their yesterday's self. That's what progress is, isn't it?”

“…….”

“You have to progress when you train. Training that doesn't achieve the result of progress is just a waste of time. The goal for that is thirty minutes. How about it? Good, right?”

“…….”

His words were correct.

Very regrettably, they were correct.

Then, one soldier said with a tearful face.

“But Young Master, thirty minutes is too….”

“Hmm? Too short?”

Before the soldier could finish his sentence, Patrick quickly interjected.

Then he continued, smiling brightly.

“Then shall we make it an hour?”

“N-… no, that's not it….”

“Hmm, I underestimated your enthusiasm. I bow my head and apologize to you all. Please blame me, the incompetent one who did not recognize your motivation and desire for improvement.”

“…….”

For a moment, shouldn't we really be allowed to curse him?

That thought flashed through the soldiers' minds.

To those soldiers, Patrick said with a devilish expression.

“Alright, then as you all wish(?), it's one hour. You just have to do exactly one hour more than your yesterday's self. Wow, at this rate, we'll succeed in four hours in no time. Right?”

“…….”

In an instant, the soldiers' faces turned pale.

And Patrick clapped his hands and said.

“Alright, begin!”

Thus, the training began again.

And the assault began in earnest.

It was the moment hell descended upon the training grounds of the Schneider fiefdom.