Chapter 12 – LV.One Warrior Kim Ak – [Two]

The days of training continued, and the situation remained similar.

The two priests in the party were still on hostile terms. Seong Juri somehow managed to complete the stamina training, but afterward, she was always exhausted as if pushed to her absolute limit and needed healing from the priest.

Kim Ak could do nothing about this entire situation. He only felt a profound sense of helplessness.

Amidst this, the final training arrived: none other than a march.

Kim Ak sighed as he packed his long-distance travel backpack. The load was far too heavy.

‘I’m going to die…’

According to Oh Haengbok, once they set out to hunt, they often had to walk for days on end. Therefore, he said, the ability to walk long distances was essential for Players.

Thus, the final training was long-distance movement.

The seven gathered here had to travel far out and then return. Fully armed with heavy armor and weapons, carrying an even heavier load. It wasn’t something even someone who had completed military service and done several marches in the army could confidently handle.

While packing his backpack, Oh Haengbok growled.

“If you pack light to reduce weight, you’re dead.”

Then, belatedly, he added.

“When I said I’d kill you if I found missing items in your pack, I didn’t just mean I’d beat you to death. I meant you could freeze to death. It’s spring, but it’s still cold. You need to pack your blankets, tent, provisions, everything. Got it?”

Kim Ak, who wanted to reduce the weight even a little, cautiously asked.

“Since we have a Hearth Priest here, couldn’t we reduce the load a bit?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Won’t we not have to worry about freezing to death? If we assume we’ll rest in buildings, we could leave the tent out of the pack…”

Oh Haengbok glared at Kim Ak.

“Seo Yun said she’s only leveling up to Level 3 and then leaving the party, right? This is training, you brat!”

The last part was almost a roar. After that, no one dared suggest reducing their load.

In the end, Kim Ak had to pack all the leather and metal poles for setting up the tent into his backpack.

He lifted the backpack slightly to gauge its weight and once again thought he was doomed.

So, he had to carry this while fully armed?

Meanwhile, Park Taeyang, the priest, only wore light chain mail, but he also looked pale, perhaps because his load was heavy. He suddenly looked at Seo Yun and voiced his complaint.

“Why isn’t she packing anything but a cushion in her backpack?”

When Kim Ak glanced over, Oh Haengbok’s ferocious face was even more contorted. Thinking Oh Haengbok might roar again, Kim Ak quickly answered.

“Seo Yun, she doesn’t sleep, right? She doesn’t need to go into a tent, so she doesn’t need to pack one. She said she doesn’t eat either, so she doesn’t need provisions.”

Oh Haengbok added with an expression that clearly showed he was barely containing his anger.

“Actually, she doesn’t even have to participate in this training. She’s just here because she knows the way best, to guide you, you brat…!”

Finally, after everyone packed their loads and had them checked, Kim Ak braced himself for the coming ordeal and stood up.

And, ugh…

The weight of the load pressed down on him, but he couldn’t show weakness. Because Kim Ak was not only the leader but also had become the village’s Player.

“Stay strong!” “Don’t get hurt!” “Come back safely!”

Villagers had come out to see off the village’s new Players. To muster strength somehow, Kim Ak had to remind himself that he had become one of the village’s hopes.

Standing before the villagers, Oh Haengbok gave the order.

“Alright, let’s go!”

Amidst the voices of encouragement from behind, the seven left the village. Seo Yun led the way, with the other six following behind.

And after walking about one kilometer, Kim Ak was tormented by the urge to give up and turn back.

He hadn’t walked far, but he was already exhausted to death. Gasping for breath, Kim Ak thought. Even though his Strength increased by 1 point when he changed Class to Warrior?

According to the Rulebook, Kim Ak’s current Strength Stat of 7 was at the level of a veteran warrior. Yet, newly astonished by how difficult it was, Kim Ak gritted his teeth and walked.

Amidst this, the party was, as expected, not peaceful. Someone emerged, trying to vent their stress in this tough situation.

Seo Yun, dressed simply, was walking at the front of the party to guide the way. As if displeased by this, Park Taeyang shouted.

“Hey! Just because you don’t have a load, are you walking so damn fast? Are you doing it on purpose to screw us over?”

Seo Yun turned around. Just as Kim Ak was dreading that the two were about to fight again, Seo Yun asked.

“Team Leader, am I walking too fast?”

Kim Ak inwardly sighed in relief. She’s not trying to fight; she’s probably checking with me, the leader. He answered in a voice feigning composure.

“Yeah, you’re a bit fast. Slow down a little.”

Seo Yun nodded her head and began walking slower.

Her attitude made Kim Ak incredibly grateful. Much of Kim Ak’s authority as a leader came from the fact that this girl sincerely treated him as the leader.

Because Seo Yun respected Kim Ak, Kim Jihyeok did too, and because Kim Ak could give orders to Seo Yun, Park Taeyang reluctantly followed that authority.

It was something Kim Ak had only recently realized.

So, while he was initially relieved to hear that Seo Yun would eventually leave the party, lately, his worries had grown even more.

He doubted Park Taeyang would listen to him once Seo Yun was gone. With Seo Yun gone, there would be no one to restrain that guy, and Park Taeyang, who essentially controlled half the party by having two subordinates, would become the party’s real power, wouldn’t he?

For Kim Ak, he could easily give up the Party Leader position, but the problem was Oh Haengbok wouldn’t allow it. Because of that guy’s age…

Anyway, it was a time when both body and mind were weary. Still, as the leader, he tried his best to check on the other Party Members.

A girl’s pale face caught Kim Ak’s eye.

‘Anyway, Seong Juri…’

As always, Seong Juri didn’t utter a word about being tired or asking for help. But now, she looked like she might collapse any moment.

“Everyone, halt for a moment!”

Kim Ak gave the party a rest and approached the girl who was probably the most, perhaps even in all of Korea, physically fit.

Kim Ak spoke softly, only for Seo Yun to hear.”She’s really struggling. Could you help carry some of her load? Not all of it, just lighten it a bit…”

He whispered as if sharing a secret, because as the leader, it was embarrassing to ask another girl for help instead of assisting her himself.

Whether she understood his feelings or not, Seo Yun also replied in a low voice.

“If you really insist, I suppose I could, but if I carry her load, Juri will likely feel deeply inadequate.”

“Why?”

“Because Juri and I are both girls. Juri is a growing girl, so her stamina is naturally weaker, but I, a girl of the same age, am perfectly fine, which makes for an unfavorable comparison. It’s a mentally taxing situation for her. If I step in to help now, she’ll feel even more discouraged.”

“Hmm… So that’s why you told Park Taeyang to give her the Heal last time? Because you thought Juri’s pride would be hurt more if you did it?”

“Yes.”

Kim Ak pondered and recalled that Seong Juri had indeed seemed somewhat wary of Seo Yun. Until now, he had simply thought it was jealousy over her looks, but it appeared there were more complex reasons at play.

After giving it more thought, Kim Ak said,

“But still, I think we need to lighten her load a bit. If she collapses from exhaustion, she’ll feel even more inadequate…”

He swallowed the weak thought that he himself was too exhausted to carry her load, keeping it to himself out of pride.

And it seemed Seo Yun had guessed even the unspoken circumstances.

“Then, take the provisions and iron rods from your backpack, Team Leader. Give them to me. You can carry Juri’s load instead, now that yours is lighter. That would look better.”

Kim Ak nodded absentmindedly.

While the other Party Members weren’t looking, the two of them quickly completed the task.

As the weight of his own load decreased significantly, Kim Ak stared blankly at Seo Yun’s backpack. To hide the fact that her load had increased, Seo Yun didn’t forget to wrap the other contents with the cushion she kept in her backpack. It was likely to prevent Seong Juri from noticing the situation if she saw it.

In the end, Seo Yun ended up taking on more hardship without being able to show it off, yet she showed no sign of regret.

Looking at her composed expression, Kim Ak thought: No matter how you look at it, this isn’t the behavior of a tiny girl.

Is that the dignity of having a Spirit of 9?

In contrast, Kim Ak, an adult, had a Mental Stat of only 5. Considering that a score of 5 is the baseline for an average adult male, he was barely managing to act like an adult.

To Kim Ak, even that felt much higher than he thought he deserved, but seeing such a composed, almost detached girl made him self-deprecating. What had he been doing with his life all this time?

Anyway, as the leader, he had to do his part. Before signaling to set off again, Kim Ak approached Seong Juri. He spoke to her in a low voice.

“I’ll lighten your load a bit.”

Seong Juri hurriedly shook her head.

“It’s okay…”

“Don’t be like that.”

“Really. It’s really okay.”

“If you collapse again, you’ll really be a burden. Okay?”

After a few more attempts at persuasion, Seong Juri nodded. With a tearful expression, she said,

“Thank you…”

And about ten minutes after they set off again, this time, Seo Yun stopped without Kim Ak giving any separate signal to halt.

Kim Ak approached, panting, and asked,

“Why… did you stop?”

And Seo Yun replied,

“There are Monsters nearby.”