SWNOVELXO Chapter 85 - Hell (5)
Chapter 85. Hell (5)
Yuri moved his body lightly and let out a sigh.
“Wow… What is this?”
He had merely been massaging himself, yet the pain had subsided?
No, at this point, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that he was almost fully healed compared to just a moment ago.
Yuri looked at Poppy with astonished eyes.
Beads of sweat were forming on Poppy’s forehead.
Realizing this, Yuri understood that what Poppy had done wasn’t just a simple massage.
As Yuri stared at him intently, Poppy gave a wide smile, his face innocent.
Just then, a voice interrupted.
“Wow! Was that just now the famous Yuum Tribe’s Healing Hand?”
Poppy nodded up and down at Arin’s question, but Yuri tilted his head to the side.
“Healing Hand?”
“It’s a unique secret technique of the Yuum Tribe that drastically boosts physical recovery. It’s said that not many even among the Yuum Tribe have mastered it… Huh?”
As she was explaining, Arin suddenly realized something, her eyes widening.
“Huh? Now that I think about it, only Yuum Tribe monks can learn the Healing Hand, right? Poppy, were you a monk?”
Nod, nod.
“My goodness, that explains it! So, it’s not that you can’t talk, you just choose not to?”
Nod, nod.
“Are you on a vow of silence?”
Nod, nod.
Arin, excitedly chattering, and Poppy, nodding his head with a pleased expression.
Their conversation brought back something Johan had told Yuri.
[Descendants of the ancient giants. Among them, there is a group known as monks. They are perverts who seek the light of the soul through asceticism.]
‘Ah, so that guy Poppy is one of those perverts.’
As he nodded, Yuri suddenly glanced at Arin.
‘But that girl knows more than I thought.’
She had recognized Poppy as part of the Yuum Tribe right away.
And she had identified the Healing Hand just by seeing it once.
Though her behavior seemed carefree and whimsical, she knew more and had sharper insights than expected.
While Yuri was lost in his thoughts, Poppy and Arin continued their conversation, oblivious to his gaze.
“But what brings a monk from the Yuum Tribe to the Cradle? Isn’t the Yuum Tribe known for being quite reclusive?”
“I’m hungry.”
“Did your superiors send you? Why?”
Shake, shake.
“You don’t know?”
“I’m hungry.”
“You just felt like you were being guided by the flow of fate?”
Nod, nod.
“Haha, what is that! So you’re just going with the flow?”
“I’m hungry!”
“Okay, okay. I won’t tease you, don’t get mad.”
As Yuri listened to their conversation, he muttered in disbelief.
“…No, how the hell do you understand all that?”
As Yuri pointed out, it was indeed strange how Arin seemed to understand Poppy’s words so well.
Even though all Poppy was saying was “I’m hungry.”
In response to his question, Arin looked at him as if he were the strange one.
“Huh? At first, I was confused too, but after hearing it a few times, I started to understand. Can’t you?”
“…How could I?”
“That’s odd. Why can’t you?”
“I’m hungry?”
Arin and Poppy stared at Yuri as if wondering why he couldn’t grasp it.
By this point, Yuri felt like he was the abnormal one for not understanding.
He let out a small sigh.
“Hah, if you can understand so well, ask him why he’s been following me around all this time.”
“Oh, I asked him about that before.”
“What did he say?”
“He’s been following you around just because he felt he had to. He felt like he should, like it was fate. Right?”
“I’m hungry!”
Nod, nod.
Seeing Poppy nodding enthusiastically in agreement with Arin’s words, Yuri narrowed his eyes.
“Fate, huh……”
Honestly, he didn’t believe in that sort of thing.
However, there was one thing that caught his attention.
‘Shari earring.’
The object called Shari, which had come from the body of a Yuum Tribe monk.
Perhaps this guy had been drawn to it?
As that thought crossed his mind.
‘…Drawn?’
A light bulb went off in Yuri’s head with a ding.
He turned to Poppy and asked,
“Poppy!”
“…?”
“By any chance… can you catch ghosts?”
“I’m hungry.”
Poppy said something, but Yuri couldn’t understand and looked at Arin.
His eyes signaled for her to interpret, and Arin shrugged her shoulders.
“He says he can’t catch them.”
“Oh…”
Yuri looked slightly disappointed.
But then, a piece of good news brightened his expression.
“But he can hit them.”
“…What?”
“He can’t catch them, but he can hit them.”
Hearing this, Yuri placed a serious hand on Poppy’s shoulder.
“Poppy…”
“…?”
“I grant you permission to stay by my side. Always follow me.”
He had found it, his very own ghost repellent.
His large and precious talisman to ward off ghosts!
“I-I’m hungry?”
Caught off guard by Yuri’s sudden change in attitude, Poppy ended up nodding.
Arin, who had been watching this exchange, suddenly popped her head between them.
“What about me? What about me?”
Her whining voice prompted Yuri to ask seriously.
“Can you catch ghosts too?”
“Are you crazy? How could I do that? No, more importantly, do ghosts even exist?”
“Rejected.”
Yuri pushed Arin’s forehead with a single finger.
In response, Arin strained her neck to resist.
“Hey, why not! Let me join!”
“No.”
“Why!”
“Because I don’t want to.”
“That’s so unfair!”
“That’s also my choice.”
When Arin stubbornly resisted despite his efforts to push her away, Yuri finally lost his patience and snapped.
“Why are you so desperate to join us anyway?”
“Because when I’m with you guys… no, with you, I feel like a lot of fun things will happen!”
“…All of this just for that?”
“Yep.”
“Really?”
“Yep.”
Yuri added another finger, pushing against Arin’s forehead.
“Completely rejected. You’re out, no question.”
“Ah, why! I’ll eat less and listen well!”
“Still rejected.”
“Ugh, but I’m good with a bow! Have you forgotten the good times we had together?”
Yuri hesitated for a moment, seeing Arin’s pitiful eyes.
Of course, it wasn’t her gaze that swayed him.
He was simply considering the practicality of the situation.
‘To be honest, she was pretty useful if nothing else.’
Especially since Arin was a rare archer in the Cradle, and she had worked well with him.
Of course, he still didn’t know the skill level of the other 50 cadets.
So far, he had only gauged the skills of Gunther, who had faced off against Theresia.
‘That guy was quite competent as well…’
However, if a quest came up where he had to collaborate with someone, Yuri would prioritize recruiting Arin.
‘It wouldn’t be a bad idea to practice our coordination beforehand.’
With that thought, Yuri slowly removed his finger from Arin’s forehead.
“Huh?”
Arin looked up at Yuri in confusion as the pressure on her forehead disappeared.
Yuri chuckled softly and said,
“I’ll test your skills one more time and then decide whether to accept you.”
“Really?”
Arin’s eyes instantly sparkled with excitement.
She happily placed her arms around Yuri’s and Poppy’s shoulders.
“Yayyyy!”
Seeing her genuinely delighted expression, Yuri couldn’t help but chuckle.
Then, realizing something, he asked Arin and Poppy,
“By the way… do you guys know where we are?”
As he said this, Yuri looked around.
They were inside a small tent, with blankets that seemed to belong to Poppy and Arin scattered around.
It seemed like these two had also passed out and just woken up, just like him.
In response to Yuri’s question, both Poppy and Arin shook their heads simultaneously.
“I’m hungry.”
“No idea, we just woke up not too long ago.”
“Ugh, what were you doing after waking up? Didn’t you even check where we are?”
“We were waiting to see when you’d wake up.”
“I’m hungry.”
Poppy nodded, indicating that he had been waiting too, just like Arin.
Yuri sighed at their response.
At that moment.
Rustle—
The entrance of the tent rustled as someone entered.
The three of them turned their heads toward the entrance in surprise.
There stood a Black Sword Corps soldier with a rough expression.
The soldier’s face grew more menacing as he noticed the three of them staring at him.
“Huh? Look at these guys! Still lying around? Do you think this is your home?”
Yuri immediately sensed danger from the soldier’s tone.
His eyes darted around nervously.
‘…What is this familiar stench of rotten food waste in his voice?’
As soon as he detected the familiar and dangerous scent, Yuri sprang to his feet.
The Black Sword Corps soldier’s eyes gleamed with interest.
“Oh? At least one of you has some sense. As for the rest… What are you doing? Get up!”
Despite the soldier’s loud shout, Arin and Poppy were still sitting there, blinking in confusion.
Yuri lightly kicked their butts to prompt them to stand.
Finally, the two sluggishly got to their feet, and the soldier smirked as he pointed at Yuri.
“You, the one with black hair in the middle.”
“Yes.”
“You’re in charge of those two clueless ones. Lead them.”
“Understood.”
With those words, the Black Sword Corps soldier left the tent.
Yuri gestured with his eyes for Arin and Poppy to follow and quickly pursued the soldier.
Rustle—
The three of them stepped out of the tent and were met with…
“……?!”
A scene straight out of hell.
Poppy and Arin’s eyes filled with shock as they took in the sight before them.
“What… is this?”
“I-I’m hungry?”
It was no wonder they were stunned. The scene before them was utter chaos.
“One.”
“Looong lift!”
“Two.”
“Hoooooooold!”
“Not loud enough! Is this all you’ve got? One more time!”
“Looong lift!”
“Hoooooooold!”
Four people were clinging to a massive metal bar, about 30 cm in diameter.
They were desperately lifting it above their heads and then lowering it repeatedly.
“Arghhh!”
“Grr!”
Not only were they exhausted, but it was clear that the training was torturous. Even those trained in Magic Body Techniques were drenched in sweat in the dead of winter.
And there were five such groups.
But that wasn’t all.
Squelch—squelch—
Twenty people were squatting and hopping in the sticky mud, wearing strange shackles.
Another twenty were scaling a sheer rock face with their bare hands.
And some were even doing handstand push-ups.
From all directions came the sounds of screams, groans, wails, and shouts, creating a chaotic cacophony.
The only ones who seemed relatively comfortable were those undergoing ceremonial training in one corner.
As Yuri took in the entire scene, a low curse slipped from his lips.
“Damn… No wonder the Black Sword Corps soldier’s tone had that familiar roughness to it.”
The place looked exactly like the mercenary army’s basic training camp where he had briefly spent a few months.
Even the overall atmosphere of the facilities was similar.
The barbed wire fence surrounding the area.
The tall watchtowers built at various points along the fence to monitor any potential deserters.
Every detail reminded him of the painful memories of the mercenary army’s basic training camp from his childhood.
‘I was tempted by the promise of double pay if I completed the basic training for the mercenary army… and ended up tasting hell for two months.’
The mercenary army was a madman’s idea of creating a regular army out of mercenaries in times of emergency.
The basic training camp built for these mercenaries was notorious.
It was a harsh environment filled with rough mercenaries.
To keep them in line, even tougher and more ruthless instructors were brought in, resulting in daily training that felt like torture.
On top of that, the older recruits, who had arrived just a few days earlier, would act like seniors and engage in all sorts of bullying, turning the camp into a living hell.
Back then, Yuri, who was in poor health due to the Avatar, barely managed to survive the training, but it left him bedridden for a month.
‘Ugh, I’m getting chills. Ugh, that stench of rations!’
Recalling the tasteless military rations, also known as “crap meals,” that were issued in the mercenary army, Yuri shivered.
He quickly caught up to the Black Sword Corps soldier, not wanting to lose sight of him.
Poppy and Arin followed closely behind him.
The place they followed the soldier to was a large tent with a sign that read [Court].