Chapter 155

Throughout the entire journey, Rachel found herself unable to contain her pure astonishment. Drill Sarge was the culprit. The manner in which that E-rank summon conducted his training regimens was utterly preposterous. On top of that, she was equally amazed by Baek Jinwoo himself.

“Do you seriously subject yourself to that training every single day?” she asked.

Having just completed a round of intense physical conditioning, he was currently performing push-ups while balanced entirely on a single thumb in a vertical handstand, steadily lowering and extending his arm. His facial expression remained completely unbothered and relaxed.

Was such a feat even humanly possible? He maintained that it was meant for strengthening his core muscles, but considering the natural muscular structure and weight distribution of a human being, balancing one’s entire body mass on a lone thumb defied all logic. It completely flew in the face of ergonomics! The human thumb simply was not constructed to endure that magnitude of weight. The mere fact that he could execute it meant he was post-human! He had moved past being a regular human, transcending those physical limitations entirely.

And what made it even more unbelievable?

Urrrrghhh!

Grroaaaarr……

……!

Baekho, the golden dragon, and the Great Wizard were all dutifully obeying Drill Sarge’s commands with highly satisfied expressions on their faces. Those incredibly proud S-rank summons, of all entities, were falling in line.

“How on earth is any of this actually happening?” Rachel questioned, her face a mask of total disbelief.

“You should consider yourself quite fortunate. He doesn’t just train anybody under normal circumstances. He’s only doing this because our groups have formed an alliance.”

This particular perk was originally meant solely for members of the guild, but the reality was that Baek Jinwoo owed her a favor. Back during the league, she had agreed to his ridiculous duel proposal on the sole condition that they form an alliance. Repaying trust with trust was the very creed Baek Jinwoo lived by.

“Now that your muscles have had a moment to recover, it’s about time you get in on the action as well.”

“……Me as well? That absolute madness of a training routine?”

“Yes. Physical conditioning combined with specific breathing exercises. Drill Sarge will figure out the absolute best approach tailored for you.”

“……”

She lapsed into silence for a brief moment. Suddenly, everything was beginning to make perfect sense. It explained why the rankers from South Korea had skyrocketed from such a mediocre tier to world-class competitors almost overnight. It was entirely due to Drill Sarge. At the exact same time, she realized that her own golden opportunity had finally arrived. It might not be quite enough to elevate her to the tier of JinuGod, but it was the ultimate chance to significantly widen the gap between herself and the remaining members of the Five Emperors!

“Alright.”

She had already resolved to follow whatever instructions Baek Jinwoo gave her. Since she hadn’t even started yet, it was far too early to break that determination.

“Let’s get to work.”

They had successfully traversed the mountain range. After navigating one more river crossing and traveling a bit further, they would finally reach the Holy Kingdom of Lumentia. Because there was no predicting what might be waiting for them there, Rachel fully intended to gather as much personal strength as humanly possible.

“Hkk— haaah!”

At long last, one of the hopeful participants collapsed onto the ground in a state of absolute, total exhaustion. His complexion had turned completely pale, and his whole body was soaked through with sweat. He was so incredibly drained that saliva was literally trailing from his lips.

“I QUIT! I’m done! I can’t take another step! Haahk— hekk!” he yelled out in pure desperation.

He simply couldn’t continue. His heart wasn’t merely racing; it felt as though it was on the verge of exploding inside his chest, and his legs completely refused to move, feeling entirely paralyzed. He couldn’t even comprehend how the other applicants were still managing to hold on. A profound, extreme fatigue had seeped into every single fiber of his being. Every breath he drew felt as though his lungs were tearing to pieces.

“Haahk— hak!”

Right at that moment, Ki Jaehyeok and Kang Jiho quickly hurried over to his side.

“You did an incredible job, you really pushed yourself!”

“Here, let me give you some freezing cold water!”

A stainless steel container filled to the brim with ice-cold water materialized, with actual ice cubes clinking on the surface. The exhausted participant grabbed it like a desperate man and threw it down his throat.

Ah, ahhh……

I really want some of that too……

I wish I could drink that.

The remaining interns who were still forced to run swallowed heavily at the sight. Could water taken from a hidden oasis in the middle of a barren desert look any more divine than that? Or perhaps the expression of a damned soul being liberated from hell looked exactly like the face he was making?

I want to be saved as well……

I desperately want to escape this torture!

Ki Jaehyeok utilized those exact underlying feelings, actively coaxing and testing their resolve even further.

“To be completely honest, throwing in the towel right now is actually the smarter move. This is merely the very first day of the week. And just running? That’s just the absolute baseline. It only gets significantly worse from this point onward.”

“Exactly, he’s totally right! You put in a tremendous effort! Just go train a bit more on your own and give it another shot with the third batch!”

Faced with the gentle, comforting words of the two established rankers, the participant lowered his head, looking somewhat bitter. However, he didn’t cry. Instead, a wave of profound relief began to wash over him.

This is supposed to be just the baseline? It gets even tougher later on?

Yeah. Perhaps pulling out right now was truly the superior decision. The third batch? To hell with that! The national team was meant for individuals who actually possessed the proper qualifications. Having truthfully come to terms with his own personal boundaries, the participant gave a nod.

“Haahk, hak. Y-yeah…… Whew, whew!”

On that very first day of physical conditioning, a total of twenty individuals dropped out of the running. Eighty applicants remained.

“Even so, that’s still quite a remarkable feat, wouldn’t you say? They managed to hold out through five straight hours of running without a break.”

“Well, we did hand-select them ourselves, so that much is to be expected. A good portion of them likely built up their stamina ahead of time.”

Inside the screening councilman meeting room, various guild members were actively discussing the current pool of applicants. Just about everyone was in remarkably good physical shape. Particularly one individual.

“That one woman, Seo Iyun or whatever her name was…… She crossed the finish line first, didn’t she?”

“Yes, apparently she was a ballet major over at Korea University…… Her level of endurance is truly remarkable.”

She was twenty-eight years old. Hong Ari had previously singled her out as a critical figure to watch. Her physical movements were incredibly precise and graceful, which ideally meant her internal control would mirror that precision, but that remained something they would have to properly assess as things moved forward.

“Excellent work today, everyone.”

Clap!

Hong Ari concluded the session with a single, sharp clap of her hands.

“As all of you are well aware, tomorrow’s physical conditioning is going to be significantly tougher than what they faced today. We need to condense the group even further.”

“What exactly was scheduled for tomorrow? Hill sprints, right?”

Hwang Juwon rolled his shoulders around as if attempting to work out some muscular stiffness. Come to think of it, the man was already well into his fifties, yet he hadn’t shed a single drop of sweat during the entire run. That was a testament to just how much the overall level of the guild members had progressed. Granted, it was largely due to the specialized breathing exercises, but those secrets could only be acquired once a person formally gained entry into the guild.

“Yes, Geomdan Mountain hill sprints.”

That meant four hours of sprinting up and down a mountain terrain featuring a steep thirty-degree incline. To make matters worse, various obstacles were deliberately placed throughout the pathways.

“We will be participating in the run right alongside them, so ensure that every one of you gets a proper night of rest.”

SKY spared absolutely no expense when it came to treating the remaining eighty candidates like absolute royalty. Elite-tier medical practitioners and specialized healers completely rejuvenated their strained muscles, while high-end massage treatments were provided to loosen every single stiff fiber in their bodies. The dining options left absolutely nothing to be desired either.

“Wow, is this the kind of food you get to eat every single day if you manage to join SKY?”

“……This meal could honestly go toe-to-toe with a Michelin three-star establishment.”

“Ahh, it literally just dissolves on your tongue.”

A massive, luxurious spread of gourmet dishes packed with vital nutrients completely covered the dining tables. It was total physical restoration! A joint effort between Groteling (an A-rank entity) and top-tier culinary chefs yielded fresh catches of seafood, premium cuts of high-grade meat, and every type of health-restoring dish imaginable.

Their overnight accommodations were equally magnificent. They were provided lodging inside the ultra-premium luxury apartments located within Yubaek City. What more could anyone possibly ask for?

“So this is the exact reason why SKY consistently turns out nothing but top-tier elites.”

“It honestly feels like all the brutal suffering from earlier just got compensated in full.”

“I am so incredibly glad I didn’t throw in the towel.”

The candidates successfully shook off their lingering physical exhaustion and mentally braced themselves for the second round of conditioning the following day. A sense of anticipation mixed heavily with anxiety. Today had very nearly broken them—just how much more brutal would tomorrow turn out to be?

Even so, they had no right to complain. Every single existing member of the guild had successfully navigated the exact same torment under even more punishing parameters. Join this guild, and your strength will increase. That absolute certainty had planted deep roots inside the hearts of all the participants.

The very next day, the sun made its appearance.

“The objective today is hill sprints, repeating up and down. The exact same guidelines from yesterday apply. If you wish to quit, you are completely free to withdraw at any moment.”

Following the sound of Hong Ari’s voice—

BANG!

The starting gun went off.

“LET’S GOOOOO!”

“CHARGE!”

The group of participants let out a collective roar and bolted up the steep incline.

And what about the established guild members? They did exactly what they always did. Every single one of them had two heavy vehicle tires strapped firmly to their bodies!

By the end of that day, five additional candidates were knocked out of the running.

On day three, the absolute brutality of the physical training ramped up to an even higher degree. This time around, it was circuit training! It was a grueling regimen explicitly crafted to forge full-body power right alongside cardiovascular endurance, easily brutal enough to match the most ruthless military conditioning programs on earth.

Squats, burpees, push-ups, and planks. Under the strict, rhythmic cadence of Hong Ari, every single movement had to be performed with flawless technique. Anyone who showed signs of lagging behind was subjected to intense psychological pressure until they finally broke and threw in the towel.

Ten more individuals were eliminated.

By day four, the surviving sixty-five players found themselves out on the running track once again. However, there was a major catch this time. For this round, they were forced to drag two heavy tires behind them as well. Naturally, the guild members raised the stakes by fastening twenty-kilogram weights to both of their legs in addition to the tires they were already pulling.

Is a feat like this even physically viable? Muscles require proper down-time to recover, don’t they……?

A wave of quiet grumbling started to spread among the candidates, but what alternatives did they actually have? Direct orders were direct orders! Even so, it appeared that only the true cream of the crop remained at this particular stage. Only a single candidate was eliminated over the course of that entire day. To put it plainly, having pushed themselves this far into the process, the psychological refusal to let all that effort go to waste was influencing them heavily.

Day five arrived. It was another mountain climb, but this time they had to pull tires, matching the conditions of the fourth day. The focus was on reinforcing lower-body muscle groups and forging deep endurance under prolonged physical duress. Superior cardiopulmonary stamina was an absolute necessity.

The remaining participants were starting to experience a sense of genuine terror. Through the shared misery of training alongside one another, they had grown somewhat close to the regular guild members, and there was a specific warning the guild members constantly repeated.

“It’s starting to feel somewhat manageable, isn’t it? But to be completely candid with you, we are barely even exerting ourselves right now.”

“The honest truth is that the absolute monster of these entire training grounds is someone else entirely. If you manage to get accepted, you will be forced to confront that terrifying entity every single day.”

“……Drill Sarge. Man, my entire body starts aching the second I even think about him. See this? I just mentioned his name and the hairs on my arms are already standing straight up.”

“Haha, you can’t even attempt to fake exhaustion when you’re standing in front of Drill Sarge. With a single glance, he knows precisely how much fuel you have left in your tank, and exactly how much harder you can be pushed. The guy is practically a specter.”

Drill Sarge. His fearsome reputation appeared to be massive.

Good heavens. That is what Drill Sarge is actually like? ……But isn’t he just Baek Jinwoo’s summon? Still, the reality of it didn’t truly register with them. They hadn’t experienced his oversight with their own eyes just yet. For the very first time since the training started, the day concluded with zero eliminations.

Day six. The concluding day of physical conditioning had finally arrived. Today’s task was the comprehensive extreme obstacle course. Running, mountain scaling, and circuit training! All three components were linked together in a never-ending cycle—and it was quite literally, truly infinite.

“This training will persist without interruption until we reach the required number of dropouts. Only fifty! Exactly fifty of you will be permitted to move forward to the next phase,” Hong Ari announced in a cold, matter-of-fact tone.

Her declaration marked the official beginning of cutthroat competition. The overall intensity ratcheted up to a genuinely sadistic level, and the agonizing hours began to stretch on indefinitely. Ultimately, before even five hours had elapsed, fourteen of the participants broke down and quit. Those fourteen individuals were forced to swallow the bitter medicine of failure with their heads lowered, while the remaining fifty candidates finally let out massive sighs of relief, at long last seeing the conclusion of the physical conditioning phase.

“Haahh, haahh!”

Not a single person among them, gasping for air and collapsed flat on the earth, could fully process the feat they had just pulled off.

I actually survived.

That was a complete nightmare……

Even elite black ops operatives from North Korea probably don’t undergo conditioning this severe.

Their physical bodies were entirely broken, but a profound sense of euphoria and triumph completely washed over them.

Hong Ari stepped out to face the group. For the very first time, the absolute faintest hint of a smile appeared on her usually rigid expression.

“My congratulations to you all. You have successfully navigated the first gate.”

However, the words she uttered next were icy and sharp, presenting a massive contrast to that slight smile.

“Nonetheless, this represents merely the opening act. Over the course of the upcoming three weeks, you will confront even more grueling trials and highly extreme training protocols. Tomorrow, you will all be granted a full day of complete rest. Utilize it as you see fit, and contemplate very carefully whether this specific path is truly the one you desire to walk.”

It functioned as a stern warning. SKY was an elite organization that fully intended to eclipse the national team and establish themselves as the absolute best group on the entire planet. Gaining entry was anything but simple. Exceptional talent was a basic prerequisite, alongside the sheer effort required to back it up. It demanded the willpower and raw grit to endure until the very end.

And yet, her ominous warning didn’t prompt anyone to quit. Instead, it ignited a fierce ambition deep within the souls of every remaining candidate.

No matter what it takes…… I will gain entry even if it kills me.

I’ve made it all the way to this point—I WILL see this through to the absolute end!

But fifty contenders still remained in the pool. The entrance to SKY remained as narrow as it had ever been.