Chapter 33

Chapter 12. Struggle, Seize, Enjoy (3)

Jed pointed to their side with his finger.

There, piles of round metal blocks were stacked like a mountain. Tall tables for placing iron blocks were also visible.

"Move the iron blocks and tables over here."

"How many should we move?"

When Heitona asked, Jed smiled slyly. It was a strangely evil smile.

"Four tables. As many iron blocks as possible."

The three of them moved the iron blocks and tables to the center of the secret space. The iron blocks were heavier than a regular longsword, and something inside clunked heavily every time they moved.

'What is this?'

While moving the iron blocks, Jin confirmed that he had never seen this in his previous life.

It was only natural. This special iron block training was only used when learning the Runkandel sword technique as a direct descendant, so it was something Jin, before his regression, would never have seen.

Thud, thud.

Each time an iron block was dropped on the ground, a mark was left on the hard earth floor.

Jed said to stop after the three of them had moved about fifty iron blocks.

"Do you know what these iron blocks are?"

Jed placed one iron block on the table and said. The iron block on the table was positioned slightly below Jed's waist.

"I don't know."

"The name of this iron block is Seongahseok. It's called that because it makes a clear sound when struck."

The Tona brothers tilted their heads. They couldn't understand why such a stone was needed for sword training. Jin didn't show it, but he was curious about how the Seongahseok would be used.

Jed gently drew his sword from his waist and placed it on the Seongahseok.

"I will strike this ball three times with my sword. Compare the sounds."

First, Jed barely used any force and lightly tapped the sword.

Dull...

A somewhat muffled sound echoed. It was a very unpleasant sound, the kind that would make you feel nauseous if you kept listening.

"An unpleasant sound, right?"

Next, Jed struck the ball again. It was a much more precise and faster sword strike than the first.

Ching!

This time, a clear and beautiful sound, fitting its name, echoed. The sound felt like it was gently caressing his entire body through his ears.

"Wow!"

The Tona brothers exclaimed in unison. Jin also widened his eyes and looked at the Seongahseok.

"Hmm, I haven't heard it in a long time, but it's really good. As you just saw, this Seongahseok makes a very muffled sound when struck lightly, but when the right amount of force is applied, it produces such a beautiful sound."

It was a simple principle.

However, Jin noticed that Jed didn't explain what the 'right amount of force' was. He also realized how excellently this simple training was structured.

'The purpose of this training is to strike the Seongahseok with a sword and make it produce a clear sound at any time.'

It would be great if he could produce a clear sound on the first try, but from the look of Jed, it wouldn't be easy.

If so, he would have to keep striking the ball until a clear sound was produced, and the unpleasant sounds he would hear in the process would lower his concentration.

Even if his concentration dropped, he couldn't stop the training, so it was a form that naturally strengthened his mental fortitude.

'Then, what about the third one?'

The first and second were about controlling the force.

The third would be the same. There didn't seem to be anything else to do besides striking the Seongahseok with a sword.

'The reason for this training is to suit Runkandel's physical abilities. That's why he said it was simple and brutal. So far, Uncle has shown us things with too few risk factors.'

Runkandel's sword technique, Paedo, and Paedo inevitably comes with risks. There was no way the Runkandel sword technique training, which only purebloods could learn, would be so safe.

'When we carried the ball, I clearly heard a clunking sound from the Seongahseok. That means something is inside. It definitely felt like pieces of iron...'

Ah!

The moment Jed raised his sword again, Jin, who had figured out the answer, grabbed the necks of the Tona brothers standing on either side.

"The third one is this."

"Get down!"

Jin shouted while bowing his head. The Tona brothers, whose necks were grabbed, were pressed face-first into the ground by Jin's strength.

They were about to curse when they saw what happened next, but they could only blink their eyes.

Boom!

With Jed's final strike, the Seongahseok exploded with a loud noise.

And from inside, dozens of iron balls shot out. They were as fast as arrows and had enough power to kill an untrained person if they hit a vital spot.

"Wh-what?"

"Ah...!"

The Tona brothers were terrified and looked around. Seeing the iron balls on the ground made their legs tremble.

"Youngest, you have good instincts. Yes, the Seongahseok is designed to explode if too much force is applied."

Jed said with a pleased smile.

Jin, while brushing off the dirt from his body, thought his uncle was also a bit crazy. He had suddenly put his nephews in danger without a word of warning.

However, he also thought:

'This training is something every Runkandel does. Most of the other brothers learned from Uncle Jed, so they must have gone through this brutal demonstration process.'

In his case, he had good instincts and bowed to avoid it. The Tona brothers benefited from his instincts.

Then, what about the other brothers?

"You are the first to not get injured during the Seongahseok demonstration since Luna. Everyone else, except for her, got seriously injured by the iron balls at the same moment. It's a kind of rite of passage."

The Tona brothers, seeing Jed laugh, instinctively felt that they had a long and hard road ahead.

Jin felt proud to be the first since Luna.

"Uncle, can I ask how Luna-nee avoided it?"

"Hmm, it will make you feel bad. All your older brothers were the same."

"I'm fine."

"That child, to be precise, didn't avoid it like you. Like everyone else except you, she just got hit, but she didn't get injured. She was just too tough..."

As Jed said, it was a slightly disappointing story.

Still, there was a gain. He was secretly worried that if there was a brother who had avoided all the iron balls without knowing anything, it would mean he had superior talent.

"Anyway, I hope you understand the training method. From now on, you will strike the iron balls every afternoon until you can produce a clear sound in any situation."

* * *

Luna's room.

She was enjoying a quiet time with her nanny, drinking tea.

'It's about time to see the results of the youngest's mind-reading training. It will hurt when he hits the Seongahseok, but I hope he does well. It's fun to watch him grow.'

Sip.

"Miss."

"Yes, Nanny."

"I find Miss Myu and Miss Anne a bit suspicious. They seem to be trying to check on Master Jin recently."

The two were discussing who the 'assassin' who tried to kill Jin was.

-I have already experienced one assassination attempt. It's something I've never told anyone, not even Gilli. In that sense, the fight has already started.

Since Luna first heard the story when she went to Storm Castle to find Jin, she had been looking for the culprit. For five years.

It was partly because she cared for Jin a lot.

Engaging in a ranking war with Runkandels who hadn't left 'Storm Castle' was a long-standing taboo of the family.

If Luna reported the incident to Siron, the family would be turned upside down, but she judged that it would not be good for Jin.

Besides, there was no evidence.

"Hmm, they are aggressive, but I doubt they would be crazy enough to attempt an assassination inside Storm Castle."

What Jin experienced was not an assassination but a curse called 'Widow's Lament,' but Luna didn't know that yet.

"I think Master Jin might have lied. He was only ten at the time, so he could have. Besides, we've had no results for five years."

"I don't think Jin lied. At that time, the youngest was even wary of me. It wasn't just awkward; it was the look of someone who felt a threat to their life."

"Then, should we investigate Miss Myu and Miss Anne?"

"Yes, please. I'm more worried that we've had no results so far. I have a bad feeling about something."

"I have a bad feeling too. I'm worried Miss will get hurt by the other family members again."

"Haha, Nanny. I'm well past thirty."

Luna hid a bitter smile behind her teacup.

* * *

A day passed.

Jin and the Tona brothers had yet to hear the beautiful sound from the Seongahseok. They also hadn't burst the Seongahseok and been hit by the iron balls.

Dull...!

Dull...!

For four hours, the unpleasant sound filled the secret training ground.

'I can say for sure. This is the dirtiest training I've ever done.'

The sound kept distracting his concentration. The Tona brothers had vomited a few times, and Jin was drenched in sweat, barely managing to hold his sword.

In the morning, they went through hellish training in the intermediate class, and in the afternoon, they struck the Seongahseok. It was a taste of death. Moreover, he couldn't even adapt to this unpleasant sound and its resonance.

"Five-minute break."

When Jed said this, the three of them sat in seiza. However, the Tona brothers, both mentally and physically exhausted, couldn't maintain a proper posture.

But even the break wasn't a real break.

Jed's 'break' meant sitting and maintaining a straight sword with aura. Even the break was part of aura training.

Jin's grip on the sword was trembling, and the Tona brothers couldn't even hold it.

To Jin, it was the dirtiest, but not the hardest training.

In his previous life, he had worked dozens of times harder than others to become a 1-star at twenty-five. Compared to those desperate days, the Seongahseok training was bearable.

'Initially, increasing the destructive power of aura was the priority.'

Jed burst the Seongahseok without using aura.

As an 8-star knight, his sword strike was of a different level from the three of them, so it was possible. First, he needed to increase his aura to hear the clear sound and break the Seongahseok.

"Daytona, Heitona. Don't give up. If you can't even do this, you won't survive in Runkandel."

When Jed said this calmly, the Tona brothers, on the verge of tears, corrected their posture. It was that difficult, but Jin remembered that they had become the family's leaders before his regression.

'In my previous life, even these clumsy brothers succeeded. So, there's no way I can't do it.'

Therefore, there was no need to be impatient.

Jin closed his eyes and focused on the aura flowing through his sword. Dull, dull. He heard tinnitus, but Jin knew how to clear his mind in the darkness of his closed eyes.

'I felt it on the first day too. This guy is really... something. The Tona brothers are also holding up pretty well. Maybe they'll break Luna's record.'

Jed only thought this in his heart and didn't praise Jin.

He would praise him after he broke Luna's record.