Chapter 6

Mad Swordsman of the Shadow World (6)

“How many days has it been?”

“It is already the fifth day.”

Bengle answered Berton's question.

It had already been five days since Theron entered the punishment room.

Ordinary trainees would start screaming after just three days.

But strangely enough.

“There hasn't been a single sound from inside. Could he perhaps... be dead?”

Bengle's voice trembled slightly.

Even though they treated the trainees like beasts, it would be quite troublesome if one of them died like this.

“Should we go in and check?”

“The punishment is one week.”

He had no intention of changing a decision once it had been made.

If the boy died inside, then that simply meant his life had only been worth that much.

“But...”

Bengle spoke hesitantly, but Berton lightly jerked his chin toward the door.

It meant for him to leave.

“...Understood.”

After Bengle left, Berton closed the book in his hand and placed it on the desk.

“...”

When people lived in such a harsh environment, there were times when they suddenly changed.

Berton called it an ‘awakening’ or an ‘opening of the eyes.’

It was extremely rare, but there had been similar cases in the past.

“Did I misjudge him?”

Berton muttered quietly.

But before long, he turned his attention elsewhere.

The result would only be known once the lid was opened.

Thinking about it now would not change anything.

And yet, somehow, unlike usual.

“...”

It strangely bothered him.

_______________

...

...

...

How much time had passed?

He had not even drunk water, leaving his lips so dry and cracked that they seemed ready to bleed.

But...

Sssssssssss!

The powerful mana swirling inside his body gradually subsided and slowly concentrated in his lower abdomen.

“Hoooo...”

Theron let out a deep breath.

Of course, he could neither see nor hear anything.

But no matter how effective the punishment room was, even it could not block the intense energy he felt within his own body.

At the vivid sensation inside him, Theron unconsciously muttered.

“It's done.”

Various emotions were mixed into those few short words.

But there was no time to dwell on emotion.

He did not know how much time had passed, but the moment he parted his lips, he felt something run down his chin.

It was probably blood.

His dried lips had split open.

Fumble.

Theron reached out and picked up the canteen he had placed beside him.

Gulp, gulp.

Because he had neither drunk water nor eaten food while fusing the two mana cultivation methods, his body had already reached its limit.

The water he swallowed seemed to be absorbed throughout his entire body.

Then Theron began stuffing food into his mouth as well.

Munch, munch.

Like someone desperately preparing for something, Theron continued eating without stopping.

Because he needed to focus on the remaining time now.

‘I can do it.’

Theron concentrated once again.

He did not know how much time passed.

He simply focused on stabilizing the fused mana cultivation method and accumulating new mana.

Sssssssss!

Ironically, the magic circle that blocked his senses in order to inflict suffering was helping him.

Because the magic circle made the concentration of mana inside the punishment room richer than elsewhere.

He seized as much of the mana entering through his breathing as possible.

Struggling not to let even a single handful escape.

As he concentrated on the mana cultivation method as though he had entered a trance.

Creeeak!

The door of the punishment room opened, and light seeped in through the gap.

Theron flinched unconsciously and slowly opened his eyes.

If the punishment room door had opened.

‘Has... a week already passed?’

He had immersed himself in the Dark Tempest mana cultivation method without even knowing the passage of time.

“Come out.”

At the voice coming from outside, Theron slowly rose to his feet.

But...

“Urgh...!”

After sitting for an entire week, his body moved unnaturally.

As though it had stiffened solid.

Seeing that, the instructors irritably dragged Theron outside.

“...?”

“Wh-What the hell?”

Theron had already been thin before, but now he looked so haggard that even his cheeks had sunken in.

But there was a strange feeling emanating from his eyes.

His gaze seemed sharper than before, making the instructors unconsciously flinch.

However...

Grin.

A very slight curve appeared at the corner of Theron's lips.

Though it had only been a short week.

‘I... completed it.’

A new mana cultivation method.

The Dark Tempest mana cultivation method, all the way to the 1st Star.

He had truly managed to complete it by the narrowest margin.

One week in the punishment room.

Compared to his past, the amount of mana was only a handful, but to the current Theron, it felt abundant.

It was because of this that he had been able to survive for four days without consuming water or food.

“...Stubborn bastard.”

“To think you stayed locked in this punishment room for a whole week without screaming even once.”

He had been so quiet that at first they thought he had died.

And when Theron arrived back at his room.

“Theron!”

The three roommates inside shouted loudly.

“You'll be given today to rest. Attend training starting tomorrow.”

In only a week, Theron's appearance had deteriorated to the point that it was painful to look at.

But the instructors showed not the slightest mercy, merely telling him to attend training before turning away.

“Theron! Theron!”

Renil shouted loudly and shook Theron's body. At that, Perka said.

“Don't shake him. Bring some water and something to eat. Right now.”

“O-Okay.”

Renil brought out some dried jerky and water that he had hidden near his bed.

Gulp, gulp!

The tough jerky was difficult to eat immediately, but even drinking only water seemed enough to restore some of his strength.

“Hoo...”

“Theron, are you okay?”

“Yeah, I'm fine. You don't need to worry.”

Theron sat upright and lightly moved his neck and waist.

After remaining in one position for an entire week, his body was certainly quite stiff.

“...Did something happen?”

Theron asked upon seeing Renil's somewhat rigid expression.

At that, Tioren clicked his tongue beside him.

“Seriously, asking someone who just came out of the punishment room.”

“What did I do, you bastard!”

Seeing the two of them looking ready to start fighting at any moment, Perka sighed.

“Enough. It's embarrassing in front of someone who just went through all that.”

“What happened?”

“...While you were in the punishment room, the schedule for the next training was announced.”

At Perka's words, Renil's and Tioren's expressions darkened slightly.

Perka continued.

“And... the exam has begun.”

One year of training.

Now it was no longer ‘training,’ but an ‘exam.’

Theron nodded.

Wasn't this something he already knew?

‘The first... exam.’

An ‘exam’ on Hell Island was not a simple test.

Moreover, the first exam had been significant enough to remain engraved in Theron's memories.

Because...

‘Thirty percent of all the trainees died.’

It was not an exam held on the training ground, but one that used Hell Island itself as the stage.

Hell Island was home not only to wild animals, but also all kinds of venomous insects and unpredictable traps.

For trainees lacking practical experience, it was an exam that could truly become ‘hell.’

But...

‘I prepared enough.’

Wasn't that why he had deliberately entered the punishment room, altered his mana cultivation method, and pushed himself until he reached the 1st Star?

Theron asked Perka.

“When exactly is the first exam?”

“...One week from now.”

“One week.”

He quietly repeated the amount of time and thought about the upcoming exam.

If his memory was correct, the first exam was...

‘I think... it took place in the western forest.’

Unfortunately, the thing Theron wanted to obtain was located a little south of the western forest.

Even if the training took place outside this dormitory.

‘Leaving the designated area would cause a serious problem...’

Theron fell into thought.

Seeing that, Perka looked at Theron with slight concern.

“Are you okay?”

“...Ah, I'm fine. I just have something to think about.”

Theron shook his head.

There had to be some way...

But then.

Clunk.

The instructors who had left earlier opened the door to Theron's room and came back inside.

The three, excluding Theron, flinched and looked at the instructors.

What were they back to do now?

But one of the junior instructors looked at Theron and said.

“Follow me. The chief instructor is calling for you.”

“...?”

Berton wants me?

Theron looked puzzled, but he could not simply remain still.

The instructor was glaring at him as though he would drag Theron out again if he did not come immediately.

“Theron.”

Renil's voice trembled slightly.

Wasn't Berton known as a demon throughout this training camp?

He was afraid Theron might receive yet another severe punishment.

But Theron lightly patted Renil on the shoulder.

“Don't worry. I'll be back soon.”

Berton was not the type to punish someone again over an incident that had already been settled.

If so...

As Theron walked toward Berton's office.

His thoughts became tangled and complicated.

_______________

“...”

Unlike when he had first seen Berton on the training ground, facing him like this brought the memories from that time vividly back to him.

—Is it not the way of the world that new water should be poured into a new vessel?

The voice of the man who had tried to dispose of them as though it were nothing sounded vividly in his ears.

Theron wanted to drive a sword into his heart right now, but.

‘...I have to endure it for now.’

On Hell Island, Berton's position held power greater than that of a king.

With a single word from him, the lives of the trainees became worth less than flies.

Theron silently looked at Berton.

Berton glanced aside before speaking in an indifferent tone.

“Was the punishment room bearable?”

“It was painful.”

Bearable?

The man must be insane.

But Berton rose from his seat and approached Theron.

Then he pressed and felt Theron's shoulders, arms, chest, and thighs.

An unpleasant sensation wrapped around Theron's entire body, but he stood still in silence.

Before long, Berton frowned.

“Your physical development is slow. You haven't even built proper muscle.”

And yet this boy had knocked Palcote unconscious with a single blow?

‘Did he... land a nearly perfect attack?’

Otherwise, it would be impossible to knock him unconscious with such physical conditions.

Even luck required the right circumstances to some degree.

That meant something had changed in the boy because of his life here.

“From now on, I'll increase your food portions so that you can eat enough. And I heard that this fight started because you were helping a roommate. Is that true?”

A snake-like gaze coiled around Theron's entire body.

The pressure Berton had exerted in the past.

But Theron had already reached the pinnacle in his previous life.

There was no way such childish pressure could frighten him anymore.

But...

‘I should play along a little.’

If he changed too much too suddenly, he would inevitably draw suspicion.

Theron deliberately pretended to flinch beneath Berton's pressure and stammered.

“I-I did n-not help him.”

“You're saying you did nothing?”

“I-I only... went near him and advised him to... maintain his breathing.”

At those words, Berton withdrew his pressure and said.

“That too is helping him. Remember this. Trust no one here except yourself. Everyone is a rival and merely an enemy you must surpass and kill. Endure with that mindset.”

“Under...stood.”

Theron nodded.

Right.

These people had always indoctrinated them with this ideology.

Everyone except yourself was an enemy.

Because of that, the relationships between the trainees could only ever be terrible.

At Theron's answer, Berton pointed toward the door.

“You may leave. I'll be watching you from now on.”

“Yes, thank you.”

It might have seemed that he had been summoned over nothing.

‘...Things are going to become troublesome from now on.’

Considering Berton's personality, he would undoubtedly keep a close eye on Theron from now on.

There was one more thing he would have to be careful about.

After Theron finally left the room, Berton called for another instructor.

“Theron of Section 5. Watch that boy carefully from now on and report to me.”

“Yes? Ah, understood.”

Berton's gaze remained fixed on the corridor Theron had disappeared into.