C606
How many days have passed since I passed out?
As soon as Jin opened his eyes, he could see his brothers looking at him with their usual worried faces.
"You're awake, Brother Jin."
"I've lost count of how many times I've heard that. I'm tired of losing consciousness. How long has it been this time?"
"Two days."
"Haha."
A sense of defeat, or anger.
Those emotions burned within Jin's chest.
Splash!
No matter how many times Jin drank the cold water offered by Nata, there were no signs of the heat dissipating.
The more Jin thought about it, the more he felt like he was going crazy because he hated chaos.
"What the hell happened in there? I didn't expect you to come back one or two minutes after entering. No one else, Brother Jin......."
"Tell us what happened for now."
"I entered and it was his subspace. It was even larger, right in front of me, and it knocked me out with a single blow. It even read my thoughts, just like when I was outside."
There wasn't much to explain. The outcome was decided in a single blow.
"He even said there that my Shadow Energy wasn't threatening at all. That damn bastard could talk. He even taunted me, asking me how it felt to receive a powerful blow from the front paw... I've never felt so helpless."
"Is it really your first time?"
Vahn spoke as she sat by the bed where Jin lay.
While Jin and the other brothers took the situation seriously, unlike them, Vahn seemed to find it amusing, sporting a subtle smile.
"When you first came here, most of us considered you a naive genius. Probably because you hadn't faced many defeats outside, and we assumed your mental strength would be weak."
"Sister Goddess of Battle."
"But the truth was, Brother Jin, that you were someone familiar with defeat. When you arrived at Laprarosa, you couldn't help but be defeated by the other brothers until you left."
"That's true."
"So, don't give this defeat any special meaning."
Jin felt like he was waking up.
As Vahn mentioned, she had already experienced numerous defeats.
She had faced despair and absurdity countless times greater than being drained of her strength by chaos.
In particular, compared to the time before her regression, when she fell into the curse, the current situation was somewhat "manageable."
"Brother Jin."
"Yes, Sister Goddess of Battle."
"Let me ask you one thing. Do you still want to deal with him on your own, without mine and the others' help?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Then, you will train from now on."
Vahn decisively reached a conclusion.
"The time given to you is three years, and within that time, I and the other brothers will personally train you to be able to defeat him. And you will have a rematch with him when you reach a certain level."
Unlike Jin, the Legends did not experience chaos in the subspace.
They had no choice but to deduce their martial arts based on Jin's explanation, and the gap in progress was so large that they couldn't know it accurately.
One thing was certain: for the moment, Jin considered himself at a level where he could be easily defeated.
It wasn't a matter of training for a day or two; it meant Jin had to be prepared for death every time he entered the subspace.
"I don't know if it was luck or if there were other reasons. Today you came back alive, Brother Jin. Even if you lose in the next battle, you just have to survive and escape."
Of course, it was dangerous, but the Legends remembered what Vahn had said.
"I'm worried about Brother Jin. As Sister Goddess of Battle said, training is originally something that can lead to death..."
"If Brother Jin wants to fight alone, there really is no other solution."
Jin and the Legends seemed to agree with Vahn's opinion in an instant.
"Furthermore, other brothers will also train with Brother Jin."
"Then, Sister Vahn, when do you think my next rematch will be?"
"A month later."
It was an insufficient time to close the gap.
Even the Legends seemed to question if it was okay to be so fast, but Vahn stood firm.
"You will fight again in a month to gather more information about him. Reconnaissance, evaluation, combat, escape. As only Brother Jin can do all this, it will be a long and dangerous battle. Everyone, move to the second training ground."
That month became the most hellish time of Jin's life, and it really was just the "beginning."
'I never thought there would come a day when I wished the next day wouldn't come because training is so painful...'
Ugh, as he vomited his gastric juices, Jin's whole body became covered in goosebumps.
The training of the Tribe of Legends was incomparably tough compared to that of humans.
However, the level of "God of Battle" was higher than that.
The other members of the Tribe of Legends also looked at each other in a near-death state.
However, they quickly regained their energy after a few hours of rest, and Jin continued training with the taste of persistent death.
Vahn, she, relentlessly informed Jin that the scheduled rematch was imminent.
"Brother Jin, take a day off and enter through the door tomorrow. So today's training is over."
Jin misunderstood her words as an instruction to "rest by entering the door."
So Jin left the second training ground and headed to the central training ground (of course, Vahn thought Jin was going to the room to rest) and tried to enter through the door, but was stopped by Tantel and Shaku, who were on guard duty.
If those two hadn't been there, he would have faced Chaos again.
"Brother Jin, are you entering through the door to rest? Sister Goddess of Battle couldn't have said that."
"This is... part of the training..."
"We'll check, so wait a moment. Hmm, he fainted."
"Oh well. Let's take him to his room."
When Jin opened his eyes again, it was a familiar ceiling.
'Sister, the God of Battle told me to enter through the door and rest...! No, there's something strange. Did I hear it wrong?'
As soon as Jin regained consciousness, Vahn laughed at Jin's dazed appearance as if finding it amusing.
Then, as Vahn's eyes met Jin's, she wiped her expression and said this.
"Come on, it's time for the Second Battle."
As always, all the brothers were waiting at the door.
Having just gone through hellish training, the Legends were as sharp as honed swords.
Jin had only slept for a day.
Naturally, the fatigue hadn't dissipated, and his body felt heavy, as if submerged in water.
Jin had to wage the Second Battle in that state.
'At this point, it seems that Sister Goddess of Battle is determined to kill me.'
Blind faith in the brothers, especially in Sister Goddess of Battle Vahn. Without that, Jin would have shouted that this was madness.
"I'll be back."
"Good luck."
"Come back alive, Brother Jin!"
When Jin entered through the door, the same thing happened as last time. Darkness spread from nowhere, and Jin heard his voice.
[Oh, are you here?]
Swoosh!
As soon as Jin faced Chaos, he felt all the accumulated fatigue replaced by anger.
It was time to confirm the results of the infernal training...
Jin returned through the door exactly 3 minutes later.
[Well, you bastard. When are we going to have a real fight? Yawn. I'm getting bored. Yawn.]
Once again, Chaos taunted Jin to the fullest before the crack of the Shadow Blade closed.
"Brother Jin has returned alive!"
"Brother Fifth Battle King, give him treatment!"
The Legends made a fuss, but Vahn simply spoke calmly.
"Three minutes, much better than last time."
"Sister Goddess of Battle, but Brother Jin's injuries are more severe than last time. I think he got out of there by luck this time too, but it's better to postpone the Third Battle......!"
"No, we will proceed with the third battle as planned in a month. Brother Fifth Battle King, use whatever means necessary to ensure Brother Jin can train from tonight onwards."
For Jin, it was as if there were two demons. The Chaos on the other side of the door, and Vahn on this side of the door.
Instead, Jin felt a strange sensation along with anger.
'Somehow, Sister Vahn... is quite confident that I will never die. Am I wrong?'
There was no time to think seriously. Indeed, Boras healed Jin "so he could move" from that night on, and the infernal training resumed immediately for a month.
"I'll be back......."
[The idiot showed up again. Last time, you were lucky to escape, right? Today, you'll die]
Jin returned without dying.
"2 minutes and 34 seconds. It's actually shorter than last time!"
"But the wounds have decreased. It seems that Sister Goddess of Battle's escape training for the past two months is starting to show its effect. Brother Jin, the battle time was shortened because you escaped at the right moment, right?"
A similar pattern continued in the fourth battle, which took place after another month.
On all occasions, Jin was easily defeated, and Chaos seemed to miss Jin by a narrow margin.
"3 minutes and 57 seconds!"
[Hehe, come at me a hundred times!]
"4 minutes and 12 seconds!"
[No, no. That's why you can't even cut one of my scales.]
"12 minutes and 36 seconds! Also, this time Brother Jin came back with only a broken arm!"
"Just one? You call that just one? Would you like to have a broken arm?"
[Now you're pretty good at dodging powerful blows from the front paw, aren't you? But what to do, I haven't even shown you my ultra-powerful tail blow yet.]
"18 minutes and 27 seconds......!"
[You're running away again...! Next time, I'll make sure to send you to the afterlife!]
The day they recorded 18 minutes and 27 seconds marked the passing of a year.
From that moment on, Jin faced Chaos with some mental composure. It was still very small, but hope had begun to appear.
"You always miss me. I've been silently watching you for the past year, and you've only talked about it. See you in a month, wait with your neck out. Save my strength well."
[I hate you, I hate you! Ebebebeb!]
Jin laughed for the first time without realizing it. It was the first time in the past year.
"Oh, Brother Jin has finally come back without major injuries! Any effective hits?"
"Not yet. I managed to dodge some deadly blows, but I haven't dealt any significant damage."
"Where's that, Brother Jin? Great job!"
That day, the Legends were celebrating seeing Jin return unharmed.
Some brothers couldn't help but shed tears, remembering the horrendous training Jin had endured during that time.
Vahn also ruffled Jin's hair and praised him for the first time.
"Good job, Brother Jin. In your next fight, you'll be able to truly intimidate him."
"I believe so too, Sister Goddess of Battle. I have regained more strength from him, and I think I will reach the pinnacle of the Ultimate Shadow Sword Technique that I am mastering..."
After responding like that, Jin looked at the empty space behind the door.
Suddenly, Jin wondered what Chaos would be doing there when he wasn't around.
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SYS (Novel)